How the Gospel Shapes Community.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Alright, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. [0:03] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, [0:06] and I’m always glad to see each and every one of you. [0:09] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to 1 John chapter 1. [0:14] We’re going to be covering the first four verses in 1 John 1, [0:18] and then we’ll also be going in a couple of other places in Scripture this morning.

[0:23] We’re in week 3 of a 9 week series. [0:26] It’s titled, Gospel-Centered Community. [0:28] And what we’ve been talking about thus far is the reality [0:32] that we were created and designed by God to live in community. [0:38] That is something that we were designed for. [0:40] We were not designed to live in isolation. We were not designed to push others away.

[0:45] We were not designed to live with these great barriers to God that many of us tend to put up. [0:53] But instead, we were designed to live first in community with God, [0:57] then in community with other people. [1:01] And now the reason that relationships struggle so much, [1:04] the reason that you often feel disconnected from God, [1:07] the reason that you may not think that God responds to you,

[1:11] the reason that you feel so much conflict with other people as well, [1:15] the reason that you struggle to reconcile your relationships with people, [1:19] the reason for all of the barriers that exist in your life is because of one thing. [1:24] And that is sin. [1:25] Sin acts as a barrier to relationship. [1:30] Now we experience conflict, we experience confusion,

[1:33] we experience deep hurt in this life. [1:37] And that’s a reality. That’s not something to be denied. [1:41] But what you need to understand is that the reason for those things is first primarily [1:46] because your relationship with God is broken. [1:50] And the reason that your relationship with God is broken is because all of us, [1:53] because of the original sin of Adam and Eve, we are born with a default mode towards sin.

[2:00] None of us, none of us, I know some of you think, you know, I’m a pretty good person. [2:06] No, you’re not. [2:09] None of us have a default mode for good. [2:12] None of us inside of ourselves, the scriptures teach us, [2:16] and thousands of years of human history, [2:18] teach us that none of us have this spark, this light inside of us

[2:25] that really inclines us towards good all of our days. [2:30] That’s just not true. That’s not your story. That’s not my story. [2:33] That’s none of our story. [2:35] Our story is one in which we live in constant rebellion against God, [2:40] and unless He intervenes on our behalf, we’re doomed in our sin. [2:46] We’re doomed to continue to repeat the same patterns over and over and over.

[2:55] The same conflict, the same barriers, the same brokenness, the same hurt. [3:02] Some of you who have a little bit more gray hair than others of us who have red hair, [3:07] so we hide it so well, you know this because of your age. [3:13] You know that sometimes in life there’s just these patterns that repeat. [3:17] Now some of us are younger, and some of you think, [3:21] oh no, these patterns that I’ve got going on in my life right now,

[3:24] as soon as I get through this age, as soon as I get through this season, [3:28] that’s going to be broken and I’m going to move on to these new relationships. [3:31] I’m going to move on to a new community, and it’s all going to be clear. [3:35] It’s all going to be better, because really, I’m not the issue.

[3:42] It takes you some life experience to realize that that is a load of, let’s say, malarkey.

[3:49] It’s not true.

[3:52] Everywhere you go, there you are. [3:55] Every group of friends that you ever have, every community that you ever form, [3:58] you’re going to be there, so there’s going to be problems. [4:02] Because the biggest problem that you have in your life is not the person sitting next to you. [4:06] The biggest problem that you have is the person you look in the mirror at every morning. [4:10] Well, I hope you look in a mirror.

[4:14] The truth of all of the relationships that we have is unless there is an intervention [4:19] by someone who is actually perfect, by someone who does actually have power to defeat sin, [4:26] by someone who actually can give into us a life that is holy, unless that happens, [4:35] you are going to repeat the same hurts, the same conflicts, the same brokenness, [4:42] and the same barriers over and over and over, because you need to be healed. [4:50] And that’s what we have in Jesus Christ.

[4:53] The Son of God come to this earth in order to bear the weight of our sin, [4:59] because he had none of his own to bear. [5:02] He bore our sin on the cross, and on that cross he died under the penalty for my sin. [5:09] All of the conflict, all of the hurt, all of the brokenness, all of the barriers, [5:14] he took it onto himself, bore that penalty, died. [5:18] And then three days later rose again from the dead, winning victory over sin,

[5:22] winning victory over death, winning victory over every conflict, winning victory over every hurt, [5:27] winning victory over every broken thing on this earth. [5:34] And it is when that reconciliation with God, that we can find hope for our relationships, [5:41] that we can find hope for the community that we so desperately need in our lives. [5:48] You see friends, reconciliation with God makes reconciliation with others possible. [5:55] But without the barrier of sin between me and God, I am actually free to love like God loves.

[6:04] I am actually free to forgive like God forgives. [6:08] And I am actually free to view relationships as God has intended for me to view my relationships. [6:18] The only way for that to happen is that the community that I have on this earth, [6:22] that God has intended for me to understand that it is meant to form me into the person that God desires for me to be. [6:30] See most of us, we spend our relationships and we spend our community trying to form others [6:34] into the person that we want them to be.

[6:37] That’s not why the relationships in your life exist. [6:40] That’s not why a community exists. [6:42] That’s why it exists apart from Christ. [6:44] But in Christ, that’s not the purpose. [6:47] In Christ, the purpose of community and the purpose of relationships is to form you into the person that God wants you to be. [6:55] So yeah, hurt will come up in those types of community.

[6:58] But guess what? [6:59] It’s because God wants to teach you to forgive.

[7:03] Conflict will rise. [7:05] You know why? [7:06] Because God wants to use that conflict to teach you to be a reconciler, like he is a reconciler. [7:13] Every relationship in your life, once you are in Christ Jesus, exists for the purpose of forming you to be more like Christ. [7:25] And so this morning, for the specific topic of how the gospel shapes community, [7:31] we have to build a basis, we have to build a primer of that gospel

[7:37] for us to understand that we do not in community grow past the gospel. [7:43] We will never grow beyond the gospel. [7:47] But instead, we will grow in the gospel, in our community, [7:53] by realizing that it is exactly what forms the very community that we are to build with the rest of our lives. [8:03] And so number one this morning, I want us to understand that the gospel empowers and enables deeper community. [8:09] The gospel empowers and enables deeper community.

[8:15] Did you know that fellowship with Jesus leads to fellowship with others? [8:20] So the gospel forms a different type of community than you have ever experienced in your life. [8:27] Because it is a community that you cannot have until you believe the gospel. [8:32] I’ve heard many people talk about the phrase inside of the church that you can belong before you believe. [8:37] Now, in one sense, I understand the type of mentality that they’re trying to form, [8:43] that everyone is welcome here, that the doors are open.

[8:46] And that is absolutely and essentially true of what we’re doing when we’re living the mission of Jesus [8:52] for the sake of those who do not have the mission. [8:55] But on a very larger scale, we have to understand that that’s completely untrue. [8:59] You cannot belong ultimately in the community of God until you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. [9:08] Because until you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, there will always be a barrier. [9:13] There will always be a barrier of your sin first between you and God.

[9:18] And then ultimately between you and other people. [9:20] Because you cannot have legitimate forgiveness, you cannot have legitimate reconciliation with God or others [9:25] apart from believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. [9:29] And so therefore, the community of God is built primarily on that very important issue of believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. [9:41] So often, especially with coming generations, we want to go past the belief step and say, [9:47] no, it’s about what we’re building. It’s about what we’re doing.

[9:53] Pretty soon, what you’re building and what you’re doing is going to be more about you than it ever was about Jesus. [10:01] So Christianity, ultimately, for it to be a monument of grace, it has to primarily be about belief. [10:09] Because it is about belief of what someone else has built beyond what you have built. [10:15] Therefore, the gospel and the community of the church of Jesus Christ has to be about the belief of God. [10:21] And not about the belief in the gospel of Jesus because it is about what God is building. [10:26] Because our community cannot be something that’s ultimately about what we are building.

[10:32] If it’s about what I’m building, you can be certain that the foundation will be as solid as sinking sand.

[10:39] And the same thing goes for you. [10:41] It has to be built, as Ephesians tells us, on the foundation, the cornerstone of Jesus Christ [10:46] and the foundation upon which the apostles built through the word of God. [10:49] Then, and only then, can we have a community that is worth having. [10:55] Here’s how the apostle John put it in 1 John chapter 1. [11:00] He begins by reiterating what he said in the gospel according to John when he said,

[11:06] in the beginning was the word. [11:07] And he says here, that which was from the beginning, [11:10] and he’s harkening us back to everything that he said about Jesus in his gospel work. [11:15] He says, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, [11:21] which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life, [11:25] the life was made manifest and we have seen it.

[11:28] And testified to it, and proclaimed to you the eternal, which was with the Father, [11:34] and was made manifest to us. [11:36] That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you. [11:40] Why? [11:41] So that you too may have fellowship with us. [11:44] And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

[11:51] And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. [11:57] You see what he’s doing in those first few verses? [12:00] First, he’s building a basis for a defense of the gospel. [12:03] He’s saying, these are the things that we saw, these are the things that we heard, [12:07] these are the things that we ourselves were involved with. [12:11] If you want more on that, go read my other book, he’s saying.

[12:14] Go read the gospel according to John. [12:16] He said, that’s what I heard, that’s what I saw, I was there. [12:21] He’s saying, I’m telling you this story, I’m now proclaiming that story to you. [12:27] Why? [12:28] So that you can have fellowship with us. [12:32] And our fellowship is with the Father through his Son Jesus Christ.

[12:36] And so he’s building a basis upon which to build the community of the church. [12:42] And he’s saying, it is founded upon the gospel of Jesus Christ. [12:48] He’s saying that until you experience that fellowship with Jesus, [12:53] friends, you cannot truly experience the fellowship that we experience with one another. [13:01] Because our fellowship is all about the life that we have in God. [13:04] Our fellowship is all about the life that we have from Jesus Christ.

[13:09] But he’s giving a very important principle for what type of community he hopes to build. [13:14] He hopes to build a multiplying community. [13:17] He’s saying that the fellowship with Jesus will always multiply into more lives. [13:23] And therefore form a community of Jesus. [13:27] And this is the church. [13:29] But it’s a more specific idea about the action of the church.

[13:34] He’s saying, I want you to be a part of this fellowship so that our joy might be full. [13:41] And so the community is expanding. [13:43] So the community is multiplying. [13:44] So the community is growing as the gospels proclaim to more people. [13:48] As the good news of what Jesus has already done goes out to more and more people. [13:53] And more and more people are brought into that type of fellowship.

[13:58] But what’s this fellowship that he’s talking about? [14:01] The original language is literally a term that means the act of sharing in the activities or privileges of an intimate association or group. [14:11] And it’s the same term that was used in Acts 2.42 to describe the activity of the early church. [14:17] The gospel not only forms a union with us in belief, which is where it starts. [14:24] But then also that fellowship becomes a practice of said belief. [14:33] And so the gospel frees us to commit to the community that God has in mind through the work of Jesus on the cross.

[14:42] Through the work of Jesus in the resurrection. [14:44] And through the act of proclaiming it to others so they too might be able to believe. [14:50] And he’s saying that this is a fellowship that you commit to. [14:53] This is not something that you take lightly. [14:56] This is an intimate association. [14:58] This is an intimate practice that God brings us into through the very life of his Son.

[15:05] So in Romans chapter 12, the Apostle Paul begins to lay the foundation of moving that thing that happened in Acts 2.42. [15:13] Through a practice in theory. [15:15] He says, so we though many are one body in Christ. [15:20] And we’re individually members one of another. [15:25] You see, in our fellowship with Jesus, we are no longer to see ourselves as having an isolated identity. [15:33] I mean, many of you came in this morning.

[15:35] Many will come later. [15:37] And you came in with an isolated identity. [15:40] You came in with isolated practices. [15:42] Things going on in your life that nobody else in here has going on in their life. [15:46] Things that you’re dealing with that no one else in here is dealing with. [15:49] Things that you’ve got coming tomorrow that nobody else has coming towards them.

[15:53] And that those are the very things. [15:55] Those are the types of practices that we tend to identify ourselves as. [16:00] And that is why when we seek to come together, when we seek to build unity in our community, that is why we struggle.

[16:11] Because we don’t want to deal with life with someone else. [16:15] Because we’ve either, A, got so much going on that we don’t want anybody else to have to deal with because we’re filled with shame in it. [16:22] Or, we have so much going on that we don’t want to have to leave to get into life joined with other people. [16:30] Through a different set of beliefs and a different set of practices than we’ve been carrying in our isolated identity with us the rest of our days.

[16:40] What Paul is saying here. [16:42] He’s saying if you have faith in Jesus, if you have fellowship with Jesus, then that can’t be true any longer. [16:48] He’s saying that’s something that you have to leave behind you. [16:52] That’s something that isn’t true. [16:54] If it’s because of shame, then fellowship with Jesus covers that shame. [16:59] And the forgiveness of Jesus covers that guilt.

[17:03] And the gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than all of those reasons that you keep everybody at arm’s length. [17:09] If it’s because you don’t want to leave the life that is behind you, then the fellowship with Jesus needs to be greater than that. [17:18] Or, the fellowship with Jesus will be strained at best, disconnected at worst, and the barrier of sin is actually what is dividing you. [17:28] And you do not have fellowship with Jesus and therefore cannot have fellowship with others in Jesus. [17:34] Now we are still physical individuals. [17:37] That’s absolutely true. It’s not the blob.

[17:41] The Church of Jesus Christ is not a bunch of people who are just morphing together becoming one great giant blob. [17:47] And we just live with one identity, one mindset. [17:50] We never think thoughts to ourselves and we can read one another’s minds. [17:54] That would be creepy. [17:56] And you wouldn’t like me very much.

[18:00] But, in Jesus we are united together in purpose that shapes our practice. [18:10] So when John furthers the idea of fellowship to define the love that is involved in community, [18:16] he says that as people come in and join, not because of commonality, [18:23] not because of personality distinctions, not because we are so much alike, not because we look so much alike, [18:30] not because we have the exact same things going on in our lives, not because we like the same music, [18:34] or we like the same movies, or we like the same books.

[18:37] What he is saying is because of one thing. [18:41] Because of the fellowship that we have with Jesus. [18:45] He is saying that is the distinction upon which you will build this community. [18:49] And he furthers that in 1 John 4, starting in verse 19. [18:54] He says this love is based in Jesus and flows out of our lives in a very real way towards one another. [19:03] He says we love because he first loved us.

[19:05] So can you define the love that you have in your life by a love that you knew before Jesus? [19:14] No. [19:16] But that is what most of us try to do. [19:18] Our concepts of love were formed either when we were children or when we were teenagers, [19:24] or by some type of romantic experience, or by some type of romantic movie, [19:28] or by a negative experience.

[19:32] By a hurtful experience. [19:35] By something that has in a real way scarred us about love.

[19:41] What John is saying here is that fellowship with Jesus from chapter 1. [19:45] He is saying that is what you define love by. [19:48] So the gospel encounter that you have through trusting Jesus, [19:52] that belief is so profound that no matter what your definition of love was before Christ, [20:01] it is totally revolutionized in Christ. [20:04] It is totally overcome by this love that Jesus shows us.

[20:08] And he says if anyone says I love God, but then hates his brother, he is a liar. [20:13] For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot possibly love God whom he has not seen, [20:20] and this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God, must also love his brother. [20:27] So what should destroy our community’s loving practice towards one another? [20:32] Anything that can destroy the love of Christ for his elect. [20:37] That is to say, nothing.

[20:41] So because of that, we can go further together. [20:44] We can commit more to one another. [20:46] We can build a real community with a foundation that is indestructible, [20:50] and endure anything with real lasting fellowship, [20:54] because it emerges out of the cross of Jesus Christ, which defines our love. [21:01] That is what the community of the church must be built on.

[21:08] That is why number two is the barriers to community emerge from false beliefs. [21:17] See, there is a way, and many of us are very guilty of it, [21:21] given whatever subject is kind of our little pet subject in following Jesus, [21:25] we will hunt and peck the New Testament to see only the positives about something. [21:33] And so where community is concerned, you can hunt and peck the New Testament, [21:35] and you can hunt and peck those coffee cup verses all day.

[21:39] And you can say, well community should be easy. [21:42] Community should just be this natural thing that we all kind of fall into, [21:46] and it becomes just this great feeling throughout all of our days.

[21:53] And if it’s not, well then clearly the Holy Spirit is not involved. [21:58] Clearly there must be some spiritual thing going on here that isn’t good, [22:03] because problems didn’t arise in the New Testament church the way that they arise in our churches. [22:09] You’ve not read the whole thing.

[22:13] All right, I would have left some of those churches, [22:16] because they had some weird stuff going on. [22:19] The gospel of Jesus is larger than any of the barriers that sin will throw our way. [22:25] And what we have to understand through the actual legitimate context of the New Testament, [22:30] is that struggles do exist in community. [22:34] But the scripture contains a whole story of struggle with sin in light of trusting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[22:42] The whole story of an indestructible foundation, an enduring fellowship of love from Jesus, [22:48] is needed because of the struggle of sin that happens in community. [22:55] Not because it doesn’t exist. [22:57] Why would you need enduring power if there wasn’t struggle to get through? [23:03] Why would you need an indestructible love if things weren’t constantly attempting to destroy that love? [23:12] It would be worthless to have it.

[23:15] It wouldn’t need to be those things, but it is those things because the struggle is going to be real. [23:22] But too often though the temptation is to disbelieve the gospel, [23:26] and isolate with all of the excuses for not experiencing deep gospel community. [23:33] Before we ever actually jump headlong into it to experience why it’s an indestructible love. [23:39] To experience why it is such an enduring love that will last forever. [23:45] We use excuses like, I’m too busy.

[23:48] Or, I don’t need new friends. [23:51] I’m not a people person. [23:53] You see, we look at these excuses and think that it’s not a big deal. [23:59] When in all actuality it is a set of false beliefs based on life apart from Christ. [24:05] That actually leads you to developing these philosophies that will derail your discipleship. [24:12] Friend, you are forming community in your life.

[24:16] Regardless of where it is, regardless of with whom that community is. [24:20] You are building some type of community somewhere with some person or people. [24:27] But if it’s not about the gospel, then it is about something else. [24:32] And that something else is not what you were meant to build your life upon. [24:36] Deeper community necessitates that you understand that your false beliefs will build barriers to the community that you were meant to have by God. [24:47] Some of you have false beliefs about yourself.

[24:50] Some of you believe that you can’t change. [24:53] Some of you believe that you don’t want to change. [24:56] But you can change if the gospel is true. [25:00] And a big part of that change is in realizing that you need what God says you need. [25:06] You see, many of us are satisfied with what we think. [25:09] Rather than enlarging our vision according to God.

[25:14] And this is a false belief system that needs to change. [25:17] Friend, you need to trust God more than you trust yourself. [25:24] You need to trust what God says you need more than you trust what you think that you need. [25:32] Your isolation from people is actually isolation from God. [25:37] If it is built on a belief that you know what you need more than God knows what you need. [25:45] Friend, you have no idea what you need.

[25:49] You know about as much of what you need as my one year old son knows what he needs. [25:55] He has no idea. [25:58] Friend, the reality is not only do we often have false beliefs about ourselves, but we also have false beliefs about others. [26:04] Most of us think that our relationships, and we think about relationships in a very unredeemed way. [26:10] We want to base relationships in the wrong things. [26:14] We want to base relationships on just simple commonalities, simple hobbies.

[26:19] We want to base relationships on physical attraction. [26:23] We want to base relationships on the things that make relationships so easy. [26:28] We don’t want any struggle in those relationships. [26:30] The moment that struggle arises, we’re out because those people or that person doesn’t understand what I need. [26:40] Friend, that’s typically a false belief about other people. [26:45] In Luke chapter 6, there’s a set of verses that we often apply at levels that don’t really impact the way that we live.

[26:53] We read this and we’re like, yeah, that sounds right. [26:56] And we either apply it to some situation removed from us, we apply it to some national situation which wasn’t Jesus’ point at all. [27:03] But if we apply this to the relationships that we have, Jesus is actually stating that when you base all of your relationships [27:11] and all of your views of others on your own value system apart from the gospel, you are not believing the gospel. [27:19] And that’s what Jesus means by you have your reward. [27:24] If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?

[27:28] For even sinners love those who love them. [27:31] And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit of that is to you? [27:36] For even sinners do the same. [27:38] And if you lend to those whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? [27:42] Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. [27:46] But love your enemies, do good, lend, expect nothing in return.

[27:50] Your reward will be great. [27:52] You will be sons of the most high God, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. [27:57] You will be merciful even as your father is merciful.

[28:03] That’s a difficult passage to apply to life. [28:08] Because it doesn’t sound like a very fun one, to apply to life.

[28:13] But if you get down into what Jesus is saying, he’s saying that there has to be something going on in the relationships in your life [28:23] that is not common to man. [28:26] There has to be some ethic in your relationships that is built from the foundation of the gospel [28:35] actually growing you in to the person that you need to be. [28:39] He’s saying, if every relationship in your life is just defined by how people make you feel, [28:46] then you’re going to only be around people who tell you really good things about you.

[28:52] And people that have to tell you hard things, you’re going to reject them.

[28:59] People that tell you, I think this thing going on in your life, I think it’s a hurtful thing. [29:05] He’s saying, if you base all of your relationships just on how other people make you feel, [29:10] and they need to make you feel good about yourself, they’re out. [29:16] He’s saying, if you only base your relationships on the reward that you think you can get out of someone,

[29:26] that’s not the gospel.

[29:30] See, you look at people and you say, you know what, they’re in my tax bracket. [29:35] Actually, they’re above my tax bracket.

[29:40] And so I think I could get some influence in a new group of friends if I got relationships with them. [29:46] I think I could find a new market for this product that I want to sell if I could just get into that circle of friends.

[29:55] Jesus is saying, you have your reward.

[30:01] He’s saying, that is not what the community of God is about. [30:07] He’s saying, the community of God needs to be about more than what you want to get out of other people, [30:14] or what you think you need out of other people. [30:18] He’s saying, when you really get down to it, what does Jesus get out of you?

[30:27] What great addition did you make to his life?

[30:33] And when you begin to think, I have nothing to add into the life of Christ, now you’re starting to understand the gospel.

[30:43] Now you’re beginning to understand grace. [30:46] Now you’re beginning to have a foundation upon which you can actually give into the lives of others. [30:53] Because you realize that the only thing that you have to offer anyone is Jesus Christ. [31:00] And the wonderful grace. [31:02] And so when we come together as a community of the church, [31:06] we go into one another’s lives for a different type of ethic than other people do.

[31:12] We go into it with a proper set of beliefs about what life is about, [31:18] and what reward really is when we say that our reward needs to be great in the kingdom of God, [31:24] therefore I will be gracious to all. [31:27] And when God brings people into my life, it’s on a boundary-free zone. [31:32] The New Testament’s clear about that. [31:35] But what it is, is he’s saying, you bring them in and you show them the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ,

[31:41] regardless of anything else. Why? [31:43] Because that is how Jesus has been gracious and merciful and loving to you. [31:48] Because the love that you have is not based on you, the love that you have is based on Jesus. [31:54] Our beliefs are actually seen pretty well by what we are actually doing with our lives. [32:01] Because of the types of relationships that we are actually building with our lives. [32:06] So if you’re in Christ, and you’re in the community that you’re actually building,

[32:10] is removed from the local church, and serves to benefit something other than forming you for the work of God’s mission, [32:18] then that is a barrier to what God wants to do in you. [32:24] Your vision for community needs to be formed by the gospel, or you will pervert the gospel in your life. [32:33] And it will always be a barrier to your growth in the gospel. [32:38] Because number three this morning, true community pushes us to believe the gospel more deeply. [32:46] True community pushes us to believe the gospel more deeply.

[32:52] When you obey God, it changes you. It changes you. [32:57] The first step of obeying God is believing God. [33:02] If you look throughout the New Testament, every aspect of everyone’s relationship with God, [33:08] from the beginning in Genesis, even to the end in Revelation, is that God said something, and they believed him. [33:15] When you look at the book of Acts, when you look at all of the sermons, what was the response always? [33:19] It always started with believe. Believe.

[33:25] And so that moment of belief is the first moment of obedience. [33:29] And it’s a moment that revolutionizes your life. [33:34] So community then, we have to begin to understand it foundationally as an issue of believing the gospel. [33:42] Scriptures call me to community. [33:45] No matter how I view myself or how I view other people, none of that matters if I trust that Jesus is God. [33:54] If I trust that he saves.

[33:56] If I trust that he is telling the truth, then how I feel about you really isn’t a factor in the equation, is it? [34:10] Now if you’re a part of the Church of Jesus Christ, then the way I think about you has to be predicated on the fact that I believe that Jesus is God, [34:18] that I believe that Jesus saves, and that I believe that Jesus is telling the truth. [34:22] And if I have that, well then we can build a community regardless of anything else because our community is about Jesus and it is not about ourselves. [34:29] That is the issue of obedience. [34:32] But as I obey, I will grow.

[34:36] And that is how we are formed. [34:38] But for that to happen, I must allow my philosophy of community and my practice of forming community to be shaped by Jesus before it is shaped by anything else. [34:48] And so when you read texts like Jesus’ prayer in John 17, he says in verse 21, he says that he prays that we would be one, just as the Father and Jesus are one. [35:03] Friends, he’s not praying about this being some separate issue from living out the effects of the Gospel of Jesus. [35:12] He’s saying that our unity with one another is a Gospel issue and we must view it as such. [35:22] This is a source of how the change and the growth and the effects of the Gospel will begin to emerge out of our lives.

[35:30] Because when you believe Jesus, you will repent from the lies and believe that Jesus is right. [35:38] Even if it forces you to admit that you are wrong. [35:44] Friend, if you’ve been following Jesus for any amount of time and you haven’t had to think to yourself, well I was wrong about that. [35:51] I don’t know who you’re following, but it isn’t Jesus.

[35:55] Following Jesus many times just feels like me admitting I’m wrong over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. [36:05] Has something to do with him being God and me being a wretched sinner. I don’t know. [36:11] But that’s how it will play out in your life. [36:16] And so community, we’ve covered how much I struggle with it. [36:22] It is a great source of repentance. [36:27] It is a great source of growth.

[36:29] It is a great source of self-denial. [36:34] When you have no desire to gather with anyone.

[36:41] And you do it anyway. Why? [36:45] Because Jesus is right. That’s why.

[36:50] Because Jesus is telling the truth. That’s why. [36:53] And ultimately because Jesus rose from the dead. That’s why. [36:58] You know in Hebrews chapter 10, it was such a practical thought on what it is that we do when we gather together. [37:09] I don’t want him to share it. [37:11] He says, let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. [37:18] Not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some.

[37:22] But encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day drawing near.

[37:32] You know so often when we get into relationships with other Christians. [37:36] When we seek out discipleship with other Christians. [37:39] When we actually take that step of entering into a community group. [37:43] And we think to ourselves, man that was awful.

[37:51] That’s normal.

[37:54] You haven’t been there? [37:56] You haven’t walked out of a community group thinking, you know I think I know less about Jesus now. [38:01] I think it took my sanctification just to be there.

[38:06] Oh sorry. I apologize for being the biggest sinner in the crowd.

[38:11] But that happens to all of us. [38:13] Because here’s what we expect. [38:15] We take this great leap of faith. [38:19] And we say, alright I’m in. I’m going to buy into this community. [38:24] I’m going to go in. I’m actually going to show up to a meeting. [38:27] And don’t get me wrong. I know that that can be a leap of faith for some people.

[38:32] I don’t think that’s a small insignificant thing at all. [38:35] And if anyone treats it that way, they’re crazy. [38:38] So you show up. [38:40] And it is the most painful hour and a half you’ve ever experienced in your life. [38:46] And you spend the whole time thinking, I can’t believe they made me read a Bible verse. [38:50] You think to yourself, I thought these people would be able to help me.

[38:54] I think they need my help. [38:57] And you walk away saying, well I tried.

[39:03] I know some of you have done that. [39:05] I’m tempted to do it all the time.

[39:11] But the reality is, is what I want you to understand in this text, specifically in Hebrews chapter 10. [39:16] He does not say, don’t neglect getting together. [39:20] Because it’s going to be so great every time.

[39:26] Now he actually establishes a basis. [39:29] Of it’s going to be rough. [39:32] And you need to get together so that you can stir up one another to good works.

[39:42] He’s saying that the good works aren’t there at the beginning. [39:46] Saying don’t expect it to be the best meeting of your life. [39:50] Don’t expect it to just wow you with everyone’s knowledge of God, with everyone’s knowledge of theology, [39:57] with everyone’s ultimate, always obedience. [40:02] What he’s saying is, is that you’re just starting the stirring up process when you get together. [40:08] And you may not actually have it stirred really well for a year.

[40:14] Or two. Or three.

[40:18] So the good news is, is that you have the rest of your life.

[40:22] The bad news is, is it does get rough sometimes. [40:25] You don’t always feel like doing it.

[40:29] And that’s why you need to get together, form a habit of meeting together. [40:33] And as verse 25 says, encourage one another.

[40:41] And all the more as you see the day drawing near.

[40:46] Why would you need to be encouraged if you weren’t discouraged?

[40:55] So often when we think about obeying Jesus, we think about the term, I.

[41:01] And don’t misunderstand me. You do have a big heaping pile of responsibility for you. [41:08] But you aren’t supposed to view the weight of that responsibility in isolation.

[41:14] Because most of us do. And when we spend most of our time viewing obedience, viewing responsibility, viewing discipleship in terms of I. [41:23] When we come together to stir one another up, it doesn’t feel very natural. [41:30] But see, to stir up that motivation to follow Jesus, God wants you to have fellowship. [41:37] To realize that you do not have to bear the weight of that responsibility in isolation. [41:43] You don’t have to do it. [41:45] Many of us struggle with the thought that community needs to be the ideal setup for it to start.

[41:51] That we have to have it all figured out. That we have to have our lives cleaned up. [41:56] That we have to have the right answers for us to even begin anywhere. [42:01] But both of those, all of that is a false idea. [42:06] Jesus’ vision of community is that it stirs up those things. [42:11] It is a process. Community is formed. It is not immediate. [42:17] You are being formed. You are growing.

[42:22] Relationships have to work out the kinks and get over the awkward unknowns.

[42:30] And after a while, relationships start to get formed.

[42:35] After a little longer, those relationships might start looking like friendships. [42:41] A little more time, life is experienced. [42:44] A little more time, bonds are formed. [42:48] The idea here is that the Gospel is forming the community to be as God intended. [42:54] But it doesn’t start that way.

[43:00] You are not going to grow more faithful. [43:04] Or have more fellowship with Jesus in isolation. [43:08] It’s not how it works. [43:10] That’s not the design of the Gospel. [43:11] That’s not how the Gospel forms community. [43:15] That’s disobedience. That’s false belief.

[43:18] But when we live out the Gospel, it will draw us together. [43:21] And as we draw together, we will live out the Gospel. [43:26] This is about trusting God above every other idea or belief or preconceived notion that you have. [43:34] This is about trusting Jesus. [43:40] As the band comes up, relationships are hard. [43:48] Relationships are always a struggle.

[43:51] Relationships will always have seasons that can be very long where it just doesn’t feel like you’re firing on all cylinders.

[44:01] And that’s why you need Jesus. [44:04] That’s why you need something that threads through those relationships. [44:10] Something that threads through that community. [44:14] That is unchanging.

[44:16] That is indestructible. [44:18] That is enduring. [44:20] And the only thing in this life, the only thing in this world, the only thing in this universe that meets those qualifications is Jesus.

[44:29] Jesus endures. [44:31] Jesus is indestructible. [44:33] Jesus is unchanging. [44:35] Jesus is faithful. [44:38] And since I’m none of those things, I will always need Jesus.

[44:44] And thankfully, he loves me. [44:46] Thankfully, he gave his life for me. [44:49] Thankfully, he rose from the dead, winning victory over every problem I do have, every problem I have ever had, and every problem I will ever have. [44:57] And ultimately, because of his resurrection, I will rise from the dead into his kingdom. [45:03] I want you to have that. [45:06] To have that, you have to trust him.

[45:09] You have to believe. [45:11] And if you do believe, you will begin to obey. [45:15] That’s the type of community that we want to build here. [45:18] Right now, as we do every week, I want to confront you with the truth of the Gospel. [45:23] And we do that through the bread and through the cup.

[45:27] The bread on the tables around this room represents the broken body of Jesus. [45:31] The cup represents his shed blood. [45:34] And as we eat and drink, what we proclaim to everyone around us is, I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [45:41] Friend, if you believe that, I invite you to come. [45:45] Eat and drink. [45:46] Remember the death of our King that builds our community.