← ArchiveWhat is Church?Sunday, March 5, 2017DateMarch 5, 2017Speaker—Text—Passages in this sermonActs 21:47Acts 2:405:37Luke 311:35Romans 623:32John 1725:28TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Church is not a building, though a building can be used by a church. Church is not a denomination, though a set of beliefs should be important to a church. Church is not about Sunday, though a church should not forsake meeting together. Church is not about one person or personality, though every church should be passed away. And church is not about size or growth, though every church is called to make disciples.0:30So don't think of church as an address or a location, but rather think of church as mobile and on the move. Don't think of church as something built or planted, but rather think of church as something deployed. Don't think of church as where you are for an hour each week, but rather what you are every day of the week, because the church is the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. Feet shouldn't sit still. Hands shouldn't be idle.0:59Feet go. Hands do. This is the church. Church isn't what you're sitting through right now, because you are the church. Now go and be the church.1:25If you have your Bibles with you, and I hope that you do, please turn to the book of Acts in the New Testament, after Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John. At the book of Acts, we will begin in Acts 2, verse 40. We are continuing a three-part series on this is church.1:53This is who we are. This is why we do what we do. And this is not Bethel-specific. This should be in the DNA of every church, the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We worship. We live in community. And then we serve. So today we look at community, the community of Jesus Christ. Something's interesting about the South particularly, is that in the fall we change.2:17We fundamentally change every fall. Right now, for many of you, you're bored to death, to tears, because you're longing for September 1st, when football season starts again. For me, I know that spring practice started this week at my alma mater, so I'm online seeing what's going on. Anticipating the day where September comes around and football comes again, American football, right?2:44So for those of you who are not from the South or not from the United States, the beautiful game is football. But we have something we call American football. And something unique happens on Saturdays in the fall. We have people of different races and different tribes, different colors, and different socioeconomic status getting together and sitting side by side for three hours, yelling in unison for the same thing.3:11In 2013 alone, 46 million people sat on Saturday in a stadium to watch a game. That's not counting the 216 million that watched on TV. And the beauty of these Saturdays for me is, one, the game, but two, it's the camaraderie and the community that develops during those games.3:38Many of you go to the game. If you've ever gone to a football game, if you had raised your hand. I'll count soccer. I grew up playing soccer. That's football, too. So a lot of you. And you know that to get those tickets, many of you have to sacrifice. And even if you were gifted the tickets, you sacrifice your whole day to go to the game. That's why I don't go much anymore, because you lose an entire Saturday. But there's something special about the sacrifice for the community, because you feel as if when4:07you go to the game, that you being in that seat is helping your team win. There's something important about that. There's something important about a community getting together and yelling for the same group of people. Or when the ref makes a bad call, yelling against the same group of people. There's something beautiful about that community that I don't think happens anywhere other than4:33that time on Saturdays or Fridays or Sundays, if you're an NFL fan. But I'm not here to talk about football community. There's a community that's a lot greater than any football or any sport you can imagine. And this is a community of God's people. It's a community where we should get together for one cause, for one name, and we should, with one voice, cry out that he is worthy to be praised.5:00It's a community where God's people should sacrifice and give up their time and give up their talents and their efforts to help those that are around them. It's a community where people of different colors and different economic backgrounds and on this side of the track and on that side of the track should be able to sit side by side because of the grace that is offered to every single person in the world. It's the eternal community of faith in Christ.5:29It's the church. And that's where we want to begin this morning is looking at the community of faith. And we see a very early glimpse of that community in Acts chapter 2, verse 40. Really one of the earliest glimpses that we have of the church after Christ has ascended into heaven. By the way, which is true, Christ died for our sake. He did a perfect life. He died and in three days he rose again.5:57And I know many of you, some might be skeptics in this room and say, I don't know how someone could rise again. I've never seen it in person. But I believe it happens. And not only did it happen as he said it would happen, I believe that he was called back into heaven where he is now sitting at the right hand of the Father. One day to come back again for his bride, the community of faith. This is Jesus Christ. Verse 40, chapter 2 of Acts. Now the he there is Peter.6:28So if you've struggled with failing God, of falling short, Peter was the man who when Jesus was walking to the cross and a servant girl came up to Peter and said, Do you know Jesus of Nazareth? Peter said, I do not know that man. And they came again and said, We know that you're with him. Your accent gives you away. And he said, I do not know that man. And three times they came to Peter and said, Peter, we know that you are with Jesus.6:58And he cursed them and went away. This is the same Peter that is now with boldness, standing upon the gospel of Jesus Christ and saying, I am not ashamed. So no matter what you've done in your life, Christ is offering you forgiveness and redemption and can restore us. He, Peter, testified and exhorted them saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Those who gladly received his word were baptized.7:26And that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and they had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods7:55and divided them among all as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord and in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Let's pray. Father, we so desire that we would be a community8:19and a people after your own heart. That we would not be okay with just going to church, but that we would sit upon your word and belong to your community that you called us to. Lord, we ask that you would give us a heart that sacrifices. That we look not only for the interest of ourselves,8:47but that we look for others who are in need. Because you looked down upon us when we were in our sin and that you died for us. When we were still lost in our trespasses, you saw the need and you walked to the cross. That we may now sing, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Lord, may that spirit be within us.9:15We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. Well, we're going to look this morning at three aspects of community. First, that community is God's design and desire for you and I. And then we're going to look at barrier. So if we know God's desire and design, then why do we struggle? Because if we're honest, many of us know God's word, we just have trouble living it out. I have people that come to me and want to debate minutia of God's word.9:45And I've told some of you this. Look, I have extensive study in much of the Bible. Until I figure out how to love God with all my heart, soul, and strength, until I figure out how to love others as myself, then I'll worry about everything else. But I still struggle with that, of loving God with everything that I have and loving others as myself. I'll worry about the others when I die. That we would say, God, not only let me know your word, but let me now live it out.10:14And then we're going to look at, so what? If we can get past the barriers through his strength, then how do we live out the unchanging truth of Jesus Christ? So verse 40 and 41, community is God's desire and God's design for our lives. Peter says, But that's not the completion of the verse.10:35About 3,000 souls were added to them. Who is them? It's the community of faith. It's the church. So we see from the very beginning that God is reminding us that we are designed and it is his desire for us to be in community.11:02How do I know that? We see this modeled in the God that we worship. God is one, correct? Yes. If you don't believe that, God's word is very clear. Hear, O Israel, Shema, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. But then we also see in Luke, Jesus Christ being baptized, God the Son being immersed to show the world that he will die11:31and he will be risen again and that we have here in Luke 3 this coming to pass. While he prayed Jesus, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him. So we have in Luke 3, we have Jesus being baptized and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as a dove. The Holy Spirit is not a dove. But in the likeness of that, because often as people, we need visual representations of something12:00before we see it and believe it. And a voice from heaven proclaiming, you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. So not only is God one, he is also three in one. Now some of you who are math majors are going to ask me, well how does three equal one? And my answer is going to be, I don't know. I majored in business, we had business math, it wasn't math. It was, this is how you use a calculator. So I don't know how to do math.12:30But I have a degree. Let that sink in for a second. And they called it business calculus. Bless them. I don't know how that makes sense. But I do know the father who is one is also three. And I believe it because he says it. So why would God model that? Why would God be three in one? Why would God who exists in community12:59then also desire for us to exist in community? So we have university modeled in God. We are all different and yet we are all one in him. So I just ask this, if God does not exist solo and he exists in community, why do we think we don't have to? Who in here is above and beyond the plan and the design of God? Don't answer that. None of us are.13:29So God models what community looks like. He again says to Adam in the garden, it is not good for man to be alone. And some of you who are astute Bible experts are going to say, well, he made for him a wife. That's talking about marriage. Well, hold on. I think it has spiritual implications for us because Jesus, the model man who is not ever married. And so just an aside, if you think that a pastor has to be married13:57or to be a man of God, you have to be married, Jesus wasn't. So the model man that we have in our lives was never married. And yet he did not live a hermit solo life. Jesus surrounded him with 12 other men that he poured into, that God models community because that's his design and his desire for us. And not only is that God's design for us, but God now desires that we grow spiritually in community.14:27So not only is it God's design, but this is where we grow. Look at verse 42. Souls were added to them and they continued steadfastly. So who are they? They are the new souls. They are the new believers. So they, the new believers, are now growing in their faith. Why are they growing? Because we see this about community and this is why community is so important to grow in. The word steadfastly here14:57is a word to mean a pattern of doing something over and over again. I had the privilege of going to Israel several years ago now. Hopefully we can take a trip next year is our plan and our goal. But there's a little town north of Jerusalem that you can go and you can still see the Roman roads that are made out of rocks. Stone. And in those stones, you can kneel down and you can put your hand in the ruts of the stone for thousands of years,15:262,000 years ago. The same road that Jesus Christ would have walked. So the same ruts that we were looking at were probably the same ruts that Jesus Christ was looking at. And I had the guide, I asked them, why are there ruts there? So you're telling me the Department of Transportation still struggled then with potholes. And the guide said, this is why the ruts are there. These ruts were made by chariots going the same route over and over. And I began to think about that.15:56That those marks were there because someone had a pattern of doing something over and over and over again. And do you know, I believe this word steadfastly, that we are created steadfastly to remain in community and in our faith. That together, we are marking ourselves with spiritual marks for eternity. That way when I struggle and when I want to deviate, some of you can come alongside me16:26and say, look, here's a mark. Don't go to the right. Stay in the path of righteousness. Look at the mark that you've made in community. That we are created to mark each other. And that does not happen much on Sunday mornings in large groups. Because what we do here is we get together and we celebrate what God's doing in our lives. But we don't get to mark each other here as much as we do there. See, God's intent was never16:56for us to congregate here and stay here. God's intent was for us to do life together and live on mission for Jesus Christ. And we are created to mark each other. So I ask you, who are you marking for eternity in your life? Who are you walking daily and praying for and doing life and say, I'm going to get, I'm going to go walk through the difficult days. And when we have days of celebration, I'm going to celebrate with you. But let's mark each other for eternity. That way God's name will be proclaimed17:26in our lives. Verse 42, community helps us continue steadfastly. It is God's design and God's desire. Not only is it helping us continue steadfastly, but it helps us stand upon His word. You see, those who continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. So why is God's word important? I've heard it said this way, that solid orthodoxy leads to solid orthopraxy.17:55So what do those big words mean? I've said it another way. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. And often, we will be blown here and there because we don't know what God's word has for us. We can't stand upon God's word. And so when someone comes with us with a shiny object and says, this is what God's will is for our lives, we say, oh, it looks great. But we don't ask, what does God's word say?18:24What does God's doctrine say? And so we are created as a community to stand upon God's word, that we go deeper together in God's word together. This is where growth happens, that we hold each other accountable, that we are created for doctrine, that we are created to stand upon God's faith. We also grow this way in verse 42. They continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine18:54and to fellowship. We are created to party, to fellowship, to do life, to bring joy to one another. That's what the fellowship, the often used word koinonia, meaning togetherness, communion. Look at the words used here in this passage. In verse 42, look at the thems and the fellowships and the continue and the commons. Verse 41, souls were added to them.19:24to them. Verse 42, and they continued in fellowship and the breaking of bread. Verse 44, now all who believed were together and they held all things in common. Verse 45, that they divided among them all as they had need. Verse 46, they continued daily with one accord, praising God. Verse 47, together with all of the people and the Lord added to the church. What is God's word trying to push us to?19:53Get together. Do life together. Be in community. Because this is where we grow. This is where we do fellowship. You see, I believe the world wants you to go to church. And you might think, well, why would the devil want me to go to church? Because he wants you to go to church and think that you've done something special. God wants us to belong to the church. And there's a difference20:22in my life between going somewhere and belonging. I go grocery shopping on Fridays. Consistently. I don't belong to the grocery store. I go to the bank often. I don't belong to the bank. I go out to eat occasionally. I don't belong. You see, the world says go to church. Feel good. Do something special for you. And God's word says live in community. Belong to the body20:51of Christ. So will we choose fellowship for the kingdom or will we choose assembling ourselves in a way that we think that we've done something. Grow in community for the sake of Jesus Christ. Not only does it stop there, the growth in community begins with God's word, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. If you want an excuse to eat, here it is. Break bread with someone. We all have to eat. I think what the early church21:22learned is this, that if you're going to eat, do so in the name of Christ. And I ask you today, who are you going to go out to eat with this week that might need Jesus? I found I'm more willing to talk about my life over bread or a meal than anywhere else. Use that time. Redeem that time for Jesus Christ. And not only do we eat together, but as we eat,21:52we pray together. So I challenge you, how are you praying with others in your life? That we have gatherings throughout the week where we intentionally pray because we believe in prayer. And not just praying by ourselves, but that we believe in praying together because this is what God had called the early church. Are you doing community with one another? Are you praying and eating together? Some of you are going to eat after church. We don't because it's nap time. And our kids turn into werewolves.22:22And you think that's bad, you haven't seen the parents. So we don't eat a lot on Sunday afternoons. I know we've had some invitations. We like you guys. It's nothing. No offense. We just struggle at 1201. But if you're going to go out to eat, eat with someone you might not know. Grab someone and say, look, are you going somewhere to eat? Let's eat and do so in the name of Jesus Christ. And as we do so, we're going to grow in our faith because He is the reason that we celebrate. He is the reason22:52that we worship. But community is not only about us. See, I believe that community is a light and a testimony to the world of who Jesus Christ is. You say, well, Pastor, how do you know that we have two ordinances that God has given us to declare the risen Lord? The first is baptism. And we see that in verse 41, that those who gladly received His words were baptized. In that day, 3,000 were added23:21to them daily. See, baptism is a sign and a symbol and a testimony of the church to the world. Romans 6, 4 says that we have been buried to ourself and that we are raised in newness of life to show the world that not only do we have faith here but that we are going to model the risen power of our Savior. And I know that there are people here today that have not yet taken that step23:51of obedience and baptism. It's so much more than just obeying Christ. It is you and I and our community of faith showing the world that Jesus is everything in our life and He is the one that matters. Next month, we're going to have a celebration service and we already have several men that are going to get baptized there that say, you know what, I need to do what Jesus commands you to do. If you have not yet done that, do not miss a chance to testify to the risen Savior24:21in your life. But we also have the Lord's Supper together. First Corinthians says that as He did on the night that He was betrayed, that He took this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. That our worship is a picture to the world of who Christ is. That's what community is about. It's not just about us, it's about them seeing our worship and seeing our Heavenly Father, that He is good,24:50that His body was broken for us, that His blood was poured out on the cross for us, and that in so we now have grace and redemption in His name. But it's not only about our worship, it's also about our unity. And I've heard it said often for those that struggle with the church. So you know, here's my one issue. How can the church, if they are the true church, have all these denominations and all these different churches? And here's my response.25:21You know what? Jesus Christ prayed for this very thing before He went to the cross. Jesus Christ in John 17 said this, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one. As You, Father, are in Me and You and I in You, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe25:50may believe that You sent Me. You see, our oneness in Christ is not something that can be manufactured. and the world is looking at us and saying, are you unified in Jesus Christ? If you are the body of Christ, the world is asking, why are you not living as one? So the Spirit is leading us this morning to ask our question, am I being an agent for unification or am I divisive? When I leave here26:20and someone attacks one of my brothers or sisters in Christ, am I quick to jump on the bandwagon or am I quick to say, you know what, I know that person. And until you prove it, until I see it with my eyes, I'm going to believe their heart before I believe the gossip. I'm going to stand on the side of unity more than anything else. That the world is looking at the body of Christ and they're saying, are you unified like you should be? Because the blood of Christ is poured out on us. That you can sit26:50beside someone that is on the other side of the tracks. By the way, if they're on the other side of the tracks, what does that make you? The other side of the tracks. But that we can sit together in the same place and worship because the blood of Jesus Christ that was poured out there was poured out also on my side. That the blood of Christ that was poured out in Dominican Republic was poured out in Alabama. And the blood of Christ that was poured out in Louisiana for those that were devastated by the flood27:19was poured out upon us. And the blood of Christ that was poured out in Zambia to those young men and women that are orphans that we can go to and we can say the same blood that was poured out upon us was the same that offers you redemption. Because we are one in Jesus Christ. Fight for that unity. That is what Christ prays for us. Community is His design, and His desire on our life. But lastly, spiritual growth.27:49spiritual growth. Community is where we find physical and spiritual refreshments. Community is where we find physical and spiritual refreshments. Look at verse 42. They continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers. Verse 44. Now all who believed were together and they had all things in common. Now let me just pause there. I realize that verse is making a lot of people in this room uncomfortable. If God called us28:20all today to sell everything you have and hold everything in common, that would make a lot of you uncomfortable. You know how I realize that? Because that would make me uncomfortable. Because we like to think in terms of me. It's my house. It's my car. It's my pantry. It's mine, mine, mine. And God has called us to think differently. He's called not only now to think of mine, mine, mine, but to think of us, us, us. And in so doing,28:51in meeting the needs of each other, we find refreshment. It brings me much joy to worship here on Sundays. It does. I find refreshment being with you guys. Because I know this, that when I am struggling, if I am in need, I believe there's at least one person in here that will help meet that need. And if that's a physical need, that you will man up and be there. If that's a spiritual need, that you will pray over me and encourage me. But community is where we find spiritual and29:21spiritual and physical refreshment. So I ask you this. Are you in need of refreshing this morning? If you are, you will find it here. And maybe you're in a place where you need to refresh someone else. That you're going to go home and drive in your car. And you're going to go home to your house with your fence and your backyard. I challenge us to think about not mine, mine, mine, but us, us, us. Knowing that community is God's design and His desire for me.29:50for me. Well, if this is what God's word lays out, then why is it so difficult? Why is community difficult if this is God's design? I'm glad you asked. So what are some barriers to community in our life? The first is this, that we have lost in our world the word commitment. We've lost in our world the word commitment. It is alien in this culture, characterized by transient relationships. The Guardian newspaper30:20in the United Kingdom last year ran a report of a fascinating scientific study and they said that loneliness is going to be an epidemic soon and that loneliness is going to overtake diabetes and heart disease as maybe the number one killer of people in the world. And the entire article was about this, that we now live in a society that is more connected than anything else and yet we are more lonely than ever before. Why?30:50Why? Because many of us have thousands of friends on Facebook and yet we would be scared to have lunch one-on-one with one of those because we have lost commitment. Why do our marriages struggle? And why do our churches struggle? Why does our work ethic struggle? Because we've lost commitment. It's easier for us, as my dad said growing up, to turn tail and run31:20than it is to say by the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit I'm sticking with it. Which is why last September we looked at a widow in her late 70s raising her great grandkids and we said your home was devastated by the flood. And we looked at her as a church and we said we will not give up until you are back in your home. And thank God we have fulfilled that commitment. because we want to be people who live in community.31:49We will not find true fulfillment in our life unless our community is meaningful. So I ask are you committed? Commitment is a barrier to community. We cannot be transient. Another barrier that we have in our life to commitment is this busyness. we find that we must find that spirit-led balance to our life. We are prone to work too much play too much and rest too little. And if we're honest32:19sometimes the busyness in our life happens in the church. That we are busy doing church and yet we are too busy to live in community. And we must fight against the busyness of our worlds. Because the reality is we do the things that we love and we do the things that are priority. We find time for family if it's a priority. We find time for hobbies if it's a priority. We find time for sporting events32:49if it's a priority. We find time for the things that are important in our lives and yet sometimes we're too busy to live in community. Why is that? Not because we have less time but because we filled it with the wrong things. Fight the barrier of busyness in your life. A man named Ajith Fernando said it like this. It's a lengthy quote but listen to this quote. That having lost the security of being rooted in the eternal reality33:17of the word of God we are looking to busy activity to fill the void that has been created in our lives. And under that bondage to activity we find it difficult to linger with the word simply for the joy of it. In fact we may be afraid to stop our busyness lest it expose the shallowness of our lives. So we go on from activity to activity from project to project but activity is a dangerous33:47source of fulfillment. Activity is a dangerous source of fulfillment. And some of you are scared to stop being busy with the fear that the world will see that you're really shallow. That we say and I do it hey how was your week this week? And without thinking of it we say you know what really busy. As if to say leave me alone I have stuff to do.34:16As if we're afraid to say you know what let's not talk about that let's spend some time in community glorifying God. Busyness is a barrier to God given community in our life. And maybe the Lord is going to ask you today to free up your schedule to spend time with other believers of like mind and like faith. Are you too busy for Jesus Christ? I think a third barrier is this individuality and pride. We have a34:46lone ranger approach to our faith. And we see in Acts it's not allowed in the community of Jesus Christ. We see in Acts verse 41 that many were baptized and they were added to them. You see our modus operandi the patterns of our lives are this I put my faith in Christ I have let down my pride I've let down my individuality to come to Jesus Christ and as soon as I'm saved the pride goes back up and now we say let me grow on my own.35:15And yet God does not allow us to do that. That he does not allow you to live solo as a toe. He has called you to be a part of the body of Christ. And how odd would it be if you walking to your car today looked down on the sidewalk and saw one toe on the sidewalk. You would stop you would think and you would probably call the police and try to find the body in which that toe35:45was lost. And yet some of us are losing our way because we're doing it solo. And we are trying to live a life that honors God by ourself and yet we are preventing God from helping us grow in the community of faith. Busyness, individuality, pride keep us from seeking God in community. So pastor if this is what the Lord has for me now what? Now what? First I simply ask36:15are you part of the community of faith? Are you part of that community? So what does that look like? Many of you are not involved in a small group. If you are not involved in a life group you are missing out on refreshment and spiritual growth in your life. Smaller groups in our church where you will grow as the body of Christ that we would grow together. You say well how do I get okay you convinced me how do I get involved in a small group? In the lobby right after the service there will be people36:45that will lead you in that direction. We've made it easy for you. There's a folder that you can pick up and you can say you know what? I'm a baby boomer. Here's a baby boomer life group. I'm a teenager. Here's a teenager life group. But that is not a guarantee of community. A community has to let down our guard and say we're going to do life together. Are you in a community of faith? Maybe God is calling you here today to open your house and study37:14and study God's word with other people. And in so doing that show your neighbors that this is what it means to be on mission and be intentional about my faith in Jesus Christ. Now I know what you're thinking. Well if I do that I'm going to spend all day cleaning my house and as soon as people come they're going to destroy it. And my answer is you're right. But God's answer is it's worth it. It's worth it. Because we had the joy37:43of opening up our house and tonight we're going to have our second week. And I had a neighbor contact me yesterday and said look we want to come. We want to be a part. And I said thank you Lord for opening up doors. And you know what? If my house is burned down in the process as Wesley said Lord it's your house you deal with it. Maybe God is calling some of you to step up and say I don't feel comfortable leading but I will open up my house. Can you imagine if every neighborhood in this county had a home38:13a home group that was studying God's word together. How different would our neighbors look if we were watering them with God's word. And that will make us uncomfortable and it means sacrifice. It means giving up and it is worth it for the sake of Jesus Christ. Maybe God is calling some of you to be leaders. To step up and lead those community groups. That you've been sitting back for too long. That you've been fed over and over again and now God is saying38:43is saying look all that stamina you've been building up. Those muscles that you've been enriching. Now it's time to use them. And maybe you've been suppressing that saying you know what I'm not going to get involved yet. Let me just go attend. I don't want to be in community. I just want to gather. I want to be on the periphery. And I would say this as someone who doesn't like to be up in front of people often. I tried that on God. Lord I don't speak well. Lord I'm young and I look half my age.39:13age.39:18Lord you know I grew up in Mississippi and we don't speak right. We have one dialect and that's redneck. Some of you have those excuses. And as someone who's had those excuses already God looked at my heart and said Josh don't you realize if I've called you to lead that I have everything else in place. And my answer to that was Lord if you're calling me I will go. So maybe39:49So maybe this morning God is stirring your heart that you need to lead. And you say well I don't have the answers. You don't have to. The spirit would lead us and give us the words. But I do know this if we will open our lives to community God is faithful and just to shine to the world the light of Jesus Christ through you. Are you responding to his truth? you cannot grow without community of Jesus Christ. You cannot40:19You cannot serve without the community of Jesus Christ. And you cannot get that here only. That we have to be intentional and say let us do life. Let us eat together. Let us pray together. Let us go daily to each other's houses. Let us water each other with his word. Because it is worth it for his name's sake. But I also know this is true. That some of you are sitting here today and you are outside the40:49outside the community of faith. That you have looked at the church and you say you know I just don't know what to think. People gossip and people lie and after they come to faith in Jesus Christ and they still struggle and they still fall and if that's what God's community is about I don't want to be a part of that. Let me just say this as a church there are no perfect people in this room. If you're looking for the pastor to be perfect find another one41:19another one next week because I'm not your man. But I do know this I proclaim as a church that we're going to stand up to the world and say we are not perfect people but we will point others to a perfect savior. So if you are here today and you are not in the community of faith the Bible is very clear that we all have fallen short of the glory of God and that to be a part of his community means we have to as verse 41 says that we have to receive the word of God. Why do we have to receive it?41:48receive it? Because salvation is a gift. that God loved the world so much that he gave his only son. Why did God give it? Because it has to be received. And maybe there's someone here today that has never received the gift of salvation. And God is working in you right now through his spirit. That you have realized that you have fallen short. And that you realize that you don't have the answer in yourself. And that today God42:18today God is calling you to receive his grace and his mercy. Why must we receive it? Because it is free. You cannot earn his grace and his mercy. Why is it free? Because there's nothing good in me. Why is it free? Because if I could earn it I would try. So maybe today God is asking you to stop trying and receive salvation. To be called into the community of faith. To say God I know I'm a sinner. I know that Christ died for me.42:48me. And not only did he die that he rose again in three days. That if I will turn from myself and turn to Jesus I will have new birth and everlasting life in him. And my guarantee is that if that is you today and you come forward and you profess him as Savior that this church will celebrate God's goodness in your life. So if you have not put your faith in Jesus what's keeping you from doing that today? He died for you and he is drawing you. God's word43:18God's word tells us that God desires that no man perish but that all have eternal life. God's desire is that for everyone here to put their faith in Jesus. Have you done that? He is calling you. He is pursuing you. And he is calling you to be a part of the community of faith. Maybe you're here and God has stirred your heart and you said you know what I haven't been committed as I should be. And that leader you talked about that should be me. We're going43:48We're going to have a time of response and if you need to do business with the Lord please do that. If you'd like to talk to someone after church I'm available. If you want to fill out that green card put it in the offering plate at the end we will have a pastor follow up and counsel with you. And we will also have people here in the front if you need to make a public declaration of your faith for the first time. Or if you want to come and pray we are making that option available today. But do not miss a chance to respond44:16to respond to the grace that is freely offered to you this morning. Let's pray together. FatherNext in What is Church? →Sunday, March 12, 2017
