Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] As was said earlier, welcome to Living Hope. We're glad that you chose to join us on this back to church Sunday. Hopefully you grabbed a bulletin on your way in. If you do, how many of you have a bulletin? Can you hold it up for a second? All right, second's done. Put it down inside your bulletin. You can open that up. You can see all sorts of things that are happening in the life of the church and ways that you can connect. We are usually walking through and have been for a little while now, quite some time actually, because through the Gospel of John. And today we're taking a brief break just for this week. We'll be back in John's gospel in chapter 20 next week. So I invite you to come back for that. But today we're take a brief break. Considering the nature of today's focus. Back to Church Sunday. It's a Sunday that is celebrated and considered and remembered and practiced across the country for thousands of churches inviting people to come. And so if you are new here, don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to stand, raise your hand or give your testimony. That's not what you're not what's going to happen. But we're glad that you've chosen to say yes to the invitation that you were offered to come to church.
[00:01:05] Inside your bulletin when it's open there on the left side, you can see the welcome portion there. And then below that it says, our mission and vision at Living Hope is that we gather to worship and fellowship. We grow in prayer and discipleship and go share the gospel that woodland and beyond would know, love and serve Jesus. And every year what we do is we kind of camp out or lean into one of those mission words. You can see them in bold, the gather grow and what's the other bold word? Go. And each year we lean into one of those words maybe a little bit more than we will in the other years. And so for this year, the gather word is the word. We've been kind of leaning into talking about what it means to be a healthy church. What does it mean to come together to worship well, to honor the Lord in the time and and so that's what this year is. And so today, whether or not you're new here or not, this is what we're going to aim at. What does it look like and why is it important to gather as God's people if you are new here? At the bottom of that page there, it says visitor information. You can scan that QR code. We'd love to Connect with you in various ways. And then on the back, you can now close your bullets. And whenever you'd like is the outline that we'll walk through this morning.
[00:02:17] And so if you'd like to fill in the points, fill in outline, you can do that with your pen or pencil, whatever you have there. And I'm reading from the ESV Bible, English Standard Version, so if you want to be able to follow me, you can do that. We're going to be in all sorts of different passages. Put those verses on the screen for many of them as well, but you don't need to write super fast. Go back over these passages. So. So good. As we consider our topic today, with all that said, let me just pray if you would join me, and then we will spend time here in God's word.
[00:02:50] Well, Lord Jesus, we are here today desiring to honor you with our time as we've just sung songs about your goodness and your faithfulness, about your love and of your mercy and of the power that you demonstrated in your resurrection and the power that we now have living inside of us. For all those here today and across our community who have trusted in you and have your spirit abiding inside of us, and we just ask that you would speak to us in a powerful way this morning, that you would open our eyes to the beauty of you that you have just in and of yourself, Lord, that you would open our eyes and our hearts to the power of your love and of your grace in our lives. As we look at your word this morning, Lord, that you would move us closer to you and that we would have humble hearts, humble attitudes, willing to follow you wherever you might want to take us. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:03:39] All right, so let's dive right in before we get into this outline. I think it's important, as we see on the screen, life is better. What's that word? All together there.
[00:03:48] Together. Can we say together? Together.
[00:03:51] Together. Life is better together. Back to church. And so we'll just pause right there before we get into the rest of this. I think it's important that we spend just a minute or two defining the church, because in the world that we live in, church has become one people that can define it kind of in different ways. But if we were to look back through God's word, because this is the guiding, directing book that we walk through as a gift to us from God himself, written by various people, but to guide and direct us in God's heart for us as his people. God's word defines the church as this the gathered body or the gathering of God's people. Can you say gathering?
[00:04:32] The gathering of God's people. And so in a world even with technology right today, sometimes if we don't go to church, we will watch church online, right? But when you look through the word of God, and I'm all for watching things, we are streaming right now. If you're watching online, that's fine. When we look at the word church in God's Word, there's a particular concept that's important for us to hold onto and it's the word gather. Can you say gather?
[00:05:00] Gather. It's not just I'm watching a sermon or I'm singing songs, we might watch a church service, but God says he calls his people to come together, to step out of isolation and be with other believers. I'm going to use a unique word that may kind of throw you off for just a second, but hold on to your seats.
[00:05:23] God says this intimacy is better than isolation. And I use that word intimacy very intentionally because what I'm talking about here is deep, meaningful, honest, sharpening, Christ focused relationships. So maybe if you like to write things down, intimacy is better than isolation. And this is why in many churches, including ours, we have more opportunities for the gathering of God's people than just right now. For example, the Sunday morning main service, there's Sunday school classes like a Bible study time before our service. We have what we call Gospel communities as gatherings of God's people in smaller settings, in people's home through the week, there's Bible study groups that meet here. There's potlucks and picnics and camping trips and service projects, all sorts of things because we value the. We said this word together already. The gathering. Can you say gathering? The gathering of God's people. And what we're gonna see today is God values it too.
[00:06:20] It's not just some idea that we created to get people together, but God says the gathering is good.
[00:06:28] And so as we spend time in your outline here and in God's Word, we're gonna answer one main question and it's what do I gain and what do I miss out on when I don't engage with the gathering of God's people? Or maybe even more simply put, it's on the screen, why are we better together?
[00:06:50] Why are we better together? That's the question that I'd like us to answer here today. So you have five points on the back of your bulletin there. And we're just gonna walk through that and then see what does God's Word say in each of those points. I already noted the outline, the scripture for you there. But before we do that, I think it's important that we do one more thing. I need to make some things very clear so we don't get bogged down with it later. I'm just gonna read some of this. It's on the screen. You can read it with me. Very clear here. Jesus saves us, not the church.
[00:07:23] The church is a place where God's people and God's word is preached and God's people gather. Secondly, the church isn't perfect. Can someone say amen and doesn't do everything right. Maybe you know this personally.
[00:07:39] It's full of redeemed sinners who are hopefully aimed at worshiping the Lord, walking closer to him and helping other people do the same. And then thirdly, and lastly, some people can't regularly come to the gathering of church because of work or health or some other significant barrier. And this message, as we look through God's Word, isn't aimed at guilt tripping, it's aimed at calling our attention to the love and the value that Jesus places on his people gathering together and their mission to make disciples of all nations. So if you wanna take a picture of that, if you wanna write that down, feel free to do just that. Now, with that said, let's jump right into our outline here in God's Word, the first thing you could write down to answer the question, why are we better together? You can write this down. It's we need stability.
[00:08:28] We need maturity. We need stability and we need maturity. Now, have any of you, you might wanna raise your hand, you could say yes out loud if you want. Have you ever gone through a really, really rough day? Have any of you had a rough day before?
[00:08:40] All right, cool. So like a third of you have had a rough day, the rest of you have figured out life. So the rest you could just ignore. Moving on, how about this? You've had a rough day and you are just looking forward to going home and having a conversation with somebody and unloading. Any of you been there before? Okay, another question. Have any of you realized at some point in your life that you were not handling something well, and then you thought, I hope that next time this happens, I handle it better. I hope I mature a little bit. Have any of you been there before? Okay, so good, so important. Because we need to be willing to look at ourselves and say, I need help. Because if we don't, we're gonna stay isolated. Now, there's a reason that the early church, that is 2,000 years ago, shortly after Jesus left. The Bible says that they met not just weekly, they met daily. And there's a reason that they did that. It's because shortly after Jesus left, there was lots of persecution that was going on, lots of hardship that they were enduring because of their faith. Some of them were losing their jobs. Some of them, their friends were abandoning them. Others, their families were abandoning them. Others, they were watching their friends die because of their faith. They were going through regular hardship. And so because of that, they said, I am feeling really shaken up right now. Have any of you felt shaken up before?
[00:10:02] So we need stability.
[00:10:04] And here's what they said is the one place we're gonna find regular stability is with God's people. We're gonna go back to God's people because we're feeling really shaken up right now. What's gonna give us stability? Maybe that's the question. Yes, the gathering of God's people. But it's more than that. Scripture speaks to that even more clearly. And it's this. You might write this word down. Unity. What's gonna give us stability? It's unity. And we see Ecclesiastes, two passages I want to show you. Ecclesiastes, chapter four says this.
[00:10:34] Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. And then it gives some examples. The author of Ecclesiastes says, if one falls, the other one will lift them up. Later on in verse 11, it says, if two lie down together, the other one will keep the other warm. If you're in a fight, for example, or you're being attacked, and there's two of you against one, the other one is going to help you. And. And it concludes and says, a 3, 4 cord is not easily broken. Here's what the writer of Ecclesiastes is saying. We are better together. Can you say it together?
[00:11:06] There's another passage in Galatians, chapter six, verse two, that calls us as God's people.
[00:11:12] Still thinking about the word unity Here, to carry one another's burdens, to bear one another's burdens. Now, if we're sitting in isolation, we can't do that very well, can we?
[00:11:24] Again we see the writer of Galatians says, we are better together. And this then so fulfills the law of Christ. So we see the words stability and unity. We can find stability as we walk in unity with one another. But there's another word there. What's that second word on the screen?
[00:11:40] Can we say it together?
[00:11:42] Maturity. Maturity.
[00:11:45] And you write this in somewhere. What does that mean? What does that look like for us? It's this. It's training in truth.
[00:11:50] It's training in truth. That's how we grow in maturity. If any of you have played a sport before, any of you have played a sport before, an instrument before, no one would expect you, and I hope you don't expect this of yourself, is the first day that you learned how to play that sport or that instrument, that you'd be excellent at it on day two, right? No one would expect that. You would expect that there's going to be a process of becoming better and better and better. That's a maturing process that occurs now. How do we get better, if you will, at walking in the way that Jesus has called us to walk as his followers? And it's this training in truth because we know, as you know, there's lies all over the place, right? Truth is not easy to come by. Unless, of course, you watch the news, then it's easier.
[00:12:36] Hebrews chapter 5 says this. Hebrews 5 says this. For though by this time you ought to be teachers. And let me pause right there. The writer of Hebrews is talking to a group of Christians and he's saying, I've been looking at all the things. The writer of Hebrews elevates, Christ above all. And then he says this. By the way, I'm looking at what's going on. There's a lot of you that are not as mature as you should be. And here's what he says. By this time, some of you should be teachers. And later on he says, but you're not. You need milk. Not solid food for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled. There's that. Remember that picture of sports, right? You're unskilled because there hasn't been training in truth.
[00:13:18] This training process takes time. Hebrews shares with us. Hebrews chapter three. One more slide on the screen before we go on to the next point is this. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called what today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And you know this and I know this sin can easily creep its way into our life, can't it? At first we think, oh, it's really not that big of a deal. It's not that bad. I'm just doing it once. And then before long you found out you did it 10 times and then 100 times. And then pretty soon the sin has pulled you further and further and further away from truth, because sin is Deceitful. It finds its way into our lives to pull us apart from it because of the great deceiver.
[00:14:06] So why do we need the church? Why is gathering good? Because we need stability and maturity. Because you know this and I know this. Life is hard, isn't it?
[00:14:15] Sin creeps its way into our life. All sorts of things around us creep its way into our life and shake us up. Life is hard at times, which is why for many people, when life gets really hard, we come back, they come back to church, which is not a bad thing at all. Because we see the gathering of God's people can bring stability to our lives and maturity. Let's go on point 2.
[00:14:37] This point may hit a little bit deeper to home for some of us, a little bit more pointed out. We need to believe rightly.
[00:14:44] We need to believe rightly. The culture around us, the world around us, is in the business of forming your desires, is in the business of forming the desires of your family, of shaping your priorities, your goals, your values. You consider sales, for example. You look at how they go about selling things. You need this. You. You deserve this. You struggled here. Let me offer you this. Let me shift the way that you prioritize your life. And this is done through social Media, through books, TVs, movies, shows, magazines, billboards. I don't know if anyone read the newspaper still, but maybe that as well. The culture's in the business of how can I shape. Adjust what you're buying, where you're spending your time, what you value in your life. Now, one of the primary the culture teaches us is the same as that of the serpent in the garden. And it's that humanity doesn't need to submit to God.
[00:15:46] You can be happy without God. Do you know what I'm talking about? And even maybe more so. You might be better off without him.
[00:15:55] But Jesus tells us otherwise, right?
[00:15:58] The word of God tells us otherwise.
[00:16:01] Look at just two key words that show us this in God's Word, the Bible teaching church. And I say that very pointedly because church is not just to be the gathering of God's people, just so that people can come together. That's called a country club, not a church.
[00:16:18] But the gathering of God's people for the purpose of worshiping the Lord needs to be done with a real, authentic, right view of scripture, held above all of our own opinions.
[00:16:29] We need to believe rightly. And we need the word of God to be taught, to be walked through clearly, distinctly for us for at least two reasons. The Bible teaching church provides this in order to help us believe rightly. It's this. Maybe write this down somewhere. It's on the screen. Guiding the Bible teaching church, hopefully is guiding people in the right direction. It's on the screen. Galatians, chapter 6, verse 1 says this, Brothers and sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression. And that's just a word that means sin, that's intentional. You who are spiritual should restore. Can you say restore?
[00:17:06] Restore him in a spirit of what?
[00:17:10] Gentleness. That is what we often forget, isn't it? I see you, sinner, confess and repent. That's not gentle.
[00:17:18] Restore.
[00:17:19] Gentlemen, keep watch. We're going to get to that in just a minute. Keep watch lest you be tempted.
[00:17:26] So it's this guiding as we come together. It's not just we're hanging out and having fun, but we're going to hold open the word of God and we're going to compare it against the lives of myself first and also of those around me, so that we can guide each other in ways of truth. 2 Timothy, chapter three says this. It's on the screen. In this area of guiding and how vital the word of God is in this area. All scripture is breathed out by God. And is prophecy profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training? There's that word again. Training in righteousness or to help people do the right thing. Why that the man of God might be. And also true for women and for children to be equipped to be complete for every good work. So there's this guiding that happens when we open God's word to help us to believe rightly. But there's another, another word.
[00:18:17] And I would say this word might be one that is often neglected in the life of the church. And it's this. Watching, watching.
[00:18:27] Why are we not believing rightly? Maybe it's because there's not people guiding us. But I would say also it's because we are not people that are watchers of our own souls that we don't let other people even maybe watch over us. But scripture, as you look through scripture, you're gonna find the word watching often. Go to the next slide. First Peter, chapter five says this.
[00:18:48] Be sober minded. Be watchful. Can you say watchful?
[00:18:52] Watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring. You know this verse?
[00:18:59] Lion seeking someone to devour. Peter gives us this picture of this lion looking for someone to devour. And then what does it say? Resist him. Stand firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brothers throughout by the brotherhood throughout the world.
[00:19:17] It's calling us to say, pay attention, look out. There's gonna be people, there's gonna be situations, there's gonna be scenarios that happen in your life that pull you away from the Lord. And one of those that we don't often watch out for is apathy. It's not even maybe that I'm running towards sin, but it's. I'm no longer moving towards Christ. And so I'll just sit back. I'm no longer watching.
[00:19:43] Now, if you are sitting in the midst of a desert in Africa and a lion walks up, you probably won't be very apathetic, right?
[00:19:53] Eh, it's just one.
[00:19:56] It doesn't matter.
[00:19:57] You will be alert.
[00:19:59] And here we are as followers of Jesus, and we hopefully believe that the devil and his schemes are more dangerous than a lion and you. And yet oftentimes there isn't an attitude of watchfulness.
[00:20:13] Why do we need to believe rightly? Because we'll skip to the last slide in this point because this, you and I might be wrong.
[00:20:25] Why do we need to believe rightly? Because we might be wrong. There are many times that we will come to church thinking, I believe all the right things.
[00:20:33] There are many times that I have thought that I believed something that was right. And then I opened God's word and was like, whoop, looks like I was wrong again.
[00:20:40] Have any of you experienced that? Hopefully all of you just gonna say, because this is true and we are not. We are not always true. This is always, always true. We need to be willing even to approach God's people and God's word and even a time of prayer saying, God, I might be wrong about something and I'm ready for you to correct me. I'm ready for you to change my opinion about.
[00:21:02] Because we want to believe what is right, but oftentimes we don't like confessing that we are wrong.
[00:21:07] But we have to be willing to say I'm wrong to uproot that false belief so that true belief truth can actually be seated in our hearts. Let's go on to the next point. Three on your outline. Why else do we need to gather? Why is that good? Why is that needed? Because we need Christ's love.
[00:21:24] We need Christ's love. Let me shift a little bit. In 2023, the US Surgeon General made a particular spotlight focus on a particular problem in America that I think maybe none of us are familiar.
[00:21:38] Loneliness.
[00:21:42] But he declared it in 2023 an epidemic.
[00:21:46] An epidemic.
[00:21:48] He later explained in a letter that introduced this urgent adversary that loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling and represents a major public health risk for individuals and society. He also goes on to say that although many people grew lonelier during COVID You remember Covid? Yeah.
[00:22:09] About half of American adults had already reported experiences of loneliness before 2020.
[00:22:18] Why? 73% attribute their loneliness. Maybe this is you as well.
[00:22:24] Attribute their loneliness to 73% to technology, the thing that's supposed to make our life better.
[00:22:32] Another percentage, I don't know what the number was on this, but a significant group also attributed their loneliness to no religious or spiritual life. And what's the solution? According to the Surgeon General, here's three of them. One, reach out to family and friends. Learn to be forgiving of others.
[00:22:48] Huh?
[00:22:49] Jesus talks about that, doesn't he?
[00:22:52] Find ways to serve, find ways to help other people. Most of us don't want that feeling of loneliness. And yet most of us have experienced that deeply. And that's a hard, hard feeling. The enemy loves that, loves the isolation. To pull God's people away from a family, that shows Christ's love. And the church, hopefully is a place where Christ's love is pursued and practiced, though not perfectly as we live in our sinful bodies. But Christ's love should be demonstrated, maybe most potently in the home of the Christian and in the church.
[00:23:26] Maybe write this down somewhere. In a world that seeks meaningful relationships, but most often settles for digital connections, Christian love will stand out when practiced rightly. In a world that seeks meaningful relationships. Any of you seek meaningful relationships but often settle for digital connections, Right? Somebody friended me. Christian love will stand out when practiced rightly. And making friends is hard. As an adult, it can be really challenging. I mean, as a five year old, your mom or dad takes you to a play date and says, go make friends. But as an adult, I don't think as often your parents are taking you to a park and saying, go make friends.
[00:24:08] It's a lot more challenging as an adult. And thus loneliness can into our lives. I believe that the Bible teaches that clearly that the local church is the primary. Also your family is a primary place where Christian love should be understood and practiced. But what is this Christian love, by the way? Christian love. Christ's love lived through us as his people. Here are some examples.
[00:24:34] What is Christian love or love? The love of Christ being lived through us. It's this. It's being devoted or committed to spending time with one another.
[00:24:42] It's sharing your possessions with those in need. According to Acts 2, it's encouraging others to do good with their lives. Hebrews 10. It's practicing compassion and kindness, humility, meekness and patience, According to Colossians 3. It's bearing with one another's faults and forgiving them. According to Colossians 3. It's honesty and celebrating with others and walking with them in truth, according to 1 Corinthians 13.
[00:25:08] It's being humble. It's honoring others. It's correcting others, even at times, and helping them walk in truth. Now, we would love to see a world where Christian love is practiced all the time, right?
[00:25:22] I mean, imagine that day when that's gonna happen.
[00:25:27] Here's the hard truth. It's never gonna happen on this earth until Jesus comes.
[00:25:34] We're living in a world of people who are running away from Jesus and thus his love for them. And so as we walk, as people who know and are experiencing the love of Christ, we can display that in powerful ways. You and I can bring about Christ's love on earth in a supernatural kind of way.
[00:25:52] Too often, though, when we don't experience Christian love, and maybe this hits home for some of you more than others, when we don't experience Christian love in the church, we leave.
[00:26:03] We blame the sin of the Christian on the church and we walk away.
[00:26:08] And I get that. There have been many Christians in churches that have hurt lots of people. And that breaks my heart.
[00:26:17] Sadly, it gives also great joy to our enemy to watch God's people walk away from the gathering of God's people.
[00:26:28] Not to say that there's any easy answer to that.
[00:26:31] Other than this, what does it look like for us to forgive well as God's people, to love well, to confess when we do wrong? If we want to love like Christ, display Christian love, write this down somewhere. We can't love like Christ when we don't live like Christ and Christ lived in community.
[00:26:51] If we want to be people that love like Christ and Christ lived in community with other people, that that means we also then must live in community, in spaces where we will have to forgive other people, which is hard. But we rejoice in the forgiveness that we receive from Jesus. Christian love says, I will forgive other people even when they wrong me, and I will call other people alongside the word of God to help them walk in truth. This is hard to do. Why do we need Christ's love? Because this. The last slide on this point. Is this because love matters, Right?
[00:27:27] Love matters. Let's go to point four on your outline. We need.
[00:27:33] I need. Maybe you could cross that and put just I. But for me, I need regular reminders. Do any of you need regular reminders?
[00:27:41] How many of you have been in a conversation with someone and they told you lots of really important information and then they said, you got that right. And you said, uh huh.
[00:27:51] And then they left.
[00:27:53] And then you stood there and I. Hold on a second. Can you. I have one more question. Or this is also me. Somebody you walk up to, somebody that you've never met before and you go and you shake their hand and you say hello to them and they tell you their name and you say, hey, nice to meet you. And then they walk away or you walk away and then you think, what was their name?
[00:28:18] Memory is something that we all struggle with.
[00:28:21] Some of us may be more than others, but we all struggle with this. And what I love is that God knows this.
[00:28:28] God knows that we have a problem remembering things. This is why he wrote the Ten Commandments on stone, because he knew we were going to forget.
[00:28:41] He didn't just tell it to us once and say, now remember for 5,000 years. He knew they weren't going to. So he's like, I'll put this on stone. I'll write it myself because you'll probably mess it up. So I'm gonna write it. And so he did. That's what he did.
[00:28:54] Later on, even in the Old Testament, he's like, hey, this significant thing happened. Don't forget. We won't forget. He's like, just build a pile of rocks right there because you'll probably forget. We call those standing stones because they're probably gonna forget that God did something amazing.
[00:29:09] We are forgetful people. And all through Scripture we are called to remember, remember, remember. Can you say remember, remember? We need regular reminders. Isaiah, chapter 46.
[00:29:20] I love this. It says this. In verses 8 through 10 it says, Remember this and stand firm. Recall to mind you transgressors. Remember the former things of old. For I am God, and there is no other. I'm going to write that down for you. Remember that, because you're going to forget.
[00:29:35] I am God, and there is no one like Me. Some of us need to remember that he is God, not us.
[00:29:41] In verse 5 of Psalm 143 it says this. I remember the days of old. I meditate on all that yout have done. This is David writing, I ponder the work of youf hand. God knows that when we stop. Follow me here. When we stop remembering something, when we also might stop believing something.
[00:30:03] When we stop remembering something, we might also stop believing something. Especially if the Circumstances of our world cause us to sense something else.
[00:30:13] So why is gathering with God's people and around God's Word important? Follow me here because when I start to believe my sin isn't too bad, I am reminded from God's Word and God's people that my sin is worthy of the death penalty. When I start to believe that I am not worth much in the world, I am reminded from God's word and God's people that God's love is deeper than the ocean and farther than the east is from the west. When I start to believe that I've messed up too royally or I've gone too far, I've messed up too many times. I'm reminded from God's Word and God's people that God's grace is amazing. Amen. That it's great. It's more. He's more faithful to meet us than we could ever imagine. When I start to believe that. That my anxiety, that my pain or my depression will never stop, I'm reminded from God's Word and God's people that Jesus has the power to help to heal and that one day he will make all things new.
[00:31:12] When I start to believe that I'm as mature as I need to be as a Christian, I'm reminded from God's word and God's people that I'm not.
[00:31:21] When I start to believe that I'm good where I am, I'm reminded from God's Word and God's people that there is a world out there. Billions of people who have never heard the good news of the gospel. When we come to church, we are often looking for. Here, get this before we. The last point. When we come to church, we're often looking for something new for us to learn.
[00:31:43] The teacher, the preacher, whoever that is, tell me something new. I want to know something new. How was church today? I don't know. I didn't learn anything new.
[00:31:49] Well, we want to learn something new. But consider asking yourself a different question when you come to church next time. And it's this God. What do I need to be reminded of?
[00:31:58] Because we are last slide. We are forgetful, aren't we? We are forgetful people.
[00:32:05] Let's look at the last point together.
[00:32:08] We need to use our gifts. When we look through the word of God, we find that God's word, Word has. That God has made each person a masterpiece. Did you know that you were a masterpiece made by God? Maybe you just need to be reminded of that this morning.
[00:32:26] And so thus he made you with A plan with a design. And he gave you particular gifts. You have qualities given to you by God that you can use to reach people for the gospel, to help other people grow in their maturity, to come alongside your kids or your spouse, to. To come alongside friends or family members, and even to come alongside people in the life of the church to help them look towards Jesus. Now, some of you here today are leaders.
[00:32:52] Some of you are teachers.
[00:32:54] Some of you love to serve. Some of you love kids.
[00:32:58] Some of you love babies.
[00:33:00] Some of you love to read. Some of you are good with technology or you can play an instrument. You're good with spreadsheets. Some of you are good with money management. Some of you enjoy working with older people, fixing things, public speaking. The list goes on and on and on.
[00:33:14] Different gifts, different passions that he's put inside of us uniquely, because he says, I want you to use that not just for your glory and your good, but as we sung earlier, for his glory and for his good.
[00:33:26] There are gifts that God has given us in this world because your life matters to him. No matter your age, your life matters to him. You're special, he says, and the gifts he's given you are special.
[00:33:41] The Word of God uses a particular picture of the gathered people of God. And the picture, the metaphor that God uses, particularly in a couple books like Romans and First Corinthians, he says, the Christian is like a body. The church is like a body. Can you say body?
[00:33:56] Now, we have body parts that we all use at different times. At times I'm using my hands. At times I'm using my legs. But if one of them were gone, the rest of my body would suffer, right?
[00:34:07] Some of you know this by the way. When your eyes start to not work as well, when your leg starts to not work as well, the rest of your body suffers. If something internally stops working as well, the body suffers. Now, here's what the Bible says, that the Christian is part of the body. So now imagine a part of the body that's no longer there. If I was to say to my hand, or if my hand were to say to my body, I think I'm just done with you for the day, I. I'm gonna go somewhere else. Would I suffer?
[00:34:36] Yes. And if both hands said that and both hands and a leg said that, I mean, I'm still alive, but am I suffering a little bit?
[00:34:44] Am I living to the fullest that I could be with both of those?
[00:34:48] No.
[00:34:49] But here In Romans, chapter 12, we see that as part of the family of God, we are part of a body. Look what it says. Romans 12.
[00:34:59] For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, which is okay. We don't all need to do the same thing. So though we are many, we are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. That is we're all connected. Unity matters. Now listen to this last part. Look at that last part. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, that is, God gifted you in different ways, which is wonderful, which is. Which is good. He wants you to use them. Look what it says. Let us what?
[00:35:29] Use them.
[00:35:30] Not sit back and let other people use those shinier gifts or whatever, more public gifts. Let's use the passions. Let's use the gifts that God has given you. If you were to write something down, one kind of thought around this, if we shift from the body, it's this. A healthy church isn't made up of spectators, but of soldiers.
[00:35:50] A healthy church isn't made up of spectators, but of soldiers. And you're like, well, that sounds intimidating.
[00:35:55] Even kids sing about this. If you grew up going to church or singing some kids songs in church, songs like I'm in the Lord's Army Soldier. Right.
[00:36:04] Onward Christian Soldier. Even from a young age, we're teaching kids. You're not a part of this to be a spectator. You're to be involved, to be engaged in this. A spectator's. They come to watch professionals, and they offer nothing other than a few dollars and trash left behind, maybe some claps. But soldiers, they join because they wanna offer even up to their lives for the cause.
[00:36:33] So why do we need to use our gifts? Because there's people around us that God wants us to be able to bless. There's people around us that need us. There's people that come to the gathering of God's people. Go to the last slide. They come to the gathering of God's people that might be feeling down and they need someone to uplift them. You might be that person.
[00:36:51] But if you're not there, who's that person?
[00:36:54] There's somebody else maybe who comes along and they need help with something else. You might be that person, but if you're not there, who's that person? There's gifts that God has given us. Put on the screen there, just another reminder to be clear. The church does not save people. And I wanna just give one clear reminder before I stop. And it's this. The gospel is what we need, and the Holy Spirit is what comes and fills us and Changes us from the inside out. It's not about being a good Christian. That's not the goal here. The goal here is this. Have I first and foremost, confessed my sin before God? I am a sinner. I need your help. I realize my need for a savior. Secondly, Jesus, I see you're the only one who can save me. My good works, they can't do it as hard as I try. Nothing that I do gets me close to you. I'm far. Jesus is the one who can bring me near to God. Heaven is only attained by trusting in Jesus. And then once we trust in him as our Lord. The third thing that happens is the Holy Spirit comes, lives inside of us and says, I'm gonna change you. Now get ready. It's gonna be quite a journey. Any of you know what I'm talking about? It's a journey to follow Jesus. It's an adventure to do just that. And now he's like, I wanna change you. I wanna shape you. I want you to be mature. I want you to be stable. I want you to help other people. And the way you're gonna do this is by gathering again with God's people for God's glory. So what do you do with all this today? If this is your first time here in a while, I would encourage you. One takeaway for you today. Write this down. Somewhere is go to church somewhere regularly. Go to church somewhere regularly. Secondly, maybe you're somebody who already goes to church regularly. Okay, that's not me. Use the gifts that God has given you. Get plugged in. Maybe beyond Sunday morning service, look for one more step. Maybe that's going to Sunday school on Sunday morning at 9. Maybe that's getting involved in gospel community. Get involved in the gathering of God's people in other spaces. Maybe you're like, I'm already doing that. Ask this question, God, where do you want to use me? Whether it's in the church or outside of the church with the gifts that you've already given me.
[00:38:59] Because these gifts are not just for the church. They're for our community to see the glory of God in us. Let's pray together.
[00:39:07] Lord Jesus, we're grateful for your love for us.
[00:39:11] It is because of your love for us that you moved. You stepped out of eternity. You stepped out of heaven, which was perfect because you saw us, who was far from you, and you loved us. Not just with a statement, but with an action.
[00:39:24] And you showed us that your love sacrificial. You showed us that your love is one that we can hold tightly to knowing that it is faithful. No matter how far we've run from you, you will meet us there.
[00:39:40] And so I just pray a blessing over all those here today, Lord, that you would remind them of your beauty and of your grace for them, Lord, that you would show them how much you are jealous for their heart. You want their lives, you want their heart, their attention, their values to be close to yours, to mirror you.
[00:40:00] And Lord, as we go into the rest of the day and the week, as we consider this, Lord, we will be reminded over and over by you that your grace is great and that your people are loved by you. Help us to love your people like you do. In Jesus name, amen.
