Hope Church LV Sermons
The Life of a Jesus Follower :: Life in Community
[APPLAUSE] Early on in the life of our church, our pastoral team took one year to do an intensive study of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and specifically to examine the life of Jesus in the Gospels. And after one year of reading and studying and discussions and research, the pastoral team came to a conclusion that I think would be shocking for most people in North America, because you see, at the end of the year, here's what we concluded, that while Jesus was on the earth, his life did not revolve around a religious system. It did not revolve around a list of things you do and a list of things you don't do. It did not revolve around a set of rules and regulations. You see, in North America, we have come to associate Christianity with religion. But that's wrong, because according to the scriptures, the life of Jesus, while he was on the earth, did not revolve around religion, it revolved around relationships. While Jesus was on the earth, there were three primary relationships that his life revolved around. First and foremost, Jesus' life revolved around an intimate, abiding, love relationship with God. Jesus Christ lived independence on his heavenly father, moment by moment and day by day. He says, what you see me do is not my work. It's the father's work in me. Jesus had an intimate, abiding, love relationship with God. And over the past few weeks here at Hope, we've given you a key word that helps us identify and remember that relationship. And the word we've given you is this, abide. As Jesus followers, we are to abide in Christ. But not only did Jesus have an abiding relationship with his heavenly father, he also had a relationship with his disciples. He lived in community with other believers. As you read through the gospels consistently, you see Jesus living life with his disciples. We say that as we have a relationship with one another. And here's the key word that we've identified over the past few weeks to help us remember this relationship that we have with God's family. It's the word connect. We are to live our lives connecting in community, in large group and in small group. But the third relationship that Jesus had while he was on the earth, not only a love relationship with God that was lived out in fellowship with other believers. But that spilled over into a relationship that he had with the world. You see, Jesus lived his life on mission, looking to join in God's activity to see the kingdom of God expanded to the ends of the earth. Here's the word that we've identified to help us remember that relationship. It's the word share. We are to intentionally share in the mission of Christ. And when Jesus was on the earth way more than he was concerned with religion or a set of do's and don'ts, he was concerned. And his life revolved around those three relationships. And that's why at Hope, you'll often hear us make the statement that Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a relationship. Abide, connect, share. And if that is what Jesus' life looked like when he was on the earth, that is exactly what his life is going to look like as it is pressed out through you and I today. Abide, connect, share. If you're visiting with us, we are currently in a seven-part series called The Life of a Jesus Follower. And in this series, we are really wrestling with and trying to understand those three relationships. And every week in this series, we've given you a life-changing reality that really sums everything up. And I want to give it to you again this weekend. I want to put it on the screen. The life of a Jesus follower is all about relationships. Following Jesus is all about relationships. Relationship with God, a relationship with one another, and a relationship with the world. And in this series, we're taking two weeks on each of these relationships really to unpack them. And last weekend, Pastor Vance introduced us to our relationship with one another. And we looked at some biblical principles to help us understand that because we have a relationship with God, we also have a relationship with God's family. And this weekend, we're going to continue to talk about that specific relationship. So here's the big question that I want us all to wrestle with during our time together today. Why is community important? I mean, it's one thing to know all the right jargon and know what to say when someone asks you. But really and truly, if we are called to live our lives, connected in community, why is that important? If you have your Bible this morning, would you turn to Acts chapter 2? We're going to be in the same chapter that we were in last weekend. We're going to unpack some more of these principles that are found here in Acts chapter 2. Here's what's going on in this passage of Scripture. This happened about 2,000 years ago on a day known as the day of Pentecost. And on this day, 3,000 people heard the gospel, responded to it, and began following Jesus. And then they were baptized. The disciples were empowered like never before. The religious leaders were frustrated because they didn't know what was happening. But something else, very, very significant, happened on this day in Acts chapter 2. A community was born. So look with me in Acts chapter 2, verse 42. And I want us to look at exactly what this community looked like in the early church. If you don't have a Bible, we're going to put this on the screen for you so that you can follow along with us. Here's what the Bible says in Acts 2, verse 42. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of all and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need. Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. These verses give us in its purest form what community in the family of God is supposed to look like. The picture that these verses paint for us is simply the church being the church living in community. I wanna give you a defining statement. It's actually, there's some blanks on your listening guide if you wanna follow along with us during the message. But here's a defining statement that I really hope paints a picture for you of how we view community here at this church. Community is not what we do as a church. As a church, community is who we are as a church. You see, community's not a program. Community is not a perfect structure. We are a community of faith with the aim of knowing him and making him known. And one of the struggles that we face in our culture is we are so individualistic. We think it's all up to me and I don't need any help. And that is spilled over into the way that we view the church. For many people, they think that coming to a weekend service or coming to a weekend event is sufficient for their relationship with God's family. But that's wrong. You see, the New Testament knows nothing of a Christianity apart from community. We have taken something, that being community, that God says this is necessary and we've tried to make it optional. But listen, we're wrong. As we read through the scriptures, we see the early church, all they knew was living out their relationship with God in fellowship with other believers. It was expressed in two ways, large group in the temple courts, small group meeting from house to house. And every generation since Acts chapter two that has lived out biblical community has followed the exact same pattern. So to really help us understand this text this morning, here's what I want us to look at. I want us to look at three reasons. We need community. When I say we, who's here I'm talking about? I'm talking about the pastors. I'm talking about the staff. I'm talking about mature believers. I'm talking about people who got saved last weekend. All of us need community. And here are three reasons why. Here's the first one. We need others to grow in intimacy with God. We need others to grow in intimacy with God. And verse 42 of Acts to the Bible uses the word devoting. The word devoting is a picture of holding on to something. It's the idea of being steadfast, continuing in, clinging to something. And the Bible says they really did this with four things. It says they devoted themselves to sitting under the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread and to prayer. You see one of the results of these believers living in community was spiritual growth. That's one of the reasons that we need each other as a family. We need each other in order to grow in our relationship with God. Listen to this statement. In the early church, it was their relationship with God that had brought them into a relationship with each other. And it was their relationship with each other that was deepening their relationship with God. You see there are things about God. We will never learn apart from fellowship with other believers. Because believe it or not, God uses other people. He uses those relationships to show us more about Himself. And every relationship in your life can be used of God to help grow your relationship with Him. Let me give you a life application statement. Then I wanna unpack it to help us understand this principle. God can use all the relationships in my life to deepen my intimacy with Him. God can use all the relationships in my life and all the relationships in your life to deepen our intimacy with Him. Now notice it says all. It doesn't say some. It doesn't say most relationships. It doesn't even say the best relationships. It says all. As you think about your relationship with God's family, there are really two circles. One circle is healthy relationships. You know some people in your life, other believers, and right now you all are living in a healthy relationship. It's a relationship characterized by love and honesty and trust, encouragement, transparency, a servant attitude, no unresolved conflict. You can probably think of a few people this morning. And God uses those people to speak truth into your life and into my life. And their relationship with God is both an example and an encouragement for our relationship with God. We all have healthy relationships in the context of God's family. But there's another circle of relationships and all of us have them. Not only healthy relationships, but unhealthy relationships. And here's what I want you to hear me say. Just as much as God can use our healthy relationships to grow our relationship with Him, guess what? He can also use the unhealthy relationships to grow our relationship with Him. All of us have people that right now in the context of God's family, for whatever reason, it could be sin, it could be conflict, it could be a misunderstanding, it could be schedules, it could be difficult circumstances. But for whatever reason, right now, those relationships are unhealthy. Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking Travis, there's no way. That God could use those people to grow my relationship with Him. Travis, you don't understand what they did to me. You don't understand their arrogance. You don't understand their selfishness. They may be the most prideful human on the planet. Well, before you go too far down that road, I wanna read a statement for you. Because I think this statement really helps us filter what we mean when we say God can even use the unhealthy things, the unhealthy relationships to draw us into a deeper intimacy with Him. Look at this statement by Roy Hessian from a book called The Calvary Road. He says again and again, we see that the thing in us that reacts so sharply to another selfishness in pride is simply our own selfishness in pride. Which we are unwilling to sacrifice. That does not mean that we must accept another selfishness as God's will for them, far from it, but only as God's will for us. Every relationship that is in your life has been placed in your life by God. And though God does not lead people into sin, He does not lead people to stir up conflict. He is big enough that He can use those difficult situations as you and I interact with those people. He can use them to deepen our relationship with Him. Now it takes a lot of humility and a lot of submission to get your heart around that, but I want us to think about that for a few minutes this morning because it's significant. It's significant to understand that not only the relationships that are good and that are solid can be used to grow me, but the relationships that right now are difficult and unhealthy those can also be used to grow me and grow you in our relationship with God. Now I know in every relationship there are things you can do and can control and there are also things that you can't do and that you can't control. And there is a limit to what we can do in order to restore our relationship with other people, but regardless of how unhealthy a relationship may be, as Jesus followers, we must still lay over that the principle from Romans 12, 18, which says, if possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Now you may be here this morning and you're thinking about that unhealthy relationship and you know in your heart of hearts that you've done everything you can do. You've went over and above in humility to make that relationship right. And if you can honestly say that this morning, then here's your role. Pray and wait. You pray for that person. You wait for an opportunity that God might orchestrate so that you can speak to them, you can walk in some capacity with what they're going through, and you can somehow move towards the reconciliation of that relationship. But I would imagine in this room, there are some people and you would say, you know what? I haven't done everything I can do. I haven't gone over and above in order to restore a relationship that is in the context of God's family. A couple of weeks ago, God really illuminated in my heart a relationship in God's family that wasn't right. And I knew what I needed to do. And here's what my flesh says. "Don't do it. It wasn't even your fault to begin with. Don't let them off the hook. Don't be the bigger person. Don't go to them in humility. You need to wait till they feel so bad that they come and apologize to you." That's what I was feeling inside with my flesh. But humility says something different. Humility says, "As far as it depends on you, do everything you can do to be at peace with all men." So I contacted the family and, you know, set up the meeting and I knew it was going to be awkward. It just is. But here's what I understood. Even though it was going to be awkward, and honestly in my heart, I didn't want to do it, wisdom says the mission is too urgent and people are too lost for there to be conflict in God's family. And I don't know what your situation looks like, but let me just encourage you. The mission is too urgent. The world is too lost for us to let resentment and bitterness and struggle just build up in our heart to the point when we see them in the hallway at church it's awkward. It's not worth it. I'm challenging you this morning. If you would say, I have not done everything I can do to make this relationship right, do that today. Because, yes, God wants reconciliation so that the relationship is right. But in the process of reconciliation of that relationship, listen, God's going to do some stuffing you. He wouldn't do otherwise. Listen, God can form some stuff in me having to go to this family in humility and say, whatever I need to do, the past is the past and it does not matter. Whatever I need to do to make this relationship right, I am willing to do. Understand the principle. God can use all the relationships in your life and my life to deepen our intimacy with Him. Because if you're here today and God has made you aware this morning of a relationship that is unhealthy and you're saying, you know what? I'm still not going. That really says more about your attitude towards God than it does about your attitude towards that person. Because as we learned last weekend, it's impossible to be right with God and not be pursuing rightness with other people. Roy Hessian goes on to say this and I love this statement. It is no use pretending we are broken before God if we are not broken in our attitude to those around us. God nearly always tests us through other people. One of the reasons we need others is to grow in our intimacy with God. One more verse from Proverbs chapter 27. It's actually our memory verse for this week, but it says this. Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. We need each other to grow spiritually. Here's another reason that you and I, why we need community, we need others to walk through the ups and downs of life. We need others to walk through the ups and the downs of life. All of us know what it is to have moments of excitement and celebration and all of us know what it is to have moments of sorrow and pain. We all know what it is to be in need. Look back in Acts chapter 2 in verse 44 and 45. Here's what that looked like for them. Verse 44 says, "And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common and they were selling their property in possessions and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need." Here's what that looked like. They were gathering large groups, small group, temple courts sitting under the apostles teaching and breaking bread from house to house. And all of a sudden in the community of faith, someone became aware of a need. And when the need came up, here's what they didn't do. They didn't say, well, good luck figuring that out. They didn't say, I hope you find the resources to meet that need. They didn't even say, I'll pray God meets your need. Immediately as soon as a need came up, if it was clothing, the believers went to their house and said, what do I have that I can give to someone else? If it was financial, they went to their possessions and said, what can I sell in order to get money and resources to help meet this need in the community of faith? That is beautiful. Now, we've drifted far from that in today's society. And what's mine is mine and yours is yours. But that's not the picture of community we have in Acts chapter 2. They had a sacrificial and a genuine love for one another. That was a practical demonstration of the life of Jesus on the earth. And that is the same model that you and I are to have. You see, God has given us the community to care for one another, to meet one another's needs. It doesn't say he gave us the pastors. It says he gave us the body of Christ in order to walk with each other and meet one another's needs. The Bible describes this as the one another relationship. Over 50 times in the New Testament, the Bible refers to a one another relationship. Here's an example, John 1335. It says a new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for one another. Here's the beautiful thing about that verse. Jesus says, you can look at all the religious talk and all the spiritual language going on. Here is going to be the defining characteristic of one of my disciples. Watch the way they love each other. Here's how you can distinguish Jesus followers from everyone else. Watch the way they care for and serve one another. So in light of this principle, in light of the Bible saying, accept one another, admonish one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, forgive one another, and making it very clear that we all have a responsibility to this body. I want to ask you a couple of evaluation questions. And I don't want you to answer out loud, but I want you to think about your life and how this principle lays down over your life in the context of community. Here's the first question. Am I meeting needs within the body of Christ? Am I meeting needs within the body of Christ? You see, God has called us to care for one another, but can you honestly say based off your connection in this community that you're meeting the needs of other people? I assure you, when you walk into a moment of crisis, you are going to want people around you to support, to pray, to love, and to care for you. And here's the reality. In this room right now, there are people who are walking through some very, very difficult circumstances. They're in need, and what they need is not another sermon. What they need is brothers and sisters in Christ with a genuine and sacrificial love to come around them and say, how can I help? What can I do to support you in this moment? What does that need to look like? The Bible talks about it in Galatians chapter two. Here's what the Bible says. It says bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Here's the picture. It's the idea of someone having something very, very heavy on their shoulders, and they're doing everything they can do to try to hold it up. And then some other people come around them and help them share the weight and push up the load so that they're not doing it alone. That's the picture. And listen at hope, we want to be a church, we want to be a community that doesn't just come around people who have something to offer us or come around rich people or famous people. We want to care for people, period. That's the model we see here in Acts chapter two. But here's the question. Are you a part of that? Have you believed the lie that just by coming to a weekend event that that's sufficient for your relationship with God's family all the while it's not? Here's a second evaluation question for you. Am I using my gifts to serve the body of Christ? Not only are you caring for other people in the body of Christ, but are you serving using your gifts within the body of Christ? The Bible says in 1 Peter 4, above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint as each one has received a special gift. Employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Here's the reality. Every person in the room today who has trusted Christ has been grace gifted by God with a spiritual gift. And that gift is to be utilized in order to strengthen and serve the body of Christ. What I love about Acts chapter two is these believers weren't waiting back to see if they were needed. No, there was a readiness about them to say, how can I serve? What whole needs to be filled? How can I utilize the gift God has given me in order to serve and strengthen this body? Here's the question. Are you? Because I promise, when in a community of believers, just like in Acts chapter two, is ready and willing to use their gifts to serve the body? That is attractive to the world. People who don't know Christ, they don't understand that. And I know for a lot of people, there's a lot of excuses. People say, well, you know, I hope they don't really need my help. No, listen, I'm telling you, we need your help. A lot of the men always say, well, I'm going to wait till somebody asks me, well, listen, I'm asking. We need you. We're a family. God has given you a gift. And if you just come week in and week out and you're not strengthening and serving this body, there's an aspect of community you are missing out on. We need you. And if you're here today and you say, you know what? I'm not. I want to challenge you to start. You can follow up after the service to get some more information. We want to see you serving, not because you're volunteering at the church. No, because it's a part of community. We care for one another and we serve one another. Here's the third reason we need community. It's vital for us. We need others to accomplish the mission. We need others to accomplish the mission. Here's what it looked like in the book of Acts, verse 46, day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple and from house to house. They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. I love that phrase in verse 46 where it says one mind. That means unified purpose. You see, these believers recognize they existed for something bigger than themselves. They had a mission. God had called them to something. In all four gospels and the book of Acts, every time the great commission is given, it's given to a community. It's never just given to an individual. It's always given to a community that we know as the church. Last weekend, Pastor Vance shared with us a definition of the church and I want to give it to you again this weekend. A church is a local community of baptized Jesus followers, uniting together to share in the mission of Christ. You see, the only way to accomplish the mission is together. The result, the overflow of us living in community is mission. We are to gather in missional communities with an intentionality and a sensitivity to God's activity that we might engage in the mission together. It's bigger than just large group. It's bigger than just small group. It's about the world. It's about the mission. Alan Hurst said this, God's church doesn't have a mission in the world. God's mission in the world has a church. And hope here's what we believe. The most effective way for you and I to live out these principles is in the context of a small group. Life change happens in community. Now, large group is great. We love large group. I love coming together with this family to worship and to sing and to look at God's word and respond. But if all you know of the church's large group, you're missing a component to the point that we say this here at Hope. If you only have one hour to give us, don't come to large group. Go to small group. That's where disciples are made most effectively. Don't hear me wrong, we want you at large group. But if you only have one hour, go to small group. Let me give you a summary statement that we're going to have the time to respond today. You need us and we need you. I want you to know that. You're not just someone to us that comes in and sits down and gets back in your car and goes back in your rhythm of life and continues in isolation. No, listen, we need you and you need us to carry out the mission, to care and to serve this body and to grow spiritually. Now, in most cases, when we try to apply this stuff and we really believe the funnel is to get in a community of believers. Most people have two excuses. Some people say, "Well, my situation is different." You don't understand my situation, it's different. And I agree, your situation is unique. But that's why for us here at Hope, small groups are not a set program. We have groups that meet weekly, we have groups that meet biweekly, we have groups that study straight through the Bible, we have groups that use curriculum. It looks different for everybody. So we understand that your situation is unique, but I'm challenging you today to take a step. Last night after the service, there was a man who came up to me and he said, Travis, six years ago, I got burned by some people in the local church. And I haven't been back to a small group since. He says, "I understand the principle now. I recognize it's not an option. It's necessary for me to go spiritually." So this week, that gentleman is going to join a small group. There's no excuse. Another excuse that people say is, "Well, my schedule is really, really slammed. I'm really, really busy." And I get that, I understand that. But here's what I would say. If in some way, shape, or form, your schedule is too jam-packed for you to live life in the context of other believers, whatever that needs to look like. And you do not have a community around you that you're growing with and sharing in the mission with, you are doing more than God wants you to do. Now, hear me. It looks different for everybody. For everybody, it's not a living room. Once a week, it's not. But every person needs to live their life in context with a community of believers that they're navigating through life with. We need community to grow spiritually, to care for one another, and to engage in the mission. It is not God to design for us to live in isolation. We were created for relationship. We were created for community. And that is why community is so important.