WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.639 Good evening. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:09.720 Reading from Paul's letter to the Hebrews. 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.540 It's starting in verse 19. 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:21.580 The lead up into this is how Christ's death fulfills the will of God and Christ's death 00:00:21.580 --> 00:00:22.440 perfects us. 00:00:23.179 --> 00:00:27.120 Starting at verse 19, reading from the King James Version, New King James Version. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:34.299 I was given this Bible by my mum when I accepted the Lord and I've used it ever since. 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:42.400 Therefore, brethren, having the boldness to enter the holiness by the blood of Jesus, 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:50.240 by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, his flesh, 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:56.980 and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in 00:00:56.979 --> 00:01:03.619 full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:05.359 bodies washed with pure water. 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:13.759 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is 00:01:13.759 --> 00:01:14.379 faithful. 00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:14.479 faithful. 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:22.879 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:29.640 the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:33.259 and so much more as you see the day approaching. 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:39.359 Well, good afternoon, everyone. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:43.859 I know it's Heidi here today. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:45.620 Sorry to put the spotlight. 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:48.420 Just wanted to congratulate you while you were with us. 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:52.340 You congratulated Sam when he was here, but yeah, excited. 00:01:55.939 --> 00:01:57.960 They're engaged, if you don't know what I'm talking about. 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:11.019 Well, can I kick us off by asking, why might we give up on meeting with Christ's people as 00:02:11.019 --> 00:02:11.919 the local church? 00:02:12.859 --> 00:02:16.479 I want to look at two common reasons, I think. 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:21.120 The first is the cost in society. 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:27.920 So some of us might have to choose at one point between church and sport. 00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:32.159 Time for assignments and exams. 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:37.800 Maybe blocking out your availability for work where it's possible. 00:02:39.480 --> 00:02:41.640 There's a cost to leisure time. 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:44.099 Like, I mean, cleaning toilets on a Saturday. 00:02:45.640 --> 00:02:46.200 Really? 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:52.979 But then sometimes the cost is much more severe than those things. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:57.479 You are the butt of jokes at school or work. 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:01.399 You are publicly put to shame on social media. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:08.479 Even worse still, I think you are intentionally cut off by friends and family. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:13.039 Sometimes even spouses who want to distance themselves from God, 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:14.699 and so they distance themselves from you. 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:17.459 That's really painful. 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:26.399 There may well be a time in the future when, like the original audience in Hebrews, 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:31.199 we're going to have to choose whether we associate with that person in this church 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:37.519 who's being sued or is potentially facing prison time for something Christian that they did. 00:03:38.259 --> 00:03:39.039 It's possible. 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:49.280 If we just be religious and do our Sunday quota, but the rest of the time we're like the rest of the world, 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:50.840 you're going to fit in with the world. 00:03:51.139 --> 00:03:55.099 There won't really be a cost except for Sunday morning, the time. 00:03:56.139 --> 00:04:01.819 But if you try and live all your life for Christ, associating deeply with his people, 00:04:02.239 --> 00:04:03.340 there will be a cost. 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:12.840 So that's one reason we might think about giving up on meeting and being in the church. 00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:19.280 A second reason we might abandon meeting together is the mess and the hurt within the church 00:04:19.280 --> 00:04:22.100 because of the sin that's still here in us. 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:26.439 Those I know who have totally thrown in church, 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:32.019 nearly every one of them say it's to do with relational pain they've experienced. 00:04:34.420 --> 00:04:38.399 It can range from just not feeling included to a severe conflict. 00:04:40.500 --> 00:04:42.819 Some are disillusioned with church leaders. 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:47.060 Others are disillusioned with just church generally, 00:04:47.220 --> 00:04:49.759 the whole communities as if churches are judgmental. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:58.039 So the cost outside, the mess inside, 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:05.079 these might make us think twice about meeting with Christ's people. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:11.279 God's word to us today in Hebrews is not to abandon meeting together as Christ's people. 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:14.939 Now these verses, if used in isolation, 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:19.259 can just seem like a pastor's trump card to guilt you in the covenant church. 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:21.620 You must come, see, God tells you so. 00:05:24.719 --> 00:05:30.439 But that empty religious performance is exactly what the author of Hebrews 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.560 is imploring his readers not to go back to. 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.120 These verses must be saying more than that. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:47.420 So why is being the local church so necessary to our Christian walk? 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:57.319 Well, first, because to belong to Christ's community is what we were saved to be. 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:03.939 We struggle to see this because of our individualistic culture, I think. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.199 If I'm safe in God, then that's all that matters. 00:06:07.599 --> 00:06:11.379 For Jewish people, the Jewish Christians first reading this letter, 00:06:11.719 --> 00:06:12.899 community would be assumed. 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:16.159 If you're in covenant relationship with God, you're part of Israel. 00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:17.539 You're part of the tribe. 00:06:19.099 --> 00:06:20.739 You're one of God's people. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:26.639 Drawing near to God by faith in Christ means becoming part of God's community. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.399 This isn't like being an anonymous member of an RSL club. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:34.859 It's like being a member of a family. 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:36.919 It's fundamental to who you are. 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:38.319 It's an identity thing. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:46.319 This is, first and foremost, the heavenly reality. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:53.980 If you flick over to Hebrews 12, 22 to 24, or listen as I read it out, 00:06:54.900 --> 00:06:58.920 we see this heavenly community around Christ. 00:06:59.080 --> 00:07:01.280 This is who we're saved to be. 00:07:01.400 --> 00:07:04.920 This is the reality of being saved, this heavenly community. 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:09.379 Let me read it out. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.000 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:19.140 the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:24.020 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, 00:07:24.139 --> 00:07:28.300 and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:31.939 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:35.959 and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:44.139 To be the community is to be saved. 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:46.180 It's who we are. 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:47.540 It's what we were saved for. 00:07:47.540 --> 00:07:56.300 So if being part of this heavenly community gathered around Christ in worship of him 00:07:56.300 --> 00:08:00.340 is who we are, why wouldn't we do it in the local church? 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:01.660 Why wouldn't we express that? 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:02.640 It's who we are. 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:09.240 And Christ's community is the future hope we're longing for. 00:08:09.700 --> 00:08:10.640 It's what we're promised. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:15.159 If you notice the words used to describe our eternal hope, 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:18.439 it's a city that God has prepared. 00:08:18.719 --> 00:08:23.019 It's a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:08:25.599 --> 00:08:29.539 Belonging to Christ's community is who we're saved to be. 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:36.580 So if you look in verse 25, there's actually an emphasis there, 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:40.259 not to neglect on our meetings. 00:08:42.259 --> 00:08:46.120 For the original readers, they had a choice to make. 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:53.039 Do they stick with the unpopular, persecuted gathering of Christ's people, 00:08:53.180 --> 00:08:57.600 or do they go back to the safe and popular gathering at the Jewish synagogue? 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.759 They had a choice. 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:01.120 Which community was theirs? 00:09:01.259 --> 00:09:02.320 Who did they belong to? 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:08.360 Which community they identified with was actually an expression of whether 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:10.440 they would come to God through Christ, 00:09:10.860 --> 00:09:15.340 or whether they would reject Christ and belong to the world. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:23.980 I think it makes us ask the question, 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:28.060 who do we see is our core community that we belong to? 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:31.759 Is it a group of friends? 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:34.000 Or colleagues? 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.180 Or is it Christ's local church? 00:09:41.139 --> 00:09:45.820 Church is something we are before it's anything we do. 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:48.840 So let's keep being the church. 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:53.700 Let's keep being the community Christ has saved us to be. 00:09:53.980 --> 00:10:02.120 The second reason why gathering is so necessary to the Christian life is because 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:07.860 community is the way that God matures us, grows our faith and our love. 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:13.039 How do we grow in our understanding of who Christ is and what he's accomplished 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:14.379 so we can trust him more? 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:15.360 It's in community. 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:17.060 How do we endure? 00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:18.759 It's side by side. 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:24.179 How do we develop the same mind of Christ who sacrificed himself for our sake? 00:10:25.319 --> 00:10:28.799 We sacrifice ourselves for our brothers and sisters' sake. 00:10:30.439 --> 00:10:36.319 The idea of an isolated Christian thriving in their faith, you won't find in the Bible. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:45.840 Unless you're prevented by sickness or being in prison or having just moved to a country where there's not Christians yet. 00:10:46.780 --> 00:10:49.400 Otherwise, God says you need community. 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:53.700 You need it to mature and to endure in the faith. 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:54.940 We need it. 00:10:55.800 --> 00:10:56.980 I need you. 00:10:56.980 --> 00:11:03.940 Pastors, elders, deacons, leaders are not exempt from this. 00:11:05.060 --> 00:11:05.960 I need you. 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:09.680 You need me to mature and endure. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:19.259 I watch this super interesting show on Netflix called The Social Dilemma. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:20.799 I'm not sure if you've seen it or not. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:28.120 It interviews people who designed a lot of social media, like stuff to do with Facebook and Instagram. 00:11:29.699 --> 00:11:34.379 So these are some core people, like, up there in the businesses. 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:36.839 And they're terrified by what they created. 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:40.600 They created it and they're scared by it. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:53.200 Because it is designed, it's literally programmed to show you exactly what you want to see and hear so that you keep tuning in to that social media. 00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:57.940 You're not getting a view of what everyone else is seeing. 00:11:58.300 --> 00:12:01.500 You're seeing what you want to see. 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:05.060 Over and over and over again. 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:06.979 You're stuck in your own thinking. 00:12:07.199 --> 00:12:07.899 And it works. 00:12:08.819 --> 00:12:10.379 So that you look at more ads. 00:12:12.099 --> 00:12:13.239 It's how it works. 00:12:14.479 --> 00:12:16.879 And I think our sinful hearts are the same thing. 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:25.399 We tell ourselves what we want to hear over and over and over again if we're in isolation. 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:29.360 We convince ourselves we are right. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:32.079 We convince ourselves we've done the right thing. 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:37.159 But if you're in community, you're lovingly exposed. 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:39.459 Your thinking is exposed. 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:41.079 What you do is exposed. 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:42.639 And that is a great thing. 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:43.860 Not something to run away from. 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:46.600 That accountability is so good. 00:12:48.040 --> 00:12:55.500 To be affirmed in what is good and also to be corrected to more Christ-likeness. 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:59.019 It's the way we grow. 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:08.580 And we desperately need each other because we're always on the move. 00:13:08.899 --> 00:13:11.000 Either closer to God or away from him. 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:11.740 Every moment. 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:14.539 I'm not talking in an absolute sense. 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:17.919 Like you can totally cut yourself off from Christ. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:20.899 I'm talking in a relational sense. 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:24.879 In a each moment obedience sense. 00:13:25.839 --> 00:13:30.279 We're either moving closer to God in trust and obedience or turning away from him. 00:13:32.959 --> 00:13:34.479 So let me illustrate this. 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:39.740 I think C.S. Lewis in his book The Screwtape Letters gets this across really well. 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:44.919 So to understand this quote, you need to understand the premise of the book. 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:53.059 So there's a senior devil called Screwtape. 00:13:53.479 --> 00:14:03.199 And he's instructing a junior devil on how to work in the mind of a human to make them turn away from the enemy. 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:04.360 And the enemy is God. 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.139 So it's a really interesting take. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:08.279 It's an interesting read. 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:11.740 But let me read this part from chapter 19. 00:14:11.740 --> 00:14:23.419 You complain that my last letter does not make it clear whether I regard being in love as a desirable state for a human or not. 00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:28.639 But really, Wormwood, that is the sort of question one expects them to ask. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:41.460 Leave them to discuss whether love or patriotism or celibacy or candles on altars or teetotalism or education are good or bad. 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:42.980 Can't you see there's no answer? 00:14:42.980 --> 00:15:00.860 Nothing matters at all except the tendency of a given state of mind in given circumstances to move a particular patient at a particular moment nearer to the enemy or nearer to us. 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:03.940 End quote. 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:08.880 I think that gets it across well. 00:15:09.060 --> 00:15:10.820 Is it good to buy a house or not? 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:12.900 That's not the point. 00:15:14.260 --> 00:15:16.680 Will it be an expression of drawing near to God? 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:19.700 A place from which you can produce love and good works? 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:24.200 Or will buying a house be a place where you have your slice of heaven now? 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:26.600 This is my security and comfort for me. 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:33.440 Do you see the difference moving closer to God or further away? 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:40.279 Either growing in love and good works or pursuing our own interests. 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:42.680 We're always on the move in every situation. 00:15:44.920 --> 00:15:55.519 So I think what it means to love someone then is to help a person draw closer to Christ in each moment of their lives. 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:58.440 As you have opportunity, obviously. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.879 I think this raises the question, who decides what is loving? 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:08.240 Is it the person who's offering the love? 00:16:09.040 --> 00:16:11.120 Do they decide what is actually loving? 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:18.060 I think we can all think of times when someone thought they were helping and they just weren't. 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:21.680 They thought they were being loving but they just really weren't. 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:22.679 We can't do that. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:34.799 Our society is adamant at the moment that each individual decides what they receive whether it's loving or not. 00:16:34.939 --> 00:16:39.099 So it doesn't matter anymore the intention behind someone's words. 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:41.000 it just matters how I receive them. 00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:49.320 In a TV show called Community, it's a bit of a silly show, 00:16:49.560 --> 00:16:53.120 but in a recent episode there's a guy who falls in love with a robot. 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:57.220 I told you it's silly, but you'll see why I'm raising this. 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:02.519 And a character on the show called Annie, she comes to this guy's defence 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:06.880 and in the show the camera zooms in on her, 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:08.940 the music goes quiet. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.600 To get this point across, this is going to be a profound point. 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:16.300 She says this to defend the guy. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:24.340 We have to respect each other enough to let each other want what we want, 00:17:25.260 --> 00:17:32.580 no matter how transparently self-destructive or empty our desires may be. 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:37.819 That was the profound point. 00:17:39.939 --> 00:17:43.579 I think that's our world's definition of love at the moment. 00:17:45.419 --> 00:17:46.759 Isn't it crazy? 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:52.619 To just let someone self-destruct. 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:55.839 How is that love? 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:01.319 I don't think it's the giver who decides what love is. 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:04.500 I don't think it's even the receiver who decides what love is. 00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:06.220 I think God alone decides. 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:11.339 And he's demonstrated it once and for all, 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:14.539 most powerfully on the cross. 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:19.240 What was Christ's goal in going to the cross? 00:18:19.959 --> 00:18:22.139 It was to bring us to God. 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:26.759 I think that's the goal of love. 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:31.819 To help someone come closer to God. 00:18:32.959 --> 00:18:36.019 Deeper and deeper in faith in him. 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:38.059 Trusting him more. 00:18:38.379 --> 00:18:39.660 Following him more. 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:42.420 Loving like Christ has loved. 00:18:47.379 --> 00:18:50.180 Let me give you an example of how I think we can do that, 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:53.420 even with practical acts of service for one another. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:00.220 So when Em and I received meals from our Bible study group, 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:07.100 those meals really helped us carry the burden of those first few weeks of parenting. 00:19:09.660 --> 00:19:12.779 But I think it did more than fill our bellies. 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:17.740 And did more than mean we didn't have to go to the shops for a few weeks. 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:19.759 It did more than that. 00:19:20.360 --> 00:19:25.160 It was an expression of God providing for us through their help. 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:29.500 And I think it even did something more than that. 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:35.980 I think it helped reinforce our thankfulness to God for his grace 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:39.700 in bringing us into his people, into his community. 00:19:41.360 --> 00:19:42.460 Just with a meal. 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:44.259 Pretty simple thing. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:49.079 But it can help move someone closer to God. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:53.640 You can't guarantee how someone receives it, 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:57.860 but you can have that goal, that intention behind what you do. 00:19:57.859 --> 00:20:03.459 What we do and what we say, by God's grace, 00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:06.579 has power to urge someone to draw closer to Christ. 00:20:10.179 --> 00:20:12.479 But it's not one size fits all. 00:20:13.179 --> 00:20:15.759 We're told here to consider how. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:19.959 Consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds. 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:25.559 Now we're all experts when having heated arguments 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.240 to consider carefully. 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:30.920 What words can I say in this moment 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:34.660 to just hit that person in the sorest spot 00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:38.420 that's just going to cut them deep and knock them flat? 00:20:38.600 --> 00:20:41.860 We are so good at choosing words to cut deep, aren't we? 00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:45.619 I think we're all good at it. 00:20:50.179 --> 00:20:53.299 Imagine if we used that ability to consider, 00:20:54.179 --> 00:20:56.219 not to destroy but to build up. 00:20:56.220 --> 00:21:02.579 What does that person need in this moment? 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:08.100 Encouragement is not just positive words. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:10.980 Certainly positive words, it includes that, absolutely. 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:15.160 But true encouragement, building up, 00:21:15.360 --> 00:21:17.299 requires understanding a person, 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:19.380 understanding their situation, 00:21:19.600 --> 00:21:21.059 putting ourselves in their shoes, 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:23.079 even understanding their sin, 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:24.559 and then asking yourself, 00:21:24.879 --> 00:21:27.960 what do they need to trust Christ more in this situation? 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:31.960 What do they need to love like him in this situation? 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:33.279 What would that look like? 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:40.139 We've got to consider how to stir each other up. 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:48.579 I asked Emma the other day for her perspective 00:21:48.579 --> 00:21:49.939 on something I said to someone 00:21:49.939 --> 00:21:52.079 and I asked her, did I say the wrong thing? 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:55.500 And I was just really hoping that she would reassure me 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:56.619 that I didn't do anything wrong 00:21:56.619 --> 00:21:58.859 and I could get on with the rest of my day. 00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:02.559 Now, she could have thought in that moment, 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:05.279 the way to encourage David is to make him feel good. 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:08.460 So I'm going to say, no, no, it was fine what he said. 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:12.460 Unfortunately, she chose to actually encourage me 00:22:12.460 --> 00:22:16.199 and she told me where I got it wrong 00:22:16.199 --> 00:22:18.079 and it was really annoying. 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:26.059 But by doing that, it made me look to Christ for forgiveness. 00:22:26.939 --> 00:22:30.039 It made me consider, do I need to apologise to that person? 00:22:30.639 --> 00:22:35.039 It made me, hopefully, wiser for the next time. 00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:43.740 True encouragement points us to Christ. 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:49.700 God is the one who grows us, but he uses our words. 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:54.279 He uses our acts of service to bring others closer to him. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:58.460 And isn't that just an incredible privilege to be part of that? 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:03.299 That brother or sister is going to make it to the end, 00:23:04.120 --> 00:23:06.980 partly because God used you and your encouragement for it. 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:09.200 They're going to become more like Christ, 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:13.759 producing more fruit in obedience to God, partly through you. 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:15.559 That's an incredible privilege. 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:23.079 So let's be a church that carefully considers how to stir one another up. 00:23:24.360 --> 00:23:28.960 And especially because the day is drawing near. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:34.220 This brings some extra motivation, I think. 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:40.460 The day would be familiar to those with the Old Testament. 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:44.700 It refers to the promised time when Christ returns, 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:51.400 when the present experience of our sinful society will come to an abrupt end, 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:53.860 when God calls each person to account, 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:57.680 judging his enemies, delivering his people. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:03.180 It's the day when he'll bring into the full experience 00:24:03.180 --> 00:24:06.400 all his promises of heaven on earth. 00:24:06.940 --> 00:24:07.980 It's a big concept. 00:24:09.660 --> 00:24:11.600 So judgment ends salvation. 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:16.700 Have a listen to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.340 just to feel the weight of this day. 00:24:22.120 --> 00:24:23.299 1 Thessalonians 5. 00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:26.400 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.180 will come like a thief in the night, 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:31.220 while people are saying there is peace and security, 00:24:31.840 --> 00:24:36.100 then sudden destruction will come upon them as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.820 and they will not escape. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:41.299 But you are not in darkness, brothers, 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:44.160 for that day to surprise you like a thief. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:47.180 For you are all children of light, 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:49.220 children of the day. 00:24:49.360 --> 00:24:52.420 We are not of the night or of the darkness. 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:55.400 But since we belong to the day, 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:56.720 let us be sober, 00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:00.880 having put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet, 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:02.300 the hope of salvation. 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:05.360 For God has not destined us for wrath, 00:25:06.100 --> 00:25:09.420 but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:25:09.580 --> 00:25:12.360 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.580 we might live with him. 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:14.240 Therefore, 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:16.940 encourage one another and build one another up, 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:18.900 just as you are doing. 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:21.840 Each person, 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:24.320 every person you interact with, 00:25:24.620 --> 00:25:30.039 is taking each step of their lives on the very threshold of eternity. 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:36.920 Our need for encouragement is urgent. 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:42.139 It has an eternal impact. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:50.740 And I think this means we shouldn't evaluate how someone is doing based off external measures 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:55.740 like their wealth and their health and their employment and their marital status. 00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:57.960 We've got to look deeper than that. 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:00.799 With the eyes of eternity. 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:02.759 How is their heart? 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:05.019 Are they close to Christ? 00:26:06.120 --> 00:26:07.420 How can they get closer? 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:18.720 And we should see the cost and the mess in light of the day. 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:25.920 The loss of respect from family and friends and workmates, 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.440 being the target of jokes and intentional exclusion, 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:31.500 all the other costs. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:32.860 In light of the day, 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.240 we can say along with the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5, 00:26:36.980 --> 00:26:37.880 this light, 00:26:39.120 --> 00:26:44.680 momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:46.680 Beyond all comparison. 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:47.180 Beyond all comparison. 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:51.180 As we look not to the things that are seen, 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:52.740 but the things that are unseen. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:55.600 For the things that are seen are transient. 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.440 But the things that are unseen are eternal. 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:04.059 The cost hurts, 00:27:04.820 --> 00:27:07.460 but it's light and momentary. 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:09.860 It's not worth comparing to what's coming. 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.440 God's actually using that pain to prepare us 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:17.200 for that weight of glory that's coming. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:24.100 And is the remaining sin and mess in the church 00:27:24.100 --> 00:27:25.539 reason to give up on the church? 00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:28.840 Or is it reason to press closer into one another 00:27:28.840 --> 00:27:31.960 so that we can encourage and stir one another up? 00:27:34.900 --> 00:27:37.920 If you get close to sinful Christians in this community, 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:40.660 you're going to get burnt every now and then. 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:42.920 And you're going to burn others. 00:27:43.580 --> 00:27:46.600 It's going to happen if we do community right. 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:52.940 But that's where we can offer that forgiveness. 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:56.620 That's where we grow in our character. 00:27:59.100 --> 00:28:01.240 We aren't a finished product yet. 00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:02.740 There's more work to do. 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:08.720 I grow in patience when I'm surrounded by someone 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:10.080 who annoys me and frustrates me. 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:11.000 We need each other. 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:14.360 This is the context of growing in character. 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:17.359 There's a... 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:18.359 There's a... 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:20.619 I'm not saying you annoy me, by the way. 00:28:20.719 --> 00:28:22.219 I just realised the implication. 00:28:24.159 --> 00:28:27.059 There's a music lyric I like. 00:28:27.339 --> 00:28:28.959 I can't find who said it. 00:28:29.679 --> 00:28:30.619 But he said, 00:28:30.619 --> 00:28:34.319 the church isn't a museum for good people. 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:38.439 The church, it's a hospital for the broken. 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:42.759 If you look for a museum, 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:45.119 you're going to be completely disillusioned. 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:47.059 If you look for a hospital, 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:49.159 there is so much work to do. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:50.039 Let's get cracking. 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:55.700 I need you. 00:28:56.500 --> 00:28:57.480 You need me. 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:02.240 I need you to express that forgiveness of God in Christ. 00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:04.920 I need you to keep stirring me up 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:07.259 to follow him. 00:29:08.339 --> 00:29:09.659 In light of the day 00:29:09.659 --> 00:29:11.940 that is coming, 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:16.420 we are on the threshold of eternity 00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:17.960 each step we take. 00:29:19.100 --> 00:29:21.039 It means the pain is temporary. 00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:24.279 The consequences for people is eternal. 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:25.759 The need is urgent. 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:28.779 The final holiness of Christ's community 00:29:28.779 --> 00:29:30.140 is guaranteed. 00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:31.039 It's coming. 00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:34.140 Our efforts are worth it. 00:29:34.140 --> 00:29:40.860 So let me finish by asking this last question. 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:42.940 Is it down to our ability 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:44.160 and our power 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:45.280 and our wisdom 00:29:45.280 --> 00:29:47.020 to build each other up? 00:29:47.620 --> 00:29:49.020 Thankfully, not. 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:53.259 Our faltering hit and miss efforts 00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:54.440 are used by God 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:56.440 to do the internal heart work 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:57.840 that only he can do. 00:29:59.360 --> 00:30:01.720 Even if someone doesn't have good intentions, 00:30:02.580 --> 00:30:03.740 God can still use it. 00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:05.120 For good. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:10.240 Just as we've heard these four weeks 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:11.400 in Hebrews 10, 00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:15.200 it isn't by our religious efforts 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:16.200 that we are made clean 00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:17.240 to come near to God, 00:30:17.840 --> 00:30:20.980 but by Christ's once-for-all sacrifice. 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:24.840 It is by his death and resurrection 00:30:24.840 --> 00:30:26.620 that we can have confidence 00:30:26.620 --> 00:30:27.680 to enter God's presence. 00:30:28.060 --> 00:30:29.640 It's by his death and resurrection 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:31.940 that our hope for the future is certain. 00:30:31.940 --> 00:30:35.380 So too, it's his death and resurrection 00:30:35.380 --> 00:30:37.460 that we're given grace 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:41.080 right now in the present moment 00:30:41.080 --> 00:30:44.320 to grow and become more like our saviour. 00:30:45.580 --> 00:30:48.080 It's God's grace from start to finish. 00:30:49.240 --> 00:30:52.160 That's how Hebrews finishes the letter 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:54.120 in chapter 13, 20 to 21. 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:57.139 So I'm going to finish by reading these verses. 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:02.399 This is where the power comes to change. 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:09.180 Now may the God of peace, 00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:12.820 who brought again from the dead 00:31:12.820 --> 00:31:14.759 our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:31:15.560 --> 00:31:17.740 the great shepherd of the sheep, 00:31:18.740 --> 00:31:21.500 by the blood of the eternal covenant, 00:31:22.800 --> 00:31:25.240 equip you with everything good 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:27.620 that you may do his will, 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:30.259 working in us 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:34.079 that which is pleasing in your sight 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:36.720 through Jesus Christ 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:38.779 to whom 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:40.440 be glory 00:31:40.440 --> 00:31:42.019 forever and ever. 00:31:42.539 --> 00:31:42.859 Amen. 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:46.980 Will you pray with me as I finish? 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:57.920 Father, we thank you for your grace 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.500 from start to finish. 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:03.440 Thank you that it doesn't come down 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:04.120 to our efforts, 00:32:04.339 --> 00:32:06.360 but the finished work of our Lord. 00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:10.519 Lord, thank you for bringing us 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:12.059 into your community. 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:16.039 Thank you that you haven't left us 00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:17.319 in our sinfulness, 00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:18.579 but you've brought us 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:21.359 close to you 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:23.059 and therefore close to one another, 00:32:23.220 --> 00:32:25.159 members of your family. 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.680 Father, please help us 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:30.680 to see ourselves this way, 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.859 to see the church 00:32:31.859 --> 00:32:33.619 and brothers and sisters this way, 00:32:34.539 --> 00:32:36.720 that we are gathered around Christ 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:38.819 and we will be perfected one day 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:40.500 because you promise it. 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:43.700 And Father, please help us 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:45.879 to not look to our own 00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:46.200 interests, 00:32:46.300 --> 00:32:47.560 but to the interests of others 00:32:47.560 --> 00:32:49.820 to have that mind of Christ 00:32:49.820 --> 00:32:51.020 who lowered himself 00:32:51.020 --> 00:32:55.360 even to the point of death 00:32:55.360 --> 00:32:58.340 for our sake. 00:32:58.900 --> 00:32:59.840 Give us this mind 00:32:59.840 --> 00:33:00.680 in this church. 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:03.660 In Jesus' name. 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:04.140 Amen.