He says, so all this authority has been given to me, so go and make disciples.
And defines what that looks like for us.
To all peoples, baptizing them in the truth of the Trinity, teaching them to observe all that he's commanded.
And then he ties it up again with the promise.
And behold, I am with you always.
That I will bring to pass all of these things by my work in you and by you.
This should be enough.
I feel that I should be able to just simply read this to you.
And that the people of God should go, amen, and get busy.
But I fear there is more necessary.
And I know that there are no doctrines that very readily stay alive in our minds unless they're fed.
And so we need to be feeding them and we need to be about this work.
So what is the God-ordained institution meant to accomplish this?
To continue to remind us of the way in which we should be living.
It's the church.
He has given us this organization by which we are meant to fulfill the Great Commission.
Peter writes in 1 Peter 3, 9 and 10,
This is the great high calling for us as the church and as a church, as part of that.
That we have been given a mission in this world.
And there are ways in which we go about fulfilling that mission, which includes our meeting together.
But to that great end that we might see the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed amongst the people of the world.
I hope that that's something that excites your heart.
That you have such a degree of love and adoration for Him.
That you want His praises to be sung.
That you want more and more people to experience the transforming power of the gospel.
That they might forever tell of how great their God is.
Is He not great and worthy to be praised?
Should we not invite people into that?
That He might be praised in higher and higher degree.
And so the church is the methodology by which we press at each other.
That we move each other into that kind of living.
And that we remain in that place together.
And I will tell you that the study of the church in the scriptures is one of my favorite studies.
As a church leader, likely.
It's called ecclesiology, if any of you care at all.
The theology, so to speak, of the church.
Literally, ecclesiology means church knowledge or church logic, which I particularly prefer.
Rather than asking, as we look at the scriptures, what is the church?
What we need to be asking is, who is the church?
And the place that we need to be going to ask this very question is the scripture themselves.
We believe as a church in a doctrine called the sufficiency of scripture.
And that is that God has given to us all things necessary for holy living.
It is here in the Holy Bible.
This is why it's called this.
That we don't need anything out and beyond it.
Which isn't to say we shouldn't read a good book, but only insofar as the good book points us back to the scriptures.
We don't need to add a bunch of methodology to the methodology in the scriptures.
God has given us everything that we need.
God, when he had the scriptures penned by the Holy Spirit, didn't not know what was going to happen in the 21st century.
He didn't go, what? Simulcasts?
I had no idea that was a possibility.
He knew.
God is the church.
This is a vastly misunderstood topic in our day and time.
Wrongly, many people look at the Greek word ekklesia, which simply means gathering, and understand it to mean a gathering, an event, so to speak.
One evangelical writer put it this way.
For the modern evangelical, worship is defined exclusively by the individual's experience.
Worship, then, is not about adoring God, but by about being nourished with religious feelings.
So much so that the worshiper has become the object of worship.
Sunday worship is to be centered on my needs and desires.
I am at the center.
My needs are paramount.
Meet them or I will go to church elsewhere.
A large local church in our area advertises their multiple services in this way.
At 930, you have a traditional blend of praise and worship.
At 11, an inspiring and vibrant contemporary worship experience.
And at 11, I guess at the same time, on the same campus, contemporary acoustic worship.
Right?
Meeting all of the needs and all of the desires of the individual coming, who says they're coming to adore God.
But it has seemed that the object of worship has been turned around on the individual, the congregant, rather than the God that the congregation comes to worship.
What distinguishes the church from any other social club?
There are some things.
But it would seem in many churches, you simply have to show up and pay your dues and don't do anything that would embarrass the club.
Just be sure that you don't get out there and make the club look bad.
This is very consumption driven.
We live in such a consumer society and that is exactly what happens in most churches and in ours.
We don't need consumption.
In fact, I would say that if you are a consumer Christian, you have much to consider.
Much to consider.
What we need, rather, is participation.
We so often think of our churches as businesses.
This is evidenced in the way we talk.
Out of the outflow of our hearts, our mouths speak, beloved.
This is a truth that we cannot avoid in the scriptures.
We say things like, where do you attend church?
We ought to be asking questions like, who do you fellowship with?
We think of a church as a name, a building, a pastor, and a collection of programs.
A website.
Such a wrong way to think about church.
Church.
Now, I've got the whiteboard back from last week.
I'm going to draw you a picture.
I think this is the way most people consider what church looks like.
This is going to be my very rudimentary Jesus.
Church, then, is structured like this.
It's a triangle.
This is how every business that we're aware of is structured.
Someone at the top and a structure that plays out below this.
Good for business.
I applaud this for business, but this is not meant to be the structure of the church.
We, as a more biblical, in many ways, church, we've tried to take the tip of the pyramid off.
And biblically, we have a group of elders who give leadership to this.
But culturally, many of you put the pyramid back on the top.
Right?
That this is the structure.
Information is disseminated from the top.
Right?
So, I'm somehow holier than you.
I have some special granted access to Jesus.
You'll hear us talk a lot in terms of vision, church leaders will talk about.
And I think all that a church leader is really trying to say is,
there's a place I think we should go.
I could say these couple of weeks we're taking off from Mark is about vision casting.
Right?
But it's not that God has come to me and given me some kind of a dream that we're driving toward.
Right?
And I think a lot of people think in those terms,
this guy gets up and he says he has a vision.
He must be hanging out with Jesus.
We should do whatever he says.
The altar call presses at this type of thing.
People to think that they have to get up and go down to the quote unquote altar.
Didn't Jesus do away with sacrifice and that type of a system?
Somehow we built some stage out of wood and carpet and it's become a holy place.
And there's a man who's going to stand between you and God.
God, this is not healthy.
This is not the way the church should function.
But the congregants do this too.
Right?
Sitting and consuming.
Giving, paying, saying, put together programs, put together ministry.
Do things where I can plug in.
And we will expect you as the trained professional to reach people.
This is a shame.
And you know why?
Because all of you have the Spirit of God.
All of you are some expression of God's great work in the world.
You are necessary in the kingdom.
A man named Mark Dever, some of you may be familiar with.
A pastor of First Baptist Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
wrote a rather wonderful book called Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.
I would commend it to you if you'd like to read it.
Let me just read to you the way he begins.
Chapter 1.
And this, for him, was the beginning of a sermon series which became this book.
And this is how he actually started out the sermon.
Now, I want you to hear, he's going to say some things that have no application to our building at all.
I think their building is much nicer than ours.
Probably their program is a little bit nicer than ours.
But still get the flavor of what he's saying here.
So he gets up on a Sunday morning and he says,
So, how's it going?
Did you get enough sleep last night?
Did you have trouble finding a good parking place this morning?
Were the doors clearly marked?
Did the people welcome you as you came in?
Did the building seem nice and neat?
I wonder, did the church's name make it more difficult for you to decide to come in?
Or maybe that was part of the reason why you decided to come in.
And when you did come in, were the people friendly and welcoming?
Any trouble dropping the kids off?
Not a problem here, is it?
And what do you think about the stained glass?
I know I have the best view of it, but it's really pretty, isn't it?
Then again, maybe it's a little too traditional for you.
Are the pews comfortable?
Do you have a good view of all the activities from where you are sitting?
Can you see clearly?
Can you hear okay?
Is it warm enough for you right now?
Do you feel pretty comfortable?
And how about the bulletin?
Nice, clear, simple, pretty straightforward, wouldn't you say?
Not too complicated.
Maybe a little too staid.
Did you notice all the announcements in it?
And did you see all the programs listed in the church card?
There are a lot of them, aren't there?
Probably more than you've ever read.
Of course, it's easy to read, but I guess the print is kind of small, isn't it?
And there aren't any pictures.
I mean, it's so type-heavy.
That probably tells you a lot about the church, doesn't it?
You think this is probably the kind of church where they'd rather have thousands of words than pictures, right?
What about the people sitting around you?
Are they the kind you like to go to church with?
Yeah, I know you're too nervous to look around you right now, but you know who they are.
What do you think?
Are they the right age?
Are they the right race?
Are they the right social class?
Are they just like you?
And what about the service so far?
I mean, was it too difficult switching between the two hymnals?
You know, most churches just use one, and here you have to use two.
You've got to go to the green one, and then sometimes the beige one.
Had the leader seemed informed, yet not know-it-all-ish?
Competent, yet not overbearing?
There weren't too many announcements in the service were there.
I don't think so this morning.
Have the prayers been involving?
Have they engaged your heart and mind?
I'll skip.
There's two more pages.
The preacher does have a very difficult job, doesn't he?
The preacher has to be someone that you feel you can relate to and talk with
and let your hair down with or trust in some measure.
But he needs to seem holy, too, but not too holy.
You know, he needs to be knowledgeable, but not too knowledgeable.
He needs to be confident, but not too confident.
He needs to be compassionate, but not too compassionate.
And his sermon?
Well, his sermon needs to be good enough, relevant enough,
entertaining and engaging enough.
And certainly, short enough.
And he goes on for a whole other page beyond that,
listing off all of these criteria by which people shop churches.
The very fact that we tend to call the buildings that we meet in churches
says so much about our misunderstanding about what church is.
Out of the outflow of the heart,
every time you call this building the church,
it says something about what you think about church.
It reduces it.
It reduces it to a place and programs,
rather than being a people.
It's confusing to me.
When somebody says,
I'm going to drop something off at the church,
I say, how is that possible?
Our people live all over the place.
Who specifically are you talking about?
But it's become the cultural norm that we speak in this way.
In fact, we had called this building,
not the church,
but the meeting house,
is what we were trying to call it,
get to stick in those days,
for years.
And yet I found myself still calling other church buildings churches.
Which says something about what I thought about every other church in our region.
I had to adjust my heart concerning that,
to think of those as people groups gathering in a place under a name,
but as people, as eternal beings,
things that will last forever,
versus all of this which is going to turn to dust.
Not a single bit.
The name Christ Family Church,
our website,
our signs are already turning to dust.
This building,
it's all passing away.
But you guys are eternal.
You have eternal souls,
and we are the church.
If you have a bulletin,
I hope everybody got one today.
You'll notice on the front of it,
it says this every single week.
We try to do it in our speaking as well,
but it says,
Welcome to 60 South,
the meeting place of Christ Family Church.
We've just coined a name for the property,
so we could call it something,
because meeting house was taking too much time to get out.
It's what the Puritans used to call their places of gathering.
So we call it 60 South.
If you don't like it,
take it up with Wes.
He came up with the name.
I didn't care,
so we started calling it that.
We're located on the side of 60 South,
so there you have it.
This is just where we gather.
It's not who we are, praise God.
This building doesn't define us.
It ought not, anyway.
This is an improper way of thinking about church.
The better way,
the better way to understand that the term ecclesia
is the gathered ones.
Not that church is an event,
but rather a people centered on the event,
namely Christ redeeming his people,
his life, his death, and his resurrection.
That this is what we are gathered around as a people.
Ecclesia, the gathered ones.
Now the church is both invisible and visible.
We can see,
there's some things we can tangibly touch about the church.
We see churches in function in our world today,
but it's also invisible,
which is the way that God sees it,
which would be all true believers for all time.
The scriptures speak of the church in this manner
rather regularly.
The church is both universal and it's local.
The scriptures once again do this.
The church is universal.
All believers alive today,
right now are the church,
capital C.
But the more regular expression of church
that we see in the scriptures
is the local form that's most mentioned.
And that's what we would be considered.
We're a local church.
And just for your sake
and for your future study,
I've been kind of working on a definition
of the local church.
Actually, let me say this is a working definition,
but I put it in the notes section of your bulletin
and it goes like this.
The local church
is a community of regenerate disciples of Jesus Christ,
believers,
true believers of Jesus Christ,
organized under qualified leadership
who gather regularly
to grow in the knowledge of God,
to be equipped for every good work,
and to observe the biblical sacraments
of baptism and the Lord's Supper
to the end
that the Great Commission is fulfilled.
This, I think,
is a pretty good biblical definition
of what the local church is.
It distinguishes it
rather from
a Bible study you might participate in.
Right?
If you can't meet all these criteria,
then it's not a church.
It's not an expression of that word,
ecclesia.
It may even distinguish it
from some of the things
that are called church in our area
that are really much more like
large weekly conferences.
There's a place and a time for that,
but I think that we must rightly understand
what church should regularly look like
in our lives
if we care at all,
and we should,
about the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
All right, let's land on our text for today.
The major part of our text, anyway.
Hebrews chapter 10.
Just as a little
bibliology for you.
The way your Bible is organized
is not in chronological order.
But you have
Paul's epistles
with the pastoral epistles
being at the end.
Then the book of Hebrews.
We're not exactly sure
who wrote Hebrews,
although many people
believe it was Paul.
Here it's placed at the end
of the Pauline epistles
because maybe,
but maybe not.
But then beyond that,
you have the other writers.
So Peter, John, etc.
And so you know
you can separate it out that way.
Help you find
the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10, verses 19-25.
Therefore, brothers,
since we have confidence
to enter the holy places
by the blood of Jesus,
by the new and living way
that He opened for us
through the curtain,
that is,
through His flesh,
and since we have a great priest
over the house of God,
let us draw near
with a true heart
in full assurance of faith,
with our hearts
sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed
with pure water.
Let us hold fast
the confession
of our hope
without wavering,
for He who promised
is faithful.
And let us consider
how to stir up
one another
to love and good works,
not neglecting
to meet together
as is the habit of some,
but encouraging
one another
and all the more
as they see the day
drawing near.
Now, what I want us
to primarily draw
out of this text
this morning
is the corporate nature
of God's people.
If you look at the very beginning
of verse 22,
the writer of Hebrews says,
let us draw near.
And this is a single Greek word,
proserkamai.
It's plural,
present tense,
active voice,
subjective mood,
which means it's contingent
on something.
And so to draw out that,
let us draw near
at greater length,
it could be said,
let us continually draw near
because we can in Christ.
Because of what Christ
has accomplished
on our behalf,
one of the blessings,
one of the outworkings
of that is that
we get to gather together.
We get to draw near to God
together as a community
of faith.
As Kyle says so regularly
and I love,
as a faith family together.
Notice that's what
those first three verses
are about,
19, 20, and 21,
the accomplished work
of Christ.
So we get to draw together
and look at the rest
of the plural pronouns
in verse 19,
since we have confidence.
Verse 20,
that he opened for us.
Verse 21,
since we have a great priest.
Verse 22,
once again,
let us,
our hearts,
our bodies.
Verse 23,
let us hold fast
the confession of our hope.
Verse 24,
let us consider.
So we are to draw close together
in celebration and worship of God,
holding fast the confession
of our hope without wavering.
This is the doctrinal part
of our learning together,
holding true the gospel doctrines,
stirring up one another,
encouraging one another,
pressing at one another
to love and good works,
and all the more,
as we see the day drawing near.
This is meant to be the activity
of the church,
right?
That we are firmly planted,
our feet are firmly planted
in doctrinal truth,
and we press at each other
for the going,
the loving,
and the doing of good works.
Any expression of Christianity
devoid of the church
is foreign
to the pages of Scripture.
It does not exist.
Just think about
the biblical metaphors
for the church.
The church is called
a body made up of parts,
a household
made up of family members,
a temple
made up of living stones.
Apart from them,
the individual
makes no sense.
They were created
to exist together.
These are all pictures
of life together.
Now, even biblical analogies
tend to fall short, right?
Certainly your body
can function without part of it.
Some parts are more vital
than others.
But you will in some degree
be handicapped,
will you not?
My back seems to have
given up on me today.
I can still function
as a human being,
can I not?
Sure trying anyway.
But I'm handicapped
in some regard
because I don't have
the full function
of my back.
All the parts
are necessary
and not
for filling seats.
It's really not
that important,
you know,
that your participation,
this is for you,
this is me,
bringing a meal to you,
feeding you.
I'm glad you're here.
I want you to be fed.
I want to preach
the good news
of Jesus Christ to you.
You know,
I do the same amount
of preparation
whether it's ten of you
or however many
are here today.
It doesn't really matter.
You come and you sit.
It matters for you
but it doesn't matter
for the church.
You've got to get involved.
You have to participate.
You have to be part
of this process together.
So you ready?
So not this.
We're going to draw
an X through that version.
Let me draw Jesus again.
Boy, that crown
just got bigger.
I'm sure Jesus' crown fits.
The church rather
should look more like this
and hang with me.
Let me explain
my perspective here.
This is a circle
on its side.
Get that?
Rather than trying
to draw it from above
or make it just
this weird straight line.
A group of believers
a gathering
an ecclesia
gathered around
the event
and that is
the life, death
and resurrection
of Jesus Christ
linking arms together
certainly playing
different roles
in that process.
You look back
at my very definition
of the local church
and it includes
gathered under
qualified leadership.
But nonetheless
that we're all
part of this.
We're all linking
arms together.
we're all looking
for direction
from Christ himself.
We do that
by his word
as revealed to us
by the spirit.
This is the way
that this functions.
Right?
A priesthood
of believers
with different roles
to play
but nonetheless
that we all recognize
that we're part
of this process.
We need
one another.
I'm asserting
that you cannot
be a faithful
disciple
of Christ
apart
from the church.
Exactly what I'm
saying to you.
You cannot be
a faithful disciple
of Christ
apart
from the church.
Many Christians
merely attend
a worship service
of the church.
Many of you
merely consume
and do not
participate.
Now I know
I know
that a lot of you
are in a
transitionary part
of your life
college students
particularly.
Right?
You're only up here
nine months
out of the year
but I would just
say to you
you're up here
nine months
out of the year.
Three quarters
of your time
has spent living
in a place
called Dahlonega
home
and invest
and be involved.
Many of you
do this well
and I'm thankful
for you.
Many of you
have caught this
already
and you're coming
and doing this.
If you're just
coming
and you're just
consuming
this is what
you're up to
let me make
a suggestion
to you.
If that's all
you're doing
and that's all
you're ever
going to do
let me make
a suggestion
to you.
Sleep in
on Sunday mornings.
Get up
have a nice
leisurely
eleven o'clock
breakfast.
Go find
a beautiful
place
in these
gorgeous
mountains
to go
sit
and listen
to a better
preacher
than me
on your
iPod.
There are
better
preachers
than me.
John Piper,
John MacArthur,
Martin Lloyd-Jones,
you can get
all of his
stuff on
Ephesians,
it's phenomenal,
Arturo
Azerdia.
Just go
and consume
it.
It's out
there for
you,
floating
around.
Eat away
until you're
full.
Not argue
that there's
no better
music,
but do you
know that
Wes and Liz
have an
album out
and they're
working on
another one?
So listen
to the music.
Sing along
at the top
of your lungs
in your car
by yourself.
If that's
all you're
ever going
to do,
why?
Why come
here and
why do
this?
I'm telling you
it makes
no sense
to me.
Why do
we gather
in this
way?
Because we're
a people,
a community
drawn together.
Because we
need to be
with people
who know
us,
who know
what we
struggle
with.
We've
been finding
Sam and
I as we're
continuing to
minister how
many people
in our church
struggle with
depression.
And we've
just kind of
been wrestling
with this,
like what is
going on
in our
church?
Why are
so many
people struggling
with depression?
And it just
kind of struck
me as I've
been doing
some reading
on the matter
that it's
not just
our church,
it's our
culture.
Maybe it's
just the
human condition
in general.
People struggle
with depression.
And so I
said to Sam
just the other
day,
it's probably
a really
wonderful thing
that we're
coming to
this realization
because it
means that
people are
letting us
know them.
That they're
actually putting
down the mask,
they're letting
the veneer be
stripped away,
they're actually
coming and being
honest about the
things that are
going on in
their life.
That's a good
thing.
We need
this.
We need to
expose ourselves.
It's the healthiest
thing that can
happen for my
Christian walk,
is that I say
to a group of
believers,
I'm failing.
Let me tell you
how I'm failing.
I need your
prayers and I
need your
support.
There are
burdens in my
life I cannot
bear on my
own.
We need
one another.
You need a
pastor who's
paying attention
to the ebbs and
flows to which
way the wind is
blowing in the
congregation so
that he can take
a text and not
only tell you
what it means
generally, but
tell you what it
means specifically.
John Piper and
all the other
guys that I
listed for you
can't do that.
They don't
know you.
A great old
adage is that a
shepherd should
smell like a
sheep.
I agree.
We can all be
stinky together.
Can we?
We are meant to
be an army,
not an audience.
There's a time
for this.
But we're meant
to be mobilized
as an army on
a mission.
And let me
remind you what
that means.
The kind of
nagging,
haunting words
of Jesus from
Mark 8,
verse 34.
I shared with
you last week
where Jesus
says,
if anyone
would come
after me,
let him deny
himself and
take up his
cross and
follow me.
Let him put
aside his
dreams and his
goals.
Let him instead
take up my
dreams and my
goals, which is
going to be
hard and it's
going to mean
death for them
and let him
follow me.
And at the
end of Mark,
he says,
again, this is a
re-declaration of
the Great
Commission, Mark
16, 15, and
16.
Go into all the
world and
proclaim the
gospel to the
whole creation.
Whoever believes
and is baptized
will be saved,
but whoever does
not believe will
be condemned.
And again, when
he appears to
the disciples in
Acts 1, 8, he
says, you will
see power when
the Holy Spirit
has come upon
you and you
will be my
witnesses in
Jerusalem and
in all Judea
and Samaria
and to the
ends of the
earth in these
ever-increasing
spheres of
influence, these
circles radiating
out from the
place that they
were, Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria,
and to the end
of the earth.
And we see this
begin happening
just a few
chapters later
as we see
Peter's great
sermon and many
thousands come
to faith in
Christ.
And then in
Acts 5, 40
through 42,
after the
apostles are
taken to
trial and
they're then
let go,
they're told
not to speak
in the name of
Jesus anymore,
Acts 5,
verse 40,
and when they
had called
in the
apostles,
they beat
them and
charged them
not to speak
in the name
of Jesus
and let
them go.
Now just
pause for a
moment and
consider yourself
in that
situation.
Somebody beats
you, a
court beats
you and
tells you not
to speak in
the name of
Jesus anymore,
but they
respond in
such a
peculiar way,
right, in
such a
taking up
their cross
and dying
kind of a
way.
Then they
left the
presence of
the council,
rejoicing that
they were
counterworthy
to suffer
dishonor for
the name.
And then
listen to what
they do,
and every
day in
the temple
and from
house to
house,
they did
not cease
teaching and
preaching that
the Christ
is Jesus.
They did the
very opposite
thing of what
they were
charged to do
because they
understood that
they were an
army with a
mission.
And they
worked both
overtly and
covertly.
They went
into the
temple itself.
This was a
public place of
gathering and
teaching,
and they
were heard
proclaiming that
Jesus is the
Christ, and
they did it as
well from
house to
house.
This is our
calling, beloved,
in Christ.
It's up on the
screen all the
time.
I think it's up
there now.
It is.
It's in your
bulletin.
I want you to
know the
vision statement
of our church.
It's important
that you know
it.
I was about a
year ago,
we were about
to have our
men's retreat
here at the
end of February.
About a year
ago,
we were
gone on our
men's retreat,
and a speaker,
which was a
good friend of
Darrell Allison's,
was there,
and we were
just talking
about vision,
and he's a
pastor of a
church,
and I was
talking about
the vision
statement of
our church,
and I told
him what it
was, and
he goes,
I really like
that.
I'm like,
yeah, we
try to put
it on stuff
a lot.
We really
try to press
that vision
at people,
and then I
won't name
the person,
not here at
all today,
or would be,
but he goes
walking by,
and I said,
hey, tell
him what our
vision statement
is, and he
went,
it starts
Christ's
family church,
exists,
and I'm
like, okay,
I guess I
have some
work to do
concerning this.
It's wordy,
I know,
it's wordy,
I know,
Christ's
family church
exists to
glorify God,
the great
high calling
of all
creation is
to glorify
God,
in what way?
By
experience and
proclaiming and
displaying the
supremacy of
Jesus Christ
in all things
to all peoples,
actually knowing
that it's true
that Jesus Christ
is supreme,
that he has
subjected all
things to
himself,
that in his
life, death,
and resurrection,
he has become
better than
everything else
in this world,
and that we
know that to
be true in
our own
experience,
the reality
in our lives,
and we
display that
in the way
that we
live,
and we
certainly
tell people
about it.
Sometimes I
wish I was
experiencing,
displaying,
and proclaiming,
because it
makes more
sense,
but it
sounds better,
experiencing,
proclaiming,
and displaying
the supremacy
of Jesus Christ
in all things
and to all
people.
So in all
things,
in the midst
of suffering,
both the good
times and the
bad in our
lives,
and to everyone,
every possible
place,
we can preach
the good news
of Jesus
Christ.
This is why
Christ Family
Church exists.
I think we
are a far cry
from accomplishing
this thing.
Who is our
Jerusalem,
our Judea,
and our
Samaria?
Certainly we
know what the
end of the
earth means.
We get all
peoples.
I think you
could argue
much about the
regional nature
of this type
of thing.
Jerusalem
could be our
Dahlonega,
and Judea
could be the
county surrounding
us, and Samaria
could be all of
Georgia.
It doesn't really
matter, though.
We're meant to
be going, is the
point.
We're meant to
start where we
are and continue
to go.
Let's just start
with this.
Last week I
shared with you
the three counties
in which we
live, and again
I know that not
all of you can
see this, Hall,
Lumpkin, Dawson
counties.
The dots here
are Gainesville,
Dahlonega,
Dawsonville.
My mind went
totally blank.
And the star,
which probably
looks like an
amoeba to you,
is where our
church building is
located, kind of
central in these
areas.
In this area
there's 232,000
people.
This is recent
census data.
It's probably
gone up since
then.
The Chattahoochee
Baptist Association,
which we're a
part of,
estimates that
80% of this
232,000 people
are unchurched.
So this is
self-reported
people who
attend church.
It doesn't
really specify
denomination.
I think that
this is a very
optimistic number
as a result of
that.
Unchurched.
But let's
use it as a
starting point,
just as a
number to
roll around
in your head,
that there
are 185,600
people in
these counties
around us
that in many
ways we
touch.
That there
are our
spheres, the
little places
that we run,
the circles that
we work and
play and sleep
in, those of
you who live
on campus.
And there are
people in that
category that are
dying and going
to hell, eternal
beings that matter
immensely.
And it's our
job to share
the gospel with
them.
God is at
work.
He wants to
save people.
And I think
that often he
delays blessing
because he wants
to bless us.
He wants us to
participate in the
blessing of the
gospel.
He wants us to
be obedient to
his call.
He wants to
see us grow up
in our faith and
actually do the
things that he's
asked us to do
that he might
pour out blessing
on us in
immense ways.
Now, what is
the primary mode
our church is
going to work
to this end?
To being a
people who are
changed, to
shift the
culture, that
our church is
different, that
we are all
actively sharing
our faith.
Certainly we
want to do that
on Sunday
mornings.
Anytime we
gather together
as a church,
we should be
doing this.
We should be
lifting high
Jesus Christ.
In my
preaching, every
sermon should
be a gospel
sermon.
Every text of
scriptures,
scriptures, just
cries out the
gospel.
A rapper once
said that all
roads in the
Bible lead to
Galgotha.
It's very true
of the scriptures.
This should be
the case for
us.
You should hear
it in everything
that I'm saying.
Certainly it should
be true in the
way in which we
sing, in the way
in which we pray
together.
Our heart should
be turned towards
Christ as we meet
together in this
setting because this
is in some degree
consumeristic.
There's only so
much interrelating
and connecting
with people you
can do before
and after the
service.
It is the
nature of what
we have.
We don't have a
big grand
foyer where you
can stand around
and drink coffee
in.
We clog up the
hall very
effectively every
Sunday morning
trying to do
that.
Don't we?
Go across the
hall.
It's better over
there.
But it's the
nature of it.
It's going to be
true of it.
So what's the
primary way we're
going to do
this?
And that's
going to be
through community
groups.
Through community
groups.
It has always
been the intention
of our community
groups to both
build community
with each other
to reach community
for that great
end.
In fact, I'll
suggest a name
change this
morning.
I may try to
work this into
more that we're
doing.
Instead of calling
them community
groups, calling
them community
outreach groups.
Because I think
that we've lost
in some sense that
vision of what
we're meant to be
doing together.
Gathering together
as a small unit of
the greater army in
order to accomplish
the great gospel end
of reaching our
communities around
us.
Community outreach
groups, this is the
activity we're meant
to be about together.
Now, we handed out,
and I don't think we
quite had enough for
everybody, which I
apologize for, but we
handed out a sheet
that has one another
verses on it.
I want you to grab
that out if you have
one.
If you don't have
one, if someone's
near you, share with
somebody who doesn't
have one.
If you don't have
one at all, it's
okay.
You're going to be
all right.
You're not going to
miss out on everything
not having this.
But we would say in
church that it's very
important that we do
the one another's of
scripture, right?
If you've been around
here for very long
at all, you've heard
me say that.
I say it in passing
quite often.
What am I talking
about?
The one another's?
It's these, all these
things, all the places
in which we're told
how to interact with
each other.
And these aren't the
only places.
Certainly there are
other instructions
given to us.
Typically it's a
repetition of many of
the things that you
read here that just
don't have the phrase
one another in it,
right?
And those are good
and valuable too.
I'm not trying to
elevate these in
any way, but a
pretty quick way we
can identify the way
we're meant to live
together is to look
at these one another
verses.
The one another
that's always being
referred to as the
people of God with
each other, right?
One person of God to
another person of God.
The way in which we're
meant to relate
together.
I've highlighted some
of them for you.
Bold faced them for
you.
John 13, 14.
If I then, your Lord
and teachers, as Jesus
talking, have washed
your feet, you also
ought to wash one
another's feet.
Not literally,
figuratively serving
in this way.
We're meant to serve
one another.
Do lowly jobs for
one another.
John 15, 12.
This is my commandment,
that you love one
another as I have
loved you.
Jesus loved us to the
point of death on the
cross.
Romans 12, 16.
Live in harmony with
one another.
Do not be haughty, but
associate with the
lowly.
Never be wise in your
own sight.
Romans 16, 16.
Greet one another with
a holy kiss.
This was a family
affection to kiss a
family member.
And the church had
begun doing this as
people were being
kicked out of their
families.
They would greet each
other as a faith
family, as Kyle always
says, and it became
known as a holy kiss.
I'm not suggesting that
we kiss one another,
but we ought to greet
each other as family.
Like, we ought to be
pulling people in the
way you should with a
family member.
All the churches of
Christ greet you.
1 Corinthians 11, 33.
So then, my brothers,
when you come together
to eat, wait for one
another.
Galatians 6, 2.
Bear one another's
burdens, and so
fulfill the law of
Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5, 11.
Therefore, encourage one
another and build one
another up, just as you
are doing.
Hebrews 3, 13.
But exhort one another
every day, as long as
it is called today, that
none of you may be
hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin.
Skip down, I'll come
back to Hebrews 10.
James 5, 16.
Therefore, confess your
sins to one another, and
pray for one another that
you may be healed.
The prayer of a
righteous person has
great power as it is
working.
This is the way we're
meant to function
together, beloved, and
you can't do it simply
showing up on a Sunday
morning, finding your
seat, getting up, and
walking back out.
For those of you who are
highly involved here, does
it bother you that you
don't know everyone's
name this morning?
It bothers me to no end.
It drives me crazy that I
don't even recognize some
of your faces.
That might be because it's
your first time here this
morning.
It may not be because you
slip in, and you hang out
in the hall for a little
while, and you sit down,
you get up, and you go,
and I never have a chance
to shake your hand and to
learn your name.
And for those of you who
know me, you know that it
takes me a couple times of
doing that to remember who
you are.
It drives me crazy.
Are you a person who
doesn't feel known?
You feel like you're
falling through the cracks?
This is not the setting to
be known in.
It's difficult to do that.
This is not too many people
to know, but we just have
to be able to take the
time to get to know you.
How do you do that?
You've got to do it in a
different setting.
You've got to do it in a
different setting.
And so all these functions,
these one another's, are
the way in which the church
lives together.
So the question for you is,
do you really love the
church?
Do you love the people of
the church, or do you love
programs and buildings and
maybe a pastor, or do you
love people?
If we love Christ, we will
love what he loves.
And Jesus loves the church.
Ephesians 5.25 says,
Christ loved the church and
he gave himself up for her.
Jesus loved the church
because Jesus purchased the
church.
Acts 20.28 says,
pay careful attention to
yourselves and to all the
flock in which the Holy
Spirit has made you
overseers, to care for the
church of God, which he,
being Christ, obtained with
his own blood.
He loves the church because
he purchased the church, and
Jesus himself identifies with
the church.
In Acts 9.4, remember Saul,
soon to be Paul's blinding
experience on the road.
Acts 9.4 says,
and Saul, falling to the
ground, he heard a voice
saying to him, Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?
If we love Christ, we're
going to love what he loves.
And this is the church.
We love the church because
it's the gospel means, it's a
picture of the gospel, it's
this expression of God's
grace.
Every one of you who is
found in Christ is so
precious because you're a
picture of the gospel at
work.
You're a picture of the
transforming power of the
gospel.
I love it.
One of my favorite things
that we do as a church is we
get testimonies for new
members, and I get to read
them, and I get to read
these wonderful stories of
God's redemptive work in the
lives of individuals.
It is a pleasure to me.
And the drive of all of this
is we're loving one another,
as we're pressing at one
another, as we're bearing one
another's burdens, is so
that, so that we will be
going.
That's not the end itself,
that all of your emotional
issues get healed, but so
that they do, so that you
can go and share the good
news of Jesus Christ, so
that the transforming power
of the work is alive in your
life, and that you can go
and bring it about in the
lives of others.
Let me read to you again
Hebrews 10, 24 and 25.
That is back on your sheet,
if you care to look.
And let us consider how to
stir up one another to love
and good works.
not neglecting to meet
together as is the habit of
some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more
as you see the day drawing
near.
So this is the drive of that
together.
You need to be involved,
involved, participating,
marching with a local
congregation.
We love to have you here, so
hear me clearly.
We are so thankful that you're
here, but it doesn't have to
be here.
We care first and foremost
about the kingdom of God.
We care so deeply about the
gospel and about our Jesus.
It's good news.
It's about Him.
And if you want to go march
with another congregation,
just go do it.
Just be marching.
Just be involved.
Engage yourself in the life of
a church.
If you're here, I hope it's
because you enjoy being here,
and I hope it's because you
want to be here for the right
reasons, and if you're not
already involved to the degree
that you should be, I would
invite you to do that very
thing.
Get more involved in the
activity of our church.
If you are not involved in a
community group, and you say
that you're part of the life of
this church, you need to be
involved in a community group.
You need to engage in that
way.
Members, let me remind you of
the covenant you signed when
you became a member of this
church.
There are seven commitments
that you made in that
covenant to this congregation.
Four of those seven have to do
with the way in which we live
with one another.
The second one, to love my
family, the church, and the
world with the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Are you giving yourself
opportunity to preach the
gospel to the church?
Because we need to hear it.
These ideas aren't staying
alive in our minds by
themselves.
We need you.
You're important.
You have an expression.
You have the spirit of God.
You have a perspective that we
need to hear.
We need to hear the gospel come
out of your mouth for the sake of
our hearts.
The third one, to promote the
edification and sanctification of
the church, the building up and the
purifying of the church, by sharing
God's work in my life and praying
for the church.
If you're only coming here on
Sunday morning, you cannot do that.
There is no way to do that
activity.
Number five, to hold myself and the
brethren to the standard of
scripture, submitting myself freely to
the discipline of the church for my
restoration and spiritual gain.
Do people know the struggles that are
going on in your life?
Are people bringing correction to you
because you're sharing with them
what's happening?
Are you hiding away?
Are you closeted off?
It's not healthy.
And then sixthly, to contribute to the
work of the church with my talents, my
time, and my finances.
There is time in your week to do this.
We're only asking two things of you.
We do many activities as a church, but
the two things we want to see you
involved with are Sunday mornings and
with a community group.
And it pains me a little bit to say
this, but I will say it because I
believe it.
If you can have to choose between one
or the other, get involved with a
community group.
Get involved with a community group.
You've got that week, students, that
there's just no way you're getting it
done.
If you do not lose something in the
week, spend some time and study.
Don't show up on Sunday morning.
I think the community groups rightly
done are going to be infinitely more
valuable for you.
There's so much more to be gained
sitting down with people, studying the
scriptures, opening up your life, being
honest.
Love to see you at both.
I think both have important places in
your life, but if you've got to choose,
I'd ask you to choose community groups.
They're that important.
We must do this.
If you're a member of this church and
you're not actively involved in a
community group, you need to be.
If you are unwilling to be, then things
are going to get uncomfortable for you
around here.
Because I'm going to bother you and
bother you and bother you until you
decide to get involved in a group.
Or you decide that you'd rather just go
someplace where consumption is okay.
You just want to go sit.
That's fine.
If you have committed to us, to this
covenant, I have a responsibility to you.
And I love you much too much to not
serve you in this way.
Wednesday night is when all of our
community groups meet right now.
Wednesday is not a holy day.
It just happens to be kind of the
middle of the week.
Sunday is not a holy day for that
matter.
It's the middle of the week, which for
most people works out really good.
We get to meet with people of God on
Sunday.
We meet with people of God again on
Wednesday.
It helps push us through.
If you're not available on a Wednesday
evening, come let me know that.
Man, we want you to be involved.
So much so that we'll try to start a
group just to meet your schedule.
You don't want to meet in the evening.
Evening times are not good for you.
I understand, man.
After dinner, my graph goes like this,
my energy level through the day.
But then when dinner hits, it goes like
this.
Once I get food in me after dinner, I'm
really wrapping it up pretty quickly.
If that's rough for you, I'm sure we
could get a group going that meets at
6 a.m.
I don't know.
There you go.
It's vital and it's important.
And here's the thing.
It's your joy.
It's your growth that's at stake here.
But the thing that bothers me, the
thing that presses at me about this, the
thing that frustrates me about this is
not so much you.
And I hope that doesn't come off as
super unloving, but it's this.
It's that I want to see this change.
And I need your help.
I can't accomplish sharing the gospel
with all 185,600 of these people, but I
think that we, through a movement of the
spirit, can.
So we have to get active and involved.
The responsibility level is much higher
with the proper diagram view of what the
church looks like.
You have a part to play.
You have a responsibility to your
spirit, those people that you work with
and are involved with.
And I think that the best way, as a
church, we can encourage that and support
and equip you for that is through
community groups.
And that's why we do them.
That's the very reason that we gather.
Not because we've invented some extra
thing.
There's a lot of trendy stuff that's going
on right now about small groups and the
debate over Sunday school.
people and they call all kinds of things
is ridiculous.
The point being that we're gathering
together in smaller groups of people who
can do so many things that we can't do in
this setting.
Those one another's of scripture.
We need to be working those things out
together for the great sake of the gospel
and our joy in it.
Let's pray together.