I'm going to talk this morning about church growth.
! Church growth.
Everyone, I would assume, wants their church to grow, right?
! I mean, we don't want to just have a little spot for us and our friends.
We want the church to grow.
We want to reach new people.
We want to reach lost people.
Okay?
But there's a lot of thoughts on church growth.
People, you know, how a church grows.
Should a church grow?
And a lot of times when you talk about church growth, people talk about,
well, you got to get, you know, a really nice building
or you got to get a really good worship team.
You got to get a really charismatic preacher
or you got to have really good childcare.
Slick marketing campaign.
You know, I don't know.
Figure out the list, right?
You got to have all these different things.
And it's a good thing to want the church to grow.
We should want the church to grow.
But we have to ask the question, how does the church grow biblically?
Like, what does the Bible say about church growth?
As we seek, as a church, been a church for a year,
as we seek to say, okay, how do we grow in a healthy way?
How do we grow according to God's way?
How do we grow according to what the scriptures say?
We have to ask that question.
What do the scriptures say?
So I'm going to look at four verses
and extrapolate five different things out of these verses
that I think are relevant to us as a church.
Okay, first one's Acts chapter 9, 31.
Acts chapter 9, 31.
It says,
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria
had peace and was being built up.
And walking in the fear of the Lord
and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Okay?
So here you see two different things
that caused the church to multiply.
Notice it doesn't say anything about the slick marketing campaign
or their new worship pastor or whatever else.
It says,
Walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort,
some versions say encouragement of the Holy Spirit,
it multiplied.
It multiplied.
You know, a lot of times we can think of
so many different things as far as it comes to church growth.
And how often do we ignore just the plain teaching of Scripture?
Just what the Scripture just lays out, right?
Here we see plainly that in Acts chapter 9,
the church was growing.
It was multiplying.
How?
They were walking in the fear of the Lord
and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Okay?
Second verse.
Acts chapter 6, a little earlier.
Acts chapter 6, verse 7.
It says,
The word of God continued to increase.
The CSB says spread.
So the word of God continued to increase or spread.
And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem,
and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Okay?
So here we see another verse talking about the church growing.
Disciples multiplying greatly.
What was going on there?
The word of God was being spread.
The word of God was increasing.
Or you could say the gospel.
Okay?
Was being spread all over the place
and increase the number of the disciples greatly.
Greatly.
Okay?
Third verse.
Ephesians 4, verse 16.
I'm going to read this one in the NIV.
It says,
From him the whole body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love
as each part does its work.
As each part does its work.
How did it grow?
How did it get built up?
Well, as each part of the church did its work.
Okay?
Seeing this?
Fourth verse.
Colossians 2, 19.
It says,
Holding fast to the head,
from whom the whole body,
nourished and knit together,
through its joints and ligaments,
grows with a growth that is from God.
Okay?
What did they do?
Colossians.
They were holding fast to the head.
And agree with the growth that is from God.
Okay?
We want a growth that is from God.
You can have artificial growth.
Or you can have growth that is from God.
All right?
Whatever you draw people with,
you have to keep them with.
Okay?
You draw them with all the slick,
shiny objects,
you got to keep them with the slick,
shiny objects.
You draw them with entertainment,
you got to keep them entertained.
Okay?
What are you drawing with?
Is God the one drawing them?
Do you want that to be on us?
That it's something,
our cleverness that draws them?
Well, then we got to keep being
more and more clever.
Or is it God himself?
The church grows with a growth that is from God.
Okay?
So you see these five things
that cause the church to grow in the Bible.
Walking in the fear of the Lord,
spreading the gospel,
each part doing its work,
walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit,
and holding fast to the head.
Okay?
I want to look at all five of them.
Because I think it's important for us
to make sure,
hey,
are we doing what the Bible says to do
when it comes to church growth?
I'm not interested in some fad.
I'm not interested in
some slick marketing campaign.
What does the Bible say
about church growth?
I want to do that.
We should want to do that.
That's important.
So the question is,
are we?
Right?
That's a fair question.
So number one,
walking in the fear of the Lord.
Acts 9.31 said,
walking in the fear of the Lord
and the comfort of the Holy Spirit,
it multiplied.
The church multiplied.
Okay,
what is the fear of the Lord?
Proverbs 8.13 says,
the fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
It says,
I hate pride and arrogance.
God says this,
right?
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
What is your attitude towards evil,
particularly sin?
The fear of the Lord says,
I hate sin.
I don't want to get close to sin.
I'm not going to play with sin.
I'm not going to mess with sin.
As a church,
we're saying,
hey,
if we're going to fear the Lord,
we have to care about holiness.
We have to make sure
I'm not even getting close to sin.
Proverbs 34,
I'm sorry,
Psalm 34,
11 to 14,
says,
come,
oh children,
listen to me
and I will teach you
the fear of the Lord.
All right?
I'm listening.
How do I learn the fear of the Lord?
What man is there
who desires life
and loves many days
that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips
from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil
and do good.
Seek peace
and pursue it.
Okay?
So often,
when it comes to the fear of the Lord,
the way we can
be flippant
and not fear the Lord
is with our lips.
Right?
With our tongue.
Being careful what we say.
All right?
And it's easy to complain
or it's easy to
just kind of,
you know,
voice our complaints
about things
or about different people
or,
you know,
and if we're a church
that fears the Lord,
none of that
can be on our lips.
We have to say,
no,
I want to learn
the fear of the Lord.
The fear of the Lord
keeps my tongue
from evil.
I'm not going to,
I'm going to be very careful
with my words.
The Proverbs 18 says,
the tongue has the power
of life and death.
Okay?
Tongue has the power
of life and death.
Remember,
it's both sides too.
It's easy to say,
oh yeah,
man,
you got to be careful
of that tongue.
Watch your tongue,
man.
You're,
you're,
that's the power of death.
Like,
yes,
you're right.
What about the other side?
What else is it?
It's the power of life.
So the fear of the Lord
says,
I want to use
this amazing tool,
not for death,
but for life.
I'm going to be careful
about my tongue.
I'm going to turn
my tongue from evil.
I'm going to hate evil.
Okay?
That same word
that was used
in Acts chapter nine
for the fear of the Lord,
it's used multiple times
in the book of Acts
and it's translated
in different ways
and then in other ways,
it just gives you
a little more context
of what it could mean.
Okay?
Acts 2.43 uses
that same Greek word
for fear
and it says,
instead of fear,
it says,
and awe came about,
awe came upon every soul.
Do you have an awe of God?
Do you,
when you think about God,
when we worship God,
do you think of God
as so much greater
than anything
you've ever seen?
Do you,
are you awed by him
or kind of smitten by him,
like taken back by him?
The fear of the Lord says,
God,
you are so other,
you are so greater,
you are so magnificent.
It says in the book of Acts
in Acts chapter two,
that awe was upon every soul.
When the fear of the Lord
comes upon us,
there's a sense of awe
that comes on us.
There's a sense of awe.
Okay?
We also see in the book of Acts
the story of Ananias and Sapphira
and that same word fear
is used there.
It says after,
when he confronted Ananias
in Acts chapter five,
because Ananias
was not being totally honest
about what he had given
to the Lord.
in Acts five,
verse five,
it says,
when Ananias heard these words,
he fell down
and breathed his last
and great fear
came upon all
who heard of it.
Okay?
So he's lying to God
and to other people.
He's making things
look better than they were
and God put him to death.
You think,
whoa,
that's,
that's where,
that's where you have
a sense of awe
and a sense of fear.
It says,
great fear came upon
all who heard of it.
Well,
of course.
And you realize,
you know,
I read a tweet
this last week
that said the sun
is what,
93,000 miles,
no,
million,
what was it,
million?
93 million miles
away from us.
And yet,
if you look at it
just too long,
which is not very long
at all,
it'll burn your eyes
and we think we can
flippantly come
into the presence of God,
the one who created
the sun.
Isn't that a crazy thought?
That the sun
is 93 million miles away
and it'll burn your eyes
if you look at it
for seconds too long.
And the creator
of the sun,
we so flippantly
come to the creator
of the sun.
How much more
of a consuming fire
is he?
Okay?
He's the one
who put Ananias to death
and then Sapphira
in verse 11
and after she was
put to death
it said,
great fear came
upon the whole church
and upon all
who heard of these things.
That kind of fear
is basically,
it says,
hey,
I'm in Christ
but I have reverence
for God.
I have a certain sense
of I don't want to sin.
I don't want to get
close to sin.
I don't want to,
I don't want to mess around
with just even a hint
of unholiness.
Like I want to be pure.
And you see that the church
that was here,
it grew.
In what?
Walking in the fear
of the Lord.
this kind of fear,
this kind of awe,
this kind of seriousness
that says,
there's a sense
of a lack of flippancy.
And sometimes
maybe we can get
a little too flippant
in our church experience
where we forget
who God is.
Right?
There was this kind
of flippancy
you also saw
in Acts chapter 19.
Remember the story
of the itinerant
Jewish exorcists
who undertook
to invoke
the name of the Lord Jesus
over those
who had evil spirits?
Remember that story?
And they said,
I adjure you
by Jesus
whom Paul proclaims.
Seven sons
of a Jewish high priest
named Sceva
were doing this.
But the evil spirit
answered them,
Jesus I know
and Paul I recognize.
But who are you?
Okay?
And then the man
in whom was the evil spirit
leaped on them,
mastered all of them
and overpowered them
so that they fled
out of that house
naked and wounded.
That's a bad day.
Right?
It's like,
hey, you know,
this can't be too hard.
What the heck?
I see they're casting
out demons.
I think I'll try this.
Right?
No, you don't
flippantly deal
with things
like that.
You don't get flippant
about the things
of God.
Look at what happened.
They fled out
of the house
naked and wounded
and this became known
to all the residents
of Ephesus,
both Jews and Greeks.
And then that next phrase
has that same word
that was used
in Acts chapter 9.
It says,
and fear fell upon all them
and the name
of the Lord Jesus
was extolled.
Also many of those
who are now believers
came confessing
and divulging
their practices
and a number of those
who had practiced
magic arts
brought their books
together and burned
them in the sight of all.
And they counted
the value of them
and found it came
to 50,000 pieces
of silver.
So the word of the Lord
continued to increase
and prevail mightily.
You see that again?
There's this tying
to the sense of fear
that came upon the church
and then the word
of the Lord
continued to increase
and prevail mightily.
It was like,
it caused the spread
of the gospel.
Okay?
Which really goes together
with 2 Corinthians
chapter 5,
10 to 11.
He says,
we must all appear
before the judgment seat
of Christ
so that each one
may receive what is due
for what he has done
in the body,
whether good or evil.
Therefore,
okay,
so look before it
to see what it's there for.
He says,
we must all appear
before the judgment
of Christ.
Therefore,
so in light of the fact
that we must all appear
before the judgment seat
of Christ,
knowing the fear
of the Lord,
we do what?
We persuade others.
Do you see that?
Do you see that tie there?
You saw the fear
that came upon the church
when these seven sons
of schema thought,
oh,
no big deal,
I'll just cast out demons.
No.
Where's your fear
of the Lord?
And great fear
came upon the church
and then it caused
the word of the Lord
to spread,
the gospel spread.
In the same way
when the fear
of judgment,
when you're realizing,
hey,
we're all going to stand
before the judgment seat,
I better be cognizant
of what I'm doing,
how I'm conducting myself
and know that
no one's going
to escape judgment.
Therefore,
knowing the fear
of the Lord,
we persuade others.
Knowing the fear
of the Lord,
we persuade others.
Knowing that everyone
is going to stand
before that judgment seat,
I've got to persuade
as many people
as possible
with the gospel.
Okay?
So the fear
of the Lord
is very much tied
to the spread
of the gospel.
Could it be that
perhaps sometimes
we don't spread
the gospel
because we lack
a fear of the Lord?
Have you ever
thought about that?
Have you ever
thought that maybe
the reason we're
not persuading others
is because we don't
know the fear
of the Lord?
We're not cognizant
of the fact that
one day,
there is a day coming
and it is coming soon
and we will all
stand before the Lord?
We'll all stand
and we'll have
to give an account
and not just us
but all those people
outside of these walls
who don't know Jesus,
who have not trusted Him,
who are not covered
in the blood,
those whose sins
will be counted
against them
unless they turn
and trust to Jesus
and have their stain
removed.
Knowing the fear
of the Lord,
we persuade others.
We persuade others.
Okay?
So it brings us
to that second point,
spreading the gospel.
It says in Acts 6-7,
right,
the number of the disciples
multiplied greatly
after the word of God
continued to increase
or continued to spread.
Okay?
When the word of God
spreads,
when the gospel spreads,
the number of disciples
multiplies greatly.
You saw this also
in Acts 12-24.
It says the word of God
increased or spread
and multiplied.
Okay?
I'm convinced
one of the main reasons
why so many churches
stay the same size
is because people
aren't persuaded
to preach the gospel.
Because you get comfortable
with a group of friends,
you get to know each other,
our kids get to know each other,
we're able to just
really gel together well,
and it's like,
you know,
us four no more,
it's kind of going pretty well.
I mean,
what's that?
I'm enjoying life,
you're enjoying life.
I mean,
we don't want to break up
a good thing.
I mean,
I don't want to make
it more uncomfortable.
I mean,
if we had more people,
I mean,
I kind of like
what's going on here.
I got my friends
where everything's going well,
and yet,
there's people dying
and going to hell.
There's people
who don't know the truth.
The fear of the Lord
should be persuading us
and saying,
we've got to spread
the good news.
We've got to be
highly intentional.
I've got to reorient
my life around the gospel.
It can't be just this thing
I wait for these opportunities.
No,
I need to go and make
the most of every opportunity.
I need to open,
open door,
and look for places
where I can preach the gospel.
God save us
if we ever,
as a church,
let up on that.
And be sure that if we do,
that will be the end
of any growth
that we'll see.
Because
you grow
by reaching people
with the gospel.
Okay?
In the fear of the Lord,
we are persuaded.
Colossians 1,
3 to verse 7,
3 through 7,
says,
We always thank God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you,
since we heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus
and of the love that you have
for all the saints,
because of the hope
laid up for you
in heaven.
Of this you have heard
before
in the word of truth,
the gospel,
which has come to you,
as indeed in the whole world
it is bearing fruit
and increasing.
That word increasing
is the same word
that was used
in multiplied,
right?
Or spread.
So this word of the truth,
the gospel,
it came to you
and it's bearing fruit
and increasing.
It's being spread,
as it also does among you,
since the day you heard it
and understood the grace
of God and truth,
just as you learned it
from Epaphras,
our beloved fellow servant.
He is a faithful minister
of Christ
on your behalf.
I love how he just points out
this guy Epaphras.
Epaphras,
from the verses you see,
there's not a lot of him,
but he seemed like
a pretty awesome,
awesome guy.
Right?
He's commending Epaphras
because he said,
you learned this
from Epaphras.
He's a beloved fellow servant.
He's a faithful minister
of Christ
on your behalf.
If we want to be a church
that grows the way
God grows churches,
if we want to be a church
that grows the way
that the Bible talks
about growing,
we need Epaphras.
We need faithful ministers
of Christ
on others' behalf
who will be spreading
the good news
of the gospel.
more seed being sowed,
more seed being sowed.
And remember,
it's never your job
to save people.
Never.
That's a good relief.
It's not my job
to save anybody.
It's not your job
to save anybody.
That's God's job.
What's our job?
Spread the word.
Spread the good news.
Give people a hearing.
People need a hearing.
God makes things grow.
We plant,
we water,
we plant,
we water,
we plant,
we water,
God makes things grow.
Are you that kind of person?
Where is,
you know,
I know maybe in the beginning
when we planted the church,
it's like,
yes,
we got to preach the gospel.
Where is your drive
to preach the gospel now?
Is it still there?
Maybe some of us
need just a fresh feeling
of the spirit
to say,
God,
I'm feeling a little empty.
I'm not really motivated
to preach the gospel.
Okay?
Some of us feel that.
Marianne,
are you feeling that?
But what are we going
to do about it?
Are we sunk?
Is there no hope?
We need to get filled
with the spirit.
We need to get filled
with the spirit.
You know,
I was actually thinking
when you guys sang
that Issa song,
Your Name's My Reward.
Let's see here.
18 years ago,
I was doing like
an extended fast.
Went to Nashville
for the Psalm Assembly,
the call there.
And I was feeling
really burnt out.
I'm like,
why am I doing this?
What's the point of this?
And walked into the stadium
where they're having
the prayer meeting.
I got there like
two,
three hours early.
And Issa was on the stage.
And she was,
I think it might have been
singing that song.
And I walked in
and I just wept.
And I just wept.
And I feel like I just,
it was just clear.
I just got filled
with the spirit.
And I was renewed.
I was refreshed.
And I was just thinking,
actually,
when we were singing
that song,
we were worshiping.
I was thinking,
I was surprised.
It was so tender to me.
I started crying just even
singing the song.
I was like,
that was 18 years ago.
And just thinking about it,
I'm getting,
I'm crying,
thinking about it.
And I was thinking about
how important it is
to have a history in God
of those moments.
And so many times people think,
oh, Christianity should be this,
like,
one mountaintop to the other.
It's like,
no,
that's not what it is.
But there are those
meaningful moments
that you have
that you remember.
And,
you know,
sometimes they're a little bit
further apart
than you'd like them to be.
But those are so important.
And if you haven't had
one of those recently,
go to him.
Go to him.
Okay?
Get filled up.
He is the one
who baptizes us
with the Holy Spirit.
That's what John preached.
Do you remember?
He says,
he who's coming,
I'm not even worthy
to untie his sandals.
This guy,
he baptizes with the Holy Spirit
with fire.
That's what he does.
He wants to fill you up.
And if you're empty,
don't just be satisfied with that.
Don't just keep going
through the motions.
Don't just think,
oh,
I don't really have a heart
for the loss right now,
but I'm just doing it.
I'm just showing up
and doing this.
No.
Is his name your reward or not?
Is it?
Well,
then come to him.
Come to him in your brokenness.
You don't have to dress yourself up.
Put on your religious cosmetics
and be something.
He loves you for who you are,
not who you should be
because no one is as they should be.
You come to him.
And believe that he is who he is.
What ravishes the heart of God?
Faith.
Without faith,
it's impossible to please God,
right?
Can you possess that
which ravishes his heart?
Can you possess
that which pleases him?
Every time,
if you have faith.
Yeah,
but I'm empty.
So what?
I'm broken.
So what?
I'm burnt out.
So what?
I'm tired.
So what?
Do you have faith?
When he comes,
there was only one question he said.
Will I find faith on earth?
Do you have the kind of faith
that keeps on pursuing them,
that keeps going back,
that develops a history in God,
that looks back,
you know,
at the altars
that the Israelites put there
and say,
yeah,
I mean,
that story I'm telling you
18 years ago,
that was an altar.
And so he sang that song
and I think,
man,
I remember that time.
Makes me hungry
to want to come to him
for more,
you know,
fresh filling.
Why?
Because this gospel
must be spread.
It's like,
there's so many things
that are important in the world
and they get overwhelming,
don't they?
It's like,
it's Father's Day,
your kids,
that gets overwhelming sometimes.
Gets a little heavy.
It's like,
man,
this is a lot of work.
This is a lot of responsibility.
Are we doing a good job?
You know,
are we screwing them up?
Are we screwing our kids up?
Do you know,
I had that conversation
too many times,
you know,
like,
I think we're screwing it up.
What are we doing?
Where do you go with that?
And what is,
what's,
like,
that's important,
but,
and as important as that seems
in your job
and making money
and paying the bills
and all this kind of stuff,
friendships,
these things all weigh on you,
but there are people
who are justly under the wrath
of God in our city.
Like,
apart from Christ,
they will spend eternity
away from him
where the fire
does not go out
and the worm never dies,
where the pain
and suffering
never go away.
Like,
that's true.
And it's just
and it's right
and they will not believe
unless they hear.
They gotta hear.
Who's gonna tell them?
Only the people
who have the truth,
that's us.
That's the way
God wants to build
his church,
is people spreading
the gospel.
And if we're in a place
where he says,
like,
yes,
I get it,
Josh,
I know,
I know that's what
I'm supposed to do,
but man,
I'm just not there.
Go to him.
Get filled again.
He wants to fill you.
You know,
how about a great
Father's Day verse?
Luke 8,
13,
right?
If you know
how to give good gifts
to your children,
how much more
does your Heavenly Father,
Happy Father's Day,
give good gifts?
He doesn't say
give good gifts.
You'd think he would
because he just said,
hey,
if you know how
to give good gifts,
you would think
he's gonna say,
okay,
how much more
does the Heavenly Father
give good gifts?
He doesn't say that.
He says,
if you know how
to give good gifts,
how much more
does your Heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit
for those who ask?
I don't know about you,
but I love how specific,
he didn't go with
the generic good gifts
and he said,
listen,
if you were wondering,
if you had this kind of thing,
I don't know if he wants
to give me the Spirit,
he knocks that out
of your mind
right with that verse
and says,
yes,
I do.
If you know
how to give good gifts,
how much more
do I want to give you
the Holy Spirit
to those who ask?
Some of us need to ask.
Some of us may be
a little tired,
a little burnt out,
you're into this
whole church plant thing
and thinking,
I don't have the same
gumption I had
when we first started.
Okay,
go to your father.
Go to your father.
Ask him.
All right,
that was definitely
a sidetrack.
Number three,
number three,
each part doing its work.
Ephesians 4 says
that the body grows
and builds itself up
in love
as each part
does its work.
You know,
I've been a Christian
now for 31 years
and hands down
one of the worst parts
about the church
that is the most
difficult thing
to deal with
is when people
are trying to be
someone they're not.
It's the worst.
And it's not just,
it's not just bad
because it doesn't work.
It's bad because
you feel bad for them.
I hate watching someone
who's trying to be
someone they're not,
number one,
because they're not
and it's very difficult,
but then number two,
because they're missing
then who they really are.
And to know that
who they are
is who God made them.
That God was the one
who made them
the way they are.
And the weirdness
and the wonkiness
of trying to be
someone that you're not,
it just,
it's not the way
God meant it to be.
There's so much freedom
and, you know,
it's just like
the psalmist said,
how great is it
when brothers
dwell together in unity?
There's a level of unity.
You know,
even over at Bellicose,
I've been walking
with those elders now
for,
I don't know,
I can't remember,
almost 10 years,
I think,
a bunch of them.
And it's like,
you know,
you go through
these different things
where it's just like,
okay,
how are you gifted?
How am I gifted?
Like,
I don't know
if that's how you're gifted.
I don't know
if that's how you're gifted.
You have these conversations.
You compare yourselves
with one another.
But when people work together
where it's like,
this is how you're gifted,
yep,
I agree.
This is how you're gifted,
yep,
I agree.
And there's this synergy
and this unity.
Man,
it's so powerful.
People have the freedom
to not have to be something
that they're not.
The church grows
and builds itself up
as each part does its work.
What is your work?
Who are you in the body?
Do you know your work?
You might say,
I want this church to grow.
I want it to be
healthy growing.
Then you gotta know your work.
How are you gonna do your work
if you don't know your work?
What is your part to play?
You might say,
I don't have a part.
No, no, no, no, no.
You have a part.
What is your part?
And some of us,
this is the bad part,
some of us might know our part
but we're not doing it.
If you know your part,
you gotta do it.
Be your part.
You don't have to be someone else.
Don't compare yourself
to someone else.
You be the part
that God called you to be.
When you get to those pearly gates
and he holds you to account,
he's not going to say
you weren't like so-and-so.
He's gonna say,
hey, were you the part
that I made you to be?
Did you do what I had you to do?
The church grows
and builds itself up in love
as each part does its work.
How focused are you on that?
If you don't know,
have you gotten any help on it?
Have you asked the Lord?
Have you asked other people?
But we have to each do our work
and when we're doing that,
it's a beautiful thing.
It's a beautiful thing.
Have you ever,
in your experience of church,
stopped doing certain things
because you realized
that's not who I am?
It's a really good,
it's a good thing.
It's a,
it's a,
it's like,
it's like a relief,
isn't it?
They're just like,
you know what?
I'm gonna stop trying to do that.
That's not who I am.
I'm just gonna be my,
myself.
I'm gonna get in my lane
and stay in my lane.
I'm gonna let the people
who are that do what
they're gonna do.
I don't need to compare.
I don't need to say,
well,
I wish I was this person.
I wanna be that,
that person.
No,
I'm just gonna be me.
The way God called me to be.
And then the church
builds itself up.
Number four,
they were walking
in the comfort
of the Holy Spirit.
This goes together
with a little bit
with what I talked about
last week,
strengthening yourself
in the Lord.
Okay?
The church
so much
all Judea and Galilee
and Samaria
had peace
and was being built up
and walking
in the fear of the Lord
and in the comfort,
the CSB says,
encouragement
of the Holy Spirit
and multiply.
How often
do you get
your encouragement
from the Holy Spirit?
Your comfort
from the Holy Spirit?
You know,
we talk about
comfort foods.
Yeah,
we talk about,
I don't know,
there's all kinds of things
we do to get comfort.
How often
do you think
of the Holy Spirit
as your comforter?
You know,
John 14,
your comforter.
He is.
How often
do we go
to the Holy Spirit
for comfort?
You know,
it's just like
what I was talking
about with getting filled.
There's a comforting
that happens
when you're filled
with the Holy Spirit
and we need
to go to Him.
And that's
how the church
throughout all Judea
and Galilee
and Samaria,
that's how
it multiplied.
It seems so simple.
It almost seems like,
really?
The fear of the Lord
and the comfort
of the Holy Spirit,
that's just too,
it's too simple.
And yet,
how often do we miss
the fear of the Lord
and the comfort
of the Holy Spirit?
How often do we get flippant
when it comes to
the fear of the Lord
and how often
do we go other places
for our comfort
and encouragement
instead of the Holy Spirit?
How often do we get
discouraged
for so many things
when the Holy Spirit
is there to encourage us?
The Holy Spirit
is here to encourage us.
Are we taking advantage
of that?
It's huge.
Lastly,
number five,
holding fast
to the head.
Colossians 2.19
said,
holding fast
to the head
from whom the whole body,
nourished and knit together
through its joints
and elements,
grows with the growth
that is from God.
John 15.5
said,
I'm the vine,
you're the branches.
Whoever abides in me
and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit
for apart from me
you can do nothing.
Are we abiding
in the Lord?
Holding fast to the head
like the sailors
used to have hold
fast on their,
tattooed on their knuckles,
right?
Because they'd have to
hold on to the mast.
Are we holding on
to God like that?
Are we so quick
to let go?
Are we so quick
to lose faith,
lose hope,
lose motivation?
Okay?
Listen.
In this world
you will have trouble,
but take heart.
He has overcome the world.
We have to hold fast.
Hold fast to what?
Hold fast to the head.
And so often
when we're busy,
when we're overwhelmed,
when we're tired,
what's the first thing
that goes?
Times of encouragement
of the Holy Spirit.
Times of time
in the Word of God.
Times of going to the head,
holding fast to the head.
What if we had as a goal
to put on display
the fruit that comes forth
from he who abides in him?
To be a shining example
of this is the fruit
that comes from the abiders,
the ones who abide in him,
who hold fast to the head.
Okay?
There's all kinds of challenges
that will be coming our way.
And as you walk with the Lord,
it's a constant
up and down with that.
Who are the ones
who will hold fast to the head?
When you see discouragement,
do you come under it?
Are you holding fast to the head?
When your feelings
start to overwhelm you,
do you come under your feelings
or do you hold fast to the head?
Okay?
When you look with your eyes,
you see,
oh, things aren't happening
the way I thought they were.
I'm not seeing what I wanted.
I'm not experiencing
what I wanted.
Are you holding fast to the head?
What are you holding fast to?
Because whatever you're holding fast to
is how strong you are.
You're holding fast to something
that is very shaky.
You're going to be very shaky.
You're holding fast to something
that can be taken away from you.
That's not a very strong hope.
You need to put your hope,
I need to put my hope,
we need to put our hope
in something that can never
be taken away from us.
We need to hold fast to the anchor.
We need to hold fast to the head.
We need to put our hope
in the one who never disappoints.
Do you know if there's a hope
that never disappoints?
Let me ask this question.
Don't answer this out loud.
Are any of you disappointed?
Are any of you disappointed
right now in life?
Okay?
Is there anything particular
you're feeling like,
yeah, I'm feeling disappointed.
Okay.
There is a hope
that doesn't disappoint.
Says this in Romans 5, right?
So if you're disappointed,
that's the area
where you're not holding fast to the head.
That's the area.
Turn from that hope
to the head.
Turn from that hope
and abide in Him.
And know that the hope in Him
will never disappoint you.
And some of you are thinking,
I don't know if I believe that.
Exactly.
That's what I'm talking about.
You've got to address that.
Is the Word of God true or not?
Is there a hope
that doesn't disappoint?
There is.
Faith will go there
and will hold fast to it.
That's the kind of faith
that Jesus requires
that holds fast to the head
and says,
I trust
that if I put all my hope in you,
I will not be disappointed.
And that all my disappointments in life
are really truly
when I put my hope in other things.
Lord, reveal them.
Lord, shake every single one to the core.
Who wants to pray
that dangerous prayer with me?
Lord, shake all our false hopes
to the core
so that all we are
is holding fast to the head.
That's all we got left.
And when that's all you got left,
you've got quite a bit.
Right?
I believe
God wants to grow our church.
I think you believe
that God wants to grow our church.
But so what?
If we're not going to
do it God's way,
my challenge to you this morning is
do we have
our lives,
our focus,
our hearts,
our minds
set on the things
that God has
set for us as a church
to grow in a healthy way
for His glory
and our good?
then we've got to pay attention
to these things.
We've got to pay attention
to these five things.
Are you walking
in the fear of the Lord?
Are you spreading the gospel?
Are you doing your work,
your part?
Are you walking
in the comfort
of the Holy Spirit
or the encouragement
of the Holy Spirit?
And are you holding fast
to the head,
to the hope
that never disappoints?
Amen?
Amen.