1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:02,580 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:02,580 --> 00:00:08,560 - We do have amazing dads at Springhouse. 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:10,640 That is for certain. 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,360 Well, guys, hello, good morning. 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:14,480 Boy, it's a good day to be here. 6 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:15,300 It's been a good day. 7 00:00:15,300 --> 00:00:17,520 It's been a real rich morning so far, 8 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:19,960 and I echo Pastor Allen, if you're joining us on livestream. 9 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:21,280 We wish you were here, 10 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,080 but I'm glad that we have livestreamed 11 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:25,760 as a way for you to join us today. 12 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,560 Guys, we're gonna continue in our series, 13 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:29,640 His Church, this morning. 14 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,560 One of the greatest gifts that we have here at Springhouse 15 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,280 is we have a plethora of really anointed, 16 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:37,640 great speakers here, 17 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,280 just people that the Lord has really given a gift 18 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,280 of speaking, and all of our pastoral team 19 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:43,200 really carry that gift, 20 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,360 and you're gonna hear from all of our pastors 21 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:46,340 at some point this year. 22 00:00:46,340 --> 00:00:48,400 I know that traditionally you're used to hearing 23 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,720 either myself or Justin or Barbie or Ronnie, 24 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,180 but all of our pastoral team carry a gift of teaching, 25 00:00:54,180 --> 00:00:55,920 and all of them will be speaking throughout the year, 26 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,040 and today we're in for a special treat. 27 00:00:58,040 --> 00:00:59,760 I am super excited. 28 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:01,280 I've gotten to sit through the Word once, 29 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,680 and I cannot wait to glean and receive from it again today, 30 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:05,840 this morning, with you guys. 31 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,560 Would you guys welcome our worship pastor, 32 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:08,960 Pastor Jonathan Grisham. 33 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:10,120 (congregation applauding) 34 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,080 - Oh, I thought you were gonna go first. 35 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:17,400 - I was about to say, 36 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,340 I hope you're not carrying your own table out here. 37 00:01:19,340 --> 00:01:22,720 He carries the table out faithfully for me every week. 38 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,300 - Well, I thought about this. 39 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:26,600 I thought I could do that and just kinda look around, 40 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,080 but I didn't wanna be struggling for breath 41 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,240 while I was in my opening bit here, so. 42 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,840 Happy Father's Day. 43 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:36,880 How about this? 44 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,220 Let's stand together and read the Word. 45 00:01:39,220 --> 00:01:45,320 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching 46 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:49,600 and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 47 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,900 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders 48 00:01:52,900 --> 00:01:56,040 and signs performed by the apostles. 49 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:58,200 All the believers were together 50 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,340 and had everything in common. 51 00:02:00,340 --> 00:02:03,920 They sold property and possessions 52 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,720 to give to anyone who had need. 53 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,560 Every day they continued to meet together 54 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,180 in the temple courts. 55 00:02:11,180 --> 00:02:13,360 They broke bread in their homes 56 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,960 and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 57 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,240 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, 58 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,200 and the Lord added to their number daily 59 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:26,800 those who were being saved. 60 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,480 Father God, I thank you that you are a God of fellowship, 61 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,000 Lord, and I thank you that through the obedience 62 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:33,480 of your Son, Jesus Christ, 63 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,400 we have been reconciled into fellowship with you. 64 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,640 Holy Spirit, we pray for a deeper understanding 65 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:42,900 of your Word today, and Father, by your grace, 66 00:02:42,900 --> 00:02:46,800 we pray for deeper devotion into fellowship 67 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,840 because you say it's worth devoting our lives to. 68 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,280 In Jesus' name, you may be seated. 69 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,360 Okay, so I gotta ask, 70 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,200 who went on the whitewater rafting trip? 71 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,800 Yeah, okay, and you're all still here. 72 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:03,560 This is really good. 73 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,020 Last year there were some close calls I heard, 74 00:03:06,020 --> 00:03:09,000 and I thought, that's gonna be a tough one to explain 75 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:10,320 if I'm talking on fellowship 76 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,320 and a portion of our fellowship doesn't make it 77 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,400 because of extreme fellowshipping. 78 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:16,760 I don't know how I'm gonna do that. 79 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,220 So I'm glad that you're all here. 80 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:25,280 So these verses right here I first started handling 81 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,240 back in October of last year. 82 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,520 I was asked to preside over communion, 83 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,880 and I used it in my fourth week of teaching there 84 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,560 because when I came across it, 85 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,880 I was just really moved by the early church devotion 86 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:39,380 to what they call the breaking of bread, 87 00:03:39,380 --> 00:03:40,780 and I don't think that that's simply 88 00:03:40,780 --> 00:03:42,760 just coming together over a meal. 89 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,300 It has all that symbolism of what Christ did at the table. 90 00:03:46,300 --> 00:03:47,660 So when I refer to that, 91 00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:49,780 I'm gonna say that that's a devotion to communion, 92 00:03:49,780 --> 00:03:52,840 his body and blood and reflecting on that. 93 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,640 And I felt very strongly at that time 94 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,080 that the Holy Spirit told me, hang on to these verses, 95 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,120 pay attention to them and apply them, 96 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,280 and it's really gonna change your life going forward. 97 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,760 So that's something I've been intentional to do, 98 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:07,520 and it's just very simple. 99 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,200 You hold your life up side by side with these scriptures, 100 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,680 and we should do this often, and say, 101 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,200 does my life reflect one that is devoted 102 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,880 to these four simple things? 103 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,100 And in some ways it was like, I'm doing okay, 104 00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:23,160 but specifically around fellowship, 105 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,060 I was like, I don't know there. 106 00:04:25,060 --> 00:04:28,040 And I intentionally say it's an everyday thing 107 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,720 because the word devotion in Greek 108 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,580 is to give constant attention to a thing. 109 00:04:33,580 --> 00:04:35,840 The literal translation is they continually 110 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:38,660 devoted themselves, so every morning when they wake up, 111 00:04:38,660 --> 00:04:42,120 somehow they've got it at the priority thought 112 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,600 when they wake up, and they're carrying it with them 113 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,160 through their day. 114 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,720 And sometime at the beginning of this year 115 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,180 as the Lord was revealing these things to me, 116 00:04:52,180 --> 00:04:54,320 giving me revelation, I went to Pastor Kevin 117 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,160 and I shared what God was doing, 118 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,500 specifically around fellowship, and I was just like, 119 00:04:59,500 --> 00:05:01,980 ah, you know, I've gotta restructure all these things, 120 00:05:01,980 --> 00:05:04,620 and I had no idea we were gonna be teaching on it 121 00:05:04,620 --> 00:05:05,840 later in the year, and he said, well, 122 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:07,240 you should teach on it. 123 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,080 And I thought, well, that's the last time I trust him 124 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,780 with any revelation that the Lord has given me. 125 00:05:12,780 --> 00:05:16,000 'Cause look now, here I am. 126 00:05:16,140 --> 00:05:18,400 (congregation laughing) 127 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:20,140 And when I was asked to teach on fellowship, 128 00:05:20,140 --> 00:05:22,680 he asked me to answer two questions 129 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,300 specifically this morning. 130 00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:27,840 What does a thriving Christian fellowship really look like, 131 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:30,120 and who is at the center of it all? 132 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:31,440 So I'm gonna start with the second one 133 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:33,720 'cause I think it's easy and I think we all know it. 134 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,160 Who's at the center of it? 135 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,600 That's good, okay. 136 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,360 It's the Children's Church answer. 137 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,600 Okay, we can go, we're good, we're early, 138 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:43,840 we can go to lunch. 139 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:44,680 No. 140 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,720 (congregation laughing) 141 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,300 Okay, so when I first started looking at these scriptures, 142 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:51,700 I told you I was just blown away 143 00:05:51,700 --> 00:05:55,060 by this early church model here of devotion 144 00:05:55,060 --> 00:05:57,300 to what is just, it's so simple. 145 00:05:57,300 --> 00:06:00,440 The apostles teaching, I'll call it the word of God, 146 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,460 fellowship, communion, and prayer. 147 00:06:03,460 --> 00:06:07,620 And out of that devotion flows signs and wonders. 148 00:06:07,620 --> 00:06:11,180 Everything had every, everyone had everything in common. 149 00:06:11,180 --> 00:06:12,580 That wouldn't have worked. 150 00:06:12,580 --> 00:06:14,660 Meaning they were selling personal belongings 151 00:06:14,660 --> 00:06:16,920 every need within the body was filled. 152 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,480 They enjoyed favor, and most importantly, 153 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,480 salvations were happening and the church was growing. 154 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,200 I think we all carry this desire inside of us 155 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,540 for people to know Christ the way we know Christ. 156 00:06:28,540 --> 00:06:32,100 So I kinda just thought, well, that sounds pretty simple. 157 00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:35,320 If we can just all come together as the body of Christ 158 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,040 and just devote our time, devote our resources, our thoughts 159 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,460 and prioritize those four things, 160 00:06:41,460 --> 00:06:43,680 then we'll see more salvations. 161 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:45,320 Unfortunately, that kinda puts us 162 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,200 in the driver's seat of it all. 163 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,120 And Pastor Kevin had mentioned 164 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,160 regarding something several weeks ago, 165 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,240 we don't wanna get to the end of anything 166 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,160 and look back and go, look what we have built. 167 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,600 Because that thing's probably gonna fall away. 168 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:02,980 It is gonna fall away, that's the truth. 169 00:07:02,980 --> 00:07:06,400 We wanna look back and go, look what God has built 170 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,200 and look how he used us through it. 171 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:11,400 And that's the testimony. 172 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:12,880 And that's confirmed in scripture 173 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,280 at the end of Acts 2, 47, 174 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,720 or at the end of Acts 2 in verse 47. 175 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,620 Yes, there was this devotion. 176 00:07:20,620 --> 00:07:22,080 Yes, all these things flowed out. 177 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:23,140 There was need fulfilled. 178 00:07:23,140 --> 00:07:24,760 There was favor in the community. 179 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,320 But at the end of it, the Lord added to their number daily 180 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,720 those who were being saved. 181 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,420 The expansion of God's kingdom 182 00:07:32,420 --> 00:07:34,860 is a sovereign act of God's grace. 183 00:07:34,860 --> 00:07:38,460 So the believers here in Acts, the early church, 184 00:07:38,460 --> 00:07:42,860 they were not operating using methods or models or metrics. 185 00:07:42,860 --> 00:07:47,340 This was just a natural response that was coming out of them 186 00:07:47,340 --> 00:07:51,440 because their debt had been paid by Christ. 187 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:52,840 And they were operating as what I'll call 188 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:54,280 the Jubilee people of God, 189 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:55,520 and they were forgiving debts 190 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:56,920 because their debt had been paid. 191 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,920 So it's this natural response out of us 192 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:01,140 for what God has done. 193 00:08:01,140 --> 00:08:03,000 It's a natural response to represent 194 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,120 the kingdom of God on earth. 195 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,080 So since ultimately he is the one 196 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,180 that draws all people to himself, 197 00:08:10,180 --> 00:08:13,160 we will say that God is the beginning of our fellowship, 198 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:14,700 the center of our fellowship, 199 00:08:14,700 --> 00:08:17,340 and the purpose of our fellowship. 200 00:08:17,340 --> 00:08:20,800 With the expansion of his kingdom 201 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,100 being a sovereign act of grace, 202 00:08:22,100 --> 00:08:25,880 it's by the same grace that he chooses to use 203 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,220 the unity of his believers in fellowship 204 00:08:29,220 --> 00:08:33,920 to actually reveal himself as the son of God to the world. 205 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:38,520 There's a great passage of scripture in John 17, 206 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,040 17 through 21, I'm gonna read it over you. 207 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,200 Pastor Justin mentioned several weeks ago 208 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:45,440 or maybe a month ago, 209 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:47,500 that it's actually a prayer that Jesus prays 210 00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:49,200 that's incredible because he prays it 211 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,180 on behalf of the disciples and every single one of us 212 00:08:52,180 --> 00:08:54,640 sitting in this room and every single person 213 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,660 who would come to believe in him through their word. 214 00:08:57,660 --> 00:09:01,700 Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth. 215 00:09:01,700 --> 00:09:03,220 As you sent me into the world, 216 00:09:03,220 --> 00:09:05,440 so have I sent them into the world. 217 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,480 And for their sake, I consecrate myself 218 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,360 that they also may be sanctified in truth. 219 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,120 I do not ask for these only, meaning the disciples, 220 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,840 but also for those who will believe in me through their word 221 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,560 and they may all be one just as you, Father in me, 222 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:23,960 I in you and they also may be in us. 223 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,280 So you have that shared fellowship, that share in Christ, 224 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,180 so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 225 00:09:30,180 --> 00:09:34,160 When I was 21 years old, 226 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:35,440 I was probably walking through 227 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,120 the darkest period of my life. 228 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,800 I was struggling with sin, struggling with alcohol, 229 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,860 lots of friction with friendships and family relationships 230 00:09:43,860 --> 00:09:45,760 and everything like that. 231 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,560 And during that time, I actually had a friend get saved 232 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:51,360 and invite me to a Bible study and it was on music row, 233 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,120 it was only for musicians. 234 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,040 It was led by this guy named Brian Simpson, 235 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,220 but this friend of mine is actually somebody 236 00:09:57,220 --> 00:09:59,160 I kind of got crossways with during this time. 237 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,320 So I really didn't want anything to do with him. 238 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,540 And I certainly didn't want anything to do with God. 239 00:10:03,540 --> 00:10:06,820 I wanted to go about living my life how I wanted to live it. 240 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,540 So I just continued on that path, that trajectory. 241 00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:14,980 And it was doing this the whole time, six or seven months, 242 00:10:14,980 --> 00:10:17,480 spiraling down till I hit my lowest point. 243 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,900 And I had some friends post online that they had this cabin, 244 00:10:21,900 --> 00:10:23,380 they wanted to do a weekend trip, 245 00:10:23,380 --> 00:10:24,740 so they needed somebody to watch it. 246 00:10:24,740 --> 00:10:26,900 And I thought, that sounds really nice. 247 00:10:26,900 --> 00:10:28,140 I'm gonna offer to do that. 248 00:10:28,140 --> 00:10:30,260 Maybe I'll, you know, there'll be some peace there. 249 00:10:30,260 --> 00:10:32,000 I can kind of collect my thoughts 250 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,120 and get back on with my life. 251 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,420 So I reached out to them and said, 252 00:10:35,420 --> 00:10:36,560 "Hey, I love to do this." 253 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,420 And they said, "Great, there's just one catch." 254 00:10:39,420 --> 00:10:42,500 And they told me they recently acquired some chickens 255 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:45,580 so that they could start harvesting their own eggs. 256 00:10:45,580 --> 00:10:46,940 I'm not making this up. 257 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:49,840 And I said, so they told me, 258 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,220 "But one of the chickens was absolutely deathly ill 259 00:10:53,220 --> 00:10:56,260 "and was actually living in a cage in the cabin 260 00:10:56,260 --> 00:10:59,320 "and had to be given medicine three times a day." 261 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,660 And I was like, okay, you know, 262 00:11:01,660 --> 00:11:05,580 like that kind of takes away the peace of it all. 263 00:11:05,580 --> 00:11:07,560 But I think I can get behind this 264 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:08,920 if I can just give them some medicine 265 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:10,800 a couple of times a day, put them in the cage. 266 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:11,780 So I agree to do it. 267 00:11:11,780 --> 00:11:16,740 And I go there and I give this sick chicken medicine 268 00:11:16,740 --> 00:11:18,520 for 24 hours. 269 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,140 And I told you going into this, I was at my lowest point. 270 00:11:21,140 --> 00:11:23,940 It turns out there is a lower point than that. 271 00:11:23,940 --> 00:11:27,440 And what it looks like is me all alone in isolation 272 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,720 in a cabin with this sick chicken. 273 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:31,060 That's what it looks like. 274 00:11:31,060 --> 00:11:31,900 Now, 275 00:11:32,060 --> 00:11:35,400 (congregation laughing) 276 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,420 I did not pray in this moment. 277 00:11:39,420 --> 00:11:42,060 I did not have like a spiritual awakening 278 00:11:42,060 --> 00:11:43,380 or anything like that. 279 00:11:43,380 --> 00:11:46,760 I simply thought, God help, that was it. 280 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,980 And that night I went to sleep 281 00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:52,440 and I had a vivid dream of the peace of God 282 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,620 just touching all of those broken places in my life. 283 00:11:56,620 --> 00:11:58,420 And I got a phone call in the dream 284 00:11:58,420 --> 00:12:00,720 and on the caller ID it said, Brian Simpson, 285 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,280 which is a name that I had not heard 286 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,720 for six or seven months that amount of time. 287 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:08,920 I don't dream often. 288 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,120 I don't remember dreams often, but I remember this one. 289 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,220 And I woke up and I knew that God was telling me, 290 00:12:13,220 --> 00:12:16,320 if you want to feel that peace in your real life 291 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,520 and really touch those places, you will find Brian Simpson. 292 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,160 So I contact my friend. 293 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,280 I say, hey, what's the information? 294 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:24,960 I need to go to this Bible study. 295 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:29,120 And I go and I get there and I wanna blend in. 296 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,160 I don't want them to know that I'm not saved or anything. 297 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,680 So I'm just, they're doing this worship thing 298 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:36,160 and they sit down and they go over the word. 299 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:37,440 And Brian Simpson said, 300 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,320 I guess it was the start of a new series. 301 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,420 And he said, I feel like the Lord is leading me 302 00:12:41,420 --> 00:12:45,020 to do a study on prayer, just this simple thing. 303 00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:47,680 And everybody in there, 15, 20 men 304 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,160 had been following the Lord for like over a year. 305 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:54,720 I don't think anybody needed to hear a Bible study on prayer 306 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:56,440 except for me during that time. 307 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:00,320 And it's like, okay, I think we need to come to a place 308 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,420 in our maturity where we realize that the kingdom of God 309 00:13:03,420 --> 00:13:06,280 doesn't revolve around us as individuals. 310 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:07,660 They could have gone up to him and said, 311 00:13:07,660 --> 00:13:10,040 well, I'm not getting anything out of that sermon 312 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,120 or whatever, but instead they were submitted to it. 313 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,960 And I really think that the Lord was using that for me. 314 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,860 I applied it in my life every day when I went home, 315 00:13:19,860 --> 00:13:20,760 I read the scriptures. 316 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:25,360 And as it says in Acts 2, after Peter gives his sermon, 317 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,900 it says that they were cut to the heart. 318 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:29,900 And that's what was happening to me. 319 00:13:29,900 --> 00:13:34,480 So I get maybe two or three Bible study sessions in 320 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,880 and I get there and Brian opens the floor for testimony 321 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,000 and prayer requests or whatever. 322 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,920 And I'm immediately on his left 323 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,920 and he starts one guy after me 324 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,040 and it goes around this whole room. 325 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,880 So I'm the last and everybody that knows me 326 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:50,960 knows that I love talking in front of people. 327 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,340 But so I just begin to share 328 00:13:53,340 --> 00:13:55,280 and I get maybe two or three words out 329 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:59,760 before I just explode in this puddle of tears and snot 330 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,080 and whatever else was in there. 331 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,400 And those guys led me to the Lord right there 332 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,140 in that Bible study that day. 333 00:14:06,140 --> 00:14:10,720 And looking back on it, 334 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,400 really all I see are some people that came together 335 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,420 in devotion to those four simple things. 336 00:14:17,420 --> 00:14:22,020 They came together to read the word of God, 337 00:14:22,020 --> 00:14:23,880 to be in fellowship with one another, 338 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,020 to celebrate the body and blood of Christ 339 00:14:26,020 --> 00:14:27,300 and to pray together. 340 00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:28,320 And what it was doing, 341 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,680 it was actually revealing the kingdom of God to me. 342 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:33,560 They were carrying the peace 343 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,240 that I experienced in the dream. 344 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,260 And I knew, well, whatever, however they've got that, 345 00:14:39,260 --> 00:14:40,520 that's what I want. 346 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:41,760 And I began to pursue that. 347 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,740 So quite simply, they just existed 348 00:14:44,740 --> 00:14:46,500 to reveal the kingdom of God. 349 00:14:46,500 --> 00:14:50,040 And you see that in there. 350 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:51,680 The word fellowship used in Acts two 351 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,120 comes from the Greek word koinonia. 352 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,940 It refers to the intimate bond of fellowship, 353 00:14:57,940 --> 00:14:59,960 which unites Christians. 354 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:01,660 And the ESV translation says, 355 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:04,160 they devoted themselves to the fellowship. 356 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,860 So they're not devoted to the idea of fellowship, 357 00:15:07,860 --> 00:15:10,120 but they're actually devoted to the people 358 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,400 who have a share in Christ with them. 359 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,860 So you cannot be in biblical fellowship 360 00:15:16,860 --> 00:15:19,940 with people who have no share in Christ. 361 00:15:19,940 --> 00:15:24,160 You can be in friendship with them, no problem. 362 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,860 But that kind of brings us to this conclusion 363 00:15:26,860 --> 00:15:30,720 that fellowship is something more than friendship. 364 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,080 Like many words in our language, 365 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,380 it doesn't carry the full weight and purpose 366 00:15:36,380 --> 00:15:40,080 that it used to either from misuse or overuse 367 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:40,920 or whatever it is. 368 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,720 So it's more than a meeting hall. 369 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:45,040 It's more than a hangout. 370 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:46,640 It's more than a potluck. 371 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,320 And as I said, it's even more than friendship. 372 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,400 All of those things simply exist as vehicles 373 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:56,140 to get us into deeper fellowship with each other. 374 00:15:56,140 --> 00:16:03,140 And for the early church believers here, 375 00:16:03,140 --> 00:16:05,420 their context was persecution. 376 00:16:05,420 --> 00:16:07,480 That's the world they were living in. 377 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:11,160 So for them, it worked out more as family 378 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:12,960 than it did friends. 379 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,440 It worked out as a means to persevere 380 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:17,900 towards this unified goal 381 00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:20,040 of establishing the kingdom of God on earth. 382 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,120 And this idea of fellowship as family 383 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,960 tends to push against our culture of individualism. 384 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,260 We're all about me and Jesus, my walk with Jesus, 385 00:16:29,260 --> 00:16:33,040 our personal family units, all that kind of stuff. 386 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:37,100 We have sayings on shirts, please don't be offended, 387 00:16:37,100 --> 00:16:40,040 that says all I need is coffee and Jesus. 388 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,800 Who has that shirt? 389 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:43,800 No, I'm just kidding. 390 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:45,620 (congregation laughing) 391 00:16:45,620 --> 00:16:47,060 It's okay. 392 00:16:47,060 --> 00:16:48,520 We have to add more. 393 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:50,120 All we need is Jesus, right? 394 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,560 Okay, but still we need to add more to that list 395 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,120 'cause Jesus actually, the scripture tells us 396 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,920 that he has designed us for each other, 397 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,760 to need each other, to work in a group, to work as a flock. 398 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,720 We see it in scripture when God says, 399 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,540 in some of his earliest words, 400 00:17:08,540 --> 00:17:11,820 it's not good for man to be alone. 401 00:17:11,820 --> 00:17:13,840 And I thought about this a couple of days ago 402 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,120 that the story of the man or the shepherd 403 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:19,440 going after the one and leaving the 99, 404 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,100 I often thought of that like, okay, he's going after the one 405 00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:24,100 and he's bringing the one back to himself. 406 00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:26,680 But no, he's not abandoning the 99. 407 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,640 He's bringing the one back to himself and the 99 408 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,920 because we're sheep, we're a flock, 409 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,960 that's how we are designed to function. 410 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:42,500 So there's certainly an individual devotion 411 00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:45,360 to the word of God and to all of these things 412 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,120 that we should celebrate. 413 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:50,360 But we really see in Acts more often than not 414 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:52,320 in the book of the Bible, in the whole Bible 415 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,780 that the corporate example of family 416 00:17:55,780 --> 00:17:57,380 works those things out together. 417 00:17:57,380 --> 00:18:01,200 When I see the early church devoted to the word of God 418 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,520 and communion, I see a people that are Christ-centered. 419 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,200 And when they're devoted to fellowship, 420 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,920 which is a share, others who have a share in Christ, 421 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:12,960 and prayer, and the way prayer, 422 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,200 you see that work out in the book of Acts, 423 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,320 is they go out and preach the word, the gospel boldly, 424 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:19,760 they come back to their fellowship, 425 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,100 they pray that they'll be filled with the Holy Spirit 426 00:18:22,100 --> 00:18:24,320 so they can go back out with boldness. 427 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,640 So they're actually praying for each other. 428 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:28,800 So when they're devoted to fellowship and prayer, 429 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:32,040 I see a people that are others-focused. 430 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,480 So a thriving Christian fellowship will be Christ-centered 431 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:36,960 and others-focused. 432 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:42,520 If the 12 disciples or the 120 or the first 3,000 believers 433 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,260 only cared about their personal relationship with Christ 434 00:18:45,260 --> 00:18:46,840 and getting into heaven, 435 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,160 I don't think any of us would be here today. 436 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:55,600 Here are some, if you just, I encourage you, 437 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:57,000 when you're sitting down with your Bible app 438 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,220 or you go online for the Bible, 439 00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:02,200 just Google search fellowship or share in Christ, 440 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,800 and you'll just have all these cross-references 441 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,200 of how this plays out in Scripture. 442 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,000 But here's some Scripture I just wanna read for you. 443 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,560 Hebrews 10, 24 through 25. 444 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,020 Let us consider how we may spur one another on 445 00:19:14,020 --> 00:19:15,900 toward love and good deeds, 446 00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:17,560 not giving up meeting together 447 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,800 as some are in the habit of doing, 448 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:21,120 but encouraging one another 449 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:22,760 all the more as you see the day approaching. 450 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:26,420 So our fellowship actually exists to encourage each other 451 00:19:26,420 --> 00:19:29,960 and spur each other on towards love and good deeds. 452 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,640 Hebrews 3, 12 through 14. 453 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,800 See to it, brothers and sisters, 454 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,560 that none of you has a sinful heart, 455 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,740 unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 456 00:19:38,740 --> 00:19:40,460 Encourage one another daily, 457 00:19:40,460 --> 00:19:42,200 as long as it's called the day, 458 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:43,760 so that none of you may be hardened 459 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:45,260 by sin's deceitfulness. 460 00:19:45,260 --> 00:19:47,800 We have come to share in Christ 461 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,400 if indeed we hold our conviction firmly to the end. 462 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:54,440 So our fellowship exists to help each other persevere 463 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,800 and keep our conviction and faith to the very end. 464 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:03,000 In Acts 2, 45, they sold property and possessions 465 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,360 to give to anyone who had need. 466 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:08,260 So our fellowship exists to help others who have need. 467 00:20:09,620 --> 00:20:12,240 When I was planning my day a couple months ago, 468 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,240 I like to use a checklist app. 469 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,520 Every morning I put in my to-do list 470 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,360 and I kind of go through it during the day. 471 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,740 And I knew after work, I wanted to go to the gym 472 00:20:20,740 --> 00:20:22,040 and walk a couple miles. 473 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,160 I wanted to go to the library, drop some books off 474 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,720 and get home and grill some burgers for my family. 475 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,800 So go through my workday and I head to the gym. 476 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,180 And my goal on the checklist, don't laugh at me, 477 00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:35,460 for all of you really fit people was to walk two miles. 478 00:20:35,460 --> 00:20:38,800 So I get on there and I just press go and I start going. 479 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,640 And after 25 minutes, this machine goes into cool down mode 480 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:44,640 and it slows way down. 481 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:46,740 And I had forgotten that if you don't tell it, 482 00:20:46,740 --> 00:20:49,940 I wanna walk two miles or 40 minutes or whatever, 483 00:20:49,940 --> 00:20:52,120 goes into cool down mode after 25 minutes 484 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:55,120 and it shuts off completely after 30 minutes. 485 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:57,860 So I bring the speed back up. 486 00:20:57,860 --> 00:21:00,400 I had only walked like a mile and a half, 487 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,140 bring the speed up and after five minutes, it shuts down. 488 00:21:03,140 --> 00:21:04,860 I still had like a quarter mile to go. 489 00:21:04,860 --> 00:21:08,140 And a normal person would get back on the treadmill, 490 00:21:08,140 --> 00:21:11,460 start it back up, finish that quarter mile 491 00:21:11,460 --> 00:21:13,640 and just know in your heart that you did it. 492 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:14,920 But the way I'm wired, it's like, 493 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,760 if it doesn't say two miles, I just feel incomplete. 494 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,860 I feel weird about it and just I was frustrated 495 00:21:21,860 --> 00:21:22,840 and I was like, whatever, 496 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:24,980 I'll go ahead and head to the library. 497 00:21:24,980 --> 00:21:27,360 So I go to the library and as I'm walking in, 498 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:31,340 Pastor Wayne is walking out and he's a little sad. 499 00:21:31,340 --> 00:21:34,200 And he says, I'm so happy to see you, I just need a hug. 500 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:35,920 So I give him a hug and I'm like, what's wrong? 501 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,920 Did you read all the books already or what? 502 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:38,760 (congregation laughing) 503 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,120 And he was like, no. 504 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,860 He told me when he was leaving for the day, 505 00:21:43,860 --> 00:21:46,700 he put a book on top of his car and he forgot about it 506 00:21:46,700 --> 00:21:47,900 and drove off and it flew off. 507 00:21:47,900 --> 00:21:51,040 But more importantly, there was a bookmark inside of it 508 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:51,940 that was sentimental. 509 00:21:51,940 --> 00:21:55,560 Somebody very dear to him had made it maybe 15 years ago 510 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,160 out of these materials from India. 511 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:02,580 And I was like, oh, I'm sorry, gave him a hug. 512 00:22:02,580 --> 00:22:04,440 He went on his way and I dropped my books off, 513 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:05,680 got in my car and I thought, 514 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,260 I have two ways that I can go home from the library. 515 00:22:08,260 --> 00:22:11,980 I can go down Enon Springs or I can go down Hazelwood. 516 00:22:11,980 --> 00:22:15,020 Enon Springs is about 10 minutes faster for me to get home, 517 00:22:15,020 --> 00:22:17,100 to get home to my family. 518 00:22:17,100 --> 00:22:19,260 But I'm in fellowship with Pastor Wayne. 519 00:22:19,260 --> 00:22:21,040 He's been to my house multiple times, 520 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,900 I've been to his house multiple times. 521 00:22:22,900 --> 00:22:24,700 And I know that the fastest point 522 00:22:24,700 --> 00:22:27,680 between his house and the library is probably Hazelwood. 523 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,580 So I decide I'm gonna go down Hazelwood 524 00:22:29,580 --> 00:22:32,660 just to see if I could be like a hero or something 525 00:22:32,660 --> 00:22:33,720 and find this thing. 526 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,180 So I go down Hazelwood, it's like no luck at first. 527 00:22:38,180 --> 00:22:39,800 And then all of a sudden I pass this book 528 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:40,640 on the side of the road 529 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,060 and I see stuff on the side of the road all the time. 530 00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:46,120 So I'm not certain it's his, but as I'm driving by, 531 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:49,700 I see the most colorful bookmark I think I've ever seen. 532 00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:52,740 And if you know Pastor Wayne, he is a colorful individual. 533 00:22:52,740 --> 00:22:54,620 And I know that that's his immediately. 534 00:22:54,620 --> 00:22:57,000 So I pull in there and it's real awkward 535 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,440 'cause a family's actually trying to get out 536 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,700 of the driveway that I pull into. 537 00:23:01,700 --> 00:23:05,100 And I run, I kind of run into the road and grab the book 538 00:23:05,100 --> 00:23:07,620 and I'm sorry, I've repented for this. 539 00:23:07,620 --> 00:23:08,660 I didn't know what to say. 540 00:23:08,660 --> 00:23:09,500 I was so excited. 541 00:23:09,500 --> 00:23:11,780 I said, "Drop my book." 542 00:23:11,780 --> 00:23:14,520 And I got in the car, drove away. 543 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:19,000 And I get to Pastor Wayne's house 544 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,980 and we just spend maybe 10 minutes rejoicing 545 00:23:22,980 --> 00:23:24,320 at what the Lord just did. 546 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,520 He's like, "I didn't have to pray for this. 547 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,500 "God's favor and providence and blah, blah, blah, blah." 548 00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:30,720 And I'm just like, "I know." 549 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,000 And then I was on the treadmill and it didn't work. 550 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,120 And turns out God had a better plan all along. 551 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:39,760 This is real stuff. 552 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,260 (congregation applauding) 553 00:23:43,260 --> 00:23:48,560 And the dynamics of fellowship I see in that, very simple. 554 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,460 Pastor Wayne was honest about a need that he had. 555 00:23:51,460 --> 00:23:55,420 And I know him and he was not gonna be wrecked by this. 556 00:23:55,420 --> 00:23:59,900 His life versus be content with any and all circumstances. 557 00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:01,720 He's not gonna be wrecked by that. 558 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,520 But then there's me and I actually want to help him. 559 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,600 I want to put aside my stuff for a while 560 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,500 and go, "I'm gonna go down that road with you. 561 00:24:11,500 --> 00:24:13,540 "I'm gonna put a different set of eyes 562 00:24:13,540 --> 00:24:18,020 "on that situation with you maybe because I want to help." 563 00:24:18,020 --> 00:24:24,740 And what I see in the book of Acts is much more than that. 564 00:24:24,740 --> 00:24:27,000 So the question is, are we willing to be faithful 565 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,340 in helping others if God asks us to sell our property? 566 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:33,760 Sell possessions? 567 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:35,500 That doesn't sound like there's, 568 00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:38,500 that's kind of no limit to what we'll do for others. 569 00:24:38,500 --> 00:24:42,700 Father Ray Cash came and spoke several weeks ago 570 00:24:42,700 --> 00:24:45,700 and as he shared, he said something that stuck with me. 571 00:24:45,700 --> 00:24:47,620 Probably he didn't even intend it this way. 572 00:24:47,620 --> 00:24:49,900 He said, "If you wanna learn how to pray, 573 00:24:49,900 --> 00:24:51,620 "then start praying." 574 00:24:51,620 --> 00:24:53,740 And that's been something that I've kind of applied 575 00:24:53,740 --> 00:24:57,080 for several months incidentally through fellowship. 576 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:03,520 So as you begin to define what being devoted 577 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:05,940 to the word of God and being devoted to the fellowship 578 00:25:05,940 --> 00:25:08,560 and communion and prayer looks like in your life, 579 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,220 you will also start to refine what it looks like 580 00:25:11,220 --> 00:25:13,800 based on what you see in scripture. 581 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,620 So my wife, Brittany and I, 582 00:25:15,620 --> 00:25:18,620 we invited people over to our house and they would leave 583 00:25:18,620 --> 00:25:22,900 and I would just kind of go, okay, I failed to ask them 584 00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:24,920 if they needed prayer for anything. 585 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:26,960 I failed to encourage anybody. 586 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,460 We had a great time, but I didn't spur them on towards love 587 00:25:31,460 --> 00:25:32,660 or any of that stuff. 588 00:25:32,660 --> 00:25:33,920 So I'm gonna get better at that. 589 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:37,620 So you start to refine what it looks like. 590 00:25:37,620 --> 00:25:41,020 Many of you in this congregation have been my test subjects 591 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:42,400 without knowing it. 592 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:46,020 I found this out. 593 00:25:46,020 --> 00:25:48,260 If you really wanna freak somebody out 594 00:25:48,260 --> 00:25:49,820 and you come to church on Sunday, you say, 595 00:25:49,820 --> 00:25:51,520 "Hey, how are you doing?" 596 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,500 And they say, "Fine or great." 597 00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:55,300 You just look them dead in their face and you say, 598 00:25:55,300 --> 00:25:57,480 "How are you really doing?" 599 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,860 And they'll, I've been in some conversations 600 00:25:59,860 --> 00:26:01,460 where somebody told me they were doing fine. 601 00:26:01,460 --> 00:26:03,760 Turns out they were not doing fine. 602 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:06,240 And they needed prayer right then and there. 603 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:10,740 But it's that first question is almost a bit of a throwaway. 604 00:26:10,740 --> 00:26:13,440 So my challenge is let's go deeper. 605 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,940 Let's actually mean it when we ask those things. 606 00:26:15,940 --> 00:26:18,500 Let's be forthcoming with what we're actually walking 607 00:26:18,500 --> 00:26:21,840 through so we can rejoice in the Lord together 608 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:23,260 when he answers that. 609 00:26:23,260 --> 00:26:28,260 Acts 2 46 says, "Every day they continued to meet together 610 00:26:28,260 --> 00:26:29,720 in the temple courts. 611 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,420 They broke bread in their homes and ate together 612 00:26:32,420 --> 00:26:34,460 with glad and sincere hearts." 613 00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:40,380 And I believe that there's this literal kind of pattern 614 00:26:40,380 --> 00:26:43,060 of them going to the temple and going to their homes 615 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:45,180 and inviting people into their homes. 616 00:26:45,180 --> 00:26:48,260 But there's also symbolism in that. 617 00:26:48,260 --> 00:26:51,020 In your homes is, your home is a sacred place 618 00:26:51,020 --> 00:26:53,660 that not a lot of people get access to. 619 00:26:53,660 --> 00:26:55,580 So it's really inviting people into your life. 620 00:26:55,580 --> 00:26:57,500 When you invite somebody into your home, 621 00:26:57,500 --> 00:26:59,660 they will automatically know more about you 622 00:26:59,660 --> 00:27:01,220 than when they got there. 623 00:27:01,220 --> 00:27:04,940 Like if you come over to me and my wife's house, 624 00:27:04,940 --> 00:27:06,500 you will know that we are not alone 625 00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:09,180 just by the sheer volume of noise 626 00:27:09,180 --> 00:27:11,620 that two little toddlers can create 627 00:27:11,620 --> 00:27:15,540 or the chaos of toys that we tried our best to hide. 628 00:27:15,540 --> 00:27:16,820 You will know more about us. 629 00:27:16,820 --> 00:27:20,620 So start inviting each other into your homes, 630 00:27:20,620 --> 00:27:22,020 into your lives. 631 00:27:22,020 --> 00:27:26,380 Let each other know your needs, your prayer requests. 632 00:27:26,380 --> 00:27:28,500 And inevitably as you walk that out, 633 00:27:28,500 --> 00:27:30,580 if you haven't already noticed, 634 00:27:30,580 --> 00:27:33,080 if you haven't already found this out, 635 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,860 we are a fellowship of imperfect people 636 00:27:35,860 --> 00:27:37,540 serving a perfect God. 637 00:27:37,540 --> 00:27:41,660 In this fellowship or any fellowship 638 00:27:41,660 --> 00:27:43,420 you've been called to at some point, 639 00:27:43,420 --> 00:27:46,020 somebody's gonna say something you don't agree with. 640 00:27:46,020 --> 00:27:49,300 Somebody might do something you don't agree with 641 00:27:49,300 --> 00:27:51,220 or you get crossways with them. 642 00:27:51,220 --> 00:27:54,060 And I'm here to tell you that doesn't have to affect 643 00:27:54,060 --> 00:27:57,860 our unity around what actually matters. 644 00:27:57,860 --> 00:28:02,980 In Acts 6, flowing out of this, 645 00:28:02,980 --> 00:28:08,020 they're selling everything and no one has a need. 646 00:28:08,020 --> 00:28:09,420 Flowing out of that in Acts 6, 647 00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:11,300 there's a daily distribution of food 648 00:28:11,300 --> 00:28:13,500 that's going out to widows. 649 00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:16,340 But it turns out it's not going out equally. 650 00:28:16,340 --> 00:28:19,380 So some men bring a complaint to the apostles 651 00:28:19,380 --> 00:28:20,660 and say, hey, this is happening. 652 00:28:20,660 --> 00:28:22,760 And they say, okay, this is what we're gonna do. 653 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:26,300 We're gonna appoint seven men full of the Spirit 654 00:28:26,300 --> 00:28:28,220 and full of wisdom and they're gonna oversee this 655 00:28:28,220 --> 00:28:30,100 so that we can get to the main thing, 656 00:28:30,100 --> 00:28:33,220 which is prayer and the ministry of the word of God. 657 00:28:33,220 --> 00:28:36,220 They weren't dismissive of the issues. 658 00:28:36,220 --> 00:28:39,940 They simply course corrected and moved forward 659 00:28:39,940 --> 00:28:42,660 towards the main thing, towards the main cause 660 00:28:42,660 --> 00:28:44,260 that they've been entrusted with. 661 00:28:44,260 --> 00:28:49,260 When I was attending Springhouse, I was maybe, 662 00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:51,300 it was right when I first started attending, 663 00:28:51,300 --> 00:28:54,300 they used to do this thing here where after the first song, 664 00:28:54,300 --> 00:28:56,260 they would ask people to go and greet somebody 665 00:28:56,260 --> 00:28:57,380 that they didn't know. 666 00:28:57,380 --> 00:29:01,140 And as an introvert, this is the most horrifying moment 667 00:29:01,140 --> 00:29:02,720 of the entire service. 668 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,780 For me, it was a good opportunity to go to the restroom 669 00:29:06,780 --> 00:29:09,900 or best case scenario, I'm grabbing the hand of somebody 670 00:29:09,900 --> 00:29:12,740 I very much know and I'm holding on. 671 00:29:12,740 --> 00:29:15,460 And I'm like, I don't wanna deal with anybody else. 672 00:29:15,460 --> 00:29:25,220 But you hear these stories of first time visitors come in 673 00:29:25,220 --> 00:29:28,660 and nobody says hi to them and they get disheartened 674 00:29:28,660 --> 00:29:29,500 and they don't come back. 675 00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:31,420 And I was like, God, I don't wanna be the reason 676 00:29:31,420 --> 00:29:32,260 that that happened. 677 00:29:32,260 --> 00:29:35,180 So I'll never forget one morning I woke up 678 00:29:35,180 --> 00:29:38,660 and I was passionate that I was gonna come to church 679 00:29:38,660 --> 00:29:41,220 and be not myself, I was gonna be an extrovert 680 00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:44,540 and I was gonna be the reason that somebody stayed 681 00:29:44,540 --> 00:29:47,420 at Springhouse because I said hi to them 682 00:29:47,420 --> 00:29:49,180 during this moment. 683 00:29:49,180 --> 00:29:52,060 I was gonna make sure of it, I was all fired up. 684 00:29:52,060 --> 00:29:54,000 The first song was happening and this sounds bad 685 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,400 for the worship pastor to say, 686 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,520 but I was not worshiping at that time. 687 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,020 I was looking for my target in the room. 688 00:30:01,020 --> 00:30:01,860 Who's it gonna be? 689 00:30:01,860 --> 00:30:04,660 And I remember because it was traumatic, 690 00:30:04,660 --> 00:30:08,500 he was sitting right over here in this section in the middle 691 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,340 and they released us to go greet somebody 692 00:30:10,340 --> 00:30:11,340 and I beelined it to him. 693 00:30:11,340 --> 00:30:12,900 I said, hey, how you doing? 694 00:30:12,900 --> 00:30:14,460 I'm Jonathan, so good to meet you. 695 00:30:14,460 --> 00:30:15,980 Are you a first time visitor? 696 00:30:15,980 --> 00:30:18,380 He said, no, I've been going here about nine years. 697 00:30:18,380 --> 00:30:21,720 (congregation laughing) 698 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:33,500 He laughed, I died on the inside, went back to my seat. 699 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:44,600 But I'm not, but I'm gonna still pursue fellowship 700 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:46,820 because it's what God said is the right thing. 701 00:30:46,820 --> 00:30:49,060 I'm not gonna let my mess up 702 00:30:49,060 --> 00:30:51,160 affect how I walk out the word. 703 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,140 I'm just gonna course correct. 704 00:30:53,140 --> 00:30:57,380 So I no longer say, are you a first time visitor? 705 00:30:57,380 --> 00:30:59,780 When I'm about to go talk to somebody, I practice 706 00:30:59,780 --> 00:31:02,020 and I say, how long have you been coming to Springhouse? 707 00:31:02,020 --> 00:31:03,620 How long have you been coming to Springhouse? 708 00:31:03,620 --> 00:31:05,140 I really think about it. 709 00:31:05,140 --> 00:31:08,600 (congregation laughing) 710 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:10,300 Worship team, can you come on out? 711 00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:13,040 Let me go to my spot, no. 712 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:23,180 So if none of that stuff has to affect our unity, 713 00:31:23,180 --> 00:31:25,700 a thriving Christian fellowship will be unified 714 00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:27,320 in its mission. 715 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:28,860 In order to be unified in our mission, 716 00:31:28,860 --> 00:31:31,740 we have to actually know what our mission is. 717 00:31:31,740 --> 00:31:38,580 In Acts one, it says that after 40 days of Jesus 718 00:31:38,580 --> 00:31:42,140 teaching the disciples about the kingdom of God, 719 00:31:42,140 --> 00:31:44,320 that the first thing they asked him is, 720 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,020 are you gonna restore the kingdom to Israel now? 721 00:31:47,020 --> 00:31:50,280 And he's, I just imagine the disappointment. 722 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:54,340 Like, have you heard anything that I've said for 40 days? 723 00:31:54,340 --> 00:31:56,520 Kingdom of God, kingdom to Israel. 724 00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,320 And I don't wanna kind of rush in 725 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:01,760 and say that they had it all wrong. 726 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:02,820 There's a great teaching. 727 00:32:02,820 --> 00:32:04,500 I encourage you to get a book. 728 00:32:04,500 --> 00:32:07,080 If you like a book, Acts for Everyone by N.T. Wright, 729 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,780 or you can YouTube search Acts N.T. Wright. 730 00:32:09,780 --> 00:32:11,160 It's a 29 series video. 731 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,140 And it's kind of say, okay, 732 00:32:13,140 --> 00:32:17,400 two thirds of our Bible is about this chosen people of God. 733 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,600 So maybe we don't wanna throw out 734 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:20,920 those promises or whatever. 735 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,200 So maybe the best way to say it is, 736 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:24,320 yes, he's gonna do that, 737 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,520 but he's also gonna do so much more than that. 738 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:31,060 Their view of it was just a little bit too narrow. 739 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:37,440 It's not gonna look how you thought it would look. 740 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:39,040 It won't happen the way you think it should. 741 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:42,080 It won't happen as quickly as you think it should. 742 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:42,920 And guess what? 743 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:45,000 You're gonna have to share in my persecution. 744 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,200 You're gonna have to share in my sufferings. 745 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,620 So what will it look like? 746 00:32:49,620 --> 00:32:51,380 How will it happen? 747 00:32:51,380 --> 00:32:52,720 Acts 1, eight, Jesus says, 748 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,040 "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, 749 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,180 "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem 750 00:32:58,180 --> 00:33:02,120 "and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." 751 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,560 So the mission of our fellowship is to establish 752 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,780 the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven 753 00:33:09,780 --> 00:33:12,560 by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. 754 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,740 And when Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, 755 00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:19,920 you gotta go read this in Acts 1, 756 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,320 when he ascends to the right hand through the clouds, 757 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,140 it says that the disciples just look intently 758 00:33:26,140 --> 00:33:27,760 into the clouds. 759 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:29,880 And we don't know how long, 760 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,540 but it must have been pretty long 761 00:33:32,540 --> 00:33:37,540 because two men dressed in white appeared out of nowhere 762 00:33:37,540 --> 00:33:38,920 and said in Acts 1, 11, 763 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,660 "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? 764 00:33:42,660 --> 00:33:45,420 "This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven 765 00:33:45,420 --> 00:33:47,880 "will come back the same way 766 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,140 "that you have seen him go into heaven." 767 00:33:50,140 --> 00:33:55,200 And I connect with that. 768 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,640 We as the church, as believers, 769 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,640 have this same longing to see Jesus again. 770 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:05,280 We wanna be with him or we want him to come back. 771 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,760 We wanna be with him because we know there's no more tears, 772 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,040 there's no more pain. 773 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,440 I'll finally have abs. 774 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,420 Maybe, I don't know. 775 00:34:16,420 --> 00:34:24,040 That was an inappropriate moment to say that. 776 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,440 I feel that now, but I can't go back. 777 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,780 (congregation laughing) 778 00:34:29,780 --> 00:34:37,240 We want him to come again so he fixes this whole mess. 779 00:34:37,240 --> 00:34:41,080 But we gotta do something with the next 24 hours, 780 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,160 six months, 10 years, 80 years, 781 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,540 1,000 years until that happens. 782 00:34:47,540 --> 00:34:52,660 So what we see in Acts 1 is a couple guys going, 783 00:34:52,660 --> 00:34:54,860 "Hey, wake up, let's focus. 784 00:34:54,860 --> 00:34:56,060 "We've got a mission." 785 00:34:56,060 --> 00:34:58,180 (gentle music) 786 00:34:58,180 --> 00:35:00,020 I guess that's what I'm saying today. 787 00:35:00,020 --> 00:35:07,020 Let's look forward to our purpose as a fellowship, 788 00:35:07,020 --> 00:35:08,060 as the body of Christ, 789 00:35:08,060 --> 00:35:10,740 to establish the kingdom of God on earth, 790 00:35:10,740 --> 00:35:12,420 preach the gospel of his kingdom, 791 00:35:12,420 --> 00:35:14,980 and fill the earth with his glory. 792 00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:19,080 They were devoted to the word of God, 793 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,180 not because it's a guide to show us 794 00:35:21,180 --> 00:35:23,240 how to live in heaven one day, 795 00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:27,000 but because it shows us and teaches us 796 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,860 how to live on earth as it is in heaven. 797 00:35:29,860 --> 00:35:34,240 And they were devoted to fellowship 798 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,400 because the mission is way too much 799 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:38,160 for us to carry by ourselves. 800 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:42,200 Church, will you stand with me? 801 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,540 Will those who are gonna pray please come forward? 802 00:35:45,540 --> 00:35:52,040 The altar space is open, as always, for prayer, 803 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,080 but I just wanna say a couple encouragements 804 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,240 based on the teaching in the book of Acts. 805 00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:02,520 I encourage you to come forward today in prayer. 806 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:04,180 If God has called you here 807 00:36:04,180 --> 00:36:07,360 and you want to go into deeper fellowship with him, 808 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,060 any one of these people down here will lead you there. 809 00:36:10,060 --> 00:36:14,040 I encourage you to come forward for prayer. 810 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:15,520 If you have a need in your life 811 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,320 that we can partner with you in or encourage you in 812 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,160 so that we can get on with our mission, 813 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,500 and I encourage you to come forward 814 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:25,940 if you would like to receive. 815 00:36:25,940 --> 00:36:32,760 In Acts 2, there's a baptism of the Holy Spirit 816 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,000 that happens, but as you read through Acts, 817 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,920 they come together and then they pray for a filling 818 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,460 or a refilling of the Holy Spirit to happen 819 00:36:40,460 --> 00:36:43,320 so that they can walk out their mission with boldness. 820 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:45,640 So if you want that today, if you want to come down 821 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,480 and pray for a filling or a refilling of the Holy Spirit, 822 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:50,520 please come as we lead you. 823 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:53,880 [MUSIC PLAYING]