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PJ: So we are coming up on, believe
it or not, six years since COVID-19

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hit not to, you know, discourage
everybody here this morning to have

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PTSD flashbacks of what that was like.

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But, uh, man, I, I tell you what,
I remember the, the first time

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I had Popeye's chicken sandwich
was, it is connected to, to COVID.

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It didn't gimme COVID.

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I.

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Um, I don't think, I don't know.

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I never took a COVID test, so do without
what you will, but, uh, yeah, it, it

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was a time when we were in California
and, and Governor Newsom had in, in all

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of his divine wisdom, said, Hey, um,
church, you guys can't hang out together.

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In fact, nobody can hang out together.

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You can only hang out with your family.

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And so we had our twins
who, uh, let's see.

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20.

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20, they were born, hold on.

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This is putting me on the spot.

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They were three at the time.

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Yes.

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Got it.

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Right.

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She gave me a head nod up front here.

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So our twins were three.

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My middle son Luke was four.

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And in hanging out at home when mom
and dad just permanently was not

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going well with them, so we decided,
hey, let's get together with some

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of the families in the church.

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But what we'll do is we'll just, we'll go
to the church and we'll, we'll, we'll pick

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up food along the way, hence the Popeyes.

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And, and we'll space
apart from each other.

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So we had a, a lane that went down and
we had parking spots on either side of

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the, the lane, as you might imagine.

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And so we parked on one side and they
parked like we had three or four families.

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And we, this was early on when they were
like, everybody's gonna die from this.

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And so we didn't know what was going on.

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So we sat in the back of our car, we
popped open the, the tailgate, and

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we talked across like 10 feet to each
other while our kids just all hung

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out together in the, in the middle.

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Um.

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Man, COVID was so bad, wasn't it?

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And, and, you know, I don't know
where you were for it, but when,

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when we were out in California, I, I
just remember, man, this is not what

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the church is supposed to be like.

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And, and that was just a picture of it.

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We're, we're sitting in this parking
lot eating questionable chicken

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and, um, and hollering across
a, a parking lot to each other.

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And, and you just miss the
simple things like walking into

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church and giving somebody a hug.

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You miss the simple things about being
in, in, in community with each other and,

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and that's not what it's supposed to be.

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And, and, and yet for all of the
ills, no pun intended of, of COVID,

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one of the things that I appreciated
about it was that when we got back.

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Together as the church and, and, and
reconvened after we kind of figured

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out what was going on and what we
could do, we, we, we came back in

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and, and specifically when we got back
inside together, and that, that was

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fellowship that was sweeter than any
that I had, I had ever experienced.

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And, and it wasn't that anything
dynamically had changed.

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I mean, we, we still, same leadership,
same people, but we had been apart

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from each other in our community,
had been interrupted for so long

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that when we got back in, in
the presence of, of one another.

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It was that reminder of like,
this is what it's supposed to be.

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This is so sweet.

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And I guess one of my concerns is now
that we're six years beyond all of

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that, that maybe we're falling back into
that sense of taking things for granted

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for what we have here in the church.

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The the church is, as we're talking
about in this series, comes from a

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Greek word that means to be called out,
and we are called out from the world.

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But in being called out from the world,
we are called into a community together

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of brothers and sisters in Christ.

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And I think there's a lot of times
that, that we can be lulled into a sense

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of taking things for granted in what
we have here in this room together.

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There's a lot of reasons for that.

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Some of these reasons are, for
example, we're, we're not facing

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persecution, and so we don't feel the
urgency to depend upon each other.

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Maybe the way that the church
has in times in the past.

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There's other causes for this.

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We, we live in a generally affluent area.

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We don't experience a whole lot in the
way of, of need, and we certainly live in

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an area that talks about, you know, the,
the American ideal of being independent

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and pulling ourselves up by our
bootstraps and taking care of ourselves.

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And it's seen as a weakness to
have to go to somebody and say,

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Hey, could you help me in this?

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I think another detriment to us
is just the, the busyness of the

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culture in which we find ourselves.

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All of us have full calendars.

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You talk to somebody during the, the week
and you say, Hey, how's your week going?

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You're gonna hear good and busy.

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Right?

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That's just indicative of, of the
community, of the culture that we live in.

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Another thing that we're up against
that the early church benefited from is

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they lived in close-knit communities.

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The church was in the, the community
where everybody lived and, and so

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some of you may live closer to here
than others, but we don't necessarily

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live next to the people that we're
meant to, to do community with,

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to have life with in the church.

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We also live in a, a society
that, that values our privacy.

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You probably have LifeLock or Experian
or something like that and, and maybe

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even sometimes when the church says,
Hey, would you sign up for this and

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give us your information on this?

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You're going, well, hold on a second.

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I don't know if I'm comfortable with that.

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We live in a society that's elevated and,
and idolized the family such that they've

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taken the family and made the family
something that compete against the church.

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We've turned church in, in a lot
of ways, into a spectator sport.

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Hey, show up and, and be entertained.

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You show up to church sometimes you
think, well, what do you have for me?

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What am I gonna get from this?

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What am I gonna benefit from?

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I think that even goes back to
the nineties era of the Secret,

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secret sensitive Church, which was
built on that model that let's make

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church as frictionless as possible
for as many people as possible.

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Let's water things down.

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Let's make it something that
everybody wants to be at.

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And then finally, I think a big
challenge for us in, in understanding

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the community of the church the way
that we should, is that there is

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just a plethora of church options.

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Y'all.

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I know that if I stand up here and preach
a sermon that maybe you don't like,

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you've got a million other options around
us that you could just say, I'm gonna

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go check out one of the other churches.

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And so that hinders us from committing
to and being part of the community

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the way that God has called us
to be a part of the community.

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And, and we just show up and we
kind of go through the motions

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together week in and week out.

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And, and it's, it's easy for us to
take for granted the, the joy and

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the, the preciousness of what we
have through gathering, being called

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out from the world and called into
community what we have together

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as brothers and sisters in Christ.

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This is such a good thing that we
have such a good thing that we have.

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And, and again, that's one of the things
that I re remember about COVID is just

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thinking to myself, man, it's so good
to just be able to be back together.

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To sing together, to hug each other, to be
with each other, and to be a part of the

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community of the bride of Christ together.

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One of the things that I hope that
we're gonna see in our passage

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this morning from Hebrews chapter
10 is this, we need each other.

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Guys.

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I need you.

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And you need me.

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I need you in my life.

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You need me in your life.

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We need each other as the body of Christ.

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We need the sense of community
as the body of Christ.

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This is what the church is called to do.

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This is who the church is called
to be, and I hope to show us

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that in Hebrews chapter 10.

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So take your Bibles if you're
not there already, and open up to

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Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 and 25.

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We just recited them earlier as
part of our memory verses here.

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But Hebrews 10 24 says this, let the, let
us consider how to stir up one another

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to love and good works, not neglecting
to meet together as is the habit of some.

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But encouraging one another in all the
more as you see the day drawing near.

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Now we're gonna start in verse 25, so
I know some of you don't like that.

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That's okay.

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Some of you are like, this is
out of order and that's gonna

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bother me the whole sermon.

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So that's why I'm telling
you ahead of time.

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I know it's out of order.

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If you're out there and you're going,
he forgot verse 24, something is wrong.

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We're gonna get to
verse 24, I promise you.

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Hold on, bear with me.

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We'll get there.

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But I want us to start in
verse 25 and here's why.

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Last week we talked about the fact
that the church has been called out

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to what To congregate to gather.

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To show up together.

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Right?

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And so this is the bridge here in
verse 25, where he says that the

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church should not neglect to meet
together as is the habit of some.

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We talked about one component
of meeting together last week.

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And that's what we're doing right now.

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We, we gather together as the
church, we're the called out ones.

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We are called out from the world to
gather together as the bride of Christ.

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And we sit under the preaching of the
word of God, that the authority of the

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church is God's word, and that he's given
pastors to be able to teach and ex expose

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the word of God to be able to equip the
church, to do the work of the ministry,

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and then also to be able to have the.

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Ultimate goal of us as a church
growing up into the head,

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into him, who is Christ right?

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That our goal is to be more like
Jesus, and so we gather corporately

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together to worship towards that end.

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That's part of it.

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Church is not less than that,
but church is more than that.

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Church is so much more than that.

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And so when the writer says, not
neglecting to meet together, as is

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the habit of some, this is what I want
us to focus on this morning is what

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does it really mean to meet together?

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Are we doing it right now?

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Yeah, we're doing it right now in part.

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Like I just said, it's more than this.

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It's more than than showing up
for two hours a week and sitting

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under the sermon and then going
about the rest of your life.

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Showing up together is such a crucial
part about what this looks like.

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So just being here is a huge first step.

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Just being here, setting your
alarm, getting outta bed when it's

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ungodly cold outside this morning,
instead of staying home and saying,

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no, we're gonna show up at church.

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We're gonna get outta bed.

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We're gonna get our family together.

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We're gonna show up at church.

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We're gonna be here because why?

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Because the church gathers to exalt
Jesus as we gather every single Sunday.

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So that's part of it, and that's huge.

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That's a first step.

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But being a part of the body of Christ
doesn't end with simply showing up.

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We show up because we show up
because we need each other.

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We show up because we need to be together.

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We show up because I need
you when you need me.

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And so as we gather, I want us
to think about when we show up.

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You may go to church for all kinds
of different reasons, but one of

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the main reasons that we should
be here is for the good of our

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brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Point number one this morning, along
those lines is this show up for

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each other, show up for each other.

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There's a lot of reasons why
people would say, I, I don't

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feel like going to church today.

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I don't, I don't really wanna be there.

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I don't wanna show up today.

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Here's some of them that I just
thought about this week as I was

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preparing this is maybe you just had
a, a really stressful work week, and

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you think, man, I just, I just need
a, an extra day to just decompress.

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Being a church, being around other people
right now is, is probably not good.

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I, I'm, I'm short-tempered.

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Sometimes we, we don't wanna
show up because of sickness.

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Now, not all of these
reasons are illegitimate.

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If you're sick, you can love your brothers
and sisters in Christ by, by not showing

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up at church, maybe marital strife, right?

227
00:10:47,550 --> 00:10:51,840
Maybe your relationship is, is just on the
rocks right now, and, and you feel a sense

228
00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:53,310
of hypocrisy and showing up at church.

229
00:10:53,310 --> 00:10:56,220
And so you're thinking to yourself, I,
I, I don't want to go with my wife and

230
00:10:56,220 --> 00:10:59,280
put on this show, or I don't want to go
with my husband and put on this show.

231
00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,560
So I don't, I don't think I
want to go to church today.

232
00:11:02,430 --> 00:11:03,360
Rebellious kids.

233
00:11:04,155 --> 00:11:06,375
Maybe you and your kids had a
knockdown drag out fight about

234
00:11:06,375 --> 00:11:10,155
something as simple as bedtime the
night before, or cleaning their rooms.

235
00:11:10,905 --> 00:11:14,775
Or maybe with some, some of your older
kids, maybe they're rebelling against

236
00:11:14,835 --> 00:11:17,535
the gospel in Jesus Christ, and, and
you're just discouraged and you just

237
00:11:17,535 --> 00:11:19,695
don't feel like showing up at church.

238
00:11:20,865 --> 00:11:22,455
Maybe it's just not your favorite passage.

239
00:11:22,605 --> 00:11:23,895
You know what the pastor's
gonna be preaching on, and

240
00:11:23,895 --> 00:11:24,405
you're going, you know what?

241
00:11:24,405 --> 00:11:25,425
This isn't my favorite passage.

242
00:11:25,425 --> 00:11:26,325
It's not my favorite series.

243
00:11:26,325 --> 00:11:28,125
I don't, I don't really
feel like being there today.

244
00:11:28,575 --> 00:11:31,395
Maybe I'll, I'll podcast the pastor
that I really like in, in, in the

245
00:11:31,395 --> 00:11:32,220
series that he's going through.

246
00:11:34,020 --> 00:11:36,390
Maybe it's, uh, well, we're
about to leave for vacation.

247
00:11:36,525 --> 00:11:37,620
It's, it's Sunday.

248
00:11:37,620 --> 00:11:40,620
We're leaving for vacation on Monday, and
so we're, we're just not gonna show up.

249
00:11:40,620 --> 00:11:43,170
We're gonna take Sunday, just pack and
make sure we're ready for vacation.

250
00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:47,010
Or maybe it's, we just got back from
vacation on Saturday and it's like,

251
00:11:47,010 --> 00:11:50,250
well, we just got back from vacation, so
we're gonna take Sunday just to regather

252
00:11:50,250 --> 00:11:53,160
together as a family and, and then
we'll just get back to church next week.

253
00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,980
Or maybe you just think,
man, I'm just too tired.

254
00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:58,200
I'm just too tired to show up.

255
00:11:59,370 --> 00:12:01,950
Or you think I, I I don't wanna
see this person that I've got

256
00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:03,900
conflict with, I've got strife with.

257
00:12:03,900 --> 00:12:06,360
Or you think I, I don't wanna
be convicted by the preaching.

258
00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:07,290
I don't want to serve.

259
00:12:07,290 --> 00:12:09,165
I, I just, I just don't want to.

260
00:12:09,885 --> 00:12:10,565
I just don't want to.

261
00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:13,620
These are reasons why sometimes
people would say, I, I'm,

262
00:12:13,620 --> 00:12:14,850
I'm not gonna go to church.

263
00:12:15,390 --> 00:12:17,040
I'm not gonna gather together.

264
00:12:18,750 --> 00:12:22,200
There's equally, there's there's
reasons why we do show up at church that

265
00:12:22,290 --> 00:12:23,940
aren't always the best either, right?

266
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,310
Like maybe it's just routine.

267
00:12:27,090 --> 00:12:28,560
I'm gonna show up to church
because you know what?

268
00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:30,270
I, I just always have shown up at church.

269
00:12:30,270 --> 00:12:34,470
And so it's like you're on autopilot
on Sundays, you're just there, or you

270
00:12:34,470 --> 00:12:36,570
show up to church because of guilt.

271
00:12:36,570 --> 00:12:39,480
You think to yourself, man, I'm,
I'm gonna feel guilty if I'm

272
00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:41,910
not there and I don't wanna feel
guilty, so I'm just gonna be there.

273
00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:44,670
Maybe you just show up at church
'cause you're thinking to yourself,

274
00:12:44,670 --> 00:12:46,530
man, I, I just, I want more knowledge.

275
00:12:46,860 --> 00:12:49,080
I'm gonna show up because I, I
want to dive into the word of God.

276
00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,180
I want more knowledge and I
just want to, to learn more.

277
00:12:51,180 --> 00:12:52,680
I want my intellect to be stimulated.

278
00:12:53,790 --> 00:12:55,830
Or maybe you show up at church
just because of obligation.

279
00:12:56,655 --> 00:13:00,195
Your loved one, your spouse, your,
your, your kids expect you to be there.

280
00:13:00,195 --> 00:13:01,635
And so you think, okay,
I'm gonna be there.

281
00:13:02,715 --> 00:13:05,415
Maybe you show up at church because you've
got this perception of Christian Karma.

282
00:13:06,405 --> 00:13:09,585
Maybe as a, a businessman or, or woman,
you've got a meeting this week that's key.

283
00:13:09,585 --> 00:13:11,565
And you're thinking to yourself, man,
I don't think that meeting's gonna go

284
00:13:11,565 --> 00:13:13,095
well if I'm not at church this weekend.

285
00:13:13,935 --> 00:13:17,715
So I'm gonna show up at church so that
I get something positive out of it.

286
00:13:18,285 --> 00:13:18,825
The next week.

287
00:13:19,575 --> 00:13:20,175
Maybe you show up.

288
00:13:20,175 --> 00:13:23,145
Just out of curiosity, what's
it gonna say about this?

289
00:13:23,745 --> 00:13:25,245
What's this series gonna be about?

290
00:13:26,205 --> 00:13:27,885
Maybe you show up to maintain appearance.

291
00:13:28,905 --> 00:13:31,215
'cause you've got a fear of man that
says, well, if I'm not there, this

292
00:13:31,215 --> 00:13:32,445
person's gonna think less of me.

293
00:13:33,645 --> 00:13:36,825
Or maybe you just show up at church
because of a pride self-righteousness

294
00:13:37,995 --> 00:13:40,425
that says that, that I need to show up
at church because I'm a good Christian.

295
00:13:40,425 --> 00:13:41,625
And that's what good Christians do.

296
00:13:44,235 --> 00:13:46,695
It's always gonna be better to show up
at church than not show up at church.

297
00:13:48,285 --> 00:13:50,985
But there are good reasons and there
are bad reasons to be here this morning.

298
00:13:52,035 --> 00:13:53,985
One of the best reasons for
you to be here this morning

299
00:13:53,985 --> 00:13:55,215
is to be here for one another.

300
00:13:56,175 --> 00:14:00,015
To be here for each other, to be here for
the building up of the body of Christ.

301
00:14:00,015 --> 00:14:03,735
And, and the the truth of it is, is
our body suffers without you here.

302
00:14:05,265 --> 00:14:07,905
Just like when, when we were back in
COVID and we were going through the,

303
00:14:07,905 --> 00:14:11,355
all the, the routines and regulations
and meeting outside and everything else

304
00:14:11,355 --> 00:14:12,765
like that, man, our worship suffered.

305
00:14:12,765 --> 00:14:13,785
It just wasn't as good.

306
00:14:13,785 --> 00:14:14,835
It wasn't as sweet.

307
00:14:16,185 --> 00:14:21,195
Our fellowship suffered, our joy suffered,
but then when we came back together, it

308
00:14:21,195 --> 00:14:23,985
was that breath of fresh air to be like,
yes, this is what I've been missing.

309
00:14:25,155 --> 00:14:28,065
And so when you're not here, when I
don't show up, when you don't show

310
00:14:28,065 --> 00:14:30,405
up, it, it hurts the body of Christ.

311
00:14:30,885 --> 00:14:32,025
Now, let me give the caveat.

312
00:14:32,025 --> 00:14:34,515
I know there are legitimate
reasons for missing church.

313
00:14:35,055 --> 00:14:38,115
If you're on vacation, you're, we
don't expect you to, to FaceTime in

314
00:14:38,115 --> 00:14:40,935
with us and, and sit in the back with
somebody holding up the phone, right?

315
00:14:42,045 --> 00:14:43,005
We don't expect you to be here.

316
00:14:43,005 --> 00:14:43,695
You've got a work trip.

317
00:14:43,695 --> 00:14:44,445
We don't expect you to be.

318
00:14:44,445 --> 00:14:45,045
You're sick.

319
00:14:45,045 --> 00:14:47,175
You've got, you've just had
a baby, you've got inclement.

320
00:14:47,175 --> 00:14:49,935
Whether you can't, there are
legitimate reasons not to be here.

321
00:14:50,535 --> 00:14:52,785
What I'm talking about though
is, is the reasons that have more

322
00:14:52,785 --> 00:14:54,495
to do with myself than it does.

323
00:14:54,525 --> 00:14:57,105
You know, whether or not this is a
legitimate reason not to be there.

324
00:14:57,765 --> 00:15:00,645
Some of those reasons that we talked
about earlier, and what I hope to

325
00:15:00,645 --> 00:15:03,375
convey this morning is I want you to
feel that your presence is necessary

326
00:15:03,375 --> 00:15:05,115
for us, for what we're doing here.

327
00:15:05,475 --> 00:15:07,155
We need you to be a part of this.

328
00:15:07,425 --> 00:15:10,875
In fact, the the word for neglecting
in the text back in our passage

329
00:15:10,875 --> 00:15:13,875
here, not neglecting to meet
together, it's the Greek word that

330
00:15:13,875 --> 00:15:16,245
also means abandoning or forsaking.

331
00:15:16,245 --> 00:15:20,925
And so the writer is using a word
that has relational impact here to

332
00:15:20,925 --> 00:15:22,545
say why we should show up at church.

333
00:15:23,505 --> 00:15:26,955
It's not just about the attendance,
it's not just about counting heads.

334
00:15:27,525 --> 00:15:29,685
It's about the relationships
that exist here.

335
00:15:29,685 --> 00:15:34,335
The legacy standard Bible translates it
as forsaking, not forsaking the gathering.

336
00:15:35,475 --> 00:15:38,655
When we don't show up, there is a
component to where we are forsaking.

337
00:15:38,655 --> 00:15:41,715
We are abandoning our brothers
and sisters who need us.

338
00:15:41,775 --> 00:15:44,055
Again, we need each other, and I need you.

339
00:15:44,055 --> 00:15:44,745
You need me.

340
00:15:45,405 --> 00:15:47,955
We need one another in this
thing called Christianity, in

341
00:15:47,955 --> 00:15:49,425
this pursuit of christlikeness.

342
00:15:49,515 --> 00:15:52,965
And so I want you here on Sunday mornings,
but I more than that, I, I want you to

343
00:15:52,965 --> 00:15:56,415
show up for, for not just because I'm
saying I want you here, but I want you

344
00:15:56,415 --> 00:15:57,945
to show up because you love one another.

345
00:15:58,365 --> 00:16:01,125
I want you to show up because of
the community of the body of Christ

346
00:16:01,125 --> 00:16:04,035
that's here and the, the, the
love that we have for each other.

347
00:16:05,415 --> 00:16:07,995
Because when we choose not to show up
for our brothers and sisters in Christ,

348
00:16:07,995 --> 00:16:12,195
there's something that we are, are, are
doing that hurts them and that hurts us.

349
00:16:12,255 --> 00:16:14,985
It hurts them because they're
not benefiting from our presence

350
00:16:14,985 --> 00:16:17,564
here, and it hurts us because
we're not benefiting from theirs.

351
00:16:19,064 --> 00:16:20,415
Maybe you're a little skeptical still.

352
00:16:20,415 --> 00:16:22,185
Look at the context of our passage again.

353
00:16:22,665 --> 00:16:24,345
Look at verse 19 in Hebrews.

354
00:16:24,405 --> 00:16:26,025
Hebrews chapter 10 19 Notice.

355
00:16:26,085 --> 00:16:29,564
Therefore, brothers, you can read
that as brothers and sisters.

356
00:16:30,285 --> 00:16:36,405
Verse 19 B, since we have confidence,
verse 20, he opened for us.

357
00:16:37,065 --> 00:16:37,755
Verse 21.

358
00:16:37,845 --> 00:16:44,505
Since we have a great high priest,
verse 22, let us draw near 22 again

359
00:16:44,505 --> 00:16:46,785
and our hearts sprinkled clean.

360
00:16:46,785 --> 00:16:48,915
Verse 22, our bodies washed.

361
00:16:49,155 --> 00:16:49,845
Verse 23.

362
00:16:49,845 --> 00:16:52,005
Let us hold fast the
confession of our hope.

363
00:16:52,005 --> 00:16:55,485
Verse 24, let us consider
how to stir one another up.

364
00:16:55,725 --> 00:17:01,035
Verse 25, not neglecting to meet together,
verse 25, but encouraging one another.

365
00:17:01,335 --> 00:17:04,005
Do you see that the first person
plurals, that are all over the

366
00:17:04,005 --> 00:17:05,085
the address here from the writer.

367
00:17:06,060 --> 00:17:09,900
And, and this is just flowing out of
him because this is what the church is.

368
00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:15,510
He doesn't say Here, therefore,
Christian, since you have confidence

369
00:17:15,750 --> 00:17:19,349
in what he opened for you and since
you have a great high priest, let you,

370
00:17:19,349 --> 00:17:23,310
you should draw near with your heart,
sprinkled clean, and your body washed.

371
00:17:23,743 --> 00:17:26,444
And, and you should hold fast
the confession of your hope.

372
00:17:26,895 --> 00:17:27,525
And, and you know what?

373
00:17:27,525 --> 00:17:33,315
You should be stirred up within yourself
and, and, and you should worship God

374
00:17:33,405 --> 00:17:37,065
alone and, and you should be encouraged
by the word of God, by yourself.

375
00:17:37,845 --> 00:17:40,245
See, that's not what he's saying
because that's not what the church is.

376
00:17:41,265 --> 00:17:44,685
He's using this language, even the
pronouns, even to convey that the

377
00:17:44,685 --> 00:17:48,525
church is about this, it's about the
room, it's about the people here.

378
00:17:48,525 --> 00:17:51,195
It's about the body of
Christ gathering together.

379
00:17:51,315 --> 00:17:54,045
And so from passages like this
one, we see that the life of the

380
00:17:54,045 --> 00:17:57,645
Christian was designed and intended
by God to be lived in the context of

381
00:17:57,645 --> 00:18:00,615
the community of the local church.

382
00:18:03,615 --> 00:18:06,015
There's close to 61 another
commands in the New Testament.

383
00:18:07,545 --> 00:18:08,955
Those are hard to obey without this.

384
00:18:10,275 --> 00:18:12,255
I would say they're impossible
to obey without this.

385
00:18:13,395 --> 00:18:16,635
To love one another, to be in the, the
presence of the body of Christ together.

386
00:18:19,125 --> 00:18:20,625
Consider the picture of
the, the early church.

387
00:18:20,625 --> 00:18:21,915
We read it during our scripture reading.

388
00:18:22,755 --> 00:18:25,035
Again, acts chapter two,
verses 42 through 47.

389
00:18:25,035 --> 00:18:28,215
They devoted themselves to the
apostles teaching into fellowship,

390
00:18:28,695 --> 00:18:29,655
to the breaking of bread.

391
00:18:29,655 --> 00:18:32,955
And the prayers and awe came upon
every soul and many wonders and

392
00:18:32,955 --> 00:18:36,105
signs were being done through the
apostles and all who believed were

393
00:18:36,105 --> 00:18:38,925
together and had all things in common.

394
00:18:38,955 --> 00:18:41,475
And they were selling their
possessions and distributing the

395
00:18:41,475 --> 00:18:43,965
proceeds to all as anyone had need.

396
00:18:44,175 --> 00:18:48,765
And day by day, attending the temple
together and breaking bread in

397
00:18:48,765 --> 00:18:51,255
their homes, they received their
food with glad and generous hearts.

398
00:18:51,325 --> 00:18:55,015
Praising God and having favor with all the
people, and the Lord added to their number

399
00:18:55,015 --> 00:18:57,685
day by day, those who were being saved.

400
00:18:58,945 --> 00:19:02,185
See, the, the, the early church, I, I, I,
I, granted we're in a different context.

401
00:19:02,185 --> 00:19:04,855
There's things that we're gonna do
differently based on where we are

402
00:19:04,855 --> 00:19:06,715
just in history from where they were.

403
00:19:06,925 --> 00:19:10,885
But that sense of love for one another,
that sense shouldn't change because

404
00:19:10,890 --> 00:19:12,145
that's a product of the gospel.

405
00:19:12,675 --> 00:19:15,525
That's a product of what Jesus Christ
has done in saving us and bringing

406
00:19:15,525 --> 00:19:16,995
us into the, the body of Christ.

407
00:19:17,415 --> 00:19:19,785
That's true whether you're part
of the early church, part of the

408
00:19:19,785 --> 00:19:21,975
Middle Ages church or part of the
church today, or part of the church.

409
00:19:21,975 --> 00:19:25,725
If Jesus doesn't come back before
then in the year 4,000, this

410
00:19:25,725 --> 00:19:26,475
is what the church should be.

411
00:19:26,475 --> 00:19:28,395
It should be brothers and sisters
in Christ loving each other.

412
00:19:28,905 --> 00:19:32,055
Should be, the community should
be showing up for each other.

413
00:19:32,595 --> 00:19:35,955
And the problem is, in so many ways,
for so many Christians, churches become

414
00:19:35,955 --> 00:19:37,395
a luxury rather than the lifeline.

415
00:19:38,575 --> 00:19:41,280
It is like, well, yeah, church is there
and it's a luxury for me to be able to,

416
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,760
to, to go to a church that I can choose
what service I want to attend and what

417
00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,820
I, I feel like being involved in what I
don't feel like being involved in and what

418
00:19:47,820 --> 00:19:49,560
fits my schedule and my family's schedule.

419
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:55,200
Our sending pastor around the year
2000, Y 2K, if you remember back there.

420
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:56,850
We've hit COD in Y 2K.

421
00:19:56,850 --> 00:20:00,630
I don't know what else I've got
in store for you, but, um, he.

422
00:20:01,035 --> 00:20:05,595
I had a, the, the church got a bunch
of of water tanks and they, they

423
00:20:05,595 --> 00:20:09,465
filled up the water tanks and just
massive water tanks and not knowing

424
00:20:09,465 --> 00:20:13,815
what was gonna happen during the year
2000, he told the church body, he

425
00:20:13,815 --> 00:20:15,165
said, here's what I want you to do.

426
00:20:15,495 --> 00:20:18,195
We don't know exactly what's gonna
happen, but if things go bad, I

427
00:20:18,195 --> 00:20:19,245
want you to come to the church.

428
00:20:20,055 --> 00:20:20,745
I want you to come here.

429
00:20:21,675 --> 00:20:24,015
And, and that was his message,
not just then, but he said

430
00:20:24,015 --> 00:20:25,125
that many times after that.

431
00:20:26,325 --> 00:20:26,505
Why?

432
00:20:26,505 --> 00:20:29,835
Because he wanted us to see that
this body, this, this group that we

433
00:20:29,835 --> 00:20:31,965
are a part of is a lifeline for us.

434
00:20:32,835 --> 00:20:35,325
That if the heat gets turned up
politically and we start facing

435
00:20:35,325 --> 00:20:37,275
persecution, we're gonna need each other.

436
00:20:37,875 --> 00:20:39,315
And that switch is not just gonna flip.

437
00:20:39,705 --> 00:20:41,625
We have to build into
those relationships now.

438
00:20:42,285 --> 00:20:45,555
And so when we show up, I want us
to show up because we want to be

439
00:20:45,885 --> 00:20:48,555
present together as the body of
Christ to sit under the teaching.

440
00:20:48,555 --> 00:20:48,795
Yes.

441
00:20:48,795 --> 00:20:51,135
But also because we wanna say, man,
I wanna show up for Tim and Matt and

442
00:20:51,135 --> 00:20:52,575
Jason and Heidi and Angela and Steve.

443
00:20:52,875 --> 00:20:54,165
I wanna show up for
the people that I love.

444
00:20:55,710 --> 00:20:57,150
Think about your, your family holidays.

445
00:20:57,930 --> 00:21:02,280
Sometimes you gather together as
a family and, and maybe one year

446
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:03,510
somebody's not able to make it.

447
00:21:04,530 --> 00:21:07,320
And it's not that the whole
thing isn't just awesome.

448
00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,360
It's not that you sit there and
you're like, man, this is miserable

449
00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:10,770
because this person's not here.

450
00:21:11,310 --> 00:21:13,320
But you do feel their absence, don't you?

451
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,160
It's not the same when they're not
there and you sit there and you think,

452
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:18,570
man, it'd be sweeter if they were here.

453
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,870
That's the body of Christ
every single Sunday.

454
00:21:22,725 --> 00:21:27,015
For us to be able to say, man, it'd
be sweeter if all of us were here, and

455
00:21:27,015 --> 00:21:29,145
so we should show up for each other.

456
00:21:29,325 --> 00:21:31,545
We're gonna get practical about what
that looks like next, but for now,

457
00:21:31,545 --> 00:21:34,125
I just want us to see and agree upon
the, the importance of, of being here.

458
00:21:34,125 --> 00:21:34,935
We need each other.

459
00:21:34,935 --> 00:21:35,475
I need you.

460
00:21:35,475 --> 00:21:35,985
You need me.

461
00:21:36,855 --> 00:21:40,305
That's what the body of Christ is,
and part of the reason why is 'cause

462
00:21:40,305 --> 00:21:41,655
we need each other to stay on task.

463
00:21:42,375 --> 00:21:44,265
So look back in verse
25 with me, if you will.

464
00:21:44,265 --> 00:21:47,445
He says, not neglecting to meet together,
as is the habit of some, but here he

465
00:21:47,445 --> 00:21:51,705
goes, encouraging one another and all
the more, as you see the day drawing

466
00:21:51,705 --> 00:21:56,295
near it, it, it's like this showing
up is like taking the field, right?

467
00:21:56,595 --> 00:21:59,985
If you've played sports, you take
your position on the field, but

468
00:21:59,985 --> 00:22:01,185
you're not done at that point, right?

469
00:22:02,085 --> 00:22:06,105
No team is expected to just say, Hey, we
just want a warm body that's out there.

470
00:22:06,110 --> 00:22:08,775
It doesn't matter who it's,
it doesn't matter if they know

471
00:22:08,775 --> 00:22:09,465
what they're supposed to do.

472
00:22:09,465 --> 00:22:10,545
Just a warm body out there.

473
00:22:11,090 --> 00:22:14,445
At, at, at some point you reach a level
of athletics where you're expected

474
00:22:14,445 --> 00:22:16,305
to do your part when you do show up.

475
00:22:17,055 --> 00:22:20,025
So showing up is the first part, but then
you've gotta actually show up and, and

476
00:22:20,025 --> 00:22:23,505
it's not just that you show up, but it's
how you show up and it's why you show up.

477
00:22:24,285 --> 00:22:27,105
And that's what we're beginning to
get into in the rest of verse 25.

478
00:22:27,105 --> 00:22:30,465
Here, I want you to notice the opposite
of not neglecting to meet together.

479
00:22:30,465 --> 00:22:30,735
Here.

480
00:22:31,635 --> 00:22:34,905
He says not neglecting to meet together
is, is that habit of some, but.

481
00:22:35,325 --> 00:22:38,805
And so there's our contrast in the
verse, and he's gonna contrast not

482
00:22:38,805 --> 00:22:40,185
meeting together with something else.

483
00:22:40,185 --> 00:22:41,235
What does he contrast it with?

484
00:22:41,235 --> 00:22:47,205
Just showing up, no showing up and
encouraging each other, showing up and,

485
00:22:47,205 --> 00:22:50,655
and being active in one another's lives,
showing up and encouraging one another.

486
00:22:50,655 --> 00:22:54,225
In all the mores you see the day
drawing near that word encouraging

487
00:22:54,225 --> 00:22:58,125
is from a Greek word parato, that
means to call alongside and, and

488
00:22:58,125 --> 00:22:59,325
you can even get the picture there.

489
00:22:59,325 --> 00:23:01,065
It's a, it's a discipleship
word, isn't it?

490
00:23:01,425 --> 00:23:04,485
I'm gonna call you alongside of me
and we're gonna do this together.

491
00:23:05,355 --> 00:23:06,675
That's the body of Christ.

492
00:23:07,185 --> 00:23:12,435
And so we are meant to show up in order
to encourage, to exhort, to implore.

493
00:23:12,675 --> 00:23:17,505
It can also even carry at at times the
idea of, of reproof and correction.

494
00:23:18,285 --> 00:23:20,505
It's a broad word that
has a lot of applications.

495
00:23:20,505 --> 00:23:21,975
So what is it that we're encouraging?

496
00:23:21,975 --> 00:23:24,465
Well, the writer of Hebrews
was encouraging his audience.

497
00:23:24,465 --> 00:23:26,325
They needed to be staying faithful.

498
00:23:27,075 --> 00:23:28,755
There were some in their midst
that were tempted to abandon

499
00:23:28,755 --> 00:23:29,925
and walk away from Christianity.

500
00:23:29,925 --> 00:23:34,635
So they needed the body of Christ to
encourage them to stay faithful, to

501
00:23:34,635 --> 00:23:37,785
be encouraged, to remember the truth
of God's word and not drift from it.

502
00:23:38,445 --> 00:23:42,375
To be encouraged to persevere through
trials and difficulties, to fear the evils

503
00:23:42,375 --> 00:23:47,475
of sin, to love one another well, and to
keep our eyes focused on the, the goal.

504
00:23:48,435 --> 00:23:49,755
And that's where the writer goes next.

505
00:23:49,755 --> 00:23:53,055
He says, encouraging one, one
another, and all the more as

506
00:23:53,055 --> 00:23:55,335
you see the day drawing near.

507
00:23:56,550 --> 00:23:56,730
Y'all.

508
00:23:56,730 --> 00:23:57,780
This is, is clutch.

509
00:23:57,780 --> 00:24:03,510
This is so key for us because the, the
church is, is here for now, but there's

510
00:24:03,510 --> 00:24:05,100
a day that Jesus is coming back for us.

511
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,060
You guys heard that, that Forrest
Frank song, Jesus is coming

512
00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:10,500
back soon with Josiah Queen.

513
00:24:10,980 --> 00:24:11,790
It's real simple.

514
00:24:11,790 --> 00:24:14,430
It's not, it's not challenging the Gettys
for profundity by any stretch of the

515
00:24:14,430 --> 00:24:18,780
imagination, but I love when it gets
stuck in my head because that, though it's

516
00:24:18,780 --> 00:24:23,040
not a, a profound or though it is not a
complex truth, it is a profound truth.

517
00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:25,620
Jesus is coming back soon.

518
00:24:26,220 --> 00:24:30,480
The day is drawing near and we
need to be encouraging each other

519
00:24:30,870 --> 00:24:32,580
because the day is drawing near.

520
00:24:33,630 --> 00:24:35,190
I don't know when the
rapture is gonna happen.

521
00:24:35,190 --> 00:24:36,300
That's not what we're about here.

522
00:24:37,140 --> 00:24:38,280
I'm not setting dates and times.

523
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,220
'cause the Bible says no one knows
the hour or the day except the father.

524
00:24:41,220 --> 00:24:41,520
Right.

525
00:24:42,420 --> 00:24:46,710
What I do know is that he is coming
back and, and listen if he comes back in

526
00:24:46,710 --> 00:24:48,960
your lifetime, praise God my lifetime.

527
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,190
Praise God if he doesn't.

528
00:24:51,210 --> 00:24:54,270
At some point, we're all going to be
called home to go be with him, aren't we?

529
00:24:55,380 --> 00:25:00,420
And no matter what you and I today are
one day closer to either the return of

530
00:25:00,420 --> 00:25:03,570
Christ for the bride or us departing
this world to go be with Jesus.

531
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,370
You have one day less to live
today than you did yesterday.

532
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:14,460
And so one of the things that we need
each other to be encouraging us about

533
00:25:14,490 --> 00:25:16,200
is how to live in light of that reality.

534
00:25:16,830 --> 00:25:19,889
Pastor Rod preaching on this a few
weeks ago, Psalm 90 teach us to

535
00:25:19,889 --> 00:25:23,820
number our days, and I need you
to encourage me to live my life.

536
00:25:23,820 --> 00:25:29,159
Well, to say, pastor pj, the time that
you've got left is, is, is limited.

537
00:25:29,970 --> 00:25:32,280
You're one day closer to that
time that you're gonna go meet

538
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,080
Jesus than you were yesterday.

539
00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:36,780
And, and I need to be doing that with you.

540
00:25:36,780 --> 00:25:39,929
And, and we need to be doing this in such
a way that, that we're helping each other

541
00:25:39,929 --> 00:25:41,850
live differently in light of that reality.

542
00:25:43,260 --> 00:25:45,629
Peter talks about this in
second Peter, chapter three.

543
00:25:46,305 --> 00:25:47,535
Verses 11 through 13.

544
00:25:47,535 --> 00:25:52,575
He says this, since all these things
are thus to be dissolved, he's

545
00:25:52,575 --> 00:25:53,895
talking about the world at this point.

546
00:25:53,895 --> 00:25:56,145
The heavenly bodies are gonna
be burnt up, things like that.

547
00:25:56,145 --> 00:25:57,765
All these things are thus to be dissolved.

548
00:25:58,005 --> 00:26:02,805
He says, what sort of people ought you
to be in lives of holiness and godliness?

549
00:26:04,095 --> 00:26:04,875
This is what he's talking about.

550
00:26:04,905 --> 00:26:08,295
Since the day is drawn near,
what sort of life should we live?

551
00:26:08,295 --> 00:26:09,075
He asked to before.

552
00:26:09,075 --> 00:26:11,205
Francis Chan, Francis
Chan, Francis Schaeffer.

553
00:26:11,205 --> 00:26:11,265
Hmm.

554
00:26:13,169 --> 00:26:15,210
Francis Shaffer asked the
question, how should we then live?

555
00:26:15,210 --> 00:26:19,050
Peter asked the question first, and in
light of the fact that Jesus is coming

556
00:26:19,050 --> 00:26:23,580
back in light of the fact that all this
is gonna burn, how should we then live?

557
00:26:23,580 --> 00:26:26,790
What sort of people ought you to be in
lives of holiness and godliness waiting

558
00:26:26,790 --> 00:26:28,440
for and hastening the coming day of God?

559
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:30,810
Because of which the heavens will
be set on fire and dissolved in

560
00:26:30,810 --> 00:26:33,419
the heavenly bodies will melt
as they burn, but according to

561
00:26:33,419 --> 00:26:34,740
his promise, here it is, y'all.

562
00:26:34,919 --> 00:26:38,820
We are waiting for a new heavens and a
new earth in which righteousness dwells.

563
00:26:39,090 --> 00:26:40,980
That's what we're
encouraging each other with.

564
00:26:42,629 --> 00:26:45,210
Wh when you're walking through
a trial, you need the church to

565
00:26:45,210 --> 00:26:47,940
encourage you about the fact that
you've got a date with Jesus coming.

566
00:26:49,230 --> 00:26:51,659
You've got a date with your savior
where there's no more pain, no more

567
00:26:51,659 --> 00:26:53,070
sickness, no more sorrow anymore.

568
00:26:54,389 --> 00:26:56,250
When you're battling temptation,
you've gotta have somebody come

569
00:26:56,250 --> 00:26:58,710
alongside you and say, Hey, you, you,
you've got a date with Jesus coming.

570
00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:01,845
You've got an appointment with
the beam of seed of Christ coming.

571
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,290
See, we're not here forever.

572
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:06,960
And so while we're here, we
should wanna make the best use

573
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,510
of the time that we have, the
brevity of the life that we have.

574
00:27:09,510 --> 00:27:12,990
And so that's another major reason why I
need you, and you need me in your life.

575
00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:16,530
We're meant to be here, not just
to show up, but it's, it's how

576
00:27:16,530 --> 00:27:17,820
we show up and why we show up.

577
00:27:17,820 --> 00:27:20,670
And one of the key reasons we show
up is to encourage each other in

578
00:27:20,670 --> 00:27:24,540
light of the fact that one day we
are all going to go and meet Jesus.

579
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,260
Point number two this morning is this,
help each other live, ready to meet Jesus.

580
00:27:29,295 --> 00:27:33,825
When we show up to church, we wanna help
each other live ready to meet Jesus.

581
00:27:36,435 --> 00:27:40,245
There's two aspects of this encouragement
that I think we need from each other.

582
00:27:41,355 --> 00:27:43,995
Two ways that we can help each
other live ready to meet Jesus.

583
00:27:44,745 --> 00:27:47,145
The first is we need to
encourage each other to stay

584
00:27:47,145 --> 00:27:48,705
busy while we wait His return.

585
00:27:50,205 --> 00:27:50,860
We got work to do.

586
00:27:53,024 --> 00:27:56,985
Sometimes you'll, you'll fly with people
that fly more than, than, than I do,

587
00:27:56,985 --> 00:27:59,745
and they've got access or they've got
the credit card that's better than mine

588
00:27:59,925 --> 00:28:01,754
so they can get in the lounge, right?

589
00:28:02,385 --> 00:28:02,985
And the lounge.

590
00:28:02,985 --> 00:28:04,965
What's the, the lounge in
the airport meant to do?

591
00:28:04,965 --> 00:28:07,965
It's meant to make you as comfortable
as possible until you wait.

592
00:28:07,965 --> 00:28:10,905
Your, your departure
flight, Hey, come be here.

593
00:28:10,905 --> 00:28:13,665
You don't have to, to sit with all the
plebeians out there and all the people

594
00:28:13,665 --> 00:28:17,565
that might have COVID come in here
into the, the airport lounge and, and

595
00:28:17,565 --> 00:28:19,875
be, be comfortable with us in here.

596
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:27,000
That somehow, sometimes that mentality
can can creep into the church that

597
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,680
this place is the Delta Lounge and
we're just here to be as comfortable

598
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,560
as we possibly can be until our
departure flight to go be with Jesus.

599
00:28:36,420 --> 00:28:37,080
That's not it.

600
00:28:38,130 --> 00:28:40,560
In fact, next week we're gonna talk
about this because the church is not

601
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,440
only called out to congregate and called
out into community, but we've been

602
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:48,240
called out and commissioned, and so I
need you and you need me to remind us

603
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:49,800
that hey, there's work to be done here.

604
00:28:51,284 --> 00:28:53,685
Hey, there, there, there's a mission
for the bride of Christ here.

605
00:28:54,794 --> 00:28:58,004
Hey, you've been saved by Grace alone
through Faith Alone and Christ alone.

606
00:28:58,004 --> 00:28:58,544
Amen.

607
00:28:58,544 --> 00:29:01,605
But right after that, in Ephesians two
10, it says, you've been created by God

608
00:29:01,605 --> 00:29:03,915
for to be his, his good workmanship.

609
00:29:03,915 --> 00:29:06,675
He's prepared good works
for you to walk in them.

610
00:29:08,205 --> 00:29:10,245
And so we gotta be busy
about those things.

611
00:29:11,475 --> 00:29:12,315
Matthew 24.

612
00:29:12,315 --> 00:29:13,635
Jesus tells a a parable.

613
00:29:13,635 --> 00:29:15,015
He says this.

614
00:29:15,015 --> 00:29:17,775
At the end of it, he says, therefore,
you must also be ready for the

615
00:29:17,775 --> 00:29:19,245
son of man is coming at an hour.

616
00:29:19,245 --> 00:29:20,385
You do not expect.

617
00:29:21,015 --> 00:29:24,405
He says, who then is the faithful
and wise servant whom his master

618
00:29:24,405 --> 00:29:28,305
has said over his household to give
them their food at the proper time?

619
00:29:28,545 --> 00:29:33,765
Blessed is that servant whom his master
will find so doing when he comes.

620
00:29:35,310 --> 00:29:35,490
Y'all.

621
00:29:35,490 --> 00:29:38,520
We need to be together such that
we are encouraging each other to

622
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,280
say, Hey, are you living ready
to meet Jesus at any minute?

623
00:29:42,990 --> 00:29:45,870
There is nothing on the prophetic
landscape that we are waiting to happen

624
00:29:45,870 --> 00:29:47,610
until Jesus comes back for his bride.

625
00:29:48,629 --> 00:29:49,440
It's all been done.

626
00:29:50,460 --> 00:29:53,790
So the next thing on the redemptive
history timeline of God as the

627
00:29:53,790 --> 00:29:55,860
return of Jesus for the the church.

628
00:29:56,580 --> 00:30:00,540
And, and when he's gonna return for the
churches is when the last soul is saved.

629
00:30:00,540 --> 00:30:04,470
The last soul that he has called
to be his is going to be saved.

630
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,530
Our sending pastor used to put
it as, as filling up the bus.

631
00:30:08,130 --> 00:30:11,070
When the last seat in the bus
is is full, then Christ is

632
00:30:11,070 --> 00:30:12,420
gonna come back for his church.

633
00:30:12,420 --> 00:30:15,960
And it's a sobering thought to think
that right now somewhere somebody might

634
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,200
be sharing the gospel with the last
person that's ever gonna bow the knee

635
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,870
in faith and repentance to Jesus Christ
before he comes back for the bride.

636
00:30:23,340 --> 00:30:24,480
And are you ready for that?

637
00:30:25,485 --> 00:30:26,445
Am I ready for that?

638
00:30:27,795 --> 00:30:28,905
This is why we need each other.

639
00:30:30,014 --> 00:30:32,895
We need each other encouraging
us to live a life ready for that.

640
00:30:33,705 --> 00:30:34,335
We need each other.

641
00:30:34,335 --> 00:30:37,245
Spurring one another on encouraging
each other, pressing each other on

642
00:30:37,245 --> 00:30:40,485
holding ourselves accountable to
be ready for the return of Christ.

643
00:30:41,895 --> 00:30:43,514
Again, my life is, is limited.

644
00:30:43,514 --> 00:30:46,245
I don't know what time I
have left here on this earth.

645
00:30:47,175 --> 00:30:50,535
I want you in my kitchen saying,
what are you doing with your life?

646
00:30:51,254 --> 00:30:53,504
I want you saying, how
are you using your time?

647
00:30:54,435 --> 00:30:57,285
I want you, if you find out, man,
pastor PJ's playing video games

648
00:30:57,285 --> 00:30:58,455
for two and three hours a night.

649
00:30:58,455 --> 00:30:58,845
I'm not.

650
00:30:59,115 --> 00:31:00,915
But if I was, I want you to be.

651
00:31:00,915 --> 00:31:02,025
What are you doing, bro,

652
00:31:04,185 --> 00:31:04,785
pastor bro?

653
00:31:07,845 --> 00:31:10,305
Is that really what you wanna be
found doing when Jesus comes back?

654
00:31:11,805 --> 00:31:13,335
I, I need you in my life.

655
00:31:13,335 --> 00:31:14,265
I need you knowing.

656
00:31:14,265 --> 00:31:15,945
Hey, are you loving your wife well?

657
00:31:17,205 --> 00:31:19,605
Are you treating her the way that
God has called you to treat her?

658
00:31:21,450 --> 00:31:25,260
If Christ comes back, as you're having a,
a, a conversation with your wife, are you

659
00:31:25,260 --> 00:31:27,240
going to be honoring Jesus when he does?

660
00:31:29,430 --> 00:31:31,950
Are you grumbling and, and
complaining about your circumstances?

661
00:31:31,950 --> 00:31:35,310
I want you in my kitchen such that if
I start grumbling about my life, my

662
00:31:35,310 --> 00:31:40,140
circumstances, I want you to say, Hey
man, your, your, your hope is not here

663
00:31:40,140 --> 00:31:46,350
and now your comfort's not about here
and now it's about then and there.

664
00:31:47,340 --> 00:31:48,480
Redirect your focus.

665
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:49,325
Redirect your gaze.

666
00:31:50,865 --> 00:31:54,045
One of the ways that we can encourage
each other is, again, that way to,

667
00:31:54,045 --> 00:31:56,625
to encourage each other to say, Hey,
I want you to, to use your time.

668
00:31:56,625 --> 00:32:01,065
Well, stay busy and be ready
when Christ comes back.

669
00:32:01,995 --> 00:32:04,755
The second way though, we do this,
is as we encourage each other to,

670
00:32:04,755 --> 00:32:08,805
to have the right perspective as we
remember our ultimate destination.

671
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:12,465
That, that this world is not our home.

672
00:32:12,975 --> 00:32:14,865
This goes back to our study in
one Peter, which we're gonna

673
00:32:14,865 --> 00:32:16,065
get back to in a few weeks here.

674
00:32:16,065 --> 00:32:18,765
But remember, Peter's addressing
his audience as aliens

675
00:32:18,765 --> 00:32:20,205
and strangers, as exiles.

676
00:32:21,225 --> 00:32:24,225
And they were literally, but they
were also that spiritually speaking.

677
00:32:24,915 --> 00:32:27,735
And all of us in, in this room are
spiritual exiles in this world.

678
00:32:27,735 --> 00:32:29,025
This world is not our home.

679
00:32:30,255 --> 00:32:34,575
So I need you to encourage me to press
on during the trial because this trial

680
00:32:34,575 --> 00:32:38,535
is, is ultimately gonna be shown to be
a light momentary affliction in light of

681
00:32:38,535 --> 00:32:41,565
the eternal weight of glory that's being
prepared for me when Jesus comes back.

682
00:32:42,765 --> 00:32:46,425
I need you to encourage me and exhort
me to stay the course when tempted

683
00:32:46,425 --> 00:32:47,565
by worldliness to say, you know what?

684
00:32:47,565 --> 00:32:48,915
It's, it's not worth it.

685
00:32:50,025 --> 00:32:54,915
Because anything this world offers you
pales in comparison to the pleasures that

686
00:32:54,915 --> 00:32:58,755
are there forevermore at the right hand
of God where there's fullness of joy.

687
00:33:00,075 --> 00:33:01,035
Fight sin.

688
00:33:01,515 --> 00:33:05,115
Don't give into the, the, the lures
and temptations of this world when you

689
00:33:05,115 --> 00:33:06,615
have something so much better there.

690
00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:08,220
Stay the course.

691
00:33:08,970 --> 00:33:09,990
I need that from you.

692
00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:14,490
I need you to encourage me when I'm
discouraged by the headlines of the

693
00:33:14,490 --> 00:33:16,200
day or by what's going on politically.

694
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,020
I need to be reminded of the one who
is the true and ultimate sovereign.

695
00:33:19,020 --> 00:33:21,960
And the fact that he's moving
everything towards the culmination

696
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,040
of his plan for mankind.

697
00:33:24,210 --> 00:33:26,460
And to be reminded of that
day that Jesus is gonna sit

698
00:33:26,460 --> 00:33:27,930
on the throne, never to leave.

699
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:30,510
That he's the king of kings.

700
00:33:30,510 --> 00:33:32,165
That He's the Lord of lords.

701
00:33:33,195 --> 00:33:35,205
I need you to remind me and
encourage me of those things.

702
00:33:35,205 --> 00:33:39,195
I need to be encouraged by you when I'm
disheartened by my sin, so that you would

703
00:33:39,195 --> 00:33:43,215
remind me and say, look, repent and look
forward to the day when sin will be.

704
00:33:43,215 --> 00:33:43,635
No more.

705
00:33:45,345 --> 00:33:45,915
Don't give up.

706
00:33:46,545 --> 00:33:47,595
Don't sideline yourself.

707
00:33:48,795 --> 00:33:50,085
We need each other.

708
00:33:50,145 --> 00:33:51,415
I need you and you need me.

709
00:33:52,650 --> 00:33:55,020
We need the body of Christ
involved in our lives.

710
00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:58,230
Your, your church needs you to show
up for them this way, and you need

711
00:33:58,230 --> 00:33:59,880
them to show up for you this way.

712
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:04,320
And here's the thing, y'all, this
necessarily implies and requires a need

713
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,190
for relationships that, that are deeper
than anything that can be formed in two

714
00:34:08,190 --> 00:34:09,420
hours a week here on Sunday morning.

715
00:34:13,380 --> 00:34:17,670
Imagine for a second how successful
or, or rather unsuccessful a

716
00:34:17,670 --> 00:34:19,755
football team would be if all the
players just showed up on Sundays.

717
00:34:22,485 --> 00:34:24,284
If they didn't show up any
other time, they're like,

718
00:34:24,284 --> 00:34:25,335
coach, I'll be there on Sunday.

719
00:34:26,985 --> 00:34:30,045
I, but I don't wanna practice,
I don't wanna have meetings

720
00:34:30,045 --> 00:34:31,995
with my, my, my position coach.

721
00:34:33,105 --> 00:34:36,764
I don't wanna get to know the
other guys on my team coach.

722
00:34:36,764 --> 00:34:39,465
I, I, I don't, I don't really
wanna study the playbook.

723
00:34:39,824 --> 00:34:41,384
I'll study the playbook on Sundays.

724
00:34:41,384 --> 00:34:44,114
I'll give you my time on Sundays, but
don't ask for anything else from me.

725
00:34:46,364 --> 00:34:47,980
How successful would that team be, y'all?

726
00:34:50,714 --> 00:34:53,893
Accomplishing the mission, not very.

727
00:34:56,474 --> 00:34:57,524
Or imagine a marriage.

728
00:34:58,575 --> 00:35:00,704
Imagine if you got married and, and
at some point in your marriage you

729
00:35:00,704 --> 00:35:03,345
sit down to tell your spouse that you
wanna spend about two hours with them

730
00:35:03,345 --> 00:35:05,504
on Sunday, but you, you're really
not interested in hanging out with

731
00:35:05,504 --> 00:35:08,865
them after that special occasions.

732
00:35:08,865 --> 00:35:09,779
Yeah, you'll hang out birthdays.

733
00:35:10,649 --> 00:35:13,410
Anniversaries, you'll give them some
extra time, but aside from that, you,

734
00:35:13,410 --> 00:35:17,069
you really think your marriage can be
intact and can be good and and strong.

735
00:35:17,069 --> 00:35:19,829
If, if you're just gonna hang out
together for a couple hours a week,

736
00:35:22,229 --> 00:35:23,700
how good is that marriage going to be?

737
00:35:26,490 --> 00:35:28,494
Again, I said it earlier, showing
up is like taking the field.

738
00:35:30,375 --> 00:35:32,595
But you need the relationships
with your other teammates.

739
00:35:32,595 --> 00:35:35,685
To go back to that football analogy,
you need the time on the practice field.

740
00:35:35,685 --> 00:35:36,915
You need to know the playbook.

741
00:35:36,915 --> 00:35:39,945
You need to be held accountable and
you need to hold others accountable.

742
00:35:39,945 --> 00:35:43,305
And you can't do that if all we're
doing is just showing up on game days,

743
00:35:46,605 --> 00:35:46,785
y'all.

744
00:35:46,785 --> 00:35:49,995
This is one of the reasons why here at our
church, we push community groups so much.

745
00:35:52,590 --> 00:35:53,940
I know other churches
do things differently.

746
00:35:53,940 --> 00:35:56,400
There's adult Bible fellowship, there's
Sunday school, and those things are

747
00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,370
fine and and we may even implement
something like that at some point here.

748
00:36:00,509 --> 00:36:03,990
But when we planted this church, we
knew for sure that this body, if it

749
00:36:03,990 --> 00:36:07,350
was gonna be successful, was gonna need
this type of relationship that we're

750
00:36:07,350 --> 00:36:08,820
talking about here in Hebrew Chapter 10.

751
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,720
We're gonna need that life on
life sharpening of one another,

752
00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:13,859
that encouragement of one another.

753
00:36:13,859 --> 00:36:17,039
That en that building up, that holding
accountable, that saying, Hey, I need you

754
00:36:17,039 --> 00:36:18,599
to, to encourage me as the de John deer.

755
00:36:18,599 --> 00:36:20,999
I, I need you to help me live
ready for the return of Jesus.

756
00:36:21,089 --> 00:36:24,629
And I knew that I can't do that
for you in only two hours a week.

757
00:36:27,299 --> 00:36:28,379
You need one another.

758
00:36:28,379 --> 00:36:29,279
I need you.

759
00:36:29,279 --> 00:36:30,720
We need these relationships.

760
00:36:31,545 --> 00:36:34,154
We push community groups because that's
really where that's gonna take place.

761
00:36:34,154 --> 00:36:35,384
That's really where that's gonna happen.

762
00:36:35,384 --> 00:36:38,625
You're gonna build those relationships
in the context of meeting with

763
00:36:38,625 --> 00:36:41,984
other Christians, of taking this
room and shrinking it down to

764
00:36:41,984 --> 00:36:44,595
your group, your community group,
and saying, these are my people.

765
00:36:45,404 --> 00:36:46,754
I know them and they know me.

766
00:36:48,134 --> 00:36:50,805
I know that they're gonna be in my kitchen
if my marriage starts going haywire.

767
00:36:51,734 --> 00:36:54,495
I know that they're gonna be
with me if I get a diagnosis.

768
00:36:55,484 --> 00:36:59,115
I know they're gonna support me when
times are tough and I know that I'm

769
00:36:59,115 --> 00:37:00,254
gonna do the same thing for them.

770
00:37:01,454 --> 00:37:02,325
That's the church.

771
00:37:03,345 --> 00:37:04,244
That's the church.

772
00:37:04,964 --> 00:37:07,214
And again, I go back to all those
reasons why that I started with

773
00:37:07,214 --> 00:37:09,764
the introduction of why we keep the
church in arms length in our culture.

774
00:37:10,575 --> 00:37:13,274
But I think if we give an honest reading
of the New Testament, an honest reading

775
00:37:13,274 --> 00:37:16,814
of the Bible, I don't think we can
justify anything in the, the pages of

776
00:37:16,814 --> 00:37:19,694
scripture that say that that church
looks like two hours on a on a Sunday.

777
00:37:19,700 --> 00:37:21,279
And that's the only thing
that I do with the church.

778
00:37:24,345 --> 00:37:27,855
I I'm preaching largely to the choir
here because I, I'm, I'm so thankful

779
00:37:27,855 --> 00:37:31,395
for this body of believers here because
I see so many of you out there that,

780
00:37:31,395 --> 00:37:33,105
that get it and, and that are doing it.

781
00:37:34,365 --> 00:37:36,855
And I would just say to you, as the
apostle Paul would say to the, the

782
00:37:36,855 --> 00:37:43,035
church in Thessalonika Excel still more,
let's, let's maintain, let's keep going.

783
00:37:43,845 --> 00:37:45,045
Let's not rest on our laurels.

784
00:37:46,755 --> 00:37:49,815
I if, if you're here though this
morning, and, and I know I've seen

785
00:37:49,815 --> 00:37:51,285
some new faces out there this morning,

786
00:37:53,444 --> 00:37:56,265
you're kind of getting a picture of
what church looks like for us here.

787
00:37:56,984 --> 00:37:59,265
But if you've been with us for a while
and, and community groups, just not

788
00:37:59,265 --> 00:38:02,984
something that you've prioritized, I,
I just wanna gently say, I, I would

789
00:38:02,984 --> 00:38:05,415
encourage you to again, consider
the picture of the New Testament

790
00:38:05,415 --> 00:38:07,455
Church and say is are we doing it?

791
00:38:10,245 --> 00:38:15,375
Can I say that, that I'm doing what God
has has designed the church to, to be.

792
00:38:17,865 --> 00:38:20,535
And I, and I would really encourage
you to, to think about prayerfully

793
00:38:20,535 --> 00:38:24,375
taking that next step to, to commit
with one of our community groups.

794
00:38:24,945 --> 00:38:27,465
You can find 'em, they're on our, our
community groups page, on our website.

795
00:38:27,495 --> 00:38:30,855
And, and I'm not plugging that be,
I don't, I don't gain any monetary

796
00:38:30,855 --> 00:38:33,105
benefit from you joining a community
group or anything else like that.

797
00:38:33,105 --> 00:38:36,165
I'm not boasting with, with people about
we've got this number of community groups.

798
00:38:36,555 --> 00:38:39,045
I want that because I want you to
have this kind of a relationship with

799
00:38:39,045 --> 00:38:42,825
other people in the church and, and if
you have this kind of a relationship

800
00:38:42,825 --> 00:38:44,654
with other people in the church,
it's gonna strengthen our church.

801
00:38:45,615 --> 00:38:46,934
We'll all be better for it.

802
00:38:47,954 --> 00:38:50,624
So we need not just to show up, but to
show up for one another in a huge way.

803
00:38:50,624 --> 00:38:53,504
We do that is by encouraging each other
to maintain this perspective, that, man,

804
00:38:53,504 --> 00:38:54,914
we're gonna stand before Jesus someday.

805
00:38:55,245 --> 00:38:55,964
Am I ready?

806
00:38:56,714 --> 00:39:00,374
We need those kind of
relationships with one another.

807
00:39:00,914 --> 00:39:03,169
Finally, verse 24, I
told you I'd get there.

808
00:39:04,859 --> 00:39:08,069
Verse 24, he starts and he says,
and let us consider how to stir one

809
00:39:08,069 --> 00:39:09,419
another up towards love and good works.

810
00:39:09,809 --> 00:39:11,129
I, I love this verse.

811
00:39:11,129 --> 00:39:13,529
There's some fun concepts, some
fun words that are in here.

812
00:39:13,890 --> 00:39:16,620
But first, the thing that I, I want
you to see is this word consider.

813
00:39:17,309 --> 00:39:19,410
What that tells us is that all
of this that I've been talking

814
00:39:19,410 --> 00:39:20,399
about this morning takes work.

815
00:39:21,539 --> 00:39:22,529
It doesn't come naturally.

816
00:39:23,430 --> 00:39:25,859
What comes naturally is
taking care of us, right?

817
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,609
What comes naturally is taking care of
the, the ones closest to us, our loved

818
00:39:29,609 --> 00:39:31,379
ones, our family members, ourselves.

819
00:39:32,069 --> 00:39:35,759
And then we give anything beyond that
kind of the whatever leftovers we have,

820
00:39:36,959 --> 00:39:40,289
what we're being called to this love
for the bride of Christ doesn't come

821
00:39:40,289 --> 00:39:43,859
naturally, and that's why the author says,
let us consider, it's a word that means

822
00:39:43,859 --> 00:39:45,749
to give careful thought to something.

823
00:39:47,579 --> 00:39:50,249
Jesus used it in Luke chapter
12 when he said, consider the

824
00:39:50,249 --> 00:39:51,990
ravens, consider the lilies.

825
00:39:52,919 --> 00:39:56,729
Think about these things as he's
then making a point about God's

826
00:39:56,729 --> 00:39:58,799
concern and care for the person.

827
00:40:00,165 --> 00:40:04,515
In Hebrews three, one, the author
says, consider Jesus to consider, to

828
00:40:04,515 --> 00:40:05,685
give careful thought to something.

829
00:40:05,924 --> 00:40:09,075
You don't have to consider how to
brush your teeth in the morning.

830
00:40:09,075 --> 00:40:09,645
I trust that.

831
00:40:09,645 --> 00:40:10,004
Right?

832
00:40:10,424 --> 00:40:11,564
You've been doing it for a while now.

833
00:40:11,564 --> 00:40:12,435
A few decades, hopefully.

834
00:40:12,435 --> 00:40:15,105
Most of us in the room, you just do it.

835
00:40:15,105 --> 00:40:17,774
You're not giving much careful thought
to that and including, especially now

836
00:40:17,774 --> 00:40:20,384
with our idiot proof toothbrushes that
are like, we're gonna give you a timer.

837
00:40:20,955 --> 00:40:21,345
Um.

838
00:40:21,689 --> 00:40:22,470
I'm 41.

839
00:40:22,499 --> 00:40:23,999
Can I be trusted to know
what two minutes is?

840
00:40:23,999 --> 00:40:24,269
Nope.

841
00:40:24,269 --> 00:40:27,269
We're gonna give you a timer and it's
gonna buzz every 30 seconds to tell you

842
00:40:27,269 --> 00:40:30,419
when to move to another part, part of
your mouth, and it's gonna glow green

843
00:40:30,419 --> 00:40:31,979
when you're okay and red when you're not.

844
00:40:31,979 --> 00:40:32,399
Okay.

845
00:40:33,404 --> 00:40:35,339
I'm not giving a whole lot
of brain power to brushing my

846
00:40:35,339 --> 00:40:36,689
teeth in the morning these days.

847
00:40:37,709 --> 00:40:41,220
You also don't really give much thought
to putting on your shoes, my guess.

848
00:40:41,459 --> 00:40:41,789
Right?

849
00:40:42,689 --> 00:40:44,939
But you do have to consider something
like if you're going on vacation,

850
00:40:44,939 --> 00:40:46,200
what's the route that we're gonna drive?

851
00:40:47,459 --> 00:40:49,379
You're gonna stop and go, okay,
I need to think about this.

852
00:40:50,009 --> 00:40:53,369
You are gonna give thought to man,
do I wanna make any adjustments to my

853
00:40:53,369 --> 00:40:55,499
stock portfolio this year, or my 401k?

854
00:40:56,549 --> 00:40:58,109
You are gonna give some
careful thought to that.

855
00:40:59,429 --> 00:41:02,519
Or if you say, man, I wanna set out
to learn a new skill, you are gonna

856
00:41:02,519 --> 00:41:03,629
give some careful thought to that.

857
00:41:05,009 --> 00:41:07,379
If we're gonna show up for each other
the way that God is calling us to

858
00:41:07,379 --> 00:41:09,899
show up for each other in the church,
we have to be ready to work at it.

859
00:41:09,899 --> 00:41:11,519
We have to give intentional thought to.

860
00:41:15,300 --> 00:41:17,115
The second thing we see here
is that we're, we're called to

861
00:41:17,115 --> 00:41:21,285
consider how we might stir one
another up, stir one another up.

862
00:41:21,330 --> 00:41:23,055
It it, it's the words to stir up.

863
00:41:23,055 --> 00:41:25,695
It's the word that was used by Luke
in Acts when he writes about the

864
00:41:25,695 --> 00:41:30,735
sharp disagreement that took place
between Paul and Barnabas about

865
00:41:30,735 --> 00:41:33,075
whether or not to take John Mark on
the missionary journey with them.

866
00:41:34,335 --> 00:41:38,475
Uh, Paul and Barnabas were stirred
up, provoked against one another

867
00:41:38,475 --> 00:41:39,735
that led to their separation.

868
00:41:40,754 --> 00:41:43,365
Our writer in Hebrews takes it and
redeems it for a positive sense.

869
00:41:43,365 --> 00:41:45,884
He says, I, I want you to stir one
another up, which is a word that can mean

870
00:41:45,884 --> 00:41:50,745
to provoke and, and even to be a, a, a
sanctified irritant in somebody's life.

871
00:41:51,524 --> 00:41:54,584
And he says, I want you to do that in
order to provoke somebody, not to anger

872
00:41:54,584 --> 00:41:56,055
or irritation, but to christlikeness

873
00:41:58,424 --> 00:41:58,785
that christlikeness.

874
00:41:59,174 --> 00:42:02,624
We see in the, the next part of this verse
when he says to, to love and good works.

875
00:42:03,735 --> 00:42:06,975
Consider how we may stir one
another up to love and good works.

876
00:42:06,975 --> 00:42:08,415
And, and that's our goal.

877
00:42:08,415 --> 00:42:09,285
That's our aim.

878
00:42:09,285 --> 00:42:10,095
That's what we're doing.

879
00:42:10,095 --> 00:42:11,745
And this is another reason why I need you.

880
00:42:11,745 --> 00:42:16,335
When you need me, I need you to
stir me up to love and good works.

881
00:42:16,335 --> 00:42:17,835
We need to help each other live a life.

882
00:42:18,194 --> 00:42:19,785
The, the word good works there.

883
00:42:19,785 --> 00:42:20,355
The word good.

884
00:42:20,355 --> 00:42:21,375
In the Greek, it's colos.

885
00:42:21,375 --> 00:42:22,455
It means beautiful.

886
00:42:23,625 --> 00:42:26,654
I need you to stir me up, to
provoke me to live a life that's

887
00:42:26,654 --> 00:42:27,795
beautiful in the sight of God.

888
00:42:29,415 --> 00:42:31,395
And so that's my goal
when I show up at church.

889
00:42:31,425 --> 00:42:35,865
We're considering who can I encourage
this morning, when I'm here, when I'm

890
00:42:35,865 --> 00:42:38,355
going to community group, when I'm seeing
other believers throughout the week, I

891
00:42:38,355 --> 00:42:44,355
need to give careful thought to you guys,
how can I love this person this morning?

892
00:42:44,355 --> 00:42:46,035
How can I serve this person this morning?

893
00:42:46,035 --> 00:42:48,045
How can I encourage this
person this morning?

894
00:42:48,315 --> 00:42:49,605
How can I stir this person up?

895
00:42:49,605 --> 00:42:52,965
How can I provoke them towards
greater christlikeness?

896
00:42:54,210 --> 00:42:58,020
We need each other to be those sanctified
irritants in one another's lives

897
00:42:58,020 --> 00:42:59,759
so that we will be more like Jesus.

898
00:42:59,759 --> 00:43:04,200
Final point this morning is this, push
each other to greater christlikeness.

899
00:43:05,009 --> 00:43:07,350
Push each other to greater christlikeness.

900
00:43:07,350 --> 00:43:08,790
This is what the community looks like.

901
00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:11,160
How is your presence this morning?

902
00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:14,040
Pushing other believers in
this room to love God more

903
00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:15,360
and to increase in doing good.

904
00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:18,270
That's what the writer said.

905
00:43:18,330 --> 00:43:18,930
We're here to do.

906
00:43:19,529 --> 00:43:21,360
Stir one another up to love in good deeds.

907
00:43:24,330 --> 00:43:28,380
Once again, the, the primary outworking
of this isn't just this morning.

908
00:43:29,730 --> 00:43:31,170
It's not just these two hours.

909
00:43:32,549 --> 00:43:35,490
Can you stir one another up to
loving good deeds on Sunday morning?

910
00:43:35,580 --> 00:43:36,000
Amen.

911
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:36,630
Yes, you can.

912
00:43:36,630 --> 00:43:37,140
A hundred percent.

913
00:43:37,140 --> 00:43:40,740
I, I pray that we are, as we gather
together, as we sing together, as we

914
00:43:40,740 --> 00:43:45,420
fellowship together, as you eat donuts
together, yeah, you can stir one another

915
00:43:45,420 --> 00:43:46,799
up to towards love and good deeds.

916
00:43:46,799 --> 00:43:49,920
But, but again, it's, it's
so much more than what we are

917
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:51,060
doing right now and right here.

918
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:54,150
It, it's, it's the body life.

919
00:43:54,150 --> 00:43:56,279
It's the commitment to those
relationships that I was just

920
00:43:56,279 --> 00:43:57,210
talking about a minute ago.

921
00:43:57,390 --> 00:44:00,600
And, and I love this because it gives
us permission to be sanctifyingly

922
00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:02,009
annoying in each other's lives.

923
00:44:03,540 --> 00:44:04,470
We need that.

924
00:44:04,620 --> 00:44:09,270
If you grew up with siblings, you
need that, but for good, right?

925
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:12,390
I, I was an only child, so I
didn't grow up with siblings, so

926
00:44:12,390 --> 00:44:13,620
God was like, here's five kids.

927
00:44:15,750 --> 00:44:19,259
And, and I, I see them be not
sanctifyingly annoying in each

928
00:44:19,259 --> 00:44:21,270
other's lives on a regular basis.

929
00:44:21,839 --> 00:44:25,169
They know how to be unsanctified
irritants with the best of

930
00:44:25,169 --> 00:44:27,720
them as spiritual siblings.

931
00:44:27,720 --> 00:44:32,069
We need to be sanctified
irritants that, that cause that

932
00:44:32,069 --> 00:44:33,569
friction in one another's lives.

933
00:44:33,569 --> 00:44:35,490
That make us say, I don't like that.

934
00:44:35,490 --> 00:44:37,620
In the way to get rid of that
is to be more like Jesus,

935
00:44:39,660 --> 00:44:41,424
the burr in the saddle,
the pebble in the shoe.

936
00:44:42,990 --> 00:44:45,359
And again, he's saying Be
intentional about this.

937
00:44:46,289 --> 00:44:50,069
Back in California, I, my office window
looked out on some mountains in the

938
00:44:50,069 --> 00:44:54,209
distance and I always loved winter
because it would clear up and you could

939
00:44:54,209 --> 00:44:57,539
look out and see them and they were the,
you could see the, the caps of snow on

940
00:44:57,539 --> 00:44:58,979
them and it was just, it was beautiful.

941
00:45:00,059 --> 00:45:00,809
It was distracting.

942
00:45:00,839 --> 00:45:03,269
I wouldn't get work done 'cause I just sat
there and looked out my window at these

943
00:45:03,269 --> 00:45:06,479
mountains with snow and just the gorgeous
Southern California environment out there.

944
00:45:07,499 --> 00:45:08,999
It was amazing to, to behold.

945
00:45:10,845 --> 00:45:13,934
Our presence in the life of other
believers should cause them to be

946
00:45:13,934 --> 00:45:18,285
more beautiful in the sight of God
because of how we love each other.

947
00:45:19,575 --> 00:45:21,884
God wants you church to help
your brothers and sisters in

948
00:45:21,884 --> 00:45:23,294
Christ live a life like that.

949
00:45:24,345 --> 00:45:25,184
You say, well, what does that look like?

950
00:45:25,184 --> 00:45:25,845
How do I do that?

951
00:45:26,894 --> 00:45:30,345
Praying for each other is a great
place to start praying with each other.

952
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,439
That's a great place to stir one another
up to loving good deeds is to pray that

953
00:45:34,439 --> 00:45:37,409
the spirit in dwelling your brother or
sister in Christ would, would provoke

954
00:45:37,409 --> 00:45:39,539
them towards godliness in christlikeness.

955
00:45:40,979 --> 00:45:43,049
Another way to do it is is taking
someone through partners, our

956
00:45:43,049 --> 00:45:44,309
one-on-one discipleship program.

957
00:45:45,450 --> 00:45:48,539
If you've been through partners and, and,
and you've gone through with somebody that

958
00:45:48,539 --> 00:45:50,999
says, Hey, I think you'd be great and, and
taking somebody else through this, that's

959
00:45:50,999 --> 00:45:54,720
another way that you can help somebody
grow in their walk with Christ as well.

960
00:45:55,499 --> 00:45:58,919
Bringing a meal to somebody is
a way to stir one another up

961
00:45:58,919 --> 00:46:00,149
to towards love and good deeds.

962
00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:03,089
If you think about that, love
stirring one another up towards love.

963
00:46:03,089 --> 00:46:08,040
Go back to John 13 when Jesus
says love one another, as I have

964
00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:11,790
loved you by this, will all people
know that you are my disciples

965
00:46:11,790 --> 00:46:12,959
if you have love for one another?

966
00:46:13,620 --> 00:46:17,640
So as we love one another sacrificially
that way, we are conveying that

967
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:19,049
love of Christ towards one another.

968
00:46:19,049 --> 00:46:22,319
We are causing them to say, I wanna
love like I've been loved, and you're

969
00:46:22,319 --> 00:46:25,319
reminding me by bringing me this meal
that I've been loved even greater

970
00:46:25,319 --> 00:46:29,250
by Jesus who died for me, and that's
making me wanna love Christ more.

971
00:46:30,359 --> 00:46:31,589
Confronting somebody in sin.

972
00:46:32,669 --> 00:46:35,339
That's another way to be that
sanctified irritant in somebody's life.

973
00:46:35,579 --> 00:46:38,220
Galatians chapter six says, if
anyone is caught in a trespass, you

974
00:46:38,220 --> 00:46:41,399
who are spiritual should seek to
restore that person in a spirit of

975
00:46:41,399 --> 00:46:44,009
gentleness that we love one another.

976
00:46:44,009 --> 00:46:49,109
Not to let unconfessed unrepentant
sin just fester in somebody's life.

977
00:46:51,089 --> 00:46:55,140
Offering accountability is another
way for you to be that stirring

978
00:46:55,140 --> 00:46:56,579
up presence in somebody's life.

979
00:46:57,810 --> 00:46:59,640
Following up, man, this one's huge.

980
00:47:00,450 --> 00:47:03,839
Following up with somebody I
know, oftentimes to my own shame,

981
00:47:03,845 --> 00:47:05,580
I'll, I'll talk with somebody and
somebody will say, Hey, can you

982
00:47:05,580 --> 00:47:06,990
be, be praying for me about this?

983
00:47:06,990 --> 00:47:07,920
And, and I'll say, sure.

984
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:10,350
And, and I, I'll pray for them there,
and then I'll, I'll pray for them

985
00:47:10,350 --> 00:47:12,900
during the week, but I'm not very
good at following up with that person.

986
00:47:14,490 --> 00:47:17,249
Which is a way to stir up somebody
towards love and good deeds to cost

987
00:47:17,249 --> 00:47:20,309
somebody to say, man, I, my love for Jesus
increases because of your love for me.

988
00:47:20,309 --> 00:47:21,899
That you cared enough about
me and what's going on.

989
00:47:21,899 --> 00:47:23,519
To say, Hey, how'd that interview go?

990
00:47:23,639 --> 00:47:26,490
Hey, how'd the the results come back
from the test that you had done?

991
00:47:26,490 --> 00:47:27,869
Hey, how's your marriage doing?

992
00:47:28,079 --> 00:47:32,549
We were praying for you not
grumbling in complaining.

993
00:47:33,419 --> 00:47:35,490
That's a way to stir one another
up towards love and good deeds,

994
00:47:38,069 --> 00:47:42,629
to to be a, a, a source of
positivity in each other's lives.

995
00:47:43,740 --> 00:47:46,919
Thinking about it, I'm, I'm, I'm
reading in our, our Old Testament

996
00:47:46,919 --> 00:47:49,919
reading, I'm, I'm ahead for the, the
podcast purposes, but we're in Exodus

997
00:47:49,919 --> 00:47:53,729
and, and just the Israel is just
grumbling against Moses all the time.

998
00:47:55,620 --> 00:48:00,540
If your heart is one that is predisposed
towards grumbling and complaining, and

999
00:48:00,540 --> 00:48:04,919
you are a negative presence in the life
of the body of Christ, here, you are not

1000
00:48:04,919 --> 00:48:06,089
stirring up your brothers and sisters.

1001
00:48:06,089 --> 00:48:06,930
So loving good deeds,

1002
00:48:10,140 --> 00:48:11,640
not being a divisive person.

1003
00:48:12,915 --> 00:48:14,835
Should be self-explanatory there.

1004
00:48:16,935 --> 00:48:17,205
Yeah.

1005
00:48:17,625 --> 00:48:20,265
These are all ways that we can stir one
another up towards loving good deeds.

1006
00:48:20,270 --> 00:48:22,935
And, and, and then beyond that, it looks
like we've, what we've already talked

1007
00:48:22,935 --> 00:48:27,194
about this morning, in fact, verse 24
is dependent upon, or verse 25 rather,

1008
00:48:27,194 --> 00:48:29,265
is, is, is dependent upon verse 24.

1009
00:48:29,745 --> 00:48:33,225
'cause the grammar in verse 25
explains how we do verse 24.

1010
00:48:34,140 --> 00:48:38,250
We do verse 24, by not neglecting to meet
together as is the habit of some, but

1011
00:48:38,250 --> 00:48:42,180
stirring, but encouraging one another all
the more as you see the day drawing near.

1012
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:46,290
And so everything that we've talked
about fits under this banner as well.

1013
00:48:46,290 --> 00:48:47,730
But the point of it all is this.

1014
00:48:47,730 --> 00:48:49,110
You and I need one another.

1015
00:48:49,110 --> 00:48:50,759
I need you and you need me.

1016
00:48:50,759 --> 00:48:55,799
I need you to be that, that source,
that that impetus in my life that's

1017
00:48:55,799 --> 00:48:57,750
pushing me to be more like Jesus.

1018
00:48:59,190 --> 00:49:00,299
And you need me for that too.

1019
00:49:01,964 --> 00:49:05,414
And this is a start,
but it's more than this.

1020
00:49:06,134 --> 00:49:07,394
It's gotta be more than this.

1021
00:49:08,894 --> 00:49:11,414
And if you, you're here and,
and this is what you're doing

1022
00:49:11,414 --> 00:49:12,494
every single week, I would say.

1023
00:49:12,494 --> 00:49:14,504
I, I don't want you to go away.

1024
00:49:14,504 --> 00:49:15,224
I want you here.

1025
00:49:16,724 --> 00:49:20,144
It's, it's, it's good to be
here, but I just want to let you

1026
00:49:20,144 --> 00:49:22,424
know that I think you're, you're
leaving something on the shelf.

1027
00:49:24,194 --> 00:49:26,444
You're leaving something on
the shelf, and it is so good.

1028
00:49:27,390 --> 00:49:29,670
Not just are you leaving something on
the shelf from what would benefit you,

1029
00:49:29,670 --> 00:49:31,950
but you're leaving something on the
shelf that you have to offer to benefit

1030
00:49:31,950 --> 00:49:34,529
your brothers and sisters in Christ in
this room, in true community as well.

1031
00:49:37,770 --> 00:49:38,940
Again, i, I love our church.

1032
00:49:38,940 --> 00:49:41,310
I think our church is doing
this really, really well.

1033
00:49:42,330 --> 00:49:44,220
So again, the message is Excel still more.

1034
00:49:45,090 --> 00:49:45,750
Let's keep going.

1035
00:49:45,750 --> 00:49:46,920
Let's press on in this.

1036
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:48,690
There's no shortcuts
to biblical community.

1037
00:49:49,230 --> 00:49:51,960
We can't rest back on our laurels and
say, man, we're, we're, we're good.

1038
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,480
Let's keep pressing on and keep going.

1039
00:49:55,259 --> 00:49:57,240
The church needs you
and you need the church.

1040
00:49:58,649 --> 00:49:59,700
That's how God designed us.

1041
00:49:59,700 --> 00:50:02,549
And I know sometimes it's hard to feel
like that, especially in, in north

1042
00:50:02,549 --> 00:50:06,419
Texas where we don't face the trials
and the persecution and the opposition

1043
00:50:06,419 --> 00:50:09,899
the way that it does in, in some of the,
the world, but still the word of God

1044
00:50:09,899 --> 00:50:12,599
and the design of God remains the same
today as it did for the early church.

1045
00:50:13,769 --> 00:50:17,609
God's design for the church here is the
same as God's design for the church in

1046
00:50:17,609 --> 00:50:21,509
Nigeria, where Christians are facing the
threat of, of terrorists coming in and

1047
00:50:21,509 --> 00:50:23,160
kidnapping pastors and killing people.

1048
00:50:24,584 --> 00:50:27,104
He wants us to be the community as
much here as he wants them to be.

1049
00:50:27,104 --> 00:50:28,004
The community there,

1050
00:50:30,015 --> 00:50:33,704
it's probably hard for us to, to
think about that and conceive of

1051
00:50:33,704 --> 00:50:36,404
that, but we have to come back to that
reality, that fundamental reality,

1052
00:50:36,404 --> 00:50:39,075
that to be called out from the world
is to be called into community.

1053
00:50:39,404 --> 00:50:43,394
And it's a community that has to say
at the end of the day, man, I need

1054
00:50:43,484 --> 00:50:44,654
the church, and the church needs me.

1055
00:50:45,704 --> 00:50:46,785
We need each other.

1056
00:50:47,325 --> 00:50:47,714
Let's pray.

1057
00:50:49,950 --> 00:50:53,309
Father God, we thank you for the gift
of the church that you didn't save us.

1058
00:50:53,309 --> 00:50:55,859
And, and just to isolate us,
save us as, as lone ranger

1059
00:50:55,859 --> 00:50:57,119
Christians, and just say good luck.

1060
00:50:57,990 --> 00:51:00,749
But you saved us to have relationships
with brothers and sisters in Christ

1061
00:51:00,749 --> 00:51:04,319
who are also indwelled by your spirit,
who can cause us to be more like Jesus.

1062
00:51:04,319 --> 00:51:07,379
Push us to be more like Jesus,
cause us to love him more.

1063
00:51:07,845 --> 00:51:11,234
And so God, I pray that we would continue
to thrive as a church and grow as a church

1064
00:51:11,234 --> 00:51:15,075
where we are not just interested in, in
adding this to a, a calendar as an event

1065
00:51:15,075 --> 00:51:17,955
for a couple hours a week, but that we
would be here to have true community,

1066
00:51:17,955 --> 00:51:22,035
true relationships with each other as
we seek to follow Jesus with our lives.

1067
00:51:22,035 --> 00:51:24,464
And so we thank you so much for
this morning, and we thank you for

1068
00:51:24,464 --> 00:51:27,555
the gift of the bride of Christ,
and we can't wait to be with Jesus.

1069
00:51:27,555 --> 00:51:28,935
Until then, help us be found faithful.

1070
00:51:28,935 --> 00:51:29,834
We pray in Jesus' name.

1071
00:51:30,545 --> 00:51:30,965
Amen