From the Beginning (Community)
Notes
Transcript
What does God want them to know? It is not good to be alone, God made us for community
Why? Community brings life
What does God want them to do? Be in community by being a friend
Why? Community brings life
ME/WE
Have you ever heard the phrase “Life would be easy or easier if it were not for people”
If there weren’t any people life would be better, I would be happier, I would not to have to deal with the person I am better off describing “pain in the neck”
Have any of you every thought this a time or too?
Does this not fit the mantra of today’s world. We live under this premise.....that we are to be about ME not WE, that WE gets in the way of WE
We see this with two of the top 5 books best sellers in the SELF HELP SECTION…they have been best sellers for over 5 years
They state that How to improve yourself, how to make yourself happier is to be about we
two of the best sellers for the past 5 years in the self help section are
The Subtle Art of Not giving a F
How to be a Bada$$
I need to be FOCUSED on ME BECAUSE YOU are getting in the way of ME becoming ME
THE problem is PEOPLE
WHAT DOES ABOUT 50% OWN THAT WE PUT IN OUR POCKETS?
IPHONES
Life would be better without PEOPLE, I would be more advanced, happy, more joyful, make more money
BUT IS THIS TRUE?
ARE WE MORE HAPPIER, JOYFUL, HAVE MORE LIFE ALONE? NO
THERE IS A MEASURE OF TRUTH IN THE STATEMENT AND MANTRA WITH QUALIFIERES
TO THE BELIEF LIFE WOULD BE EASIER AND BETTER IF WERE NOT FOR PEOPLE
IT WOULD BE LIFE WOULD BE EASIER WITHOUT THOSE PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO ARE BAD FOR YOU
There is some truth to this, scripture affirms
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
Life is better without those people
The statement is truish....life is better and easier without those people
But that does not mean NO people
2. There is a measure of truth for you to be have joy, be happy, to be the healthiest EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, MENTIALLY, AND PHYSCIALLY THAT ME, I NEED TO DO SOMETHING.
BUT THERE IS A LIMIT TO HOW MUCH ME CAN DO....I CAN ONLY GET SO FAR…FOR ME TO BE ALL THE ME GOD HAS CALLED ME TO BE I NEED WE
For us to be all that God has called us to be as a community and individually it will always take WE, not just ME for ME to be all that God desires me to be.
WE HAVE BEEN THE UNDER THE GREATEST ALONE EXPERIMENT FOR THE PAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS WITH COVID.
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS DURING 2020 MANY PEOPLE SAID, NOT EVERYONE SAID IT WAS MY BEST YEAR, BECAUSE THEY GOT OFF THE RAT RACE OF LIFE, THEY STOPPED
BUT THEN LIVING IN ISOLATION FOR PAST THAT PERIOD DID NOT LEAD TO HAPPINESS, JOY
BUT WHAT HAPPENED
DURING TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF COVID
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY ALOMST QUADRUPLED 9% IN 2019 TO 33% TODAY
I PERSONALLY KNEW THIS IN MY POST COLLEGE YEARS.
I FOCUSED ON WORK AS PASTOR
GET THINGS DONE
I SURROUND BY PEOPLE BUT NOT IN COMMUNITY
AND I WENT LITERALLY WENT INTO ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
WE ARE NOT WIRED TO LIVE ALONE AS WE WILL SEE IN NEXT
WE NEED REAL COMMUNITY LIKE WE NEED AIR TO BREATH AND WATER TO DRINK
GOD
We see this in the Garden of Eden
WHERE WERE WE LAST WEEK? GOD CREATED AND IT WAS GOOD
GOD HAD JUST RUACH,SPOKE AND CREATED EVERYTHING, SEVEN TIMES
EVERYTHING WE GOOD AND PERFECT
Adam has a GOOD AND perfect relationship with God
The food was GOOD NOT TAINED BY SIN…
ADAM’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ANIMALS WAS GOOD AND PERFECT
NOT ONLY THAT ADAME He was the richest man in the world
- He had the most power in the earth, he was given dominion mandate
He had it all, POWER, MONEY, POSITION AND HE LIVED IN paradise, but yet something was still missing
This should speak to us
Adam had it all humanly speaking, MONEY, POWER, POSITION and yet it was not good, something major was missing
Listen to what Gen 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
After God said seven times in Genesis 1 TOV…God spoke/ruach and Goodness happen.
Now God says for the first time that something is NOT good
What is not good? For man to be alone
God says to us it is not good for us to be alone
First time something is not good is that we are alone
This is specifically taking about a spouse. A husband and wife that is the biblical view of marriage, it is between 1 man and 1 woman.
But this not GOODNESS limited to just a spouse?
If so what do we do with Jesus and Paul? they never married
NO throughout scripture it says we are created for community we need it.
FOR US TO BE TO
EMOTIONALLY HEALHTY
SPRITUALLY HEALHTY
PHYSCIALLY HEALTHY
RELATIONALLY HEALTHY
WE NEED COMMUNITY
SOME OF US SAY NO, NO WAY
Why? Why is it good to be in community? some of us have pain, community = pain
I am not doing that
Show of hands who’s been hurt by community
What we need is real community
LET ME EXPLAIN WHY THAT MIGHT BE
Some of us might hear
I have to have community so we run from corner 1 (this is from Henry Cloud a Christian physcoilogist to
Sidenote we can be in corner 1 and be surrounded by friends and co-works
to corner 2 feel bad this is community that every time you hang out with them you feel worse they say some things that are not good.
Anybody have a family member or friend you hang out with and you are like ick!
As a result some of us go back to corner 1
Then there is corner 3 this feel good corner temporarly feel good
This is the corner were we have relationships with $, status, health, addictions.
We go to this corner because it feels good but it doesn’t last so we don’t stay here and eventually get fried out or burnout.
What we need is corner 4 relationship
Real relationship?
what is that???
that is foreign today
Can I find that?
This is what we are all searching for
What are some of the markers of real relationship
1. LOVE
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
it is a relationship that the other person loves you for you, and wants to the best for you.
This does mean they are not truthful when they see that things are wrong
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
2. TRUTHFUL
HOW MANY OF US HAVE TRIED TO BE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WHO LIES ALL THE TIME?
IS IT EASY TO FRIENDS WITH A LIAR
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
WHY IS LYING SO BAD
HURTFUL
DESTRUCTIVE
YOU CANNOT BUILD TRUST
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
WHAT DO WE WANT OUR FRIENDS TO BE TRUTHFUL ABOUT?
THING IN GENERAL
AND ABOUT US
When we are down
The good things. That when I believe a lie about myself, a real relationship speaks the truth to me.
When I believe I cannot preach because I gave a bad sermon. A real friend, not a feel good friend will pick me up.
This doesn’t mean you don’t have the gift to preach
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
When we are wondering away....WE NEED FRIENDS WHO HAVE ACCESS TO OUR WHOLE LIVES
loving correction
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
In real relationship we speak the truth to one another.
When someone sees that I am not living the way I should. A real friends doesn’t just gloss over things.
They don’t turn there head
I see you have anger, you are blowing up on your kids, you are losing it with you co-workers, this is not good
Yes they show grace
3. Naked: Authentic (this is a big one)…PASTOR SAID GET NAKED WITH YOU SPOUSE
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
One of the ways we have true community is by being NAKED, REAL, AUTHENTIC with each other.
This gathering here is often not the place it happens, saddly we wish (not everyone is to know your nakedness) it all was it mostly happens when we move from circles to rows.
THIS IS NOT POPULAR TODAY....WE ARE PUSHED TO BE FAKE…SOCIAL MEDIA IS FAKE
who knows your soul?
Who knows what is going on deep inside of you?
Who knows your struggles?
Who knows your fears?
Rows hearing the word of God preached, worship, testimony will grow you to a point.
But it is only when we are fully loved and fully known
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
We don’t want to confess to the masses
How do we feel after we confess? Healed
Don’t the enemy deceived you “if they know that will thing less of you!”
Who has been deceived by this lie?
4. ENCOURAGING
A real relationship is one that brings you down, right?
That when you have a bad day that make it worse or when you are having a good day that make you feel bad?
NO
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Build one another up
Not every day are we walking in sunshine....somedays it is cloudy and we need your sunshine to build us up
BUILD OUR FAITH
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
Paul is a rock of the faith and he is discouraged
he is downcast
it is good and right to say at times i am not good
I need help
let’s get past our pride
God made us a part of family for reason, He did not make us silos
5. Forgiving
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
NO, NO, NO, SAYS OUR WORLD…CANCEL THEM
CULTURE says CANCEL THEM
if they hurt you, time to move on
I was talking to a guy this week about this week....he talked about his best friend WHO HE FELT ABANDON HIM. SO HE CANCELED HIM
UNTIL IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY AND THEY TALKED IT OUT
real relationships don’t hold grudges
your friends are going to hurt you
your friends are going to wrong you
your friends are going to cause you pain
6. TIME (REAL RELATIONSHIP REQUIRE TIME)
making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
the only way a real relationship happens is with time....
it takes time to find one
it takes time to build one
These are the relatoinships I have created you to have.
What happens when we in a relationship like this?
We become HEALTHIER, EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, AND PHYICALLY
ROBYN TESTIMONY
Robyn is going share how being in community has helped her
How do we have this type of relationship?
Say no to NO relationshp, FEEL BAD relationship, FEEL GOOD Relationship, say yes seek....real relationships
I REMEMBER COMPLAINING TO MY CONSULER THAT NO ONE IS SEEKING TO BE MY FRIEND AND HE SAID HAVE YOU SOUGHT TO BE THERE FRIEND? ARE YOU TEXTING THEM CALLING THEM ASKING THEM OUT OF COFFEE?
HE PROCEEDED TO SAY WE ARE NATURALLY NOT FRIEND SEEKERS SO YOU NEED TO SEEK A FRIEND
Second be the friend you want to find
Third pray it takes time sometimes
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.