I was just thinking yesterday about how I wanted to type but had nothing to update, nothing's really changed. Then God brought church. Oh church. I love our pastor and the way he brings the word straight from the Word. It's a rough one friends. I highly recommend you go here and listen to it once it's up, or download it on itunes and listen to it. Reality LA.
Community. Community is not an option. What I choose to do, or not to do, shows what I value.
When I come to church, I shouldn't be coming with a consumer attitude. Instead I need an attitude of what can I give? How can I serve these people? And this isn't just when I go to church.
Community is about a shared relationship. It's founded upon the Gospel. Deeper fellowship requires deeper theology. This doesn't mean bigger words that we don't understand. It means learning together and gaining a greater understanding of Him together. That is when we grow together and build community.
Shared Responsibility - if you're communicating something then you have to execute that thing. If you love your spouse you have to show your love to your spouse. You can't just speak words; actions must follow those words.
Sacrifice is a prerequisite for community and fellowship. Our human nature wants to fight against community because to be in community means it's no longer about me, I'm no longer number one. Being in community means laying down what my needs and my wants and putting others before me. Community is about serving and growing together, not about me.
If you react to the way people treat you without the power of the Gospel you WILL be wounded. Wounds bring bitterness when there's no healing. Within the church there are a LOT of wounded people. And then our human nature kicks in and says that since I'm wounded, I need to stay away. I'll just isolate myself. The only person you hurt when you isolate yourself and pull back from people is you. Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill someone else. The church is not perfect. Just b/c someone goes to church does NOT make them perfect. There is no perfect church. But healing doesn't come with isolation, healing comes through serving the person/people who wounded you. Proverbs 18:1 paraphrase - you will get burned by people for the rest of your life no matter where you go. We have to learn how to heal instead of kill ourselves with bitterness.
If what you've given (service) has been trampled on and you're upset about it, think about Jesus' blood and the cross. Romans 13:8. Owe no man anything but LOVE. Are you ready to give and get nothing in return? That's true love. When we give and expect nothing. Not when we give and expect a text or phone or ANY response. That's called giving with interest. We can't give with interest. We will never be filled by humans. We will never be satisfied with what humans give us. Flesh is taking. Love is giving. So stop charging interest and expecting something in return. Join your love account with Jesus (joint checking) and use His debit card to give freely.
The Shared Reward is that our joy will be complete in community. There is no joy in isolation. Is community easy? No. But is it worth it? Definitely.
Those are the basics of the notes I took today. But don't take my word for it. Go hear it yourself. There are so many aspects of my life right now that needed to hear this sermon. I'm so blessed to be in a church where the pastor brings the Word. No fluff, just the word. Off to listen to some more in our doctrine and theology series. Excited:)
