Our Next Chapter: Growing
Through the Word and Community
John 17:14-23
How long have you gone to
church? 1-2 weeks (welcome!), 2 years, 20 years, your whole life?
Have we really changed? It’s so easy to go through the motions, to do
the church thing, but have we really any different?
Do we still worry about what other people think of
us? Do we still strive to gain
acceptance and love? Are we still driven
by financial and superficial definitions of success?
Or, do we trust God more, love God more? Are we more loving, more joyful, more
generous, more patient? If we took out
the church activities, are we really that much different from everybody else?
Isn’t there more to church, to Jesus, more to the
Gospel?
We believe God has called us to renew lives in Christ
to transform our city and the world.
This vision starts with us—we need to be renewed, to
know Jesus and the gospel. We have
various ministries focused on this personal spiritual formation and renewal
[Joe Renewal chart]. Today we want to
focus on two key ones: small groups and Christian Education.
[Small Groups]
[Christian Education]
Some would say we have a
biblically illiterate and theologically weak generation, and that’s within the
church. Let’s try a little Bible quiz
(if you’re new to church (<1 year) you don’t have to take it):
What
is the name of Abraham and Sarah’s son?
a)
Benjamin
b)
Cain
c)
Ishmael
d) Isaac
Who
was Moses’ brother?
a) Aaron
b)
Eli
c)
Saul
d)
Samuel
With
whom did David commit adultery?
a) Bathsheba
b)
Delilah
c)
Hannah
d)
Jezebel
Which
person was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus?
a)
Luke
b)
Paul
c) Bartholomew
d)
Bartimaeus
According
to James, what can no man tame?
a)
The
eyes
b) The
tongue
c)
The
wind
d)
The
devil
More seriously,
What
is the main story of the Bible?
How
do OT stories apply to us today?
What
is saving faith?
How
can we share the gospel to someone who thinks many truths exist?
How
do we biblically overcome our own struggle with anxiety (anger, jealousy,
depression)?
How
should we counsel someone who struggles with living for people’s approval?
What
are theological reasons for why we should be involved in missions and justice?
We would want everyone at
Renewal to be able to answer these and other questions.
As we unfold these various ministries, there will some
significant culture shifts. One of the
bigger shifts is the introduction of Christian Education classes.
We want to see it become part of our church culture
to come to worship and then to stay afterwards for Christian Education. Sign up.
Word
This is a divisive Word. It is not benign and irrelevant. It marks the world into two categories.
I
have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the
world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them
out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I
am not of it. 17 Sanctify
them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have
sent them into the world. 19 For
them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:14-19)
Being with Jesus Being of the
World [diagram]
Have
God’s Word
Hated
by the world
Needs
protection from evil one
Sanctified
through the Word
1. Having God’s Word is an inseparable part of being with Jesus.
To
Jesus there is no such thing as a Christian who does not have and follow God’s
Word (of the world).
2. Spiritual growth is through the truth.
The
means of our sanctification is the truth.
One
of the main reasons we have the HS is so that we can be taught and reminded of
Jesus’ words.
But
the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (Jn 14:26)
God’s
Word is an essential part of our spiritual life and growth. We have this throughout the Bible:
All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work. (1 Timothy
3:16-17).
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his
law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which
yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does
prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3)
Last
week we saw how God commands us to talk about His law when we sit down and get
up, we’re to teach it to our children.
We believe God’s Word is an
indispensable part of spiritual formation and transformation.
We believe this is divine revelation, i.e., this is
God’s revealing of Himself. We’re
supposed to meet Him. It’s not just an
intellectual thing or a moral thing.
Those are valuable too. But more
importantly, it is a spiritual/relational thing.
We want to give you a framework, the big picture,
so that as you read/study/meditate, it can make better sense. It’s not just random bits of stories and
saying. You have a paradigm/framework of
the Gospel.
The fear is that for many Christians, we don’t know
how to feed on, grow on God’s Word. It
is to too many an optional part of their Christian lives. If you left your Bible at church, or you lost
it, would it make a difference? We’re
don’t know how to feeding on it. We don’t
want to remain spoon-fed Christians, we
must learn how to feed ourselves on God’s Word.
For
myself, perhaps because of my Dad, God’s Word has been a source of spiritual
nourishment, guidance and strength for me since my teenage years. I have piles of notes/journals that chronicle
a huge part of my walk with Christ through His Word. I cannot think of my Christian life without
His Word. He has met me, convicted me,
comforted me, excited me.
Sign up for a class.
We want our whole church to raise the value of God’s Word in their
lives. Let’s do this together.
Also, as mentioned last week, we’ll need childcare
[picture] for families to be able to participate. We need the whole church to be team players,
working together for the greater vision.
Contact the office.
Community
It seems that the Father and
the Son get “confused.” They seem to run
in circles.
“Father,
the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. . . .
4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to
do. 5 And now, Father,
glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world
began.” (John 17:1, 4, 5)
Glorify your Son (referring
to his death and resurrection), that your Son may glorify You.
Then
the end will come, when [Jesus] hands over the kingdom to God the Father after
he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put
all his enemies under his feet. 26 The
last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his
feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear
that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son
himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God
may be all in all. (1 Cor
[last spring] v. 24, Christ will conquer all
dominions/powers and hands the Kingdom over to the Father
v. 27, It was the Father who puts everything under the
feet of Christ
v. 28, It is the Father who puts everything under
Christ. The Father is giving everything
to Christ, who then gives everything to the Father. We see a picture of the Son, conquering all,
to surrender it to the Father, so that the Father may be “all in all.”
This may seem rather confusing, but if you think about
it, this is remarkable. We see a little
of the interaction between the Father and the Son. We see a glimpse into the activity of the
Godhead. The Father and the Son are
passionately serving, honoring, and loving one
another.
We see that throughout the Bible.
Jesus is always saying how he is honoring the Father,
showing the Father, pointing to the Father, obeying the Father.
The Father saying, “This is my Son in whom I am well
pleased,” the Father lifting up the Son.
And the Holy Spirit is sent to testify about the Son,
who points to the Father.
We see the Godhead loving, serving, and honoring one
another. We see perfect fellowship. Community began with God Himself.
I
pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world
may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I
in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the
world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)
Notice, it is this level of community and unity that
Jesus prays for us (v. 21, 22)
That community isn’t just with one another. Jesus invites us to participate in His Divine
fellowship with Him. We are called into
fellowship with one another and into
fellowship with the Godhead.
1. Community is Divine.
And that’s why Jesus prays
for our unity, our love for one another.
It is our participation with God and it is our witness to the world.
That leads to one
implication: if God is about community, to understand God, we must also
understand community. God is love
1
John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love
does not know God, because God is love.
You
cannot know God apart from love, and you cannot have love apart from community
There is something divine
about unity, community. It is a participation in the nature of God.
And that’s the way it was in
the Garden of Eden: perfect community with one another and with God.
2. Sin broke community
Perhaps
you remember the story of the Fall in Genesis 3
2:25 no shame, nakedness between people,
nothing to hide
3:7 sewed fig leaves and made coverings:
hiding from one another
3:8 hid among the trees (from leaves to
trees): hiding from God
sin:
(not just breaking a law), not the way its supposed to be, not the way God
designed it, wanted it.
God
never meant for us to hide, be alone and separated
In
God’s world, there is no shame, no covering, no hiding (2:25)
But
in our fallen world, we cover ourselves, we hide. Reasons:
Shame:
fear of disapproval, shame
embarrassment,
looking stupid, saying something stupid
inadequacy,
how you talk, athletics, intelligence, opposite sex
so
afraid of what people might think, afraid of being laughed at, ignored,
rejected
cover
ourselves
So
we live in this paradox: so hungry for intimacy, yet so fearful of exposure.
Wanting
to know and be known but not wanting to know be known
You
want love, intimacy, community, relationships (designed for it), but not vulnerability
(don’t want to take risks)
3. Jesus restores community
This is not the way God design us to be, this is not
the life He intended for us.
He designed us for community, relationships, because
that is who He is.
Jesus Christ came to restore what we in our sinfulness
have destroyed.
In Genesis 11, as a consequence of sinful pride, God
stops the work on the Tower of Babel and gives people different languages. Such separation is a consequence of sin. But in Jesus, we see the work of
reconciliation, first with Jews and Gentiles.
For
he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the
barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law
with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one
new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile
both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their
hostility. (Eph 2:14-16)
There
is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one
in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
Jesus
is the restorer: Bringing us back to the way God designed things to be.
Jesus
is a barrier breaker. He brings people
together. Unity is a big theme in the
NT.
At
a more personal level, Jesus commands:
“A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another. 35 By this all
men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34, 35)
Jesus loves his followers and calls them to love one
another. That is his command.
We are loved, accepted, embraced. We are freed from trying to earn God’s love,
so instead of trying to gain love, we’re to give love. The gospel moves us from “trying to gain” to
“because it’s already given.”
Have you ever been with some business person or sales
person at a social function? They’re
being very outgoing and friendly, making connections, networking. And as much as you may think they’re friendly
and likable, you know they’re trying to get something.
Maybe we’re not trying to find clients or make sales,
but we’re not that much different. We
want something too: we want people’s
approval or respect, we want popularity or a good reputation. We like people who make us look good, or
friends who might meet our desires for companionship, or you’re looking for
that special someone. This hinders true
community.
Compare that with being with family or good friends,
where you’re already loved and accepted, you’re already “in the family.” You don’t need to get anything from these
people that isn’t already given. That’s
the gospel—we already have love and acceptance.
We’re not trying to get anything.
We already have. And that’s where
true community can flourish.
If you’re not a believer, we want to say that Jesus didn’t
just come to give you morals or nice teaching.
Christians often say that He came to forgive our sins and give us a home
in heaven. But He actually came to do
much more. He came to restore a broken
world, to make whole the very fabric of society. He came to teach us how to love one another
and experience true community. We don’t
believe that is perfected now on earth, but we get a foretaste of heaven. We get to experience, in the community of
God’s people, what community was supposed to be.
Created Biblical community is hard in a Sunday
crowd. That is why we have small groups.
So, let me invite you, if you aren’t already in a
small group, please sign up. Some of us
have been here at Renewal for months, maybe years. Sign up.
And if you’re already in a small group, open your
hearts and build a community. Take the
time and effort to get to know one another, to pray for one another, to love
one another. We believe that in Christ,
we are already loved and accepted. We
are free to give love.
We want to be renewed in Christ, to be
transformed.
Lord, thank you for your Word and for your Church,
through which you allow us to see You.