Welcome to the podcast of the White Church in Adelaide, South
Australia. This morning we have a wonderful
privilege of hearing from Hilary, which is going to be
amazing. So can I encourage you guys to
stretch out your hands? The Bible talks about stretching
out our hands and laying on of hands.
When we pray for people, we teach our kids that if
somebody's in the room and you're praying for them, you
reach out your hand or you place your hand on them.
I was actually going to get you to praise that, OK.
Father, we just, we thank you for the word that you've placed
on Hillary's heart. We thank you that you've placed
it in her heart for us to hear, for it to be a seed planted in
our heart for it to take deep root, Father God and, and for
your word to grow and transform and bring life to our lives and
to those around us. So Father, we just pray over her
mind, we pray peace and we just pray Lord that your will be done
this morning. Let your words flow and come out
so naturally and so comfortably in Jesus name, Amen.
Awesome. Thank you.
Well, we've, well we've actually always talked a lot about being
a church family and was when Tai was with us a few weeks ago, he
brought a lot of points about the culture of a church.
And so today I just wanted to zoom in and look at it a little
bit more in depth on the culture of a church family.
So, so we've got 2 ideas that run alongside each other here
that we sort of have to, we have to acknowledge the fact that
we've been shaped by our own experiences and by the world
around us when it comes to church.
For starters, based on our past experiences, you know, maybe the
church that we were saved into, there's churches that we've
potentially been hurt by, There's all sorts of things that
go on that have shaped our perspective of what church is.
And likewise, there's a whole bunch of things that shape our
perspective of what family is. If we if I said to someone, you
know, the church is your family and then you projected onto it
your perspective of family based on your own family, we would be
in a lot of trouble. I don't know about anyone else.
I love my family, but there's lots of unhelpful and
dysfunctional things that go on in the culture of my family.
And I'm sure we all have our things because let's face it, no
one has a perfect family. So again, we need to bring these
things to God and say to God, Lord, what is it that has shaped
my perspective of church and what is it that has shaped my
perspective of family? And Lord, would you show me from
your scripture what's actually true and right about your plan
and purpose for us as a church and as a family?
So the first thing we actually need to settle is that church is
in fact meant to be a family in the beginning.
In Genesis, the, the, the creation account tells us that
God created everything and then he created man.
And then, and then there's this story about God creating animals
as, as companions for men. And they all fall short and and
it makes me laugh because some people go, oh, I like dogs
better. And that may be well and good,
but you're going to have to settle the fact that God said it
is not good that man be alone and submit yourself to the idea
that it's actually God's good plan and purpose that we live
together as a family because that was his solution.
Jesus told us to pray our Father in heaven in Matthew, Jesus
mother and brother and sister, his natural family come and his
disciples say, oh your mother and father, your mother and
brothers are over there. And he says, who are my brothers
and sisters and my mother, these who do the will of my father,
They are my family. In Romans 8 verse 29.
Dave read this last week. He said for those whom he
foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his
son in order that he might be the first born among many
brothers. And so again that it speaks of
the family ship with Jesus, but also the family resemblance.
We are called to be conformed to the to the image of the family
of God, of Jesus. There's many, many more
scriptures in in the Bible, but this one is perhaps one of my
favourites as well. In Psalm 68 verse 5 to 6, it
says a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in
his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.
He leads out the prisoners with singing, but the rebelliously
live in the sun scorched land. So there's a promise there that
that that they would be a family of God, that God could set
people into, that they would have a family.
And so if God is our father, then we are brothers and
sisters. And so now we, the family of
God, come together and we all have our natural families and we
all have these cultures that are influenced by the nations that
we've come from. Again, your church traditions
and cultures and and the cultures of our society around
us. We've come from a very
multicultural church in the past and I love it.
There are some beautiful elements of the of culture that
come from from different groups. I can remember just watching the
Brazilian culture and how they do communities so, so well.
Then you know, they'll get together and they'll worship
together and they'll cook a BBQ. One family used to set up a
gazebo on their front driveway and invite their neighbors
along. Like just this beautiful image
of community and bringing people into that community with open
hands. But then there's some also
unhelpful things, particularly from the nations or regions.
I've noticed that it tends to be something that comes from like
the tropical band of the world have this attitude to honouring
time. That's just out the window.
You know, I will make jokes like, Oh, we're, we're on Fiji
time and or you know, I've been in Darwin.
Oh, we run on Darwin time. It's like this, this joke.
And, and so as, as the community of God, we can look to the good
things and go, those are good things that we want to take a
hold of and then look to the unhelpful things and go,
actually in God, I need to let that go.
So, yeah. And the same can be said of
church cultures. We, we spoke a number of months
ago about a culture of worship and a culture of, of unabandoned
worship. I can remember visiting a church
once again coming, having come from a church that was very
extravagant in their worship. And we visited this church and
it had probably maybe 100 people went out and there was a group
of us that visited and, and they had their music time and we were
there and we all, we all went to like lift our hands and worship
God and not another person in the place We're lifting their
hands. And I watched someone else in my
my party, they would, they put their hands up and then they
sort of gone like, because that was the culture of worship they
had in that place. You know, we want we and we,
like I said, we've, we've talked about this, but we want to be a
people who worship God extravagantly.
So, yeah, the and then again, so social cultures, so our society
around us is very bent away from God and away from the gospel.
It will promote things like being selfish.
You've got to put yourself first.
No one else is going to look after you.
Cancel culture. Like, if I don't like what you
have to say, I'm just going to shut you out of my life.
I'm realizing more and more how much feminism has shaped my
perspective of the world. And I'm also, you know, valuing
women at acknowledging how amazing and strong and and
wonderful that God created them, but not at the expense of our
men and not at the expense of our families.
And so we've got to be really real about these things.
So in a natural family, the culture that's set in your home
is set by the adults. There is a culture in your home,
even if you live alone. And we have to be really, really
intentional about the culture that we allow in our, our home,
in our actual homes, and the culture that we allow in this
home. My children, they're born into
my home and they don't get a choice about the culture that
they grow up in. They, they're forced to
assimilate to whatever culture we said.
And sometimes they'll bring behaviours home that are not of
our culture. And sorry, dude, that's not how
we operate in this house. And so likewise, as babies come
into this home, there's, there's a culture that they'll
assimilate to. And This is why Tyrone shared on
this. It's really important for us to
be really aware of what it is that shapes our view and be
willing to change if we need to be willing to submit ourselves
to the ways of God and let him form our our our culture and the
way that we live together. If I want to change the culture
in my home, I have to be so intentional and I have to be
persistent. One thing that Dave and I have
changed recently in the recent months is we don't have the TV
on by and large through the week, especially for the kids,
but then also what we actually put on the TV.
It really matters. The scripture talks about
setting no worthless thing before your eyes.
And so this is something that that we talked about months ago
and we put it into practice. And then time goes on and oh, I
just need to Chuck something mindless on the TV.
And then next minute you're watching something and you're
just like, oh gosh, this is just not the culture that we want in
our home, right? And so you have to like, bring
yourself back and bring yourself back.
And that's why being together is important because we help each
other bring ourselves back. Cool.
So I just wanted to pull a little bit out of Acts 2 just on
just to have a look at what the culture or the the group of
believers looked like early in the early church.
So just in the lead up to this, we're looking at Acts 2, verse
41. And in the lead up to this is
where Peter has preached the gospel for the first time.
The people have been cut to their hearts and gone.
What? What is it that we must do?
And he says, repent and be baptized and you'll receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. And 3000 that day were added to
them. So it was like a massive
outpouring of salvation in that moment.
And so then in 41 it says, so those who received his word were
baptized and they were added, Oh, there we go.
They were added that day, 3000 souls.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching and the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers, and all
came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being
done through the apostles. I wonder if God was intentional
with saying that all came upon every soul that happened first
potentially, and then many signs and wonders were done.
When we're when we're living in a place of awe and love and
reverence and holy fear of the Lord, it's like a it's like a
conduit for the spirit just to be glorified and for him to do
amazing things. And all who believed we're
together and had all things in common.
And they were selling their possessions and belongings and
distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
And day by day attending the temple together and breaking
bread in their homes, they received their food with a glad
and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all
the people and the Lord added to their number day by day those
who are being saved. What an amazing family that
though that people who are being saved for being added to.
It was that there was a culture there of amazing things that was
the the platform for the church. So, so they talk a bit there
about it says that they were devoted to a number of things.
Other versions say they continued steadfastly.
There was like a commitment that that the apostles teaching and
being together, it was of utmost importance to their being.
And so they they devoted and they gave themselves to it.
I talked a little bit when he was here about a culture of
conviction. And so we see in this picture is
that they was just so hungry for the for for Jesus and for his
teachings which the apostles had walked with him and had learnt
everything that they could from him.
And so they were responsible for administrating that and they
were hungry to be a part of that.
They were hungry for the Kingdom of heaven in their lives, just
like Jesus had taught. So I just wonder, are we hungry
for for the conviction that that Jesus brings to us that we would
see the Kingdom of heaven at work in our lives?
Matthew 633 says seek first the Kingdom of God and his
righteousness. So in that we seek every part of
our lives to be right with God. We can easily look at our lives
individually and we would know that there's things that God's
spoken to us about. We would know that there's
things in in the way we conduct ourselves, the way we treat the
people around us, whatever it may be that don't line up with
who he is. And so there's a good place just
to start prayerfully to to go, God transform me here.
Philip Philippians says it's God's will for you to sorry,
it's got at work in you to will, so to want to change and to
change. And so if you have a will to
change, then then it's got at work at you, in you.
But we need to be submitted to him to allow him to do that.
So sometimes I think in the grace teaching of the church, we
can get a bit confused because salvation is a free gift and you
cannot earn that. We do not deserve it.
All we need to do for that is to come to, to, to God and just go.
Thank you. I repent of my, of my old ways
and I turn to you and I and I thank you for the cross and I
thank you that you've died, that I could be made clean and whole
and, and like worthy through Jesus to come into your
presence. And that is a free gift.
And there is nothing that can ever take that away from you.
But seeking righteousness isn't working for salvation.
Seeking righteousness is the only reasonable response.
It's like when someone gives you something that's just crazy
generous and you're kind of like, oh gosh, like, what can I,
what can I give you in return? Like there is nothing that comes
close to this amazing gift. But you know, let me do this.
That's what, that's what seeking righteousness is.
It's like God has given us the most amazing gift, and the only
thing that I can possibly do in return is to do my best to be
worthy of it, you know? And so it's not earning it, but
it's a response. And the New Testament calls us
to journey this together. Hebrews talks about throwing off
the sin that so easily entangles us.
James talks about confessing our sins to one another.
Galatians says that if someone is in sin, restore them gently.
Our revelation of this matters because if we're accepting of
sin in our life, God knows where I'm at.
God's doing a work on me. You know that kind of language.
Then the people who are joining us, that's what their
expectation is. That's the culture that they're
being brought into. The relationships around us tend
to expose those things that God wants to work on ultimately.
I mean, like they're sin sins. Well, the Scripture says the
greatest command is to love God and to love others as yourself
and fulfilling the law is fulfilled in that.
And so everything that we do that falls short of the glory of
God, it fits within those two items.
And so it tends to be the relationships closest to us that
expose these things the most, our marriages, our parenting and
our family. And again, when we live in a
society that's so quick to cut people off, we need to be really
careful that we don't subscribe to that.
But we actually followed the scriptural pattern for for
dealing with sins. You know, Jesus talks in, I
think it's Matthew 18. There's a pattern.
If someone has hurt you or sinned against you, there's a
pattern. If you need to know how to work,
journey that through. Do it with your leaders, with
your family. So yes, always, always with
grace and mercy, but always calling each other upward.
Paul says not that I have attained it, but I press on.
So we've got this this tension. We are a new creation.
We are we have been closed in righteousness, but but not that
I have attained it. I press on for that which Jesus
purchased for me. So yes, I've already said that
the it's not good that man be alone.
The other thing, the next thing that I sort of wanted to, to
zoom in on, I guess, and it, and it flows on from that is the
culture of community. We as people have a need for
community. You, you see it through through
COVID, the, the, how isolated everyone was and it just exposed
that we actually just need community.
In this piece of axe, we see that these people were enjoying
their faith together. I I remember when we first came
back to to Jesus. There was just this hunger, like
we want to be a part of what the church is doing and we want to
be with the people and we want to do, you know, do our part.
And Dave used to come cleaning and they'd have this beautiful
community together where someone brought morning tea and, and
they cleaned the church together And, and it was just a, it was
just, there was life there because it was the people of God
being together, eating together. Obviously Dave's just done a
period of fasting and he's realized that we, we knew it
already, but eating together is such a vital part of, of being
together and growing together. Our community groups are
families within the family in the same way that I always think
of Justin's family when I think of this because it's just neat
and tidy. He's got his parents and then
he's got his three brothers and the three boys are all married
now. And so the boys have their
families and then they come together as a family.
And and so it is with us in many ways, but we are a family and
our community groups are families within families and
Eva's are a family within the family and the figures are a
family, you know, But we are all one family together.
Being together builds familiarity, family parity,
going through life struggles and triumphs together.
It builds trust, deep relationships that are eternal.
Romans 12 says in verse 15, rejoice with those who rejoice
and weep with those who weep. It's doing life together and
going through the ups and downs. You never have to go through
things alone when you've got a real family, a real church
family. And if that hasn't been the case
for us in our past, maybe we need to consider our part to
play in that because relationships are give and take
in the natural. No one wants to be a part of a
relationship where you've got nothing to offer in return,
where you're just can you feel like you're just a constant ZAP
on another person. And, and you know, there's times
in our lives when, when things are going on and that can be a
reality for, for a period. And we need to humble ourselves
and realize that it's OK to receive.
But generally speaking, we want to be in a place where we all
have something to give and we all have something that we can
take from it. I can think of times when I've,
I can remember giving a lady a lift to a women's thing once and
I was so arrogant. I don't know if I've mentioned
this before, but I just thought that I was this and that and I
was going to minister to her. And she gets in the car and she
just starts sharing her life with me.
And I got to the end of the driver just like, Oh my gosh,
she had so much to offer me in that moment and she didn't even
know it. She was just talking and telling
me about life. And I'm like, oh Lord, I've been
so blessed by this time. So we, we need to be humble
enough to realize that in even in the moments where we think
that someone has nothing to give, they have everything to
give. And that's why we, we need to
know, even if I think that I have nothing left, that God will
use me. So yes, it takes humility.
How much does pride inhibit our relationships?
I think pride is so much more pervasive in US, or at least in
me. Then then I might be willing to
admit the the willingness to be vulnerable, to open up if
someone said or done something that's hurt me.
The willingness to accept help. I'm really bad at that.
Willing to admit when we're wrong, to apologize.
We really need to find a place where we can humble ourselves so
that we can do this family well. I think you'll find in in
natural families that do these things well, they're quite
healthy. And so we want to be a healthy
family. And again, we need to consider
the next generation of believers.
How can God meet the lonely into family if we're not living as a
family? You know, I can, I think about,
you know, if a young single mom or a single mom came to be a
part of us, what would the community of God look like to
her? OK, we have a happy clappy
family on on Sunday and the times that we're together, but
then all throughout the rest of the week I've got my own life.
Sorry, can't help or or even not even offering to.
So I guess the question we can ask ourselves is what kind of
family would believers be knit into based on my involvement or
my commitment to this church family?
Again, Ty reminded us they learned from our example.
So when it comes to to church and being together, what's our
attitude? Is it religious?
Are we doing it out of an obligation or a duty, or are we
devoted to God and to fellowshipping with His people?
Lord, let us, let us be devoted to you and your ways and your
word and, and to accept by faith.
That's your intention for us to grow into the image of Christ
and that every single step of obedience takes us there, takes
us closer. So then the the third thing that
I wanted to zoom in on was what Ty called a culture of caring
Acts 244. It was all who believed we're
together and had all things in common.
And I was selling their possessions and belongings and
distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
I've been amazed by this in the last few years, that all
throughout Scripture God cares about taking care of people's
needs. In Genesis we read about
offerings and they were an act of worship 1st and they always
should be. But when God commanded tithing,
it was to take care of the priests who didn't have an
inheritance with the rest of the Israelites.
They had no way of taking care of their families because they
were set aside to serve God. In Leviticus 23 verse 22, He
says when you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the
very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your
harvest. Don't gather up everything.
Leave some there. Leave them for the poor and the
foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.
He cares about the people who can't take care of themselves.
We don't rape fields anymore. You know, we get, many of us
might get a pension or we work or, or whatever.
And so we get this money dropped in our bank account.
And So what can it look like for us to adopt this heart of God
that takes care of the people around us?
Well, I'm a budget head. So in my house we budget.
And so in addition to my offerings, we budget for
generosity. Some of us put extras in the
shopping basket to put in the in the pantry here.
We actually do this too. We buy extra bags every week for
the hampers. Some people will will
deliberately put money aside and keep it in their wallet to
prayerfully bless someone throughout their week.
So there's lots of ways that we can practice this and you know
it doesn't. Jesus saw the the woman in the
temple who put in her, her coin into the offering and he said
she's given more than anyone. So we cannot let what we think
is that we don't have means or whatever inhibit us from
participating in this. God will honour whatever it is
that you do out of revelation of his goodness and his heart to
take care of people. It just takes us making a step.
Lots of people out there have ideas of what the church should
be doing in terms of taking care of people and all the rest of
it. But nothing that we do happens
outside of the generosity of the people of our of our family.
There's no government funding for us.
There's there's no, you know, cash advances or whatever.
For us, when we do our ministries, everything that we
do, whether it be Christmas or hampers or anything that we do,
it comes from the, from the generosity of this church
family. And so, and, and, and we've got
such a generous church family. It's, it's really beautiful, but
there's always an opportunity for us to participate in that.
And, and that's what this is. So I guess the question again,
if we're asking ourselves questions is do I have a heart?
Do I know God's heart to take care of, of those who are in
need? And do I share that heart with
him? And Lord, would you grow my
heart in that area? Caring is not just financial,
it's how we serve each other. Jesus demonstrated serving each
other in washing each other's feet.
In Philippians it says do nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves. In Galatians it says for we
we're called to freedom brothers and they do not use your freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one
another. So we can always be looking for
ways that we can serve each other again when we come
together. Who can I get a drink for?
Who can I? I love Chantelle when I she was
still pregnant and I had eaten and she would every time we were
together as a group, she would go to the come to me.
She goes, let me get you some food, what do you want or
whatever. And then she would go and get me
a plate and come back. Like how beautiful.
Again, when we're together, we know when we're sick, when we
know when babies are being born. We think about the lonely
people, the people who aren't married, who have dinner by
themselves every night. You know, can we invite someone
over to have dinner with us? Can we take someone out for a
coffee? There's so many opportunities
for us to to take care of each other's needs.
And again, it's going to take humility.
It's going to take opening our eyes and asking God to show us
where can I bless and serve the people around us that you have
called to be my family. And again, when people come into
this environment, they're going to come into a place where
they're so cared for, not just on a weekend or when we're
together, but all the time and they catch it.
And that's the culture that I believe is a Kingdom culture
that we're called to. Ty reminded us that community is
the final apologetic. It's it's the thing that shows
God's love. Jesus says by this all people
will know that you are my disciples if you have love for
one another. God is love, Jesus is love.
We have a family resemblance. I love again.
I'm pretty sure I bring it up every time I speak because it's
just such a but first Corinthians 13.
I use it as a litmus test for my love of people.
Am I being patient? Am I being kind?
Am I bearing were held of wrong? Am I believing the best of
people? These are like this is who God
is and we are created in his image and we've been reborn into
his family. And so these are the things that
that we can prayerfully seek to participate in.
So I just want to close with this scripture.
I've read it a few weeks ago and I was just like, oh gosh, this
is just amazing. It's Romans 12, verse 9 to 18.
It says, let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, hold fast to
what is good, love one another with brotherly affection, outdo
one another with showing honour. Do not be slothful in zeal, but
fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord, rejoice in hope,
be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, Contribute
to the needs of the Saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be haughty, but associate with the Lily.
Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but
give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all,
if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably
with all. So yeah, so that's that's what
God had put on my heart. And it was really cool when Ty
was here because he touched on so many of them.
So my prayer is, is that as a church family, we would just
take a hold of the things that God speaking to us to and just
be committed to doing that which he's called us to do.
So Lord, we thank you. We thank you for this amazing
family that you've established on the earth.
We thank you that that Jesus is the head and we are the body and
that we have this opportunity to partake in in everything that
you've created for us to be a part of.
We thank you that your purpose for us is growth and
transformation to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
We thank you that even as families by design, they grow
and multiply that we would take a hold of this Kingdom culture,
Lord, and that and that the babies that come into this
family, Lord, would be would be also transformed into your image
in these ways that the platform of culture would get more and
more closer to to heaven the more that we grow and continue
on this path. Lord God, we pray for
perseverance. We pray that you would help us
to to call each other onward and upward to the things that you
have for us. Lord, We pray that you would
help us to restore each other with with gentleness and love
and life and hope. Lord, we just pray that that you
would be glorified this morning, Lord, anything that was not of
your heart, God, I just pray let it fall aside, Lord, but but
that which was of your word, of your, of your stamp of approval,
Lord, that would take a deep press on our hearts, God, that
we would just be committed to, to throwing off the, the sin
that entangles us and to pursuing your Kingdom and your
righteousness. Lord, we thank you that as we do
that we, we come into closest communion with you Father, and
we know you better and we enjoy your peace and your joy and your
life and your hope. And we thank you for this in
Jesus name, Amen. Thank you for joining us for
today's message. For more information about The
Way Church, please visit ourwebsite@thewaychurch.com dot
AU. Have a blessed day.