1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:08,240 People often ask or people often say, you know, I love my church. 2 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,520 Usually they say, because I love the services or I love the 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,320 preaching. But let's get real. 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,240 Doesn't matter how great of a preacher you are, after a couple 5 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:22,000 of years, it just all sounds about the same. 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,200 Same guy talking about the same thing, right? 7 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,520 But people who've been to 1 church for a long time, when 8 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:34,240 they say I love my church, many times they say I love the church 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,080 community. I love the community. 10 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,640 Now when it comes to saying I love my church community, it 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:45,640 could be a variety of reasons. I have friends there or I grew 12 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:51,760 up there or, or, you know, things run very smooth there for 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:53,720 whatever reason. You could have many reasons why 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,200 you'd like that church community. 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,040 But Paul says something different. 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,600 It's not something what we usually talk about. 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,120 He talks about, he focuses on the spiritual aspect, of course. 18 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,040 So we're going to examine what Paul thinks is a good church 19 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,400 community. So that's a question we want to 20 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,920 answer today. What does a healthy church 21 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,040 community look like? Last week we talked about what 22 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:21,720 what is healthy church look like. 23 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,800 And we said it was a church that preaches the word and receives 24 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,280 the word faithfully. And the week before that, it was 25 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,200 a church that has faith, hope, and love. 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,040 And today we're going to talk about what a healthy church 27 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:44,800 community might look like. So #1 the healthy church 28 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,960 community is full of joy, full of joy. 29 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,240 If you have your Bibles, please turn to 1st Thessalonians 30 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,280 Chapter 3. We'll be reading 6 to 10. 31 00:02:18,650 --> 00:02:21,570 And this is now working. I have this all set up. 32 00:02:21,610 --> 00:02:25,770 Not working. OK, Potter's out in here. 33 00:02:25,770 --> 00:02:31,480 Is he? OK, that's fine. 34 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,400 All right, before I read 6 to 10, let me read you. 35 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:38,280 Not read you, but let me just explain. 36 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,120 The background, which is one through 5, is the background. 37 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,680 But instead of reading it, I'll just summarize real quick, and 38 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:50,720 then let's focus on 6 to 10. So background is that Paul and 39 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,080 his friends, Silas and Timothy were actually in this church. 40 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,760 They were helping out. They started it and but they had 41 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,040 to flee abruptly due to persecution. 42 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,760 So they were kind of torn apart forcefully. 43 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,560 And now that they are in separate cities a few 100 miles 44 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:16,480 away, of course Paul is is worried about about the 45 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,160 Thessalonian church. So Paul, Paul knows that there's 46 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,520 persecution going on. So Paul fears temptation and 47 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:30,080 discouragement. So Paul sends Timothy, the the 48 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,960 younger one of the group, the youngest one says, OK, you're 49 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,680 young. Why don't you go to Thessalonica 50 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,480 to check on how the church is doing? 51 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,960 Paul could have himself because he would have probably died if 52 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,720 he went. So Timothy, you know, he's young 53 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,520 and he goes it's, you know, only 300 miles each way, three-week 54 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,880 journey. Some of us live, live like less 55 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,360 than 5 miles from our church. I've never seen anyone walk to 56 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,760 church, but this guy is walking 300 miles. 57 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,640 And then Timothy comes back with the news that, hey, this church 58 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,080 is doing well. They're doing fine. 59 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:11,560 So of course, Paul is rejoicing after hearing the good news that 60 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,160 this church is doing well. And that's where we pick up at 61 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:20,640 verse 6. But now Timothy has come to us 62 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,600 from you and brought us good news about your faith and love. 63 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,440 He reported that you always have good memories of us, and you 64 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,560 long to see us as we also long to see you. 65 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,080 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and 66 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,240 affliction, we were encouraged about you through your faith. 67 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,040 For now we live. If you stand firm in the Lord, 68 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,560 how can we thank God for you in return for all the joy we 69 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,520 experience before our God because of you as we pray very 70 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,480 earnestly night and day to see you face to face and to complete 71 00:04:52,680 --> 00:05:02,440 what is lacking in your faith. Is this freaking Nope, Potter, 72 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:07,040 you want to take this reconnect? OK, he's not here. 73 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:12,480 Just kidding. Just there are a lot of reasons 74 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:18,520 to be joyful about your church. I said. 75 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,400 I said the healthy church community is full of joy. 76 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,920 And there's a lot of reasons to be joyful about your church. 77 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:29,480 For a lot of people, it's seeing the church grow. 78 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,240 And over the years I've been here, I really, when the church 79 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,520 grows, I've seen a lot of people just kind of be really happy 80 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:36,080 about it. And I think that's a good thing 81 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,120 when we see numerical growth. Yeah, a lot of people are happy 82 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,160 even, like when it's not great for great reasons. 83 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,520 Thank you. Even when it's not for great 84 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,440 reasons, like, like, I don't know, like 8 years ago, English 85 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,360 ministry down the street from my church, they closed. 86 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,880 So a bunch of people came to our church and people were like, so 87 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,000 happy our church is growing, God is moving. 88 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,600 I'm like, no, they just closed Now there's like four or five 89 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,640 families still here, you know, from, from that time. 90 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,240 And, and some people like a different kind of growth. 91 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,560 They like the the natural way of growing the reproduction. 92 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,680 They're like other babies in the church. 93 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:22,360 Personally, I'll be really happy if we finally get to knock down 94 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,440 that wall and we have 80 seats here. 95 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,440 I would love to, I would love it to have this 120 seats, just a 96 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,080 little bit more room, breathing room. 97 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,240 So, yeah, some people like the just the numeric growth or some 98 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:40,440 kind of building expansion and that that makes people really 99 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:44,000 happy. For some, it's seeing the 100 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,880 success of church members. It's a little bit more personal. 101 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,640 Like when I went to youth group as a child, as a kid, I remember 102 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:55,360 the church I went, I was 6th grade. 103 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:59,440 And then there was this like this buzz and joy about all the 104 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:04,120 great colleges that people were the the 12th graders got into in 105 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,600 a span of two years. I remember it was Harvard couple 106 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,480 Stanfords and MIT and it was like crazy. 107 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:16,360 And I could just hear walking around, you know, the Korean 108 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:20,360 adults saying the words like, how about do Stampa do? 109 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,960 Like they were just very happy. I just kept hearing those words 110 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:24,680 over and over and I'm like, oh, people are happy. 111 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:29,280 And I, I have a friend that goes to a, a bigger church. 112 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:31,960 He's just a member. He's not a pastor or elder or 113 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,640 anything. He's just a member and, and he's 114 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,880 very proud of like, oh, my church member owns that. 115 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:39,720 He works here. He's not showing off. 116 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,440 He's just very happy. Like, hey, they're doing well. 117 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:44,920 Look at these, They're looking at this company or they, they 118 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,400 open this restaurant. And then he's just very proud of 119 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,040 how his church members are doing. 120 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,160 So he's tells me this, I said, Oh yeah, six years ago for three 121 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,440 months, we had a guy who now has 3,000,000 subscribers on 122 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,400 Instagram. That's not much of A comeback, 123 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:07,920 but that's that's what I got. Paul cares about something very 124 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,360 different than what meat most people care about. 125 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,440 Paul cares about their faith above anything else. 126 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,480 I said a healthy church is a church full of joy. 127 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:27,120 Paul's joy comes from their spiritual growth, Not in 128 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,480 numbers, not in some kind of expansion, not in more programs, 129 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:37,159 not about cool things in the church, but people's faith. 130 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:42,360 When people are growing, Paul is overwhelmed with joy. 131 00:08:47,740 --> 00:08:52,420 I find rejoicing. When technology works, is it 132 00:08:52,420 --> 00:08:55,420 working? Oh, thank you. 133 00:08:55,420 --> 00:08:59,860 Thank you. All right, now I could draw 134 00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:02,460 during the sermon. That's what I really wanted 135 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:04,320 whole time. That's all I wanted to do. 136 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,480 OK, Hopefully and soon you'll know why I want this. 137 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:15,720 OK, So Paul is is really happy about their spiritual growth. 138 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:21,040 That's what he cares about. But humanly speaking, think 139 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:22,840 about it. Let's say this church is full of 140 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,800 persecution. People, people's lives are at 141 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,520 stake here. And then for whatever reason, I 142 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,320 am separated from you guys, that I am 300 miles away and I sent 143 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,400 somebody to check on you guys. And then I get word back. 144 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,680 The first thing I want to hear is everyone OK? 145 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:41,840 Is everyone safe? And if I'm writing a letter to 146 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,480 SPMC, the first thing I'm writing is I'm glad everyone is 147 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:50,440 OK. But Paul, it almost seems like 148 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:51,960 he doesn't care for their safety. 149 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,880 He does. But every time, Paul, thanks God 150 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,880 for this church. I'm glad you guys are OK. 151 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,760 It's not one of them. He's only thankful for spiritual 152 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,000 matters. Week 1 Paul was thankful for 153 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,480 faith, hope and love in the church Last week. 154 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,640 He was thankful that they received the word joyfully or 155 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:16,360 faithfully. And today, Paul is thankful they 156 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,480 are standing firm in the midst of persecution. 157 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,760 Why does Paul only mention spiritual stuff? 158 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:30,880 Is he just not practical? No, because people's growth, 159 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:36,720 people's faith, people's hearts, that is his utmost priority. 160 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:41,800 What he cares the most is about their spiritual walk. 161 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,880 And when he sees growth with Timothy comes back and saying he 162 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:50,480 they are standing firm despite persecution, that fills his 163 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:57,640 heart with joy. And if we look at this examine 164 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:02,640 this letter or this passage we read, it is full of him being 165 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:07,920 proud and he being strengthened, being joyful because that they 166 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:15,280 are growing. In verse 29, he says, remember 167 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:19,560 our labor and hardship. The verse please. 168 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:34,640 Verse next next slide sorry one before in 1st 29 last week's 169 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,080 passage he says remember our labor and hardship. 170 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,320 He says we work night and day for you. 171 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,640 Paul's care for them, the prayers, the letters sending 172 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:49,040 Timothy, he does a lot and then this is what gives him joy. 173 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:54,600 Verse 7, we were encouraged, we're encouraged about you 174 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,120 through your faith. What strengthens them, 175 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:02,280 encourages them, is their faith. Verse 8, he says now we live, 176 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,280 now we live that you stand firm in the Lord. 177 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,680 He's saying now I am strengthened, I have life. 178 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,840 I was worried, I was struggling, but I see that you guys are 179 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:17,320 standing firm in the Lord and now I live. 180 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:26,480 Verse 9 how we can thank God for you in return for all of the 181 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:34,000 next joy we experience before our God because of you. 182 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:39,320 All the joy we experience before our God because of you. 183 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:47,400 I mean, how, how often can you say that you have tremendous joy 184 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:52,400 in your heart and you say it's because of you because you are 185 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:58,080 standing firm in your faith. And we see Paul just have so 186 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:03,840 much heart and joy only because this church is standing firm in 187 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,480 their faith. In verse 12, he ends with 188 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:13,360 overflow increase and overflow with love for one another, just 189 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,480 as we do for you. I have my love for you is 190 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,560 overflowing for one another. And he said my prayer is that 191 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:28,560 you guys have the same. I think This is why right? 192 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,800 He he has so much joy from their growth. 193 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,840 This is why I think it it relates to last week Paul saying 194 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,880 I love you like a mom and he says as a mom nurtures their 195 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,120 child and he says I love you like a father. 196 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,520 There's the advice, the you know, the, the, the nurturing, 197 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,760 you know, the correction, the instruction, mentoring. 198 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,280 So he loves the church like a mother would and also would 199 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,760 father would. And now he's experienced a joy 200 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,200 like a parent would when a child is growing. 201 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,840 The greatest joy for a parent, like our actual parent is to see 202 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,720 the kids grow in their faith. And Paul is saying that's why 203 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:17,320 you got to love the church like a mom, like a dad, so that you 204 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,120 will feel the joy like a parent would. 205 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:25,200 It's a special type of joy that you could experience when you 206 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:34,040 love like Paul and even when your actual parents, perhaps 207 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,240 most of you parents are too young to receive this kind of 208 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,920 joy because the kids are not are, are too young. 209 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,440 But as they get older, from what I hear, as the kids get older, 210 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,400 from what I hear from older parents, is that really that's 211 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:54,000 all that matters. When I was a youth pastor at the 212 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,880 church I grew up at, I was probably 2526. 213 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,880 And then the older lady in her 60s, she had four children age 214 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,480 25 to 35, you know, all grown up, all out of the house. 215 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,480 And she came to me and she's like, she did she start talking 216 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,520 to me. I'm a youth pastor. 217 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,840 Her kids are not youth age, but she was she was, you know, she 218 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:19,160 had a we had a nice conversation and she asked me this random 219 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,840 question. She said she said, hey, my son, 220 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,800 the 25 year old said, my son is not really a Christian. 221 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,160 She says, do you think it's my fault? 222 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,280 OK, what I want to say I'm not going to say yes, no, it's not 223 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,600 your fault, right? And then she says, I've been 224 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:38,840 thinking about like, what I, what I went wrong. 225 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:44,400 But she's like, I made him memorize Bible verses and I made 226 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,680 him read the Bible. We did family worship like until 227 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:51,200 he went to high school, I forced him to do all of this. 228 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,520 And is that why he, he's not going to church and he's not 229 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:01,080 really a Christian? And the immature me, yes. 230 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,040 And the immature me, right? Encourage her. 231 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,400 I said, oh, like, you know, you're, you did the same with 232 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:09,760 your other three kids and look at them. 233 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:11,880 They're fine. They're Christians and they're a 234 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:13,640 doctor, lawyer and a teacher. Look, they're fine. 235 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:15,840 I don't know why I brought up the profession, but I, I said 236 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:17,320 that right? Look. 237 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,240 And then her response referring to me saying they're doctor, 238 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,360 lawyer, teacher. She says, you know, I don't 239 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,040 those things don't matter. She says I would trade all of 240 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:32,560 that for my son to be a Christian. 241 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,160 Hurt, hurt. Three other kids went to 242 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,760 Stanford, Stanford, Berkeley and I just fed their profession and 243 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:49,600 even the sun is doing very well. You would think they ate a 244 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:54,680 couple that raised 4 kids very successful when the world looks 245 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,720 like them at them. They're just like what? 246 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:02,080 What can you complain about? I guess a parent and she's tells 247 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:10,000 me I will trade all of that, all of their success for him to be a 248 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:16,319 Christian. I think when you're parents of 249 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:18,560 young children, yeah, your joy is like, you know, they're 250 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:21,280 walking and then, oh, they're in good grades and yeah, there is 251 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,079 joy and like there's went to this school and they're getting 252 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:28,240 this GPA. And but ultimately, when they're 253 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,720 adults, a parent wants their child to have faith, to marry 254 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,680 somebody who has faith to raise their their grandchildren in the 255 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:44,040 faith. The faith ultimately is the most 256 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,720 important. And older people have told me 257 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,040 that's what it is even in the church. 258 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:54,440 This is why Paul says love each other like a mother of thought. 259 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:55,960 That's weird though. We're like similar age 260 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:57,920 sometimes. How do we love each other? 261 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,880 How do we love somebody older, younger or a little bit younger, 262 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:06,720 like a mother or father? Well, love them and think about 263 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,680 their faith. Love them for the purpose of 264 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,520 their growth. And then what is the reward? 265 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:19,240 What it what is the fruit? What is the is joy, the joy of 266 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:25,440 seeing one another grow? If you call this your home 267 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:29,760 church, SBMCIIII want you to love our church. 268 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:34,280 I truly do. I don't know what reasons you 269 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:40,520 have for loving this church, but if seeing others grow in the 270 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:45,480 faith isn't one of them, I challenge you to change your 271 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,800 perspective. Don't be satisfied in saying, 272 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,080 oh, I love my church because people are so great, they're 273 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:59,520 nice, they welcome me. Well, those are good things, but 274 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:00,720 it's like last week's sermon, right? 275 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:06,040 I said some of those aren't the side dishes missing the main 276 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:12,080 dish. Those are good, but you have to 277 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,880 include seeing others grow. I love my church because I've 278 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,800 seen this person grow, because I pray for this person and man, I 279 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:21,680 they've, they've gone through so much. 280 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,520 And yeah, they are standing firm in the Lord. 281 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,840 May that be the reason why you love the church. 282 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:34,840 Can we look at verse 10? In verse 10 it says as we pray 283 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,760 earnestly night and day to see your face to face, he says, and 284 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:44,400 two, complete what is lacking in your faith? 285 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:48,680 In other translations it says this word is supply. 286 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,240 Supply what is lacking in your faith? 287 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:58,320 So what does this mean? It means as we pray for others 288 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,120 growth, praying their struggles as we visit them and love them 289 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:06,480 and care for them. Supply what is needed everyone. 290 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,240 What they need is a little different. 291 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:14,600 Some people what they need to grow is care and attention. 292 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,040 Some people are like brand new Christians and what they need, 293 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,360 what we need to supply are the basics. 294 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,480 Hey, this is what a quiet time is. 295 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,200 When people say QTQT, this is quiet time. 296 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:28,680 You know, you see that little booklet? 297 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:30,160 Hey, this is how you go through it. 298 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,680 Supply what they need for them to grow. 299 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,520 We have youth kids in this service, in this church. 300 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,160 Supply what they need to know to grow. 301 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:49,120 My, my son, he is balancing school, sports, faith. 302 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:50,840 A lot of you guys went through that. 303 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,200 A lot of you guys played sports all through high school, some 304 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,320 college. Yeah. 305 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:01,760 Walk, walk with them. Hey, this is what I struggled. 306 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:03,240 I bet you're going to struggle the same thing. 307 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,000 This is this is how I found God in this situation. 308 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:19,520 Complete what is lacking in one another and don't forget to 309 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:21,640 pray. That is something you could do 310 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,520 on your home. That is, we only see each other 311 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,360 once or twice a week. But you could always pray. 312 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:33,520 Remember people in prayer. Pray that they will stand firm 313 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,600 in the Lord. And you know what this also 314 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,560 means? It also means that we have to 315 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:45,800 show up for each other. Sure, we could pray, but 316 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,320 ultimately a lot of this ministry, a lot of this 317 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,920 completing what is lacking in your faith happens face to face. 318 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:55,840 You got to show up to your CGS so you could listen to their 319 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:59,680 problems. You got to show up to church so 320 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,720 ask them how they're doing. You got to be there to hear the 321 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,320 struggles and hear their victories. 322 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:13,720 You got to be there to help one another grow and also focus on 323 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,920 your personal growth as well. When we talk about personal 324 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,760 growth, we usually do it for ourselves. 325 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,080 It's a new year and I want to get fit. 326 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:26,440 I want to diet and exercise, and I want to get better. 327 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,200 Why? For me, so I could be healthy. 328 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:35,160 But spiritual growth, yeah, it is for you, of course, but it's 329 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,560 also for the community. It's also for your family. 330 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:46,280 Your CG needs you to grow. When you're not growing your 331 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,560 perspective inward, you look at your own problems. 332 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,840 Oh, why is my life like this? Oh, I'm struggling with this. 333 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:58,120 But as you grow, even in the midst of struggle, you're able 334 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,160 to look outwards. You're able to care for others. 335 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,400 You need to grow. Not just for you, but your 336 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:13,120 family needs you to grow. Your church family needs to grow 337 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:19,040 too. God needs you to grow so you can 338 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:23,440 glorify Him further. Focus on your growth so you can 339 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,640 actually help other people. All right #2 What does a healthy 340 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:33,440 church community look like #2A healthy church community loves 341 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,920 being together. They love being together. 342 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:47,720 All right, we're going to look at we're going to skip around. 343 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:49,520 I I think the verses are in order. 344 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:55,040 Let's start with so Paul, he's a theologian man. 345 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,640 He's a scholar. He's usually like logical, like 346 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,160 just doctrinal. But you see in many of his 347 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,120 letters, he gets like really mushy sometimes. 348 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:09,320 And this is a good example. Let's look at first. 349 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:15,560 This is from chapter 2 verse 8. It's not here. 350 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,600 But he says we cared so much for you. 351 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:23,480 You have become dear to us. And 2:17 says we were forced to 352 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:28,680 leave you, torn away from you. We greatly desired and made 353 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:33,360 every effort to return and see you face to face. 354 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:39,720 I mean, we greatly desired, we made every effort we faced. 355 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,600 These are passionate words. Let's look at the next one. 356 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:49,000 Verse 20. He says you are our glory and 357 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,120 our joy, man. Those are strong words for 358 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:54,640 somebody to say to another person. 359 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,440 You are my joy. Those are strong words and he 360 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,560 means it. Let's look at the next one 361 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:02,440 verse. Chapter 3, verse five. 362 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,080 I also sent Timothy to find out about your faith. 363 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:12,440 Verse 6 go to the next one. This is the most most of all. 364 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:19,080 He says you always have good memories of us and that you long 365 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,880 to see us and we long to see you. 366 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:25,600 Have you guys ever said something like that to somebody 367 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:30,040 in the church? I long to see you, just like you 368 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,800 long to see me. OK, Obviously this language 369 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,120 here, they're torn apart, right? There's persecution and they're 370 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:39,600 separated forcefully. So these words are a little bit 371 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,000 stronger. I don't think God expects us to 372 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,080 feel this way when we know we're going to see each other every 373 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:45,200 week. OK, that's kind of a little 374 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:50,720 weird, but we should have this kind of sentiment though. 375 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,400 We should miss each other. We sent our missionary, right, 376 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,840 who was who was a church member for almost 10 years, and we sent 377 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:05,480 him to Thailand. Do you ever long to see him? 378 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:14,040 Yeah, I think I know he misses you guys, right. 379 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:15,680 I know he's lonely and struggling. 380 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:18,520 Oh, great. Now he's going to get like 10 381 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,000 texts this week. Frankie, I long to see you. 382 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,800 I get a lot of weird texts. OK, Be just normal and just text 383 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:31,440 him that you miss him. But you see from these verses, 384 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:36,440 it's not just all one sided coming from Paul, it's the other 385 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,600 way too, right, Since you long to see us too. 386 00:26:44,950 --> 00:26:49,870 But The thing is, I think this is a picture of a beautiful 387 00:26:49,870 --> 00:26:55,190 church that like one day, it really was just one week apart. 388 00:26:55,350 --> 00:26:57,830 Like when we get together, people are generally happy to 389 00:26:57,830 --> 00:27:00,830 see one another and they like each other. 390 00:27:00,870 --> 00:27:03,390 They love each other. It is. 391 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:08,040 It's just pleasant to be around people. 392 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,080 Even if it's family, a group of friends or church, it's just 393 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:17,200 pleasant to be around people that like being together. 394 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:27,560 That's just true everywhere. But these days, that is not a 395 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:30,440 goal that many people have for the church. 396 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,920 For a lot of people, church is a message. 397 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,840 OK, It's a little bit experienced, a little bit better 398 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:45,160 when I show up. But yeah, Spotify, YouTube, I 399 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:49,200 could get it on their website. I could just get the message. 400 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,120 I could just extract the praise. I could get what I need from the 401 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:57,720 church. And I think what Paul's saying 402 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:03,240 here, it's very different than what many modern churchgoers 403 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:07,200 want. There's a book called Treyless 404 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,120 and the Vine written a while ago. 405 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,360 And I don't remember much about the book except for the main 406 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:19,240 analogy of the book, which is a treyless is a, it's like a 407 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,000 wooden, it looks like a wooden fence. 408 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:23,360 It's a man made fence looking thing. 409 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,320 And then you plant the vine and the vine grows on it and then it 410 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,600 bears fruit, right? In the book, the trail list 411 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,760 represents like church structure, like the building, 412 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,360 the administration programs and the accounting, the website, the 413 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:39,920 sound system, media, all that, right? 414 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,400 All ministry team is like, you know, like a trail list, right? 415 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,080 And the vine represents the people, people having coffee 416 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,040 together, sharing community groups, hanging out, forming 417 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:55,040 relationships, birthday parties, people hanging out inside, 418 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:59,320 outside during church, going on trips together, conversations. 419 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:04,920 Those are all the vine. The book argues that fruit grows 420 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:10,040 on the vine, not the trailers that most church people, their 421 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,360 mentality is, OK, I'm going to show up to church and I'm going 422 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,840 to serve my ministry, OK, parking or whatever. 423 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:19,920 And then I go home. I did my job, I go home. 424 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,680 If everyone thought like that, then it will be a church that 425 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:30,360 has great structure. But if there's no Vine ministry, 426 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,480 if there's no caring and texting how are you and meeting up and 427 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:39,880 all of that, then it is also a church that maybe runs really 428 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,640 smoothly. But it's also a church with no 429 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:49,320 fruits, no real growth, nothing to be joyful about. 430 00:29:55,520 --> 00:30:00,080 And another thing that people say is, you know, Pastor Tim, I 431 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,360 already do that. I love people. 432 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,000 I love, I love being with people. 433 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,040 I miss my friends. It's just that I don't miss the 434 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:13,640 church. I just miss like my two friends, 435 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:20,680 my three, my group of friends. And that's like a very common 436 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,720 thing, OK, you you don't want to see everyone. 437 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:26,520 You have a few friends in the church and you're good seeing 438 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,120 them. You could missing them and you 439 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:34,120 good caring for them. Well, that goes against a couple 440 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:35,160 of things Paul saying too, right? 441 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,960 That is not the motherly, fatherly love. 442 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:42,640 That's just people who are very similar, similar maybe age and a 443 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,960 lot of a lot of similarities. You just kind of like somebody 444 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,760 and all the one another's is not really possible accept one 445 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:50,160 another. You already accept them. 446 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,640 They're already your friends and loving well, you already love 447 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:53,440 them. They're your friends. 448 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:59,000 It's it's not the love and the joy that Paul's talking about. 449 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,240 This is not the motherly, fatherly love. 450 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:07,000 What Paul's talking about is loving the church community. 451 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,440 And this is different than loving your church friends. 452 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,360 Like if you think of your community groups, most of you 453 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,800 are assigned to that group. You didn't choose that group. 454 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,120 There are people who are different than you, people that 455 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,040 you may not like instantly in there. 456 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,160 And Paul or Paul saying about motherly, fatherly love is 457 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,000 loving those people because that is the gospel. 458 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:38,200 In love, where the gospel is revealed, that is true love. 459 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,920 Think about it. The gospel is that Lord, I'm a 460 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,200 Sinner, I don't deserve any of your love and forgiveness. 461 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,200 Yet Lord, you sent your son Jesus Christ to die for me and 462 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:52,680 gave me all these gifts, eternal life, the rights to be child of 463 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,760 God. I'm just a Sinner and you did 464 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,680 all this for me. The gospel love that Paul wants 465 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,480 us to have is wait, I'm a stranger, I'm new to this 466 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,400 community, but you take care of me. 467 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,840 You asked me how my week was and you pray for me. 468 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:12,360 I'm new here. I don't know you guys. 469 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,720 You're not my friends. But I am loved here. 470 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:21,600 I am accepting here. That is the gospel revealing 471 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,280 love that the Bible talks about over and over. 472 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,720 That's the love that Jesus shows. 473 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:32,600 There's nothing wrong with having friends here and loving 474 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:34,640 them and hanging out there. Nothing, nothing wrong with 475 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:41,680 that. But you do need a gospel 476 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,960 revealing relationship and that happens in the community. 477 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:50,080 That's when people's hearts are warmed up and they are, they 478 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:53,720 change and they open up and and they say, what is this gospel 479 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:58,120 about? That's the love that helps 480 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:02,960 people grow. I want to end with just verse 481 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,280 13. Let's read that real quick, 482 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:13,080 Verse 13. May he make your hearts 483 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:18,040 blameless and holiness before our God and Father at the coming 484 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,720 of our Lord Jesus with all the Saints, Amen. 485 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:25,240 He ends with coming of our Lord Jesus. 486 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:28,760 He ends this section. He says, Amen. 487 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:33,920 So there's an end, right? He ends it with the coming of 488 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:40,120 the Lord. The whole point of sermon is not 489 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:42,800 so that you guys have a better church experience. 490 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:47,520 A good church community is not the end in itself. 491 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,280 First of all, we aim to create a beautiful community so that we 492 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:54,800 glorify God. That's number one. 493 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:00,000 Our job is to be faithful until we see Christ face to face. 494 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:08,480 But Paul ends with coming of our Lord Jesus like we like. 495 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,639 We want to be faithful until we see Jesus. 496 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:17,199 He's given us a bigger picture. Anytime the Bible talks about 497 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,239 coming of the Lord, he's talking about living for his Kingdom, a 498 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:26,239 different Kingdom. What Paul saying is this, when 499 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,159 you commit yourself to the church community, when you show 500 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:32,239 up, when you forgive, when you pray, when you love, you're 501 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:36,120 participating in God's work for preparing people for all of 502 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:40,560 eternity. You are helping people see the 503 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:46,000 next Kingdom. It's not just so that we will be 504 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:51,120 happy, so that people could see who Christ is. 505 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,840 Main point The Healthy Church Community is 1 where believers 506 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:03,800 joyfully commit to one another's faith by growing together and 507 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:09,080 doing life together in Christ. Let's take time to pray.