Several years ago, I was able to go backstage to meet a Grammy Award winning guitar player that I really looked up to. (Eric Johnson) He was on tour, and I had a friend who knew him personally. When we got backstage, I shook his hand and we had a friendly little conversation. Here’s the point though: I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet him, if it weren’t for my community of friends, and specifically that one friend.
The same was true for my introduction to Jesus. I was introduced to Jesus by His friends. It was a group of Christ followers, a community of people that first introduced me to Him. I knew and loved them long before I knew and loved Jesus. I met Him through His people.
I met God for the first time in community, but I would guess that’s true for most of us. Right?!?! If you know Jesus, it’s most likely because someone else introduced you. There was someone or maybe even a group of people who knew Him and knew you. They introduced you to Him.
This is just how it works.
We meet God in community.
God uses His people to help us know Him. So. . . if you want to meet God, if you feel far from Him, maybe the answer is simple: Get around His people.
Make His people, your people.
For me, that was true the first time I met God, but it actually still holds true, even today. I STILL meet God in community.
Even when I’m alone spending private time with God, I’m not actually alone. I carry my community into those moments. I carry my community everywhere I go.
Everything I am. . . my thoughts, my emotions, my understanding of the Scripture. . . It’s all been shaped by the voices and teachings of my community. I can’t read the Bible alone because my community is still present. When I’m alone with Him, I’m still meeting God in community. We can’t really do anything alone because our people, our community has shaped us so deeply.
Faith may be personal, but it’s never private.
Have you been trying to do it alone? Understand this: You can’t. We all have some sort of community whispering and speaking into our lives: Voices of doubt, the influences of social media, family traditions, cultural expectations, opinions of our friends. . . all of these are a part of the community that shapes our relationship with Jesus.
Our relationship with Him isn’t just “Us and Jesus.”
It’s us, OUR COMMUNITY, and Jesus.
We carry our community into the relationship. So. . . this begs the question: What community are you carrying into your relationship with Jesus? Are the voices in your life pulling you toward Jesus or away from Him? I mean. . . we live in a cultural community today that is at war with the Godly community that we are called to.
This is why we can read the Bible and miss the point, or get angry, or misinterpret a passage. The worldly community, our culture has shaped our views and taught us to see differently. This is how we can attend service on Sunday mornings and not be changed. We’re giving the wrong community the bigger voice. When it comes to our community, we must “Choose wisely.” And make no mistake. We all have a choice about the community we to spend our time with.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian who stood against the Nazi regime. He started a school, an underground community to equip young men in their faith in Jesus. He once stood at the top of a hill between his tiny Christian community and a huge Nazi training facility with airplanes taking off and landing, and soldiers who would be deployed to shape a generation and defend a worldly kingdom of elitism, bigotry, and cruelty. Bonhoeffer pointed back to his little community and declared,
“This must be stronger than that.”
That phrase resonates for us today. This must be stronger than that. Our small groups, our church, our people must be stronger than the world surrounding us.
Which community is speaking the loudest in your life?
- The Biblical community or the worldly one?
- The Bible or a news channel?
- Jesus or your social media feed?
It’s true that we carry our community everywhere we go, but that’s not all!!
Our community carries us too!
Where is your community carrying you? Is it encouraging and strengthening your relationship with Jesus? Is it preparing you to deploy your faith and serve the Lord? Is your community stronger than the cultural community around you?
Our community carries us.
So what should that look like? What does the Bible say the church, our Christian community should be like?
In an ancient letter written to the Hebrews God shows us a great model for community. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews is towards the end of the Bible. Just check your table of contents or follow along on the screen today. If you don’t have a Bible, please stop by the welcome center and pick one up. We’d consider it a privilege to give you one and be a part of your journey toward knowing God.
Hebrews was written to Christians who were trying to live out their faith in a culture where they were being persecuted. Like Bonhoeffer’s little community in the shadow of a huge worldly empire, to be a Christ Follower at this time, in this place, was dangerous.
Hebrews 10:23-25
23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
The first thing I want you to notice about these verses is that it’s all in the plural.
- let US hold unswervingly
- WE profess
- Let US consider
- how WE may spur one another
- meeting TOGETHER
- encouraging ONE ANOTHER
All of this is plural language. Faith is NOT something we do alone. Faith outside of community just doesn’t really exist. Even in the beginning of Genesis, when it was just one guy, Abraham, God made it clear that His plan was for a nation, a people. The plan was plural. It was always US and We. From the beginning God intended faith to be lived out in community. Faith is personal, but it’s never private. It is community.
Also notice the effort that is required.
Look at the verbs in this passage:
- HOLD unswervingly
- CONSIDER one another
- SPUR one another
- NOT GIVING UP
- MEET together
- ENCOURAGE one another
These are action words. Community takes work. We shouldn’t bounce around trying to figure out what “feels” the best or where we “fit.” Community is not something you find. It’s something to have to work at and it takes time. Progress is made little by little.
Community isn’t found. It’s forged.
What kinds of relationships are you investing in? Are you forging solid Biblical community? This is not a place to be passive. We’ve got to be intentional. And sometimes it seems like it takes forever. Even when community is good, it’s still work. There are times that I don’t feel like showing up to my own group . . . and I’m the Discipleship Minister! Sometimes I just want to stay home, but I understand that I’ve got to be intentional, so I make myself go. And when Miranda and I are driving back home afterwards, I find myself saying how glad I am that I was there.
Verse 23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
This is talking about Jesus. He is the hope we’re supposed to hang on to and He is the one who is faithful.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy. It’s hard to hold onto Him sometimes. I’m sure you’ve felt it. When life doesn’t make sense. . . when it seems like He is allowing things that hurt. . . when we’re struggling to believe. . . or when you’re just tired. . . how do you hold on in those times?
Well. . . look at the verse again and remember, it’s plural. “Let US hold unswervingly.” If you’ve got community, the good news is that you don’t have to hold on alone. You have people to help. These are the times we lean on our community. These are the times we are there for each other. When we struggle, our community can help hold us up. When I struggle to hold onto Him, my community reminds me and encourages me. My small group holds on for me. And if you make a habit, a rhythm of meeting together regularly, you never get too far down the road of discouragement before they are there to help hold you up.
Also notice the 2nd part of the verse. “He who promised is faithful.”
That’s great news, ‘cause when I’m not, He still is. Jesus is faithful. When I am weak, He is strong. When I can’t hold on, Jesus still has me. This is also great news for those of you who don’t have community too. You’ve still got Jesus. Even when you feel alone, you’ve still got hope in Jesus and He is always faithful.
Verse 24 says, “Let us consider”
This is describing intentional attentiveness. This is consideration. It’s thinking of others. And this is not just passing, in the moment, consideration, like opening the door for someone. It’s deeper than that. It’s thinking about others in your community when you aren’t together. It’s the way a parent thinks about their child. It’s imagining yourself in their shoes and strategizing and planning how you can help them with their next steps with Jesus. It’s discipleship. Discovering, developing, and deploying faith in Jesus.
Vs 24 says – “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” I should warn you though:
Spurring others on is difficult work.
It’s not just being a cheerleader. The word “spur” here isn’t always comfortable. It means to provoke or prod. Like the sharpened stick a shepherd used to get the sheep go the right direction. It was for their own good, but they didn’t like it. This same word is actually used in another place in the Bible to describe an argument that caused some missionaries to “part ways.” I guess the spur was too sharp.
Has someone ever prodded you or been annoying because they wanted you to do the right thing?
If you are a parent, you have done some spurring. All of us are children and have been spurred. Maybe your boss spurs you on too. For me, the biggest spur in my life is sitting right over there, my wife Miranda.
I have a friend, David King, who is “spurring me on” to the good deed of stewarding my health at the gym. He seems like a nice guy. He plays the guitar and sings about God. He smiles a lot and reads Scripture, but there’s another side of him too. I get texts all the time, and HE IS RELENTLESS!
- “You coming today?”
- “Jesus didn’t skip leg day.”
- Your body is a temple, not a couch.
- Jesus fasted 40 days. You can skip the drive-thru once.
In all seriousness, there are times that David pushes me and I just want to have an argument and “part ways” like those missionaries did, but when I slow down and think, I understand that David is good for me. I know that if it weren’t for him I’d quit half-way through a workout and go get some bluebell. A Christian community that is healthy and alive can be irritatingly insistent. Sometimes, it means hard conversations.
Real community won’t let you stay where you are.
Real community looks like David King. It sees potential in others and wants it for them even when they can’t see it themselves.
Verse 25 says, “Not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”
This was a problem, back then, but it’s a problem today too. We skip church for things like missing kickoff or missing my kids soccer game. For me, it’s waterpolo games. . . but let me remind you. The people that Hebrews was written to were being persecuted. When Christ Followers got together regularly it looked like a possible rebellion to outsiders. People were suspicious. Sometimes gathering like this was illegal. To continue meeting together and identifying themselves with Christ and His people, their very lives could be threatened. The early church risked everything to gather. We risk almost nothing – and yet we hesitate.
However, like the Hebrews who had legitimate threats, we are still called to “not give up meeting together.” The early church (and the persecuted church today) knows something that we seem to have forgotten:
Christ Followers need each other. Gathering isn’t optional.
They knew the dangers of trying to “go it” alone, but they also valued and recognized the strength they had in community. “A coal burns bright in the fire but grows cold when it’s alone.” Right?!?! They chose to face the fear and keep meeting.
Verse 25 tells us to “encourage one another.”
Encouragement is not just a pat on the back. It’s more than an “attaboy!” The church is not a mutual admiration society. No!! This word actually means to “breathe courage” into others, to give them strength and support.
“Encouragement is breathing courage into the discouraged.”
Think about these persecuted people again. I’d imagine that fear, discouragement, and doubt were pretty standard in their world. It was just the air they breathed. Any hope they could muster probably felt hollow and their faith felt small compared to the culture around them. They probably weren’t sure if their “this” was stronger than “that.” They didn’t know if they could stand strong against the world around them. However, the writer of Hebrews understood that they would need encouragement. To survive and overcome, it needed to be a habit that they practiced.
Encouragement is contagious too. Imagine a community who practices encouragement. . . a community who “breathes courage” into one another. What could they do? Statistics have shown that these kinds of communities grow even in the midst of persecution.
So. . . what about us? The culture we live in can be hostile toward God too.
How do we meet God in our world?
How do we see Him in our midst?
How do we find encouragement?
Like Bonhoeffer said, we’ve got to make “this stronger than that.” Our Christ-Following community has to be stronger than the world around us. We need to allow Jesus’ community to have the bigger voice and turn up the volume of the voices that represent Him. We need to listen to His community. This is how we meet Jesus, in community. But this doesn’t happen by accident. You’ve got make a decision, be intentional about it. This Hebrews passage exists because the people needed to be reminded and encouraged to do these things. It takes constant effort.
Here at BPF, we offer small groups to serve these purposes. Our hope is that each of our groups will be a “this” that is “stronger than that” cultural world around us. If you have friends in a small group, we’re asking you to join them. But if you aren’t connected and want to find a group, we’d encourage you to sign up for “Rooted.” It’s an 11-week experience . It’s not just another class though. It truly is an experience that will help you connect with others, and develop your faith in ways that will probably surprise you. When we signed up a little over a year ago, My wife and I were pretty skeptical, but we were wrong. Within a few weeks, we were growing spiritually and deeply connected, and now we look forward to it. The summer break has reminded us of it too. We’re excited to get back and reconnect again.
Ultimately, today I just want to “breathe courage” into you to take your next step. Get into community. Be intentional. Make His people, your people.
If you’re already in a group, become all of those those things we talked about today. Hold on to Jesus, Be a spur, Meet together faithfully, and “breathe courage” into those in your group.
If you aren’t in a group, but have friends who are join their group. Well. . . if you like those friends. Haha! Just text them and tell them you’re interested. If they’re doing things right, they’re gonna “breathe courage” into you to come.
And if you aren’t connected with anyone else in a group, please sign up for “Rooted” using the QR code on the seat back in front of you. We start in just a couple weeks.
Erin Wilson and I will be at a table in the foyer if you’ve got questions.
Final words:
Meeting God happens in community.
We can’t do it alone.
We have to be intentional about working for true community.
When we hold unswervingly to Jesus, we hold together.
When we consider one another, we grow together.
When we spur one another on, we move forward together.
When we meet together, we stand strong together.
And when we “breathe courage” into one another, we endure together.
That’s why Hebrews doesn’t give us these as suggestions. They are survival instructions for Christ Followers.
So maybe today God is nudging you. Stop hanging out on the edges. Stop being a spectator. Step into real community. Give yourself to a people who will hold you up, consider you, spur you on, meet with you, and encourage you. Join a small group. Sign up for “Rooted” today.
Because the truth is:
You’ll never meet the fullness of God on your own. You’ll only meet Him in community.
Prayer:
Dear God,
I surrender my whole self.
I surrender my preoccupation with the worldly community around me.
Help me to notice, acknowledge, and lean into the voices of Your people as they spur me on.
Lord, help me respond to their prodding, with gratitude, and help me recognize that it was You who sent them into my life.
Grow my love for connecting with You and Your people, and use them to shape me into who You have called me to be. Help me to steward my relationships and experience You through them. Lord, I want to meet with you today. Meet me in community.
Amen.
