Growing Together

Very often, encourage you guys. If for some reason you were not here last week, you were able to join us. I last week even online. I really want to encourage you to go back and listen to, or watch a last week's message. And the reason for it is, as we started last week, this new series We are family. But this is a series that is more than just any other sermon series that have been preaching. This came out of a time of prayer and fasting myself and Matt and Malachi or weasel. God was really calling us up for the next phase of Life Christian Church in. So I'm not just the rest, you're going to continue to hear this concept. This idea that we are family and that we are a family that is growing up. We are a family that Is growing together, and we are a family that is growing out. And so I just want to encourage you. If you were not able to be with us last week to go back and do it on our website. You can find a song on YouTube of last week's anything to go back in and listen to last week's message. I'm also going to apologize because over the course of this, we are talkin about family. You are going to hear a lot about my family, my biological family. You were probably going to feel like by the end of this, that, you know, my parents and my brother and possibly my sister-in-law and my nephews and niece like like you've always known him, even though they've only been here, just a couple of times in the past years. Hair growing up my brother and I we hated each other. We fought all the time. I've one older brother, five and a half years older than I am. So his sixth grades. That was the difference between them and a lot having to do with our age difference. We did not get along. We fought constantly and since he was five and a half years older, to be honest. He won most of the time just because he was bigger than I was having a I have a fairly High pain tolerance. I can deal with because I was constantly beat up and bruised my brother. I do remember one time. I don't remember exactly what he had. Get revenge in for some reason. He was like laying down. I think he was playing Nintendo DS, like the original Nintendo in our living room laying on the floor. And I was like, you know what? I am just going to get on the chair right behind him. And I just beat first fact, just start my revenge. Safe to say, I honestly, and I'm on my parents. I believe would agree my brother, and I, as kids hated each other. I don't think that that was too strong of a word to use. But something happened. As I got into junior high and he went off to college. He went to st. Louis Christian College. So it just half an hour drive away. Something happens. We both can win into new phases in life as he moved out of the house and see what the colleges I was going into junior high, which for us was seventh grade. We both also started growing. A maturing is individuals. Now, that my brother was actually out of the house. We started to get along. We wanted to do things together. Spend the weekend together. He would come back and spend the weekend at the college with him. Stay in the dorm play card game.

As we both matured as we both grew up. We also started growing closer together. Les Brothers. Ace family. So much so that by the time Kathy and I got married. I consider my brother. Be one of my best friends. And I still do. Which is why he opened our wedding ceremony as Kathy's dad. Walked her down the aisle and it was my brother. Who asked, you know, who gives this bride to be wed to this ugly guy over here. I don't think he actually uses And pray to open our wedding and then as Kathy's dad gave her away and then he stepped up to the rest of our wedding. My brother stepped over to be my best, man.

My brother and I are still very, very different people. We have different personalities. We have different philosophies. We have different methods and idea of how to raise our kids and our family. But despite that my brother, and I are closer now than we ever were growing up. Because as we grew up, as we got older, as we matured, we closer together. Then we can put aside our differences. We could put aside the things that normally we would fight about an argue about is kids because we saw this Unity among family to be more important to have a bond of love together. If you wanted to meet her parents, much more at peace. It is made our parents much happier. Specialist. We look at other families around is that that is not the case that really is their kids grow older. They did not mature. And they still bicker and fight.

I take her up instead of their family's growing closer together. They've grown apart. I can't tell you how much my how many times my parents, anytime someone is passed away. And we see that their family is fighting. My mom is with the comics. Like I'm so glad you and your brother get along, and we know that when we when we leave this earth, we don't have to worry about the things that that family is going through. Because we see the relationship that you have. Some of you guys may have had similar experiences with your, your kids growing up, or with your sibling. Maybe it was vastly different. Maybe you and your sibling man, from from a young age. You were like best friends. You were super close. I think we all experienced this idea of tension, whether it's with family or whether it's just in a closed. Group. We appears at school that maybe we don't get along with but maybe, Somewhere along the lines as we got older and we matured that person at school. We thought we would never be friends with Lee ended up being close friends with Or co-worker, man. We started a job and we see this country, like, there's no way I'm not going to get along with that guy whatsoever. But the more you work with him. You see what they bring to the table in the benefits that they have, and you actually grow closer and you appreciate them, and you work well with it. Just as my parents growing up, long for my brother and I to get along to grow closer to grow together as maybe your teachers along for that, for you and your classmates or your boss long for that and you and your coworkers. We are going to see in scripture, how the father. For the early church that as they grew up as they matured that they would grow together. Put aside some of the things that divide their differences for the sake of unity of the Gospel. This morning. I want to take a look and see how Jesus his desire. Even before the actual foundations of the church itself. How he prays at his followers. Would grow together. How his followers would be United as one? If you have your Bible, I want to. We're going to go back to that passage and next to that. We looked at last week. We're going to look at it again next week as well. So if you got to be on your bulletin, put it there somehow on your phone screenshot it if you want because we're going to be looking at this passage again next week as well. Ask starting in verse 42, we find this account of the early church. This 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 in Many Wonders and signs were being done through the apostles and all, who believe we're together and had all things in common and their possessions, as well as they had indeed and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to their number for being saved. Last week, we look at this passage. And we saw how that the early church that they were were growing up. How they devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching the prayer to praising God. As we look at this, same passage as we look at this example, of the early Church in the last week. I talked about how this this was an intermingling of things are happening. They were not just growing up. They were growing together. They were doing these things together since they were devoted to Fellowship. To the breaking of bread. Do you know often when we, we hear that phrase, we think of communion like we take on Sunday morning. Let me talk about that. They had meals together. Little people over to their homes and it was literally break bread and have meals together coming together as one. It says, all who believed were together and had all things in common and I don't think they're talking about, they were uniform. They looked exactly alike, but me and David had,, they had a common purpose. They had a common thing in the fact that Jesus Christ came to save them from their sins, and they were redeemed through Jesus Christ.

It says that they were attending Temple day by day. Together. There was a sense of unity.

In the family of the early church. What you think about who this group is?

At this point. Yes, it was on the phone with people who had a background of the Jewish faith. These were basically to follow Jesus Christ. But they were far from being the same going into this. Remember, this happened immediately following Pentecost a time where people from all over the surrounding regions and countries had come to Jerusalem. This immediately follows when the Holy Spirit had come upon the apostles.

And if they were able to speak with people from different languages. We're able to understand in their native, the gospel message of Jesus Christ. These were Jews from all over that they were or parthian me to elamites. These were people who came from modern-day Iran. These are people from Judea who came from modern-day Israel. People from Mesopotamia. Cappadocia pontus Asia, Asia pamphylia places from modern-day turkey Syria and Kuwait people from Egypt, Greece, and Rome. These were people from all over who spoke different languages to a different cultural backgrounds.

And yes, they had come together.

You're breaking bread together. Attending Temple together. Praising God together. All these people from fastly different backgrounds. Yes. They had a common Ally. Of the Jewish faith. They were vastly different people, coming together United. Is one family. What you think for a moment? What would happen if we gathered 3000 random people from Richland County? We would have something in common in that we all from Richland County but within that group there would be a variety of beliefs. Group of people, there will be plenty of people, you know, somebody might get along with, but probably within that group of three thousand people. There's probably some that you do not get along with that. You wish were not a group of this 3,000 people that you were with that. Maybe there was two people that you have clashing personalities within your life. I can't stand that person.

We would be coming, but there would be people that you wish you were not there with. Now imagine, it wasn't just people from Richland County. Measure, we brought in another thousand people that came from Cook County. I definitely have some people that you disagree with there would be differences of opinion personality. But if we still have something in common right, back, we are all from Illinois.

Vastly different people. Vastly different backgrounds. Vastly different beliefs. No, we're all from the same place from Illinois. At least people in the early church had a common background of the Jewish faith. They were drastically different people. Different regions.

But it's interesting.

Bet starting on the day of Pentecost through. This miracle of the gift of the Holy Spirit through the speaking of tongues.

They're all the sudden amongst. People was a Unity that hadn't existed. Genesis. Remember back in Genesis 11. We find the account of the Tower of Babel. At that point we can tell every person on Earth the same language they could communicate together.

To be honest, it was a sense of humor that time but the problem was with a sense of unity to go up to God. You got to, this is not good. What they have United around. If United around a selfish desire of themselves. And so God scatters them. And God causes them to speak different languages.

But now here at Pentecost. We find the same people. In different regions Generations later. Coming together while they still speak different languages. All of the sudden. God has United them in a way. Each of them is still able to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. But he came with the sinless, life died on the cross, paying the price for their sins and that he defeated since he defeated death to the day, could have a new life and A New Hope trust in him, and follow him. They couldn't out here in their own language.

And they were United now not to elevate themselves, but they were United in a way to elevate Christ.

And from this point on, we see the early church. We see them grow up. We see the mature. We see them striving to mirror their Master but they don't do it alone. They do it together. They grow together. There is a Unity among us through their language and through their learning and they put their differences aside. The things that separated them before they put aside to be United in their face, and their trust, and their hope that only comes through Jesus Christ.

Still one of Jesus's deepest desires.

The Gospel of John. Johnston, several chapters with Jesus's, final words and instructions before he goes to the cross.

A time that happens at the end of The Last Supper after Judas walks out, after he leaves his Jesus, basically calls out that he's going to, the Judas is going to betray.

Between that. In Jesus, in The Garden of Gethsemane where he is betrayed, John's been several chapters of what Jesus is telling the apostles before he goes to the cross.

Are there any chapters Jesus basically starts? And finishes. With his desire for his followers. To be United. In John chapter 13. How much is 34 + 35?

This is pretty much right after Judas, walks out. Jesus gives this instructions. He says a new commandment. I give to you. That you love one, another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another. His desire is for them to be United in love with each other. A man in John chapter 17. This is right before he is betrayed in the garden. Verses 20 through 23. Jesus says I do not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their word. That they may all be one. Just as you father are in me, and I in you that they also may be in US. So that the world may believe that you have sent me the glory that you have given me, I have given to them that they may be one. Even as we are one i in them and you and me that they may become perfectly one. So that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

This discourse, the Jesus kids.

Between Judith leaving and Shootist bringing the soldiers to carry him off to be crucified.

Love one, another. Be United together. You love. And Jesus is not just pray this for the eleven apostles who are still with him. Jesus phrases for the future followers of his Jesus prices for us. He says, for those who will believe in me through their word, what the apostles continue to be a huge.

He says that this is to be in the same way. It is supposed to mirror the unity that there is between God the Father. Jesus Christ.

Difficult concept to I believe in the church to really understand and grasp. Is the doctrine of the trinity? The fact that we have God, the Father God, the son in Jesus Christ and we have God, the Holy Spirit and they are three separate person yet. They are one.

I can't even see you before you take that. I fully grasp it. I trust it. I have faith in it, but maybe it is a difficult thing for us stand. Understand. and here we have Jesus praying saying God. God, the Father. I want. My followers. To be United to be one in the same way. That we are one. The same way that God, the father and God, the son are united as one that is the type of unity. Jesus Christ, is praying for his future followers. At the church.

And that's hard.

British singers. Jesus gave us the key and how to do that. How to share that? Same respect that, beginning book it John chapter 13. Verses 34 and 35. I want to read that again. Reese's a new commandment. I give to you. That you love one, another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this people will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another.

Set. The key is to love. So I'm going to read that one more time. I'll write this time. I want you to count with me. How many times he mentions love in those two verses? A new commandment. I give to you that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, that's to you. Also are to love one another that's three and five is all. People will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another. 4, *. do versus You want to be United together? You want to be the way that God the father and God. The son are united as one big key. Is to love one. Another distinguishing Mark. The distinguishing characteristic of a United Church is that they love one another.

Love. Characterizes the relationship that Jesus has with God, the Father. In the same discourse in the same time where Jesus is talking to me at the disciples between Judith walking out and use it to his coming back in with the soldiers. Jesus says this and John chapter 14 verses, 30 and 31. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me. What I do as a father has commanded me so that the world may know that I love the father.

Let us go from here. We clearly see that Jesus the son of God the father but not just a man falling in the next chapter John chapter 15 verses 9 and 10 weeks as the father has loved me. So, have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my Commandments. If you mature in your face, if you grow up. You will abide in my love. Just as I have kept my father's Commandments and abide in his love. Love characterizes, not just Jesus. The sun's relationship with God, the Father, it characterizes, God's relationship. The father with Jesus. The son. Love characterizes their relationship. It is Jesus is preparing to go to the Cross. He makes it clear that his followers are to imitate his relationship with God, which means they are to imitate love with one another.

We are going to truly be a family. If it's church, it's going to be a family. Jesus Christ closest to we meet that means that a United Family is a family that loves each other.

Are united family, love each other and I told you last week, as we go through this. We're going to have expectations for you. If you don't want to meet this expectations, probably this is not the family for you in last week. We said that expectation. Number one was that, we expect to every member of his church family to be growing to be sharing in Christ Jesus. This week or expectation for you is this if we expect to every member of his church family to love one, another.

And if you are willing to love someone who's a part of this family, maybe this is not a family for you.

And I realize, loving everyone, in the family is not an easy thing to do.

Loving everyone. In a church family is not easy. All be honest. I have often failed at it. Even as a minister. I failed miserably.

Make a long story short and once had an elder at a previous church that I was at chew me out. To the rest of the elders out because they didn't agree with him.

Completely mad over the fact that I had an answering machine that picked up after 4 rings.

There's more to that story about why he was exactly mad that I can share with you that later, but he was, I mean so mad about it.

They stormed out of the elders mean. This wasn't the first occasion of things like this.

We did not get along. Be honest for that man. I had no love for him.

And I am ashamed. Staying here today in a minute. A couple years later. I don't even know that it was a couple years later. I was I was serving in a different church at that time. I got word that that Elder had passed away.

I am ashamed to admit. When that happened, I had Joy. In my heart.

I have failed. At loving the family of God. But I needed to repent of to come before Jesus because you know what, Jesus Christ forgave him.

United. Run that.

It's love despite our differences, despite our disagreements.

I understand it is not easy. It's hard. Sometimes we have a past with people where we may have hurt or wrong another person, or they may have heard or wronged us. Sometimes in the church family. We have personality clashes or we just cannot stand being around another person. Sometimes we have disagreements on certain belief politics etcetera that put tension between us.

Because this isn't new to the church.

It was tension and disagreements among the early church. What they strive to do. Ways to put all that aside.

Jesus Christ. Be glorified. So that the world may know. About Jesus.

Let's be honest, that doesn't happen on our own accord.

Like we can't love certain people on her. We can try as hard as we want their certain people. That's like, I cannot let you know how that comes.

It comes from leaning in. To the holy spirit in our lives. You see it was only after the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles that they were able to unite in hearing the gospel message with their own language. It was only after accepting Christ and being baptized and receiving the gift of the holy spirit that we find the early church, having all things in common. It was through the holy spirit that they could put aside their cultural differences. They could put aside any hurt. They can put aside any political tension that they had and for us to grow, we must do the same. We must use the other person of God. We must use the spirit that God has given us to be able to put aside for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of Christ to be glorified for the sake of us beating as one for us to be more like Jesus for us to have the unity that he and the father shared. Us to be like Jesus who on the night. He was betrayed by Judas. Iscariot took a basin of water and took a towel and washed the feet of the man who betrayed him and sent him to the cross.

We have to love one another. Is the defining characteristic?

Of those who say they follow Christ.

But I've read it like three times already this morning, but that's what I remember reverse. Memory verses, John chapter 13 verse 35. So I want you to say it with me together this time. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another.

Amen. Is it sad? You realize that even within the United States of America. There are thousands of combinations of Christians.

Thousand.

When we live in a world where Jesus, his his dying wish, his desire was for us to be. 1.

If we live in a time, where is all around us?

Is covid really as dangerous as the media has hyped it up to me.

What's the election fair or was it rigged? Are are vaccines safe on where they completely rushed through and we can't trust them. Should we wear masks or not?

Because these things are not just things that are dividing. Our world. They are dividing the church.

I was talking with my father-in-law a couple weeks ago and he was telling me about a church in their area. He's talking with with an elder from that church.

Eldership. They had one that was very much a socially distant since other Elders were like, no, we're not going to do any of that. We're not getting it. You know, this is all hyped up and we don't need to do any of that. And basically the church was divided into, they had an area in a section, but it wasn't because they came together. And said we would do this, is because the church was divided on the issue.

Send a reminder at Sunday.

The other Elders took all the social distancing away. Are masks.

Call such tension in the church, every single member of the eldership step down and let the church.

Desi dishes are not just fighting our nation or the country or the world are just fighting the very Church of God the establishment United as one.

We've become divided because we can't agree on. What is true.

They were focusing on everyone else for what is true. When Jesus says, he is the truth. Is it out? This is an old saying suggest that the first casualty of war is truth.

But he goes on to say that is not quite true. The first casualty of War.

Is love.

Couple weeks ago. I was doing my morning walk.

To be honest, I was stressed out. I have been in a place where I've not to be honest, not been good, mentally spiritually because I have found. Hatred growing in my heart. The people that I dearly love and care about because of these issues going on. I knew I was not who I was supposed to be and so as I was walking, the Holy Spirit, it came from God. So, you know what you need to do, because you're right. You are not where you need to be.

Break from your face break from Facebook.

Not just Facebook, but Instagram, all social media.

That's what the Holy Spirit led me to do and to be honest it ever since then. It has been wonderful.

Is God has allowed me to push past the saints that I strongly disagree with some people on?

Remind me, we are united around that cross. First and foremost call these people connect from a major factor. That was causing my heart to be hard because here's the thing. We cannot afford to let love be a casualty of war in the Church of Jesus Christ.

Because it is the distinguishing characteristic of the followers of Jesus is that we love one another.

Gary Birds, put it this way. Nothing, so astonishes a fractured world. As a community. Radical Faithful genuine love is shared Among Us believers. How many places you can go to music, gardening or politics. But it is to me and it and I know we don't like that word right now, but it is of the church unity of love. A circle of Christ followers in Fest in one another because Christ has invested in them. Love not the mutuality and attractiveness of its members, but the model of Christ. Defeat of everyone.

Church. That is United. In love. Differences or things that cause tension between us cuz personal personality. Clashes, as Christ has loved us for us to be United in the same way. But God, the father and the son are because, you know, Jesus Christ, paid the price and died for each and every one of us. If that's not something for us to unite our differences about,

And if you can't be a part of the family that loves one another.

The First Christian Church of noble. It's not the family for you. Is we are going to be a family. Did not just grows up, but we are a family that grows together. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you.

I thank you that you loved us enough. Price.

Price for mice.

Even after accepting that I know I have failed. You failed. Miserably, you have called us to love each other. To love our enemies at love in your family. And so that the world may know your love through me and prove your church.

Can you name that I pray?

Our desire is to be a family. It looks one another and maybe You don't know what that means. By logical family loves, you greatly still know that there's something missing. There's something cuz this this family talk about First Christian Church.

God, you are joining a family of millions of people worldwide.

Jesus Christ. Stand Together, United.

if you've never accepted Jesus, as I would love to Global family of God.

I would love to talk more with you about what it means, Jesus Christ, as your lord and savior. Be a part of a family that is like, no other. You have something on your hearted decision on your heart would like us to talk with you to pray with you. And could you join me in the back as we stand? It was singing this song?