00:00:00
the following resource is from desiring
00:00:02
gorg I invite you to turn to Hebrews
00:00:05
chapter 3 Hebrews 3 and we will read 2
00:00:12
of verses we've already read plus the
00:00:16
rest of the chapter
00:00:17
we'll start at verse 12 and we'll read
00:00:21
through verse 19 Hebrews chapter 3 verse
00:00:30
12
00:00:31
take care brethren lest there should be
00:00:33
in any one of you an evil unbelieving
00:00:35
heart in falling away from the Living
00:00:39
God but encourage one another day after
00:00:45
day as long as it is still called today
00:00:49
lest any one of you be hardened by the
00:00:52
deceitfulness of sin for we have become
00:00:56
partakers of Christ if we hold fast the
00:00:59
beginning of our assurance firm to the
00:01:01
end while it is said today if you hear
00:01:07
his voice do not harden your hearts as
00:01:09
when they provoked me for who provoked
00:01:13
him when they had heard indeed did not
00:01:17
all those who came out of Egypt led by
00:01:19
Moses and with whom was he angry for 40
00:01:23
years was it not with those who sinned
00:01:26
whose bodies fell in the wilderness and
00:01:29
to whom did he swear that he would never
00:01:32
that they would never enter his rest but
00:01:35
to those who were disobedient and so we
00:01:39
see that they were not able to enter
00:01:44
because of unbelief now father I I pray
00:01:50
with all my heart now that the next few
00:01:52
minutes of unfolding these words would
00:01:55
be blessed with the presence of the Holy
00:01:58
Spirit to persuade to convict
00:02:03
to awaken to create earnestness and care
00:02:09
where there is inattention and
00:02:13
carelessness toward our hearts and your
00:02:17
word I pray for unbelievers in our midst
00:02:21
that they would be given beyond all
00:02:23
their expectation a heart to listen and
00:02:26
hear and believe your truth and I pray
00:02:31
for wavering and stumbling saints that
00:02:36
they would be put on their feet again
00:02:38
and made strong and that we would all be
00:02:41
set to fulfill this text toward one
00:02:44
another in servanthood this fall I
00:02:49
commend these minutes to you and ask for
00:02:53
salvation perseverance and strength and
00:02:58
hope and the boast in our confidence
00:03:01
firm to the end in Jesus name Amen
00:03:07
last week we focused on verse 6 and
00:03:10
verse 14 and on the two big IFS in those
00:03:15
verses and I want to get it on the table
00:03:18
again and then look at verses 12 and 13
00:03:22
and then ask how we at this church ought
00:03:24
to so structure ourselves and relate to
00:03:26
one another as to fulfill God's Word to
00:03:29
us in these verses so let's go to verse
00:03:32
6 pick up where we were last week second
00:03:35
half of the verse chapter 3 verse 6
00:03:37
where it says whose house we are we are
00:03:40
his Christ house his household his
00:03:43
people his redeemed ones we are his
00:03:46
house if we hold fast our confidence and
00:03:50
the boast of our hope firm to the end
00:03:53
now notice carefully like we did last
00:03:55
week it does not say we will become
00:04:00
Christ's house if we hold fast our hope
00:04:04
it does say we are now today Christ's
00:04:11
house if we go on holding fast to our
00:04:15
hope
00:04:18
which means that the holding fast to our
00:04:22
hope now and in the future is the proof
00:04:25
and evidence and verification and
00:04:27
demonstration that we became and are now
00:04:30
the house of God now look at verse 14
00:04:34
same truth only it becomes even clearer
00:04:38
because of the tenth of the verb it says
00:04:42
literally we have become partakers of
00:04:46
Christ that's the same as we are his
00:04:49
house we have become partakers of christ
00:04:53
if second big if if we hold fast the
00:04:57
beginning of our assurance firm to the
00:05:00
end now notice again what it does not
00:05:02
say it does not say we will become
00:05:06
partakers of Christ in the future if we
00:05:09
hold fast to this assurance says the
00:05:13
opposite it says we have become
00:05:16
partakers in the past if today and in
00:05:20
the future we hold fast to our assurance
00:05:28
you see it in other words holding fast
00:05:34
to our assurance verifies that something
00:05:38
real and lasting happened to us what
00:05:46
would be the conclusion I asked this
00:05:47
last week you see if you remember what
00:05:50
would be the conclusion if we do not
00:05:52
hold fast to our assurance according to
00:05:56
verse 14 here's what the answer is not
00:06:01
the answer is not if you do not hold
00:06:05
fast your assurance then you cease to be
00:06:09
a partaker of Jesus Christ that is not
00:06:13
what this text says it says if you do
00:06:17
not hold fast then you have not become a
00:06:20
partaker of Jesus Christ which means
00:06:24
that persevering in confidence and hope
00:06:28
and faith proves that you became a
00:06:33
partaker of Jesus and if you do not
00:06:35
persevere in faith and confidence and
00:06:38
hope it doesn't prove you can lose any
00:06:40
salvation it proves you never did become
00:06:43
a partaker of Christ Jesus which is why
00:06:47
I said last week this book Hebrews
00:06:51
teaches eternal security that is it
00:06:56
teaches that if you have truly become a
00:07:00
partaker of Jesus you will always be a
00:07:04
partaker of Jesus
00:07:07
another way to say it is that if you are
00:07:11
a child of God you cannot cease to be a
00:07:15
child of God but this troubling book
00:07:22
makes very clear that it is not naive
00:07:25
this book knows and you know that many
00:07:29
people make a start in the Christian
00:07:31
life walk and I'll pray a prayer sign a
00:07:35
card join a church get baptized eat
00:07:39
communion and leave the Lord forever and
00:07:43
this book makes very clear what the
00:07:46
explanation for that is and it isn't
00:07:49
that you can lose participation in
00:07:52
Christ once you have it the explanation
00:07:55
of this book is you read it right off
00:07:57
the face of verse 14 if we persevere
00:08:02
then we have become partakers and if we
00:08:06
do not persevere we never did become
00:08:10
partakers that's why I say this book
00:08:14
teaches eternal security but it teaches
00:08:18
it in a way that is so different than
00:08:21
the way so many people seem to believe
00:08:24
it today my security
00:08:28
John Piper's hope of getting to heaven
00:08:31
and living forever with God rather than
00:08:34
going to hell and suffering and torment
00:08:36
my security does not lie in any
00:08:43
remembered act in my past
00:08:47
it lies in God's promise to preserve me
00:08:53
in faith forever
00:08:57
God's faithfulness to his promise is my
00:09:01
hope not any particular act of mind in
00:09:04
the past
00:09:05
my hope is Philippians 1:6 he who began
00:09:09
a good work in John Piper will complete
00:09:13
it to the day of Christ that's my only
00:09:17
hope because this verse says very
00:09:19
plainly if John Piper no matter whether
00:09:22
he's been a pastor this church for 16
00:09:24
years in a Christian for 44 years
00:09:28
supposedly if he makes shipwreck of his
00:09:31
faith if he leaves the Lord and he's out
00:09:33
of here and against the Lord he's done
00:09:35
for and gone to hell my only hope is
00:09:39
that that will not happen and I believe
00:09:43
with all my heart it will not happen not
00:09:46
because I prayed with my mother in Fort
00:09:48
Lauderdale Florida when I was six to
00:09:50
receive Jesus but because Jesus reigns
00:09:54
in my life and he has promised to go on
00:09:58
reigning for those who are born of God
00:10:01
Jesus is my hope now this raises
00:10:05
questions let's ask one or two of them
00:10:07
here's one one of them was asked last
00:10:10
Sunday to me well if our failure to hold
00:10:16
fast our hope and confidence means that
00:10:19
we never really were partakers of Christ
00:10:23
what are we falling away from in verse
00:10:25
12
00:10:29
take care brethren lest there should be
00:10:33
in any one of you an evil unbelieving
00:10:35
heart falling away or turning away from
00:10:41
the Living God unless you stumble over
00:10:46
the word brethren and ask another
00:10:49
question which I didn't take time to
00:10:51
address but will anyway because it comes
00:10:53
to my mind here how can he call them
00:10:56
brethren if he entertains the
00:10:57
possibility of their departing from the
00:10:59
Lord the answer is there is such a thing
00:11:01
as false brethren they're referred to
00:11:03
repeatedly in the New Testament the
00:11:06
Apostles call the church brethren
00:11:08
brothers and sisters knowing like it
00:11:12
says in 2nd Corinthians 13:5 that they
00:11:14
must also say test yourselves brothers
00:11:17
and sisters test yourselves to see if
00:11:20
you are in the faith lest you fail the
00:11:24
test and prove to be false brothers one
00:11:27
of the worst things in Paul's life was
00:11:29
false brothers people in the church who
00:11:32
were false so this word brethren
00:11:37
guarantees nothing in the hearers it's
00:11:39
the judgment of charity I look out on a
00:11:42
congregation like this and I say let's
00:11:44
be what we are in Christ knowing that in
00:11:48
this room they're unbelievers so it was
00:11:51
in the letters that were read to the
00:11:52
churches nearly first century but let's
00:11:56
not stumble over that let's get through
00:11:57
the real issue here of what are you
00:11:59
falling away from if you never
00:12:02
participated in Christ then what are you
00:12:08
falling from now the answer to that is
00:12:10
in the context in its dealing with the
00:12:13
people of Israel we spent some time on
00:12:16
this last week let's just spend some
00:12:17
more time on it here in verses 7 to 11
00:12:20
what you have is a quotation of Psalm 95
00:12:23
and a reference to the people of Israel
00:12:26
and their experience of relating to God
00:12:28
and falling away from God so
00:12:33
it is true the way it was true for them
00:12:36
now how was it true for them verse nine
00:12:41
for example says they saw my works God's
00:12:45
works they saw my works for forty years
00:12:49
now that's how near they got to God they
00:12:52
walked under God's works the Red Sea
00:12:57
divided before them the sea buried their
00:13:01
enemies the shirt didn't wear out on
00:13:04
their back the shoes didn't wear out on
00:13:07
their feet bread came down from heaven
00:13:10
from God Almighty water came out of a
00:13:13
rock good laws poured out of Sinai for
00:13:17
their enlightenment defeat of their
00:13:20
enemies on all sides leniency when they
00:13:25
were recalcitrant they saw God they were
00:13:29
led by pillars of fire and smoke they
00:13:36
tasted enlightenment the power of the
00:13:39
Spirit was all over them and they fell
00:13:45
in the wilderness and he swore they will
00:13:48
not enter my rest because they saw it
00:13:50
and they didn't trust him murmur murmur
00:13:55
murmur how many times in this world God
00:13:59
puts the Sun and the clouds and the wind
00:14:03
and the rain and lakes and trees and
00:14:06
boats and children and books and
00:14:11
barbecues and good night's rests and sex
00:14:15
and food on our table for day after day
00:14:19
after day not a word of thanks goes up
00:14:21
and did we break our arm and say where
00:14:24
are you
00:14:26
I tell you when we get to heaven in the
00:14:31
whole of redemptive history is displayed
00:14:34
nobody will open his mouth against God
00:14:38
there is just look at the Sun coming in
00:14:41
here feel this air-conditioning
00:14:44
we all deserve judgement right now God
00:14:47
is caressing you he's folding you into
00:14:49
his love right now and those of you who
00:14:54
have tasted of what the gospel could do
00:14:57
for you who have grown up in Christian
00:14:59
families who have sat under biblical
00:15:01
preaching who have gone to Sunday School
00:15:03
this is what you can fall away from it's
00:15:07
not hard to explain what you can fall
00:15:09
away from and never have been converted
00:15:14
there is so much good so much grace so
00:15:19
much love surrounding people especially
00:15:22
people who've grown up near and around
00:15:25
and in the church these readers here
00:15:30
just look at them they participated in
00:15:36
signs and wonders according to chapter 2
00:15:38
verse 4 God had shown signs and wonders
00:15:42
in their midst they had been folded into
00:15:48
a loving congregation they had
00:15:50
experienced measures of the spirits work
00:15:52
in their lives they had glimpsed the
00:15:54
light of the gospel and been enlightened
00:15:56
in measure they had been baptized they
00:15:57
had eaten communion they had listened to
00:16:00
preaching and some of them were about to
00:16:04
fall away and the explanation of this
00:16:06
book is that they had not become for
00:16:08
takers of Jesus they had not become
00:16:11
partakers of Jesus
00:16:17
Jesus I just spent a good bit of time in
00:16:22
Matthew this week Jesus taught on these
00:16:25
things over and over and over again I
00:16:31
have my piece of paper right here in
00:16:34
front of me 10 passages of scripture to
00:16:37
the effect that we must be careful not
00:16:40
to lose our attachment to him by failing
00:16:47
to persevere in obedience let me just
00:16:49
read one of them that sheds a good deal
00:16:52
of light on Hebrews when we get to
00:16:54
Hebrews six we'll read how close these
00:16:57
people had come into the experience of
00:16:59
God and yet were not born again we're
00:17:04
not partakers of Christ but here Matthew
00:17:06
7:21 not everyone who says to me Lord
00:17:10
Lord Jesus says shall enter the kingdom
00:17:12
of heaven but he who does the will of my
00:17:13
father who is in heaven on that day many
00:17:16
will say to me Lord Lord did we not
00:17:18
prophesy in your name and cast out
00:17:20
demons in your name and do many mighty
00:17:22
works in your name and then I will
00:17:24
declare to them i is he gonna say I knew
00:17:28
you once and stop knowing you it's not
00:17:31
what he's gonna say he's gonna say I
00:17:33
never knew you you never became mine now
00:17:40
take note you can prophesy you can cast
00:17:45
out demons and you can work miracles and
00:17:50
be lost
00:17:55
saving faith is loving leaning on
00:18:02
resting in hoping in being confident in
00:18:07
Christ for who he is it is possible to
00:18:12
love the nitty-gritty spiritual gift
00:18:16
stuff for itself in its own titillating
00:18:20
power in your life quite apart from a
00:18:23
living relationship with Jesus isn't
00:18:26
that amazing it blows your mind how
00:18:30
close you can get to the fire and not be
00:18:33
saved I never knew you you never were a
00:18:38
partaker of Christ so that's question
00:18:43
number one how can you fall away if you
00:18:47
never were a partaker of Christ and the
00:18:49
answer is there are many ways to partake
00:18:53
of the nearness of God and the power of
00:18:56
God without trusting him or hoping in
00:19:01
him or loving him for who he is question
00:19:07
number two last question what are we
00:19:11
going to do with this
00:19:15
how shall we know and enjoy and be
00:19:18
assured of our eternal security and
00:19:20
there are two answers to this question
00:19:22
one in verse twelve the general one and
00:19:24
one in verse thirteen the specific one
00:19:28
let's read verse 12
00:19:30
take care brethren lest there should be
00:19:33
in any one of you an evil heart of
00:19:35
unbelief or an evil unbelieving heart in
00:19:39
falling away from the Living God now
00:19:44
what's the answer therefore what shall
00:19:46
we do to maintain our assurance and the
00:19:52
answer is take care what does your Bible
00:19:57
say take heed be on the watch there are
00:20:07
so many nonchalant Christians there's so
00:20:12
many in this room who Coast who drift
00:20:21
second corinthians 13:5 says test
00:20:24
yourself to see if you are in the faith
00:20:27
second Peter 1:10 says be diligent to
00:20:31
confirm your election and your calling
00:20:35
don't coast don't be passive proverbs
00:20:41
4:23 says watch over your heart with all
00:20:44
diligence for from it flow the Springs
00:20:48
of life are you watching over your heart
00:20:52
brothers and sisters do you get up in
00:20:56
the morning and take heart stop as you
00:21:00
go to bed at night do you look at your
00:21:02
heart and say do I trust him am i
00:21:06
leaning on him is he my hope is he my
00:21:08
confidence or are you just coasting
00:21:14
someone may ask well John look if I'm a
00:21:19
true believer a partaker of if I'm a pro
00:21:22
taker in Christ as I believe I am why do
00:21:27
I have to take heed to be so vigilant
00:21:29
when you said that I'm eternally secure
00:21:32
and can't lose my salvation it looks
00:21:36
like a contradiction to me you tell me
00:21:38
that if I'm a true partaker in Jesus
00:21:40
that I'm secure and now you're telling
00:21:43
me take heed be vigilant be earnest
00:21:46
watch out
00:21:53
the problem with that question is that
00:21:57
it assumes something that the New
00:21:58
Testament says is false it assumes that
00:22:04
God's Way for his chosen people to get
00:22:08
from here to glory from here to heaven
00:22:11
is without earnestness without self
00:22:18
assessment without watchfulness without
00:22:20
vigilance without diligence it assumes
00:22:25
that when in fact the New Testament says
00:22:27
in Luke 13:24 strive to enter by the
00:22:31
narrow gate for many are those who
00:22:35
strive and do not enter first Peter 5:8
00:22:41
says be sober be watchful your adversary
00:22:45
the devil prowls around like a roaring
00:22:46
lion seeking someone to devour
00:22:48
resist him firm in your faith you can't
00:22:52
coast to heaven coasting leads one
00:22:55
direction only the other way the truth
00:23:00
is not that Christians don't have to be
00:23:03
vigilant and watchful over their hearts
00:23:06
the truth is you can know you're a
00:23:07
Christian if you're vigilant and say
00:23:11
that again
00:23:12
the truth is not that secure Christians
00:23:16
don't have to be vigilant over their
00:23:20
hearts the truth is the evidence of your
00:23:23
being a Christian is that you are
00:23:25
vigilant over your heart
00:23:26
when you hear these warnings about the
00:23:28
devil and how unbelief is all around you
00:23:32
clamoring to rob Christ from you you
00:23:35
fight and the evidence of big born of
00:23:38
God is the fight and the evidence of not
00:23:42
being born of God is Cavalier careless
00:23:45
drifting you want to know if you're an
00:23:49
unbeliever check your fight
00:23:55
let me ask this let me ask it this way
00:24:00
do you treat your conversion or your
00:24:04
Christianity like a vaccination or like
00:24:09
a relationship do you believe that you
00:24:14
have been inoculated against hell or do
00:24:21
you believe that you have a relationship
00:24:23
with the one who has the keys of hell if
00:24:28
you treat your salvation as an
00:24:31
inoculation then you get it one day
00:24:35
and how many of you thought about your
00:24:38
vac your Palio vaccinations this week
00:24:40
Ray J and if you thought about it Christ
00:24:43
get lots of glory like that doesn't he
00:24:46
Christ does not save people in a way
00:24:50
that gets him no glory he is not a
00:24:53
vaccination he is not an inoculation he
00:24:57
is a person living real and we are saved
00:25:01
by virtue of attachment to him living
00:25:05
attachment to him by faith and trust and
00:25:08
confidence and hope in him and I will
00:25:11
not go to hell because my Jesus has the
00:25:14
keys of hell and I'm with him it's no
00:25:18
inoculation at six years old that did it
00:25:22
I thought about spinning this analogy a
00:25:27
little further could get into trouble
00:25:29
and you do this
00:25:31
some inoculations take and some don't
00:25:34
you know do it again it doesn't take
00:25:39
well that wouldn't be a bad way to talk
00:25:41
about what conversion really is that is
00:25:44
conversion as a vaccination that takes
00:25:50
brings you into a relationship it so
00:25:56
works in your body that you're drawn out
00:25:59
to Jesus that is what conversion is the
00:26:04
vaccination at six years old took if it
00:26:08
is producing Pro Jesus engine enzymes or
00:26:13
I don't know how they work you you you
00:26:15
do that you do the illustration if my
00:26:19
heart is inclined to Jesus the
00:26:22
vaccination took if my heart is all over
00:26:25
the map I love TV and I love sports and
00:26:28
I love my family and I love my job and
00:26:31
Jesus maybe Sunday it didn't take
00:26:35
there's no protection in that if we hold
00:26:40
fast so the answer the first question is
00:26:45
take heed don't be a coaster
00:26:48
don't be one who treats your salvation
00:26:49
like a vaccination last quiet last
00:26:52
answer to the to the last question verse
00:26:56
13 this is the question what are we
00:26:58
going to do as a church to live out this
00:27:02
kind of
00:27:02
[Music]
00:27:05
eternal security encourage or exhort one
00:27:10
another day after day as long as it is
00:27:13
called today lest any one of you be
00:27:17
hardened by the deceitfulness of sin
00:27:23
eternal security is a community project
00:27:31
you see that in that verse I read again
00:27:33
you tell me if you think that's right
00:27:36
exhort one another
00:27:38
that's community project exhort one
00:27:40
another every day as long as it is
00:27:41
called today why because this is one of
00:27:45
God's appointed means lest any one of
00:27:47
you be hardened by the deceitfulness of
00:27:52
sin and when they were hardened in the
00:27:54
wilderness according to verse 7 God
00:27:56
swore they will never enter his rest you
00:28:01
you wonder why I'm serious about Church
00:28:04
why I don't want this hour to be fun and
00:28:08
games it's real simple some of you're
00:28:12
going to go to hell or heaven because of
00:28:13
what happens in this hour I see my view
00:28:18
of salvation is such that every message
00:28:23
is the salvation message I don't do a
00:28:27
salvation message and a saint message
00:28:31
every message is verse 13 all that this
00:28:38
morning
00:28:39
the Holy Spirit would come and so speak
00:28:43
a truth that this week they would hold
00:28:45
fast to Christ one more week and not
00:28:51
make shipwreck of their faith and proved
00:28:54
to have been fake you see what's at
00:28:59
stake for me every week now they broaden
00:29:02
this out we as elders in this church see
00:29:07
a lot more than John Piper's preaching
00:29:10
in verse 13 and so do you with the word
00:29:13
one another each other you see that
00:29:18
exhort one another this is not merely
00:29:22
one man exhorting 890 people this is 890
00:29:32
people in settings where they can say to
00:29:35
one another what needs to be said so
00:29:38
that faith persevered and so that the
00:29:40
deceitfulness of sin gets defeated every
00:29:43
day this afternoon it's gonna happen to
00:29:45
you
00:29:46
you'll flick on the TV or you read
00:29:48
something or you'll take a walk and a
00:29:49
thought will come into your mind or
00:29:51
something will come into your eyes and
00:29:52
the effect it will be it'll have will be
00:29:54
a deceptive statement this is better
00:29:57
than Bible this is better than worship
00:30:00
this is better than prayer this is
00:30:02
better than Jesus in fact your whole
00:30:04
direction towards that is a big waste of
00:30:06
the one life you've got come on that's
00:30:09
happening every day in every heart how
00:30:13
are we together going to do verse 13
00:30:17
exhort or encourage one another day
00:30:20
after day every day not just once a week
00:30:23
on Sunday morning from a pastor as long
00:30:26
as it is called today that as long as
00:30:27
there's a chance that we could be saved
00:30:30
lest any one of you be hardened by the
00:30:32
deceitfulness of cien cien is so
00:30:35
deceptive right now it's at work in some
00:30:37
of your lives drawing you away from God
00:30:38
and he brought you here this morning to
00:30:41
stun you broad awake like he did some
00:30:43
people last week that I've talked to now
00:30:47
the elder see this I'm almost done
00:30:50
I'll tell you what the elders are
00:30:51
planning and just beckon you into it the
00:30:54
elder see this we've seen it for years
00:30:56
we've prayed we've agonized we've said
00:30:59
how do you do jerks Lord how do you beat
00:31:01
Church with a thousand people there were
00:31:04
998 people in church last Sunday when we
00:31:07
go back to two services and the students
00:31:08
come back and people settle in after
00:31:09
vacations there'll be 1,200 people how
00:31:12
do you do church on Sunday and through
00:31:16
the week so that this happens and our
00:31:18
people don't abort and the answer we
00:31:22
have over and over year after year is
00:31:25
dial up small groups if
00:31:28
we don't get our people ministering to
00:31:31
one another like verse 13 well by and
00:31:35
large John will do his best on Sunday
00:31:37
morning the rest
00:31:38
we're just gonna play games and so this
00:31:42
fall we're going to do small groups
00:31:44
every Sunday night and we're gonna take
00:31:47
some of what we were doing on the
00:31:48
alternative Sunday night services and
00:31:50
put them on Wednesday night and we'll go
00:31:52
into detail about how we're going to do
00:31:53
that but I'm so excited I spent almost
00:31:55
all day Friday working out a diagram
00:31:58
that we will use to make plain how
00:32:01
Wednesday night flows so that you can
00:32:03
see how worship and nurture and
00:32:06
fellowship and hanging out and teaching
00:32:09
and storytelling about the great works
00:32:11
of God in our midst
00:32:13
sit together on a Wednesday night and
00:32:14
how every Sunday night will be available
00:32:16
for you to do this to each other you've
00:32:19
got to learn to do this
00:32:20
your heart will soar you will feel the
00:32:22
power of the Holy Spirit on you you will
00:32:25
be so transformed when you get into
00:32:27
relationships where you go to a small
00:32:29
group or 101 or 1/3 and think I must say
00:32:34
something that will help them persevere
00:32:38
in hope and encouragement in their
00:32:40
confession firm to the end that's what
00:32:42
it's all about fighting the fight of
00:32:44
faith corporately let me close with this
00:32:47
observation I asked the question this
00:32:49
week why would God ordained that there
00:32:52
be a Christian life and a perseverance
00:32:55
in faith that involve so much struggle
00:32:58
and so much mutual exhortation and so
00:33:02
much earnestness and so much warfare and
00:33:05
the answer I came to is this had he
00:33:08
designed a Christian life that was based
00:33:10
on vaccinations and inoculations and we
00:33:13
all just kind of coasted on to heaven
00:33:15
Jesus wouldn't get nearly the glory that
00:33:17
he does because when you have to exhort
00:33:20
one another when I have to expose myself
00:33:22
to this staff and let them say John this
00:33:25
or that you spending the time you should
00:33:27
in the word you spend the time you
00:33:28
should with your kids or you spend your
00:33:30
time you should in visiting and let me
00:33:33
ask that question for Christ's sake
00:33:36
Christ gets honor
00:33:38
we don't have to say anything to each
00:33:39
other and we just saw kind of our
00:33:41
inoculation drift toward heaven
00:33:43
where's Christ in all that Christ
00:33:45
ordained this one another ministry so
00:33:48
that he's constantly on the table he's
00:33:51
constantly the center of attention in
00:33:53
our church here's the way I want us to
00:33:56
close this morning I want to pray for
00:33:58
those of you who are seriously or maybe
00:34:04
even half way considering leadership of
00:34:07
a small group so think right now before
00:34:09
I asked you to stand for prayer
00:34:12
I'm not going to ask you to come up here
00:34:14
yet or today but just dance I can pray
00:34:17
for you in a concerted way the question
00:34:19
I'm asking is this and this should of
00:34:21
course is not nearly everybody just a
00:34:22
few handfuls of people around the
00:34:24
congregation either you plan to lead a
00:34:27
small group or you're thinking seriously
00:34:30
about it or maybe God this morning for
00:34:33
the first time has done something that's
00:34:35
causing you to say maybe I should pray
00:34:38
earnestly about this so standing is no
00:34:40
commitment to do it it's a willingness
00:34:42
to just let me bless you with a prayer
00:34:45
and the small group you define it okay
00:34:48
you define it Bethlehem group non
00:34:49
Bethlehem group three people 18 people
00:34:52
I'm not interested in that if that's you
00:34:55
would you stand please
00:35:00
okay now look around let's pray for
00:35:02
these people and and some of you who are
00:35:04
still sitting God's gonna probably in
00:35:07
the next four weeks touch you that that
00:35:10
right there you know would would create
00:35:12
a lot of a lot of small groups so while
00:35:17
the while the worship team is gathering
00:35:19
I'm gonna pray and then when I'm done
00:35:21
praying but I have the rest of you stand
00:35:22
and we're gonna sing the first verse of
00:35:25
brother let me be your servant and the
00:35:28
last verse sister let me be your servant
00:35:29
as our closing song and the reason I
00:35:32
want us to sing that is as a way of
00:35:35
doing right now for each other
00:35:39
Hebrews 3:13 this is an exhortation this
00:35:44
is what you you walk up to a brother and
00:35:46
you say Garth let me be your servant let
00:35:49
me be his Christ to you and pray that I
00:35:52
would have the grace to let me be your
00:35:54
servant to this this is what we don't do
00:35:56
one another okay
00:35:57
let's pray father for these brothers and
00:36:00
sisters who are standing right now I
00:36:05
asked for a completion of the resolve
00:36:09
and the sense of calling well one of
00:36:13
course any one of them to do what you
00:36:16
might not be calling them to do we only
00:36:18
want them to follow you so lord I pray
00:36:23
for them that you would fill them now
00:36:25
with a sense of expectancy with a sense
00:36:28
of joy with a sense of power
00:36:31
we don't want small groups at Bethlehem
00:36:34
to be a dream we want them to be
00:36:36
life-giving and not life depleting we
00:36:39
don't want people to sign they oh
00:36:41
another meeting to go to just the
00:36:44
opposite Oh God
00:36:45
we want them to be powerful life-giving
00:36:48
hope building faith sustaining
00:36:52
perseverance enabling gatherings so
00:36:56
would your father come and bless them
00:36:59
help strengthen them and I'm sure their
00:37:01
others would oh you're gonna touch in
00:37:03
these days to get ready to lead our
00:37:05
small groups and all the people said
00:37:07
amen thank you for listening to this
00:37:11
resource from desiring God org if you
00:37:13
found it helpful
00:37:14
we encourage you to enjoy and share from
00:37:16
thousands of resources on our site
00:37:18
including books sermons articles and
00:37:20
more available free of charge desiring
00:37:23
God that org exists to help you treasure
00:37:25
Jesus more than anything else because
00:37:27
God is most glorified in us when we are
00:37:30
most satisfied in him
