OCTOBER 10, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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We are Committed
Transcription:
Core CULTURAL Values:
We are Common Ground
We Empower
We are Courageous
We Seek the Kingdom
As we finish the sermon series about our IDENTITY, today’s message is less of a core value and more of call to decision…
How many of you have been in this situation:
You see someone you know unexpectedly, and you say to them: “we should get together sometime. Maybe this weekend? I think I’m free.”
It’s met by an exuberant “yes! I am free...sometime” but the end of the weekend comes and neither of you hung out or even communicated .
It’s often not that we have ill intentions either. I’ve been there and I meant it when I said, “let's get together” but there is a gap between good intentions and the final conclusion so i find it helpful to pull out the calendar right then and there to make sure it happens.
Then there are times that we DO know and we just don’t want to seem rude in the moment so we avoid saying “no” by saying “maybe.”
To make things worse...RSVP websites and social media added to the yes/no options the controversial: “MAYBE BUTTON.”
Wanna come to my party? Maybe.
RSVP for a wedding? Maybe.
Even as a pastor who officiates weddings, the marriage covenants and vows seems to be made with a less gravity at times, the weight of this decision devoid of the sacred.
I don’t mean to speak without grace but if the beginning of that decision is “I DO?” then we have a huge issue!
Is it possible we have become a “people of maybe” and it’s hurting us?
For a while, it was pegged on Millennials but it’s not just a generational thing. We are seeing it everywhere we go.
Don’t want to commit to buying something? Trial period - 7days!
What about a gym membership? 1 month free before you commit!
Sociologists talk about the different reasons for this cultural trend:
feeling confined by committing to one thing,
Is it possible that there are so many options in front of us these days that choosing is difficult?
It creates…a fear of missing out (fomo) or even the fear of possibly missing out as in “I can’t say yes here because something better MIGHT pop up!”
Whether it's a
desire for freedom or
a fear of commitment
we really have a society filled with MORE “maybes,” indecision, and lack of commitment than we realize!
As cliche as it may sound, the scriptures have a simple answer for this…it says “let your yes be yes and your no be no”
Now, the context here isn’t meant to address indecision so much as it is to address an unnecessary over emphasis on qualifying your word when making one: when you say yes or no...MEAN it!
BUT make no mistake the same arrogance exists on both sides of this coin:
Over confidence in your ability to make a decision come into fruition OR bolstering the validity of your commitments with oaths, isn’t that different than
prioritizing YOUR options and choosing non-commitment to keep options open!
At its core, it puts US, and our whims, at the center of the prioritization chart and forces others, who want to be connected to us, to revolve around us.
We communicate that community sounds good...if I can have it on my own terms (but when you mention accountability or commitment people run)
What if we were to put something else at the center of that orbit and were resolved to be committed to it?
This might mean you saying no to something else because you already said yes to another set of values and you need to keep your commitment.
So, “let your yes be yes and your no be no.”
It begs the question: “are we a people of our word and what are we committed to?”
Are we committed to something greater than ourselves and
as you create your calendar and budget your time just like any resource does it reflect that commitment or does it reflect a level devotion, affection, loyalty, and allegiance
to children’s soccer or baseball or another team sport?
Talk radio (you can take your pick which one...)
To a hobby, a career, or something else??
As a pastor, my hope is that, in your prioritization, you have committed yourselves to God and to a CHURCH COMMUNITY. At the beginning of their discipleship, Jesus Asked them for a commitment in Matthew 4:18 - As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Could you imagine if the James or Peter said, “Thanks for the invitation, I chooooose….maybe!”
NO, he wanted people to be ALL IN, COMMITTED, HOT OR COLD but never LUKEWARM!
and there ARE some who chose NOT to follow but, instead,
to put, at the center of their priorities, the other options:
riches, family, religious affiliations, and blatant sins.
Of course the disciples “yes” was preceded by the admiration and respect that a Rabbi would choose them as their followers but these men dropped everything and began to follow Jesus immediately!
We now have admiration and respect for Jesus as GOD and
Jesus has invited you into a committed discipleship relationship with him AND
He knows you can’t do it alone. You need to have a community, a household, and oikos, who comes around you and help you along!!
Later, in ACTS 2 we see just that, a community of believers who has given each other a high level of commitment to become more and more like Jesus. Community to the extent that their resources, time, relational networks ALL REVOLVED around a higher purpose and a community of God’s people who are hyper focused on the task that Jesus commissioned them to accomplish!
It says they DEVOTED themselves to:
The apostles’ teaching
fellowship,
breaking of bread together
to prayer.
The believers were together regularly and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Every day, it says, they continued to meet together in the temple courts and in their homes
Being AFFILIATED with a Church was not always a social benefit to them...it was often a danger! So their initiation came at a cost and commitment was absolutely assumed because their lives depended on it and it was built into their initiation into the community starting with Baptism!
Listen to this quote by Frank Viola on Baptism...
“Properly conceived and practiced, water baptism is the believer’s initial confession of faith before men, demons, angels, & God. Baptism is a visible sign that depicts our separation from the world, our death with Christ, the burial of our old man, the death of the old creation, & the washing of the Word of God. Water baptism is the New Test form of conversion-initiation.”
Denied everything else to choose Jesus and they did it publicly!!
One of the early church leaders Origen had a practice of exorcism before you could be baptized and initiated into the church.
The idea is that there was a set of procedures in place to help determine if this person was actually committed to being a disciple of Christ and a part of the community.
Later the idea of Confirmation became popular in the Catholic, and later Anglican and protestant churches. Confirmation is a period of instruction in the doctrines, practices, and the heritage of the christian church. It was intended to strengthen the faith and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the one being confirmed. Afterwards the person was allowed to partake in their first communion or Eucharist.
Popularity of Membership increases
IN the modern protestant church, membership became the vessel of initiation and affiliation. Baptism and classes may have been required but, ultimately, the congregant would agree to an affiliation with a specific local congregation. It is often accompanied by a formalized public declaration of commitment to the church (sprinkle a personal testimony and you are added to the church Roll book).
Some push back on all of this because it seems to be legalistic, or it resembles a club membership more than a relationship with the living God and each other.
While I tend to agree with that sentiment, I also have to contend with the reality of human beings:
We run from conflict
We sin against each other.
We are a fickle people of maybes and not commitment
We offend easily
Walk away quickly
The hymn singer said it accurately, prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone the leave the God I love
From both God and each other so we need the rest of the verse
Heres my heart, Lord, take and seal, seal for thy courts above.
...and it’s why we need to make commitments to one another so that we leave during the low points, the difficulties, or, in our culture, just because someone offers a better show during their Sunday gatherings.
This is all to give you just a small GLIMPSE of the ways we have initiated communities of Faith in the christian world and made commitments to one another.
My point is clearly that, throughout history, affiliation to a church has never been a flippant decision and
it was certainly not based on the amenities a church could provide (music style, succinct and agreeable sermonettes, the best coffee in the lobby, etc)
but a commitment to one another, to the teachings of Christ, and to Go and make disciples.
There's one last thing I want you to see..
IN Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
The result of Jesus’ work as high priest, allows for people to enter God’s presence without fear of His wrath. We have lived in this for so long so our gratitude is skewed.
Before JESUS, a priest had to mediate between God and His people because their sin made them unclean.
Just as Moses enacted the first covenant with blood in exodus
Jesus inaugurated a new entrance into the sanctuary for believers with His blood - I love the way the JNT worded this:
“we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua.” 20
The basis for our confidence in Jesus - the way in - is Jesus’ committed faithfulness to us.
He was the priest AND the atoning sacrifice!
...and the basis for our commitments to one another are blood bought,
covenantal,
not legalistic,
but taken with a gravity that is just absolutely foreign in our culture of “MAYBE’s!”
The established truths about our position before Christ allows us to commit to each other and the writer urges us in verse 22:
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
We draw near to God in full assurance and it references our cleansing which is done through Baptism today as a representation of our understanding and initiation that we are affiliated with God’s people and not another. Then...
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
There is a profession of commitment to Christ for HIS Faithful commitment to us then in verse 24...
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The last encouragement is a statement of commitment to one another that includes:
encouragement and accountability towards doing the works of the Kingdom: “Love and good deeds.”
and places a level of importance on gathering together because this is the context where encouragement and accountability occurs.
It’s a rhythm of life that God’s people have affirmed over and over throughout history even when it took creativity to make it happen to Gather together and to Scatter out into the world. It’s the inhale/exhale of our communal life!
And it has re-imagined itself in the wilderness, in the heights of temples and prosperity and in the caves of the underground church, in the face of destruction, exile, and persecution.
The stubborn hold and commitment of God’s people:
to God,
to each other, and
to the mission
...has allowed it to be flexible, resilient, and to survive when others could not. It has confounded enemies because our heritage has REFUSED to relent or be consumed...even in the worst circumstances.
I believe it is proof of God’s covenant commitment with His people and their covenant commitment to each other and the question is: “have we established a level of commitment to one another that we show the same resilience in the face of difficulty.”
To do this...you have to have:
a SOLID theology of our unified existence together,
a discerning and agile mind to hold fast the core identities when cultures shift,
a robust interactive rhythm of gathering/scattering with accountability and encouragement,
and a griptight commitment to one another that outlasts and re-imagines itself in whatever context we find ourselves living through.
How do we define commitment inside of church context?
These ideas are fine but:
how do we close the gap between intentions and actually doing it? and
how do we measure success in our commitments to one another?
Well, I want to borrow from a church planting paradigm. Having been a part of some church planting efforts, we had to go through an assessment called CPAC and a training process to be approved to help with the church plant.
I found their process to be helpful in our season since we are building again as a church after COVID. The process is this:
Essentially, in the Church planting world, there is what’s known as the “parachute drop” meaning you are planting a church from scratch: no community, no lead team, nothing!
One of the FIRST things they train you to do is establish a “planting team.”
A planting team is composed of 30 or so people who are CO-MMITT-ED to making this thing happen. They agree to:
show up most Sunday Gatherings, to be
consistent in tithing, to
help serve, and to
be willing to evangelize, tell people about the church and invite them into the body of believers.
This helps the Church build a solid base of people to get off the ground! So leadership can:
anticipate the congregation,
plan for events,
and make a budget.
One of the catch phrases they use to clarify the expectation is: “Gather Grow Give Go”
It’s a cutesy little phrase but I think it’s helpful because it allows us to gauge our commitment levels and sets a healthy expectation for those that decided they want to be a part of the Common Ground Northeast Family. This is what each one means:
GATHER - our gathering rhythm takes place on sunday mornings.
in-person or online (we are obviously still not back to normal but blocking that time away to be insync spiritually is important)
This includes worship God corporately, and
provides a centralized teaching to unify our efforts each week.
Did you know the average church-goer in America a few years ago was 1-2 times a month.
This had pastors concerned
What impact can we have?
It has reduced to a staggering once every 6 weeks! Once every 6 WEEKS?! That’s only 8-9 times a year!
It’s hard to stay connected like this!
Even at once or twice a month, it could hardly be called a committed relationship.
Gym membership?
What kind of influence can the people of God have on us if we are operate like this
And if all of us are orbiting around others things, we miss each other as we pass through casually.
Why?
Greater Affluence (travel)
Higher focus on Kids’ activities
Challenges related to blended and single parent families
My point is this: the gravity of intentional commitment to the church body is ESSENTIAL or else we are slowing floating apart so we NEED to GATHER and then we scatter
<Grow>
We want you to be in a House Church Community where you can GROW in our walk with God and live out the principles of Christianity in transformative community. We also need you to..
GIVE (Studies show that when you prioritize attendance and spectatorship, attendance declines)
Time
Talent
Treasure
Go
In other words “be a SENT ONE”
Evangelism
Discipleship
Invitation
This paradigm is a proven tactic to get new churches off the ground and established and it can certainly help us move out of the defensive posture of COVID survival mode and into a strategic OFFENSIVE posture as we build anew.
Because, listen, everyone wants to be a part of something with momentum BUT, as a church, we can’t create forward momentum if we are causally associated with each other instead of committed and growing with each other.
Here is my challenge to you all as we find ourselves in a season.
Take stock of where you are at in the areas of Gathering, Growing, Giving, and Going! Does it tell a story of commitment to this community and, if not, make some adjustments.
If you feel like your commitment has slipped, re-commit
I LOVE what we have here at CGNE. I think it’s unique, I mean, we moved our family out here to be a part of it!!
Our church is not for everyone BUT if you’re excited by our core values and you want to be a part of -and contribute to- a church who values being Common Ground, Empowering others, walking courageously and seeking the Kingdom, and you want to see them fleshed out in our devotion, community, and mission, then I think this is your community!
So this is our moment at Common Ground Northeast! A SHIFT of momentum can take place right here and right now, if we are willing to take the challenge, let our YES be YES and BE COMMITTED TO ONE ANOTHER in this season!!
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
“Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.