Pastor Elwin Ahu
June 22, 2008 - W0825

Today I want to talk about the importance of community. New Hope is not about religious social clubs. It is about small groups that bring us closer to God and other people. Sometimes we do not understand how important people relationships are and we underestimate the negative influence being isolated has. That is why timeout is one of the most effective punishments for a child. We cannot handle isolation. To prison inmates, being isolated in solitary confinement is a huge ordeal.

When I was a lawyer I used to interview inmates to determine their potential for parole. One such inmate had a stack of files of convictions on his record. I asked him why he had committed so many crimes. He replied that he had no family on the outside and so felt isolated out of prison. He committed the crimes to go back to prison because that is where he felt he was part of the community.

We do not live well in isolation. Christians need community. New Hope is not dependent on the lights, cameras and other equipment here. All this is just a means to an end. The purpose is to usher you and me into a greater relationship with God and those around us. How many of you feel glad about being here? How many of you are glad for your children? It will not be the lights, the sets and the cameras that sustain this church. It will be authentic community built on life on life.

God gave us a blueprint in the New Testament on what church and authentic community should look like. In the beginning it was not easy to be a follower of Christ. There was much persecution and ridicule for following a dead leader. The early followers even faced opposition from their own families. The only way early Christians survived was through community.

As the Bible says, "And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles … And day by day continuing with one mind … and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:43, 46-47).  Imagine all the miracles occurring at that time. Probably Luke could not write it all down. The early followers of Christ probably saw miracle after miracle amidst all the challenges to their faith.

Because of community they survived.

There are many things that seem to go together so well. There’s steak and lobster and cake and ice cream. God made it so that many things are meant to be together. The body of Christ needs togetherness.

I saw the exhibit Bodies in Motion in which the inner workings of the human body were on display. This demonstrated to me that we are the products of the intelligent designer who is God. Everything I could see was interconnected. One part of the body without the other is just not complete. Even our bodies are designed for togetherness.

We are wired for community but yet we have a tendency to run from it.

Even Adam hid from God and Eve after he sinned because he was ashamed. We share that same tendency to shy away from God and others. We have conflicting desires. We want to be close to God and others but we also want to keep our distance. We tend to think of New Hope’s small care groups as small scare groups. We make all kinds of excuses for not joining a small group. We say that we have no time, there’s too much work at home or that going to church on weekends is enough. We might even say that going to church on the Internet is connection enough. Ironically, though America is one of the most Internet connected, we are also the loneliest. The Internet is called the virtual community but that also means that it is not a real community. So what do we do to build and authentic community?

AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY REQUIRES:

A SHIFT IN PRIORITIES.

Sometimes we focus too much on the fringe benefits of Christianity. We develop an entitlement attitude as in "I volunteered for God and so now God will do something for me." We begin to major in the minors or in other words, we start focusing on the unimportant things in church. We have to always remember God’s greatest commandment, which is to love Him with all our hearts and to love others as ourselves. As it is written, "If then you have been raised up with Christ … [set] your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth" (Col. 3:1-2).

SPIRITUAL GROWTH REQUIRES MORE THAN MEETING ON SUNDAYS.

Actually, we forget a lot of what we hear in the weekend sermon by Wednesday. So "[Let] us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near" (Heb. 10:24-25). We have to prioritize what we do according to what we value the most. We have to ask ourselves how valuable we think what God asks of us is. When my doctor told me that I should lose weight, he prescribed that I eat half a salad for lunch and half a salad for dinner AND to skip breakfast!

I thought he was nuts! But eventually, I realized that it was all a matter of re-adjusting my thinking on food. I re-prioritized and put losing weight higher in my life and eating lower. I lost 10 pounds in one week and eventually lost 40 pounds! The key is discipline.

God says that the best thing for us is a relationship with Him and those around us. We should keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, what God wants should always be the priority. So what else is required in order to build an authentic community?

AN OPENNESS TO WISDOM AND COUNSEL.

If we are by ourselves, we can talk ourselves into almost anything, even sinful acts. But it is more difficult to sin when surrounded by an authentic Christian community. As the Bible says, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Prov. 14:12). We live in a world of distrust. There are so many blind spots or things that we almost automatically do not see on our own. We can fall into sinful traps that we are blind to if not accompanied by another seeing Christian who could warn us. It is like having a wingman in the movie "Top Gun".

The Tom Cruise character was the wingman for another jet fighter and he was severely reprimanded for leaving that jet’s side. It was so important that he be there to protect and help him. So remember, "He who separates himself seeks his own desire, he quarrels against all sound wisdom. A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind" (Prov. 18:1-2).  But also …

WE NEED OTHERS TO CHEER US FORWARD THROUGH LIFE.

We need cheerleaders in our life because there is too much bad news in life. There already are enough people telling us when we do wrong. We especially need people who will cheer us on to the noble and right deeds.

As it is written, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Prov. 17:17).  So who is cheering in your corner? Well, a New Hope small group, life group or care group can be there in your corner.

Finally though, in order to build an authentic community we need …

A WILLINGNESS TO BE REAL.

Obviously, and authentic community cannot be authentic unless the people in it are real. One of my spiritual mentors once said that we are all unified by our common weaknesses and failures. So we are not alone. We all go through tough times. When we are willing to let our guard down, God will use that to help others and us. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much" (James 5:16).  When we have the courage and openness to confess, blessings come back to us. Prayers in community are more effective than in isolation. There is more spiritual growth when we reach out to others.

I owe a lot to the Levite guys from my early days at New Hope. Initially, I had my guard up but eventually I began sharing my heart with them. And though we were all from different walks of life, at New Hope we were all on level ground with one another. As I reached out to them, my own spiritual growth was exponential. There is no other way to live life because we are meant for authentic community and to comfort one another in that community. As the Bible says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the … God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Cor. 1: 3-4).  God designed us for an authentic community. When we are fully engaged in that authentic community we will be awed by His glory, grace and endless miracles.

An authentic community requires a shift in priorities. In other words, we have to put what God wants first in our lives. We also have to realize that spiritual growth requires more than meeting on Sundays. Secondly, we need openness to wisdom and counsel. Very importantly, we need others to cheer us forward through life. Finally, we have to have a willingness to be real. We should all remember that God designed us for authentic community.

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1.      What priorities should you shift and to where?

2.      Other than church on weekends, what are you doing for God?

3.      How could you be more open to wisdom and counsel?

4.      What are you going to do to get more cheerleaders into your life?

5.      What does a willingness to be real mean to you?

6.      How has God designed you for authentic community?