Love: Stir Up

Good morning, church, and happy Mother's Day.

I heard somewhere that this is the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day.

Is that right?

Has anyone else heard that?

One person has.

Oh, two have.

Okay, great.

Well, there you go.

Happy anniversary, Mother's Day.

The text on which our teaching is based this morning is Hebrews 10, 19 through 25.

We're going to focus especially on the last two verses of this paragraph.

Hebrews 10, 19 through 25 is page 1007 in the Pew Bible if you want to turn there.

Hebrews 10.

Let me read this passage for us.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh.

And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,

with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.

And all the more as you see the day drawing near.

In the year 2000, a Harvard political scientist named Robert Putnam wrote a book called Bowling Alone.

And the subtitle of that book was The Collapse and Revival of American Community.

And one of the key observations of that book is that Americans are becoming less and less involved in civic organizations,

that membership in voluntary associations and civic groups is steeply declining.

And as an example, he made this really interesting observation.

He saw that even though the number of individual bowlers was on the rise across the U.S.,

that is, more and more people were out bowling, yes, like nine-pin bowling,

the number of bowling leagues, on the other hand, was dropping.

And that became a prime example in his study that people are losing their connections

and their commitments to one another, that more and more, it seems, we are just bowling alone.

Now, since then, other sociologists have pointed out that there are some groups that are actually growing.

But they're the ones that require actually very little from their members.

After all, in a bowling league, right, your team is counting on you.

If you don't show up, you get calls from Frank and Peggy

complaining how you let down the phantom strikers in their time of need.

I've never been a part of a bowling league.

I had to actually Google names of bowling teams.

I thought phantom strikers was a pretty good name of a bowling team.

But, you know, with organizations like, say, I don't know, the Sierra Club, on the other hand,

well, you can have all the pride of knowing that you're helping to protect the earth

without any of the hassle of Frank and Peggy calling you on Thursday night telling you you let the team down.

And as a bonus, you get a really nice newsletter every once in a while.

Now, I don't have anything personally against the Sierra Club.

I'm sure they do great work.

When Beth and I used to live in Pennsylvania, we were members of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

And what did it mean for us to be members of the Philly Art Museum?

Honestly, not much.

We sent them a check, and they sent us colorful brochures and invitations to art receptions.

That was pretty much it.

Membership basically required nothing of us.

And as it turns out, the Philadelphia Museum of Art still sends us packages periodically,

welcoming us back into membership, even though we live like 175 miles away.

I'm sure they would love to get our check once again.

And of course, all this has more to do with our lives than just bowling leagues and art museums.

The bigger and more important point is that our involvement in and our understanding of community,

of life together, has become incredibly problematic.

Because on the one hand, we long for community, for connection, for life together.

Even Putnam's book was not just about the collapse of American community,

but about proposals for its revival.

And yet, though we want community, and though we feel we rightly were made for such community,

we're so often disappointed by it, aren't we?

It never quite gives us what we want.

And of course, it's not hard to see how all of this affects our spiritual lives.

On the one hand, the idea of commitment to a body of believers, to a local church,

of membership, seems kind of like a nice extra.

Something that's good for some people, but not really a key ingredient of discipleship

or an integral part of following Jesus.

I mean, after all, right, I can read great Christian books,

and I can listen to great sermons online,

and I can even catch up with my Christian friends every once in a while,

the ones who are like me and who know me, and get some good fellowship,

and I can do all of that without tying myself down or committing to a local church, right?

So on the one hand, and maybe we don't even realize it,

we slip into a practical lone ranger-ism in our spiritual lives.

We're going at it alone without any real connection to fellow Christians.

But now you see, it's more serious than just a bowling league, isn't it?

Now it's our connection to the body of Christ that we're talking about.

But you know, I don't think that problem is as persistent as another problem that we have.

I think that many of us today wouldn't want to be seen as lone rangers.

We would want to acknowledge that community is really important, even essential to Christianity.

No one wants to come across as that individualistic, right?

But at the same time, there's still a problem.

Again, without realizing it, we can begin to approach Christian community

in much the same way that Beth and I approached our membership in the Philly Museum of Art.

That I'm in it, basically, for what I can get out of it.

That I come, basically, as a consumer, ready to consume a spiritual product.

That I'm here for what's in it for me, and it's all about me.

And when it's not convenient, or I don't need it,

then I just don't give it the place or the priority in my life.

And I think if we're honest, we all wrestle with this.

Myself included.

None of us is immune.

And yet, what the book of Hebrews is showing us this morning

is that what Christ has done for us

creates a whole new dynamic for our life together.

Over the past two weeks, we've been slowing down in our series in Hebrews

and considering verses 19 through 25.

Two weeks ago, we talked about drawing near.

Do you remember?

And the focus there was on faith, on trusting in Christ.

And we saw that there's a whole new kind of spirituality, of worship,

of relation to God that's opened up for us through faith in Christ.

We can now draw near.

And last week, we considered holding fast,

and we considered what Christian hope is really all about.

And there we saw that hope is the certain future of what we have in Christ,

not because we're great or because we deserve it,

but because He is faithful to His promises.

So we've considered faith, hope,

and now third and last, we come to love.

And in verses 24 through 25, Hebrews is saying that the nature

and the practices and the motivation for Christian community

are all radically different because of the gospel,

because of the good news of Jesus.

So in the time that we have together this morning,

I want to just unpack each one of those as we see it here,

the nature and the practices and the motivation of community

that's centered in the gospel, centered in Christ.

And I hope that we'll come away from studying this passage

with a fresh vision and a fresh desire

to want to be this sort of community

and want to love in this kind of way,

not merely for our own sake,

but for our neighbor's sake

and ultimately for Christ's sake.

So first, let's look at the nature of Christian community.

Verse 24 is a command.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

But did you notice how seamlessly this flows from verses 19 through 23?

Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

since we have a great high priest over the house of God,

let us consider one another.

It's a given in the author's mind

that a relationship with God in Christ

necessarily means a relationship with those who share in Christ.

In other words, in Christianity,

believing is necessarily belonging.

The call to believe in Christ is the call to belong to the people of Christ.

And you know, you can't read the Bible and come away with any other idea.

Think about who God reveals himself to be in Scripture.

One God who eternally exists as three persons,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And if that's who God is,

then relationship and love and community

are eternal realities of God himself

shared between the eternal persons of the Trinity.

And we're told that this God creates us, humans, in his image.

And if we're created in the image of a triune God,

then surely community and relationship and love

is something that you and I were made for.

It's part of our design as humans.

And Christ has come to redeem us

and restore in us that image.

But look also at how the story of Scripture unfolds.

From the very beginning of God's redemptive plan with Abraham,

God is building, what?

A family.

A people.

And that continues through Israel and into the New Testament,

into the church,

that God's work is not just about saving isolated individuals,

but redeeming a whole people who in their life together

enjoy and reflect his own glory.

Believing is belonging.

But there's even more than that.

And this is where Hebrews 24 starts to speak

a little more explicitly.

Not just as believing belonging,

but what he's saying here is that membership in this family,

membership is ministry.

To belong to this people is to have a part to play.

Membership in the family of God

is less like Beth and I being a part of the Philly Art Museum

and more like having a job description.

It's having a call.

And that call, first and foremost, is what?

To consider one another, he says.

That's literally how the verse reads.

The object of consider is one another.

Consider one another.

Now, this isn't the first time that Hebrews has used that word consider.

Do you remember way back?

You probably don't.

Maybe you do.

Remember way back in Hebrews 3, verse 1.

Hebrews 3:1

Who are we told to consider there?

Consider Jesus,

the apostle and high priest of our confession

who was faithful to him who appointed him.

You see, friends,

this is the dynamic of the church.

That together we consider Jesus.

That he's the object of our focus

and our affection and our attention.

But the more that we consider him,

the more and more it moves me to consider

not just myself,

in fact, not myself,

but others.

As I gaze upon Christ

and all that he is for me,

my eyes come down not on my own needs,

but on the needs of those around me.

Christ, in other words,

heals us from our selfish gaze.

After all, for the last ten and a half chapters of this book,

what has Hebrews been telling us?

He's been showing us how Jesus is our superior high priest

who makes the superior sacrifice

to establish the superior covenant

that at last makes us clean

before God.

I wonder if you've ever shown up to a party

or an event

and you're totally wearing the wrong clothes.

Has this ever happened to you?

You're invited to a wedding

and you're like,

great, it's a summer wedding.

It's probably really casual, right?

I'm just going to rock up with,

you know, whatever.

And you get there

and you're like the only one

not wearing a dress

or not wearing a suit.

What happens to you in that moment?

Who are you thinking about?

You're thinking about yourself, right?

You're thinking about,

God, how I totally messed up

and how other people must be looking at me

and thinking,

what an idiot,

why is he wearing that?

But,

if you show up with the right clothes on,

it's totally different, isn't it?

You're not thinking about yourself.

You're thinking about the people sitting next to you.

You're thinking about the bride and groom.

You're thinking about whoever.

You see, friends,

it's even more that way with Christ.

That he's cleansed and clothed you

with his perfect life and perfect sacrifice.

And you lack nothing in him.

You have confidence,

Hebrews has just said,

to enter the holy places by his blood.

The very presence of God.

And you have the confidence to go in

and not feel shame,

but to feel favor

and to feel welcome.

And so, you see,

considering Jesus,

your gaze can be lifted from yourself

and it can rest on others.

And here's where things really get interesting.

Because now in Christ,

I start to see others

not as people who can meet my needs,

but as people created in God's image,

purchased by Christ's death and love,

and for whom God has a glorious future.

You see,

I start to see my role in their life

not as a judge of their performance

and not as a consumer of their services,

but as a catalyst of their love and good works.

I see myself as one who's there to stir them up.

And I'm open to receiving the same.

I come to the Christian community

with blood-bought confidence before God,

ready to be stirred

because I know that I need it.

My heart is sluggish.

My dreams are limited.

My self-perception is woefully myopic.

I need to be stirred up.

And that word stir up is a really strong one.

It's almost the image of a cattle prod

just provoking, inciting,

spurring something on.

It's like a loving coach

who sees so much potential

in his middle school basketball team

that he'll do anything he can

and any technique he can dream of

to get them to play well

and to do the beautiful thing

that is running the flex offense

or whatever, you know.

Hebrews is saying that we're meant

to be a catalyst in each other's lives.

That when we come into contact

with one another,

when we enter into this body,

all of a sudden,

something dramatic starts to take place.

There's a generative effect

where we cause each other

to burn a little hotter

and to burn a little better

and to speed each other up

towards love and good works.

Which is to say

that we're meant to stir up one another

to reach the Christ-ordained goal

of our lives.

Again and again,

we're told that Jesus saves us

not by our good works,

but for good works.

The passage we read earlier

in John 15

made just that point.

Think also about Ephesians 2.10.

We are his workmanship

created in Christ Jesus

for good works,

which God prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them.

Or again, Titus 2.14.

Christ gave himself for us

to redeem us from all lawlessness,

to purify for himself

a people for his own possession

who are zealous for good works.

Or again, Jesus in Matthew 5.

Let your light shine before others

so that they may see your good works

and do what?

Give glory to your Father in heaven.

So when we stir up one another

in this way,

we're helping one another

become who Jesus has saved us

to become.

We're helping one another

live into

our truly human selves.

And I need your stirring

ultimately

so that the world

will see our good works

and glorify our Father in heaven.

That's the design.

Jesus tears the curtain

with his own flesh.

We're flooded

with joyful confidence

and we begin doing good works

and stirring one another up

to do the same

and God is glorified

as the world sees the difference

that Jesus makes

in our hearts and lives.

That's the nature

of Christian community.

Considering one another,

devoting loving attention

to one another,

knowing and being deeply known

because we want to stir up

one another to become

who God has made us to become.

In other words,

the local church

is meant to be a place

of God-glorifying,

catalytic love production

for everyone involved.

Did you catch that?

God-glorifying,

catalytic love production

and it's eschatologically oriented

if we want to throw

more words in there, right?

This is what it means.

This is why you're here.

And all this has direct implications

before we go on

to our second point.

First,

if you're a believer,

maybe you're new to Christ,

maybe you've been following

Jesus for a while,

look,

if you're a believer,

you need Christian community.

You need the local church.

God designed it that way.

Have you ever made chocolate milk?

You pour milk into the glass,

you squeeze the chocolate syrup

into the glass,

and at first,

the chocolate just sort of sits there

in the bottom of the glass.

Until what?

Until someone takes a spoon

and starts stirring, right?

Well, our life in Christ

is sort of like that.

We need to be stirred.

And the church is the place

that God set up

for it to happen.

And to live without the church

is to remain forever

an unstirred glass of milk

with just a bunch of syrup

in the bottom.

Never really released.

No one drinks a cup of milk

with Hershey syrup in the bottom

and says,

that's a good cup of chocolate milk.

No, this is gross.

Someone stir this up.

Don't be a gross glass of milk.

But seriously,

maybe this is why

your walk with God

seems a little stagnant.

Maybe that's why

you don't feel like you're growing.

Maybe that's why

your friends don't really inquire

about God in your life.

Maybe you need

loving Christian community

to stir you up.

But second,

if it's true

that you need the church,

it's also true

that you

have a part to play.

That all of us

have a part to play.

There are no bench warmers

in the kingdom,

you see.

God saves you

because he wants you

on the court

and he's given you

everything you need

to be a player.

He's given you his word

and he's put his own spirit

within you.

Yes, we all have different gifts

but we all belong

in the game.

There's a critical place

for you

in the community.

And that leads

to our second point.

We've seen the nature

of Christian community

in verse 24

and now in verse 25

we start to see

the practices.

Doesn't all this

naturally raise the question

of how?

How do I go about

stirring up my brothers

and sisters?

It sounds really great.

I'd love to be a part

of a catalytic community

of love production

but how do I do that?

And here Hebrews points us

to two essential practices

and we could summarize them

pretty simply like this.

Showing up

and speaking up.

Showing up.

That's the first part

of verse 25.

Not neglecting to meet together

as is the habit of some.

You see there's no substitute

for showing up

at the weekly assembly,

at the weekly gathering

of the church.

Why?

Well friends,

at the center of our faith

is the claim

that God took on human flesh

and walked among us

face to face.

And if our love

is going to be

a Christ-shaped love

then surely

it's going to have

the same impulse.

It'll want to show up

in the flesh

face to face

and be with those

for whom Christ

has loved

and died

and risen again.

If you're going

to stir up

Hebrews is saying

you've got to show up.

And you know

your presence

in and of itself

is a means

of stirring up

your brothers and sisters.

They see you here.

They see you've made

the commitment

to wake up

and arrive.

And that strengthens them

because they know

they're not alone.

They see

that Christ

is worth it to you

and that

stirs them up

to consider again

that Christ

is worth it

for them as well.

Martin Luther

once wrote

at home

in my own house

there's no warmth

or vigor

in me

but in the church

when the multitude

is gathered

together

a fire

is kindled

in my heart

and it breaks

its way through.

You see friends

showing up

means being part

of that multitude

gathered together

that is lighting

a fire

in the hearts

of those who are called.

And you thought

you were just here

to endure

a long sermon.

No!

Now look

Hebrews admits

that it's easy

to fall into the habit

of not meeting together.

And there are all sorts

of reasons

how it can happen

right?

I've seen some of these

in my own heart

you maybe seen

some of them

in yours.

There's laziness

we just don't

make the effort

and end up

sleeping in instead.

there's weariness

we're burnt out

from life

and instead of

drawing healthy

boundaries

we just kind of

stop coming.

There's a sense

of superiority

while we just

don't think

we need it

or that we really

get anything

out of it

so we don't

come.

There's also fear

I might be ridiculed

or excluded

by my friends

or family

or even in some

parts of the world

I might be

persecuted

for publicly

identifying as a

Christian

by coming

to the assembly.

You know

I suppose

more often

than not

it's a matter

of indifference.

I just

slipped away.

I got busy

with other stuff.

Everyday concerns

just kind of

pulled me away.

You know

maybe you're here

this morning

friend

and you haven't

been to church

in a while

and you know

perhaps it's

not an accident

that this is

the text

that we're

considering

together

on the church

when you made it

on the Sunday

when you made it.

And as you

look at your

heart

whether it's

laziness

or weariness

or pride

or fear

or indifference

realize

this morning

that Christ

has redeemed

you

to be a

player

in the game

and to make

this gathering

a priority

because he

made it

a priority.

The eternal

son of God

emptied himself

took on flesh

dwelt among us

died on a cross

rose again

so that he could

form a people

for his glory

and now you

and I have

the privilege

to be a part

of that people

and to come

together each week

not just to receive

but to give

and help others

become more

like Christ.

Now maybe you

show up here

at Trinity

every Sunday

but you know

there are still

ways

that we can

neglect to

meet together

even if

technically we

come every

week.

Think about it.

Do you slip

in right before

the service

starts and

slip out right

before we end

or are you

making the

effort actually

to be present

and present

long enough

that someone

might actually

get to know

you and you

might get to

know them?

Are you

coming with

the mindset

of simply

getting something

out of it

or are you

thinking about

being present

for someone

else's sake

too?

Are you aware

that God

might have you

here to meet

someone else's

needs in

addition to

your own?

of course

all this is

incredibly

countercultural

isn't it?

It runs

right against

our consumer

mindset

but honestly

friend

aren't you

tired of

being a

consumer?

Isn't it

boring?

Every single

advertisement you

watch on TV

just wants you

to consume.

Isn't that

dull?

Instead

Christ is

saying come

be a

player

take your

place in

the great

drama

of redemption

that's unfolding

before you

not as a

mere spectator

but as an

agent

as an

actor

with a

part to

play

and the

part that

we play

is done

not just

by showing

up

but also

by speaking

up.

Verse 25

continues

we're told

to be

encouraging

one another

and the

primary way

that we

do this

is through

words.

God after

all is a

speaking

God

and isn't

it amazing

that he

gives us

the privilege

of being

speaking

creatures

and he

calls us

to use

our words

to stir

up one

another.

That's what

we do

when we

gather

on Sundays

the singing

and the

preaching

and the

ordinances

all of

these are

ways of

speaking

the gospel

to one

another

and encouraging

one another.

Now the

verb

encourage

here has

a pretty

broad

meaning.

I think

often

when we

think

about

the word

encouragement

it means

just sort

of like

showering

empty praise

on someone.

Good job.

Right?

But no

the biblical

idea of

encouragement

is actually

broad.

It encompasses

encouragement

and exhortation

and even

consolation.

I don't know

about you

but I think

speaking in a

way to

encourage

or to

exhort

or to

console

doesn't

actually come

naturally.

We all

kind of

struggle

at that

don't

we?

And I

think

that's

why

the

main

command

in these

two

verses

is

consider.

Consider

how.

We should

actually

take

some

time

to

consider

how

to

use

our

words

well

to

stir

up

each

other.

So

consider

how to

speak

words

that

encourage.

Find

someone

who's

doing

something

well

and let

them

know.

Thank

them.

Tell

them to

keep

on

doing

it.

Most

importantly

show

them

the

good

that

you

see

coming

from

it.

Point

out

how

you

see

Christ

at

work

in

them.

For

example

you

could

tell

the

people

who

serve

in

hospitality

downstairs

after

the

service

you

know

you

guys

do

a

great

job

every

week.

When

I

look

at

all

the

people

who

come

to

the

fellowship

hall

after

the

service

and

get

to

connect

with

each

other

and

do

spiritual

good

to

one

another

you

guys

are

making

that

happen.

Thank

you

for

what

you

do.

Isn't

it

just

like

Christ

in

us

who

opened

his

arms

for

us

that

we

too

would

take

the

time

to

set

a

table

and

open

our

arms

for

others

to

come.

Consider

how

to

encourage

each

other

but

also

consider

how

to

speak

words

that

exhort

each

other.

And

exhortation

is that

loving

correction.

And we

all need

it,

right?

Back in

chapter 3

Hebrews

said,

exhort

one

another

every

day

as long

as it

is called

today

that none

of you

may be

hardened

by the

deceitfulness

of sin.

Because

sin

is

deceitful

aren't

we often

the last

ones

to see

it in

our

own

lives.

So we

need

fellow

believers

who

will

have

the

courage

to

exhort

us.

To

say

something

like,

hey,

I've

noticed

this

pattern

in your

life.

Am I

seeing

that

rightly?

Can I

share

with you

some

things

that I've

learned

about this

area

that have

helped

me?

Of

course,

this takes

a prior

relationship

to go

well,

doesn't

it?

I don't

think you

should just

walk up

to someone

and start

saying,

hey,

you're

messed

up.

Fix

that.

That's

not how

you do

this,

right?

That's

not what

loving

exhortation

means.

And isn't

that why

showing up

is the

critical

first step

before

speaking up?

But you

know,

I think

for all

that,

most of

us can

look back

in our

lives

and see

a time

when someone

had the

courage

to exhort

us and

it made

all the

difference.

It didn't

feel great

at the

time,

but it

stirred us

up in

massive ways.

Maybe it

even changed

the direction

of your

life for

Christ's

sake.

So in

addition to

encouragement,

we need to

exhort.

But in

addition to

exhortation,

we should

also consider

how to

speak words

that console.

And this

is simply

telling someone

that I'm

here for

you.

I'm not

trying to

fix your

problems,

but I'm

here to

help you

bear your

burdens

in any

way that

I can.

And you

know,

often this

kind of

speaking up,

as we

know,

is really

done best

by simply

showing up

and being

present.

And speaking

of hope

and the

promises

and the

goodness

of Christ.

So these

are the

two

practices

of

Christian

community

that

Hebrews

lays out

for us.

Showing

up and

speaking

up.

And we've

already started

to see how

they go

hand in

hand,

right?

If you

don't show

up,

it doesn't

give you

much of a

place to

speak up.

And if you

don't speak

up,

you're often

missing the

richer

opportunity

that showing

up actually

gives you,

that showing

up actually

affords.

And that

brings us

to our

third point.

You know,

as we come

to the

end of

this short

text,

it's perhaps

obvious that

this work

doesn't come

easy.

But it's not

easy,

this work of

considering one

another.

It's not easy,

this work of

showing up.

It's not easy,

this work of

speaking up.

In fact,

all of that

is pretty

hard work.

And that's

why verse

25 ends

by pointing

us to

the motivation

of Christian

community.

and that

motivation,

according to

verse 25,

is the

day

drawing

near.

And the

day he's

referring to

is what the

Old Testament

calls the

day of the

Lord.

And according

to Hebrews,

this is the

day when

Jesus will

reappear.

And in so

doing,

God will

complete his

work of

new creation

among us.

That that's

the day

when the

glory of

God covers

the earth

like the

waters

cover the

sea.

When the

kingdom at

last comes

fully on

earth as

it is in

heaven.

And life

and liberty

break out

for all to

enjoy.

Now how does

that day

motivate us

to do what

we've been

talking about

this morning?

Well on the

one hand we

know that that

day will be a

day of

reckoning.

Earlier in

Hebrews he

said,

you know,

no one can

hide from

the gaze of

God.

We're all

exposed before

the eyes of

him to whom

we must give

an account.

And if that's

true, then as

we see the

day approaching,

we want more

than anything

else for our

brothers and

sisters, those

who gather

with us, to

be found in

Christ on

that day.

So we show

up and we

speak up and

we stir up

with every

chance that we

get because we

don't want to

lose any

opportunity to

encourage someone

to persevere in

the faith.

And we

want to put

ourselves in

positions where

others can do

the same for

us.

But you know,

the day of the

Lord is not

just a day of

reckoning, but

ultimately it's a

day of salvation

for those who

place their faith

in Christ.

This is the

day, the

Apostle John

says, when

we'll be like

him because at

last we'll see

him as he is.

This is the

day when Jesus

will transform

our lowly

body to be

like his

glorious body,

as Paul says

in Ephesians.

This is the

day when creation

itself will be

set free from

its bondage to

corruption and

attain the

freedom of the

glory of the

children of God.

And friends, if

that day is

drawing near,

when the

echoes that we

see in our

midst will come

to full

flowering,

when the

sparks and

hints of

Christ's

presence among

us finally

come out in

full form,

friends, if

that day is

coming near,

then none of

the hard work

of showing up

and speaking up

will be wasted.

It'll all be

used to bring

about God's

good purposes,

and if what is

coming is the

restoration of

all things,

and if that's

my certain

future in

Christ, the

enjoyment of

the new heavens

and the new

earth, then

surely I can

stand to

sacrifice my

time and my

resources now

to help serve

my fellow

believers.

The age to

come in God's

new creation

will outstrip

any of the

sacrifices that

we think we're

making here and

now.

The tighter the

grip that we

have on the

future in

Christ, the

more we can

release our

grip on the

way in which we

try to control

our time and

our resources

and our

things.

Do you see

that?

Don Carson

tells this

story.

He says,

in 1952, a

young woman

by the name

of Florence

Chadwick stepped

off the beach

at Catalina

Island and

into the

water,

determined to

swim to the

shore of

mainland

California.

She was

already an

experienced

long-distance

swimmer.

She was the

first woman to

swim the

English Channel

both ways.

The weather

was foggy and

chilly on the

day she set

out.

She could

scarcely see

the boats

that would

accompany her

and for 15

hours she

swam.

She begged

to be taken

out but her

trainer urged

persistence,

telling her again

and again that

she could make

it, that the

shore was not

far away.

But physically

and emotionally

exhausted, she

finally just stopped

swimming and she

was pulled out.

The boats made

for the shore and

she discovered that

it was a mere

half mile away.

The next day she

gave a news

conference.

What she said in

effect was this,

I don't want to

make excuses for

myself, I'm the

one who asked to

be pulled out, but

I think that if I

could have seen the

shore, I would

have made it.

And two months

later she proved

her point.

On a bright and

clear day she

plunged back into

the sea and swam

the distance.

You see, friends,

keep the day in

your sights.

Keep your eyes

fixed on Jesus

who is our hope

and who is coming

to bring in that

day.

Because it's his

glory after all

that we'll share.

We're united to him

by faith.

And if we keep our

eyes fixed on him,

if we keep our

eyes clearly

focused on the

day, on the shore

that's there, then

our life together

will have the

vision that it

needs to persevere.

Then we'll be able

to put one arm in

front of the other

and to do it with

gladness as we see

the day approaching.

So in conclusion

over these last few

weeks, we've seen

that the gospel of

Jesus produces in

us faith and hope

and love.

And we've seen

how the gospel

actually starts to

redefine all three

of these, haven't we?

You know, faith.

Faith is no longer

just illogical belief,

but personal trust

in him who died for us.

And hope.

Hope is no longer

just wishful thinking,

but confident expectation

of the future that he

has for us.

love.

And finally, love.

Love's no longer just

kind of letting each

other be.

Love's no longer just

merely affirming each

other in however we

happen to find

ourselves.

No, love now is

actively stirring each

other up to become

more and more who

Christ redeemed us to

be.

on the basis of

Christ's life, death,

and resurrection.

This is the shape of

our Christian life

together.

A faith, of hope,

of love, of drawing

near, of holding

fast, and of stirring

up.

Let's pray.

Father, we pray that you

would indeed stir up in

us love and good works.

And God, give us the

heart and the compassion

and the eyes to see how

we might be stirring one

another up to love and

good works.

God, grant us the

humility to be open to

the stirring of our

brothers and sisters.

God, help us to see how

we need it.

God, we pray that you

would glorify your name

in us.

Glorify your name in

this church and all the

churches that are

gathering here in New

Haven.

God, glorify your name

in us as we go forth to

serve and to love and

grant us the

perseverance to show up

and the courage to speak

up.

And all the more as we

see your great day

approaching.

The day of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

In whose name and by

whose spirit we pray.

Amen.

Amen.