Rick Warren - You're Not Alone Youre Part of Gods Family

We're in part three of a series that we started

a couple weeks ago on what does it mean to

really follow Jesus? And we're looking at words that describe

what it means to be a follower. The first word

we looked at as the word disciple. If you miss

that message, I want you to go online and listen

to it. It is a very important message on the

five definitions of what it means to be a disciple

of Jesus Christ. Then last week we looked at another

word that defines what it means to be a follower,

the word ambassador. The Bible says we are ambassadors for Christ.

The third word that I want us to look at

this weekend is the word member. The word member. The

Bible says that to be a follower of Christ means

to be a member of his family and a member

of his body. Following Jesus is far more than just believing.

It's not enough just to believe in Jesus. The Bible says,

we're not just believers. We're belongers. We are to belong

in the family of God, which is called the Church.

And once we belong, then we become so we believe,

then we belong and then we become all that God

wants for us to be in the first place. Now,

the Bible says this there on your outline, Romans, Chapter twelve,

verse five. Let's read it aloud together. In Christ, we

who are many, form one body, and each member belongs

to all the others. Now circle the word belong. The

Bible says that if you're a follower of Jesus, you

don't just belong to God. You don't just belong to Jesus.

You belong to me, and I belong to you, and

we belong to each other, and you belong to every

other believer. You're in the family. Now, You're in God's family. Now.

It's interesting that in the Bible, two of the descriptions

of the church are the church is a body and

the church is a family. The church is the body

of Christ and the church is the family of God.

And in both of those cases, membership means something. In fact,

the word English word member that we use for membership

actually comes from the Bible, and the word membership has

far more to do with life than simply like a

you know, wear a hat or secret signal, or say

the password or handshake. Membership means far more than you

just put your name on a roll. It means you're

vitally connected. The Bible says your hand is a member

of your body. If it's disconnected, it shrivels and die.

The Bible says your ears are members of your body.

They're members. If you cut off your ears, they're worthless.

They have no value at all if they're detached from

the body. If you cut off your legs, your knees,

your feet, they are members of your body. And if

you cut it off, a disconnected foot is worthless, it

has no value. It shrivels and die. You will shrivel

and die spiritually if you're not connected to the body

of Christ. And in the same way, you're a part

of a family, and the Bible says that we have

family responsibilities to each other. In fact, look at the

next verse, they're on your outline. The Bible says in

Galatians chapter six, let us do good to all people,

especially those who belong in the family of believers. Now

notice it says we're to do good to everybody. You

can't mistreat anybody, you can't hate anybody, you can't show

disrespect for anybody, not be a follower of Jesus. The

Bible says, as the follower of Jesus, I am commanded

to love everyone, to respect everyone, and to be kind

and loving to all people, regardless of who they are,

what they believe, their lifestyle, what they do to me,

I am to return love for them. So let us

do good to all people. But he says, especially those

who belong to the family a believer in us. Again,

circle the word belong. In both cases, you belong. You

belong as a member of the body of Christ, and

you belong as a member of the family of God.

Now this is a very different understanding of a church

than most people have. If you ask most people what

do you think of when you say church, they think

of a building a building, or they think of it

as an event and church is something you see on

a corner or church is something you go to to attend.

The Bible says that's not a church at all. Church

is neither an event nor a building. Church is a relationship.

It is a family. It is the family of God.

In fact, it's going to outlast your physical family. In fact,

it's going to outlast everything on earth. The Bible says,

God created the entire world because he wanted in the universe,

because he wanted a family, and that family is the

only thing that is last. One day, there isn't going

to be an IBM, a Microsoft, Eulett Packard, a Dell

computer or anything else. There an't going to be any businesses.

One day, there isn't going to be any nations. There

won't be a Russian, America, China. But there I will

be a family of God because it's going to last forever.

It's the only thing on earth that has permanent value.

God's family. Now, the Bible tells us that you cannot

be a follower of Christ unless you're a part of

being tied in to a church family. I mean, I

hear people all the times said, well, I love Jesus,

I just don't want to be a part of any church.

Then you don't really love Jesus. Let me just be

around honest. You don't love him because the body of

Christ is his church. You can't say I love Jesus

but I hate your body, or I love Jesus but

I hate your bride, or I love Jesus but I

hate your family. No, no, it's all together. It's like

trying to say I want to be I want to

play football in the NFL, but I don't want to

be a part of any particular team. Sorry, ain't gonna happen.

You can't do it. It's impossible. You cannot play in the

NFL without being a part of a specific team. It's

like saying I want to be in the United States Army,

but I want to be connected to any specific class platoon. Sorry,

it ain't going to happen. You can't do it. You

have to be tied to a specific platoon in the Army.

It's like saying I want to play the tuba but

not be a part of an orchestra. Well, good luck.

Not many people like to hear a tuba or solos.

You sound a whole lot better when you're playing with

a bunch of other people, a whole lot better. Just

as a bee needs a hive, you need a church family.

It's like an explorer needs a base camp. It's like

a sailor needs a ship. You cannot be what God

wants you to be. You cannot follow Jesus. You cannot

follow Jesus without being connected to his family. And the

Bible calls this membership. Being a member In fact, if

you say, well, I believe in Jesus, but I don't belong,

then there's a word for you. You're a spiritual orphan. You

don't have a family, you are a spiritual orphan. Now,

once a year, the Constitution of the United States requires

that the President of the United States give a report

to the nation called the State of the Union. Here

at Saddleback Church, we've had a similar tradition for thirty

years that every year, in the month that the President

gives a State of the Union message, I give what

we call a State of the Church message, in which

we take a different section of Saddleback Church, a different

part of our strategy, and I explain it to everybody

in detail. It's kind of an inside scoop. We only

do it once a year, but I want to do

that this morning, where I explain to you why we

believe in small groups and how they are designed to

help you develop your spiritual maturity. There are about ten

thousand quote megachurches in the United States. A mega church

is any church that has over two thousand people coming

on a weekly basis. There are now about ten thousand

of those. In America. There are probably five or six

churches about the size of Saddleback that run over twenty

thousand in attendance on a typical week. In the media

typically treats churches like this as saying these megachurches as

if there's some new phenomena, like there's some modern result

of marketing or something like that. Well, it just shows

a lack of knowledge of history, because Christianity has a

two thousand year history of extremely large churches, dating all

the way back to two thousand years ago. The very

first church that started in Jerusalem, the very first church,

was five times the size of Saddleback Church. Most people

don't know that. But the idea of a mega church

is not a new idea. Jerusalem was an enormous church.

And before we look at the strategy, I want you

to just see this, to notice the growth, because the

Bible is very specific about it. Now, the book that

tells us the history of the Church is called the

Book of Acts. It's the Acts of the Apostles, and

it's actually the acts of the early Church. And it

was written by Luke, the same guy who wrote Gospel

of Luke. Luke was a doctor, a physical doctor, a

medical doctor, and in the Acts he gives us a

running progress report of the growth a saddle backed church.

He tells of the Jerusalem Church, he tells, yeah, I

wish we're actually Acts chapter twenty nine. So but Ax

records the exponential growth of the church, and he gives

us very detailed progress reports. So let me just quickly

take you on a little survey here through the book

of Acts. When Jesus Christ died and then rose again,

he told his followers, I want you to wait here

in Jerusalem until I send my spirit, and that will

be the beginning of the church. And he goes back

to heaven. And the Bible tells us in Acts chapter one,

verse fifteen, that there were about one hundred and twenty believers.

You and see that there on your outline. One hundred

and twenty believers. We're meeting waiting in the upper room

for God to send his spirit before Pentecost. Then in

Acts chapter two, we have the story of the first

day of the Church. It's called the Day of Pentecost,

and it says on that day Peter preached and three

thousand people were added to the church that day, the

very first day of the church, three thousand people. It says,

we're baptized and added to the church, So they were

a megachurch on the first day. I would say, you're

not really a New Testament church till you have at

least three thousand people, because that's what they add on

the very first day of their church. Then down in

verse forty seven in Acts chapter two, as we go

through the book, it says the Lord added daily circle

daily those who were being saved. So the church is

growing on a daily basis. Now, how many days in

a year three hundred and sixty five, which means at

least three hundred and sixty five people are being added

to this church at a minimum every year at least

three hundred and sixty five people. So it's growing at

least that much. Every single day. People are being added

to the church. Now, by the time we get to

Asks chapter four, it says that in the church at Jerusalem,

Jerusalem Community Church, more and more people believe. Now it

says the number of men grew to five thousand. Now,

notice that says, men, everywhere, you've got five thousand men.

How many women and children have you got at least

ten or fifteen thousand? So by this time, by Acts

chapter four, the Jerusalem church is already at twenty thousand people.

That's about the size of Saddleback on a weekend. So

by chapter four they've already got twenty thousand people coming

to the church at Jerusalem. Then you get to Asks

chapter five and it says, more and more, excuse me,

Asks four, the number of men grew, and Acts five

more and more believed that a multitude was added. Now

there's so many people they're not even counting anymore. It

says the multitude was added. It's just an in numerous amount.

Then you get to Acts chapter five twenty eight and

the critics come to Peter and John, who are leaders

of the Jerusalem Church church, and they say, you have

filled Jerusalem with your teaching. Well, yeah, I guess so,

because this church is growing and it's exploding and everybody

is hearing the news, and this mega church is having

a mega impact on a megacity. Then in Acts chapter six,

it says the number of disciples rapidly multiplied. Notice we've

moved from addition the added daily three thousand added. Now

we're going to multiplication, and they are rapidly multiplying. This

is what's called exponential growth. The church is growing so

fast they can't even keep up with it. This is

God's will for the church. God wants his church to grow,

and God wants his church to grow fast. The number

of disciples rapidly multiplied. That's New Testament growth. In verse seven,

it says the number of believers increased rapidly again, rapid

exponential growth. Now I could take you through the whole

Book of Acts, but let me take you over to

Acts Chapter Acts twenty one is approximately twenty five years

after the church has started in Jerusalem. How many people

have they grown to in twenty five years? Saddleback's going

to be thirty years old on April fourth the Jerusalem Church.

And twenty five years later, Paul comes back to Jerusalem

and he is told noticed tens of thousands have become believers. Tens.

It literally is tens of tens of tens of thousands.

The word there in Greek is the word murias. Murias

literally means tens and tens of thousands. We get the

word myriad from it. Do you know what myriad means?

Too numerous? Account, the church was so big it couldn't

even count them all. Bible scholars believe that by this year,

the twenty fifth year, the Jerusalem Church had grown to

over one hundred thousand members. He said, well, how big

was the city of Jerusalem? Will archaeologists tell us the

Jerusalem is a city of about two hundred thousand people.

So you have a city of two hundred thousand people

and one hundred thousand members of one church. That's what

you call church growth. You know.

This Christmas, you can enjoy the beauty of God's word

with a brand new set of fifty two stunning scripture cards,

each featuring verses about the birth of Christ and adorned

with elegant Christmas artwork. These are perfect for memorizing scripture,

tucking into gifts, or placing on your holiday table. These

cards are a simple way to bring meaning to the

season and share God's love with those around you. So

whether you're starting a new tradition or looking for a

unique way to share the Gospel with friends and family, well,

these cards are a perfect fit. Today. When you give

a gift to help daily hope take the certain hope

of of Jesus to people worldwide, be sure to request

this very special collection of Christmas scripture cards. It's our

way of saying thanks for supporting daily hope.

The church at Jerusalem grew to one hundred thousand people

in about twenty five years. Where in the world did

they put all those people? I mean, you think we

got a parking problem, Think about one hundred thousand people

trying to get together for one church service every week

and then going out. Well, the Bible tells us the

strategy that they used. And it's very important for you

to know the strategy of the Jerusalem Church because it's

the exact same one we've used here at Saddleback for

thirty years. It's there on your outline. The Bible tells

us in one simple sentence the church strategy at Jerusalem,

Acts Chapter five, verse forty two. They met day after

day in the temple courts and from house to house.

And I want you to circle temple courts and circle

house to house, because these are the two different structures

of a biblical church, temple courts and house to house.

What are we talking about here, Well, you might write

this down. It's large group worship and it's small group fellowship.

Large group worship and small group fellowship. First, it says

they met in the temple courts. Now I want you

to this is maybe seem picky, but I need to

explain it to you. Circle the s on courts. Notice

it's plural. They didn't meet at the temple court. They

met at the temple courts. What does that mean? One

church meeting in many locations. Now, Notice it doesn't say

that the Jerusalem Church met in the temple. They didn't.

They did not meet in the temple. It said they

met in the temple courts, which are around the temple.

Why didn't they meet in the temple Two reasons. Number one,

it wouldn't hold everybody. The temple certainly wouldn't hold one

hundred thousand people. But number two, they were forbidden to

go into the temple. Jewish law kept people out of

the temple. In other words, people couldn't just go into

the temple. Only the priest could go into the inner court,

and nobody could go into the Holy of Holies except

the priest once a year on the day of Atonement.

So the temple wasn't like we built the day church

or auditoriums where everybody gets together sings Kumbayah. Nobody went

in the temple. They went up to the temple, and

the priest went in the temple so they didn't meet

in the temple because they weren't allowed to it, and

it wouldn't have held them anyway if they good. But

they met in the temple courts, and all around this

temple were these courtyards outside. Now I've been to Jerusalem,

and if you've ever seen Solomon's temple and the courts

and what the remains of it, it's very obvious that

the temple courts could have held maybe fifty thousand people easily.

And so if they had two services on a weekend,

they could easily have of one hundred thousand people at service.

Because in those days you didn't sit to worship, you

stood through the worship. And so they could have fifty

thousand people in temple courts. But noticed they didn't try

to all meet in the same court. Here's a giant

church meeting in many different locations. Now, why do we

believe in small groups. The reason we do it is

because Jesus told us to do it, and it's a

biblical model. When Jesus started his ministry public ministry, he

was thirty years old. The first thing Jesus did was

he was baptized as an adult. If you haven't been

baptized as your personal confession of faith. Because of your decision,

you need to be baptized. Now, Jesus was dedicated as

a baby. Did that invalidate his dedication? No, But at

thirty years of age he went down the Jordan River

and John baptized him. There's a difference between a baptism

of confirmation, which was your parents' commitment. Yeah, I mean,

you had nothing to do with it. I don't even remember.

But there's the baptism of confession, which is your decision

as an adult. And we baptize people as adults in

this church. Why because Jesus set the model, and if

he did it, we're going to do it his way.

Evidently his dedication as a baby was not enough. He

was taken to the temple at day seven and dedicated

by his parents. But when he got thirty years of age,

he said, now this is my decision. It's now my faith.

If you haven't been baptized, you need to be baptized

the way Jesus was. Then the second thing Jesus did

is he started a small group. He went out and

he gathered twelve guys and he said, you're going to

be my small group. And for the next three years

he traveled with his small group. Even Jesus needed a

small group, and he was perfect. You need one even

more than he does to make it in life. There

are four advantages of a small group. Would you write

these down? Number one? Small groups are relational. Small groups

are relational. Now why is that important? Because life is

all about learning how to love, and you can't love

unless you build relationships. You have to learn to love,

and you can't. Small groups are the laboratory for learning

relational skills. They're the laboratory for learning how to love.

You can't have a conversation with a crowd. I mean,

we can't have a conversation right now, you're just listening.

This is called sit still while I instill. It's one

way conversation. And you can't say, hey, Rick, what about

and did this mean? And what about that? But in

a small group, you can ask questions. In a small group,

you can pray specifically for each other. In a small group,

you can get support, you can share, and you can

build relationships in a way that you can't do it

in other ways. See one of the problems of our

culture today is that we live among strangers and people

aren't learning relational skills anymore. They're not very good at

relationships today. Why because we don't have porches. People don't

sit outside and talk to their neighbors. You know, one

of the worst things that created a nation of strangers

electric garage doors. Because you click the electric garage door,

get in your car, drive out, go to work. When

you come home, click the electric gage door, go on

in and close it. You don't ever have to meet

your neighbors. And my guess is you probably live on

a street that you don't know people who've lived there

for years. And one of the reasons why we're not

very good at relational skills is we don't have a

laboratory to learn them. And the evidence of that is

a divorce rate in America. People get married and because

they don't have relational skills, they don't know how to

solve their problems and have to solve the conflict and

the relationship dissolves. If Gezus said the most important thing

in life is learning how to love, and he did.

It's called the Great commandment. Love God with all your heart,

love your neighbors, yourself. Then the most important thing for

you to do is to learn relational skills, loving God,

loving other people, and you do that. You can't do

that with a crowd. Now, you don't have to know

everybody in a church for it to be your church,

but you do have to know somebody. You don't know

everybody on your row right now, that's okay, but you

do have to know somebody two, three, four, people who

when you get sick, they know you're sick. When you

get laid off, they know you're laid off, whet, when

you're in the hospital, they know you're in the hospital.

When you need a babysitter, they know you need a babysitter.

And somebody knows your needs and they help you. They

show up when you need them. You don't need one

hundred friends in life, but you do need three or

four really good ones, and small groups are a great

way to help people learn. Groups see a lot of churches,

all they have is public worship. They don't have the

house to house, and as a result, there's no way

for people to really get to know each other because

you don't get to know each other at worship. All

you get to know is the back of the head

of the person in front of you. You might like it,

or you might not. But the truth is that's not

a very deep relationship. So small groups are relational and

that's why we do it. The Bible says, life's all

about love. Number two. Small groups are flexible, and the

value of that is they're not like a worship service

and it's the same time every week. You can change

the time, you can change the location. Small groups can

meet any time, they can meet anywhere. They can be readjusted.

You know, the small group that I'm in right now,

I've been in five or six years, the one I'm

currently in right now, And a lot of times we

all can't meet on the same day. It's like, well

we can't meet our normal Tuesday. Okay, Well we get

on the email or we get through phone or text message.

Could you meet on Thursday? Some days like text or

twelve messages till everybody goes, yeah, we could all do

on that one, and we change where we're gonna meet.

We don't meet at the same house every week. We rotate.

Sometimes it's our house, sometimes at somebody else's house. We've

met at restaurants, we've met at Disneyland, we've met outside.

We even had an all nighter one time, and it's

like a you know, an overnighter, and the result is

you build relationships. Small groups are flexible, so they can

meet any time or anywhere. You don't have to meet

in church to have a small group. The Bible says this.

Jesus said in Matthew eighteen twenty for where two or

three come together in my name, that's called the small group. Folks,

where two or three come together in my name, there

am I with them. There is a presence of God

in the small group that doesn't show up in ways

in other ways. And so you just get two or

three people together and that Jesus says, I will be

with you in that moment. Flexible. Number three, small groups

are expandable. Jesus said, we must care, so we keep

reaching out. How do we do it through small groups?

They're relational, they're flexible, they're expandable. Number four, they're economical.

What I mean by that, I mean we don't have

to pay for them. There's no overhead for the church.

We believe at Saddlebacked church is not a building. It's people.

And we are far more interested in building people than

we are in building buildings. We believe that buildings are tools,

not monuments. They're just tools for ministry. You don't build

them as monuments.

You know. This Christmas, you can enjoy the beauty of

God's Word with a brand new set of fifty two

stunning scripture cards, each featuring verses about the birth of

Christ and adorned with elegant Christmas artwork. These are perfect

for memory scripture, tucking into gifts, or placing on your

holiday table. These cards are a simple way to bring

meaning to the season and share God's love with those

around you. So whether you're starting a new tradition or

looking for a unique way to share the Gospel with

friends and family, well, these cards are a perfect fit. Today.

When you give a gift to help Daily Hope take

the certain Hope of Jesus to people worldwide, be sure

to request this very special collection of Christmas scripture cards.

It's our way of saying thanks for supporting Daily Hope.