Gospelling One Another

But following a theme this evening, and it's the last in the theme of the one another's,

such an important part of biblical New Testament teaching, there's various counts about how

many there are, there are at least 27, 28, one another's, and we haven't obviously gone

and we've kind of grouped them together into a series of four.

And it's really this evening, what I want to do is I want to think about this for a

short while, and then I would love you, I know it's not the theme of our Wednesday evening

city groups, but I would love you to think more and more about this in your communities

and all of us as a church. And it's so important to recognize these one another's.

You know, as I said in the pre-time is really short. And it's easy for us to get into the

Word. It's easiest to hear it preached, to walk away untouched, to read the Bible, to

be podcasted to death, and yet to let that stuff not permeate into our heart, to the

deepest part of our hearts, so that we are being molded and remolded and changed all

the time by the gospel. So, this evening we're going to look at four aspects to this

gospeling one another, okay? That is, I don't know how best to explain it other than good

newsing one another, talking to and being with and sharing our faith in Jesus Christ

with one another. I think it's something we're not great at doing. I know I'm not great

in many ways at doing that in a casual, relaxed, conversational way with my friends and others

around me. And remember always, when we're looking at these one another's, it's a reciprocal

pronoun. So, it's what is done to us and what we do with others. It's two way. It's how

we live our lives as Christians. So, I just want, in gospeling one another, I want to

say four things. The first is that we are teachers. We read that in Romans chapter 15

Romans 15 · chapter mention

in the passage that we read together, verses 14 to 16. I myself am satisfied about you,

my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness filled with knowledge

and able to instruct one another. And so, there's this great emphasis that as believers,

we can instruct, we can teach one another. Now, we know that God has set apart some people

with specific preaching and teaching gifts and are called to serve in that way. Just

as we know, He's called some people to have specific gifts of generosity or hospitality

or giving or administration. But it doesn't mean that the rest of us don't need to do

any of these things. And the same is true with teaching. We all have a responsibility as

one another's to teach one another, to instruct one another with the goodness and knowledge

that we've received from Christ. It's an interesting verb here that is used to teach,

to instruct. And it's used exclusively in the New Testament about the Scriptures. It's

not teaching one another about sport or not teaching one another about business. It's

about Scripture, and it's used in that context in the Bible all the time, that we are to

point one another to the truth with that. Because we are full of goodness and we are

filled with knowledge, we are able to instruct one another. That's not making a presumption

there that saying that's what we can do, that we have this responsibility to point one another

in our Christian lives, our friends, our neighbors, the people in city groups, the people around

us, our husbands, our wives, our children, pointing each other to the truth of the gospel,

highlighting the promises that may apply to someone in a very difficult situation, speaking

the prayers of the gospel to one another, pointing people to the person of Christ. You're

competent so to do as a Christian. You have the knowledge and you have the goodness that

comes from the Holy Spirit who's living in you. And the challenges, they were to develop

that and to grow in that knowledge and to grow in that ability to one another. It's not

enough for us, I don't think, to simply rely on good books, good ministers or bad ministers,

or just for you to stay ignorant as a Christian. It's not enough just to say, well, I became

a Christian a few years ago, but I'm not going to bother learning and growing and maturing

in the faith. You have that responsibility to be a teacher and to receive teaching and

instruction from others, young people instructing and discipling one another, older people doing

it for younger people, younger people doing it with older people and recognizing that

responsibility. We are teachers, gospeling, good newsing one another because we need that

in our lives. I wonder if you've ever considered yourself an instructor, a teacher to others,

and would you regard others as teachers to you? I think sometimes we'd get a bit prickly,

wouldn't we? You know, why is he saying these things to me? Why is she saying these, but

it's not in that kind of... The whole basis of it is in that context of a loving, trusting,

open community of believers together who are in that relationship. So we are teachers,

but can I say also that we are singers together? Ephesians 5, 15 to 21, you're going to read

that for us at this point.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time

because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the will of

the Lord is, and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with

the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and

making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to

God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence

for Christ.

Okay, that's Ephesians 5 and it speaks about addressing one another, speaking to one another

in hymns and psalms and spiritual songs, and then in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16 and

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

17, it says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching again and admonishing

one another in all wisdom. It's kind of following, in all wisdom singing psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God, and whatever you do in word

or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the

Father through Him.

See, there's this whole sense of being soaked in the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ

and what that means for us, speaking in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God and to one

another.

Now, it's quite interesting, isn't it? Because we always think of, for example, our gathering

together and when we sing together, we think of that purely in terms of offering worship

to God and praising Him and worshiping Him. But I do believe that the corporate nature

of worship is more than just the worship vertically of God, however hugely significant

that is. It is also an opportunity to recognize the encouragement and the blessing we gospel

one another when we sing with one another.

Now, singing, singing praise to God as it's referred to in these verses is more than simply

the sung praise, but it's certainly not less than that. It's speaking just really about

the melody of our lives as well, isn't it? The way we live our lives, the theme of our

songs that are important to us in our lives, singing is such a basic human, beautiful reality.

And we, through that, we express our worship to God, but we also speak to one another and

we encourage one another and we refresh one another. And you see the difference in that

Ephesians verse between being filled with a spirit, where we refresh one another in

Sam's hymns and spiritual songs and being drunk on wine. It's such a great parallel,

isn't it? Filled with a spirit, but not drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. It's

the foundation of our lives, what's important to us and what matters to us. I really believe

in the power of sung praise in our lives. I think it's very important. It's not just

an add-on to the worship. It's a significant, important part of our offering, not only to

God, but also as we share great gospel truth in song and in Sam's with one another.

Singing is the most basic and palpable interpretation, but also that whole idea of the theme of God's

praise being the theme of our lives, as we live our lives together, that we have this

thankful praise-worthy characteristic that we share with others. And we allow the theme

of God's truth inspiring us, but also even warning us. You know, Sam's are great, aren't

they? For teaching us about the justice, the character, the holiness of God. And so we

will even admonish one another in the reality and in the truth of these songs that we know

and that we sing. But as we meet together, as we live our lives together, as we share

houses together, as we share company with one another, what is the theme of our lives

and the theme of our conversation? Is it a discordant song that we're often singing?

Is it spiritually off-tune so that we're not bringing thanksgiving and praise to God through

our lives and through our interactions with one another, but we're actually pushing people

further away? What's the lyric of your life and the lyric of mine? What is it that people

hear when they hear this song that we sing? Is it reflective of lives that are lived in

the light or in the darkness? You know, that whole concept, the whole idea of giving thanks

for everything and teaching one another God's great truth as we praise and worship as we

gather together and as we share the themes, the biblical true and significant themes of

what we sing and what we know, Gospling one another. That's the second thing. The third

thing is that as we gospel one another, I've taken, I've drawn these themes to, I'm sure

there's a lot more that we could say always, but we're definitely teaching one another

with the gospel. We're singing to one another with the gospel, but we're also spiritually,

spiritual partners together as one another in the gospel. First Thessalonians 5, 8 to

11, and I think Catherine's going to read that for us.

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith

and love for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God is not destined us for wrath, but

to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we're

awake or asleep, we might live with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another

up just as you are doing.

So that last verse, encourage one another and build one another up just as you're doing.

It's one of the great one another, isn't it? That we're called to do. We're called to

be those who build each other up in our Christian lives. You're to look for others to build

you up and you're to offer yourself as an encouragement in building another person up

spiritually. And it's such a great... That whole passage in First Thessalonians, we could

have just spent our time on that. Three times it speaks about encouragement. Now, I can't

remember, maybe you'll tell me, maybe, or those who were at the conference yesterday,

was it today that Scott talked about encouragement or was it yesterday? Okay. It was yesterday.

Yeah. He talked about encouragement and that whole significance of being, encouraging to

one another in the Christian faith. And again, what it's mentioned in Thessalonians, it's

often in the light of the second coming of Jesus. Keep on doing these things. Keep building

one another up because Jesus is coming back. So build each other up. Now, that's the...

The Holy Spirit is the one who matures and grows us and builds us up. We're to cooperate

with Him in the lives of other people in that work. We're to cooperate with God in that

work, in the lives of other people. It's too easy to be an island spiritually. It's too

easy simply to depend on your theological knowledge or your understanding of things without recognizing

that you have this reciprocal responsibility to receive building up from someone and to

give it to someone in your Christian life, a reciprocal work. We find ourselves... What

comes naturally to you? I know what comes naturally to me is knocking people down. That's

an easy thing to do. Now, when it comes to DIY and the lads here who work in the church

will know this, I'm great at knocking things down. Excellent. I'm a great destroyer of

things. It's great if you've got an old shed to get rid of. I'm your man. I'll knock it

down because that's great and it doesn't require a lot of skill. It just requires a bit of muscle.

Even then, not that much. Just knock over. Destruction. It's good. That's what DIY is

all about. But building something up, building a wall, building something constructive, building

an Ikea bed, impossible. Katrina can do that. I can't do that because that requires skill

and patience and time. But the same is true spiritually, we're to be those who build one

another up. Easy to knock people down. It's easy to deflect from our own failings by knocking

down other people destructively. But you know the world we live in, and can I just say it

to the young people especially, you know the world you live in. You know the social media

world that you and I, I don't live in it so much because I can't work it. But you know

the world you live in, it's a world of fear and insecurity and stress and bad news very

often. And people's tweets from 10, 15, 20 years ago are cast up on them so that they

are knocked down and they are rejected and they are isolated. And the Christian community

must be different from that. As we've said that here before, this is to be a safe place.

This is to be a place where we build one another up. We share meaningful truth and we recognize

the significance of the life we're living with the breastplate of faith and love belonging

to the day. Interesting, isn't it again? Let us be sober. The same attitude of being in

control of being filled with the Spirit, of being self-control with God's Spirit in our

lives. We recognize that we are to be building characters. And that's very important in terms

of the one another because I think part of the imagery of the one another is reciprocal,

it's also I think face to face. I think that reciprocity is a good thing which you can

do on tweets but it's much better face to face. Relationships are much better done face

to face because if you're annoyed or angry with someone, it's important to do two things.

One is to look at them face to face and be in their company. And the second thing is

to pray for them. Both these things, be face to face with God with them and face to face

with them and recognize that they are people and know their story and know their back story

because easy when we're out of people's company to tear down reputations, characters and personalities

in our fellowship sometimes by the way we speak about them, not to them but speak about

them and the way we can judge them without knowing their situation. Now that doesn't

mean that we're all just bland and shallow. It will mean that sometimes your friends in

the church or your people in the church that you know and love your community, you will

see that they have dodgy foundations, that there's things that are not right in their

lives, flimsy behavior and you will point that out gently and in love in order to rebuild.

Sometimes isn't it true, we need to knock something down and rebuild it and that can

be true in our lives. So that's the third thing we're spiritual partners. The last thing

I want to say is from Hebrews chapter 10 verses 23 to 25 and James is going to read that.

Hebrews 10:23–25

Let us hold fast to 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. These are all from the writings, generally

speaking from the writings of Paul and there's a similarity as he teaches these truths to

different churches. And the last thing I want to say is we're teachers, we're singers,

we're spiritual partners building one another up. And the last thing I want to say is we

are different, hopefully we'll be a little bit provocative, we are irritants. In a good

way, can I say that we're irritants? It says, let us consider how to stir up one another

to love and good works and then it goes on and say not neglecting meeting together, especially

as a day approaches or spur on one another to love and good deeds. And the word there

is just a word for provoking, stimulating, it could actually be jabbing, okay? So it's

quite an aggressive word that we're being given here about the way we treat one another

were to be good irritants of one another. You know how the oyster is formed, don't you?

It's formed, sorry, the pearl is formed in an oyster shell, it's when an irritant gets

in there, a piece of grit and the protective pearl is built around it and something beautiful

comes from it, it provokes a reaction. We've got a defibrillator at the front door, I hope

we never have to use it, but what does it do? It shocks a heart that has stopped into

action, it provokes a reaction. And I think it's right that we recognize that in our Christian

lives we should be lovingly provocative sometimes of one another, provoking, competing, maybe

that's not the right word, but pushing one another on. As you know, as you would with

a friend, the kind of thing you would do with your best friend, there's a kind of edge,

a loving edge to one another where you're spurring them on, where you say, you know,

you can do better than that. You can move forward, you need to pull out of this, not

in any kind of arrogant or judgmental way, but because you have this great relationship

of honesty and truth with one another in friendship. And that's the kind of picture here, we're

provoking one another to love and to good deeds with one another, help one another overcome

sometimes that spirit of apathy or a lack of belief in ourselves that sometimes we have

or a denial of our gifts, oh, you know, God, God, God doesn't give me any gifts, I can't

do anything. No, you do. He has given you. Serve Him with what you are and with who you

are. Provoke lovingly the people around you to serve. Don't let those closest to you in

Christ hide behind their insecurities or be content with being in the spiritual shadows

as if they've got nothing to give and nothing to offer. We're all to be those who provoke

and encourage and instruct and teach and sing and build one another up. We've all got these

gifts, we've all got these abilities in Christ. And so there's that sense of being good irritants

together. So you're looking to the Christian beside you and you're saying, don't give up,

keep on going. Don't retreat from the front line. Don't give up meeting together. Why

have you stopped coming to church or why have you stopped praying? Be that loving irritant

in the life of those that we are called to be beside and accept it from others in the

spirit of love. Isn't that the hardest thing, the reciprocal nature of living that Christian

life where someone who takes us and puts his arm on our shoulder and says, come on. We

don't recoil and we don't turn away and we don't become defensive and we don't walk.

But we see the eyes of love and we see the eyes of Christ and we hear the voice of Christ.

Sometimes you're going to have to say to someone, where else are you going to go? Jesus is

the words of eternal life. And that's what we're provoking. That's why that's the days

approaching, isn't it? I'm glad that day's approaching. Things are looking not so great

in the world in which we live. But the day is approaching. And so we encourage one another.

So in conclusion, remind ourselves, these are challenging one another's, the gospeling

of one another. That is, is the keeping of Christ central to all that we are and all

we do. And I guess the question coming from it in conclusion is, how well do we know one

another to enable us to do this? There's a level of love and trust needed, isn't there,

to live like this? I don't think it's easy for any of us to be as honest and committed

and vulnerable as these biblical one another's encourages us to be, to intentionally change

our lives so that we are reliant on others and allow others to be reliant on us in our

Christian walk. It can only come as we stand at the foot of the cross in wonder. And was

He opened our heart, our hearts to the life that He created us to know through His crucifixion

and resurrection and ascension, as we crucify our sinful natures and link arms together

on the way to the house of feasting, where joy will know no bounds and where death and

darkness are banished forever. One another, gospeling one another. I mean, let's pray.

Father God, help us to be good gospelers of one another. We have good news. We've received

good news as Christians. We are to live that good news with one another and all its aspects

and all its challenges for us, but not in our own strength, Lord, we come and cry out

to you for forgiveness when we haven't for strength in order to do this. And just for

that great perspective that helps us to see that in so doing, we're going to enjoy life

to the full. I pray particularly this evening for any who are either watching online or

who are here who don't know Jesus, who have not come to the foot of the cross and seen

a Savior who has died for them. And I pray that you would open their eyes and touch their

hearts this evening to see that. Lord, help us into this week that we've entered. Help

us to be encouraged, may we go from here built up in the most holy faith. Amen.