Hiding in Crowds and Lonely Places

Hey, and after you've greeted somebody and you sit down, make sure you squeeze in because we have probably 40 or 50 people standing up.

And so we'll open up room pretty soon as the kiddos leave.

So just squeeze in a little and you'll make room there.

How you guys doing?

Oh, I didn't hear that.

How you guys doing?

Okay.

Hey, my name is Tobin.

I'm one of the pastors here.

And if you're joining us today for the first time, we are finishing up a three-part series on community.

So last week you heard from Eric, who's the youth dude, our youth pastor.

Today you're going to hear from Mike, the university dude or the university pastor.

And three weeks ago you heard from me.

But we're talking about community and what does that look like as a church and the journey we're going on.

You know, we're all on a journey.

And when we started this church, we prayed about what kind of church did God want us to plant.

And we realized as we prayed about this that we felt like God was calling us to plant a church that would bless the city.

The scripture is really clear that every one of us in here is an alien if you're a follower of Christ.

This is not your home.

You're in this city.

And we're called to bless the city.

We're called to pray for the city.

We're called to seek the welfare of the city.

Now, we think Hong Kong is an amazing city.

And God has done so many things in this city.

But often when people come in as business people or new people,

But the more I've been thinking about that, even as people who've lived here for a long time,

Often our mindset is to use the city.

We're here for two or three years to make a lot of money.

We're here for 20 years to make a lot of money.

We're here for a whole life to make a lot of money.

We're here to use the city.

And when we're done using the city, we just get rid of it and we go to another city to use.

We realize as followers of Christ, that's not why Christ has us here.

He doesn't have us here to use the city, whether you're here for a little time or for a long time.

Sometimes people will come and they'll say,

I'm only here for five weeks or one year or two years.

What can I do?

And one of the thoughts we had as we started thinking about this church

Was this sign that was given to me by my students in mainland China.

And if you come to the community center, it has it everywhere.

And the sign basically says,

The first person plants a seed, and the next people benefit or enjoy the shade.

And so as a church, as we pray about why God has us here,

We believe that God has us here to plant seeds.

We believe God has you here to plant seeds.

No matter how long you're here, whether it's two weeks or five weeks or ten years,

Our heart and our desire and the thing that we want you to hear from us is

We want you to plant seeds for the future generations.

That's why we planted this church.

It's why we want to plant other churches in the future.

It's why we're starting community groups everywhere.

It's because we want to bless this city, and we feel like we do that by planting seeds

So that God can take that seed and can grow it into something amazing.

So we're a part of community groups.

And so this last two or three weeks, community groups have gone out,

And they've cleaned up Sandy Bay from some dumps that happened.

They're playing a seed.

Yesterday, community groups and some people gathered together at one of the new local schools,

And we carried stuff up six floors because they didn't have the resources to do that

Or help to do that.

We're playing a seed.

This last week, community groups are going to nursing homes.

People who are shut in, who have no one to visit them,

And loving on them, and caring for them, and singing songs, and just saying their name.

We're playing a seed.

On Thursday, in the university, there was an outreach,

And there were over 200 university students who came,

Most of them having no relationship with Jesus Christ.

Most of them from other countries.

But they came to be a part of what the Christian fellowship

And what the Watermark University students were putting on to talk about Christ.

Over 200 were playing a seed.

The youth went out this week, and they took several of their friends who are not in church,

And they're telling them and talking to them on this retreat about Christ

And what it means in their life.

We're playing a seed.

Our hope and our desire is that wherever you are, however long you're here,

That you would get into a community group within our church,

And that you would allow God to use you to plant a seed.

To bless this amazing city.

And trust the Lord to take that seed,

And to do something incredible as he redeems everything.

I'm going to pray for us.

And then we're going to release the kids,

And so hopefully a little more spaces will open up.

Father, we just thank you for this day.

We thank you that every moment we have here is a gift from you.

And no matter how long you put us here as a church,

Or as individuals,

Or as a pastor,

Or in business,

You've called us to be faithful,

To trust you,

And to plant seeds of the gospel.

To plant seeds of your son Jesus Christ.

To plant seeds of mercy and grace.

And to know that you're the one who causes things to grow.

You're the one who causes the rain to fall,

The sun to hit it,

Other community people to come in,

To talk to them.

You're the one who causes the growth.

You've just called us to be faithful,

To plant the seed.

So Lord, we pray as this church,

And as these community groups,

And as individuals,

That we would trust you.

That we would step out in faith.

And we would plant seeds through our time,

And our relationships,

And our money,

And whatever else you've put us here with gifting.

So Father,

We pray for the trees that are going to grow up in this area,

In this part of Hong Kong and beyond.

We pray that they would focus and point to one person.

Not this church,

Not the pastors,

Not the staff,

Not the people in this church.

But they would point to your son Jesus Christ.

Because that's why we're here,

And that's who we worship this morning.

So Lord,

We come before you,

And we love you.

And we pray these things in your son Jesus name.

Amen.

You are dismissed,

And follow the leaders,

And Eric as the other junior highs,

Senior highs,

You are all dismissed.

God bless you guys.

Today's scripture reading comes from Luke 19,

And John 4.

Please follow along in your bulletin.

Jesus entered Jericho,

And was passing through.

A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector,

And was wealthy.

He wanted to see who Jesus was,

But because he was short,

He could not see over the crowd.

So he ran ahead,

And climbed a sycamore fig tree,

To see him,

Since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot,

He looked up and said to him,

Zacchaeus,

Come down immediately.

I must stay at your house today.

So he came down at once,

And welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this,

And began to mutter,

He's gone to be the guest of a sinner.

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,

Look, Lord,

Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor,

And if I have cheated anybody of anything,

I will pay back four times the amount.

Jesus said to him,

Today salvation has come to this house,

Because of this man,

Too is the son of Abraham.

For the son of man came to seek,

And to save the lost.

And in John 4,

We find this.

Jesus left Judea,

And went back once more to Galilee.

Now he had to go through Samaria,

So he came to a town in Samaria called Sakaar,

Near the plot of the ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob's well was there,

And Jesus,

Tired as he was from the journey,

Sat down by the well.

It was about noon.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water,

Jesus said to her,

Will you give me a drink?

His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

The Samaritan woman said to him,

You are a Jew,

And I am a Samaritan woman.

How can you ask me for a drink?

For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

Jesus answered her,

If you knew the gift of God,

And who it is that asks you for a drink,

You would have asked him,

And he would have given you living water.

Sir,

The woman said,

You have nothing to draw water with,

And the well is deep.

Where can you get this living water?

Are you greater than our father Jacob,

Who gave us the well,

And drank from it himself,

As did his sons and his livestock?

Jesus answered,

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,

But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.

Indeed,

The water I give them will become in them a spring of water,

Welling up to eternal life.

The woman said to him,

Sir,

Give me this water,

So that I won't get thirsty,

And have to keep coming back here to draw water.

He told her,

Go call your husband and come back.

I have no husband,

She replied,

And Jesus said to her,

You are right when you say you have no husband.

The fact is,

You have had five husbands,

And the man you now have is not your husband.

What you have just said is quite true.

Sir,

The woman said,

I can see that you are a prophet.

This is the reading of God's word.

Good morning, Watermark.

So, I'm Mike.

I'm the university dude.

And I've been a part of Watermark

pretty much from the beginning,

when the church didn't meet.

Like, there was a,

there were small gatherings,

and Christina and Tobin's home,

and some of us came together,

and just started to dream about a church plant.

And,

so we had this hope

that on the western part of Hong Kong,

there would be communities growing,

and as Tobin shared,

that these communities would begin to,

to impact people in the neighborhoods,

and would just plant these seeds in the area.

So next month,

we're actually celebrating our two-year anniversary,

so hope you guys all will be there,

and it's just unbelievable to see,

like, even now that all the seeds are taken,

and people are invested,

and we have community groups

that are growing everywhere.

Just seeing God move,

and seeing how he changes lives in the process,

it's just,

just really humbling experience.

Throughout my life,

I actually lived in quite a few places.

Some may hear my accent,

I'm from Germany originally,

but I lived in the UK,

and I lived in the US for a while,

and then seven years ago,

I moved to Hong Kong,

but of all the places that I've lived in,

I think there are some things

that are pretty unique about Hong Kong,

and one thing is,

it's very transitional.

It's probably the most transitional place

that I've ever seen or experienced.

Back in my little home village

in the central German highlands in Germany,

it's not that transitional.

It's actually,

when you decide to move to the neighboring village,

people don't understand that.

Like, what do they have that we don't have?

So, it's a strange thing for them,

and then actually leaving the country?

Like, why would you ever do that?

Like, you have everything here,

and here, you see people moving every two years.

When the lease runs out,

and you just move to the next place,

it's closer to your work,

or sometimes you don't even stay

for the two years of your lease,

and then you move out and in of the city.

Probably a lot of you have that same background

of actually having had a transitional life.

And so, especially in this time of the year,

we actually see a lot of people coming

and moving into this part of Hong Kong.

We see a lot of people moving here for new jobs.

We see the university starting this week,

and people moving here that are new to Hong Kong.

And people wonder,

like, where should I get invested in community?

Like, how will my community,

how will my relationships look like?

And so, community has been a topic

that from the beginning stages of the church

has always been discussed

and been really up on the forefront

of who we are at the church.

Actually, it's one of our three core values,

and you see those around on the banners.

So, the first core value we often talk about

is gospel.

And so, what do we mean by gospel?

Some people may not be familiar with the term,

but the gospel is that amazing news

that in our relationship with God,

it's not about all the things we do

and how often we pray

and how often we, yeah,

just run to church and read the Bible

or do religious duties,

but it's really about what God has done for us.

That the gospel is that God came...

That God came to earth

and that he actually would, by grace,

get connected with us.

And that in his death and resurrection,

that's where we find a starting point

of a relationship.

The second part is mission.

So, we don't only talk about the gospel,

we talk that there's a mission,

there's a purpose for our church

to actually not just rejoice

in the truth of the gospel for ourselves,

but actually to live it out ourselves

in relationships and invite friends

and invite others into that relationship with him.

And then the third aspect is community.

So, it's our third core value.

And so, we have been on this journey,

as Tobin said,

to explore community a little bit more

over the last two weeks.

And today, we are closing the series on community,

and we will be looking at

what the Bible has to say about community

and what these two stories that we read

specifically tell us about community.

And there must be something in there

that not even 2,000 years ago,

but even still today,

it is something that connects with us.

I don't really know what you feel,

what you think about

when you hear the word community.

Like, I think everyone has some emotions

or some feelings connected with that.

When you hear that,

for some people,

community is a pretty good term.

It's pretty exciting.

Especially if you consider yourself

more extroverted.

Like, you are a people person,

you get some energy from being around people,

you just like to be around people,

you just don't like to be alone,

so community seems something very attractive.

But how about if community

is loaded with some more negative feelings?

So, community is something

you don't look forward to.

Maybe you are an introverted person,

you are not like so excited

about just being in crowds

and being around people,

maybe just draining to you.

Maybe when you think about community,

you realize,

I'm in community all day long.

I wake up,

and I have my spouse around,

or my kids,

maybe your roommate at the dorms,

and then you go to work,

and there you have your work colleagues.

And so you are around people the whole time,

then you come back home,

and then you are asked by church,

go to community group,

and be around people,

and you feel like,

wow, you know,

I've been around people the whole time,

like, I just can't take anymore.

And it's a little bit like,

people ask you,

you need to go to the dentist.

Like, it's like, okay,

it's said to be good for you,

I have some dentists here,

so they all know how the people feel about that.

So it's kind of,

you know,

it's good for you,

but it doesn't sound very pleasant.

So maybe that feeling is like,

a little bit like community.

Oh, they will ask me,

you know,

to open up,

and it will kind of hurt,

and maybe it's like an additional chore,

and I don't really know where to fit that in,

and so it becomes like life draining to you.

Or maybe community does sound good.

It's something you are longing for,

but you really fear it actually happening.

Like, being in the transparency and vulnerability

with other people

may be something that keeps you away from it.

In my own life,

I think I have been in all these places.

I can look at different places of my life,

and there were times where I wanted to be in community,

and it was scary,

where I was hiding in community.

I'm pretty much a people person.

As you may know,

I'm not afraid of talking to people,

and talking,

and listening,

and I just like being around people.

And a lot of people consider me an extrovert.

But my wife knows me a little better,

and so sometimes when I come back home,

and I've been around people all day long,

and I just can't talk anymore.

I just can't listen anymore.

We have this phrase that I use.

I say,

I'm peopled out.

And so I just crash,

and I just can't,

I just have to have my brain stop.

And just this past Thursday,

so we had this welcome party with 250 students,

and that was really exciting.

And I loved the conversations,

and then I got home,

and I just crashed,

because meeting like 30 new people,

and even like now,

I'm meeting people,

and I don't remember their names,

and you just can't take in all the information

from meeting all the people.

So I think that's a little bit

of how I've experienced community in my life.

I think there's something confusing

about what community really is.

Because I believe you can be as much alone

in a big crowd of people

as you can be alone just by yourself.

I mean,

thinking about community,

you can be surrounded by a lot of people,

but not really experience

that intimate relationship

that you would want.

Like,

you have your spouse,

maybe you have your kids,

you have all these people,

but you still feel lonely.

Working with the students at Hong Kong U,

I actually talk about it quite a bit.

loneliness is probably one of the top themes,

and if you are new to Hong Kong U,

you may wonder,

like,

how will it be for me to adjust?

But the topic of loneliness

seems to be like one of the main issues

that I hear people talk about.

So over the past year,

there's actually one of my friends

from the university,

and we have talked for about a year

about his journey and his story,

and he said it's okay for me

to share a little bit about our conversation.

So when he arrived in Hong Kong,

everything was new,

being more like an outgoing person,

he got pretty quickly connected,

made a lot of new friends,

and he built these relationships,

but pretty quickly,

they become kind of like overwhelming.

Outwardly,

things were going okay.

Outwardly,

everyone thought it's all good,

but deep inside,

things are very different.

Nobody really knew him,

nobody really knew his story,

and in his upbringing,

in his childhood,

he had some really painful memories,

some really painful experiences

that nobody knew about.

And when he,

the kid wanted to talk about it,

his family,

his friends,

they didn't really listen.

And so what he learned as a kid was,

oh,

if something is going wrong,

then I just need to pretend.

I just need a smile,

and people just want to have

a happy kid around.

And so it became a habit

to be the happy kid,

and just pretend to the people,

and not really being real.

So coming to Hong Kong U,

that increasingly became difficult.

The pressures of joining

kind of like all kind of fellowships,

like, you know,

the Hall Fellowship,

and then you have the Faculty Fellowship,

and then you have classmates,

and everyone,

like from your country background,

everyone has these like little groups,

and they all want to hang out with you.

But none of these places

really was deep.

They were all pretty shallow.

And at one point,

it was just too much,

because nobody really there

wanted to know him with his worries,

with his questions,

just the real him.

And I think that's what can happen

in community too,

that we surround ourselves

with so many people,

but nobody really knows us.

So seemingly the only option

sometimes seems to be

to step out of community

altogether,

and just go and retreat

to the lonely place,

to withdraw from the demands,

from the emptiness

found in community.

So as my friend,

I believe many of us

either hide in a crowd,

or we hide away from the crowd.

Some of us here

may have this tendency

to hide away from the crowd,

to withdraw,

but then for some of us,

it may be that stepping

into the crowd

that is our way

of dealing

with our loneliness

and hiding.

In Hong Kong,

there are some really interesting

things about the culture.

It seems to be

that it's

one of these things

that is expected from you

that you always have to do something.

You always have to be

on the move,

on the go.

So when I'm on

Chungcha Island,

this is really strange to me,

because I never really see people

walking there on their own.

Like they go there

and I thought,

oh, you know,

let's just escape from the city,

from the crowds.

But they gather

a whole crowd of people

to go there

to be around people

while they're getting away

from the city.

And if they walk on their own,

they have earplugs in

and listen to stuff

because they don't want

to walk alone.

One of the things

that I noticed as well

is it's really awkward

in Hong Kong

when you go to lunch

or dinner on your own

with anybody.

Like someone,

like you have this immediate feeling

like I want to sit down

next to them

and see whether everything

is okay in their life

because they don't hide

in this crowd.

Brennan Manning,

Brennan Manning

is one of my favorite writers

and he tells the story

of a man that comes

to a counselor

with depression.

The man shares his struggles

about being just like

burned out

and burdened with life

and overwhelmed.

And after listening

for a while,

the counselor says to him,

what I recommend you do,

go just by yourself

to a mountain cabin

for two weeks.

And the man says,

I don't really understand.

Like how should it help me

in my depression?

But the counselor says,

just come back in two weeks

and share with me

your experience.

So two weeks go by

and the man returns

and immediately starts saying,

this has not helped.

My depression got worse and worse

being up there.

I don't know what this was all about.

And so the counselor says,

so what did you do

while you were up there?

Oh, you know,

I just went up to the cabin

and first I read some Tolstoy

and then Edgar Allan Poe

and then when I was tired of reading,

I actually listened to Tchaikovsky

and Chopin

but it didn't help at all.

And so the counselor tells him,

you know,

I didn't ask you

to go to the mountain

to spend your time

with Tolstoy

and Poe

and Chopin

but just by yourself.

And the man responded,

just by myself?

I could not imagine

a worse company than that.

And I think in that story

we find ourselves sometimes

that we want to hide

from even meeting ourselves

because we know

when we slow down

and we stop

and we really look at our lives

and what's happening

in our lives,

we may be so disappointed

and we say,

that company

or that person

that we really are,

I don't really know

whether I want to spend time.

So we start

falling prey

to the idols of the city

and start working

and getting busy

with all kinds of things

and so we realize

that community

can also become

the hiding place

because we only

want to escape

from ourselves.

When we look

at the life of Jesus,

he is surrounded

by people a lot.

He's surrounded

by crowds

that follow him

and the crowd

grows and grows

and when he's not

in the bigger crowd,

he is with his group

of disciples.

So imagine a 24-7

community group

and being all together,

doing everything together

and then there's

sometimes these places

where he just goes away

and goes to these lonely places

where we just want

to look at these stories

that we heard

just in the reading before

and what we can see

about being with people

and being away from people.

So our first story

that we heard

and if you want

to follow up in Luke

and you can read

a little bit through it,

we're actually in Luke

in our sermon series

here at the church

for the past two years.

So we're walking

through the book of Luke

and we come to the end

and this is a story

that we'll actually look at

in more detail

in just a few weeks.

But today,

we want to just highlight

a few parts of this passage

that have to do

with community

just so that these

community elements

in that story.

So the story there

begins with Jesus

passing through Jericho.

So he's passing through

because he's on the way

to Jerusalem

and this is the final stop

of his journey

of three years of ministry.

And as he goes there,

the crowds actually

are following him

and the crowds surround him

in the city.

He's become kind of

like a celebrity.

The Jews are getting convinced

now that this ministry

has more dynamic

and he has shown his power

that he must be the one

that is promised long ago

in the sacred text

from hundreds of years ago

that he is the one

that will come

and he'll be the savior,

he'll be the king,

he'll defeat the Romans

and he will lead them

to freedom

and nobody wants

to miss out on that.

So the crowds are united

as a community

in their hope,

in their selfish hope

that Jesus will fulfill

their dreams

and their hopes.

But honestly,

do you think that anybody

in the crowd there

really was interested

in Jesus as a person?

Do you think anyone there

was really interested

in knowing him

and knowing his story,

knowing his struggles,

knowing his worries?

So we look at this crowd

being caught up

in their expectation

and the demands

and so here the community

puts this demand

on Christ,

on who he's supposed to be

and what he's supposed

to fulfill.

But as Zacchaeus

enters the village

and the crowds gather,

there's this one guy

that we hear about,

Zacchaeus.

He's the only one

mentioned specifically

in this story.

We don't learn about

any other person's name.

We actually only hear

about Zacchaeus.

And Zacchaeus

was not a part

of the crowd.

He actually was one

that was rejected

by the crowd.

For him,

community was probably

one of these scary things.

You can imagine

being a tax collector,

he didn't have

a good standing.

People only saw him

as the one

that took the money

from them.

So they would probably

talk behind his back.

Wherever they had a chance

within the community,

they would show him

that he's not wanted.

And the closest community

that he had said,

I wonder what that was.

Maybe there were

some other wealthy people

that experienced

the same things.

Maybe there were

some other tax collectors.

But then the tax collector,

since he's the chief

tax collector,

they all probably

were working for him.

So being up close

and personal with them

probably was not

very possible.

So I would assume

that it was more

a business relationship.

But anyways,

when Jesus comes

to the village,

he's just by himself.

So when Jesus

enters the city,

and I just imagine

that probably being like,

I don't know,

like an hour on Friday night

in Mong Kok,

like getting through the crowds,

like so many people

gathered,

and nobody really

interested in relationship,

but there's this

like huge community gathered.

And he's fighting

his way through that.

And as Jesus

walks into the city

through this crowd,

he picks the most

unlikely person.

and he invites himself

to his home.

Now,

like living in Hong Kong,

you know how unlikely

it is to get an invitation

to actually come

to a person's home,

especially with like space

pretty rare in Hong Kong.

But hospitality was

a little bit different

at that time.

It was about honor

and showing people

respect as they walked through.

It was kind of like

an unexpected thing,

but it's still

a pretty intimate place.

It's an intimate place

where the family meets,

where it's a personal space,

that Jesus invites himself into.

And the story,

in the story,

the crowd gets pretty upset.

They actually say,

why does he go

into the house,

like in this personal space,

of this bad guy

that we all want to show

that we reject him?

But Jesus enters the home

and he breaks through

all the rejection

that Zacchaeus

has experienced

within his community.

He doesn't care about it.

He breaks through the pain

and the feelings of rejection.

He breaks through

his feeling

of not being worthy

of community.

And I'm pretty sure

that the wealth

that he had

did not really change that.

In that moment,

Christ just shows him

this bit of dignity

and worth

that he has not experienced

by anyone around

for a long time.

And being treated

in that way,

it changes

Zacchaeus' life.

it's just this one

little step,

this one step

of him

stepping into

a relationship

and this encounter

becomes something

where

Zacchaeus looks

at all his possessions

and he finds them

not worth anything.

He begins to give

half of his stuff away.

He says,

and I'm using the rest

to make up for any wrong

that I've done

because in this one encounter

he has experienced

the wealth

of a relationship,

a deep,

intimate,

personal relationship,

true community.

And that's what Christ does.

That's what Christ does

in the second story.

We see Christ

in the second story

having another encounter

with an individual.

It's a woman

that he meets

at a well.

And that well,

it's,

the encounter

that happens there

is interesting as well

because it is

a Samaritan woman.

she already experiences

rejection

because she is

a Samaritan.

A Jew and a Samaritan,

they would not really

get along well

because a Samaritan,

ethnically,

they intermarried

with another race.

So,

for them to

talk with each other

was very unlikely.

But it's not just

a cultural challenge here.

She actually comes

to the well

on her own

during the day.

so it's,

it's not that she comes

with the other ladies

of the village,

that she actually comes

there and then

during the day

when it's hot,

I wonder whether

she's avoiding

meeting the others there.

In the encounter

with Jesus,

we actually learn

that she had,

has,

has had five husbands

and now she is

with another man.

So either she

had some painful

experiences

with someone dying

or getting divorced

but a very likely

possibility is

that she just simply

had five husbands

and now she is

with someone

that she's not

even married to.

Whatever her story,

the relationship

has left her

probably scarred as well,

looking for community

in some places

that ultimately

left her

unsatisfied.

And towns at that time

were pretty small.

So,

everyone knows everyone

and she,

like Zacchaeus,

experiences that,

that rejection

of being not part

of a community.

But now when Jesus

encounters her

at the well,

he breaks through

all these relationship

barriers that exist.

He breaks through

the culture barrier

for,

of her being a Samaritan.

He breaks through

the barrier

of talking to a woman

which was very uncommon.

And he finally

talks to her

as a woman

from a questionable

background.

So,

we look at Christ

here

and what he does

is he's not just

simply having a conversation

with her

but as she builds up

her defenses

and kind of,

you shouldn't approach me,

he reveals

in a remarkable way

knowledge about her life

that is to a depth

that is

just,

just,

yeah,

just,

yeah,

just a lot of knowledge.

So,

we are all experts

in hiding

like the woman.

You know,

we all have these

kinds of things.

We hide

from people

truly knowing us.

We don't really want

people to get so close.

We build up

these barriers.

Especially,

we don't want people

to know our dark side.

So,

just imagine

you meet someone

that you truly respect

and you really want

to get into relationships

so you kind of

pull out your name card

and try to show them

who you are

and then

maybe you actually

get into a conversation

with them

and in the conversation

you try to like

drop some lines

that build up

reputation.

You know,

I just did this big

like business deal

last week

was really,

really good

that that happened

and I just got

this new house

up on the peak

and,

yeah,

I actually have to

fly out for business

next week.

I go to a few

different countries

or you might just say,

oh,

I just got into

Hong Kong U.

Whatever it is

you try to do

to impress a person

and try to

get the standing

and present yourself

in a certain way

but imagine

the other person says,

you know,

it's okay.

You don't have to do this.

I know

about your

messed up finances.

I know it.

I know all your accounts.

I know about

your marriage problems

and where you are,

really.

And I know about

the trouble you have

with your kids

inside out.

I know about

the other woman you have,

the other man.

I know about

your depression

and I know

that you feel lonely

and that you are in despair.

I know all that.

I know all the things

that you are trying

to hide from me.

But honestly,

it doesn't matter to me.

I just want to meet

the real you.

I don't want to meet

the person

that you're trying to be.

So stop faking it with me.

Just come out of hiding.

You don't need to fear

that I'm putting you to shame,

that I'll embarrass you,

that I'll hurt you

or disappoint you.

And when Jesus sits down

at the well,

when he talks to Zacchaeus

in both of the stories,

that's what he does.

He sits in this intimate place

away from the crowds.

When he talks to

the Samaritan woman,

he talks to her

while the community group

is getting food

and is worried about dinner.

And he uses this intimate place

to be real.

Jesus invites

the Samaritan woman

into a safe place,

true community.

He reveals to her

his knowledge

of the most vulnerable places

in her life

and shows her

that he loves her through it

and that in him

she is safe.

So when we begin

to apply these stories

to our life,

we may have to start there.

If we want to see

what these stories mean

for us here,

today,

in our daily lives,

then we have to see

that true community

ultimately can only

start with Christ.

I mean,

in this world,

let's look around,

you'll see that

ultimately there is

no safe place

for us to go.

no person

in this world,

no community

will not at one point

leave you pretty disappointed.

I will leave you disappointed.

Tobin will leave you disappointed.

Your friends and family

will disappoint you.

Your community group

will disappoint you.

Your church

will disappoint you.

But the reason is

because we all

fall short

of living perfect relationships.

In every relationship

we seek out,

we realize

that they are broken.

Today,

I've been married

for a year

and four months

and I think

one of the biggest blessings

is that

we are not trying

to fulfill

the other person.

That we try

to be everything

for each other.

We actually have

an amazing relationship.

We both love

most of the things

about each other,

I think.

But marriage

taught me

more than anything else

that the starting point

of every relationship,

every community,

is Christ.

The starting point

of community

can only be the one,

the only one,

that's always faithful

and true.

The one who made us,

who knows us,

and who loves us,

and pursues us

all the time.

We talk a lot

about community

at Watermark.

But community

is less about

the amount of people

that you gather,

but more about

the heart behind it.

We can gather

as a church

and be a crowd.

And we can hide

in the crowd

and we can go

to community group

and we can have a meal.

We can learn something

and walk away

and not know

about each other.

But throughout history,

God has called us

into true community.

He has called us

back into community

with Him,

into that one

starting point

of community

where we know

we will not be

left disappointed.

So true community

starts and is found

in Christ.

Now I believe

if we really begin

to understand that,

if we really begin

to focus

our starting point

of relationships

on Christ,

then that's the foundation,

that unshakable foundation

about the all-loving

character of God

that ultimately

helps us

accept ourselves.

You know,

you may be like

that guy

in the story

from Brendan Manning.

You may not want

to spend a minute

of time

just by yourself

because you have

a hard time

looking at you

how you really are.

I shared with you

about my friend

from Hong Kong U

and I think that's

what God is teaching

him right now.

That Jesus sits

at the well with him

and that he really listens.

God has unlimited time,

unlimited patience,

and he wants

to hear our burdens,

our pain.

He does not get tired

of listening

like me.

And that place

of intimacy

that he offers us

is not just a place

where we reveal

who we are,

but in that place

of intimacy,

that first place

of intimacy

with him,

there's also healing.

The slow healing

that only Christ

can bring,

that God

restores our lives

and I think slowly

my friend is learning

that

and I hope we all

are learning that

step by step

and day by day.

But that's not

where community stops.

It's not just about

the community

with Christ

and how we begin

to see that community

and this understanding

of community

transform our lives,

but God calls us

into community

with one another.

And that can be

a slow process.

I said,

you just look at Christ

and you realize

that he did not

have the community

group around

and said,

oh,

woman at the well,

why don't you just

open up your heart

and let me just

reveal to everyone

what I know about you.

So maybe it's just

one person

you take that

first step with,

maybe a pastor,

maybe your closest friend

or one person

in that community group

that you have grown

closer

and grown to trust.

Or look at Zacchaeus.

When we look at him,

his life is restored

but what he does

is just astounding

that as soon as

he has this one glimpse

of true community

with Christ,

his response

immediately becomes,

I want to redeem

and reconcile

relationships all around me.

I want to make up

with anyone I can.

I want to pay back

everything that I've

taken for someone.

I want to do

what I can

to reconcile

the wrongs I have done

because I have now seen

that all my wealth

is worth less

than that one relationship

that I have just

encountered

in this one meal

with Christ.

And the Samaritan woman,

if you continue

reading the story

later on

at home,

you will see

that her response

was astounding

in the same way.

She gets up

and she runs

back to the village.

She does not care

what the people

say about her now.

She has seen

the one that has

given her

that one intimate place

that she always

looked for

in all these relationships

and now

she is truly

founded in the one

that's true

and faithful

and she tells

everyone in the village

come and see

the one person

that has told me

everything about my life.

I think this is

the community

that we are called

to as Christians.

First of all,

it's started in Christ

and Christ begins

to heal us

and then we take

what he has done

in us

to bring it to people

all around us

to redeem

and restore relationships

in our families

and our friendships

and our workplaces

and our university campuses

and providing

these places

where people

are not just stuck

in their guilt

and in their shame

and in rejection

but in the love

of Christ.

In our first message

two weeks ago

on community,

Tobin talked about

a picture in the Bible

that is the imago dei,

the image of God,

that we are all

made in the image

of God

and we had this

mirror up

and ultimately

he said that

community is,

why we do community

is also that

we are reflecting

God's image

to the world.

So if God

pursues us

so passionately,

if he wants

to love us

and he wants

to love everyone

and we are his

mirror image

to the world,

then how are we doing?

Have we found

that healing,

that starting point

of relationship

in Christ?

And do we begin

mirroring

who he is

to us

and to the world

to everyone

around us?

I want to leave

us with

just these thoughts

of where are

we with this?

Where are you

in the journey

of community?

Have you accepted

this love,

this amazing love

that the God

of the universe

pursues you?

That he wants

to sit at the well

with you?

That he wants

to know

the real you?

That he does

not look for,

oh, you know,

I've done

these holy things,

I run to church

and I go to community

and I read my Bible,

but he is looking

for that deep

relationship

of intimacy

where he meets

the real you.

And have you

allowed that reality

of his love

to transform

your heart,

to really impact

your heart?

And do you take

that to the people

around you?

Are there relationships

that you want

to reconcile

and redeem

like Zacchaeus did?

Is there a village

that you need to run

like the Samaritan woman?

Any person

that you feel like,

I've seen that person

struggle with community.

Maybe he or she

is that rejected person

that I see in my office,

in my dorms,

around me

that nobody

wants to talk to.

But Christ

looks through the crowds

and points on that person

and says to you,

you need to talk to them.

And I think this is

what Christ

leaves us with,

to pursue

these relationships,

to heal relationships,

till one day

in the kingdom

when Christ

comes back,

everything

will be restored.

That one day

when the God

of the universe

calls us

into eternity,

that we will live

these healed relationships

and their true

and deep intimacy

with each other

and with him.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Father,

we just

come before you

and

yeah,

we're just thankful

that you pursue us,

that you don't

give up on us,

that you don't

want us to stay

hidden in the crowds,

that you don't

want us to hide

in loneliness

where we are stuck

with our feelings

of despair

and hopelessness,

but that you

sit right there

in this space.

And we just

remember that

when Christ

went to the lonely

places,

he did not

go there

to escape,

but he went

to the most

infinite place

to be with the

Father

and we just

pray that

you give us

that heart

that we would

not escape

from who you

made us to be,

from the intimacy

of relationships

that you call

us into,

that you call

us into community,

that you do

your work

of healing

and restoration

in us.

Father,

we just pray

that we would

just have the

confidence

to talk

to just

one person,

to open

up,

to just

take a start

in allowing

your way

of community

to form

in this world.

Father,

we just pray

that we would

become a community

that provides

safe places,

that we would

provide a safe

place where

people could be

real

and not

try to meet

up to demands

and expectations.

Father,

we just pray

that you give

us a heart

to reach out

to the lonely

and lost,

that are stuck

in lonely places,

they're still

hiding from

who you want

them to be,

but that ultimately

we all become

your image bearers

and that we would

mirror your character

to this world.

I pray this in

Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Hey,

right now it's

10 after 12.

At 20 after,

we're going to

meet right next

door in the

theater area

for a new

membership class,

new member class.

So if you want

to become a

member of the

church,

you want to

have questions

about the

church,

want to find

out more

about the

church,

it's only

going to be

30 minutes

long.

We have

snacks,

we have

child care,

so we'd like

for you to

just come join

us and grab

some drinks out

here,

some coffee,

then at 1220

right in the

theater,

right next door,

we'll meet

and have

that for

30 minutes.

Also,

the community

group table

is out front,

so if you're

not in the

community group,

we want to

encourage you

to sign up

and get

involved in

the things

that we've

been preaching

about and

talking about

and praying

about for

the last

three weeks.

We have a

great marriage

course that's

going to be

opening up the

first week in

October.

We ran it

already in the

spring,

and the reply

and response

was so great,

we were going

to wait a year

to do it,

and then we

decided we need

to do it again,

so that's

going to start

off on October

9th,

so sign-up

sheets will be

available for

that,

so please,

husbands,

why don't you

just go to your

wives and say,

hey, let's join

this together.

Your wife will be

very surprised,

right?

Wives just go,

that's great,

honey,

I love you,

and go together

with that.

It's going to be a

great opportunity,

it's six weeks

long,

food is involved

in, as in all

things in the

church.

Food's involved,

right?

Hey, we didn't

pass the offering

plates around,

and we're trying

not to do that

because we believe

it's active faith,

that there's purple

little envelopes

everywhere with

kiosks,

and so we just

ask that as you

worship the Lord

that you would

tithe back to him

what he's asked

you to tithe back,

and that makes

all this and all

those seed

plantings possible.

Mike, thank you

for bringing God's

word for us today,

and let me pray

for us.

Father, we just

thank you for this

day.

Father, we pray for

this community.

To me, it's amazing

what you're doing

here in people's

lives, and not

just numbers, but

just people's growth

in their hearts,

and so we pray for

that, Lord, that you

would continue to

change people's