One Another: Part 1 - Encourage One Another - Pastor Andrew Damazio

Hey, this is Andrew Demazio, lead pastor of Rose Church here in Portland, Oregon.

Welcome to our podcast.

Our mission here at Rose is building big people, becoming like Jesus in community while growing in our faith.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, I pray today's message challenges you and encourages you on your walk with Jesus.

Thank you so much for listening.

Enjoy today's podcast.

Okay, we're gonna jump into the word.

We are gonna be starting a brand new series for the whole month of March.

Called One Another.

One another for the whole month of March.

Then we got Easter, April 5th, and then we'll start a new series after that.

But for the month of March, we're gonna talk around this theme.

One another.

This theme, this sentence, is not just some random phrase that I'm taking out of one verse.

It's not some random niche idea from Hebrews or from Revelation or some random thing in the Old Testament.

This phrase, one another, is used almost 45 times in the New Testament alone.

And it comes with the word before it.

Blank, one another.

Love one another, be humble one another, receive one another, challenge one another.

There's 45 different commands of what you and I are supposed to do with one another.

So this is a huge theme, especially in Pauline and Johannin and Petrine literature in the New Testament, especially those three specific letters.

Um this phrase is used over and over and over again.

What you and I are supposed to live like and do with one another.

Why?

Because you'll find out really quick, especially in the New Testament.

When you read this book, when you read the Bible, you notice that it is a communal book.

Meaning it is not I, me, and mine.

It is our, us, we, together.

Everything you read in the New Testament, it's all plural language.

Why?

Because furthermore, not just is the Bible a communal book, Christianity is a communal journey.

It is not, as Julia said beautifully last week, that this is not.

So I know you've left, as she mentioned last week, this like maybe abusive controlling environment, and then you swing to abusive autonomy.

Like I will never be told what to do again.

It is me, it is mine, it's by myself.

Just because we've left abusive controlling doesn't mean we swing to now abusive autonomy.

And what we do is we bring this autonomy mindset, this American autonomy individual mindset, and we it seeps into the church.

And now we think it's me and Jesus, it's mine, it's my journey, it is not yours, he's not yours, he's ours.

This is a communal journey.

This is we, us, our, together.

Um so much so that when you read the New Testament, this is important.

You are saved as an individual, but you are formed as a community.

So, we'll start the first part.

You're saved as an individual.

Your grandmother cannot get saved for you.

You're not gonna show up before the throne one day and be getting my grandmother went to church, so I'm good, right?

Like it is you and you alone.

It is not your spouse, it is not your mother, it is not your grandmother, it's not your children.

You choose to serve Jesus individually.

Salvation is an individual encounter.

You decide to serve Jesus.

But after that is when you get then placed into the family of God and the community is formed by God.

So, in other words, if you feel like there's a gap in your formation, it's probably because there's a gap in your community.

So if you feel the lack of formation in your life, it's probably because there's a lack of community present in your life.

It is the community that forms us with God.

So much so, I love I love this quote by Timothy Keller.

It's profound.

Friendship was never created.

There was never a time in which friendship was not.

Why?

Well, because from all eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit were knowing and loving and delighting in each other.

Friendship is at the roots of reality itself.

Adam needed a helper, a partner, a friend, and so do we.

The primordi for companionship is a feature, not a bug, of being created in the image of God.

Man, what do you say is so profound?

He said, There has never been a moment in time when friendship was not present.

Why?

Because we serve a God, Father, Son, and Spirit in community.

So, and we're made in his image.

If you were here for Essentials class, Genesis chapter one, we talked about this.

We're made in the image of God.

So, what does that mean?

If you are living in individual Christianity, you are not living in the image of the one you're created in.

Because God is a community.

He's three and one, one and three.

He, there's never been a moment in all of eternity when friendship was not present.

And we are made in this image.

Now, some of you, I know right now, or like, hey, like, dude, you're lucky I even show up to church.

You're talking about friendship, community, connect groups, pop-ups, gatherings.

Like, bro, I can only make it to one certain one Sunday a month if that.

I'm married, I have four kids, I own a business, I travel, I work in a district.

I have to go from here to Seattle and Salem and sometimes San Diego, and I work full-time, I have stuff to do, I have bills.

Like, you are lucky I even come to church sometimes as if church attendance is Christianity.

Get 'em! Like, why?

Why does that matter?

Because we live in a world that is forming you against community.

Sebastian Junger, a sociologist who studies the patterns of humans, and he's a journalist, and he writes this a person living in a modern city or suburb can, for the first time in history, go through an entire day or an entire life, mostly encountering complete strangers.

They can be surrounded by others and yet feel deeply, dangerously alone.

We can go through an entire day without encountering anyone, and many people are opting for this.

We can shop online and gather information online at the touch of a button.

In either case, unless we now prioritize connecting with people in meaningful ways, look at this.

The structure of our modern society is designed for disconnection.

And it leads us to actually believe we can live life without others.

So why are you like playing mental chess with me right now, pushing back, like, I don't need this?

Why are you saying that?

Because your society has told you you don't need that.

And you are, in some ways, Christians are more formed by the society they live in than the church they attend.

Because society is so pressing, it is so, it is so aggressive with wanting to make you American, not Christian.

Especially in this city.

It wants you to be more like Portland than like Christ.

It wants to form you in its image.

And what is one of the major images of our Western world?

Isolation, individualism.

I don't need you.

It used to be I'm hungry, come over, let's go get food.

Now it's Uber Eats.

And it's gonna cost you a hundred dollars to get that Dave's hot chicken at your front door.

But it is worth it, my friends.

Right?

It used to be get the girls, let's go shop.

Now it's Amazon, now it's online, now it's the app.

It used to be come pray with me.

Now it's fine guided prayers on YouTube.

It used to be come give me advice.

Now it's let me go listen to my favorite podcast.

It used to be I'm alone, come encourage me.

Now it's grab Netflix, some ice cream, and I'll do this by myself.

So you see how dislocated our society has become.

Our disconnected society is trying to breed more individualism in our nature.

So if we're not careful, we will be formed in that image.

And then we come into this society, and we're like, oh, this is oppressive.

Or is it just supposed to be natural?

And they're really like pushing us and get friends and connect groups and do this and do that and serve and be whoa, whoa, whoa.

I need my time, I need my space, this is me, this is too much.

No, what you're what you're confessing is you've been formed in an image.

And now you're surrendering yourself to a new king who's going to form you into a different image.

And this image is what?

One another.

Us, we, together.

It is not me, mine, I.

It is us, it is we, and we live in a society that is bred to have disconnection.

So what do we have to do?

Swim upstream.

Swim against the culture.

Fight against the culture.

So I'm like, that sounds really hard.

Yeah.

It is.

And one of the things, I said there's 45 times where the New Testament says blank one another.

I want to take four of the 45 over the month, which is the ones I really find I need to talk about in our gatherings, in our family.

The first one I'm gonna talk about today is encourage one another.

Encourage one another.

Why?

Because we live in a world of cynicism, criticism, critique, make fun of, tear down, destroy.

We live in a modern culture right now, so much so that there are people being paid lots of money to have YouTube channels to simply critique everyone else's business, everyone else's sermon, everyone else's food, everyone else's movie.

And we will go online and watch this person critique, tear down, destroy, criticize.

And we are drawn to it like moth to a flame, friends.

We live in a modern moment in time where criticism is celebrated, is pursued, is wanted.

Like we now, like we now think in Christendom, no, we don't say this, but I think we sometimes mean this, we think that keeping it real is a gift of the Spirit.

That's just what the Lord has given me.

That's just like we're like, that's my job in the church, like keep it real.

Church was really good today.

It was alright.

I'm being able to keep it real.

Man, she was really good last week.

She's okay.

Like, well, why aren't you like?

I'm just keeping it real, okay?

Like, why is it cynicism is keeping it real and encouragement is being fake?

This is what we swim in.

Now when we encourage or lift up or celebrate, it's like, bro, calm down.

Doesn't take all that.

Why?

Because we think it's a gift to keep it real.

It's a blessing to your friends to be the one that keeps it real.

So I just real quick, be devil's advocate.

No one asked you to be devil's advocate.

And also, since when does he need an advocate?

Even that sentence is hilarious.

I'm just be devil's advocate.

You're trying to advocate for the devil.

Alright.

What?

Because what why is this so easy for us?

Because we swim in it.

We live in it.

It's every work, it's every TikTok, it's every podcast, it's every news channel, it's the aura, it's the air that we all breathe.

We celebrate cynicism, we make fun of encouragement.

C.S.

Lewis said in Mere Christianity, he says, no wonder there are traitors amongst us because we make fun of honor.

He says, when society makes fun of honor, no wonder there are traitors among us.

So what does it mean for you and I to live in a church of encouragement when we're born into a world of criticism?

We have to find this other side, this thing called encouragement.

Let's go to our text.

1 Thessalonians, chapters 4 and 5.

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

We'll read two different sections from each.

1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 to 15, 13 to 18, and then chapter 5, verses 11 to 15, 10 to 15.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–15

The book of 1 Thessalonians is way to the right, if you want to turn there.

It's right after Colossians and before Timothy.

It'll be on the screen if you don't have a Bible, no worries.

Many scholars and historians believe that 1 Thessalonians is the first book written in all of the New Testament.

It's not Matthew.

That's not in the order of the written accounts.

1 Thessalonians is the first letter written in all of the New Testament.

Um, it's it's within 20 years of Jesus being gone.

Like it is right on the scene.

Jesus has just ascended and everything's falling apart.

When you read history in this moment in time that Paul is writing, Christians are being martyred, burned at the stake, eaten by lions, sawed in half.

Homes are literally being destroyed if you have a cross sign or anything about Jesus.

Your homes are being ripped from you, businesses are being shut down, the Roman Empire is trying to weed out Christianity from its midst.

Like this is a dark, dark moment in time in Christianity.

We don't have the letter, but what we know is that Timothy was with the church in Thessalonica while everything's happening.

Timothy runs away to go tell Paul this is what's going on in Thessalonica, because Paul is now most likely in Ephesus or another city, starting the gospel over there.

And they write a letter with some questions, saying we have some concerns about some stuff, and they bring Paul a letter, and Timothy's like, these are your questions, you need to respond.

In chapters 1, 2, and 3, it's about sexual holiness and money and giving and friendship in the Bible.

He addresses all this stuff.

The very end of the letters, chapter 4 and 5, it's a really short letter, you could read it in 15 minutes.

Chapters 4 and 5, as he's wrapping up his letter, it's called the fighting, the final greeting of Paul.

And this is what he says.

Chapter 4, verse 13.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, he does not say now church attendance.

Now congregants.

Now, brothers and sisters.

We, notice all the we's.

He does not say I.

We want you to know who's the we, him and Timothy.

We want you to know what will happen with the believers who have died.

So you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord.

We who are still living, when the Lord returns, will not meet will not meet him ahead of those who have died.

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet call of God.

First the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.

Then, together with them, we who are alive will remain on earth, and whoever remained on earth will be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Then we will be with the Lord forever.

So encourage each other with these words.

Jump down to chapter 5, verse 11.

Sorry, verse 10.

Christ has died for us so that, look at this, whether we are dead or alive, when he returns, we can live with him forever.

So encourage each other and build each other up.

Just as you're already doing.

Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work.

Amen.

The Bible says it, not me.

They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.

Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work and live peacefully among each other.

Dear brothers and sisters.

We urge you to warn those who are lazy or those who are idle.

Encourage those who are timid, and take tender care of those who are weak.

Be patient with everyone.

See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always do good to each other and to all people.

Can you imagine being in a house church?

We're not talking about a church of thousands of people.

50 people smashed in a home.

Timothy comes back and goes, I found Paul, he responded to you guys.

Could you imagine someone just married their spouse?

Someone just lost their business, this person just lost a child, this person just lost a sister, and there's 30 of them crammed in this home.

And they go, What did Paul say?

They talk about holy sex, you know, sexuality and holiness and all these things.

He goes, How do you what's the end of the letter?

He goes, He wants you guys to encourage each other.

What?

We're dying out here.

And this is your response.

We're losing homes, we're losing family members, and you go, hey, just encourage each other.

Profound.

That would not be my response.

But yet, led by the Spirit of God, Paul's like, okay, how do I address these people that are losing everything?

How do I oh they should encourage each other in the Lord.

Now, just real quick as we dive in, this is all introduction, but um I'm getting longer and longer, man.

Um before we dive in, I don't mean worldly encouragement.

That's called being positive.

I don't mean like, hey, I love your dress, great hair, new outfit, amazing car.

Heard you got a raise.

Congratulations.

Your makeup is great, cool shoes.

That's that's not what the Bible means by encouragement.

So let's just start here foundationally.

I do not mean, because some of you like, I can get some friends from work that aren't saved that encouraged me.

That's called positivity.

They could be positive towards you, bro.

Congrats on the raise, and heard you got the the you know the job and the pitch was accepted, and heard you got the new suite.

Like that all of course, this is not a Christian thing to have friends.

That's called being a good human, by the way.

So I'm not saying it's less than that.

We should encourage each other.

Love the new shoes, nice jacket, cool car, whatever.

Like it's not less than that, but it is biblically more than that.

But on what Paul is addressing when you and I encourage each other.

I'll say it this way it is not simply about going to concerts together and enjoying the same sporting event.

It is the deep oneness that develops as two people journey toward the same destination.

So, what am I saying?

I'm claiming today that there is an encouragement that only Christians can give you.

I'm not just saying a boss or a friend or a sister that don't serve Jesus.

I'm saying, and I'm claiming today, that there is biblically an encouragement that only comes from Christians.

And we're gonna talk about it today, and it's probably not what you think.

Here we go.

There's four things that Paul says that we should encourage within these texts that we just read.

Number one, we should encourage the distracted.

We should encourage the distracted.

Now, what we we don't have the letter, but we do have the content because Timothy says in other writings that he had outside the Bible.

Um, that the one of the major questions that these Christians were writing to Paul is these concerns.

What about all my friends that have died?

Are they gonna miss the resurrection?

What about my business?

Is that gonna be restored?

And they're they're asking Paul about all of these things that have happened.

What about the people that have died?

Are they gonna miss the resurrection?

Who's gonna be resurrected first?

Us or those who've already died?

Who goes first?

What happens?

When does he come back?

How is he coming back?

They give Paul this list of all of this stuff that they're concerned about.

And this is what's crazy.

Paul doesn't really address it all.

And the one thing that we read in chapter 4 is he says, hey, encourage each other with these words.

What are these words?

What happened the five verses previous?

What were the words?

Jesus died, he buried, he was resurrected, and he's coming back again.

That is what Christian encouragement looks like.

Because what happens is we zoom in on all the stuff happening right here.

What about American?

What about this?

What about schools?

What about the future?

What about the next president?

What about this president?

What about the laws?

What about the state?

What about the school thing?

What about this money?

Is this business going to happen?

What about and we we zoom in?

And all of this stuff happening right in front of us.

And I'm not saying those things are bad.

All I'm saying is that does not encourage us.

So what we're supposed to do when you and I gather with one another is we help each other, one another, lift our eyes, lift our attention to what?

He's coming back, you know.

This is why I had to get off social media.

Julie deleted it from my phone.

It's on her phone.

I go on it sometimes and check out what you guys are doing.

But like, it's off my phone.

I start getting real petty with these preachers in these streets, man.

Like, I'm sick.

I was writing comments, Joe's like, delete it, delete it right now.

I was like, I said what I said, I ain't taking it back.

I said it, I'm gonna type it.

If you delete it, I'll type it again.

Like I start getting in these DMs, man, because I'm sick of preachers turning pulpits into political pundit hour.

And then call it prophecy, then call it up to date, then call it all this is a news anchor.

Oh, this is me sharing what I believe about this post and that post and this thing and that TikTok and Did you see when we're showing clips about the presidential stuff?

We're showing this about the state government, we're showing this about the thing.

Wait a minute.

When we gather in this room, I'm not saying this stuff is not important.

Don't hear me.

Say what I'm not saying.

What I'm saying is when we gather in this room.

My goal is not to say look at how bad and look at how evil and look at how destructive and look at how demonic.

My goal ever since I said one day he is coming back.

One day he shall return.

One day he will come back.

This is all going to be fixed.

I know it's bad.

I know it's evil.

I know it's scary.

I know your heart is overwhelmed, my friends.

He is coming back.

That is what the Bible calls encouragement.

This is what we used to be doing at our tables and backyards and getting beers and coffees and teas or whatever you drink.

Tea is dirty water.

Stop paying for it, okay?

I'm I said what I said.

Julie drinks tea, my bad.

That was aimed at you, okay?

No more tea.

We so when we gather on meals and backyards and tables and friends, what should we be doing?

Hey man, let me encourage you.

And the encouragement is not tomorrow's gonna be better.

Encouragement's not, you're doing better than you think.

The encouragement is hold on, friend.

Come on.

Don't you give up.

He's coming back.

He shall return.

And it doesn't matter if you're asleep or awake, it doesn't matter if you're a dead or alive, it doesn't matter when and how, he is coming back, and when he does, we will be either resurrected or we will join him in the clouds, and everything will be made right.

And one day he will wipe every tear, he will lift every head, all cancer will be gone, all disease will be gone, all fear will be gone, all racism will be gone, all prejudice will be gone, all political Hey, one day believer, hold on how often do we do this with each other?

Or is it did you see?

Did you notice?

Have you noticed?

Did you see this clip yet?

And we're just peddling more anxiety with each other.

Did you see?

Did you notice?

Did you hear?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

We're believers.

We are Christians.

What should happen when we gather?

Friend, let me encourage you.

Because what we get distracted.

What good things?

I'm not saying those things are all evil in their nature.

All I'm saying is they're distractions.

And what happens?

Distractions turn into depression.

That's what happens.

We get distracted and we get zoomed in, we get overwhelmed, we get heavy, and then we're walking around just like, yeah, you know, America, you know, and like my state, my city, my friends, you know, I just I don't know where God is.

And what happens?

We start becoming like Christian eeors.

Yeah, I don't know, man.

It's just whoa, you see it, dude.

Alright, you want to go to church with me?

You wanna come?

It's gonna be fun, you know.

There's a bunch of us in this room that you know do what I do.

So you wanna like come with me to church?

And like I I thought the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience.

That's not the fruit of America.

That's not the fruit of your discipline.

That's not a fruit of that's the fruit of the spirit.

Because it happened, what we should we need to encourage each other, encourage each other.

Um we have we have three children, me and me and Julia have three children.

Our oldest is 12, or he's a boy, uh uh uh Quinn is 10.

And uh, as of late, they have wanted um new beds in their room.

And so um uh Julia you know did what we all do.

We went on Amazon and and ordered, you know, this cheap Amazon bed, you know, and it showed up in this huge box, and so I get it and I bring it in the house, and it weighs 500 pounds, and you know, and so of course my daughter is like, we're building it right now.

And I'm like, no, I we'll do it later.

It's like we're gonna build it right now.

And so if you don't, if you don't, um okay.

Uh there's a there's a there's a list of things that I do that turns Julia on.

Okay.

One of them that she wants at the top of the list is that I do handy stuff around the house.

And that ain't my skill set.

I can do mom, pull your ears, okay?

Turn it away.

I I can do Greek and Hebrew, but like IKEA.

I don't speak IKEA.

I can do Greek and Hebrew, but like IKEA, and like this stuff is demonic activity in my house.

And so and so typically what I have to do is phone a friend.

Like, hey bro, can you help me do this?

And so I've been stretching my skill set as of late.

I've hung some uh some lights, I've done some electrical work, I'm I'm I used to light.

This is real story, okay?

I can I can say like a cool phrase and great enjoy, and she's like I think I'm a light, and she's like, oh hi.

Get it?

So I'm open this stupid box of this of this bed, and now there's stuff everywhere.

All the you know, screws, like everything's everywhere.

And you know this, you get this demonic pamphlet, and it and you know, it looks like I don't know anyone else like just get overwhelmed if they're opening this?

Right?

What piece goes where?

Does this go in the front or the back?

Anyone else?

Don't judge me, okay?

Somebody like, are you a man?

Yes, I can do stuff, right?

It's like I'm like, does this piece go in front?

Where are the arrows pointing?

Is this and then if you notice it's like screw A or screw C, I grab it and size it.

It's B.

For sure B.

Right?

I can still with this stuff.

So this is what I do every time.

I go to the very last page.

I go to the very last page, and then I can go, what is it supposed to look like?

So then when I'm trying to put this piece in front to the side, I can look at the very last and go, oh, that's the final product.

And when I can see the final product, I start having what?

Hope the back in the middle.

Now, dumb illustration, what is Paul doing?

He's telling them, I know you're worried about page two, I know you're confused about page three, I know you don't know where that screw goes, I know you don't know where that thing goes.

But if you would just turn to the final page, you would be encouraged that he is coming back, he is returning, all of this will be fixed, I will be okay, whether I'm a dead or alive, he is returning.

What is he pointing them to?

Focus at the ends.

So our first job, you and I, is to encourage the distracted.

Number two is to encourage the disciple.

No, I'm not I'm not saying that what I just talked about is what happens with people that aren't disciples.

That's all I'm saying.

What I'm pointing to is this phrase in chapter 5 where he says, hey, make sure you build each other up.

Make sure you build each other up.

You know the phrase in Greek?

Build each other up.

It's a word play, it's a word picture.

And this is what it literally means.

When he says, build each other up, what he says is help contribute to someone's final completion phase.

So when I look at you, brothers and sisters, this is a Christian thing.

I see the work that God is doing in you.

The discipleship, the formation, your Christ-likeness.

And I contribute to helping to you for you to get to your final destination.

I'm helping form, I'm helping build you into Christ-likeness.

Man, look what Timothy Kelly says.

This quote, man, this was worth the whole day.

Timothy Keller says this.

This is what we should be saying to each other.

I see who God is making you and it excites me.

We don't talk like this.

We go, calm down too much, chill out, don't worship like that, don't sing like that, don't cry like that, don't serve that much.

Like no, he goes, I see what God is making you into, and it excites me.

And I want to be a part of that.

I want to partner with you and God in the journey you are taking to his throne.

Man, just imagine this picture.

And when we get there, I will look at your magnificence and say, I always knew you could be like this.

I got a glimpse of it on earth.

But look at you now.

I mean, that wasn't me, that was Timothy Keller, but it's mine now.

Think about that.

We should be encouraging each other, saying, I see what God is making you into.

And it excites me.

And I want to be a part of it.

And there will be a day when I will see you before that throne.

And I will see you in all of your magnificence.

And I will say, I knew you were this person.

I knew you could always be this way.

Oh, and I saw glimpses back on earth.

But now that you're in your full glory, now that you're you're called to always be, I knew you were this person.

Man, I see what God is doing, and it excites me.

We don't talk like this.

Our society doesn't talk like this.

We're not being formed to talk like this.

But we should be.

We should be helping it, challenging and encouraging each other in what our discipleship, our formation, are we're building each other up.

We should leave kinectroups, not just being uh you know, told, like, oh, you're good at this, you're good at that.

No, we should leave connect groups going.

I was built up.

Man, I was built up in my most holy faith.

That's what Judge says.

I was built up today during church.

I was built up during that coffee with that friend.

I was built up during that connector, man.

Something's being formed in me, something's being built in me.

Why?

Because, as I said at the beginning, we can't build ourselves.

It takes a community to build each other.

It takes me building you and her building you and us building you, and we are doing this.

We are forming each other, we build each other up.

We're supposed to encourage the disciple.

Build each other up, saying, I see what God's doing.

This is what happens, isn't it?

Man, it is hot in here.

This Mr.

Rogers tweed jacket is a lot hotter than I thought it was gonna be.

But I'm still here.

I haven't grown at all.

What is going on?

Why can I not change?

Why can't I not get better?

And then your friend goes, What are you talking about?

Do you see how far you've come?

Do you see how much has changed in you?

What do you think I'm changing?

Oh, you are nothing like the person I met two years ago.

Yeah, what you start what starts happening?

You start being built in your faith.

You start being built up.

If you see it, say it.

Bro, I remember you coming to church with me a year ago.

You wouldn't lift a hand ever.

You wouldn't worship ever.

And now you are in it, man.

I want to build you up, dude.

You are you are a worshiping man.

Man, I remember a year ago you would rarely come to church.

You would never really be on time.

You would never really come more than one Sunday one.

Bro, you were here every Sunday.

You were on time.

You're with your wife and kids now.

Man, look, build each other up.

Building what?

Our formation, the disciple.

We are seeing our lives being built into Christ's likeness.

We're called to build the disciple.

Number three.

We're called to encourage the idol.

I d-L E, not I-D-O-L.

We're supposed to destroy the idols.

But challenge the idol.

In our translation that we write of the NLT, it says challenge the lazy.

The ESV and the NIV says challenge the idol.

The idol, we could just maybe we should use the word drifter.

A Christian that's drifting.

This is, you know, if you've been on a boat, you're getting into the dock, whatever, you put it in idol.

And what happens?

You put in an idol.

You go where the river takes you.

You go where the lake is pushing you.

And this is the thing about idol.

This is the thing about drifting.

It's not a hard left turn.

Have you ever been on a boat where you thought you were a lot closer to the dock, and then five minutes later you're like, we're back in the middle of the lake.

What happened?

You weren't even aware of it.

You were drifting.

This is profound.

He says, hey, I know the what's going on, the death and the losing and the homes and the businesses.

Make sure that you challenge everyone in your community.

If you notice them drifting, crap.

Because this is the truth.

You know this and I know this.

I in the almost 20 years of full-time ministry, I have never met someone at coffee in my house, in my office, in a car, phone, anything.

Out of nowhere, our marriage became better.

I drifted into a better marriage.

Said no one ever.

No one woke up one day saying, Whoa, when did I become more like Jesus?

I drifted my way into discipleship.

It's always this.

Negatively, when did I get here?

How did I I used to be so faithful?

How am I now?

What happened?

You drifted or you went idle.

The Greek word idol is profound.

It means one who's lazy, as the NLT says, one who is stagnant, or one who will not submit to discipline.

Which is what?

Autonomy.

I will do what I want when I want.

I will float, I'll be here, I won't be there.

Sketchiness is not a fruit of the spirit, friends.

We get in this like, hey, where are you?

None of your business.

Who'd you on vacation with?

No one.

You're in Atlanta in a week by yourself?

No, well with friends.

Well, friends.

Don't worry about it.

I know you're dating someone.

Don't worry about it.

We thrive in autonomous, individualistic, um gray matter.

We we live in the shade.

We enjoy it.

There's some people that enjoy no one having tabs on their life.

They thrive and no one really knowing.

Are you with him or are you not with him?

Who's you on vacation with?

Are you guys dating or are you not dating?

You go to that church or this church?

Like, are you in or are you out?

Have you stopped that?

What about your other page?

What about your second Instagram?

I thought you deleted that thing.

What about the no, no, don't worry about it.

There's whatever.

What do what is that person doing?

Drifting.

Just slowly idling their way.

And then what happens?

We all know this.

We all have the friend that wakes up three years later down the river.

And they say stuff like, I don't know how I got here.

We're all like, we know how you got there! But we are supposed to be the community that goes and grabs the idol.

Hey, you're starting to float away.

You were at church every Sunday and now it's once a month.

It's starting to be every six weeks.

You were always at church on time, now you come in the back and leave early.

Used to come connected back for a week, haven't seen you in six months.

It's having what?

The fellowship of the saints catch you when you're drifting.

Because drifting is so subtle, we don't recognize it.

It's so subtle that we just start floating our way into deformation.

See, for some of you, the way that you float is back to sin.

You just float back to your old life because you were so familiar being that girl.

It's easy for you to go back to dysfunction because acting like Christ is hard.

And you get frustrated in your discipleship because being like Christ is really hard.

You're like, I was way better at being her.

So let me float my way back into sin.

Some of you, that's your float.

But I think for a lot of you, the float, the idol, the drift is not back to sin, it's back to the shallow.

I'm not saying you float away from Jesus.

I'm not saying you're not saved anymore.

You just float back to the shallow end.

Of not giving, not serving, not worshiping, not tithing, not reading your Bible, not praying, not evangelizing, not being on mission, just like, oh whatever.

That's a form of idol.

That's a form of drift.

That's a form of just going back to the shallow end.

That's way easier.

We're called to challenge and encourage the lazy, the idle, the drifter.

The last, which is which is profound.

We're called to encourage the weak.

The weak.

Did you see it?

In chapter five.

Dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy, those who are idle, encourage those who are timid.

Take care of those who are weak.

Encourage the dishearted.

Encourage the weak.

This is speaking to twofold.

It's speaking to those who have gotten a weak heart and those who have gotten a weak body.

The word weak in Greek is sick.

They're weak in their body.

Oh, I feel weak, but they're weak in their body.

And he says, you know what we're supposed to do with those who are weak in spirit or weak in their body?

Encourage them.

Encourage them.

Because if you are newer to Jesus, maybe this has been weeks or months for you.

Just stick around.

You'll find out here pretty quick.

Following Jesus is kind of hard.

Being faithful is kind of difficult.

And there is times when you look at the world, we look at America in the future, and everything is going on.

The world is bleeding and hemorrhaging right now.

The world is falling apart.

Every corner of the earth is in destruction.

And you can get weary.

You can get tired.

You can get ESV says you can get dishearted.

Dishearted speaks to a heavy heart.

Or says the weak, which is those who are sick.

Those who have ailments in their body.

And apparently, we are not supposed to give those two people in those two scenarios cheap encouragement.

Petty encouragement.

We're supposed to give them.

Let me encourage you for a second.

How?

He's coming back.

That's not ignoring what's in front of you.

That's reminding you what's coming.

And for a Christian, that is one of the deepest forms of encouragement is reminding those who are sick in your body, one day you're gonna get a new one.

One day.

One day you will not have MS and your body will work correctly, and you will run and you will have no pain in your body.

One day the wheelchair will not be your option.

One day you will be, one day your sight will come back and you will not be blind.

One day cancer will not be riddling your body.

One day there's there has to be actual biblical encouragement, which is not right now, today, this moment.

It is friend.

I'm telling you right now, he is coming back, he is gonna return, and it does not matter if I'm alive or I'm asleep.

It doesn't matter if I'm still above ground or below ground.

There is a day he is returning.

Encourage each other with these words.

Profound.

This is not like bedside manners.

I've been next to a lot of people in a lot of hospital beds.

I have never been like, hey, don't worry, he's coming back.

Like we found out, like Justin had cancer, I went to a hospital to see him.

If I would have walked into that room and says, hey man, I know you just found out you have cancer, he's coming back.

Chelsea would have punched me in my throat.

That's not the answers we're told to give.

That's not where my heart goes to at all.

I don't know about you.

But apparently, that is actual encouragement.

Hey, I know your heart's heavy.

He's coming soon.

I know you are weak in your body.

He's coming soon.

But while we're here, I'm gonna build you up.

I'm gonna encourage you until the day that he comes.

Tradition has it that in the year 381, when they came, when all the bishops and apostles came from all over the earth, Latin-speaking, Greek-speaking nations, they all gathered to finish the Nicene Creed.

They started it in 330, and then it was finalized and sent everywhere by 381.

Tradition has it, and there's letters about this, that when they sent the writers and sent the letters out to every bishop, come gather, and they gathered, I think it was 300 bishops from around the known world to decide what our doctrine was, to argue out the Nicene Creed.

There are documents and people would scribe, right?

Like so-and-so is here, check, so-and-so is here, check, church, check, right?

They had scribes.

This is profound.

Tradition has it that when they all showed up, the scribe would write, Bishop so-and-so showed up with one eye.

Because on his way there, it got gouged out by an anti-Jesus person.

Bishop so-and-so is there and only has one leg.

It got cut out by the Emperor so-and-so while he was serving.

And it lists out all of the bishops that showed up with marks, scars, limbs gone.

And it says when they got there, they all hugged each other.

And said, and they started going, you two?

You've lost an eye, you've lost a leg, you've lost your spouse, you've lost your children, you've lost an arm, you've lost an ear.

And they all showed up maimed.

And they all looked at each other and said, You two?

Because we need to be reminded we're not the only one actually serving Jesus and losing things in the process.

As we show up and look at each other, you lost an eye, I lost a leg.

But guess what?

We're getting both back.

We this is coming out a lot heavier than I wanted it to.

This is supposed to be encourage your friends.

This is supposed to be that's why everything's green and happy and fun, and it was supposed to be, but like, oh, what a time for us to actually biblically encourage one another.

The band can come and kick me off.

And what is encouragement?

The gospel.

Hey, hell is defeated.

The grave is empty.

Sin has lost.

Satan is under our feet.

He's a dog on a train.

His time is coming up.

There is a day where earth will pass and the heavens will become new.

And there's a day when New Jerusalem will come down, and there will be no sun, there will be no night, there will be no day, and we will gather together, and we will see not just Christians from this generation, but we will see the nations of all, we will see those who we lost, those who we've read about, those who we have heard about one day, we will all gather under one name, under one rule, under one nation, under one kingdom, we will all be together one day, and when our heart is heavy, let us encourage one another, when the world seems dark, let us encourage one another, when Twitter seems demonic and dark, let us encourage one another, when the news is overwhelming, let us encourage one another.

This is not earthly worldly encouragement.

This is He's coming back, you know.

And that should encourage our spirits.

Oh, this this too will pass.

Oh, Psalm says that weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.

The night only has so long.

That sun is coming, it will rise.

See, this is the one another.

I can't do this to myself.

It takes another believer, or as Paul says, another brother and sister to grab you and go, let me encourage you today.

I don't want our services to be impressive.

I want our community to be impressive.

So let me challenge you today.

If you've been at our church for not today, or like you know, just a few weeks, I'm talking about months, and all you do is walk in this room, hear me babble on this stage, and sing some songs, and go home.

My biblical challenge to you is you have not joined the community yet.

You have not joined the church yet.

You attend an event.

Now, this is day one.

I'm not talking to you.

Like, I've probably been here for an hour.

Like, I don't know, man.

Like, I'm not talking to you.

I'm talking about those who've been here for months, and you treat this like an exchange of an event.

You walk in, you hear me, you sing a song, that was good, you go home, and you go back to your individualistic, autonomous life, and you've not actually joined the church yet.

I attend Sundays.

That is not the church.

I mean interwoven, deep fellowship community, the one another's.

Because this doesn't just happen from some random person.

This is Christian only.

As your pastor is let us be a church that encourages one another.

Encourage one another.

Yes, give compliments.

Your hair is great, your makeup's awesome.

You know, cool.

Give compliments.

That is not encouragement.

It's more than that.

That's good.

That's good.

That's so shallow.

Just to like give these earthly, like, cool raise, dude.

Like I heard about the new car, like, nice house, heard you got the job.

Cool.

We need to go way deeper than that.

Yeah.

To actual biblical encouragement and what that means.

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