Connected and Protected

We have been in this series called interconnected- interconnected- We talked about connecting with God, connecting to self, connecting with others, These different ways that, we, we just in general, these things that come together in ways we don't always realize. Like my first sermon in the series was called it's all connected, because everything in your life is connected, whether you want it to or not. This isn't just something Christianity talks about. This is something that the secular world understands: that you can't genuinely compartmentalize anything in your life. If one thing's gone arry, then it impacts the things in your life that are going well.

But here's the beauty: When things are going well, from this central place where we're starting to follow Jesus and revolve everything around him, it also has an impact on everything else. So our heart be behind this series is to get you connected at a deeper level to God. And, I could do some super long intro, but I'll be really simple. Today's sermon title is called connected and protected. I want to talk to you guys about connecting to a biblical community, More specifically, a small group.

We're launching small groups today. So what did you think I was going to talk about? Yeah, of course I'm going to talk about small groups, but I'm I'm going to come from the biblical perspective about it, because why in the world would we do something? Just because we do it, because the Bible, encourages it. So we'll be in Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, talking about connected and protected.

Ecclesiastes 4 · chapter mention

To intro this, I'll just tell you the image that God gave me about three and a half weeks ago. There have been a lot of situations in my life that have been occurring, And so I've been thinking a lot about what it looks like to connect not just with God, but with people o around me. It might not surprise you to know that when God calls us, calls, calls me to preach on something, he teaches me about that something, And so, when it comes to this sermon, as I started prepping it several weeks ago, God has been revealing to me, in the form of different images and situations, how he wanted me to communicate to you, And here's something that I understand deeply, even more so over the past 3 weeks, is that God wants you to be in community. The image he gave me was that of a herd or a flock, whatever animal you might think of. You can think of cattle, you can think of sheep.

The biblical illustrations usually have to do with a flock of sheep. This is the illustration Jesus might use. So God wants you to be in a protected community, a biblical community, a flock of people that are shepherded by God. But what Satan wants for you is to be isolated from that community. I- I've seen this in the flesh fairly recently that while God wants us to connect with other people, like close-knit connections- not just hey, how you doing today- But no close-knit, tight connections where they know what you struggle with, You know what they struggle with.

You know what your goals, hopes, dreams, ambitions are. They know yours as well. God wants you in that type of tight-knit community, But Satan recognizes that you are super susceptible when you're in isolation. It is our tendency as a nation in our post-enlightenment phase. That started happening 15600s back in Europe, but it carried over to today.

We are an individualistic society But God wants us to come together in biblical community. Now we are susceptible, in whatever community we find ourselves in, to the lies of the enemy, to the attack of the enemy, But you are super susceptible when you are isolated. I, a lot of my sermons come together- at least illustrations come together- because I have a thought and I never know if this thought is indigestion, or if it's from the spirit of God and inspired I. I don't genuinely know, but God gave me this thought. I said: "This is a thought.

Don't make fun of me, I'm weird. Anyone here weird". You are, You're all weird. John Mayer says it best. He says: "There's no such thing as the real world.

It's just a lie. You got to rise above. We're all weird in some level. If you don't think you're weird, you just. You know, anyways, you're weird, We're all weird.

I'm super weird, though, And God gave me this word. He said: "What about Poland"? Seriously, like the country Anyone in here other than This is. This is my friend, Rob. He's been to Poland, He's in the, He's a former Marine, So he's been in Poland.

Anyone in here been to Poland? Yeah, Been to Poland, Love it. I've never been to Poland. I've known a couple people from Poland, And when I got this image in my head I had to do some research, And it's either because of God or because I'm 36 years old, And, as a 36-year-old male, at some point in your life you start studying World War I and World War II. I don't know why Any other men know what I'm talking about?

No, Okay, See, I told you I'm weird, But anyways, the thought came to mind. What about Poland? I wonder what happened to Poland? Now, if you don't know anything about Poland, the reason I'm talking about it is because a lot of scholars and historians would say that the beginning of the global conflict, of World War II, happened when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Now, some of you real historians out there can probably disagree with me, but I'm going to be simple today.

That's about when World War II started, And I think that's why it came to my mind And I started to do research, because I had a hypothesis. I bet Poland wasn't in a great spot when that happened, And so I did. I did my research, I started reading books. I told someone earlier today I spent three hours studying about Poland preworld war II. Sound like a good time, Straight up, It was awesome, It was great.

It's just makes for great dinner conversation [snorts]. And anyways, I started studying and the hypothesis was actually correct. So what happened is for Poland at the end of World War I-, let's just say they were in disarray and they started to become an independent state on their own. Now there were leaders that came through, There were a lot of positive things happening. They had a port city called Danzig.

Poland was in a pretty decent spot. But there was something that wasn't working as well. And when I read a specific book called The Road to War by Richard Overy, I think is his name, He wrote a few things about the state of Poland pre-invasion. He said this: on the 25th of March 1939, the armed forces were instructed by Hitler, so Nazi Germany, to prepare not just to seize Danzig, which is their port city, by force, but he was - but to prepare them to invade all of Poland. And the way that they would do that is if they could get them to be geopolitically isolated and refusing to see any sense that this would be a successful pursuit.

So in a physical, geopolitical situation, you have an enemy seeking to isolate a country, to get them to the place where they would be able to be invaded by the enemy. This is what Satan does with us, But it continues. Poland's pursuit of an independent line left her beereft of any close friends. By the end of 1938, the Western powers saw Poland as a greedy, revisionist power, illiberal, anti-semitic, pro-German. Their foreign minister was a menace, arrogant and treacherous.

The Polish ambassadors who were in London and Paris found that their hosts were cold and hostile, showing such obvious ill will that any prospect of support in the face of German power seemed remote. So Overy writes: "Poland entered the contest with Hitler's Reich almost entirely friendless Poland- these are quotes- was isolated and shunned. And so, September 1st 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, And historians would attribute that to the fact that not they had some of their stuff together. They were an independent nation who were doing a lot of things well, but they had zero allies. That's us so often in our individualistic society, For whatever reason, culture has told us that our nuclear family is all that's necessary.

They've told us that me as an individual, and what I want is what's most important. We have been indoctrinated with this mindset that being on my own in the wilderness is the best way to find God, And it's a good way. I like going into the woods sometimes and praying and looking at trees and leaves and like look at the veins in those leaves, The glory of God. I love that. I'm not talking mess about it.

I think that's good [snorts]. But this hermit, like this hermit lifestyle that says I don't need the body of believers that the Bible says I need is cultural and not biblical. And might I say, if you find yourself in a similar position to Poland, where you have limited amounts of people around you who care for you and are willing to bear burdens alongside you when the enemy comes, you will be super susceptible to the attack. And Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, gives us a very simple and quick message, And so I want to read it to you guys very quickly. Starting in verse 7, Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, the writer we believe is Solomon says this: again, I saw something meaningless under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 4 · chapter mention Ecclesiastes 4 · chapter mention

There was a man all alone. He had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, Yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. For whom am I toiling, He asked, And why am I depriving myself of enjoyment? This two is meaningless, a miserable business.

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up, But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken Again. I want to talk to you about five ways that biblical community helps you remain connected and protected. The first is enjoyment. Here's what he says in verse 8. This man that was all alone.

He asks: "For whom am I toiling And why am I depriving myself of enjoyment". This won't be surprising to you guys. It's going to be very simple because I have one main focus: to get you to sign up for a biblical community or a small group. I'm I'm telling you upfront what I'm doing, But I don't think it will be a surprise to you for me to say that being connected to biblical community is more enjoyable than being isolated. This is just true.

If you're married, you understand this because you have become completely reliant to have a good time. You've become completely reliant on your other person. Usually, right, It's like when my wife's gone. I'm like people are like: "How? You doing stag at the house, You getting a lot of work done".

I'm like, "I don't know, I'm kind of depressed". It's just more enjoyable when my- my wife's there. It's more enjoyable when I'm around other people. Year after year, I would go camping and I wouldn't bring other people with me because I had this romantic view of the wilderness, that I needed to go connect with God in the wilderness, And every single time I realized something: I like people better. It is enjoyable.

The Scripture is very clear. I can work all day, I can do all this stuff, I can pursue my own game, But for what? I'm depriving myself of enjoyment. Paul actually says in Philippians, chapter 1, when he's introducing kind of this letter to the Philippian church. He says: "You've made my joy complete by your participation in the Gospel".

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

What is he saying? He's saying that the fact that they sent him a letter while he's sitting in prison, probably depressed, makes his joy more complete. Why? Because when you're isolated, there is nothing more enjoyable than someone who's there with you in the midst of a trial. It is more enjoyable to be with other people, And some of you might be thinking: "Well, I'm just not a people person".

I hear you. I hear you. Some things are enjoyable when you're on your own. Or maybe you have had the experience over your life where you try to do things with other people and it just didn't work out the way you wanted it to. I'm telling you this: God designed you for community, So you will never, even if you go out in the wilderness and pray and read the Bible.

I love the Bible. I probably like it more than most of you guys. I read this stuff all the time. It's fun. I'm a geek about this stuff.

I love the Bible. There's- there's almost nothing more enjoyable to me than opening God's word, receiving Revelation from God and allowing it to impact the way that I operate in my life. I love God and I love the Bible. But I know this, and Paul knew this: that community adds joy to whatever has been revealed to you by God himself. He has called you to be a part of a close-knit biblical community.

What happened when the church started? When the church started, they were meeting daily, either in the temple or in people's houses. They were constantly spending time together. It was more enjoyable for them to worship God together. I'll give you a basic example.

I know I'm being to the point here. Y'all aren't used to that. For me, I beat around the bush too much. I'm being to the When you're riding in your car and singing, that's enjoyable. But when God indwells or inhabits the praises of his people in a room full of other people worshiping, oh, there's something better.

There's something better about this, It is more enjoyable. The next thing, the first one's enjoyment, right, This is a value that biblical community can give you. It also says a return. Verse 9 says: "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor". And I want to stop you before you over philosophize and get into this place where, you're thinking more about the text than it is, Solomon when he's writing Ecclesiastes.

Here is being very simple: Two are better than one because they get a return on their labor. Super simple, guys. If you try to do one task and then you had a second person to do that task with you, who finishes it quicker, One person or two people? Just say it. Just say it, It's two people.

And I know we're so resistant to the word of God sometimes that we're like "Yeah, you don't know the people I'm hanging around. I try to get my co-workers to do stuff, but I'm always having to do it by myself". Now, there might be investment necessary into the people you're spending time with in order to get the results that you want as quickly as you want them, But the Bible tells us- and I found in my life- that community, doing things together, provides a better return. I'll give you a basic example with my seven-year-old. Let's test my theory here that two are better than one.

Now, if I'm trying to do something with my seven-year-old, I could have done it quicker myself. I mean, right, Anyone you have kids, you know you could have done it quicker. If I'm trying to get something done as efficiently as possible, the Bible tells me to do it with other people. But I got the seven-year-old and that dude doesn't know how to load or unload dishes. I have to, I have to work with him on this.

Or I got to yell at my four-year-old: "Hey, go to your bedroom. We're going to clean the room. I need help, I need help". I'm like: "No, there's three things on the floor. You just got to pick them up.

I need help, I need help. Can you help me with this". I'm like, "No, you're going to pick it up, I'll go walk up there". And I pick it up and I say: "Hey, here's your toy". Right, It feels less efficient, but over time, look at your neighbor Say: "It takes time, It takes time".

Over time, that investment, though it's painstaking at first, benefits. I see this with people who figured out how to get their kids to use the bathroom. You know what I'm talking about. If you've weaned your kid off of the diaper, I couldn't do it. That's why I put him in daycare.

Some of you, you, get the value of helping them figure this stuff out. Well, how is this relevant? I'm not talking about seven-year-olds. I'm talking about people with a mentality that you radically disagree with or people that you're not familiar with, whether it's co-workers, spouse, other people in your household, extended family. It's easier to do it by myself, pastor, And I'm like it might be easier right now, but over time there is a return that comes from daily, regular investment into other people.

He says there's good return. Now, on the simplest, I mean like, simply put, if you got two people working toward the same goals, doing the same thing, it is obviously quicker. But he takes it further. Right, Because you not only you get enjoyment, not only do you get a return, but you get restoration, restoration. He says verse 10, .

He says: "If either of them falls down, one can help the other up, but pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up". Now I got to be simple, because this is what the text says. Now we can take it further, but I'm going to be simple: Anyone in here fallen before. The Bible says: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". So I'm going to see a few more hands raised.

Any of you here fallen before. We've all fallen spiritually, but some of us have fallen physically right And it- and it says pity the- my mind comes Mr, Pity the fool who pity anyone who falls down and no one is there to help him up, If you've ever fallen before. And he's talking about falling into a pit. So if you fall into a pit and there's no one there, things for you, You're stuck, You're there, There's no help. And he's talking about a physical situation.

But let's go spiritual for a moment. Many of us need help spiritually. God has designed us that, yes, his word helps us, That, yes, time with him-, in privacy- helps us. But he has built you to do you and he has built others to do them. And he said: you and others should come together as a body and worship me together.

What does that mean? It means that there are others there that are literally built from the beginning of time to help you in your time of need. But because of our individualistic society where it's okay for us to just be a part of our nuclear family, just be by myself, just do things on my own, Because we are so conditioned to do that we-, we don't have anyone around us to help us. You've heard the story, or stories I hear in the news quite regularly, where there was someone who was by themselves in a house and they fell and no one knew about it until weeks or some cases even months later, until someone strolls in and they find that that person had fallen, couldn't get up. And now that you've heard the stories, you're like man, pastor, that's bleak bro, like why you talking about this?

Because that's what the text is talking about. A person left in pit unattended, without help, will die. And you, you got a bunch of Christian lone rangers out there acting like they can work their faith on their own, but you can't. So you ain't seen me, pastor. I don't have to see you.

I know you can't because God didn't build you that way. God built you for community, Now healthy community, not unhealthy community. God built you for community And I see people all the time fall into spiritual pits of despair. Even this week I was struggling. Guys, I want to be honest with you.

I was struggling Like I- I don't want to call it depression, I, I. I read a book one time that said it's not always depression, but I used to always call it depression, So let's just call it deflation. I felt deflated this week. I don't know what it was. Maybe I looked at Instagram and I saw something good that I like, but I also didn't like it for some reason, And I kept scrolling but I felt icky And then I stopped.

And then I jumped onto TikTok and that didn't help. And then I went for a run and that helped a little bit, But then I was just still blleh. I was deflated. So what did I do? Not only did I call on God- because I do that right, I talked to the Lord.

I was doing that this morning just like God. Please help me, God, please shift my mindset. But I want to step beyond that because of what I know the Bible teaches. And so I went to those in my life and I processed with them. And I have people in my life who are willing to do what the Bible says in Galatians, chapter 6: to bear one another's burdens, And in so doing, you're honoring the law of Christ.

And so I went to my wife, and then I went to my mom, and then I went to some of my friends who are in town, And then I- then I was. I even called Carz up the other day cuz I was feeling blood. I didn't tell him anything about the blood, but I just needed someone to talk to, And I have people in my life. I've got other pastors who are across the valley that I talk to, because when I'm deflated, I recognize that though I need to go to God, and I should. One of the ways, the pathways that God has given me, is to go to others within that biblical community to help lift me up.

And they lifted me up in two ways. First off is people giving me advice that's great in some cases and bad in other cases. Like, man, you're so great, You're doing well, man, Like things are going really well, You don't have to stress out about this stuff. You know the stuff I wanted to hear. Like you're preaching so good and all that other stuff.

Right, Like those people. Now, if I'm in a bad spot, sometimes I need to be told: "Hey, you need to up your game, bro". And so then I went to my wife, and my wife gave me a different piece of advice. She says: "Matt, stop with that attitude". She's right, though.

Right Because she spent years doing the encouraging thing and she's recognized that. If she can just say: "That's not logical, Matt, where you're sitting at right now, I get why you're there, but there's something that God has placed in you that you need to work with him to bring out. So stop living in this deflated place, because you're supposed to live at a higher place. Right, And it was helpful. I got that from the people that God surrounded me with, And if you're in isolation, you don't get that, And so what you do is you're off by yourself, susceptible, super susceptible, to the lies of the enemy.

He says: "You're not good enough, You're terrible at that, You didn't get that promotion because of this". You, you know your family. Your kid is doing poorly in school and it's your fault, and you're not even going to help them get better because you got to work too hard and you're not making enough money to provide for the things that you want to do. The enemy just just lying, lying, lying, lying. And you're by yourself, And so you might even go to the word of God, but we all have enough ADHD spiritually to not look at it as long as we need to get what God wants to give us.

And so we're just over here by ourselves hearing lie after lie after lie after lie. God has put a community that you can step into to help you with those lies from the enemy and get encouragement to get a pathway forward. You have not been built to be alone, And so when you fall into that spiritual pit, if you have nobody to lift you out of it, then you're going to be stuck in it. And I know you can get help here with a spiritual download, with a sermon and with some worship. That's enjoyable.

Maybe your kids can be good. But without this closerknit community of people that you're doing life with, you're going to struggle. And I'm to the place now where I'm. I'm almost finding that when people fall into spiritual despair, rather than me even trying to help them by calling them personally, I'll go to the person that knows them better, that they're in close-knit community with, and I'll say: "Hey, I haven't seen this person in a little while. How are they doing".

Said: 'Well, I, I've been reaching out to them, and I'm, I've got coffee with them because I'm going to encourage them. Right. That is so helpful to have. We are large enough now that we've got hundreds of people coming every single week, and it's not going to be just me. So you've got to build a spiritual community of people.

So if you want a spiritual community, sign up for a life group right out there. It's going to be super easy for you to do. We got checkboxes and everything. It's going to be helpful. So, enjoyment, return, restoration.

I'll give you my final two Protection. The first one is from the elements. Protection from the elements. Here's what he says in verse 11. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone? I don't think the author is trying to tell us we need to cuddle more. I, I, I think what the author. That was funny. In the first service People laughed at it.

You all want to cuddle, I guess. No, he's not telling us that. What he's telling us is that there are elements out there. I'm not talking about spiritual principalities and authorities that are against you, that you can't see. I'm talking normal stuff.

I've been watching this show called Alone lately. Anyone seen the show Alone? Yes, It was on the History Channel, but I only watch it when it comes out on Netflix. To fall asleep? Because it's a guys who go out there and they compete against each other to stay in the wilderness for as long as they can and they film themselves and then they talk to the camera but there's nobody around them.

So it's like super boring, but for some reason it helps me fall asleep. Actually, it kind of makes sense actually. As to why it helps me fall asleep, But I've been watching the show and I've recognized as it gets colder and colder- because they put them in early fall and by the time they get picked up it's winter time- As it gets colder and colder and colder, they start to get more and more desperate for connection with others. Why? Because of what this truth says, I'm by myself.

The elements are getting to my toes and my fingers. I'm talking to this camera, but I'm lonely. The natural elements around them are are suffocating them emotionally because they need somebody else. There are elements in your life. Some of you like it could be simple, like you didn't get the promotion that you wanted.

It could be like you: you've been trying your hardest at the job, but it doesn't seem to be good enough for your employer. You might have some struggles with the kids, You might have financial difficulty. They're just normal elements in this life. Finances like grocery cost- there, It's normal. I don't want, I don't want to overspiritualize everything.

These are just normal elements. Small groups, connection through biblical community, will give you protection from those elements. I heard a story from my friend, Nolan, over at the Garden Church. He was talking about how one small group came around a person who was struggling because of, the weight of some, medical issues in his family and a lot of other things, with a business. I don't want to go too deep into it, but he was telling me about that and what happened with that group is not just financially but emotionally, relationally.

They surrounded this person and literally brought them out of that pit. It's not one of those where it's like, "Hey, we helped you emotionally a little bit". They literally change the situation he was in. And that's what happens when you get involved in biblical community and is different for each person. But, like I said, the Bible calls one, all of us, to bear one another's burdens and obey the law of Christ in that way.

And so when we come together in biblical community. There are times where you have need And I know it's hard to receive. But having that close-knit community helps you when it's difficult. And then there are times where you're called to bear the other person's burden And the Bible is very clear: It's better to give than to receive. There's a joy that comes when you get to help lift somebody out of their pit of despair.

But it doesn't just protect you emotionally or from the elements, It protects you from the enemy. Like I told you, Satan wants you to be super susceptible by being isolated. It's very difficult for Satan to attack you when you're in community. I'm not saying he won't. You're still susceptible.

Stuff still happens. He might attack the entire community and everyone in that community can be in disarray. I'm not saying Satan can't attack. I'm saying that if you are a flock, which the Bible calls us, and you're in that group, it is much harder for a wolf to start picking off people, But as soon as he can get one alone, you're in trouble. He offers- I mean groups- connection to biblical community.

Offer us protection Outside of that community. You're right for the pickings. That might be a little too southern for you guys, but you, you're susceptible to the enemy's attack. And it's so simple And I was thinking about doing it, but I'm I'm kind of low on time. But I could grab five people standing right here, tell them to hold hands and then put one person over here and ask you which one is more susceptible to attack.

It is so obvious. Yet the way we live our lives is over here with this person in isolation, And I'm not going to blame you for it. I know you've tried. Some of you are sitting here thinking like "Matt, I, I want to be in community. I've been trying.

That's why I showed up at this church. I've been trying to be in community, connecting with people who are better for me than the people I've spent a lot of time around in my past. I'm, I'm trying, but it's hard. I'm by myself, I don't know anybody. I know.

I know it's hard. It is so difficult. And even if you find the people, you're stepping in with a bunch of people you didn't know And now you're either assimilating or you're trying to help them assimilate to something that that fits you more effectively, And that's hard too. What I want to tell you is: I'm not going to lie and say it's not difficult. We want to make it easier.

Like I said, checkboxes. Come on, guys, You can do it. You can sign up for this biblical community. But it's not easy. But the difficulty though it may be hard sometimes, it's worth it.

In order to get where God wants you to be, That biblical community is necessary to protect you from the attack of the enemy. You don't want to be a Poland. You want to be in a position where you were, have plenty of allies, where you were protected. Here's the way that works. The way that works is when you step into biblical community.

There are things that are normal for each one of us. I'll see it all the time. Someone's going to get baptized. Hopefully not today. This person that gets baptized won't do this, but in the past- I always say it- Someone gets really excited.

They get baptized, It's a big moment, Everybody claps and they feel super, connected to God. But then two weeks later, they're like: "All right, I got an extra week that I can skip church. I got an extra week that I can not read my Bible because I still feel good, I'm riding off the fumes of this great time, right". And then Satan's like "Boom" And he attacks. And you think I'm just trying to like every single time that that happens for somebody and I stop seeing him at church and I stop seeing him take steps toward God.

I can, I can actually see Satan attacking, And I wonder the same thing, Man, if, if I could connect with them, or if I could connect some people with them, maybe, just maybe, God would use that biblical community to inspire and encourage them to a greater level of faithfulness. Genuinely, people being attacked by the enemy don't know which way is up, but when you got a group of people around you, they can call you up and say, "Hey, where you been? And I know you hate it when you receive that call. When I was a senior in high school, when I was a senior in high school, I had a girlfriend, And girlfriends are the best way to stop going to church. So it's a joke, it shouldn't happen.

But I stopped going to church, I started reading books, I started doubting my faith And there was this guy in my age group at church- I was a 17-year-old- And he calls me up, said, "Bro, I ain't seen you in three weeks". I said: "No, I'm good, bro, I'm, I'm doing great". He said: "M doesn't sound like it, bro. Next Sunday. I was there cuz I didn't want him to think something was up And I'm I'm sure God's like: "Good, I'm just glad you're there, because if you're there I can speak to you, But if you're in this bad spot it's really hard for you to hear me".

That biblical community got me back into church. That biblical community helped me take a next step toward God. But, but it protects you from the elements too. There are people in this community you're going to join who you've been praying for something in your life, and this person is the person God wanted to use to help get you there. Biblical community will change your life.

It's not all there is, But, but you reading your Bible out in the woods by yourself is limited because other people. God wants, God wants to use other people to help get you there. I'll close with this: , if anyone in here's ever heard of a guy named Christopher Mccandas, Anyone- I want to know who I'm talking to. One person in the back, Perfect, Okay, cool. Christopher McCandless is a guy, who had this dream of going and surviving in Alaska.

For a long time He had a, had a rough childhood, growing up, And there was a movie written or made about him, called Into the Wild. It's based on a book, Into the Wild. I didn't read the book. I like reading books but I don't read fictional books very well. So I watched the movie.

Great movie, but I watched it and it was my favorite movie for a while because it really connected with me. Like I said at the beginning of my message, I have this weird isolation, this tendency, this romantic view of the wilderness to go out. I would go camping all the time. Right, I'll never forget this. One time I was in college and I said: I'm going to make snares, I'm going to leave food at home, I'm going to bring a magnesium flint stick to start a fire as a backup, cuz I'm going to rub the two sticks together.

I'm gonna get it done. And I went out on this trip by myself and I start hiking. I go four miles in, I find a good spot and I put up a lean to. Now, if you don't know, camping a leanto is not a tent. A lean two is like a tarp that goes this direction and then you have it underneath you.

You're open, susceptible to the elements, And so I put this down and I started trying to get a fire ready and my magnesium flint stick broke And then I had to go find the two sticks and rub them together. But then I learned I'm not as good at making fires from two sticks as I thought. I even made a bow out of it, but it wasn't working for me. I was really frustrated out there by myself And then I laid down at like 6:00 pm when it was starting to get a little bit dark And I saw something looking out the cave And I was like "Oh my gosh, it's one of them weird creatures from The Descent. That's a horror movie".

I was scared to death And I'm laying there by myself, exposed to the elements, And I hear up from me to Rob right here And I shine my light. It was a copperhead snake And I'm like "Time to go". I got up, I hiked four hours out, 1:00 am in the morning and went and got eggs with my dad. That's what I did. But the reason I did it was because I was connecting with this film Into the Wild, with this view that this romantic isolation- I had this romantic idea of being isolated out in the wilderness.

But I did it that time and then I did it another time. And then I did it another time, And every single time what I found is that I am built not to be alone and susceptible. I am built to be in close community with other people. I, I am built that way. You are too, And you might think, well, I'm just not a people person.

Yes, you are. God made you Like the. The truth that we hold of the trinity says that father, son, Holy Spirit, come together somehow, by essence, in perfect close-knit community. He created man and then he created Eve so that man would not be alone. God intends you to be in close-knit community, So any lie from Satan that says you can be isolated and unsusceptible is not helpful for you.

And so I watched this movie again. I was like it didn't work the first time. And- and what happens in the movie is, he goes and he interacts with tons of different people throughout the southwest of the United States. He's hitchhiking. Then, eventually, he gets up to Alaska And when he gets there he finds a bus and he stays in this bus for about a 100 days.

But during that 100 days, spring starts to come around and a river that he had crossed in order to get to that bus was overflowing and he couldn't cross it any longer. So he begins to starve to death, And we know this from a journal that he was writing in on that bus. As he starts to starve to death, he starts looking for berries and fauna or flora that he's able to eat, And he finds one piece of flora that he eats and realizes later that it was poisonous. So he continues to starve to death, but even quicker, And then he dies in that bus. The only reason we know anything about who he is and what he says is because of a journal he left, And at the end of his journal- this is a quote from his journal- is what it says: Happiness is only real when shared.

I have found that to be true in my life, that God wants me to enjoy him and love others in the process. So if you join a tightlyknit biblical community won't be tight at first, It takes a second, But when you join this community, God will give you enjoyment. He'll give you a return. Over time He'll restore you in areas you don't even know about right now. He'll give you protection from the elements and, ultimately, protection from the enemy.

All that to say what I said at the beginning: check a box and join a small group this week because it will help you. It will be difficult because, while we're social animals, we have not developed our social skills, But that's okay. God wants you to develop into the body of believers that he's called all of us to be, the eklesia, the calledout ones, the church. That's my encouragement to each of you, Even if you are coming here from a different church to celebrate a baptism today. I want you to get connected at a deeper level to your home church.

None of this hopping, staying isolated, but saying we're at church on a Sunday, That's gathering. But God called you into a tight-knit, closely related group And there are some people who are like, "Yeah, I want to join a group, I want community. That's why I came to church, because I wanted community". I want to encourage you with this. As you grow closer to God, he will grow you closer to that community you're spending time with, whether it's through the church or whether it's a biblical community outside of the church.

So I'd encourage anyone in here you might be ready to make Jesus the center of your life, because that's what this group has to be. The one thing I didn't say or caveat this entire message with is: yeah, you're called to be in community, but biblical community is a community that Jesus desires for you, And so to be involved in a biblical community, it means we're putting Jesus at the center of that community. So I want to encourage anyone in here who has not put Jesus at the center of their life yet. You can pray a prayer right now and start putting him there. So if everybody would bow their heads and close their eyes, we're going to pray this prayer right now, out loud, together, for the benefit of those who are praying and accepting Jesus for the first time.

So repeat after me, God, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I believe he died on the cross And rose from the grave. Father, forgive me of my sin, Make me a new creation, Give me a tight-knit community, And I'll follow you for the rest of my life. It's in Jesus's name that we pray, And God's people shouted "Amen". Let's celebrate those who just trusted in Jesus.

If that was you, would you fill out that connection?