One Church (Acts 2) 2- Your Mission Has A Name

Good to see you all this morning.

I apologize for the rain this past week to make this Sunday feel very gloomy, but we are in the house of God this morning.

In his presence, we find freedom and joy.

And so I'm excited to be with you this morning.

Um thank you for worshiping with us this Memorial Day weekend.

You could have been anywhere else this weekend, but you decided to stay in Bowling Green.

And God bless you with rain.

Praise the Lord.

My name is Derek Spencer.

If we have not met, I'm the student pastor here at Real Life Church.

And uh over the next couple weeks, you will not get to see Pastor Brandon here, as our pastor is currently on sabbatical.

And so last week Pastor Chris uh taught an amazing message.

This week, hopefully, it's an amazing message.

Uh, in the next two weeks, we have an amazing guest speaker of Brandon Gillam that will be speaking as well.

And so uh while Pastor Brandon is on sabbatical, please don't go on sabbatical yourself.

Uh please keep coming back and worshiping with us because we love having you with us here at Real Life Church.

Uh, we're gonna continue in our series this morning called One Church.

If you are taking notes with you this morning, this is part two of our series that we're gonna be doing.

Uh last week, Pastor Chris talked about the word of God and the importance of the word of God and how it truly shapes our life and it's the foundation of everything that we do in life.

And so we're gonna continue on in this series this morning when it comes to the church, one church.

And I'm excited to uh speak to you all about that this morning.

Before we get into it, I got two quick announcements.

First off, uh, Student Life Church Camp is right around the corner, it is just in a couple weeks.

This is for our sixth through 12th graders.

This was our picture of last year from camp, and this year we currently have 43 students signed up for camp.

That is a lot of students.

So pray for the leaders that are going with these sixth through 12th graders.

Six through twelfth graders.

And so we're very excited about it.

Uh, the registration opportunity is still open.

So if you have a student in this age range right here, we encourage you to still sign up uh for camp.

I talked to uh so many kids, and a lot of times they're like, I'm not really sure if I want to go to camp.

Um, I don't I don't know.

And then I talk to their parents, and like, oh yeah, they're definitely going.

So if if your student is in that same boat, just sign your student up.

They don't know what's best for them.

Let's help them grow in the Lord.

And so we're super excited about this.

If you do have a student that is signed up for this next Sunday after second service, we are going to be having a parent meeting about camp.

This is gonna go over our packets, the packing list, the expectations, and what we're gonna be doing for that.

So please make sure you stay after second service next week so we can go over the parent meeting.

Secondly, today we are previewing life groups.

How many of you love being a part of life groups?

Well, if you don't, that's kind of what our message is about today.

So hopefully by the end you do.

And so um, life group previews have started up already.

Um, and here in a couple weeks, we're gonna be getting into the swing of this semester.

Um, you can find the life groups in the back wall and against the um the curtains, you can find them up front.

They're everywhere, they're in the kids' life check-in area.

Please make sure you check out these life groups this semester because summertime is so busy, and if we don't make this thing a priority, then eventually we're just like feeling all over the place.

But it's important that we get plugged into the people around us.

Uh, I am connected to a life group that happens on Tuesday nights.

It is a basketball life group, and I absolutely love playing against Andrew Todd in Life Group every single week because I enjoy beating him in basketball.

No, it's a good time.

So if you're not connected to a life group, find a community, find people that you can get connected with so you can go and make a difference with each other this semester.

So, this morning I want to ask you a question before we get into uh the message, and you can write this down if your notes if you'd like.

But what is your mission in life?

What is your mission in life?

You know, a lot of times I feel like from the moment you enter 10th grade until truly like the rest of your life, people are constantly asking this question, and it becomes a very common question.

What are you going to do with your life and what is your mission?

Is it to make a lot of money?

Is it to be a professional athlete?

Is it to be debt-free?

Is it to be successful with your career?

And so often we look in the mirror and evaluate what we are good at and not good at, and we try to figure out what we want to do as a kid as so that we can be set up for success when we're 30, 40 plus years old.

And some of us even go to college, get a degree, and most likely the thing that you went to college for, you're not even doing anymore.

Is that anybody's story in here?

I went to school to be an engineer and somehow I became a youth pastor.

Can't explain it but the will of God.

You know, and when we open up the word of God, we start to realize that there is a very clear mission for each and every one of us when we call ourselves believers.

And if you've been around here long enough, you should be very aware of that mission.

And the mission of the Bible is simple: it's go and make disciples.

Go and make disciples.

And the thing that's important here to point out is disciples are not a what, but rather a who.

Disciples are not a what, but rather a who.

And when you get saved and you read through the word, you start to experience something where you become so passionate for a mission for the disciples around you, so that you can go and make disciples rather than a specific thing that you're supposed to be doing along the way.

So instead of asking the question, what is your mission in life?

You should ask the question, who is your mission in life?

Who is your mission in life?

And I feel like it confuses us so often in this world that we live in because unfortunately, people expect us to do a specific thing rather than seeing a specific person.

Who is your mission in life?

Is it the college student who's struggling to get by?

The single mom who's just trying to make it one more day, the young boy with no father figure in their life, the co-worker that is struggling just to get out of bed, the retired neighbor that just needs cared for, the kids you're trying to raise, the person you see every day on your way to work, the teacher who teaches your kids throughout the year.

See, when you follow the mission of the Bible, it's not about what you are doing, but rather who you are seeing.

And far too often we get so caught up in what we are doing rather than who we are seeing and the people that God has placed in front of us in our everyday life.

See, I believe that your purpose in life, church, is to know God and to make him known.

Your purpose in life is to know God and make him known.

It's not to go get a specific career, it's not a it's not specifically to go achieve a specific thing, but your very specific purpose in life is to know God and make him known.

And your calling and your mission in life is wherever God places you and whoever is in front of you or next to you.

Can I tell you that the person next to you right now is your mission in life?

You can go and slap them on the leg, nut, give them a little nudge.

And if my wife was up here with me, she would hit me so hard and say, Yes, you are my mission in life.

The person next to you is your mission in life.

The person across the room is your mission in life.

The people in next service are your mission in life.

If you have kids, the kids in the kids' life area are your mission in life.

Your coworkers, your mission in life.

Every person you encounter, God has placed in your life as a mission.

Your purpose and calling was never about you, church, but other people around you.

Your purpose and calling was never about you, but the people around you.

So, what can God do through you for others?

This morning we are talking about community, and I believe that you are going to find your community through your mission.

What's your mission in life?

Rather, who is your mission in life?

And once you see the who that's around you, it'll easily clarify what your mission is in your everyday life.

Everyone, I believe, in my personal opinion, wants to be a part of some type of community.

Everyone wants to be loved, everyone wants to be seen, and everyone wants to be known.

And in a godly community, I believe that you can receive that and also give that as well.

Community is mission-minded.

When you are doing things intentionally, working out, eating healthy, enjoying certain sports, kids are doing activities, you naturally find people who are doing similar things.

The person that goes to the gym at 4 a.m.

does not find someone who doesn't enjoy working out.

They find someone who enjoys working out that early.

And when you're mission-minded for Christ, when you're pursuing making disciples, can I tell you, you find a community that's also doing the same thing?

When you are pursuing God and going to make disciples, you naturally find people that are doing the same mission.

And unfortunately, I think when we talk about joining a life group, I've been in church my entire life.

Since I was a kid, as long as I can remember, I've been in church my entire life.

And unfortunately, when talking about joining a life group or being a part of a community, I think we know we should be a part of one, but man, it can be a lot of work.

Right?

We're busy, we're afraid to open up, or simply it's just not a priority in our life.

Can I tell you that's something that I find very similar when it comes to being a part of godly community?

That's flossing.

Does anybody like to floss around here?

We got one person who likes to floss in here.

We don't have any dental hygienists in here, do we?

Praise God.

Just kidding.

I feel like going to the dentist is like an exam I'm going to fail every single time.

Every time I go to the dentist, I make sure I floss and brush my teeth right before they give me a cleaning for my teeth.

I want to pass the exam.

Is anybody else do that or am I by myself here?

And I feel like a godly community is similar to flossing.

We know we should be doing this and we know we should be a part of one, but sometimes it feels like a hassle.

It seems unnecessary, it seems tedious until you have decay built up and you realize you have a big problem.

You haven't been doing the things that you were supposed to be doing.

You didn't do the things necessary to have a community.

So when hard times come, you don't know who to turn to.

You start blaming people around you.

You blame the church for not looking out for you.

And ultimately blame God when in all reality you didn't do the necessary things to stop the decay.

So this morning, I want to talk to you about the importance of godly community and flossing.

Just kidding.

That's my only point about flossing.

In Acts chapter 2, Pastor Chris talked on this last week.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

This is kind of our theme scripture we're doing.

In Acts chapter 2, verse 42, it says, All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Lord's Supper, and to prayer.

Acts 2:42

When I read something like this, this sounds like an amazing opportunity that people are getting together to learn, that they're coming together from all different types of backgrounds.

They're eating together.

I don't know about you, but I love to have food with people because some people are really good cooks, and sometimes it just breaks the ice on what even to talk about.

Man, this food's so good.

Yeah, I agree.

And this is kind of how I would love to be a part of a community as well.

But you have to ask the question how do you become a part of a community like this?

How can we get on this mission with other believers in Jesus?

And thankfully, the Bible is so relatable that there was someone actually there actually asked the same question.

See, after Peter spoke a message about Jesus and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he stepped up and gave an amazing message of salvation.

And this is what happened.

You ready for this?

It says in Acts chapter 2, verse 37, Peter's words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to other apostles, brothers, what should we do?

Acts 2:37

Thank you for telling us the message of salvation, but I want to take that next step and I need to know what do I do?

And I believe there's people around us when we tell the message of salvation are actually asking that question as well.

And we need to be prepared on what it means to truly be a part of the godly community that God has for each and every ever each and every one of us.

What should we do to be a part of this?

And to be a part of a godly community, I believe it starts with repentance.

It starts inwardly.

And I'm sorry because a couple weeks ago I also preached a message about repentance, but you know, we're here for it.

It's a pretty common thing in the Bible, you know.

It starts with repentance, it starts inwardly, not looking around us to the people around us and asking all the questions about everybody else, but looking inwardly and saying, God, how can I be more like you and less like myself truly?

In Acts chapter 37, after this man asked, What should we do?

Peter replied simply by saying, Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God.

I believe that true repentance does not end with words of confession.

It must lead to changed attitude and a correct, corrected behavior.

If we are going to be people of God in a godly community, chasing after the mission of making disciples, then we must repent of our actions and fully surrender our desires and motives to God.

When we turn to God, the heart posture gets our eyes off ourselves and fully on God.

And when God starts to call on us to do certain things, we're no longer looking at our own desires and our own needs, but we start looking at what God's desire is for our everyday life.

God, whatever you call us to, and to whoever you want us to speak to, that we would be mission and community-minded to make a difference in the people around us in our everyday life.

And that we would think of Jesus more than ourselves and more than other people.

That's why I believe in the scriptures in John chapter 3 it says he must increase so I may increase, decrease.

John 3 · chapter mention

Less of me and more of Jesus in my everyday life.

Forgive us for our motives, for always trying to look out for our own needs rather than the people around us.

Forgive us for constantly thinking other people need to step up in the community rather than ourselves.

What a privilege it is to be a part of a godly community and the gift that repentance brings into the mission.

That we would no longer wait for others to be in charge, but we would take a look in the mirror and be the change that we want to see in the world.

Now, there was a popular artist, you may or may not have heard of him a couple years ago named Michael Jackson.

There's a movie that's out of him right now, and I'm pretty sure he wrote a song about this as well.

And I think it goes like this I'm starting with the man in the mirror.

I'm asking him to change his ways, and no message could it be any clearer.

If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.

We got to take a look in the mirror and say, who do we want to see in our society?

And if we want to see the change, then we gotta start with ourselves.

And this is exactly what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?

How can you think of saying to your friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye when you can't get past the log in your own eye?

Hypocrites.

First get rid of the log in your own eye, then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.

Church, we must stop looking at everyone else's sin and repent of our own.

Can I tell you?

You and I are both aware that there's a lot of sin in our world.

But there is also sin inside of us that we must repent of.

Romans chapter 3 says, For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

Yet God in his grace freely makes us right in his sight.

The very first thing we got to do to make a difference in the godly community is that we got to repent.

We have to look inwardly.

God, that I would get my eyes off of everything else around me, all the people around me, and say, you know what?

I want to surrender my heart to you, God.

If you call me here, I'll do it.

If you call me to talk to this person, I'll do it.

God, I repent of my selfish motives so I can be more like you and less like me.

If we want to make a difference in the godly community and be mission-minded with and for the people around us, then we must repent.

It's a simple phrase, right?

But it's an everyday battle that we would pick up our cross daily and be more like Him and say, God, remove all the sin that's in my life.

Number two, Godly community doesn't just start inwardly, it starts outwardly with effort.

You gotta put in some effort.

You gotta put in some effort.

In godly community, it's not just repenting inwardly, but then once God cleans you from the inside, it should naturally go to the outside.

The rest of the scripture continues that Peter was replying when he the man asked, What should we do?

Peter replied, Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

How many of you love baptism around here?

How many?

We got a couple people.

How many love baptism around here?

That's better.

We're waking up now.

We're getting there, church.

See, I believe that disciples were to baptize people because baptism unites believers with Jesus Christ in their death to sin and resurrection to life.

Baptism symbolizes submission to Jesus as Lord, a willingness to live God's way and to identify with God's people.

That I'm gonna go public and say, you know what, my life's been changed from the inside out, and I got to share it with the world.

But here's the thing, church, if you've been baptized before, you may have realized this quickly after you get baptized and you have a sincere heart surrender to God, God is going to continue to work on you, on those things that are hidden and pain points that are inside because he wants to heal you from the inside out.

This is called sanctification.

When we are in godly community and mission-minded for and with the people around us, can I tell you, church, we need to be fully surrendered to a holy lifestyle that we do not create on our own.

We don't create the standard, the word of God does.

And we learned about that last week with Pastor Chris's message.

We don't create the standard, the word of God does.

We don't lead the way, the Holy Spirit does.

Wherever the wind blows of the Holy Spirit, we will follow and be in submission.

And when we take control of the lead, it leads to disobedience.

Are you noticing a pattern with the Bible, church?

If you've been reading the Bible long enough, you realize that all throughout the Bible, men and women fall into selfish motives when God is trying to do something through them and for the people around them.

Church, we are our worst enemy.

We are our own biggest problem.

And can I tell you, if self is the problem, self can't be the solution.

We need someone outside of ourself and his name is Jesus.

If we're the problem, you can't be the solution.

You gotta change something in your everyday life.

You need someone outside of yourself, and his name is Jesus.

And when we come to Jesus, it seems like we think we have to clean ourselves up on the outside first.

Working with students, that seems to be the common thing a lot.

And I think talking with adults, it's also the same thing.

And when we come to godly, when we come to God boldly, just as we are, He will clean us from the inside out.

Aren't you thankful for that?

That you don't have to clean up your life.

We see it, but guess what?

God wants to clean it from the inside out.

So we're gonna we're gonna be in a community with you while we work through that with you.

Amen.

2 Peter 1 3 says, by his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.

He's given us everything we need for a godly life.

We have received all of this.

How?

This is the important part.

By coming to know God.

How have we received the divine power?

By coming to know God.

You know what this scripture means to me, church?

It means that you don't need a new life to live godly right now.

You don't need a new family to live godly right now.

You don't need to move to a different city to live godly right now.

You don't need a different job.

You simply need to know God.

Because once you start to know who God is, you really start to understand your identity and your mission in life.

Once you know God, you then realize the person that God has made you to be.

It starts inward and reflects outward.

So here's the hard part.

There's the question I think all of us have, though.

How do we treat people inside of our community that still mess up?

I think the biggest reason, in my personal opinion, people don't want to be a part of a godly community these days is because I think most people, unfortunately, have been burnt by a godly community.

You go to church, you join a life group, you become vulnerable with people, and then people begin to gossip.

You go to church, you open up about a struggle with a pastor, and suddenly you're kicked out of a church.

See, I do believe godly communities should have a holy and godly standard to strive for and very clear expectations.

But as leaders and Christians inside of the godly community, we should always make it a goal to do it in a godly way, which is godly communities do not give up on each other when we mess up or stumble.

Aren't you thankful for that?

Isn't it unfortunate that we don't see that very often in our world?

I believe that's one of our hopes and desires here at Real Life Church.

That when we mess up, any of us, that you would realize that we're not gonna give up on you at all.

And why should we be like this?

Because godly communities are mission-minded for people around them.

Is that not God's heart for you?

Is that not what we saw in the story of Jonah?

When Jonah ran to the exact opposite city and he still showed mercy and he didn't give up on Jonah.

And I believe today, church, if you're in here today and you've been a part of a godly community and you've messed up and you've been kicked out or you've been shamed or in any type of way, I believe here is a place of grace, and we want to see you right where you are, be clean from the inside out, so you can make a difference in the godly community as well.

God wants to restore everything inside of you, and I believe it starts inwardly and then it goes outwardly.

Matthew chapter 7, it says, Do to others, do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

Church, do you want to stone?

Want to be stoned when you're caught in sin?

I hope not.

And if not, then why are you hurting your own people?

Do you want to be looked down upon when you mess up?

If not, then why do we do that instead of lifting people up?

George, aren't you glad?

Maybe not all of you, but some of you, but aren't you glad you didn't have social media when you were a kid?

I was on like that borderline of Snapchat and stuff, and I'm like, man, those are dangerous for me.

These kids, man, they can get themselves in trouble just by posting stuff.

What if everything you did was recorded and posted online?

And it was still on the internet to this day.

May we look at people around us with the same lens as Christ looks at us and put in effort to lift people up rather than tear them down.

And if you want to be making a difference in a godly community and be mission-minded with and for the people around you, then church, you must put in the effort.

We gotta put in the effort.

We gotta repent of our sin inwardly, and then we gotta put in the effort of whatever God has for us next.

We're gonna try again.

You know those people that you thought hurt you along the way, maybe God's wanting to heal you through different people.

And I hope and I pray that you see this with this godly community here at Real Life Church.

Number three, godly community start with responsibility.

It doesn't just go inward, but then it goes outward and then it goes to others.

This is the process.

Inward, outward, others.

You have a responsibility, church.

After this man asked, what should we do?

Peter gave a very clear answer.

Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin.

Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Whoo, buddy.

Given the Pentecostal up here, the scripture about the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I mean, we were having a shout down this morning during practice.

We really did, guys.

The Holy Spirit is a free gift given to us when coming to salvation that produces fruit and spiritual gifts inside of us so that you can give it to the people around you.

The fruit is not for you to keep.

Wow, God, thank you so much for giving me the fruit of love.

I can just really love myself now.

Gee, I'm just so thankful I have so much joy for me.

It's not for you, it's for the people around you.

The gifts and the fruit of the Spirit are supposed to be produced in you so they can be used through you for other people.

What good is a gift?

What good is a free gift from God if we don't give it to others?

Have you ever thought the gifts God has given you weren't just for you?

God has placed gifts in each and every one of you in this room right now.

And have you ever thought they weren't just for you but for other people?

Where do your gifts overlap with the community and the world's needs?

Because can I tell you you are needed in the community that you're in?

And most likely, if you are following the leading of the Holy Spirit, God has placed you exactly where you are with the gifts and abilities because someone around you needs to be blessed with your God-given gifts.

Far too often we hold back our gifts, though, because it's not our preference.

Well, I don't like the style of music, so why would I be a part of that?

I don't like the way the pastor preaches, so I'm not really interested.

I don't like how the kids' rooms are even set up for kids' life.

I just I'm not interested.

I don't like the food that they serve, and if you feel that way, you're crazy.

I don't really like the way that they take photos and post it on social media.

Church, use your gifts.

God has given you to be the change in the world.

That's why God's given you gifts, not so you can sit there and have it to yourself, but that you can be the change you want to see in the world.

Most of the time, the people of part of something see the problem as well.

And guess what?

They're trying to make a difference.

If you want to be a difference, God's already put the gifts inside of you.

You just have to put in the effort and see the responsibility that you actually have.

Because if you don't see it as responsibility, it's actually disobedience.

Because God wants to use you right where you are to make a difference in the world around you.

Romans chapter 2, or I'm sorry, Romans chapter 12 says, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.

Romans 2 · chapter mention Romans 12 · chapter mention

So if God has given you ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

If your gift is serving others, serve them well.

If you're a teacher, teach well.

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.

If it's giving, give generously.

If God has given you leadership abilities, take the responsibility seriously.

And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

When you are a part of a godly community church, you have a role in making a difference for the mission because your gift is different than others.

Not better, not worse.

It's different.

You know why?

Because you are needed for this mission to reach people around you.

You are needed.

And the gift God has placed inside of you and how you see the world, you are needed.

I love how Francis Chan says it.

He says, the church is a living, breathing community of broken people centered on Jesus.

Aren't you thankful that this is the community we're in?

It's living, it's breathing, it's alive, and it's centered on Jesus.

Church, we're just a bunch of broken pieces in the hands of greatness.

A bunch of broken pieces in the hands of greatness, and God wants to use each and every one of our pain points, all of our problems, all of our struggles along the way so that God can make a difference in you.

He takes into consideration all of our shortcomings we have had and still empowers us for the mission that God has for you.

His mission is so much better than any mission we could ever accomplish on our own.

Anything that you ever strived for, anything that you ever wanted in life, can I tell you that mission is not better than the mission of the gospel?

Godly community is active and engaged with the world around them.

So if you want to make a difference in the godly community and be mission-minded with and for the people around you, then you must embrace the responsibility.

Church, you, I, all of us have a responsibility to use the gifts inside of us to make a difference to the people around you.

Don't you want to make a difference?

I don't think anybody wakes up in the morning and they're like, eh, I just don't want to do anything important today.

I think all of us want to do something important.

And can I tell you, this right here is the most important thing that you'll ever do because you'll realize the person that God has made you the entire time.

Instead of trying to strive to achieve something and become someone, you can go to God and He'll clean you up from the inside out, and you'll realize the responsibility you have because you'll realize your true identity is founded Him, not in anything that you get or don't get.

God sees you and He wants you to be a part.

Can I tell you, church, life group is such an easy opportunity for that?

You're gonna meet people in your group that probably you won't really like.

Because people are people.

And can I tell you though, God has placed them in your life so that they can make a difference in yours and you can make a difference in them as well.

Serving here is such an easy opportunity.

Can I tell you, you probably won't like every little thing about every place that you try to serve at?

But that's the point.

Because God's put a gift inside of you so that you can make a difference and go with the mission of making disciples.

A godly community has room for your gift, whether you realize it's even a gift or not.

There's some so there's so creative people that I know that sometimes they look at the gifts that they have and they don't even think that it can be used for the gospel of Jesus, and they just don't realize the responsibility that they have and the way that they see the world.

So the question that I have for you, church, this morning is who will go if you don't?

Who will go if you don't?

Who will start the life group if you don't?

Who will go to life group if you don't?

Church, if you sign up for a life group, just go.

Who will preach the gospel to your coworkers if you don't?

Who will start the business if you don't?

Who will serve the local church if you don't?

Who will go if you don't?

You know, I'm in my uh I'm in my Pixar and Disney era with my three kids, and uh this is kind of my closing point.

Um you know, side thought actually.

Uh isn't it crazy how like streaming services just make you flip through movies so much nowadays?

Like when I was a kid, I felt like I just watched one movie, and now I'm just watching hundreds of kids' movies.

Anyways, um, we're watching this movie.

We watched this movie called Finding Nemo.

How many big fans around here finding Nemo?

Yes, finding Nemo is great.

I love finding Nemo, and if you don't know the story, I'm sorry I'm about to spoil it for you.

Um but Nemo is lost, he gets captured and taken by these fishermen, and Marlon is on a mission to go find his son.

Marlon's his the the dad fish in this story.

And eventually, along the journey, they ended up meeting together again, and they found themselves heading back to home.

And when they were heading home, they came across this net that was full of fish.

And all of a sudden, inside of this net, they were swimming in all sorts of different directions.

Okay, and Nemo realized something.

He's like, Dad, they gotta swim down, they gotta work together.

And Nemo just swims in, and Marlon's like, no, son, you can't do it, it's too dangerous.

He's like, No, people gotta realize they gotta swim down.

So Nemo and Dory go into this net and they find themselves at the top of this net, and they're telling everybody, you gotta tell everybody, swim down, swim down.

Marlon starts chanting to everybody, guys, swim down, swim down.

And unfortunately, Nemo and Dory are at the very top of this net now, and the net begins to get out of the water a little bit.

And at the very top of the water, I'm sure they were panicking because, man, they got us.

But what happened was in the net was the people at the bottom of the net started to realize their responsibility for the people on the top, and they started to work together and they started switch, they literally started chanting in the movie.

Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming.

And what happened was the fish that were at the top that were started to get above the water got pulled down back into the water, and they realized what was happening with the community around them.

They realized that they were working together to get out of the mess that we're in.

Is that not the story of a good community?

And unfortunately, I think we're kind of like at the very beginning of that scene where a lot of us believers are starting to swim in all different types of ways, trying to accomplish all different types of things.

But what would happen if we all realize if we just swim down, then this mess that we're in right now, it can break us free and it can change the world around us.

That's my hope for a godly community.

And I hope that you have the same thing that you would realize that your mission is not a what, but it's a who.

And the people that are next to you, across from you, beside you, the people that you work with are your mission in life.

So, church, keep swimming, please.

Not for your own sake, but for my sake.

Because I might be on the one on the top of the net at some point.

And I'm gonna need you if you're at the bottom of the net to swim down.

And I hope your desire is the same for me, because maybe at some point you might be at the top of the net as well.

And you might need some brothers and sisters in Christ who are at the bottom of the net just swimming, not swimming in their own direction, but swimming for the sake of the people around you.

Church, we must repent of our selfish motives, lack of effort, and forsaking our responsibilities and truly surrender inwardly so our actions will change outwardly and make a difference in the world around us for the mission of making disciples in Jesus' name.

I know this is kind of a tough message this morning.

It's supposed to be, you know, Pastor Brandon's on sabbatical, you know, the guest speakers are of, you know.

But I wanted to more than anything encourage and equip you to realize that if you want to truly be a part of a community, you have to put an effort.

It's the same way with having friendships.

If you want to have a friend, you need to be a great friend.

What are you giving rather than receiving?

And then once that happens, you'll realize that God's placed gifts inside of you for other people around you, and there's gifts inside of them that are also for you.

That's the body of Christ.

That's how we build each other up.

Because at the end of the day, we truly need one another, church.

Do you want to see a change in the world?

I hope you do.

Do you want to see a change in the schools, in the workplace, in your family?

It doesn't, it's it's not a one-person thing.

It's all of us coming together for the mission of Jesus Christ, which is to make disciples.

It's not about what you are doing, but rather who you are seeing.

Church, you can always see people more.

You can always see people more because there's a community in a world around us that desperately is desiring to be seen.

You sit there and ask questions about somebody, about their life, their story, their family, they're gonna want to tell you because no one in the world is telling anybody.

What if we, church, as a community were intentional about seeing people around us to say, you know what?

I see that there's life groups and I see that they've never done it before.

So you know what I'm gonna do?

I'm gonna put an effort and encourage them.

Hey, that's amazing that you're doing the life group.

And then maybe next semester you do the same thing and they'll do the same thing back to you.

That's what it's about.

That we would put our schedules, that we would put our priorities aside and start to realize that when God looks at you, he sees you as a priority.

So, shouldn't we do the same thing for the people around us?

Church, if we want to be a godly community, it starts inwardly, goes outwardly, and it goes to others naturally.

Let's pray this morning, church.

Dear God, thank you so much for this morning.

Thank you for your word that's encouraging and piercing and challenging all the same times.

Lord, we just ask this morning for anybody who's in here right now, God, if they're seeking a godly community, that they would realize that they would find their community when they start to look for the people around them, that their purpose was never about them, but for the people around them, that the gifts that you have placed inside of them, Lord, are specifically for the people around them so that they can be encouraging, that they can be full of life for the people around them, that they would inspire them to be disciples of Jesus in every area of their life, not just some parts, but every area of their life, God.

So, Lord, we thank you that you created the local church.

We thank you that you have equipped us, you have given us your word, Lord.

God, may we not take it for granted, may we not put our busy schedule ahead of the godly community that we desperately need.

So, Holy Spirit, I thank you for your word.

I thank you for your time and your presence.

Holy Spirit, I just pray that we change to look more like you so that we can go and be the difference we want to see in our world.

That we wouldn't wait for anybody else, but that we would sit here and be like Isaiah and say, Send me, God, here I am.

May we take the responsibility seriously because God has placed that in each and every one of us.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.

Will you stand on your feet this morning, church?

We're gonna sing one more song called How Great Is Our God.

It's a simple song, but if you want to take that next step and you want to come to the altar and repent of something in your own life, I ask that you don't wait, that you come boldly to God because He's waiting for you right now.

Maybe you're in here and you're realizing that you haven't made godly communities a priority.

It's kind of like flossing.

Maybe tonight when you get home, before you go to bed, you'll floss.

And maybe before you leave church today, you'll sign up for a life group because you'll realize if you don't, decay will eventually happen.

And so I pray that you today you take some next step, whether it's praying up here, you pray with the prayer team, you sign up with the life group, that you would find your godly community, not so that you can receive something, but so that you can give something to the people around you.

Let's go ahead and worship with this last song, church, and then we'll be dismissed.