Legacy City Church

Community For Eternity / 1 Corinthians 12

• Josh Thompson • Season 2025 • Episode 712

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We're going to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 in our Bibles. If you want to turn there, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And we're, uh I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk a little bit about community today, since we are together having a fellowship Sunday. Sermon titled Community for Eternity. 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We'll look at a couple different passages today centered around community and what it looks like. Before we dive in, I heard of a story. Maybe you heard of this one too. Two friends out camping one week. It was a nice evening. They're barbecuing some meat, and lo behold, a grizzly bear shows up. One friend freaks out and says, Dude, look, it's a grizzly bear. What do we do? The friend said, I don't know about you, but I'm out of here. And he quickly starts putting on his shoes. The buddy says, What are you crazy? You can't outrun a grizzly bear. That thing will catch you in like two seconds. And the friend responded, I don't have to outrun that bear. I just have to outrun you. Friendship. Christian friendship is simply community. And community should be Christian friendship. Friendship and community are being lost in our society to some degree. And I've really tried to analyze what exactly is going on, what exactly is happening amongst our society and community and culture in which the fabric is starting to untangle. And it's hard to pinpoint, it's hard to put your finger on exactly what has happened, especially since social media has come forth. There's supposed to be more interaction. But I I keep on social media, I keep seeing all these memes about how great it was in the 80s, you know, and uh how you know people are just sitting around playing cards at a picnic, you know, and you know, peep people are interacting, spending a lot more time with each other. And now when people go to a picnic, you know, of course, everyone is on their phones, but friendship is being lost, society is being spread out more and more. I don't want to look at this because I do believe it's part of our DNA, it's part of what we want, what we desire. And if we we don't find it, uh we'll find ourselves lost in a very lonely world. Uh Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend. And that is it. We need one another. We need each other. We're not designed to run alone. We're designed to run together. And I remember talking to a Jewish friend in the gym not long ago, and I was asking about the Jewish community uh here in LA. And you look at it, we lived in an encino for quite a while, and uh I remember on Shabbat they would walk the streets together, and he he was saying, he said, you know, there because the synagogue is in a specific neighborhood, they make it a point to try to all move into that neighborhood and take the place over, and then literally they walk on Shabbat together, and because they walk together and they walk the synagogue, they're in walking distance from each other's house, and before you know it, they just find themselves walking over to each other's houses, which is the way it used to always be. And it's not a bad thing that we have technology and cars and planes and and boats and things that we can do to uh to spread out and phones to connect with people on the other side of the planet. But definitely we we have to analyze what has happened. It's given us more opportunity, but something also isn't working. I want to analyze this today. What is community? Mike just a touch hot, like come down 10%. I think we'll be dialed here. Come down just 10%, just touch hot. Thank you. Let's give it up for Trav taking care of us. Come on, thank you, Trav. Appreciate you. There it is. Community, what is it? Dictionary.com is a social group of any size whose members reside in a special location. They share government or often have a common cultural and historical heritage. Uh, community is definitely happening, but we have a common cult because we have a common culture and heritage in Christ, but I think we need a boost in our relationships, friendship, and human interaction. Our society is closing off more and more. Society is moving faster and faster, people have less time for each other, so we are losing true community. Transportation, again, is faster. We're able to do more each day, and traffic, the traffic is greater, right? Communication is faster. Um, so you can talk to more people, you can set up more appointments, supposedly maintain relationships. The problem is you have more relationships, but they're mostly surface, and we it's very difficult to get to depth. And um, I don't know if you recognize this, but the way that we start conversations these days is mostly based on interaction, uh, things that we see on social media about each other. And so, oh, I saw you. But the best thing is that if you like don't post for like two months, like people they stare at you like they don't even know what to say. But you know, there was a time when no one posted ever. And we used to just walk up and be like, hey, how's it going? What have you been up to? What's going on? Tell me about life, you know? And we would interact, we would talk, and there'd be real real interaction. And I I point this out because it's it's not that we can't talk about things on social media, I think it's great. But I think that we should uh we the church should lead in these things, lead in community, lead in communication, lead in friendship, and learn the art of it, to really step into it because we're filling our lives with busyness and we're not getting quality life and relationships, thus, we feel depressed, lonely, empty. This leads to bad decisions, destroying life, and we're all making uh the decisions on our own with no community around us to talk through life, to make wise decisions together. You don't want to make decisions on your own. You want to make decisions amongst a sounding board of wise counselors around you. Like when people are isolated away from true friendship and deep relationship, it can be dangerous because we are created to be with other people. We're made in the image of God, and part of that image is relationship, community. It makes it makes us who we are. We have to have this. You know, when you think of the person locked inside the garage, a classic mad scientist, you know, his hair is everywhere, you know, it's like he hasn't seen daylight in, you know, 120 days. And he's just been bouncing ideas off his own mind and not really spending time with anyone else. This is isolation, no talking, no communication. It drives somebody crazy. Sadly, those in convalescent homes, you know, no one visits. Yes, they die from the body shutting down, but they have nothing to live for, no purpose, no relationships, no reason to carry on, so they shut down. Uh I see it in young people, though. No community equals depression. Their friends are becoming uh video games, TV movies. The only problem is that creates no social skills, uh, no drive to live, no purpose to live, no direction, no one to coach them or walk them through a life. You actually see a rebellion uh by Gen Z against uh technology. You know, they're getting away from smart things, you know, like running back to just a dialed watch, you know, and starting to play more board games and trying to figure out how to hang out together. And that I I I love this. I think we need to get back to it. John Steinbeck said a sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker than a germ. A sad soul. LA is um is is a beautiful community, um, but uh we are a we are somewhat of a scared community. Um we know how to do quick small talk and all that, but we don't like to let anybody in. We like garage door openers and uh windows shut, you know, and and we we we like to I see my neighbor. Hey, okay, get in there quickly, uh close that garage door, you know, keep our head down, uh run to the cubicle right at work, and go home waving to no neighbors and just get inside the garage, hit the button, and you're good. Um, but again, I hope today as we look at the text that God would transform our minds towards community, that we would see our need for real, true relationships. This is one of the pillars of legacy, and this is why we try and announce it often. We're trying to create more groups and more home studies and more places in which you can find friendships, and that's why we that's why we order a bunch of tacos today, so that everybody can just hang out and talk and fellowship outside. Maybe you learn a couple people's names. You don't need to learn everyone's name, just a couple. And I think you just want a couple people to know your name. It makes it feel like home. It's nice when someone remembers your name. And so uh we're gonna look at this here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We'll start here. We're gonna bounce around a little bit today. Uh, can we stand for the reading of God's word? We'll read 1 Corinthians 12, verses uh 12 to 20 in our text. We always stand for the reading of God's word to pay honor to him and remember whose word we're reading. Not my words. They truly belong to him, his wisdom, his word. And it's beautiful, we need it. First Corinthians 12, verse 12. The Apostle Paul writes to the church, for even as the body is one, yet it has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body. Also, so also it is Christ. For also by one spirit we were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks or slaves are free, we were all made to drink of one spirit. For as the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, Because I am not a hand, I'm not part of the body, is it not for this reason any less a part of the body? If the ear says, Because I'm not an eye, I'm not a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? But if the but if the whole were the hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has appointed the members, each one in the body, just as he desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members but one body. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. And we thank you for this insight, this parallel, this picture of the human body, having many parts, all working together, members working together to accomplish one purpose. And Lord, we are members of your body. And I pray, God, that we would see our need for each other. I pray that we would see our need for you, and I pray that we would see our need to be a part of a working body, and that you would cause us to recognize our place in the body. Are we a hand? Are we an eye? Are we a mouth? Are we an ear? Are we the feet? Lord, that we would understand our place in the body and we'd be able to live it out for your glory. Bless our time as we study your word. We ask it now in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. We're gonna look at this text a little bit closer here at the end, but I want to lay a foundation of it. Um the picture given in the New Testament is this human body with many parts, and it almost feels like a little bit of a joke there. Is like, you know, we don't need the ear, we don't need the eye, we don't need the hand. Um, but of course we do. Uh we need all body parts in order for a body to be fully functioning and working well and healthy. And the same is true in the church. We need all of the parts, we need each one of you. Sometimes you don't feel like you're needed, but you truly are, and you truly do have a gift, talent, and ability that others in the church do not have. And we need you to exercise that gift. They need you as the hand as you need them as the eye. We all need each other. It's a great picture sitting there. Uh now, can an eye run on its own? Look at there's an eye on the ground. What does it do? It looks around. It's gonna try and roll somewhere. What is it gonna do? It just sits there. But so true, the hand can't see without the eye, huh? What is the hand? The hand maybe can run around on its fingers, who knows, but it can't see anything. It's blind, it can't hear. Um, each one has a purpose. Now, I want to go back to Genesis chapter 1 in our Bibles to take a look at where community began. So you can see this is a part of the DNA of the universe, the DNA of God and the DNA of us. If you're taking notes, point number one, community for eternity. Did you know that God has been in community for eternity's past? God has always had community. Genesis chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The word God here in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 is the word Elohim. Elohim is the plural form of El, the word God. The first name for God given in the Bible is the plural form of Him. Uh, plural form of God's name. This gives room for the doctrine of the Trinity that though God is clearly one, he reveals himself in three persons God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Maybe ask, well, where does God ever refer to Himself in the plural form in the Bible? It's found just 25 verses later. Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. God says, then God said, Let us make man in our image. Let us make man in our image after our likeness. We are made after the likeness of God. Interesting? Well, who is us? Let us make man in our image after our likeness. Let us make man. Who is God talking to? Some say the angels, really? Is man made in the image of the angels? No. So case closed, God was speaking to the Trinity. Let us make man in our image. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, sitting there in eternity's past. God has been in a small group for all of eternity. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Verse 27 says in Genesis 1, so God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him, male and female, he created them. Made in the image, male and female, not one but two types, male and female. Again, not one, but two people in community, which we know male and female have the ability to reproduce and create a family, create a community, a small community. That family can create a society. And they have the ability to create, and they create a small community, a family, and that family creates a society. You see that? It is in our DNA that we create. It is a part of our likeness to God. Genesis 1 looked down at verse 31, and God saw everything that he made, and behold, it was very good. Very good. There was evening and there was morning the sixth day. Everything that was made was very good. Look at the next chapter, Genesis chapter 2, verse 18. Then the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him. So the designer creator, God tells us that it is not good for man or woman to be alone, so God created a community for us. Isn't that amazing? God looked down and he saw this is not good. The guy is alone. He needs help. He needs a helper. He needs lots of help. And all the ladies are like, Amen. He needs help, that's for sure. God saw the need and he met it immediately. He didn't leave him alone. This guy cannot be, I can't let him be alone. Boom, we're giving him a helper. He gave society, he gave community, he gave family to him immediately. It shows the desperate need for us as human beings. It's not good that we're alone when we're alone. And God provides. Here. Here's your friend. You need someone, you need a friend, you need community, you need society, you need people around you. We're made to we are made to do this. It's part of our makeup. Christians may not see eye to eye, but they should walk arm in arm. Christians may not see eye to eye, but we should walk arm in arm. Sometimes I do wish there was a church council that stretched across America in which we met. We decided what we were going to do, and we walked arm in arm together. It's sad to see the segregation amongst a church, churches warring against each other, and Christians always warring against each other. Christians might be the only group that shoot, they're wounded. See somebody down and they. You know, we we should be better at that. In Legacy, I believe you are better at that. I think that's part of that's part of what I hear here at Legacy over and over again, is that there is a warmth amongst the community. There, like, don't you dare ask to be uh introduced to somebody, right? You're gonna you're gonna get introduced for like 20 people, you're gonna get the fire hose is gonna turn on of like fellowship and community. If you want it, you're like, I kind of I'm an introvert, I can only handle one and a half people, okay? And you and you, that's two. I'm already overwhelmed, all right? So step back, please. You're in my bubble. I get it. But family, hey, we are going to heaven together. Did you know that? Even that guy? Yeah. We're going to heaven together. Well, those who have truly confessed Jesus is Lord and Savior and believed upon the work that He has done. Do you know we'll be in community in heaven as well? Did you know that? It doesn't end. All the introverts are like, dang, we can be in community forever? We gotta deal with these people for the rest of eternity? Don't worry, they will look better, they will feel better, they will be way nicer. Revelation chapter 7, verse 9. After this I looked and behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from every tribe, all peoples and languages standing before the throne, before the Lamb of God, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands, crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. All nations, all tribes, all tongues, all standing before the throne of God, worshiping Him together. Wow. Heaven is community for eternity, it's hanging out with the church of God for all of eternity, with the Lord Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Of course, no sin. Of course, no hatred, no hurting, no looking down, no, no being against each other. We've been adopted into God's family, we have the same bloodline, the blood of Christ, and we are sons and daughters of God. This is our tribe, this is our race. The apostle Peter says it. He says, 1 Peter 2 9, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. We belong to God. That you may proclaim this is your calling, this is what you're supposed to be up to, that you may proclaim the word proclaimed, that you may preach, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous lights. We take God to be our God, we take his people to be our people, Matthew Henry. The church should be in community on earth as it is in heaven. Right now, we can do it. We'll talk about some practical ways to do it. I know there's a lot of questions going on, but the gospel has saved us being community with each other forever. And that and the gospel, the relationship between us and God declares the way our relationships are to be with one another. The gospel has reconciled us to God, it reconciles us also to each other. The same way the gospel has reconciled us to God, we are reconciled to each other. John 13 34, Jesus said, Love one another as I have loved you. You must love one another. This is how people will know that you are even my disciples. It's by the way that you love each other. Uh-oh. You look at the way the church loves each other online, it doesn't look so good. Those are his disciples. They don't. That doesn't look like how Jesus loves. We got to forgive each other in the way God forgives. That's what brought us back into relationship. We got to show grace to each other in the way God shows grace to us, right? That's what brought us in close relationship with Him. That's how He keeps the relationship alive. You know why your relationship with God is so great? You wanna know why it never gets broken off? It's because of Him. It's because He remains faithful and He keeps forgiving and He keeps showing grace. I'm sure there are many times we would have just broken the relationship off after we found out things that God did or allowed in our life. I don't like that. I'm out of here, friend God. I'm going on my own. And then what happens? He waits around for decades and we come back. He's a patient, kind, loving, awesome father. He loves his kids. Point number two, why do we need community? Community for eternity, but why do we need community? Well, first, community forces us to grow in grace and in the gospel. Because it's hard to love and serve people other than ourselves. But this is the greatest picture of God. This is what he does every day: us being forced to grow in the attributes of God as we have to learn to love people. Patience, kindness, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, serving others, counting others better than yourself, looking to the interest of others before yourself. Community forces us to grow in grace in the gospel. When you don't have to be around people, you don't get irritated. But if you get around lots of people, it forces you to grow as a person. It's a good thing. Community forces us to grow in the gospel, in grace, in forgiveness, in patience, in kindness and gentleness, the fruits of the Spirit. Pastor Chuck Smith used to always say, Blessed are the flexible. Blessed are the flexible. Community teaches you how to play nice in the sandbox. You see kids fight over a toy? I see adults do this too at church. My toy, my way, I don't like them. Haven't figured out how to play in the sandbox. But that's the great thing, is it's it's of course it's always them. It's always them. Until you discover one day, oh my gosh, I think it's me. Right? You know, it's like when your breath smells, you know. God, that person's breath smells so bad, I can't believe it. You walk away later. Oh my gosh, it's me. It was me the whole time. You don't want that to be you. Philippians 2, 2, complete my joy. The Apostle Paul writes, by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant for us. It's absolutely amazing what Jesus has done. Community keeps us accountable. God did not save us to keep us the same. You know that? Like I came to Jesus and I'm gonna stay the same. Oh no. I came into the church, I got saved, now I'm gonna keep living like hell. Uh-uh. We can't do that. God saves us to resurrect us, to transform us, to breathe life into us, to help us to see in color, to start loving and serving people in a different way. We're not saved to stay the same. Community keeps us accountable. Having good friends around you helps keep you accountable. You become the people you hang around, and if you get hang around people who are running into great marriages, you're probably gonna keep running in a great marriage. If you hang around people who are loving God and serving God and sharing Christ with people, you're probably gonna end up doing the same. You get around people who love God and love people. You might love God and love people. This is having people to pray for you and counsel you with wisdom so you don't make bad decisions in life. We need help with decision making in life, financial moves, job moves, relationship issues, sin issues, life counsel from other believers. We need this. We need this so desperately. It should be a fluid thing. It should not be a big moment. Oh my gosh, I gotta talk to you about something. It's that way because we're we don't have this fluid conversation happening all the time with people. If we had more fluid conversation, then it wouldn't be that big. Didn't I want to bounce this off of you? I'm kind of working through this thing, you know, this and that, or this really bothering me. Gosh, the sin won't get away from my life. You know, I got this issue going on with this person. What do you think? Like everything has to be so fired up, and that pushes us away from even wanting to start the conversation. Proverbs 15, 22, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed. We need godly counsel. If you got a couple godly friends around you, you you're blessed. You have a gift. You can bounce stuff off them all the time, have them pray for you, encourage you, and they'll, and you'll do the same for them. Psalm 1.1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Community brings also, it brings confession. There's a thring that happens when we confess to each other. Sometimes we need to confess our sin to a friend, so the burden we carry is lifted. James 5, 16. We talked about this extensively. Confess your sins one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. Confession is just sharing what's going on, what you're burdened by. It doesn't have to be some wild thing. You don't have to start talking in King James, you know, to like share your confession. Thus the thou I did, I sinneth against the Father. No, it doesn't have to be that big of a deal. Sometimes people, you know, over a coffee meeting get all ramped up, you know, like I gotta tell you something, I gotta tell you something. Like, what, dude? I've heard like everything. Like, it's all I got us coffee, so it would be a little nonchalant. What's going on? That's alright. That's okay. You're gonna be alright. Let's figure it out. Let's pray. We need that. We need that amongst each other. We need to be able to just share things. I think people love sharing things with people that they know are warm and respond with kindness and grace and gentleness. It's gonna be alright. That's ultimately what we want. And confession is just sharing what's burdening you, and we need this. We need that outlet, we need that blow-off valve constantly in our lives. We need the soul to be refreshed, especially when we're being burdened by something. So a little tip when someone confesses something to you freely, never condemn them, no matter how dark it is. Don't do it. Love them, pray for them, forgive them as Christ has forgiven you. Leave the rest into the hands of God. And if accountability is needed, then help put that in place. Hey man, you want me to text you once a week, just see how you're doing? These things are good, they're very helpful. People don't want to confess because they're scared to be condemned and rejected. And that's what's happened. Somehow in the church, the place where we're supposed to be able to talk and share things, it's become like a too polished society, you know. It's like, you know, we can't share anything. Because it's like if I look like I'm doing anything wrong. But the truth is, is everyone's doing wrong things. I'm the pastor, I know. And even the ones who say that they're not, I already know. Because I'm the pastor, and I can say that I'm not, but I know me. And you can just talk to my wife afterwards if you want to. Robert Walder Emerson said, A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think out loud. I can just talk. Ecclesiastes 4 9, 2 are better than one because they have good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him who is alone when he falls. He has not another to lift him up. A real friend warms you up by his presence, trusts you with his secrets, and remembers you in his prayers. First John 1 9, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Community also brings discipleship. Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations, and how can we make disciples without community, without being together, without spending time together? How is that possible? My favorite thing is when I've heard people say, you know, in the past, you discipled me. And I'd be like, when? I don't even remember. Remember, we used to like go around and talk and you prayed for me and encouraged me that time. We talked scripture about this and this and that. That is discipleship. I think we always want this super formal, structured, you know, check the box. We did 10 weeks together and bang, it's done. But real discipleship, if you watch Jesus, he just kind of walked around with the guys for three years. He taught them by the way, they watched him. They watched him with people, they watched him pump gas, they watched him eat food, they watched him hang out. And they learned from him. And that is real discipleship. And you are already discipling people, you're discipling one another. We are disciples making disciples. You actually don't see formal discipleship in the Bible. You always see relationships. It's very simple. Now, if you love structure and the person you're disciple, you have structure, put some structure in place. It's great. Why not? We know we're going. We're gonna work through this book together. We're gonna pray together, we're gonna meet once a week for six weeks. You know, all these things are great. But the point being is it's all centered around relationship. We should be being discipled by someone so we are growing spiritually, and we are also to be discipling someone else. Make sure you have someone that you can look up to that spend time you can pour into. Make sure you have somebody that looks up to you that you can pour into and a disciple. It's very important. Try and get that in your life. Proverbs 27, 17, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Community also enables us to use our gifts, talents, and abilities as we looked at it in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 12 to 20. How can you use your gifting as your body part if you don't have a body? Like I have a mouth. Okay, where's the head? You can't even function without the head. You don't even have feet, you can't go anywhere. You your gift cannot be amplified until you are amongst a body of believers. So when you are amongst other believers, that is when your gift is used at maximum capacity. That's when the hand flourishes, that's when the eye flourishes, that's when the mouth flourishes, that's when the feet flourish. They have to be attached to the body. How can you live out your gifts, talents, and abilities without people? I'm the greatest in the world at this. There's nobody around. Who are you gonna show it to? Who are you gonna help? Who are you gonna talk to? What are you gonna share? You need people. We need people to use our gifting. You gotta know your gifting, and the best way to figure that out is guess what? You gotta ask someone. You have to ask someone who knows you. And they will be able to identify. I think I'm this, I think I'm that, I think I do these things well. What do you what do you see in me? Now, this is the magic. When you have identified a couple of the things that you think are true, maybe you're even nervous to say it, and your friend looks you in the face and says, I see this in you. You are this person, you're awesome at this, I've seen you do that, you're incredible at this, you should do that. What happens? We we everything unlocks inside. We are enlightened, we are lifted, we are encouraged, we want someone else to identify our gifting, and we want them to tell it to us. But you can't do that without someone else. Everything is wrapped around this, and it is so sad to see that the social fabric of society is starting to break apart. We have to not walk in rebuilding community, we need to run in this church, and we gotta get aggressive. Go full cringe, baby. We gotta get in each other's face. We gotta get, we gotta, we gotta burst bubbles, you know. We we we gotta get we gotta we gotta get going, we gotta get together. We have to work on this. 1 Peter 4 10. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. As good stewards of God's varied grace, whoever speaks is one who speaks oracles of God. Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies. People often say they don't think their gifts are being used. Most of the time it's because they refuse to be in community. You can't use your gifting unless you're around people, and so you have to get involved. I remember one of the brothers used to say this all the time. You determine your own level of involvement. And that's the truth. You determine your own level of involvement with people. Community brings real friendship and relationships. Since community is a part of our DNA, not surface friendships, we need to take care of our relationships. There are not many things in life so beautiful as true friendship, and there are not many things more uncommon. Raymond Barrens said, a friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself. Hebrews 3 12, take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God. Instead, exhort one another every day as long as it's called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Set up a trap of community around you. If you ever tried to run away, they will find you. Right? You want the emergency cord there just in case, man. Because you don't want to be out there on your own, out in the middle of the desert. There's no one. That's not a fun place. We need to help each other apply the gospel to each other's lives. Sometimes we can't see it from our angle. We need someone else to help us. We have to keep exhorting one another daily. We're not the smartest people, we're not the most wise people. Everyone has blind spots, everyone needs someone else. The people around you have all of the gold that you need. I'm telling you, it's sitting in them. You can't find it on your own. This is self-deception. But you can find a lot. That's one of my favorite things about doing coffee. I've been doing coffee with people in LA for 12 years. And I have had thousands of coffee meetings, and the gold that I have extracted from you is immeasurable. No, I love it. I love I love the rhythms of meeting new people. I love digging into life. It it you don't realize it. The proverb says, as you pour out, you'll be filled. You don't realize it as I'm sitting down and you're like, oh my gosh, thank you for meeting with me, Pastor. You don't realize that the pouring out is actually filling me. It's making me think about my marriage and my life and my kids and church and life and the way that I live. I'm telling you, there's a secret in there that the more that you pour out into other people, the more it impacts you. There's something in there. I can't exactly identify it, but there's something in there. And having all these meetings and meeting all these people, and it is just an absolute joy to spend time with people and to realize that each one is a treasure, has superpowers, has things that you don't have, and to be able to just listen and dig deep and figure out what's going on and work through problems together and come on the other side. This is what we were designed to do. Know God, love God, love your neighbor, be in community. We gotta do it, and as we do that thing, we will start to truly live. What does community look like in real time? This is point number three, and finally, Acts chapter 2, verse 42. They devoided themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers, and day by day attending the temple together, breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God, having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to their number day by day those that were being saved. It just came through running together in life. The church was together throughout the week. They go to the temple, they hang out in homes, being friends with people in the church. Here are some examples. These aren't perfect pictures, but just of idea, ideas of the way that maybe this works. What does it look like in real time? Monday through Friday, we're working jobs, of course. Hanging out with Christian friends at night when we can, involved in a community group, bouncing all of life's decisions and problems off your Christian friends that you can get to. Uh you can get perspective when needed, confession, prayer for one another when needed. And this looks so different from so many different angles, but group texts are really powerful, right? I mean, it's like you, you know, the ongoing group texts uh are pretty awesome and can be very helpful, but there's nothing like being together. And meals are great. Food has a way of disarming people. I don't know what that is, but it's like uh when you sit down at a table with somebody else, ah, ah, we're at a table together, we're looking at each other, oh my gosh, don't know what to do. You set food down and all of a sudden the whole thing changes. So have a meal together. Meals are a great way to interact. Oh, have coffee together, you know, go do something together. Uh find out different hobbies or things, do things, get outside, go do things together. Um, I think you should probably be looking to have two to three close friendships in your life that you can call or hang with or be ministered to by, and you're doing the same for them. Uh, you don't need you don't need a hundred, but two or three is awesome. We can't be friends with everyone, but everyone should have friends somewhere. And it takes work to maintain relationships, you have to put effort forth. Um, the city will pull you in the opposite direction if you don't. And again, reflecting on the first decade of legacy, what I'm seeing is that to some degree, I've heard people say this a lot of this, like there's the family community of people. It's like a place where, you know, running around in the city, and then I came in here, and then like people actually know me, and like I kind of like I'm thankful I have I have something, you know? Um, because a lot of people move from other towns and other places and come in here. There's millions of people in the city, but nobody knows each other. It's just wild. And so we we we long for these smaller, you know, groups, these smaller communities to be together in. And I hope you can find that. 1 John 4 7. Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God. Everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. But he that loves not knows not God, for God is love. Galatians 6 2 bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. One of the best things you could ever do is. Is get into someone's life enough in which you might be able to pray for them, take care of a need, encourage them. Um, but that just comes through simple talking and communication. How do you talk to people? Right? This is a question we have to address. You walk up and you say, Hi, my name is Um What's your name? You can ask them, uh, how long you've been coming to the church? What do you like to do here in the city? You have family here? Did you grow up here? Where's your family? Uh what are you up to? Now, this is what you need to pick, these little TED talk tips. Here you go, for the lady from last week. Here it is. They are going to drop some phrase, something, they are going to say something very specific. And that is the thing they actually want to talk about. It might take three or four sentences, but you will watch them say it. And they'll be like, Yeah, and I was gardening this week, and it was kind of but it was a beautiful day. Oh, you garden? See that? We we've lost the ability to communicate. We we've lost the art of communication and listening, but people are dropping the hints all along the way. Pick up on those things and run with them. What do you like to garden? You garden, what do you? Well, I do herbs, you know, this and that. What kind of herbs? Oh, I like all the spices, I like cooking. You like to cook? Wow, what kind of meals do you like to cook? Well, hey, you should come over to my house, I'll cook something for you. I'd love to. Maybe we do a Monday night or something. You see, that's how it works. It's as simple as that. Full circle. Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. What has the Lord done for us, which we're going to celebrate in communion right now? He has carried our burdens. He is the best friend. He's the greatest friend of all. He cast your burden upon me, he says, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly. My yoke is easy, my burden is light. Heard Chuck Swindl say it this week. The greatest people to be around are people who bring joy. If you want to be a person that people love to be around, bring joy. If you bring that joy, the line will be out the door. Christ has brought joy into our life through the cross, through his death, burial, and resurrection. We enter into communion church. There's a lot of things that take place here at the table. We lay our burdens, we lay our sins down. It's good to come to the table and say, I've sinned. Help me, God. It's good to remember what Christ has done for you on the cross and his death, burial, and resurrection, what he's done in his blood, the new covenant given to us. We have a relationship with God. Heaven forever. Blessings and promises, a relationship with the God who made us. Communion. Commune. To commune together, to come together as a church and partake from one table. To look to Christ. It's a beautiful way to start our fellowship Sunday is to start with commune. I'm going to pray for us. We're going to enter a communion. We're going to reflect on the cross. We're going to reflect on community with God and community with his people. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word today. Thank you, God, for thank you for welcoming us into your community. Into your family. Thank you, Lord, that you didn't push us away. You could have. You could have left us out. But you didn't. You're a good king. You're a good father. You're a good God. And we love you, Lord. And you have placed family in our hearts. You have placed friendship in our hearts. You have placed relationship in our hearts. And I pray, God, that the relationships here at Legacy would deepen in you, Lord. Lord, as we look to the cross, as we turn to communion, we now choose to stop and take a look at who we are, where we've been. God, we confess our sin to you. We pray that you would forgive us of our sin. God, we pray that you would make us right before you today. We pray that you would show us grace and mercy. Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who have sinned against us. God, I pray that you would pour grace upon us in this moment, that we experience your joy and peace and rest. Lord, I pray for every person in this place that they would, in their hearts, make you Lord and Savior over their life. They say, You are my Lord, you are my Savior, God. I'm going to follow you all the days of my life. Jesus, lead me. Lead me in life. Show me the way. Help me. I can't do it without you. You are the Lord. We yield to you. We submit to you. We lay our lives down. We lay them down at your feet. God, I pray for every person in this place. We partake of communion. They would worship you, celebrate you, and come in deeper relationship with you. They would call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. We ask it now in Jesus' name. Amen.