Every week at the church where
I serve, we gather together in community so that we can create the space where
we can explore faith, grow in our faith, and experience genuine and authentic
community. We desire to create environments where you can move on a spiritual
journey from the place of being a consumer who is either searching and shopping
for answers when it comes to Jesus and the Bible or who view that church as a
place that provides spiritual goods and services, to the place where you are an
owner who owns and genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and where you
can move from the place of being an owner to being an investor who is investing
their time, talents and treasure in the kingdom mission that we have been
given.
Every week, we express that our
goal is that every regular attender here at City Bible Church would be
investing their time in a community group, their talents serving God by serving
others on a ministry team, and investing their treasure in a way that reveals
and reflects the generosity of Jesus through regular and proportional giving. Now
a natural question that could arise at this point is "Well Dave, where did
you come up with these desires and goals? And why should I embrace these
desires and goals? Why should I be a part of a community group? Why should I be
a part of a ministry team? Why should I give to the church?"
My
answer to those questions would be this: when we read the letters that make up
the Bible, we consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a
growing and maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ invested
their time with other Christians as they gathered corporately for regular
weekly worship gatherings and as they scattered to experience community in
homes throughout the week.
When we read the letters that make up the Bible, we
consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and
maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ consistently invested
their talents serving God by serving others through the exercise of their
spiritual gifts. And when we read the letters that make up the Bible, we
consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and
maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ consistently invested
their treasure to support God’s kingdom mission through regular and
proportional giving.
As a church we repeatedly
express these desires and these goals not because we want something from you;
instead we repeatedly express these desires and goals because we want something
for you, which is that you would experience a growing and maturing relationship
with Jesus. As a church, we simply want you to experience the relationship with
God that you were created for. And part of experiencing the relationship with
God that you were created for is to be doing life together in close community
with other followers of Jesus.
So this week I would like for
us to talk about why it is essential for us as followers of Jesus to be
consistently investing our time in a community group. And to do that, I would
like for us to look at an event from history that is recorded for us in the Old
Testament of the Bible. If you grew up in church, or have spent any time in
church, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with this event from
history. And the reason why you are at least somewhat familiar with this event
from history is due to the fact that this event from history is one of the most
infamous events from history that is recorded for us in the entire Bible.
The event from history that we are going to look at involves
a man named David. In 1008 B.C. King David became king
over the Jewish nation when he was thirty years old. King David ruled over the
Jewish people for a period of forty years. And during his forty years as king,
King David distinguished himself as perhaps the greatest king to ever lead the
Jewish people.
It was King David that led the Jewish armies to conquer
their hated enemies. It was King David who captured Jerusalem and established
it as their capital city. It was King David who established the Jewish nation
as a military and political power in the world. And it was King David who was
described as being a man after God’s own heart. And as a man after God’s own
heart, it was King David who desired, at the apex of his power and prominence,
to honor God by building what would later be known as the temple in Jerusalem.
However, the prophet Nathan, who was God’s spokesman,
came to King David and explained to David that God did not like his plan.
Instead, God had a different plan. Instead of King David building a house for
God, God wanted to build a kingdom through King David and his descendants. God
promised King David that he would be remembered for all of history not for his
building plan, but for fulfilling his responsibility as the representative that
God would use to build an eternal kingdom through one of his descendants.
King David responded to God's promise by committing
himself to trust in the Lord and fulfill his responsibilities to lead the
Jewish people as God's representative. And for years 20 years, King David
placed his confident trust in God’s promise and embraced his responsibilities
to lead the Jewish people. King David continued to establish the Jewish nation
as a military and political power in the world. King David continued to fulfill
the responsibilities he was given to represent the Lord as he led the Jewish
people. And King David continued to gain influence and expand his impact and
reputation as being a man after God’s own heart.
Then, when King David was approximately 50 years old, an
event from history occurred that radically changed the trajectory of King
David’s life. An event from history that reveals a timeless truth as to why it
is so essential for us as followers of Jesus to be consistently investing our
time in a community group. So let's look at this event from history together,
beginning in 2 Samuel 11:1:
Then it
happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and
all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David
stayed at Jerusalem.
King David, the man after God’s own heart, the man who
was their greatest military leader, instead of doing what he was responsible
for doing and was supposed to be doing, which was to lead the Jewish people
into military battle, decided to remain in Jerusalem. Instead of going out with
the community of men whom he was most accountable to and responsible for, King
David decided to isolate himself from those who were in a position to hold him
accountable.
You see, in King David’s day, just as it is today, there
is something that happens when we find ourselves in close community with others.
When we are in close community with others, people gain access to us. When we
are in close community with others, people get to truly know us as we really
are.
And for King David, his mighty men, his closest advisors,
were that community. However, King David allowed the mighty men, his closest
advisors to go to battle, while he remained behind, which isolated himself from
those who both knew him best and who had access to tell him not only what he
wanted to hear but what he needed to hear.
Now here is a question to
consider: how often can we find ourselves doing the exact same thing? How often
can we find ourselves, especially men, isolating ourselves from the very people
that we need in our lives to keep us accountable? You see, our culture, and men
especially, have a tendency to drift toward
isolation, independence and autonomy. But why is that the case?
First, we are tempted to drift towards isolation,
independence and autonomy because our culture values the concepts of
independence and autonomy. There are many people around us, along with the
culture around us, who idolize and embrace independence and autonomy. Second,
we are often tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy
because we may find ourselves in a place where we are angry or discontent with
our current circumstances. And that anger, even a low grade anger that simmers
just under the surface, that discontentment will isolate us from others. After
all, how many of us want to be around people who are discontent, right?
And third, we are often tempted to drift towards
isolation, independence and autonomy and away from genuine and close community
because we assume that people want something from us. And because we assume
that people will want something from us if we are part of close community, we
will not seek out that close community. And just as it is for us today, King
David found himself in a place where he had drifted into isolation and away
from community and accountability, so that he could do what he wanted to do
instead of what he was supposed to do.
Tomorrow, we will see what King David’s decision to
isolate himself led him to…
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