Have
you ever bought a knock off product or the generic brand of
something? They are normally a little cheaper, not just in price, but
in quality. Some things you can get by with and other things you just
can’t duplicate. Like Oreos. You don’t mess with Oreos!! No
one likes a knock-off! They don’t taste
right,
they don’t
look right,
and they don’t
work right.
If
you’re going to be a Christian, don’t be a knock-off. When
you look at the first Christians in the book of Acts, the one
defining characteristic is that they did life together.
This
means being authentic and genuine. It means being the real deal with
other Christians so that we can all help each other follow Christ
better. Real Christians are Christians who do life together.
We need
each other. God created it that way. He created you and me with a
desire to be part of something bigger than we can be as individuals.
All of us want to belong to something. What groups are you a part of
or a member of? Club, Sports Team, Band, Family, Online etc.
Ephesians
2:19
(NLT) So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You
are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members
of God’s family.
We
belong to a lot of things. And we can do a lot of good in a bunch of
different organizations. But the most important thing we can belong
to is God’s family. And the good that you will be able to do in
your life for others is directly related to the depth of your
connection with other Christians.
Effective
Christians are connected Christians.
Here’s
the tragedy: Most of us aren’t connected.
Here
are 3 reasons why we need to do life together.
#1:
Doing life together makes it easier to follow Christ.
If you
are not satisfied with what you are achieving on your own, then you
need to find help. Keep doing the same things you are doing and
hanging out with the same people you are hanging out with and you’ll
keep getting the exact same results in your life that you’re
getting right now. So if you’re completely satisfied with your
relationship with God and with how connected you are to a community
of other Christians than don’t change a thing! But I’m convinced
that probably 99% of you aren’t satisfied. You want your
relationship with God to be better. You want more Christian friends
that will help and encourage you. You want to be connected. Because
following Christ is hard, but everything is easier when we do it
together.
Ecclesiastes
4:9-10
- Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get
a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can
reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in
real trouble.
Here's a helpful
illustration - When a young tree is planted it is at risk of being
whipped about by the wind. If the sapling is tied to a single stake
and pulled in one direction, it will grow up leaning hard to that
side. It will be uprooted by a storm or grow crooked. That’s why
it’s important to stake a tree from multiple directions. The
tension on three different sides helps a tree grow straight and true.
Its roots will deepen, its trunk will strengthen, and it will bear
much fruit. With the right support, a tree will grow to be a glorious
thing. Trees and humans aren’t so different from each other.
Trying
to follow Christ on your own is hard. You’re going to end up going
the wrong direction, you won’t be strong, and eventually you’ll
fail. Not just that, but if the only spiritual advice and
encouragement you get is from your youth pastor or from your parents,
you will be like that tree tied down to one stake. The more people
that you have in your life that love God and are seeking after Him,
the easier it will be to love God and seek after Him. It doesn’t
mean you won’t ever mess up and fall again. But having people
around you when you fall makes it easier to get up. Wise
choices are the result of spending time with God and with people who
are following after Him.
Romans
1:12
(NCV) - I mean that I want us to help each other with the faith we
have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you.
Growing
in your faith is a lot easier when you have help. Are you struggling
in growing in your faith? Let me ask you a question. How committed
have you been this past year to being in church every week and how
much time every day do you spend around really strong Christian
friends? Everything is easier when we do it together.
#2:
Doing life together helps us to love like Christ.
When
I was a kid, I remember the very first time I tried to jump off the
high dive. I was terrified. After standing on the edge for like 30
seconds I finally turned around and climbed back down the ladder. It
took what seemed like an hour to come back down. My dad came over and
told me to go back up and the only way you’re coming down is by
jumping, if I have to come up and make sure than I’ll do that. So I
went back up the ladder, and I thought, there’s no way he’s
coming up and making me jump. What’s he going to do, throw me off
in front of all these people? I got to end of the board and froze. I
turned around to climb back down and standing on the board behind me
was my dad. He was actually going to throw me off this thing! My dad
bent down, looked me in the eye, and said, “It's okay I've done
this before. Just close your eyes and run.” So I did… Some of us
are having trouble taking a leap of faith for God. We need someone to
be right beside us to encourage us and help us move ahead. If it
wasn’t for my dad I wouldn’t have jumped!
When we
start to put this into practice and start to love one another more,
we begin to love the world more. We start to have the same message
and people will see the message being lived out in our lives. This
message is the love of Christ.
Hear
what Jesus says in John
17:21, 23
- “My prayer for all of them is that they will be on one heart and
mind ... so the world will believe you sent me. I in them and you in
me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you
sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love
me.”
When
we are one group with the same message, people will hear our message
better.
This
verse says we should be united. Think about ALIVE Student Ministry.
Are we united? Are you united with other believers at your school? Do
you have an accountability partner that you are completely united in
trust with? When we have the same heart and the same mind we are
going to begin to do what Jesus did and love others better. Two
people living to out serve each other will never grow apart.
Romans
12:5
- “So in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member
belongs to all the others!”
We are
the body of Christ. If we don’t work together, then the body
doesn’t function right. If we are dysfunctional, then who would
want to be part of our dysfunction?
How
would you function without lungs, a heart, or a brain? Not well! You
wouldn’t want a body like that. That’s what most people see when
they look at the church. They don’t want to be a part of it.
1
Corinthians 1:10
- I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but
that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
2
Corinthians 13:11
- Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one
another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love
and peace will be with you.
In
Christ, we all belong to each other. If we start to see ourselves as
part of a larger body, then we can see that we need each other, we
start putting others before ourselves, and we start to really love
like Christ loved.
#3
– Doing life together will deepen our love for God.
Until
you get committed to doing life alongside other Christians and being
involved in church every week, your spiritual life is going to be
just limping along. The
first step away from God is usually a step away from God’s people.
You
want to love God more? Start hanging out with more people that love
God. You want to follow him closely? Start spending more time with
people who are following him closely.
When
you spend time around solid Christ followers who are sold out for
God, it will impact you. You will look different and act different.
When you spend time with Christian friends and do life together you
will begin to be changed and you will love God better. When you’re
doing life together with other Christians it’s going to show in
your life. People will see a difference. You’ll feel a difference
in your walk with God.
The
litmus test for our love of God is our love for others.
John
13:34-35
- A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as
I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all
people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.
The
flip side to this, however, is that it works the opposite way too.
When you spend a lot of time with friends that aren’t following God
and aren’t encouraging you to follow God you will begin to love God
less.
Proverbs
12:26
- The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of
the wicked leads them astray.
This is
not to say that you shouldn’t ever hang out with people who aren’t
Christians. We HAVE to spend time with people to be able to witness
to them. But the whole point is, Who are you doing life with? Who are
you relying on in your life? Are they helping you be more like Christ
and deepen your love for God or are they harming your relationship
with Him?
God
has given us relationships for a reason. When we do life together and
rely on other Christians for the strength and support we need, when
we have those relationships in the right place in our life, life is
so much better. But when we don’t rely on other believers for our
encouragement, prayer, and accountability, and we don’t make those
relationships central in our life like God wants, all of the sudden
life gets really messy.
So
here’s where we land. How much are you doing life together with
other believers? Are you relying on your Christian friends everyday?
Are you praying with friends each day? Is there anyone in your life
that you would trust with your sins, that is encouraging you? Who do
you need to ask to be accountability partners with? As you think
about this, let’s take some time to pray together. In groups of 3
or 4 with people discuss specific ways that you can do life together
better. Talk about how to hold each other accountable and then pray
for one another.
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