WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:46.520 Hey, good morning. 00:00:47.160 --> 00:00:48.580 Glad that you guys are with us. 00:00:48.620 --> 00:00:52.580 If you've got your Bibles with you today, open them up to Hebrews chapter 13. 00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:57.240 We are going to look at one verse today as our main verse, verse 17. 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:00.580 If you don't have a Bible, I've gotten away from saying this, and I don't know why. 00:01:00.860 --> 00:01:04.600 If you don't have a Bible, or you have a Bible that's in a different translation than what 00:01:04.600 --> 00:01:09.940 we have and what we use, which is typically the ESV, but we have free Bibles available 00:01:09.940 --> 00:01:10.900 at the back of the church. 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:15.500 And so if you want to grab one of those after the service is over with, we would love to give 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:17.340 you a copy of God's Word. 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:18.460 You can grab one, keep it. 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:19.620 It is yours. 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:23.160 A couple of things, one for today, and then two for the future. 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:26.760 We will be taking the Lord's Supper today at the very end of the service. 00:01:27.160 --> 00:01:31.080 And so we had our wonderful greeting team out there making sure that you had these, but 00:01:31.080 --> 00:01:35.740 if you somehow missed them as you got by, or you were just beelined straight for the coffee, 00:01:35.880 --> 00:01:40.180 and you walked past the Lord's Supper elements, you can go back and pick those up. 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.460 They're at the very back of the auditorium. 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.400 I promise it's fine to get up and move around, do what you need to do. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:47.000 Announcements for the future. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:51.500 I want to remind you, our family mission trip, September 2nd to the 5th to Black Mountains 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:52.120 Children's Home. 00:01:52.300 --> 00:01:59.080 The cost is $30 per family member, and you can pick up one of the applications back in 00:01:59.080 --> 00:02:04.600 the back, or registration forms, not applications, we're not denying you, registration forms back 00:02:04.600 --> 00:02:05.160 in the back. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:09.100 I do want to say this, our space is somewhat limited, all right? 00:02:09.220 --> 00:02:13.420 We have plenty of space for what we think, but the space is somewhat limited. 00:02:13.600 --> 00:02:18.200 So what we would like to prevent, if at all possible, is the last minute registration. 00:02:18.660 --> 00:02:22.820 So if you could go back and pick one of those up, fill those out, you can give that to me, 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:27.840 you can give it to Joel Van Ham, you can give it to Don Coulter as we are leading this together. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:32.100 So we'd love to have you guys join us as we serve together as a church. 00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:38.400 And then lastly, next Sunday, all right, kids, y'all are excited about school, right? 00:02:38.420 --> 00:02:39.460 We got our students in here. 00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:41.160 Y'all are just ready, right? 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:42.340 No, you're not. 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:46.020 All right, teachers, even less, right? 00:02:46.440 --> 00:02:51.480 But for all of the regulars of us who are ready to get back in the routine of life, school's 00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:56.040 starting back, and what we've been doing together as that as a church for the last several years 00:02:56.040 --> 00:03:00.380 is we've been gathering back together, coming out of summer break to do some different 00:03:00.380 --> 00:03:01.740 things as a church family. 00:03:02.100 --> 00:03:05.020 And so on this card, you see we have our fall schedule that's available. 00:03:05.320 --> 00:03:09.420 Those aren't on the seats around you this week, but there are some extra copies at the 00:03:09.420 --> 00:03:11.420 table as you leave, so grab one of those. 00:03:11.420 --> 00:03:16.520 And next week, we're going to come together here on our campus and just have a picnic time 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:16.840 together. 00:03:17.100 --> 00:03:22.640 Don't worry, we are going to eat inside together, but there'll be things outside for kids and 00:03:22.640 --> 00:03:23.760 for families for us to do. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:30.300 And if nothing else, just a wonderful time of fellowship as we draw back together and get 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:32.240 ready for our fall season. 00:03:32.580 --> 00:03:38.540 Well, what we are beginning today is a five-week series on discipleship. 00:03:39.220 --> 00:03:43.080 And where we've done this, this has kind of been another pattern that we've gone into in 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:47.280 our fall season the last several years of looking at discipleship and talking about it. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.500 And we're going to look at a lot of different areas with discipleship. 00:03:50.620 --> 00:03:56.200 But how we're going to start this off this year is by looking at church membership. 00:03:56.480 --> 00:04:00.140 So this is going to be an important piece during the course of the service. 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.880 You'll see there's this white card that there are several of them. 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:06.300 I think at least three on each one of the rows throughout the auditorium. 00:04:06.440 --> 00:04:10.400 And you're going to want to look at this over the course of the service. 00:04:10.760 --> 00:04:14.280 And then toward the end, there's going to be a piece that we can respond with that. 00:04:14.320 --> 00:04:16.760 And we'll go all over these things. 00:04:16.820 --> 00:04:21.380 So make sure that you have this as we talk about church membership together. 00:04:21.380 --> 00:04:27.820 Now, as we get going, I want to lay all the cards out on the table about church membership. 00:04:28.540 --> 00:04:28.760 All right? 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:36.340 Because what we have, the beauty of where we live, the beauty of how God is working and 00:04:36.340 --> 00:04:39.980 moving is, is we have a lot of churches, right? 00:04:41.020 --> 00:04:43.320 Right down the road, there's Kitty Wake. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:46.660 Right down the road, there's Lexington Baptist. 00:04:47.380 --> 00:04:53.700 All scattered, all around us are different churches, similar denominations, different denominations. 00:04:53.900 --> 00:04:58.320 There's some churches that you walk in and there's, it's more formal, right? 00:04:58.780 --> 00:05:04.160 More people have shirts and ties and dresses on than, than, than we do, right? 00:05:04.260 --> 00:05:06.720 There, there's, there's, there's a choir that's there. 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:10.580 There's, there, there, there's just different things that, that they have. 00:05:10.580 --> 00:05:15.700 There's churches who are, who are maybe even less formal than, than we are that are gathered 00:05:15.700 --> 00:05:20.640 in our community where, where maybe the pastor's wearing shorts and a t-shirt on Sunday morning. 00:05:20.640 --> 00:05:23.940 And, and what we have is a diversity of churches. 00:05:23.940 --> 00:05:26.360 We have a diversity of worship styles. 00:05:26.500 --> 00:05:28.920 We have a diversity of denominations. 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:34.040 And I would argue, even though that, that I am the way that I am and serving in the context 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:37.980 that I serve in, in the denomination that I serve in, I think there's a lot of beauty 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:38.640 with that. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:46.340 And with the variety of churches becomes a variety of expectation and even a variety of 00:05:46.340 --> 00:05:48.160 practice of church membership. 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:53.860 So you will find, as we talk about membership today, it may be different than what you're 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:54.440 used to. 00:05:55.060 --> 00:06:00.220 You may become from a church or church background where membership's never discussed and they 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:04.100 don't care and it's, it's whoever we get on a weekend and week out basis. 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:09.960 And, and that's what we do all the way to another extreme where you'll get a church that 00:06:09.960 --> 00:06:15.460 says, no, it all begins and funnels through within the context of membership of who we are. 00:06:15.460 --> 00:06:21.160 So unless you're a member here, you can worship with us, but we're going to pause the brakes. 00:06:21.520 --> 00:06:22.640 We're going to pump the brakes. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:26.680 We're going to pause the relationship with you on anything beyond that. 00:06:27.780 --> 00:06:29.900 It's like in a little while, we're going to take Lord's Supper together. 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:30.780 And I'll go ahead and say this. 00:06:30.940 --> 00:06:34.800 If you're a part of another church, we invite you to partake in the Lord's Supper together 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:36.460 with us at the end of our service. 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:40.460 You may be a part of a different denomination, but if you've put your faith, hope, trust in 00:06:40.460 --> 00:06:44.960 Jesus Christ and he is your Lord and Savior, and it is by grace through faith in which you 00:06:44.960 --> 00:06:47.180 are saved, not through your own works. 00:06:47.220 --> 00:06:51.620 And we invite you to partake within that with us together because we believe, right, we may 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:55.800 find some areas that we are different and some areas where we're going to disagree and maybe 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.680 some areas where very politely we could argue with each other. 00:06:58.820 --> 00:06:59.020 All right. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:01.520 But we find that we're brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:03.480 And so we want to partake in that together. 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:03.940 All right. 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:10.480 But you'll find other churches that fall harder on that line in areas like Lord's Supper, 00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:16.320 in areas like going on mission trips, in areas of different parts in the body of Christ within 00:07:16.320 --> 00:07:16.560 them. 00:07:16.820 --> 00:07:21.340 And so what we're going to look at today, I'm going to acknowledge we may come from different 00:07:21.340 --> 00:07:21.940 experiences. 00:07:22.320 --> 00:07:26.000 I came from a much different experience than what we have here. 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:31.500 But as we as leadership process through and over the history of Willow Ridge Church, right, 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:36.220 this isn't something that's happened as I sat behind my desk this week, but this is what 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:42.660 we, who we are as the body, as Willow Ridge Church, as this part of the Bride of Christ. 00:07:42.820 --> 00:07:43.020 All right. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:45.280 But there's another piece of the cards. 00:07:45.440 --> 00:07:51.120 Not only are there churches who are different, but I would be willing to bet that gathered within 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:56.820 here this morning, there's various groups of people who are in here with different views 00:07:56.820 --> 00:07:59.060 concerning church membership. 00:07:59.580 --> 00:07:59.860 All right. 00:08:00.960 --> 00:08:08.680 There, we, we're going to differ in here and it's largely going to be based on your former 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:11.140 experiences or where you've come from. 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:15.340 And as I thought about these this week, I looked at my own life and I thought, you know, there's 00:08:15.340 --> 00:08:22.560 probably three types of people who were gathered in here today, which, which makes it beautiful 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.600 that we're in here together and their view on church membership. 00:08:26.900 --> 00:08:32.440 The first one would be someone who says, yeah, like church membership is important and we 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:34.860 are church members of Willow Ridge Church. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:40.620 And we're kind of surprised that, that others aren't as passionate and as dedicated to, to 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:45.600 the thought, the concept, the, the idea of, of church membership as we are. 00:08:46.040 --> 00:08:47.300 So you'd probably fall. 00:08:47.300 --> 00:08:51.540 I'll be honest with you, I'm 43 years old, been, been doing this for, for a pretty long 00:08:51.540 --> 00:08:52.120 time, right? 00:08:52.180 --> 00:08:53.360 That's probably where I am. 00:08:53.940 --> 00:08:55.000 I love church membership. 00:08:55.140 --> 00:09:00.980 I love knowing that this is the body that I belong to and that you and I have that special 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:02.900 covenant relationship together, right? 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:03.920 So that's one group of people. 00:09:04.380 --> 00:09:06.700 But there's, there's another, right? 00:09:07.060 --> 00:09:12.280 Another group that may be due to former circumstances that, that you're not necessarily against it. 00:09:12.280 --> 00:09:17.120 Like you're not like throwing, you know, uh, throwing things at me right now because I'm 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:21.620 talking about this, but maybe within your, within your spirit right now, there's a little 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:25.060 bit of, of unsettling as we think about church membership. 00:09:25.060 --> 00:09:27.160 And you're like, Hey man, church membership is cool. 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:27.740 That's good. 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:28.980 Um, that's for you. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:30.460 It's not really for us. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:31.420 That's not where we are. 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:32.960 You know, we just want to come here. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:35.900 We want to worship, we want to give, we want to participate. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:40.960 But as far as like formally engaging and connecting ourselves, right? 00:09:41.160 --> 00:09:46.260 With, with Willow Ridge or with a specific church, that's not for us. 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:47.680 We're, we're not going to do that. 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:48.700 Now I want to be honest with you. 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:49.880 That was me for a long time. 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:52.160 It's me for a long time. 00:09:53.020 --> 00:09:55.900 And not just me before I got into ministry. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:00.200 I went through a season in my life where that was me. 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:06.980 As a pastor, as someone serving in ministry. 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:08.880 And so, so maybe that's you. 00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:11.700 And then I think there's probably a third group. 00:10:11.780 --> 00:10:15.100 And this third group is probably most people. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:21.560 Most people on, on, on any given Sunday in our congregation that, that the thought is, well, 00:10:21.560 --> 00:10:26.260 you know, I'm, I'm a member or I'm not a member, but I haven't really ever thought about it. 00:10:26.920 --> 00:10:30.940 I don't spend much time thinking about church membership. 00:10:30.940 --> 00:10:36.340 Maybe you're new to church or you've been to churches where this hasn't been discussed or made a big deal. 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:38.660 And so it's just something within your brain. 00:10:38.760 --> 00:10:43.040 You're like, this, this just isn't something that that's crossed through my mind. 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:45.260 Something that I put a lot of depth into. 00:10:45.260 --> 00:10:56.380 And so what I want us to do today is recognize that there are good brothers and sisters in Christ who fall into these lines of thought, right? 00:10:56.460 --> 00:11:01.720 Super pro church membership and everything should funnel and go through that. 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:05.100 And we're passionate about it to, to kind of anti, right? 00:11:05.260 --> 00:11:10.160 Anti establishment a little bit within there of like, no, that's not what I want to commit myself to. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:11.560 And then somebody's probably in the middle. 00:11:11.640 --> 00:11:13.120 I'm like, I hadn't really ever thought about it. 00:11:13.140 --> 00:11:15.580 Like it just doesn't ever cross my mind. 00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:24.040 And what I want to look at this morning is what I believe the Bible teaches us about church membership. 00:11:24.040 --> 00:11:34.980 And then specifically that we as leaders, what are we saying that it means to be a member of Willow Ridge Church? 00:11:35.760 --> 00:11:44.720 Because maybe your past experience is defining for you of what it means to join, of what it means to align yourself, to become a member. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:52.060 But as we look at this this morning, you're like, okay, well, that resonates well with me. 00:11:52.660 --> 00:12:01.440 Now, here's the thing when it comes to church membership is that, and I wish there was, it would make this message a whole lot easier for me this morning, right? 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:11.380 There's not the passage of scripture that we can turn to that says, and join a church, thus says the Lord, right? 00:12:11.780 --> 00:12:13.020 We can't find that. 00:12:14.040 --> 00:12:19.660 Google church membership and you're not going to find the passage of scripture that says this. 00:12:20.380 --> 00:12:27.420 But what I would also plead with you and say, if that's where your mind's going, because that's where my mind went for so long. 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:29.260 The Bible doesn't say it. 00:12:29.760 --> 00:12:31.180 The Bible doesn't say church member. 00:12:31.400 --> 00:12:33.120 So we don't have to worry about that. 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:38.400 Is that nowhere in the Bible also is the word Trinity. 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:51.460 But we take from scripture and understand from scripture the doctrine of the Trinity, where we believe there is one God who exists eternally as three distinct persons. 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:54.320 God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Spirit. 00:12:55.320 --> 00:13:07.120 So within this, what we acknowledge within scripture is what we study are that there are truths that come from this that we're called to look at and wrestle with and draw from that. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:22.560 And I believe as we look at this, right, while there's not the passage of scripture that says yes, and you join a church, church membership is not used in scripture, that we can look at different passages and draw from that and begin to see. 00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:32.360 There were some that we were going to talk about this morning, but we're running out of time as different ones like Romans chapter 12, where it talks about the believers are one body together. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:36.740 And as Paul writes that to the church at Rome, he's addressing this to them. 00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:41.460 And then within there, but you're like, okay, well, he's talking about the body as a whole. 00:13:41.560 --> 00:13:48.480 But the words that he uses in the context of Romans 12 are words like one another, right? 00:13:48.520 --> 00:13:56.580 Not they who were far off, but within the context of the local body of the bride of Christ. 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:58.340 And we see this throughout scripture. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:05.840 But I believe Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17 will help us and what we want to look at with this this morning. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:12.440 And so I'm going to read the whole verse, and then we're going to come back and break it down in four different sections and look at church membership. 00:14:13.300 --> 00:14:14.940 So the writer of Hebrews says this, 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:26.120 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:35.820 Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:45.000 And so what I want us to look at in this one verse is why church membership, why membership matters. 00:14:45.800 --> 00:14:48.260 All right, so let's start off, let's look at the first part of that. 00:14:49.160 --> 00:14:52.960 Obey your leaders and submit to them. 00:14:54.060 --> 00:15:02.200 So the writer of Hebrews begins this by saying within the context of the church setting, there are leaders. 00:15:02.380 --> 00:15:03.980 All right, and we're going to talk about these leaders. 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:12.060 We can look throughout scripture, what we see in the New Testament within the church, the leaders of the church, referred to as pastors, elders, overseers, right? 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:17.240 It's what we find in scripture is those who this has been entrusted with, the gospel entrusted with. 00:15:17.380 --> 00:15:28.500 And whenever you see pastor, elder, and overseer within scripture, there carries some similarity and some commonality between the titles and the roles and the responsibilities of there. 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:34.920 Okay, so obey your leaders, this isn't necessarily just talking about those who are far away. 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:41.340 It's not talking about church leaders that like in a denominational setting, but it's in the context of your church. 00:15:41.640 --> 00:15:44.720 Obey your leaders and submit to them. 00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:46.860 And submit to them. 00:15:47.660 --> 00:15:56.880 So the first thing that I want us to see is that membership matters as you declare who your leaders are. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:03.540 Membership matters as you declare who your leaders are. 00:16:03.540 --> 00:16:08.820 So God gives us this model of church, and he gave us the leadership model. 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:13.180 We didn't sit down and think, what's the best way to do this? 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:24.880 We didn't go and sit down with Apple or Amazon or IBM or whoever and say, what is the best leadership model that we can draw from culture? 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:31.400 No, the leadership model in which we see of what we're to do is drawn in and found from scripture. 00:16:31.400 --> 00:16:42.820 So God gives us this leadership model, and then what God does is he places on these leaders a calling to lead, right? 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:44.380 That's what leaders are. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.020 Leaders are supposed to lead. 00:16:50.040 --> 00:16:54.480 And then Jesus, within the context of this, well, what are we to lead to? 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:55.780 Where are we going? 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.420 What are we mainstreaming? 00:16:57.460 --> 00:16:58.440 What are we headed toward? 00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:00.640 And it goes all the way back to the Great Commission. 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:09.260 The process of what Jesus is calling the church to do is what Jesus has called us as individuals to do. 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:14.240 So in Matthew 28, when he gives us the Great Commission, the Great Commission we all know. 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:17.140 If I were to ask you, what is the thing that comes from the Great Commission? 00:17:17.360 --> 00:17:21.060 We all begin with, and it's so important in that very first part, right? 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:22.000 And we get that. 00:17:22.080 --> 00:17:23.100 We are to go. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:24.340 We are to go. 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:25.520 And so we do that. 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:27.500 We've been going this summer. 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:29.400 We're challenging you to go. 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:36.780 We hope with this that families can begin to build the importance within the dynamic of who they are as they lead their kids to go. 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:37.860 And so we're doing this. 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:39.100 We're doing this. 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:39.780 We go. 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:44.760 And so Matthew 28 tells us to go, but we have to go with an end in mind. 00:17:44.840 --> 00:17:46.600 We have to go with a goal. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:51.680 And Jesus says that the goal is to make disciples, right? 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:52.320 Make disciples. 00:17:52.740 --> 00:18:01.560 And then he gives us, because he's kind and he's gracious of who he is, he doesn't just say, and then go figure out what that looks like or what that means. 00:18:01.560 --> 00:18:04.500 But he tells us what it means to do that. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:08.740 He says you were to go and you were to baptize them, right? 00:18:08.800 --> 00:18:10.680 So this is to be for believers. 00:18:12.060 --> 00:18:16.560 And then you're to teach them to obey. 00:18:17.780 --> 00:18:20.860 Teach them to obey Jesus' words. 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:28.040 All that I, Jesus, has commanded you, the believers that he gives the task to. 00:18:29.300 --> 00:18:31.560 So this is very important as we read this. 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:42.040 And if within your spirit, within your being, there's a person of you who's like, man, I don't know about this whole following thing, right? 00:18:42.360 --> 00:18:44.420 Because I've got to obey someone. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:52.940 And I've got to obey someone who may be just as jacked up, messed up, flawed, have all their issues, all the things that they've got to work through. 00:18:53.100 --> 00:18:55.520 I'm following an imperfect leader, right? 00:18:55.840 --> 00:18:56.180 Amen. 00:18:56.320 --> 00:18:57.080 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.840 But Jesus says, here's who we're to obey. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:01.380 We're to obey Jesus. 00:19:02.540 --> 00:19:03.380 We're to obey Jesus. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:15.020 You know, the difference between, there's lots of differences, but the difference between Christianity and the cult is who are we looking at? 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:23.420 Like, we're not here to obey me, right? 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.900 We're here to obey Jesus. 00:19:28.860 --> 00:19:29.500 Jesus. 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:29.660 Jesus. 00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:38.500 So that's, so my responsibility to you is not to share with you what I want. 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:42.720 It's not to share with you what I think. 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:58.740 But my responsibility is to share with you what God says so that we, you and me, in this together, arm's length, getting dirty together, can obey him. 00:19:59.900 --> 00:20:05.200 And that's what we want to say so that we want to obey him. 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:08.660 And this is my responsibility, right? 00:20:09.780 --> 00:20:19.420 A few verses back in Hebrews 13, 7, it says, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. 00:20:20.360 --> 00:20:27.080 Consider the outcome of their faith, right? 00:20:27.420 --> 00:20:28.700 The burden that we have. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:30.960 Remember your leaders. 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:32.880 Hold them accountable. 00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:35.540 Those who spoke to you the word of God. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:37.280 And then I love this. 00:20:38.060 --> 00:20:42.080 Consider the outcome of their way of life. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.620 Here's what that means. 00:20:44.820 --> 00:20:46.240 You watch me. 00:20:47.760 --> 00:21:03.340 The burden, the beautiful burden of what I get to carry, the beautiful burden of what Dave gets to carry, of what Berger gets to carry, of what Joel gets to carry, what Dawn gets to carry, what our elders get to carry, right? 00:21:04.340 --> 00:21:09.420 It's this burden of what the word of God says. 00:21:10.560 --> 00:21:12.700 Look and examine it. 00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:14.980 Examine it. 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:20.380 And then, and then, imitate their faith. 00:21:21.520 --> 00:21:22.920 Imitate their faith. 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:26.060 So what this is, is accountability. 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:30.340 What this is, is the beauty of this. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.400 Like, it's not our job to manipulate. 00:21:34.420 --> 00:21:36.960 It's not our job to control. 00:21:37.820 --> 00:21:51.280 It is our job, as your leaders, to understand God's word, apply that to our life, teach that, and then be representatives of that. 00:21:52.340 --> 00:21:52.480 Right? 00:21:53.000 --> 00:22:01.420 It's why, just on a side note, really, really quickly, if you teach God's word, put time into it. 00:22:03.340 --> 00:22:07.980 Five minutes before the lesson is supposed to start, don't open your Bible or open your material. 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:20.740 Take the time to walk through, to examine within your own life, to see what the word of God needs to teach you and work out in you through the spirit of the Lord as he leads, 00:22:21.040 --> 00:22:26.360 so that those who you teach can observe that in you, and then they can imitate your faith. 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:27.260 Right? 00:22:28.620 --> 00:22:31.380 And so the Bible calls you and I to be led. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.940 The Bible calls you and I to obey. 00:22:34.320 --> 00:22:37.640 The Bible calls you and I to submit. 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:38.300 Right? 00:22:40.280 --> 00:22:42.440 But I've fought against this in my life. 00:22:43.080 --> 00:22:47.720 I don't know if you have, but we've talked about this before. 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:51.260 We've got some of you, my wife's one. 00:22:52.260 --> 00:22:52.600 Right? 00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:54.480 You're just rule followers. 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:55.660 Right? 00:22:55.780 --> 00:22:56.460 Y'all know those people? 00:22:57.280 --> 00:22:57.420 Right? 00:22:57.480 --> 00:22:58.480 Maybe you are one. 00:22:58.740 --> 00:22:59.620 You're rule followers. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.260 And then those of us are bent sinfully in another direction and like, yeah, we're not. 00:23:05.520 --> 00:23:05.840 You know? 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:08.200 Like, our favorite question is usually why. 00:23:08.600 --> 00:23:08.880 Right? 00:23:09.100 --> 00:23:10.140 Well, why do I have to do that? 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:10.880 Why do I have to do that? 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:11.540 Why do I have to do that? 00:23:11.620 --> 00:23:12.540 And you're there. 00:23:12.760 --> 00:23:14.700 And that was me for so long. 00:23:14.780 --> 00:23:17.600 And still, it's what the Lord's working in my life. 00:23:17.620 --> 00:23:17.780 Right? 00:23:18.120 --> 00:23:18.820 So much. 00:23:18.820 --> 00:23:35.920 But I find within this, there's one of two things that causes us as a people to, even as believers, even as believers, there's one of two things that cause us to resist obedience of the word of God and submission to it. 00:23:36.300 --> 00:23:42.040 The first thing that I notice, and this is what I suffered from and suffered from in so many areas of my life still, is pride. 00:23:42.760 --> 00:23:43.260 It's pride. 00:23:43.840 --> 00:23:44.480 It's sin. 00:23:45.100 --> 00:23:49.140 It's no one is going to tell me what to do. 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:51.320 That's against the gospel. 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:53.520 It's against it. 00:23:54.060 --> 00:23:55.000 It's pride. 00:23:55.340 --> 00:23:56.880 It's that I know more. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.000 It's that I'm not teachable. 00:23:59.280 --> 00:24:03.340 It's that I'm not able to be molded and shaped more. 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:03.600 Right? 00:24:03.760 --> 00:24:11.440 I praise the Lord that there are men and women in my life who see things about me, speak that into my life. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:23.100 And I'm not talking about just the good things, but about the junk and the mess, and they speak it, and the beautiful opportunity I have to respond to that. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.200 So pride can prevent this. 00:24:25.300 --> 00:24:35.020 But the other thing, and I want to be sensitive to this as well, is the other thing that causes you to resist this obey and submit is hurt. 00:24:36.340 --> 00:24:37.160 It's hurt. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:43.740 I'm not foolish enough to believe that there's not a group of people, maybe a large group of people in here. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:59.580 And your resistance to church leadership specifically is because in past circumstances, leadership has been used to manipulate you and to hurt you and to abuse you. 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:03.920 So many have walked that path. 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:09.800 And I want to say that if that is you, there's so much grace for you. 00:25:10.520 --> 00:25:20.440 But what we would love to do is walking you through that so that you can find freedom and forgiveness in where you've gone. 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:28.560 So first, we look at leadership, membership matters as you declare who your leaders are. 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:29.360 Number two. 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:33.460 Let's keep reading the second part of the verse. 00:25:34.100 --> 00:25:38.300 For they are keeping watch over your souls. 00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:39.840 Number two. 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:42.620 Membership matters as the flock is defined. 00:25:42.840 --> 00:25:50.960 So this is the calling that God has placed on all those who find themselves in the biblical leadership position. 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:53.200 The pastor, the elders, the overseers. 00:25:53.460 --> 00:25:55.300 This is what we're responsible for. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:26:00.720 That we are responsible for keeping watch over your souls. 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:05.640 So the question comes, the reason why membership matters for me is this. 00:26:06.040 --> 00:26:09.880 Who am I responsible for? 00:26:10.840 --> 00:26:11.120 Right? 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.100 Years ago, I was a youth pastor. 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:23.000 And I just praise the Lord that I got through a lot of difficult seasons of me being a bonehead as a youth pastor. 00:26:23.260 --> 00:26:24.680 And we had open gym night. 00:26:25.140 --> 00:26:29.100 We had open gym night on Sunday nights after church was over with. 00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:30.800 And we'd play basketball for several hours. 00:26:31.120 --> 00:26:32.960 This was before Aaron and I had kids. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.760 And we'd stay up to like midnight during the summers just playing ball, playing ball, playing ball. 00:26:36.760 --> 00:26:44.440 And it kind of grew to where a lot of kids were coming and not necessarily playing basketball. 00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:46.580 They were doing other stuff in and around the church. 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:47.860 Nothing bad, nothing terrible. 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:49.660 We had pool tables, all that kind of stuff. 00:26:49.840 --> 00:26:55.340 And I, as the leader, did an extremely poor job of making sure we had enough adults there. 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:55.580 Right? 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:57.120 Like I said, I wasn't a dad. 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:58.020 I didn't have kids. 00:26:58.120 --> 00:26:58.260 Right? 00:26:58.300 --> 00:27:00.260 God had to teach me a lot of things in that. 00:27:00.260 --> 00:27:06.600 It was phenomenal to see in my life the moment I had a newborn son and a newborn daughter. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:11.660 The desire in my life to raise the amount of chaperones that constantly existed. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:11.920 Right? 00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:12.360 Right? 00:27:12.600 --> 00:27:15.480 Like we're doing a hard enough time keeping our eyes on these two. 00:27:15.820 --> 00:27:17.560 We need more people. 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:17.900 All right? 00:27:18.040 --> 00:27:22.480 And so we were there and I had an intern who was there with me. 00:27:22.740 --> 00:27:25.560 He actually pastors Lake Murray Baptist Church now. 00:27:25.600 --> 00:27:26.380 His name's David Sons. 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:27.500 And he was interning for me. 00:27:27.820 --> 00:27:29.060 And he came up to me. 00:27:29.320 --> 00:27:30.800 He's like, man, we've had an accident. 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:33.200 I'm like, what are you talking about? 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:33.900 We've had an accident. 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:38.280 He said, Jimmy broke his nose. 00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:41.420 Now, I'm playing basketball. 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:46.720 And ain't nobody broke their nose on the basketball court, number one. 00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:51.260 And number two, I have no clue who Jimmy is. 00:27:52.540 --> 00:27:53.620 None whatsoever. 00:27:55.340 --> 00:27:58.540 And he said, I said, okay, we can handle this, right? 00:27:59.140 --> 00:28:00.400 Let's call his mom. 00:28:00.840 --> 00:28:02.440 The hospital's right across. 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:09.020 He's like, well, man, I just found out that Jimmy's nose is broke because Jimmy's mom's here. 00:28:10.300 --> 00:28:12.500 I was like, okay. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:13.180 All right. 00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:18.080 And at that moment, right, I didn't know Jimmy was there. 00:28:18.900 --> 00:28:20.980 I was playing basketball, not engaged. 00:28:21.220 --> 00:28:24.420 I'm completely 100% at fault. 00:28:24.580 --> 00:28:28.340 And we begin the walk out to the parking lot of this. 00:28:28.800 --> 00:28:31.600 We're about to get yelled at, right? 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:32.960 Like that's what's going to happen. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:34.160 And that's what happened. 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:41.660 And her first words out of her mouth were, I'll never forget this, who's responsible? 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:48.380 And in that moment, I wanted to promote David to my position. 00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:51.360 He is, ma'am. 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:53.600 You know, we just hired him. 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:54.920 I just voted 1-0. 00:28:55.020 --> 00:28:55.860 He's got it, right? 00:28:57.360 --> 00:28:57.620 Right? 00:28:58.020 --> 00:28:59.320 She wouldn't know who's responsible. 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:11.180 Membership matters as the flock is defined because within this battle of what we walk through as pastors is, 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:13.500 I'll be honest with you, I just want to know who I'm responsible for. 00:29:14.800 --> 00:29:16.200 I want to know who I'm responsible for. 00:29:16.200 --> 00:29:21.020 And what membership does is it defines the flock. 00:29:22.280 --> 00:29:32.440 You've identified, you've chosen us, and now we are tasked with keeping watch over your soul is what Scripture tells us, right? 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:41.720 Now, ultimately, what we're concerned about, right, is more than just your day-to-day of things. 00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:47.840 We're concerned with your soul, your eternity, your growth, your obedience to the Lord, right? 00:29:48.340 --> 00:29:49.120 There's concern. 00:29:50.520 --> 00:29:53.480 Well, you could argue and say, well, would we not care about other believers? 00:29:54.560 --> 00:29:57.460 Do you not care about so-and-so that lives down the road? 00:29:57.560 --> 00:30:00.540 Do you not care about so-and-so that lives on the other side of the world? 00:30:00.800 --> 00:30:02.800 Do you not care about these other individuals? 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:07.060 And the answer to that is absolutely yes, yes, I do care. 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:15.020 But when I look at what Scripture teaches me, what I've been entrusted with is the flock. 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:17.720 Peter talks about this in 1 Peter 5. 00:30:17.820 --> 00:30:19.320 He says, verse 1, 00:30:19.320 --> 00:30:28.040 So I exhort the elders among you, among you, as a congregation, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:32.420 as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. 00:30:32.620 --> 00:30:43.460 Verse 2, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, 00:30:43.860 --> 00:30:51.920 as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, 00:30:52.120 --> 00:30:54.920 but being examples to the flock. 00:30:56.040 --> 00:30:59.460 So Peter lays this out, do we care about others? 00:30:59.820 --> 00:31:05.160 Yes, we care about others, but who are we responsible for? 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:14.080 We're responsible for those who've been entrusted to us, that which is among you. 00:31:15.340 --> 00:31:19.840 This past week, I believe it was Thursday, and it was Wednesday morning, 00:31:20.760 --> 00:31:25.120 sitting down at Starbucks and kind of going through some stuff for my message that morning, 00:31:25.380 --> 00:31:29.920 and a pastor, a friend of mine, ironically David Sons, who used to be an intern, 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:33.180 he comes walking in, and he sat down, and we began to talk, 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:35.640 and we began to talk about what he's preaching about on Sunday morning, 00:31:35.780 --> 00:31:37.480 and what I'm preaching about on Sunday morning, 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:39.980 and we began to talk through some things that we're going through, 00:31:40.040 --> 00:31:41.020 and some things that we're facing, 00:31:41.020 --> 00:31:43.920 and what you got in that moment sitting at that table, 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:50.260 and it was beautiful, was two pastors with the concern of the flock that God's entrusted them with. 00:31:51.620 --> 00:31:54.680 Yes, I care about what's happening at his church, 00:31:55.080 --> 00:31:57.940 but what I'm responsible for here. 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:00.420 And let's keep on in the third part, 00:32:00.520 --> 00:32:03.020 because this is where the weight begins to be felt. 00:32:05.020 --> 00:32:11.620 As those who will give, as those who will have to give an account. 00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:21.540 So we as leaders are given the responsibility to watch over souls that we will be given, 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:24.320 that we will be held accountable for. 00:32:24.760 --> 00:32:28.900 So membership matters as leadership is held accountable. 00:32:30.020 --> 00:32:32.040 Accountable is one of the beautiful words of Scripture. 00:32:32.320 --> 00:32:33.520 It's what Jesus does with us. 00:32:33.520 --> 00:32:39.160 We are to be held accountable for that which is entrusted with us. 00:32:39.260 --> 00:32:42.640 We do not have the time this morning to look at all of the different areas, 00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:49.520 but Jesus consistently preaches about this and uses this as illustrations in parables and teachings. 00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:54.440 As he talks about, you and I will give an account of what we talk about. 00:32:54.540 --> 00:32:59.540 So we, just a handful, gather together as believers, right? 00:32:59.540 --> 00:33:03.520 That we've been given and entrusted with the gospel, right? 00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:06.400 You will be held accountable for what you do with that. 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:09.880 So we ask our question, do we share it like we should? 00:33:10.020 --> 00:33:13.660 We're entrusted with the gifts that God has given us, 00:33:13.800 --> 00:33:15.460 and we will be held accountable for them. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:17.820 Do we use them to glorify God? 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.460 We have been given and entrusted with the knowledge and with our salvation. 00:33:22.860 --> 00:33:32.580 And so do we, because we'll be held accountable for that, do we seek to grow in obedience so you and I will be held accountable for the Lord. 00:33:32.580 --> 00:33:35.880 In Romans 14, Paul writes about this. 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:36.440 And he says, 00:33:36.580 --> 00:33:39.100 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or you? 00:33:39.400 --> 00:33:40.880 Why do you not despise your brother? 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:45.260 For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 00:33:46.120 --> 00:33:47.060 For it is written, 00:33:47.560 --> 00:33:49.520 As I live, says the Lord, 00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:54.400 every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. 00:33:54.640 --> 00:34:00.220 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:11.300 And what the writer of Hebrews says is that not only will we give an account of ourselves, 00:34:12.060 --> 00:34:16.900 but we as leaders, pastors, elders, overseers, 00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:22.920 will be held accountable for you. 00:34:24.500 --> 00:34:25.760 Now grace covers it. 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:29.560 I want you to understand that and hear that. 00:34:30.860 --> 00:34:31.740 Grace covers it. 00:34:32.740 --> 00:34:34.520 We are found in Christ. 00:34:34.660 --> 00:34:37.120 We are eternally set and secure. 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:40.380 Grace covers it all. 00:34:41.640 --> 00:34:44.100 But before God, 00:34:44.680 --> 00:34:48.980 I will give an account for how I teach the scripture 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:53.920 and how I shepherd the flock that God has entrusted me with. 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:56.340 And that matters to me. 00:34:57.420 --> 00:34:58.680 That matters to me. 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:02.380 I met with my men's group. 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:06.360 We meet on Thursdays for lunch and Bible study and prayer request time came around 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:08.440 and a lot of things that are going on. 00:35:08.560 --> 00:35:09.280 And I just said, 00:35:09.720 --> 00:35:13.400 this is this peace that's just keeping me up at night. 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:16.600 The more that I wrestle, 00:35:16.840 --> 00:35:18.580 the more that I walk through, 00:35:18.940 --> 00:35:24.600 the more that I understand this beautiful calling of what God has for me, 00:35:24.720 --> 00:35:26.540 I need to know that I'm held accountable. 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:27.160 All right. 00:35:27.240 --> 00:35:28.040 The fourth, 00:35:28.180 --> 00:35:30.880 and then we'll move on and talk about us here. 00:35:31.600 --> 00:35:31.880 All right. 00:35:31.940 --> 00:35:33.100 It says this in Hebrews 13, 00:35:33.160 --> 00:35:34.100 the last part of verse 17, 00:35:34.540 --> 00:35:38.760 let them leadership do this with joy and not with groaning. 00:35:40.040 --> 00:35:42.220 For that would be of no advantage to you. 00:35:43.080 --> 00:35:43.180 Right. 00:35:43.680 --> 00:35:46.640 And membership matters as we seek to grow one another. 00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:49.000 Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5 11, 00:35:49.140 --> 00:35:53.180 therefore encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. 00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:54.860 Paul says in Philippians 2, 00:35:55.040 --> 00:35:56.540 the challenge to the church there, 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:59.640 make my joy complete is what he says. 00:35:59.640 --> 00:36:04.560 And then he begins to lift out what this begins to look like in maturity in Christ. 00:36:05.220 --> 00:36:05.320 Right. 00:36:10.620 --> 00:36:18.140 Thursday was a tough dad emotional day for me. 00:36:19.240 --> 00:36:26.760 I took my kids to high school and I walked in and they never said it. 00:36:28.620 --> 00:36:30.080 But I felt it. 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:31.100 Right. 00:36:32.600 --> 00:36:33.080 Dad. 00:36:34.520 --> 00:36:35.000 Leave. 00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:36.120 You know. 00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:39.400 Just leave. 00:36:41.260 --> 00:36:44.800 And so I went and I paid for everything. 00:36:45.500 --> 00:36:48.460 And I wanted to be around for that. 00:36:48.560 --> 00:36:49.380 That's the good part. 00:36:49.460 --> 00:36:49.680 Right. 00:36:50.860 --> 00:36:54.340 And then they they they they they they scattered. 00:36:56.160 --> 00:36:56.520 Right. 00:36:57.740 --> 00:36:59.900 And and that's. 00:37:00.740 --> 00:37:04.040 And then I watched them because I didn't leave right away. 00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:07.180 And I was the creepy dad that kind of lingered a little bit. 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:12.880 And then I came back before I told them that I was going to come back to watch where they were and what they were doing. 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:13.920 And I'm getting there, people. 00:37:14.020 --> 00:37:14.500 I'm getting there. 00:37:14.540 --> 00:37:15.200 But pray for me. 00:37:15.200 --> 00:37:15.580 It's tough. 00:37:15.640 --> 00:37:16.180 I got a daughter. 00:37:16.580 --> 00:37:16.700 Right. 00:37:18.360 --> 00:37:27.060 And so but what warmed my heart was when I got back, they had done what they were supposed to do. 00:37:28.520 --> 00:37:30.980 They had they were supposed to do these things. 00:37:31.060 --> 00:37:32.100 They had done them. 00:37:32.180 --> 00:37:32.740 They were there. 00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:33.700 They were excited. 00:37:34.020 --> 00:37:38.100 And believe it or not, when I came back, there was no more money for me to give. 00:37:38.200 --> 00:37:39.700 But they were glad that I was there with them. 00:37:40.260 --> 00:37:40.380 Right. 00:37:40.660 --> 00:37:42.580 Or at least they pretended and made me feel that way. 00:37:42.680 --> 00:37:44.920 So, Emma, if that's not the case, don't tell me. 00:37:45.020 --> 00:37:45.200 All right. 00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:47.580 But they were they were glad. 00:37:48.040 --> 00:37:49.320 And here's what I saw. 00:37:49.420 --> 00:37:54.340 Here's where my heart went from being difficult day to like this is a good day. 00:37:54.340 --> 00:37:54.680 Right. 00:37:55.020 --> 00:38:00.780 Because they they made my joy complete because they were doing what they're supposed to do as they're growing up to be the man and woman of God that God's called them to. 00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:01.400 Right. 00:38:02.060 --> 00:38:02.900 Made my joy complete. 00:38:03.640 --> 00:38:06.840 And so when we when we see this, where am I? 00:38:06.940 --> 00:38:07.700 Where am I going with this? 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:10.260 Like as we see you grow. 00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:24.680 And as we see membership as being a part of this body and we see men and women of faith take steps of obedience, we celebrate all that God's doing as you're going and as you're working. 00:38:24.680 --> 00:38:38.140 And so all that we ask you to do right in this is to grow, to believe what God's word tells us and use it for growth in a way that's going to benefit the entire body. 00:38:38.800 --> 00:38:41.860 So, so grab this grab this piece of paper that we have for you. 00:38:41.860 --> 00:38:48.060 So what we have here is we have our Willow Ridge Church membership covenant. 00:38:48.260 --> 00:38:54.420 Now, what Pastor Dave does, Pastor Dave teaches a class that goes through this for membership. 00:38:55.000 --> 00:39:00.560 It teaches it, I believe, Dave, you teach this every quarter at least within our church. 00:39:00.560 --> 00:39:03.280 And then you've even done one-on-ones with people that can't make it, right? 00:39:03.620 --> 00:39:11.140 But what we wanted to do in this morning was kind of shrink this down a little bit and kind of walk through some of this. 00:39:11.240 --> 00:39:16.760 And so if you go ahead and jump down to the bottom where you see today, here's what we're kind of looking at to do. 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:20.680 We're going to ask that maybe, maybe the Lord's leading you to respond this morning, all right? 00:39:20.880 --> 00:39:22.800 And there's different ways that you can respond. 00:39:23.200 --> 00:39:29.440 You can respond that first one, RC, I'm recommitting to my membership covenant as a member of Willow Ridge Church. 00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:30.980 So I'll just give you a heads up. 00:39:31.040 --> 00:39:32.900 That's what the Bradberries are filling out, right? 00:39:32.900 --> 00:39:34.600 I know I'm the pastor, but I'm a member. 00:39:35.200 --> 00:39:41.060 And what we're doing today is we are recommitting to our membership covenant as members of Willow Ridge Church, right? 00:39:41.360 --> 00:39:43.640 There's the next one that's down in the SF. 00:39:43.860 --> 00:39:46.680 I want to join Willow Ridge Church by statement of faith. 00:39:46.760 --> 00:39:50.440 I've accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord and have been baptized by immersion. 00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:54.980 And so you're saying that you're declaring that you'd like to join Willow Ridge Church. 00:39:55.520 --> 00:40:00.240 The next one down, the FB, I want to join Willow Ridge Church by faith and baptism. 00:40:00.240 --> 00:40:05.760 I want to confess Christ as my Savior and Lord, and I want to be immersed in baptism. 00:40:05.980 --> 00:40:08.400 And so that's the next part that you can join. 00:40:08.720 --> 00:40:12.780 So you were not a believer, a professing believer, but today you profess that. 00:40:13.160 --> 00:40:15.520 B, down there at the bottom is baptism. 00:40:15.660 --> 00:40:17.480 I want to join Willow Ridge Church by baptism. 00:40:17.820 --> 00:40:21.780 I've accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I want to be baptized. 00:40:22.120 --> 00:40:29.680 And so those are those four, but then there's lastly, because we're at a spot where we just want to be here and guide and direct. 00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:34.720 You see that there's the cue there on the bottom, and it says, I have more questions before I make my decision. 00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:37.060 If that's you this morning, that's okay. 00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:38.060 That's okay. 00:40:38.460 --> 00:40:44.120 What we're going to ask, and maybe you're not at a spot right now where any of these apply to you. 00:40:44.920 --> 00:40:45.300 All right? 00:40:45.480 --> 00:40:46.240 That's okay, too. 00:40:46.960 --> 00:40:47.440 That's okay. 00:40:48.040 --> 00:40:50.400 This isn't my heart in this message this morning. 00:40:50.480 --> 00:40:58.140 It's not a membership drive, but my heart in this this morning is for us to walk through and understand why membership matters, 00:40:58.140 --> 00:41:02.220 and what we're going to look at quickly is what you're committing to within this. 00:41:02.280 --> 00:41:03.580 And maybe this doesn't apply to you. 00:41:03.640 --> 00:41:10.360 But if it does, if you flip over on the back, you'll see we have the different persons of your family that's there. 00:41:10.640 --> 00:41:17.960 So, for instance, the Bradberries, I will fill out for all four of us, and I will check the RC box for all of us. 00:41:18.040 --> 00:41:23.820 And so please do that for us today if this is how the Lord's leading you to. 00:41:23.820 --> 00:41:25.080 But what are you committing to? 00:41:25.700 --> 00:41:26.900 We said there's different churches. 00:41:27.000 --> 00:41:28.340 Different churches view this differently. 00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:29.780 What are you committing to? 00:41:29.880 --> 00:41:34.400 And so, as you'll see, there's the four bullets on the top, and I'll go through those really quickly. 00:41:34.600 --> 00:41:35.640 The Willow Ridge Church membership. 00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:38.060 Number one, I will protect the unity. 00:41:38.780 --> 00:41:43.320 I will protect the unity of Willow Ridge Church by acting in love toward other members, 00:41:43.680 --> 00:41:50.040 by refusing to gossip and following the leadership of my pastors, staff, and leaders. 00:41:50.040 --> 00:41:52.340 I will protect the unity. 00:41:52.780 --> 00:41:52.920 All right? 00:41:53.020 --> 00:41:57.360 Number one within this, it's very clear from Scripture, reputation matters. 00:41:58.460 --> 00:41:59.280 Reputation matters. 00:41:59.880 --> 00:42:05.960 Who we are as the body of Christ and what people think and know of us matters as we seek to live to glorify God. 00:42:06.260 --> 00:42:10.400 And we ask you to join us in the fight for unity within that. 00:42:10.720 --> 00:42:13.620 We are the bride of Christ, and we're called to reflect that. 00:42:14.380 --> 00:42:20.360 And so you fight for that with us, and we are called to be a people of unity, not division. 00:42:20.500 --> 00:42:22.620 It's what we looked at in our study of 1 Corinthians. 00:42:22.620 --> 00:42:27.700 So I will protect, number one, the unity of our church. 00:42:27.820 --> 00:42:31.560 Number two, I will share the responsibility. 00:42:32.540 --> 00:42:37.020 So I will share the responsibility of Willow Ridge Church by praying for its growth, 00:42:37.180 --> 00:42:41.580 by sharing the gospel with people far from God, by engaging in discipleship, 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:46.940 by inviting people far from God to attend, and by giving my tithes regularly. 00:42:46.940 --> 00:42:50.240 So just within there, like it's, we share in this. 00:42:51.340 --> 00:42:54.960 Just like I hope your family is balanced in your home, 00:42:55.720 --> 00:42:58.880 and that within there for all of the people who live in your home, 00:42:59.080 --> 00:43:02.880 there's a shared ownership of that home that's there, right? 00:43:03.220 --> 00:43:07.040 We're all given with specific responsibilities to do, 00:43:07.620 --> 00:43:11.620 and the beauty of this is some are the same, and some are different. 00:43:12.100 --> 00:43:12.660 Some are different. 00:43:13.100 --> 00:43:15.900 But what we're asking for in the sharing of the responsibility is, 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:17.300 number one, we ask that you pray. 00:43:17.900 --> 00:43:21.140 We ask that you pray for us, that you pray for this church, 00:43:21.260 --> 00:43:22.680 and that you pray for each other. 00:43:23.160 --> 00:43:25.520 Number two, by committing to share the responsibility, 00:43:25.800 --> 00:43:26.960 you commit to share the gospel. 00:43:27.660 --> 00:43:31.360 God calls all of us as believers, and we hold ourselves accountable for that, 00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:34.260 that when God presents you and opens the opportunity to, 00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:36.640 you share the gospel with those who don't know it. 00:43:37.300 --> 00:43:42.020 Number three, you engage in discipleship for yourself and for others, 00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:47.460 that we recognize that God calls all of us to grow in our relationship with him, 00:43:47.540 --> 00:43:49.420 to mature in our relationship with him, 00:43:49.520 --> 00:43:52.940 and that we are held accountable as we help one another grow. 00:43:53.180 --> 00:43:55.620 Number four, that you invite others. 00:43:56.120 --> 00:43:57.220 You invite others. 00:43:58.420 --> 00:44:01.360 It's not that we want to promote the name of Willow Ridge, 00:44:01.420 --> 00:44:03.200 but we want to promote the name of Jesus, 00:44:03.200 --> 00:44:07.360 and the best way and the best opportunity we have to do that 00:44:07.360 --> 00:44:09.000 is in the gathering of others. 00:44:09.740 --> 00:44:10.720 And so you invite others. 00:44:11.780 --> 00:44:13.840 And then lastly, how do you share the responsibility? 00:44:14.280 --> 00:44:15.780 You bring your tithes and your offerings. 00:44:16.540 --> 00:44:17.800 We looked at this last week, right? 00:44:18.480 --> 00:44:19.580 God commands us to. 00:44:20.380 --> 00:44:21.340 I'll say this. 00:44:21.600 --> 00:44:23.040 I'll continue to say this. 00:44:23.680 --> 00:44:27.600 I know how much one family at Willow Ridge Church gives. 00:44:28.020 --> 00:44:28.780 My family. 00:44:29.340 --> 00:44:29.920 That's it. 00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:33.880 I don't know how much any other family here gives. 00:44:34.040 --> 00:44:37.560 I don't want to know how much any other family gives. 00:44:38.460 --> 00:44:43.040 That's for the burden and the responsibility of Joel as he works through that in our finances. 00:44:43.960 --> 00:44:45.440 But here's what I want to say to you. 00:44:46.120 --> 00:44:47.100 Here's what I want to say to you. 00:44:47.760 --> 00:44:51.540 If you don't give, the Bible gives us a tithe, 10%. 00:44:51.540 --> 00:44:55.380 We can look at tithe and offerings to grow and move from there. 00:44:55.680 --> 00:44:56.820 God has it. 00:44:57.760 --> 00:44:58.040 All right? 00:44:58.160 --> 00:44:59.720 I'm not worried about that. 00:45:00.620 --> 00:45:04.460 This isn't a message of how to give so that we can get more. 00:45:05.060 --> 00:45:09.240 What it is is an opportunity so that you can give, 00:45:09.540 --> 00:45:13.820 so that you can live in and experience the blessing of God that comes from a faithful giver. 00:45:14.340 --> 00:45:16.380 And you only know what that looks like, 00:45:16.400 --> 00:45:19.540 and you only know what that feels like when you begin to give. 00:45:19.540 --> 00:45:25.120 And if you say, I can't, I can't, 00:45:25.160 --> 00:45:28.780 here's what I would plead with your heart this morning. 00:45:29.900 --> 00:45:30.160 Right? 00:45:30.540 --> 00:45:34.360 There were so many times of what we see in Scripture 00:45:34.360 --> 00:45:38.580 where the people of God stand at a moment and they say, 00:45:38.740 --> 00:45:40.640 there's no way I can do this. 00:45:40.820 --> 00:45:42.880 And God says, I can, you just got to trust me. 00:45:43.620 --> 00:45:44.920 I can, you just got to trust me. 00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:49.140 And there's so many areas in our life that that's hard to see. 00:45:49.540 --> 00:45:54.840 But God is so good as he blesses those who give. 00:45:55.380 --> 00:45:59.620 The third one that we see on here is I will serve God and others. 00:45:59.960 --> 00:46:03.820 The card says, I will serve God through ministries of my church, 00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:06.060 by discovering my personal spiritual gifts, 00:46:06.340 --> 00:46:07.680 by being equipped to serve, 00:46:08.360 --> 00:46:12.900 and by warmly welcoming those who visit. 00:46:12.900 --> 00:46:14.960 I will serve God and others. 00:46:15.160 --> 00:46:20.260 We want you to serve in your church by using your gifts. 00:46:20.780 --> 00:46:22.840 This is the different part here, right? 00:46:23.240 --> 00:46:28.700 We want you to serve in how God has gifted you in the context of the body here. 00:46:29.160 --> 00:46:32.720 And us as leaders, if you say, I don't know what my gifts are, 00:46:32.800 --> 00:46:34.080 I don't know where I'm supposed to serve, 00:46:34.280 --> 00:46:40.520 it is our job as leaders to find places for each and every one of you to serve. 00:46:41.360 --> 00:46:42.620 That's what we're tasked with. 00:46:43.720 --> 00:46:49.500 And so I would challenge you to use this place as an opportunity 00:46:49.500 --> 00:46:53.880 to serve God, serve others, and use your gifts. 00:46:54.280 --> 00:46:59.160 And then lastly, number four, I will support the testimony. 00:47:00.180 --> 00:47:02.900 The card says, I will support the testimony of Willow Ridge Church 00:47:02.900 --> 00:47:08.280 by attending faithfully and by living out my faith every day. 00:47:08.940 --> 00:47:09.960 Here's what I call this. 00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:12.540 I call this the gather, and I call this the scatter. 00:47:13.060 --> 00:47:14.740 We'll close by talking about this real quick. 00:47:15.580 --> 00:47:18.600 Hebrews 10.25, right of Hebrews says, tells us, 00:47:18.680 --> 00:47:25.820 gives us a command to not neglect the gathering together, right? 00:47:27.100 --> 00:47:34.500 About two and a half years ago, COVID crept into our world and scattered us. 00:47:35.720 --> 00:47:45.420 But the truth is, COVID didn't start a system of scattering us on Sundays. 00:47:45.580 --> 00:47:51.140 Life, sin, and choices. 00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:56.860 From the very beginning, if the writer of Hebrews had to address it, 00:47:56.920 --> 00:47:59.880 we know that it was an issue then and an issue today. 00:48:01.100 --> 00:48:08.120 Created a culture where it says that this isn't as high a value as everything else. 00:48:08.820 --> 00:48:14.940 But the writer of Hebrews says, no, no, no, no, no, you need to gather. 00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:19.060 Do not neglect the gathering together. 00:48:20.240 --> 00:48:25.240 I love the fact that right now there's a group of people joining us online. 00:48:26.520 --> 00:48:31.620 I love the fact that they can be with us in the teaching of God's word. 00:48:31.860 --> 00:48:32.840 But I'm going to say this. 00:48:33.340 --> 00:48:34.200 It ain't the same. 00:48:35.620 --> 00:48:36.500 It ain't the same. 00:48:37.680 --> 00:48:38.760 You don't believe me? 00:48:39.880 --> 00:48:40.660 You don't believe me? 00:48:40.660 --> 00:48:48.820 Next Thanksgiving, get you a microwave TV dinner. 00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:53.500 Heat it up and Zoom to your mama's house. 00:48:54.500 --> 00:48:55.100 All right? 00:48:55.780 --> 00:48:56.640 It ain't the same. 00:48:57.480 --> 00:48:58.220 It ain't the same. 00:48:59.340 --> 00:49:04.820 God called us and created us to be gathered in together. 00:49:05.600 --> 00:49:06.760 To grow. 00:49:07.920 --> 00:49:09.400 There's four people this morning. 00:49:10.480 --> 00:49:11.280 Four people. 00:49:12.500 --> 00:49:16.420 That in conversations, as they walked up to me, 00:49:17.480 --> 00:49:23.760 encouraged me and increased the joy in my heart by the story that they told me. 00:49:24.500 --> 00:49:26.080 Do you know where that doesn't happen? 00:49:26.520 --> 00:49:28.400 That doesn't happen if I'm on my couch. 00:49:29.600 --> 00:49:30.200 Doesn't. 00:49:30.700 --> 00:49:31.760 It can't. 00:49:32.620 --> 00:49:37.400 Because we're created and called to be together. 00:49:37.960 --> 00:49:41.080 So that we can scatter. 00:49:42.580 --> 00:49:43.280 We can scatter. 00:49:44.940 --> 00:49:45.540 Go. 00:49:46.820 --> 00:49:47.380 Go. 00:49:48.420 --> 00:49:48.940 Go. 00:49:49.820 --> 00:49:54.520 and go share and go live for the glory of God 00:49:54.520 --> 00:49:57.580 so that we can gather back together 00:49:57.580 --> 00:50:00.080 and celebrate all that God's done. 00:50:00.980 --> 00:50:02.320 Would you pray with me? 00:50:10.120 --> 00:50:12.700 Lord, I thank you so much for who you are, Lord, 00:50:12.800 --> 00:50:16.640 and the joy of what it means to pastor this church. 00:50:17.960 --> 00:50:20.900 Lord, I thank you for the men and women and children 00:50:20.900 --> 00:50:22.240 that are here. 00:50:23.420 --> 00:50:26.480 Lord, I thank you for the journeys of where they're at 00:50:26.480 --> 00:50:28.660 and where they're on, Lord, and what they're doing. 00:50:30.840 --> 00:50:33.700 Lord, I want to thank you 00:50:33.700 --> 00:50:37.080 that right now we have people who showed up this morning 00:50:37.080 --> 00:50:37.640 who were members. 00:50:38.680 --> 00:50:40.840 I want to thank you that right now we have people 00:50:40.840 --> 00:50:44.380 who showed up and they're kind of anti-against membership. 00:50:44.600 --> 00:50:47.180 And there's some people that just haven't thought about it. 00:50:47.820 --> 00:50:50.480 But today, Lord, that there's a wrestling within our spirit 00:50:50.480 --> 00:50:52.700 for those of us who membership matters 00:50:52.700 --> 00:50:54.620 to really seek and to evaluate. 00:50:54.940 --> 00:50:57.300 Are we fulfilling what we've agreed to? 00:50:57.600 --> 00:50:59.300 Is our word our word? 00:50:59.540 --> 00:51:01.100 Are we protecting the unity? 00:51:01.440 --> 00:51:03.040 Are we sharing the responsibility? 00:51:03.600 --> 00:51:06.360 Are we serving God and others through our congregation? 00:51:06.820 --> 00:51:08.900 Are we supporting the testimony of the church? 00:51:08.900 --> 00:51:12.780 Lord, it's a gut check and a reality check for me as well. 00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:13.960 Is this who I am? 00:51:14.000 --> 00:51:14.780 Is this what I'm doing? 00:51:17.680 --> 00:51:19.680 Lord, for those of us who are not members, 00:51:20.560 --> 00:51:22.820 Lord, for the men and women and families 00:51:22.820 --> 00:51:25.320 who you are calling to join our church, 00:51:25.620 --> 00:51:26.840 Lord, I pray that they will. 00:51:27.400 --> 00:51:29.440 And for those, Lord, who you are leading 00:51:29.440 --> 00:51:31.440 to another congregation, 00:51:31.900 --> 00:51:34.780 Lord, I excitingly see them go, 00:51:35.020 --> 00:51:36.960 Lord, and know how you're going to use them 00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:38.960 for your name and for your glory 00:51:38.960 --> 00:51:40.860 in that local congregation. 00:51:43.600 --> 00:51:46.020 And Lord, for people, we just need to have a conversation. 00:51:47.780 --> 00:51:48.920 We need to talk with them. 00:51:48.980 --> 00:51:49.820 We need to pray with them. 00:51:49.880 --> 00:51:50.860 We need to encourage them. 00:51:52.340 --> 00:51:53.740 Lord, I pray that we'll be willing 00:51:53.740 --> 00:51:56.680 and be faithful to do that. 00:51:58.700 --> 00:52:00.480 Lord, as we get ready to take part 00:52:00.480 --> 00:52:01.620 in the Lord's Supper in here, 00:52:01.680 --> 00:52:02.620 just a moment together. 00:52:04.360 --> 00:52:05.280 Lord, I thank you 00:52:05.280 --> 00:52:08.620 for the sacrifice that you made 00:52:08.620 --> 00:52:12.720 that is seen and made evident, Lord, 00:52:13.540 --> 00:52:15.280 through a body of believers 00:52:15.280 --> 00:52:19.620 who were broken and sinful, 00:52:20.360 --> 00:52:22.120 but yet redeemed 00:52:22.120 --> 00:52:25.860 by the blood of Christ. 00:52:28.540 --> 00:52:30.060 Lord, we celebrate you. 00:52:31.440 --> 00:52:32.520 And it's in your name we pray. 00:52:33.780 --> 00:52:34.240 Amen. 00:52:47.640 --> 00:52:48.860 Thanks again for listening 00:52:48.860 --> 00:52:50.780 to the Willow Ridge Church Weekly Podcast. 00:52:51.300 --> 00:52:52.620 We hope that you enjoyed listening 00:52:52.620 --> 00:52:53.600 to this week's message. 00:52:53.880 --> 00:52:55.160 If you'd like to learn more 00:52:55.160 --> 00:52:56.000 about who we are 00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:57.600 or explore additional resources, 00:52:58.200 --> 00:52:59.100 visit us online 00:52:59.100 --> 00:53:02.660 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:53:02.660 --> 00:53:03.880 or by searching 00:53:03.880 --> 00:53:04.880 for Willow Ridge Church 00:53:04.880 --> 00:53:06.220 on Facebook and Instagram.