Right. That's always fun to be in between everybody in food. So, you know what I mean, like frills. John chapter 17 For those who don't know if anyone doesn't know or is here and hadn't heard. We're all having a shindig out in the yard over here, did people say that anymore, Shindig. Whoo. So there's some, I think there was a little, there's a slight roar of excitement, I'm not 100% Sure, but I think that there are some, so everyone is invited. We're gonna have all kinds of good food right. One thing I am very sad about. Is Mr. Ben Austin does not is not here so I don't get to eat as buttermilk pie. Matt, did you make me a buttermilk pie. No, it's not I mean puddings Okay bro. I mean it's like, it's alright. But you've been learning how to make the vinegar pie. Well that is it. I mean I'm. I thought about giving you $100 But I didn't it doesn't really matter unless you do it, dang it. Andrew did you know what I was teaching on today. Cool beans. Does anybody know it does anyone say that anymore. John chapter 17. We're going to talk about our love for one another, and community. You know, I've heard a lot of preachers preach on John Chapter 17 So much to where when they turn to it I roll my eyes, probably just to be honest with you. I've heard I've heard so many things. Let's love one another and love for one another and so I kind of get frustrated with it. I'm probably shouldn't, but I do. But do you ever had those times whenever you've been reading the scriptures, and you really experience the scriptures and it brings such a deeper revelation to it. My buddy Ben, who was over there who works in our office over here, back when he was in college, I can't remember he broke his phone or lost his phone. He bought a gun like a brand new phone and he broke it or lost it, and his friend was hanging out with him and his friends kind of freaking out like Dude, that's your phone, you just got it that was like several $100 in been said he was joking, though he believed it and he said, Do not store up your store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, and will years later that guy goes back to him and said, You don't know how much that moment changed my life. And this wasn't like Bible college, so he had probably read that passage. Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. But when he saw it like lived out and experienced it, it was like at a whole nother level. And I think for me, I've been a follower of Jesus, since I was 1718 I know I'm sorry, all these people have like these, they know the dates and stuff, I don't really know for sure. I just don't, I got baptized sometime, I think I was 18 it was super important but hugely important in my life I should I guess I should have written down the date I didn't remember vividly I just so huge in my life. Anyway, so I guess it's been about 20 years now, and there's been this desire and longing for a deep rooted community that goes and is missional and all these different things like that, and honestly I have to admit, until recently, I've probably never experienced it. Like, I've experienced tastes of it, and I feel like I've probably just tasted the tip of the iceberg. At this point, just a little bit of it. But for years, there was this longing kind of what you're saying Andrew there's just like longing to be part of something that's not only a tight knit and group community but a community that is that, but a community that's, that's obeying Jesus together loving Jesus together and making a difference in this world, and I see that Jesus and John 17 is going to talk about this community. It's too long for me to go through the whole passage today. So I'm actually going to start at the end of the next week go back to the beginning, because there's this punch line that many of us talk about, let's hit on that and then we'll go back and I think it's going to help us understand what Jesus is saying even more. So I'm going to start in verse, 20, John chapter 17 Verse 20. In the context this is Jesus and he's praying for His disciples of stuff he's talking to the Father. And we'll fill in the context more next week. He says in verse 20 I asked not only on behalf of these, but on behalf of those who will believe in me, through their words. So who are these there his disciples, You know what I love about this, Jesus praying for you and me right now. Why we are those, if the disciples did what Jesus told him them to do and they did teach them to obey all that I commanded, they have done that it has been passed down, passed down passed down. And we are these people who Jesus is talking to the Father on behalf of those who will believe through their words of Jesus is praying for us know Jesus prays for you in the Bible. That's pretty powerful.
So this is for us, but what is the prayer, what does this request. I mean that's pretty important right I'm glad that he's praying for us but be really nice to know what he's talking to the father about. So he says, I'm asking on behalf of my disciples and those who will become disciples who will, on behalf of their words, excuse me, he says, What does he want, that they may all be one. That's pretty real. Think about that for a second, what does it mean and we'll talk about what does this mean that they mean does it mean that they have a set of doctrinal beliefs that everyone signs off on is that the depth of the oneness. Does it mean they go to church on Sundays, together, is that the debt like some of this is hugely important. But does that the extent right is that the end of this oneness that he's calling us to. I want us to ask ourselves this as we go. I'm asking myself deeply, God Who am I, I mean we just did took communion, and it's so important in First Corinthians chapter 11 It says, hey, if we don't discern the body correctly, Then we're, we're eating and drinking judgment on ourselves. And then that contact is people getting together and some are getting drunk and some are coming hungry so the way we treat the body is like crazy important is that some of you've gotten sick because you didn't do that right, like I'm just being real. That's what the word says. So Jesus is in this prayer, crying out that we would be one, what does that mean to be one. And I think we'll spend a couple weeks talking about that. This next line like makes my hair stand up on my arms. I've read it 1000 times but when I like sit back and really think about it. He says that they may be one as You, Father, are in Me, so he's praying to the Father saying Father. You are in Me and I am in you. May they also be in us. Like, we're invited like think of like the most beautiful scene eree that you've been a part of in nature. Right. That God that created that is saying that Godhead of community is opening up themselves to say, I want them to be part of us, not only are they allowing themselves Jesus is praying that it would happen. Like, the community of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit such a beautiful community, such a, such a perfect community of love in serving one another and caring for one another, like how scandalous how scary whatever would it be to open that community up that's in perfect, that's perfect. And say, not only you can come in, I guess, but like I'm praying that you would come in that we would allow father that you would allow me and you and you and me and allow them to participate in us. So that's one of, that's one big thing that I just that I love and that Jesus is going to say here we're going to get to in just a second. That what how will people know, followers of Jesus, by what love for one another. Right, okay. He models perfect love for us. So one beautiful thing that we can, we need to ask ourselves and I've had to ask myself is, are my communities of people who I'm in deep relationship with. Are they open. Or have we gotten to where we just, I mean, you guys get it right like you get families that you love hanging out with I do and I'm just, you get people that you're comfortable with. Right, I'm an introvert extrovert, whatever that is in the middle, so like I think I get a picture of both sides of it. People I get excited about and people do energize me, but also they drain me when I'm done with preaching I'm exhausted I have to go home, take a nap right baby, I guess, is what it is like There's certain times, but then I get bored whenever I'm alone by myself too long, but then when we're around people too long then I get tired you want to like that, you won't feel like that it's like I'm kind of right there like this middle area, but my introverted self wants to walk in these, in this church, and just talk to the people I'm very comfortable with talking to write, is it anyone can feel me on that. You know my extroverted self wants to go around and talk to some people but I don't want. It's hard for me to get deep into deep conversations with them, you know what I mean. So the easy thing for me to do is to just find my community of people that I'm close with and just spend all my time there because I'm comfortable doing that. And I'm so thankful God wasn't comfortable in his community, and that he allowed us to become part of that community. So that's one thing that God's been checking my heart and asking me in our communities that we have, like, are we inviting people in like Jesus says when you throw a banquet, who do you say to invite your best friends. He said invite the poor invite the lame, like who you know what I mean like and Laura is asking me these questions like, Who have I invited to my home, who am I invited out to dinner lately, am I just inviting the people, there's nothing wrong with inviting your friends and go and have dinner, there's nothing wrong with that. But it's all I'm inviting. I'm avoiding people that I'm getting to know or that I'm uncomfortable being around
it is uncomfortable getting to know people, come on, can I just be real with you. I don't love it. Certain people you connect with close, like I didn't take, there are certain people I'm like man I'm really digging this person I'm digging this guy this gal and we're connecting, but there's certain people. I'm not connecting very easily. And sometimes that stops me from making those connections. You know what I mean. It does, it does but, but God has got us in that community, he's, he's wanting us to have this oneness, but the one is has to be open, because that's what he did, that's that's that's that's who he is. So he says, As you Father in me, I, and I am in you. May they also be in us, and this is a line I just said, so that the world may believe that you've sent me. See, he didn't say, Father, give them, eloquent words of wisdom to speak, Father, give them great oratory power and amazing preaching not all that's not bad. But he says, Father, let them be. What does it say, let them be in us, right. I am them you and me, all of us one, so that the world may know that You sent Me, that this would be a sign that you sent me. Now here's something else that really hit me when I read this, we have to be where the world can see us. How often are we as believers, getting together, only in church buildings and homes in the world can't even see a show when our love for one another, God's convicted me of this. This isn't me on my horse. I've been like oh crap, excuse me. Oh shoot, like God. Where where's, what's going on. Because, in Jesus's context we talked about disciples, they were all out and about, he was teaching going from village to village they were out people got to see them, they got to see this in our context as Andrew said, it's so much harder, because we're in our building here and we go home to our castles at our homes and when we have hang out with people, often we just invite them to our homes and it's comfortable and stuff like that. But what I've been able to recently experience and experience I'm an intentional community out is like blowing my mind because I'm seeing God do stuff and I'm not even doing anything crazy you know what I mean. The world is longing to see this I just truly believe there's such a heart in the American in America, in our context for people to see just what he's praying for in John 17 lived out and they longed for it. Again, he said like, who knows. Does anyone know that he's felt lonely. Do we even care. It matters like that's huge. And he's not the only one. He's not the only one at all. I mean I've every church I've been a part of I've had people leave saying I didn't ever really make connections, people might go out to lunch with me occasionally but I was never able to. And it's really hard in churches where we've been together for such a long time, because we don't even mean to sometimes, you know what I mean like I've recognized that like there's people here that I'm getting to know and I spend a lot of time with and it's hard to open up. But are we in community in oneness with God, and by the way, the only way we can be one is through our communion unit union with God. We can try to come up with some kind of thing that we're coming in together with and in union in Unity together with, it'll probably be surface level, it all starts with our union with God and it's all together, all right. But are we in that union with God, building deep relationships one another with one another and out so that the world can actually see what that looks like. In verse 22 He says, the glory that you have given me. So, the Father has given Jesus glory and I could do a whole message on glory, and what that means that's my first thought because he talks about glory like 1000 times in a passage. I'll probably do a poor job, but has to do with intrinsic value and splendor. In the Greek it has to do with this like honoring. In the Hebrew it has to do with a weighty presence of God. Maybe the best way to talk, I think we often use it. I think we often use it correctly, but not always. When it comes to glory ever. It's kind of like the word beauty almost. If someone asked you to define it, it is difficult to define, you're like, but you know what, when you see it, you know what I mean. And so we could look at a sunset and go wow that is beautiful when someone goes Eve, can you explain to me what that means you're like, Oh, I mean it's beautiful. In a sense, glory and glorious has some of the same things that we could use it incorrectly, like wow that is just that thing is that is glorious and there's intrinsic worth and value is just so incredible and it's splendor and it's all these things in Jesus saying that that that's been given to him, and that honor that the Father has given in this great glory. He's giving to us, which is just not only are we allowed to be in the Father, not only in the Son and the Spirit, not are, we're also being prayed into it and also being given God's glory.
I love that God gives us the tools to do this. He's not saying hey go try to figure it out and be one together so that the world may know, but I'm not gonna do anything about it. He says, I'm giving him the glory, why is he giving us his glory, so that they may be one, as we are one. That's not only, you'd be wanting to like, I want you all to be one, the father saying or Jesus is praying for His Holy Spirit son and father are one that complete unity. Verse 23 says, I in them and you in Me. So he's saying, I enjoy them. So Jesus in us. But Father in Jesus, that they may become completely one again He says it again, so that the world may know that you have sent me, and love them, even as You have loved me so not only is the world going to know that Jesus is Messiah through the way that we treat one another. And the way that we're open to other people and community is also going to express to them. What does it say, the love, right, so that they will even know the love that God has for them. So, pretty fairly quick message I'm going to share another real quick story to hopefully tie this all in something else that happened recently at the Hookah bar. I also share in this too by the way, a poor job of, you know, you guys, when you give to stones river you helped me be able to go do this. You guys know that right, anyway. Yeah. All right, whenever we have this, you know, Taylor place over here. Like, that's you guys invest in that so we're all in this together. Also I want to reiterate that I've said before I was been, I haven't done it as much since COVID Because I've been afraid people will be scared to get the mic. When you have stories like I want to leave this open in fact when I'm done with this I'm going to leave it open if someone has something they want to share really quickly, because I don't want it to be me telling stories all the time I kind of hate that. But I will tell the story, because it ends, this, this passage that I looked at ends here, or I end it today, with the idea of not only are they going to see that Jesus Messiah but know that the Father loves them. Let me give you some background on a few things that have happened at the Hookah Bar, actually before that let me share this yesterday I was in this disciple making training. The guy that leads the house church and he ran that's going crazy and all this stuff, and I was just watching him learning more about how to train and stuff like that. And he used this phrase that I guess we have some kids in here, I have to say it a little bit differently, is that as we're going out in community with one another. He's like, we need to have such a genuine love that we create. What in the world of moments, how they say it that way. For this world moments where people are giving in our love is just so extravagant in it because of because of who we are, we're not just doing it to try to convert somebody because of who we are that they go, What in the world is going on here. Like, for example, there's been times whenever we've had groups of people get together and we use the Hookah bar and we write the due to $500 tip, and he's like what the heck.
What in the world, sorry. You know what I mean or times whenever there's been instruments just given you can have this guitar. I didn't do that, that I'm bragging on myself, I hear you just have it. What, no, no, you want it right you want to learn right then take it, I can get another one or whatever, or all these these crazy, this, this could go on and on about helping people and in all these different things, but these moments that are like these extravagant times wherever we're just like meeting people's needs and it's just like, Who are these people who buys people, cars, you know who does this stuff it's just what happens it is not us, it's the love of the Father, and we're just allowing God's love to pour through us, and we took the restraints off of it. I used to like I'm very conservative financially, just that's who I am, right, if anyone knows that God is like trying I've always, you know, given my, you know at least tied to the church you know we can talk about that but I just had the conviction that at least you know I've always done those things since I was a kid, you know, but like, man, sometimes I hate the ties, because it makes us think that if I give my 10% then I'm all good with God. You know what I mean. And sometimes God's like, Dude, you can give way more than that, Man, I probably doesn't say it like that. Sorry, when I was coming out that was sorry Lord, but like, like these moments where like I'm getting checked in my heart and like, Man, you've been spending time with this you've been going to this restaurant, this, this person, you know, hasn't, why don't you just give them a $200 tip and just bless them. Oh Lord, I don't know man, I mean I need that money, you know, but what they say, Who the heck is this person I told you that I shared with y'all, I think, a month or so ago that David Watson, you know, goes to the same Cracker Barrel every single week on the same morning and they fight over him because he gives them a good tip and loves him and cares for them. Like, there's times and I know that we all don't have endless monies, but I wonder, you know, God tells us to test them about giving, right. I wonder if we said okay God, I'm gonna step out on a limb and start to do this and we'll see what happens. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna, I'm going to trust you that you're going to have it, but doesn't always have to be financial, right, but the financial pieces we usually go well we figure out how to not do it financially because we don't really trust God with our money but that's a whole nother sermon, God convicts me about that, you know, we're always looking for the excuse. Right, well we can give our time to yeah but maybe he wants that to open that pocketbook up. So good man, so good. Sorry there's that's an inside joke that's directed towards Jerry to my wife. Um, but these moments where they're like, What in the world is happening. So, leading up to another thing that happened recently. I told a story about Kay I'll just call him K, but there's this other guy so there's this owner of this of the place and his father and it's just a really cool guy, I don't know how old he is. He's Indian so it's hard to tell. White people I can tell a whole lot easier. It's gonna be real because we look old fast. Right. There's a lot of other cultures that like a lot better when they get older. And he looks a lot better. So I'm not sure what age he is I'm gonna guess in his late 50s or early 60s or something like that. I mean he made it really close connection, like every time we get together hey what's going on what's going on this last week we were dancing together and all this kind of crazy stuff or whatever. But two weeks ago. We wanted to have a prayer night with some people in Nashville someone from North Carolina came, and we're going to do it over here at Taylor place but the Hispanic church was using it for their revival, so we had to figure out another place to do it so we decided to go. We asked Jay hey can we use the Hookah bar right I think I've told you all this. And he's like, Yeah, sure. So we're doing probably got like 40 people kind of packed in there we're doing all this stuff. And Raj walks in, I'm like, oh, Lord Jesus. Like, like, I'm like, What is he thinking, You know what I mean because this is like totally crazy different culture, different context this guy goes to the Hindu temple, you know, like, is he gonna think we're insane and all these things I wouldn't invite him because hey, we got to introduce him to Jesus and stuff before he gets in like all this other stuff it's gonna make him maybe go what. And he comes in and he's seen some of these what the world moments with his son and different things, and so he's really interested, and he just stands there for like 10 or 15 minutes and walks out and I'm like, Oh Lord, again, what is he thinking,
well, he has an employee, and this employee is just recently stopped being homeless, he's like, helping around the motel because they own the motel or run their motel or whatever. And he's experienced some what in the world moments like Shawn giving him a ton of food when the guy's like digging out of the trash to try to get food in the Open Cup, there's all kinds of like what are you talking about, you know, it's all yours, you know, and he's like, What do you like yeah it's for you. Anyways, he's experiencing these and he's asking, I'm just gonna call them are the dad like, what's with these guys, Man What's with these guys like they're just so whatever. And he said, You know, I just there's family and he tells talks about some other things or whatever, I don't want to, I get uncomfortable talking about it, so he said but you know, the other night, I went into their thing, and I just stood there and I watched and I watched some people weeping, and I watched some people kind of laughing and joyful I saw someone share something and then someone else shared something and then they sing a song and, and he was like, I've never seen anything like this before. It's kind like what we're called to do I think right. Was that what happens in First Corinthians, Right. He's like, he's like, I've never experienced anything like this I've never seen anything like this in a Hindu temple. There was something very special, that was happening in that moment. And when I hear that story, like secondhand, I am Sean and I are weeping like some stupid babies like see it was right out there, we're just hanging out and Andy's telling the story because I recognize how much I love our, this guy, like it's no longer like just some person, I mean I love him so much. It's like a family member who is starting to get closer to the Lord and we're like crying because like we pray for this person for such a long time, and like I'm sitting there going oh Lord, this is awesome. He hasn't given his life to the Lord or anything yet but I'm just like, I'm weeping, but I'm also recognizing that it's occurring as the church does church not inside a building to. You understand what I'm saying, like, we're, we're going places that people would never stepped foot in here are going, Oh my God, what's this group doing over here at the Hookah Bar and watching what's taking place. And I think this is what Jesus is calling us to be in this incredible unity and even in that moment, it's this person talking this person talking this person is saying this, we're not fighting. We're listening to each other. He's seeing this, the body at work, and I'm sure it's not perfect and we screwed up and all this kind of stuff. Gosh. But there's this deep union. And he's like, Hinduism doesn't have that. It just doesn't have it. I've been in my whole life I've never seen that. And I like it. You know in I'm like yes, I think that's what Jesus is calling us to. I know that's what he's calling us to yo. So I just wanted to bring that as encouragement before I end, does anyone have any story or anything that they would. Don't feel like you have to, but anything that anything cool that happened this week that you just kind of want to brag on God, for anybody. I give you just a minute or so, I'm gonna pray and then I'll bring it back up. That way, let the Holy Spirit hit you.
Father. Lord, we just we so love who you are and we so love the example that you've given and we so love how you've invited us. I don't even know how to even say this it's just how you've invited us into that community that you have between you, I don't. It just my words just feel so empty at this moment, but I just say thank you. Help us to have a deeper revelation of what that means in God, I pray that You would help us here to walk in that union with you and with one another and that Father that You would give us very practical, opera, that we would take the opportunity that we'd be very intentional about seeing this grow about seeing us grow together in in you and father that we would as we have these communities, Lord if you're speaking to anybody here today, about opening up and like hey we need to invite some, some more families some more people reach out to more people. Lord I pray that we would do it, that we would recognize that that you called us to that God. And I just pray that you had Holy Spirit as give us eyes to see all these places that you're working, and that you would help us in family. Show your love in show people these crazy these moments where they go, why would you do that, and that Lord it would be authentic in our lives, not some trick to try to get people to become a follower of you, that I would just be authentic from our hearts in Jesus name, amen. Anybody.
I appreciate John encouraging us to share because I think that's how we encourage one another, and I'm not afraid to speak on the microphone. Sorry. So I just wanted to share a really neat thing that happened right before COVID hit, I'm a school teacher at Aegis Eagle Middle School. And we were we were kind of new to stones river that school year, but I had, I had met some people within this church and had formed a relationship and I invited a group of, well I prayed for God to help me think of a group of women to put together, to go through the lens season. And I didn't practice Lynn, growing up, but it's a really neat discipline to practice and we met once a week in there. There are a few and downriver family that are sitting here today that participated in that. But God really laid on my heart to invite some of my co workers. And I was like, No, that's weird. It's weird to go to co workers that I don't know very well and say hey you want to participate in this, you know, this thing that I didn't even know how it would go with my own, you know church people. But, but it was, I have never heard a voice of God, I've never heard that I know people say that I have not. But I do truly believe the Holy Spirit, puts thoughts in my mind that do not go away, And that's the voice of God for me when it doesn't go away I'm like okay I'll do it. So I invited. I have this, this group and COVID happened so it ended up being a huge blessing of community through COVID we turned into zoom meetings, but I'm gonna fast forward to this past summer, because we met, we did last time we did a spiritual discipline book over last summer. And we did lent again. But this summer, the co workers that I invited to be in this group and myself, we reached out to co workers that didn't know anyone in our, in our teaching staff, and just had a dinner party together. And I just want to share with you that the love I feel for these two co workers who are Christians, we're surrounded by people that are Christians in our workplaces, and some are serious about it and some don't seem very serious about it but I, my encouragement to you is look for those who will know us by our love, not just here but in our workplaces, because it, it spreads and it was a joy to see this summer to do that with my sisters in Christ that I work with and don't necessarily attend here at Stone, river, but I know they're doing ministry in our parts of other churches, so I just felt like I wanted to share that with you all, they do know a spire love
by else yeah no maybe we need to. I want you to stand up, we'll sing one more song before we close out for the day. They want to share with.
