Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Over the last few months, as we've been preparing to launch Greenhouse Church this coming fall, I've gotten a chance to meet with a bunch of you guys as you've asked questions about it or curious about it. And I love those times. It's been great to meet the people in this room or those who might be interested in some form or fashion. And at some point in the conversation, someone says, tell me what Greenhouse is all about. And.
[00:00:26] And I get to share a little bit about what God's put in our heart. And the interesting part is this is like me laying all my cards on the table. Sometimes I feel like I'm, like, getting tested a little bit, you know, like, sometimes it's like, do I have the right answer? It's like, d, all the above, you know, or something. Or there's some point in the conversation where it's like, you know, at some point it kind of leans towards like, here's my thing that really matters to me.
[00:00:53] Does this matter to you? You know, and I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just like we all have things that are deeply passionate to us. And sometimes I have this moment, and sometimes I've shared this, or other times I've been like, oh, I just think we may different. We might have a difference of opinion on that or of a value of that.
[00:01:12] It doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It just might just mean like, oh, I don't know if that's the highest priority to me as it might be to you. And.
[00:01:18] And I wonder if you looked around this room, how long would it take you? Just take a look. Take a look around for me. Look around the person with you around the room. Look on the other side of the room.
[00:01:27] How. How long would it take you to find someone you disagree with on something?
[00:01:33] Okay.
[00:01:34] That laugh says something, right? So last week we opened up our study of Romans 14, addressing the reality that for those of us in this room who have said yes to Jesus, we can say yes to Jesus, and yet we may see things slightly different. We might have differences of opinion or conscience or. Last week we talked a lot about convictions.
[00:01:57] And the one sentence that seemed to summarize last week was this, that every church only has one Lord, and it's a terrible place to try to take his job.
[00:02:06] So all of us in this room, if we've been and needed Jesus, it is Jesus church. And he, it's not my church, it's not your church, it's Jesus church, right? And. And he's the Lord of it, meaning that he kind of gets to set the tone for us, right? And there's things that some things that he's made really crystal clear that we would call like essentials of our faith.
[00:02:25] These are things like, you know, who is Jesus? You know, was he fully God, was he fully man? The authority of Scripture in our life, the role of the Holy Spirit, you know, even what is salvation, that we are saved by grace through faith alone. These are things that we would say they're non negotiables. And Paul is talking to a group of believers in Romans 14, where they are. They're not disagreeing about those things, but they're disagreeing about how to live it out.
[00:02:53] And it's not only that they disagree, but Paul is really concerned that they're also treating each other differently based on those disagreements. And to the best of our knowledge, what's basically happening in this environment is the ones that kind of believed about this, things we talked about, the dietary rules, they were just kind of like, there was a lot of house churches, they didn't have a room like this. They could gather. So they just kind of gathered up the people that agreed with them and they, they just kind of would meet over here and then the other people that were the Gentiles, they would meet over here and kind of agree with one another. And what Paul is addressing and saying, hey, you know, this isn't a space issue or this isn't a diet issue. This is the fact of like we're just going to our comfortable norms as opposed to being a unified body of Christ. So last week I promised you that it was the why, and this week's the how. So we're going to talk about how do we do this right? Knowing that we're going to disagree on some things that laughter tells me that. Right, but how do we do this? Well, so here's the question, if I can reframe it, if Jesus is really Lord, what does living under His Lordship actually look like? That's what we're going to try to address this morning. And I think Paul is going to be really blunt with you. Paul sets a really high bar for us.
[00:03:58] It's a high standard that I don't think I would choose by myself and I don't think you would either. And this is the best way I could sum it up for you. And I want you to, if you remember one thing from today, I'd hope it'd be this. And it's this. That love builds.
[00:04:13] Love builds.
[00:04:15] That's What Paul's gonna say time and time again, he's actually gonna use this language of construction, construction language. He's gonna talk about obstacles and stumbling blocks and building up one another and talking about destroying God's work. He's painting this picture and he's making this argument for us that every conversation you and I engage with, every opinion that I hold, every interaction is a chance for construction or deconstruction.
[00:04:44] That we can either start picking up a hammer and building up one another, or we can be a wrecking ball in each other's life. But friends, Jesus promises to build his church. Not my church, not your church, his church. And he says the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
[00:04:59] And so he is doing something in us. And I think each one, one of each of our days, each breath in our lungs is a choice that we can either join God in that work or we could actively work against Him.
[00:05:11] And I don't wanna do that. I don't think you do either.
[00:05:13] So, friends, we can either help Jesus build something beautiful or we can be part of tearing it down. And so I wanna carry this idea through this morning that love builds. So let's go ahead and turn our Bibles. Romans 14, verse 13.
[00:05:27] It says this in verse 13. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another.
[00:05:33] Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or an obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. So it's interesting that he doesn't simply say to stop doing something right, but he says, instead, make up your mind.
[00:05:49] The way that reads in the original text. He's like, hey, stop judging.
[00:05:53] But also, if you're gonna judge anything, make a judgment about yourself. Like, make the judgment to do what? To make up your mind.
[00:06:03] Don't merely just stop judging, but actually start to build. Make up your mind about what?
[00:06:07] Well, that's very intentional language.
[00:06:11] Many of us in this room, we've made up our mind about a number of things.
[00:06:14] But he's saying, hey, make up in your mind that you're not going to be a stumbling block, right? You're not going to be an obstacle for someone else in their walk with the Lord. And that language is intentional.
[00:06:27] It's decisive. And that's exactly how the Christian life often works. It's not meant to be something that we just merely stop doing things we ought we shouldn't do.
[00:06:37] But through the leading of the Holy Spirit, God will reveal the things that are supposed to take its place, those new modes of operation. It's almost like Paul is Saying this, he says, I have made a decision that I'm not gonna be an obstacle to someone else in their walk today.
[00:06:53] And if you're sitting here this morning saying that sounds kind of hard, sounds kind of slow, and I'm probably gonna mess it up a bunch. Bingo, you're right.
[00:07:04] It's not easy. It's not easy. And I told you Paul's gonna set the bar high for us this morning.
[00:07:10] You're saying, like, is Paul really saying I need to think about everything I think about or what I. That my words actually matter? Yes.
[00:07:18] That it's not just about me, you know, as one who can say too many words. I'm an expander, you know that those were. There's always two. There's an expander or a condenser. You know, I'm an expander, an external processor of sorts.
[00:07:34] But that means my words matter, that I can't be just flippant with them.
[00:07:40] And that image that Paul's saying is an obstacle. And that's really interesting because it's a military language. It's like, imagine like a barricade or some cinder block, you know, cement bare, you know, it's meant to move someone away. He's saying, hey, don't put up these things with our decisions and our actions that actually prevent people from coming to know Jesus or to know him better. And I think sometimes we do that unconsciously, or maybe actually we just make an effort where we say, I just disagree with you and so I want to push you away. And that is not what Paul is talking to.
[00:08:09] And I know this might sound really hard, but just friends think about what that would look like if we actually did this.
[00:08:16] Like, I think we'd actually. That would change us deeply. If I actually said, lord, I want to intentionally, I need to make up my mind, am I really going to be an obstacle for somebody, or am I going to do everything in my power to help them grow in their faith? He continues in verse 14. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.
[00:08:38] Now, don't miss what Paul is saying. He says he is convinced. Now remember, this conversation is around food. There was this conversation around what is clean and unclean kosher diet. And so some people are making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. One way to say this is they're kind of majoring on the minor things, and so they're making this big deal. But Paul kind of lays it out where he landslide. He goes, hey, I'm fully convinced that there's no such thing as unclean food. And, you know, Jesus talks about that in Mark 7. He agrees actually with the believers in Rome who are like, what's the big deal? What's the big deal? We shouldn't be arguing about food.
[00:09:12] But notice something really important here. He says, I'm convinced. By who?
[00:09:17] The Lord Jesus.
[00:09:19] So he's not swayed by his own preferences or what culture's telling him. He's saying it is an active thing with the Lord. He's actually saying, Jesus has shaped the way. I think that's what he's saying. And I think that's, like, easy for us to be like, well, of course Paul did. Isn't he, like, the OG missionary and, like, way holier than us? But, like, again, don't forget Paul's background.
[00:09:43] Paul is one who is steadfast in his beliefs about things. Right. In Philippians 3, we see him describe himself. He says, you know, I was circumcised on the eighth day. Kind of graphic. Sorry, could have given you a preference for that, you know, but that he was saying, I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was jealous for the law. You know, if anybody had any reason to feel, you know, grounded on their religiosity, it's Paul.
[00:10:07] He believed in his conviction. So much so that when this new believer, this new thing called Christianity kind of started to pop up, he felt so adamant that they were heretics, that he was rounding them up to kill them and persecute them, and that he felt joy putting them in jail. That's who Paul was.
[00:10:27] That's what he felt deeply about his convictions. That's how he saw who God was. And this is what God. He thought God was behind him in that he would have never touched unclean food. And yet in here, he's going, oh, yeah, you can eat anything you want. It's not a big deal.
[00:10:43] What's changed, it's interaction with Jesus.
[00:10:48] It's not that.
[00:10:50] Jesus met him, and he met Jesus, and you know what happened?
[00:10:54] Jesus started to become not only the forgiver of his sins, but he also became the Lord of his life.
[00:11:02] And for Paul, Paul is saying something really profound for us, that God became the Lord over his convictions.
[00:11:10] See, church, that, I think, is what discipleship is. It's allowing Jesus to continuously shape the way I think and I act and I speak. It's not simply defending what I've always believed or to just like, oh, I'm just gonna repeat what I grew up with, or just, hey, God, would you just baptize. My preferences, you know, like you're on my team, right. Jesus, all those other churches got it wrong. No, right. Every one of us. I'm well aware we all walk in this room with convictions, whether it's from our parents, our church background, our culture, or maybe even good teachers, well intended teachers, or maybe painful experiences that we've experienced. And many of those convictions, hear me, they may be even biblical. And what I mean by that is you have a verse to back it up and that's good. You should. Our convictions, if we are saying yes to Jesus, they should be rooted in scripture.
[00:12:02] But I've met lots of people who have a verse to back it up. And I'm going, man, I think they still need to be refined.
[00:12:09] It's almost like, well, I have this thing to say. So you can't say I'm wrong.
[00:12:13] I'm not trying to be blasphemous here, but I'm just saying. I'm not saying you can't have convictions.
[00:12:20] But if Paul models for us someone whose God has changed his convictions and modeled that, I just want to ask you, Journey Church, when was the last time Jesus challenged or changed one of your convictions?
[00:12:39] If you can't think of anything, then one I'd say maybe we're just not listening.
[00:12:44] We're not spending time in this, in the Word, or simply maybe we just think Jesus is a lot like us.
[00:12:52] And friends, I've been walking with Jesus for enough time that God just loves to just kind of point and say, logan, what's that?
[00:12:58] What's that in your life?
[00:13:00] And he begins to shape and change my convictions. Again, we're not talking about the essential things. We're not talking about my identity in Christ. We're talking about things about my preferences, the things that I would prefer in some ways. Because following Jesus doesn't mean we stop having convictions because. But it means we hold them with an open Bible before the Lord and a surrendered heart saying, lord, you can change what you want again based in this and who God is.
[00:13:29] And friends, if Jesus is still forming me and he's still forming you and he's not finished with you, and he's not finished with me, then maybe, just maybe, I should be patient with the person you just looked across the room at.
[00:13:47] He ain't done with you, he's not done with me.
[00:13:50] So maybe we could be patient with one another.
[00:13:54] He goes on, but he says, but any. It's really interesting, but he says, but if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it's unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.
[00:14:07] See, again, this isn't a question about can I eat that or can I do that? Is this permissible?
[00:14:13] But Paul's really asking the question here. What does love require of me?
[00:14:18] Paul knows this. He had lots of strong convictions that God has begun to smooth out and shape. And he's still a passionate guy, but he understands there are moments when being right isn't the highest expression of maturity.
[00:14:29] Love is loving. Well, is. See, love asks the question, will this help my brother or sister come to follow Jesus or know him better?
[00:14:39] He even uses really strong linger. He says, if you're doing this, you are no longer acting in love. So love has become the measuring stick of what you and I do, our convictions. It's like, oh, okay, I can hold these, but how do I hold these intention, knowing that I'm going to submit these to the Lord and I want to not be a stumbling block for someone else.
[00:15:00] He raises those stakes that much higher in the next verse.
[00:15:05] Do not, by your eating, destroy someone for whom Christ died.
[00:15:13] I want us to sit with that verse just for a minute.
[00:15:17] This is deconstruction language. Don't destroy someone for whom Christ died.
[00:15:24] That should hit us in the heart this morning, friends. That brother in Christ, that sister in Christ, that believer who sees something differently than you.
[00:15:34] Jesus thought they were worth dying for.
[00:15:38] And so whoever is coming to mind, that person that just gets under your skin, or that post they post about or the way they do things, if Jesus was willing to die for them, then shouldn't I be willing to love them just a little bit?
[00:15:55] Shouldn't I be willing to engage that, to not separate or just be so quick to say, nope, you're out of the camp. I got this all figured out.
[00:16:04] Destroy someone who God died for, friends. I could win an argument and lose a relationship. I may prove my point and fail to reflect my Savior. I love how one theologian said this. He says, you know, there was far more at stake in Rome than steak, right? That's pretty good. I gotta get Michael Byrd. He said that, not me. That was pretty good. There's far more at stake than stake in this passage, friends. These are men and women. These are believers from different backgrounds trying to work out their faith in a culture that was not pro Christianity in any way. They were a small remnant trying to live out their faith in an environment that didn't give a rip about them. And yet the reality is that they actually Listen to Paul. We see this like the Church of Rome actually galvanizes together. They. They put aside some of their differences, saying, you know, you know, there's bigger things than us at stake. Let's go ahead and look at what Those are. Verse 17. Paul says it in this way. He says, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
[00:17:19] That's what he says. I love in this one sentence. This is like, right in the middle of our passage, Paul just zooms out the camera. And for several verses, we've been, again, we've been talking about clean and unclean, and we've what to eat and what not to. And it's like, Paul just like brings their attention back. He's like, hey, y' all, just remind you guys, we're not talking about a menu here. We're talking about the kingdom of God.
[00:17:39] That. We're talking about the kingdom of God.
[00:17:42] You're arguing over the menu. When it's really about God's kingdom invading Rome. In a way, it's pervasive. It was changing the culture and the environment that they found themselves in.
[00:17:53] And there was so much at stake that they didn't have time to have little squabbles or just like, I'm just gonna jump to this church next door. Cause I like their. Their stuff better.
[00:18:01] That's not what it was because they were it. That was all who they had right there. And God was going to use them. See, the issue was never ultimately about food. It was about the kingdom. And friends, God's kingdom is bigger than you and I. That's what Paul is saying. It's bigger than my preferences. It's bigger than my opinions, even the freedoms that I can enjoy. It's bigger than being right. Paul says the kingdom is about what it's about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Those aren't just individual expressions or experiences for myself, they are meant to be characteristics of God's church. Like we should be known as a place of righteousness, that values righteousness, that God is making us righteous, that we are people of peace. Not fake peace, not acting like things aren't there, but actually working out. Peace and joy. Joy in the Holy Spirit, not just in our circumstance. And notice the word that is right in the middle of this peace.
[00:18:58] I just want to highlight that for this morning, this is not, again, pretending that we don't disagree or that we're avoiding different difficult conversation. It's a settlement, right? It's making a choice, a commitment to pursue unity. Because Jesus matters more than ultimately my preferences.
[00:19:20] I don't know if you're familiar with this individual. This man's name's John Lennox.
[00:19:25] He just looks like the nicest grandpa ever.
[00:19:30] John Lennox is a mathematician at Oxford. He's also a very devout believer.
[00:19:36] He's part of the Oxford center for Apologetics.
[00:19:40] And he's really well known. You know, you could, you know, Google him or YouTube really quick. He's written lots of books, been on lots of podcasts. You know, he does a lot of, like, debates and stuff. People.
[00:19:51] But there's something about him, you know, he's later in his life. And I mean, he's wicked smart, right? I mean, he is. I mean, math, come on, at Oxford, you know. And then he's like, oh, by the way, I, like, love Jesus, and I'll do this whole apologetics thing on the side, you know, and he, like, kind of does the whole, like, I can prove God. And like, some people even describe him as the number one world expert on Christianity. I don't know how you'd vote for that, but there it is. You know.
[00:20:16] But I ran across this story of this interview. It was a podcast he was doing, and I wanna just read something that was said about him. You know, this guy's been grilled for two hours by someone who's probably would say they don't believe in the God of the Bible. Someone who is, you know, it's like, how do you know? I mean, like, you know, all the hard questions you can imagine. And his demeanor never changes. He's just kind and happy and joyful.
[00:20:39] And I want you to hear what the podcaster said. He says one of the most compelling arguments for God as you've presented in your way of seeing the world is not actually anything you've written in your books or anything that you've said. It's actually you.
[00:20:53] He says, and you have this certain peace and contentment that I rarely see in people that interview, but I often see, and I most always have seen in Christians that I've interviewed.
[00:21:04] He says, and this is an interesting phenomenon to me. So this guy's like, you're really good at arguing, man, but, like, you're the best case for this thing.
[00:21:12] And the guy just kind of. And John just kind of chuckles. He's like, drinks a little drink. He's like, oh, yeah, you know. You know, he's not like, you're right, I am a big deal. You know, he's like. He's like, he just, like, chuckles. He takes a sip of water. And then in the interview, he just responds. I was like, man, what's he gonna say? And I don't know John personally or anything, but he just says it almost like a kind guy who's walked with Jesus for a long time. He just says, you know, I sit down a lot of these interviews, and I get asked lots of really hard questions. A lot of them I don't even know the answers to.
[00:21:40] He says, but that piece that you're talking about, that's really important to me.
[00:21:44] And he says, you know what else is really important to me? He says, you matter to me.
[00:21:48] He says, because when I see you, I see a child of God, someone who's made in his image.
[00:21:54] And he says, so what I think about you has great value to me. And he says, I wish you well. And the podcaster's like, okay, thanks for joining me. You know, like, he doesn't know what to do with it. He doesn't know what to do with it. And so I'm like, man. And again, I don't know, John. I don't know his walk exactly, but there was a peace that passes understanding. That's what Scripture says.
[00:22:14] He's probably smarter than anybody else in this room. And yet Paul describes it like this in verse 18. Because anyone, anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God.
[00:22:26] Pleasing to God, and receives human approval. For friends, when I watch that interview, I go, that is the kingdom of God.
[00:22:35] That's a guy who knows he's majoring on the right things. He knows what's essential.
[00:22:41] And yet there's a lot of things to disagree and debate about. And he, you know, that's what his whole thing is, apologetics and fighting for the faith. But he says it is. Paul says, this is pleasing to God, right? It's not the person who wins the argument or defends the best case. It's not the one who's the flashiest, one who has the strongest opinion about God. It's the one who serves in this way, the one who pursues righteousness, peace, enjoying the Lord. That's what pleases God. And interestingly, it says that it receives human approval. And I watched that. I saw man. John's getting applauded in a way for what he just says. Oh, that's just Jesus in me. He's the only hope that I know this world has to offer. It's the only hope that there is for this world is Jesus.
[00:23:23] What pleases God is that.
[00:23:26] And friends, what he said was not flashy, but it was different.
[00:23:30] It was obvious. For this, this podcaster and friends, the world knows how to argue, doesn't it?
[00:23:36] But the church should know how to love. And friends, can we be honest? We got a lot of room to grow.
[00:23:42] I have a lot of room to grow.
[00:23:44] Paul says in verse 19, so let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.
[00:23:53] This verse struck me this week because it says, make every effort. I felt like the Lord just made me sit with that all week long of like, have I really made every effort?
[00:24:02] Can I really honestly say that I make every effort? I just go, oh, that's kind of uncomfortable. I just don't want to be around that.
[00:24:08] I'd just rather hang out with the tribe that I get along with better.
[00:24:12] Like, that's not making every effort what leads to peace again, peace doesn't happen by accident. Healthy churches don't happen by accident.
[00:24:21] Unity doesn't happen by accident. It takes great intentionality. Paul says, work for it, pursue it, fight for it.
[00:24:27] Don't just disintegrate or move off to each other just to hang out with the people that look and act and believe everything that you do.
[00:24:36] And he gives this word to describe it. He says, mutual edification. And that word, that doesn't help. Sorry, I just like blurted it out. Edification is this. It's a word just basically means to build.
[00:24:48] And he's saying the church is meant to be this place where there's mutual edification. We're building each other up, having those hard conversations. We're strengthening one another, that we're becoming the environment and the tools that which God is going to make us more like his son.
[00:25:05] You know, I've had the privilege to grow up in church and follow Jesus for a long time. And I'll just share one quick story that I've seen lots of different styles of church and some that were more comfortable for me and other ones I'm like, this is new, you know.
[00:25:21] But I found myself years ago in an environment where in this little town that none of you guys would know at, in a place in the UK that none of you guys have probably ever visited.
[00:25:31] But I remember we would stop at this church and it was called Stockton Parish Church. And I think we have a picture of was an old Anglican church. And in the town that I lived doing ministry, you know, they would host a once a month kind of all church gathering.
[00:25:46] I went, you know, I've seen those before and sometimes they get a little Kumbaya for me, you know. Is that a word? Kumbaya? You know, a little. You know, And I'm like, I don't know what we're doing here, you know?
[00:25:56] But what I'd say is that was different about this space is in that town, you know, we were trying to help with church revitalization. You know, I was living what they would say, Logan, we're living 15 years in America's future.
[00:26:07] We're post Christian. No one's walked a step in these churches. And the reality is, all the local churches would come together in that building, and they wouldn't even fill up the whole room.
[00:26:17] And they looked each other in the eyes and they were like, hey, man, there's way more at stake than steak.
[00:26:22] They didn't say that, but that's what they meant. And that's what that was about. And they're like, hey, we gotta link arms here, man. Cause if we don't link here, like, the church itself, the global, it's gonna die here in our town.
[00:26:34] And so we would gather once a month and just pray and worship and ask the Lord to meet us and to revitalize this community that, to be honest with you, most of the country had just forgotten about.
[00:26:45] And I would tell you, it was interesting, you know, like, there was, like, some Baptists just standing straight like this the whole time, like, this is it. This is all I got right here, you know, I remember one time I was beside a lady, and she was like, hey, good evening. How are you? And I turned around, I came back, and I swear she, like, shot out some flags, like, out of her sleeves, you know, like. Because I was like, they weren't there, and now they're there. Where were those? You know, it was like. And I was like, whoa, please don't hit me. You know, go stand over there, you know?
[00:27:15] Wasn't my jam, you know, but it's fine.
[00:27:19] There was a guy, like an Anglican priest collared up, just, like, jamming this 1994 worship song. Like he had just found it. And it was the greatest thing in the world. And I'm like, wow, okay, That's a choice. That's great.
[00:27:31] And it was beautiful.
[00:27:33] I remember standing there to my left. I remember being in that sanctuary. To my left, there was a group of men that I got to know because they were refugees from places in the Middle east, you know, A lot of them had fled their home country because of their faith, because God had met them and changed them. And I remember watching them cry as they said, I've never been In a church where I could sing out loud before.
[00:27:53] And something happened to me in that building. I would tell you, I got the first glimpse. I'm like, I think this is what attorney's gonna be like.
[00:27:59] And all those hard edges in me about this is what I like. And this is how I want church to be my thing. I want it to look like in the image of Logan. To be honest with you, a lot of that started to get rubbed off in those monthly gatherings. And I don't remember a sermon or a program they did, but it was the intentional way that that church tried to encourage one another. And they would disperse and go do their thing in different parts of town in different expressions that looked.
[00:28:25] But they welcomed each other, they listened to one another, they encouraged, they made room for each other. And friends, I can honestly tell you I left that sanctuary that was hundreds of years old, stronger than I walked in there every time I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself.
[00:28:42] Friends, what if that became our reputation?
[00:28:46] What if that was our reputation? Not, hey, that's the church with the best coffee in town.
[00:28:52] That's a church with the best worship or music in town.
[00:28:55] Or, man, that's the church where everybody agrees with each other.
[00:28:59] What if we were known as the church where. That's where people leave built up.
[00:29:04] They leave there a little bit different than when they walked in. What if every conversation in our lobby, every community group, every serve team, every difficult conversation actually got to be an environment where we left a little bit stronger? It was a mutual edification happening.
[00:29:17] I know that's big, that's grandiose in some ways, but Paul's saying, love is meant to build, and that's what Jesus is building, his church.
[00:29:26] Verse 20. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. This is the second time he says, don't destroy. Do not destroy. Second time he said something like this.
[00:29:38] Can you do this again for me? Again? Just oblige me here. Would you look around the room again? Like, really look. Don't just, like, do the weird head nod. Like, look around the people in this room, not just the person you walked in here with.
[00:29:52] Look behind you. This is that chance to look at that kid that was crying or someone coughing or whatever, right?
[00:29:59] That person sitting in it. Here's what I want you to hear. Look at this.
[00:30:02] You are looking at the very handiwork of God.
[00:30:07] And that's you, too.
[00:30:09] That person next to you, that family behind you, that new college student that's coming to check something out. The Retiree, the brand new believer, and the person who's been walking with Jesus for decades. God is at work in them, friends.
[00:30:22] He's forming them, he is growing them, he is patiently shaping them into the image of his son.
[00:30:29] And some of that work is really obvious.
[00:30:32] Some of it we've seen stories, we're like, wow, that's an awesome testimony.
[00:30:36] And some is slower and unseen and under the surface and maybe you can't really tell a difference, whatever that means.
[00:30:47] But God is still at work.
[00:30:50] Paul says don't destroy what God is patiently building.
[00:30:55] For what? For the sake of food.
[00:30:59] Like what?
[00:31:00] Why would we break this up for that? And friends, we just might feel that blank with something else. We wouldn't say we're breaking fellowship for the sake of food. We might be about our politics or our parenting styles, or our worship styles with flags, or our schooling choices or our social media opinions.
[00:31:20] And again, if this section is about the how, then I would say we gotta start majoring on the major things and stop majoring on the minors.
[00:31:29] So if this section is about how, then what I would encourage you is before you press post, before you insist your preference, before, before you have an even, you share your opinion on that conversation, just ask yourself, will this build?
[00:31:43] I don't wanna pick up a wrecking ball where God has invited me to pick up a hammer. See, friends, no one builds something by accident. It takes great intentionality and care and forethought, right? And sometimes it's little acts that go unnoticed. There's the things behind the walls and the studs that you may never notice that are there, right? But if they don't do their job, it'll fall apart. And friends, that's what Jesus is doing. He's building his church. And I want my words, my convictions, my freedoms in Christ to be one of the tangible ways that Jesus loves his people through me.
[00:32:15] Because love is meant to build.
[00:32:18] Verse 22. So whatever you believe about these things, keep them between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith. And everything that does not come from faith is sin.
[00:32:36] Now this passage is intense, huh?
[00:32:39] At first glance you're like, this is a little confusing and intimidating. It was for me too.
[00:32:45] But is Paul saying that you should never talk about your convictions? Well, obviously not, because he's been talking about em for a whole chapter, right? So we know that.
[00:32:54] Is he saying that convictions don't matter? No, because we also See what Paul describe his convictions. So what is he saying? I think he's asking us one final question.
[00:33:04] Can I. Can you do. Can you live out that conviction with a clear conscience before Jesus?
[00:33:11] Right? That thing, you hold on to that belief. He's saying, hey, if you can't do it for the Lord in faith, then don't do it and don't talk about it.
[00:33:20] Like, you need to wrestle this out. For some of us in this room, we're like, I don't even know what I believe and what is essential. And Logan, I don't even know what you're saying. And like, that might mean we need to get into this, get into a group, like, start to work out our faith, right?
[00:33:33] That's what might be the step for us.
[00:33:36] But what Paul understands is that Christian maturity is not just about doing the right thing. It's doing the right thing for the right reasons and for the right audience and friends. You don't work out your salvation. You don't land in this and become a part of edifying the body for me or. Or for your spouse or for your small group. We do it for the audience of Jesus.
[00:33:55] We do it out of response for what he has done.
[00:33:58] And what we said last week is that one day, guys, we're going to stand before the Lord and we're going to give an account of what did I do with my time, with the days that God gave me, and for us in this room that haven't said yes to Jesus, then maybe that's actually like saying, lord, I need to. I want you to be Lord and Savior of my life. And I need to make that choice today. And I'd love for you to come and pray with someone at the end of the service. We want to help you take that step.
[00:34:20] But for those of us who have said yes to Jesus, then we will give an account of, did I help build up Jesus church? Did I, you know, did I make every effort? Did I really?
[00:34:28] Or just not on my good days or the days that end in Y, or whatever you want to say, right?
[00:34:35] I'm gonna have to give an account for how I lived. And I should be asking this question, am I living out these convictions and faith towards Jesus or towards someone else?
[00:34:45] And Paul's saying, hey, if you haven't settled that with the Lord, then figure that out or don't talk about it now. I think this is really careful. I want to say something to us because I don't want anybody to interpret. What I'm saying is like, just do what you feel and go with your heart. I'm not saying that in any way.
[00:35:01] I believe that sin is.
[00:35:03] If sin is as pervasive as we think it is in Bible, as we see it, is that it gets its ways and nooks and crannies of our hearts, then I need to even think about my thinking I need God to start to transform my heart and my mind. That he needs to really change my conscience and my convictions.
[00:35:20] So my goal, in no way am I saying is like just follow your heart, journey, church.
[00:35:24] Not saying that.
[00:35:25] I'm saying that our goal should be for Jesus to continuously shape our hearts and our minds until our desires begin to match that of our Saviors. So we bring our convictions to Jesus continuously.
[00:35:38] We keep going back to Jesus, keep going back to the Scriptures, keep bringing them back to the Holy Spirit. And we let him continue to do his work. Because he is still building you, friends.
[00:35:49] And that's really the heartbeat of this chapter.
[00:35:52] Jesus is building his people. He's building me, he's building you, and he's building his church.
[00:35:59] You know, Jesus had all the rights in the world. He had all the convictions in the world.
[00:36:04] He was right, he was powerful, he had all the glory. And yet he humbly laid them down, didn't He?
[00:36:12] He humbled himself. He served. He gave Himself away. Why?
[00:36:16] To build a family, to reconcile sinners, to create a new unified people. To build his church. Church. That's what love does.
[00:36:26] Love, lonely, lays down itself. What it has the right to do if it helps someone else flourish in Jesus. And that's not weakness, friends. That's Christ likeness.
[00:36:38] So let me leave you with this one question. I got one really, I think simple to say, but hard to live out.
[00:36:45] Application for you this week. So this is, this is one question. If you just do this for me, not just by me, but what Paul is saying.
[00:36:53] Before you speak, before you post this week, before you insist your preference or some way, or before you win an argument, I want you to ask this one question.
[00:37:03] Will this build?
[00:37:06] Will this build? Will this build up my spouse?
[00:37:09] Will this build up my children?
[00:37:12] Will this build up the non believer that I'm interacting with? Will this build up my brothers and sisters in Christ? Will this build Jesus church?
[00:37:20] Because if Jesus built His church, friends, I want to join him. And I bet there's a lot of you in this room that want to too.
[00:37:26] I don't want to compete with him. I don't want to hinder him. I don't want to tear down something that he's been patiently constructing.
[00:37:32] I want my life to be partnering with the Lord, right to become.
[00:37:37] Let my life be one of the ways in which Jesus loves his people, not just me standing on my hill, making a mountain out of a molehill. So over the last two weeks, Paul has reminded us of these two simple truths. Jesus is lord of his church.
[00:37:51] And if that is true, then I don't get to hold contempt or judgment towards my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We can have disagreements, we can even agree to disagree or debate, and we can even worship in different styles and preferences. That's okay.
[00:38:07] But I think I see too often we just jump and we're like, cool, I don't agree with you. I'm out, dude. I'm just gonna go over here and start my thing.
[00:38:13] Or we start to minor on the majors, we don't make the big deal. The big deal.
[00:38:18] We start to think too loosey goosey. And that is not what God's called us to.
[00:38:22] And I hope this week that we would take a step in becoming the kind of church where people don't simply see strong convictions, they see the lordship of Jesus shaping our strong convictions into stronger love.
[00:38:34] Because Jesus is building his church friends and love builds with them. Would you pray with me?
[00:38:49] Lord, I.
[00:38:51] Man, your word is so good and so man. It cuts, it says, it cuts through bone and marrow. And Lord, that's true. I think this passage is so hard. There's just a. There's a heaviness and a weightiness to it because we just realize, Lord, I have no shot at this without your help in myself. I cannot just be a good, faithful brothers, brother to my brothers and sisters in Christ. There's no shot. But Lord, I want to partner with you. I don't want to tear down, I don't want to destroy it. Nor do I want to look at that passage and say, that's not me, that's for someone else.
[00:39:22] Paul begins this passage by saying, let us. And so, Lord, that's my prayer for journey, that we'd all look ourselves in the mirror and say, let us, let me. What's the part that I have to play in this? Am I really building up my brothers and sisters?
[00:39:36] Or am I just saying, oh, that's Pastor Bob's job to figure him out and, and help them out. Or do I say, man, I have a part to play in that. I need to edify my brothers and sisters. I need to. Need to build them up. I want to encourage.
[00:39:46] Am I dividing over small things or am I fighting for unity am I making every effort.
[00:39:52] And Lord, I just think there's a gap in our hearts. There's a gap in mind.
[00:39:56] And so Holy Spirit, would you come and fill that space and move us not just in more gusto to follow you, but actually just convict us of our sin. And let us respond worship to you and say, lord, it's your church. It's not my church, it's your church. And I want to be part of helping build it up.
[00:40:15] It's for your precious name we pray these things. Amen.
