An isolated person…a person outside of community…is like a boat without a harbor.
· an isolated person has to navigate the seas of life alone
· an isolated person has to negotiate storms with little support
· an isolated person has to find a way to get themselves up and do life another day with only their own resources to supply them.
An isolated person…a person outside of community…is like a boat without a harbor.
Harbors are important to boats.
Ø Boats come into harbors to be replenished: refueled, re-outfitted and re-stocked.
Ø Boats enter harbors to be repaired from damage and disaster.
Ø Boats are then re-launched from harbors out to do what boats do:
· carry their precious cargo
· or defend their country
· or feed the world
Boats need harbors. People need harbors. You need a harbor…
· a small community that will replenish your heart, soul and mind
· a small community that will help repair your brokenness …carry you to Jesus when you’re too sick and hurting to go yourself.
· a small community that believes in you and your destiny … and will re-launch you into the world and the mission of God
People need harbors…and we’ve never needed them more than we do right now.
According to the American Sociological Review: More than 4 out of 5 Americans say they have no harbor....no healthy circle of friends no core personal network.
You might shrug your shoulders at that…not me…I’ve got plenty of people around me. Really?
· how many know your children’s names?
· how many know what you do for a living?
· how many have been to your home?
· how many eaten at your table? … and you theirs?
· how many know when you are sick and what illness you have?
· How many have provided for you in some way?
· How many have showed up at a funeral of someone close to you?
· How many listen to you before they talk about themselves?
· How many ask follow up questions? Probe deeper. Not just the requisite one and done...
· how many know the least bit about your spiritual journey?
· how many know what hurts your heart?
See…you are part of the more than 80% of Americans with no real harbor.
these past few weeks we’ve examined what kind of harbor we each need:
You need a small community of dear friends who will replenish you, help repair you and re-launch you into the world to find your destiny.
2 weeks ago we examined the replenishing ability of a small community:
Ø Two ways small community can replenishes you...
o A small community can replenish your sense of love and significance.
§ From the moment a human being is born they have two primal needs that they’ll have the rest of their lives: to be loved and to be significant (to have meaning).
Ø A small community can replenish your character and spiritual life
o teach one another – you are competent to do that
o provoke thanksgiving and gratefulness
§ last Monday my small group did an exercise that was very cool
Last week we looked deeper at the repairing capabilities of a small community.
At some point the wheels are going to fall off your wagon. Life is going to deal you a cruel blow…illness, job loss, relational catastrophe, death
And you won’t possess the willpower, the trength or even the faith to go to Jesus. It’s then…
You need a small community of dear friends who will help repair you by carrying you to Jesus.
You’ll need some people who love you so much that they’ll...Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
And you’ll need friends who will believe for you when you can’t
As David said last week:
· When your faith is faltering, their faith will be strong!
· When you can’t find it in you to pray, they will pray with expectation!
· When you are overwhelmed with doubt, unable to find your footing to even take one step (step out) in trust, their trust in God will move you!
Are you getting this – that you need a harbour?
You need a small community of dear friends who will replenish you, help repair you and (finally…)re-launch you into the world to find your destiny.
Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
The situation:
· Some were “Giving up meeting” = (lit. abandoned one another)
· Some had abandoned a long standing habit of gathering in homes (for dozens of years the early church had met in small groups in homes
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, (from Acts 2:42ff)
It has been a pattern since the very beginning of the church – abandon small communities. Why have you?
Why do people stop gathering in groups?
o Too busy (lit. too little reward for the investment)
o Anxiety - can’t handle one more thing – one more relationship
o Selfishness – not meeting your needs
o Too costly – don ‘t want to have to exert yourself on behalf of another person
o Bad experience – one person dominated, too many needy people, people weren’t as spiritually mature as you...or too spiritually mature
o a devastating issue that saps the life out of the group
o kids complicate it or the group was changing
o some people didn’t give it the priority it deserved
o and on and on...
Who knows if any of those reasons led to this comment in Hebrews...but the author of this circular letter was trying to convince them to restore that practice. To re-up on the groups thing. And for good reason:
· Vs 24 - I want you to consider something = give some serious time to thinking about this
· Vs. 25 - the Day is approaching = early church lived on edge
o a day of God’s intervention and judgement
o a day of foment
o a day of persecution
o a day of unrest
o a tough time when everybody’s life will be stretched
...that day is approaching!
You gotta re-up on getting together with one another...give this full consideration because you are going to need each other in the middle of the mess of life!
Funny...how some things never change...we too live in THE DAY...
· a day in which most people are far from God (separated)
· a day in which we are isolated form each other
· a day of grave injustices
· a day of hatred
· a day of pain
· a day in which the very planet itself groans in decay.
Yep – we live in the midst of a battle...
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
…for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 2 Corinthians 10:3
Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
So...in light of that...the author challenges his readers and us to 3 things:
As you meet in your harbours...
1. Vs. 24 - Spur one another on to love (self-less)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13
2. Vs. 24 - Spur one another on to good deeds
Literally the “beautiful work”
…for we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)
· a small group should be your cheerleaders
· a small group should know your gifts, and you passions – and spur you on to go for it!
· they should applaud every more you make toward your destiny
3. Vs. 25 - Encourage one another
· encourage – all purpose word... to come along side
o it’s a picture of proximity (arm around the shoulder)
o it’s a picture of two extremes – comfort and exhortation
So do you get this picture: A small community should be ...
... an incubator of mission.
...a cradle of vocation
...an impetus of impact
...a launch pad of calling
...a catalyst of destiny
“The evidence is clear: If you want to change a habit, you must find an alternative routine, and your odds of success go up dramatically when you commit to changing as part of a group. Belief is essential, and it grows out of a communal experience, even if that community is only as large as two people.” Charles Duhigg The Power of Habit
We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something. Sandra Day O'Connor
A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
You need a small community of dear friends who will replenish you, help repair you and re-launch you into the world to find your destiny.
So...what do you say?
Let’s pray