OK. It's going to have you open a passage before we come to it. If you open your Bibles to Psalm 103 and we'll come to that in a moment. uh... what we're looking at is the second paragraph the first half of the second paragraph of our membership covenant tonight as you have if you have the membership covenants with you and so we're we're working on that portion that comes right up to before talks about are giving i'd like to start with a premise uh... premise of god's design God created Adam and Eve perfect and holy and they had fellowship with God in the garden. And the fall separated man from God and originally man's inclination was to seek and enjoy God's presence. After the fall, what is man's desire? Man in general, his desire is self-pleasing. And we tend to separate ourselves from God as man. Well, redemption is the restoring of that relationship and the return to paradise. So man's relationship is restored with God and we are allowed to go into his presence to be in heaven with him one day. The relationship is paradise restored eventually. So we're given a new nature. But the new nature still has old material to work with. And I think if we examine our own lives, very quickly we come to that conclusion. Yes, I'm still working with the old material. The flesh still drags me down. I'm not that perfected saint that I would like to be. I am not perfect. So we can all agree with that. So what happens is the new nature or the Holy Spirit sets about to take over that old nature or that old regime. And the old nature will fight the new nature. But this process that's taking place is sanctification. That's the premise. I thought of a book title when I was thinking about this and it was named, Saved, Now What? And so our membership covenant portion is going to address this very clearly. And it basically points us in the best direction, best circumstances for our lives to allow that new nature to Walk with God that sanctification process taking place this what we're doing here in this commitment is a positive move towards that if we if we do it with a I'm not going to say a pure heart if we do it if our hearts are in it You know if we're walking with God, so we live life together in the pursuit of pursuit of holiness and the pursuit of faithful obedience Pastor Jim reminded us last time that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we do this. So let's look at this first half. Really the second paragraph is one sentence. And it reads, we commit to faithful participation in times of worship, prayer, study, and fellowship with other believers to the building up of the church by using our spiritual gifts in ministry. So let us break that down. First thing is let's look at faithful participation. What does it mean to participate? If it's sports, If you think of a sports team, each are part of the team and the goal is a common goal and they participate together to meet that common goal. And no one individual can do the job, but all individuals do it together. If it's a chorus or a symphony, you can imagine each one playing its part. Each one has a role. What does that faithful participation look like in the church? Well, 1 Corinthians 12, 27 tells us now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And we're told in that passage that the body has many parts and each part plays a role. And Paul even reminds us that even what would seem like the less significant part turns out to be the more significant and the more important. So the point is no part of that body is insignificant. Everyone has a part. And so, as a body, we commit ourselves to faithful participation in, one, worship. What is worship? How do I know that I am offering authentic worship to the Lord? How did the Lord Jesus address this? Well, he was at the well talking to the Samaritan woman, and she's asking him this question. They say that we should worship there, and others say we should worship here. Where do you say we should worship? Jesus said, Neither shall you worship there or here, but you shall, and I'm not quoting it directly, but when you worship him, and the quote from I have is John 4 24, God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth. We must worship in spirit and in truth. How do I do that? True worship takes place in the heart. We're going to look at David's worship in Psalm 103. At least I believe it was David, yes. In Psalm 103. And what we see and hear is an outward expression of the inward movement. Let's look at Psalm 103. Verse 1, and we're going to just run right through it. Verse 1, David is blessing the Lord and all that is within me. You see this is worship, right? Well, after he begins this worship, after he begins this time of worship and writing this psalm, verses two through seven, he quickly begins to dwell on what the Lord has done for him. Forget not all his benefits. He forgives your iniquity, heals your diseases, redeems your life from the pit. He crowns you with steadfast love. He satisfies you with goods. And so you get the idea that the Lord, He's dwelling on what God has done for Him. This is what He's doing in worship. He's thinking about all that God has done for Him. When we get to verse 8, it begins to talk about God's character. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins nor repay us according to our iniquities. And so you see what he's doing. As high as the heavens are above the earth so great as his steadfast love is God's character. So what is what has God done for him? And then he's focusing on God's character. And then at the end, verses 20 to 22, he returns to his blessing. Bless the Lord. Oh, you, his angels, you mighty ones, you who do his word, obeying the voice of his word. Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works. So You see the beginning, bless the Lord, and the end, the bookends of the psalm, but in the middle is all that God has done. It's all worship. And you picture us as we come before the Lord on Sunday morning and that whole process of what we're doing. This is all to remember what God has done for us. And by the way, God has deemed that healthy for us because he's told us to come together in his name. No lone range of Christians. I think Pastor Jim said that even last week. So this is pure worship. Isaiah 66, I began to think about this and there's a contrast here in Isaiah 66 starting in verse 2b. These are the ones I look on with favor, those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at my word. And so here we come before the Lord and we tremble at his word together. But yet we get great insight, the contrast starting in verse 3b says, talking about those who are on the other side of this. They have chosen their own ways and they delight in their abominations. So I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring on them what they dread. So there's really two kind of people, true worshipers of God and everyone else. Psalm 8611, teach me your way, oh Lord, and I will walk in truth. Give me an undivided heart that I might fear or worship your name. So true worship of God is an internal matter. But when we come together, that is a gathering of us internally worshiping God in spirit and truth, but then we come together and do it together. What I'm trying to paint is a contrast between a body of believers coming before the Lord in true worship in their hearts and a divided body who, you know, let's face it, it's prevalent in our culture, just check the box, you know, I made it to church. No prayer beforehand, no preparation, I just showed up at church. Is that worshiping God in spirit and in truth if I just show up? I don't think so. I think that's not taking seriously what we know from the Lord and what we've committed to in this membership covenant. So we publicly gather in obedience to, say, 1 Peter 2.5, for example. You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So our worship is centered in the knowledge and obedience to the revealed word of God. So we commit to faithful participation in worship. But number two, prayer. The saints have always been praying. Jesus prayed and he taught us how to pray. Prayer is, along with many other things, it is an acknowledgement to the wisdom and power of God over all creation. Prayer is a reliance on our creator and redeemer. The Lord offers us access to the throne of God, and all he bids us do is reach for it. And yet, are we perfect in that? Do we do that perfectly or do we often give up our opportunities to pray? What's a simple definition of prayer? Well, it's telling the Lord all that is on your heart at that moment. Simply, if you don't know what to pray. And also, I've thought about Oftentimes how, when we don't know what to pray, we just tell God, I don't know what to pray, but this is what I'm thinking about. This is what I need to know, or this is what I need. I know I'm not doing, and this is what I'm asking for. But let's think about how we pray for one another. Colossians, 1, 9, and 10, and you know many of the epistles have this beginning where Paul is thankful for the believers in this city, and then after that thankfulness and discussing what he likes about them, how their faith is evident, then he starts to pray that they, basically that they would grow in grace and they would mature, doesn't he? And so this example in Colossians says, And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. So these are the things that we can pray for one another. And so I ask us, do we do that for each other? Do we do that? Do we pray that our brother or sister would grow in knowledge? Do we pray that they would understand the will of God written in his word, the revealed will of God for their lives. Do we pray that they would be fruitful in their lives in every good work? This is what we can pray for each other. We pray for the seemingly little things, nothing is too small for God, but you know, for broken cars, lost keys and getting home safely, things like these. But we should also pray for that fruitfulness in each other's lives. Pray for your sister who is sick. Pray for your brother that he fall not into temptation. Pray for the children that they come to faith and walk in the Lord. And we've said in our membership commitment, we commit to faithful participation in prayer. And that encompasses all these things. Number three, study. Any discipline gains advantage, right? You can study music, accounting, chemistry, whatever, but you know, as you study it, you know more than the person on the street who has never studied it, don't you? It doesn't take much to make an argument for a study. You gain understanding and wisdom when you study any discipline. Well, how much more do we gain when we study the word of God? It contains the wisdom of God. It reveals the mysteries of the kingdom of God. When we study, we learn so much more than a quick reading. So compared to, okay, I read my word, I read Isaiah chapter 66, done. Or do I meditate on it? Do I study it? And what we're talking about here is a faithful participation in gathering together and with one another, we absorb what your pastors or any other person who's going to be standing up here teaching, what they've labored for. And so we glean the riches together. We study God's word that we might mine it for riches. And we can never fully exhaust the depths of the word of God. And I had a few references and I'll run through them. Proverbs 3, 1 and 2. Proverbs 4, 6 and 7. Do not forsake her, which is wisdom, and she will keep you. Love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this. Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Romans 12.2, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable. Romans 15.4, for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction. that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. Psalm 119, your word is a lamp to my heart and a light to my path. Joshua 1.8 tells us, do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according all that is written in it. Then you will be prosperous, and then you will have good success. 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us that the scripture is profitable, teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. So we study to know the mind of God, his revealed will, to renew our mind to conformity with Christ, that we would shine a light along our path, that he would shine a light along our path and lead us. We study to share all good things with our brother, as well, come with something to give. So, we commit to faithful participation in times of study. Number four, fellowship. What is fellowship? I have no fellowship with a hockey player. I don't know anything about hockey. I don't understand it. It seems real simple to me and I don't understand anybody's fixation with watching a hockey game. And so, if I were hanging out with hockey players, it just wouldn't work for me at all. But one way to describe fellowship is a relationship centered around a shared union. We share an inheritance in Christ, and we are destined together to an eternal joy in Christ. So, when we are standing on our common ground, we experience true fellowship. We come from many different upbringings and cultures, backgrounds, states, and so on, but we have unbounded unity in Christ, and we build each other up in the common faith. You should have guessed I would come to this passage, Hebrews 10, 24, and 25, which you could imagine that this was how this membership covenant was built, all from scripture, right? Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, oh, by the way, as is the habit of some. Well, that's the flesh. That's the flesh resisting, right? The habit is not to come together. That's giving in to the flesh and not to the spirit. But encouraging one another and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. Where does fellowship take place? It takes place when the saints are gathered and the subject is the Lord, right? Or our life in the Lord. That's where fellowship takes place. Well, Christian fellowship. A great example to me was today. My wife and I were encouraged by someone today, or a couple of people, before services even began. I received advice from someone and took them up on it. I shared a problem and they showed an angle I wasn't seeing. And we come together and we share burdens, don't we? And we share prayer requests with one another. That's all fellowship. All around the Lord, all around God's kingdom. Stir your sister up, encourage her. This calling is for every member. We were exhorted recently, Pastor Josh reminded us, it's not just the leadership that should go after the wandering. It's all of us. Am I my brother's keeper? Are you your brother's keeper? I think we are. I think the Lord has called us to be our brother's keeper. Don't just leave it to the leadership. Because when I am weak, my brother is strong, and vice versa. Sometimes we're weak, and we need to be built up for my brother, and sometimes he's weak, and we need to build him up. Here's a warning. Hebrews 3, 12 and 13. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil and unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. but exhort one another every day as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." So the question is, is it possible to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? Is it harder to be hardened? If you're in fellowship, isn't it harder for that hardening to take place? But when you distance yourself, you can build up the shell, and you're not letting anybody in, and that hardening can take place. We are warned here, so we know that it can take place. If you suspect your brother is hardened in some way, well, what should be the first thing you should do? I think the first thing should be is you should be on your knees, right? Earnestly praying for them and then ask the Lord how to build them up, how to encourage them. But I have one suggestion of how to encourage your brother. First Thessalonians 418 is simple, short verse. It says, therefore, encourage one another with these words. And what are those words that precede verse 18? We're talking about Paul's talking about the return of Christ, isn't he? He's talking about that. We will be with him when he comes. We'll meet him in the air and we'll be with him forevermore. Encourage one another with these words. And that really spoke to me this week, thinking about that. As you know, when you're not going through a trial, it may not be as meaningful, but when you're going through a trial, it's very meaningful and it takes, I would say, deeper roots. And so, well, that's what we can do for one another. We can encourage one another with this. This is only temporary. Your trial is temporary. Even if your trial is not going to end before you leave this world, it's still temporary in the greater scheme of things because this is a drop in the bucket of eternity, right? A drop in the ocean. Encourage yourself and encourage your brother with these things. So we commit to faithful participation in times of fellowship. We've committed to this as members, to be here for our brother and sister. Not just in this building either, is that. Number five, discover and use your gifts. Isn't that what the covenant says? What does it say? What does it say about gifts? We commit, okay, and to faithful participation, fellowship with each other, to the building of the church by using our spiritual gifts in ministry. 1 Corinthians 12, there are a couple of places we could look, what are the gifts, and there's no time to discuss this in depth in any way. But the passage begins, verse four, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. Did you hear that? To each member of the body is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. We all have something to give through the Holy Spirit. How do we discover these gifts? Well, we serve, we get involved, we get involved in the life of the church. And Sunday School Nursery, Works of Mercy, there's many things to do in the church, not necessarily, not all of them that are on a list, but we have our eyes open that what we can do in the church and how I can be a part of the church. And you know what? Someone's going to notice your giftedness. Someone's going to notice that, and the leadership will be asking you, upon noticing your gifts, to use those gifts. There is a difference between gifts and talents, and I just want to say this about that. We come with many talents as well, and I believe the Lord sanctifies those talents for His use. And so whether gifts or talents, they're all God-given, but in Christ, as a believer, you have specific gifts. So discover that gift. Maybe even ask somebody, what do you see in me? What is all this for? And it's for the purpose of building up the church. Jude 20 says, but you, beloved, building yourselves up in the most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. The last heading is really the first. What is the purpose of what we have committed? that the Lord would be glorified in our lives, that we would be obedient to him, that the bride of Christ would be built up in the most holy faith. In Christ, you have the ability to worship, to pray, to study, to fellowship in God's glory, and you can not do anything without his help. Of course, we know Jesus said, and it's one of our favorite verses, John 15, for abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. If we are not abiding in Christ, all of this effort would be done in vain. So how we approach worship, prayer, study, and fellowship affects the rest of the body. We either bring something of value, our unity in Christ, or we're spectators. We have an exhortation that comes to us in Psalm 32. We're starting in verse 8 and 9. On verse nine, I'm sorry, verse nine. Be not like a horse or a mule without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. What does that mean? Be not like a horse that you have to put reins on? Doesn't it mean go voluntarily, obey the Lord voluntarily in all these things? Be not like the horse When I think about these things, Pastor Gwen used to have this saying, and it probably came from this verse, and maybe some others. When the Lord saves us, and he spends the rest of our lives, and I reverently say this, trying to put a saddle on us. And so going back to my premise that we're fighting, our flesh fights against the work of the spirit. We're like that untamed horse that you see the rider trying to tame and so that he can put a saddle on it. And what does it mean that the Lord put a saddle on us? What does that metaphor mean? It means not to resist. It means to walk in obedience and to always be looking to God. It means all the good things that We're encouraged to do as the believer And so I thought of Luke 14 While I was meditating on that Starting in verse 25 Now great crowds accompanied him, Jesus, and he turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and, well, actually I wanted to go to 27, but I'll read it still. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So think of the cross as that saddle. What is the cross the Lord has called you to bear? Don't resist the saddle that's being placed on your back. The Lord has something for you to do. The Lord has given you a gift to contribute to the body and use that. Let the Lord work through you. I'll close this with this last verse from James 1, starting in verse 21. It says, Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away at once. and forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." We've heard many passages that promise blessing for obedience already tonight. And that's what we're looking at, this commitment This membership commitment is seeking blessing in our lives. It's seeking blessing toward one another. So, what I would like to do now is I would like to ask a question. What are some ways we may encourage someone as we fellowship? What are some, you know, let's just, what are some ways that you can encourage someone else when we come to fellowship? Listening. Amen. Amen. And that leads to many things. That listening leads to you praying for them. That listening leads to them being encouraged because someone listened to me. Amen. We are our brother's keepers and we don't have to be long in the church before we realize somebody is hurting. Every week someone's hurting. And aren't we careful not to reveal that often. And maybe it takes someone prying it out of us to do that. Think of the instance when you approach someone and you ask them how they're doing, and they just burst out in tears. You know, they were hurting all along, but it wasn't until somebody, and because they're a believer, they're going to be honest with you, and they're just going to share their heart. Am I or are you your brother's keeper? Aren't we our brother's keeper? So that's what reminded us. Are there any questions before we have a few minutes or comments that you'd like to add? Something that you thought about because that's what happens, isn't it? While we discuss and when we open up God's word and we begin to talk about it, your heart begins to stir with thoughts of your own and Is there anything you would like to contribute or ask? I know I'm rambling, but something that Jeremy said in the business meeting, it was like the main thing that stuck out to me. He said, in regards to some of the budget, we were increasing something in the budget, and he said, we have to remember that the reason that we have the ability to increase this is because we're all faithfully tithed. So this is like a charge to us to be faithful, right? So it's like the spirit of tithing in the church we have the ability to do more. So I guess my question, I know this is the wrong way to say it, how do we encourage other people? Because I don't want to come to you and be like, hey, you need to fellowship more, you need to do this. Because that might not be my place to judge, but how do we foster that environment individually to have it where that's just the spirit that everybody here does that. It's just a gift. Does that make sense? Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. So how do we encourage when it's not taking place? Right? But so is that person a believer or aren't they a believer? So if they are a believer, they have the indwelling Holy Spirit in them. So the first thing we're doing is we're praying for them. And we're praying that the Lord would work in them. And you may be asking the Lord to use you in their life. And so we're praying that we would be who we really are. Who we really are in Christ. George wants to add to that. We were comforted, yeah. So we are their aroma of Christ to one another. And so just your interest in that person, spending the time with them, and in the process, you can remind them of who they are in Christ. And maybe they've gone a long way from obedience. But if they're the Lord's, then the Lord has actually committed Himself to them and goes after His lost sheep, doesn't He? Phil has a comment, and we're going to finish with that, or a question. Amen. Christina? I have a question. So what does someone do if the way they feel like they are gifted is not lining up with the needs of the congregation? Do they get a pass? Do you not serve? Do you wait until you get to serve in the area? Do you really feel like, how about somebody, especially somebody who is not serving, or is serving? Well, that's a good question. That subject has come up. And what I think about first is, well, they could be wrong. They could think they're gifted and not be, for one. And that would be for the leadership to determine. So that would be the negative by the leading of the Lord. But what they should do is they should get themselves, as I said already, involved in the life of the church and let that giftedness be discovered. So I could say I have a gift, but it's not really discovered yet. That takes great wisdom for the leadership to discern. and work with, and I don't think I answered that sufficiently. If you need to get your children, go ahead. And I'll go back to our passage about bearing your cross. Maybe you think you have this gift or you want to do this, but maybe it was determined that that's not in the cards for you right now. I shouldn't say in the cards, but. So are you going to submit or are you going to take your ball and go home? That's part of submitting to one another. But I mean, that's a good searching question. And it's something that leadership has to ponder quite a bit for individuals in the body. One thing I've always seen in gifts is how natural it is for the person to do that work without having undue amount of preparation. If they have an undue amount of preparation, sometimes it's not their gift. I have to get ready beyond belief to answer all the questions. And I appreciate that. I'll also add to that, try it 50 times or so, because it probably took me the first 50 times of standing up in front of the church to feel any comfort before I did. Is that it? Anybody else? Now, Christina, you're going to have me pondering that question for a long time now. Well, I was thinking, to that end, kind of the one side of it, which is, yeah, if I can't use the gift that I think I have right now. And then, what about the other side, then? So do I just get a pass? Oh, yeah. If I see a need in the church and I don't think I'm gifted, do I just look at that and say, I'm not a good fit? Well, and I don't think we get a pass because we're called to serve, we're called to love our brother, we're called to serve one another. I don't think we get a pass just because we're not gifted at it. I used to quote C.S. Lewis a lot, but now I don't so much, but I think he said something that makes a lot of sense. He was talking about serving, and he goes, the Bible commands us to feed the poor, but doesn't tell us how to cook. You don't need to be gifted for that. Amen. where we're like, well, you're an elder. You're a teacher. You're gifted for that. You're somehow elevated above everybody else, but you're just serving the Lord like everybody else is. It's just your role in the church. And we all have a role. I just wanted to make a quick comment to say that I think we need to think about putting others first before ourselves and their needs. And I think it's easier to step up instead of down. I'm going to just stand here in line. Amen. I'm going to close with that thought. Father, we thank you for this evening. We thank you for our discussion. And we ask that you would fill our hearts and minds with ideas on how to serve and bless our brethren and bless those who are outside the church to your glory. Help us to think less often of ourselves and more of others. And Lord, that your name be glorified in all these things. Ask in Jesus name. Amen.