Fake Community
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead teaching pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to be with you this morning. Today’s the last week in our series called Unfollow, which has been about learning to balance life and technology. Next week we’ll start a new series on a book of the bible called Esther, and it’ll be about God’s hidden work in our imperfect world. I know sometimes it feels like God’s not at work in our lives and world, but in this series we’ll see God’s still at work, even when it doesn’t feel like it. So stick around for the summer, it’ll be a great series. But today’s the last day in our Unfollow series, and we’re gonna talk about what it means to have authentic community. In our technology saturated, social media driven society, it can appear we’re more connected than we are. I mean things like social media have promised to keep us connected with each other, and to some extent it has. It’s allowed us to re-connect and stay connected with friends and family members locally and around the world. But social media relationships will always lack the authenticity and depth of a face to face relationship. Facetime on a phone, can’t ever replace the authenticity and depth of a face to face relationship in a home.
Now as technology keeps advancing, our face to face relationships keep decreasing. I mean people used to gather with friends to watch live shows in a theater, but now we isolate ourselves by watching streamed shows in a home...People used to gather with others to listen to live music from an orchestra, but now we isolate ourselves, even try avoiding others by listening to music with earphones in our ears...People used to know their milkman before the refrigerator, their bank teller before ATM’s, and their cashiers before self-checkout lines. But now we have 10 self-checkout lines for every 2 cashiers. I never applied to be a cashier at WalMart, but now they’re making me work and I’m not even get paid for it...As technology keeps advancing, our face to face relationships keep decreasing, and we’re losing what it means to have authentic community. So today we’re gonna talk about what it means to have authentic community. Let’s turn to Romans 12:9-15 and get into it. Romans 12:9-15, located in the last quarter part of your bible. The title of today’s message is Fake Community, and here’s the big idea. Authentic community isn’t fake and isolated, it’s genuine and communal...Authentic community isn’t fake and isolated, it’s genuine and communal.
Context:
Romans was written by a guy named Paul who’s known for being a strong leader in the early church and for reaching a lot of non-Christians. He writes this letter around 57 A.D. to Christians in Rome, and he talks about two primary things. He talks about the importance of the gospel for salvation, and striving to live out the gospel in response to salvation. The implication is once you experience the love of Jesus on the cross, you should strive to live out the love of Jesus in community, and today Paul’s gonna teach us 6 marks of authentic community. In particular it’s 6 marks of authentic Christian community. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Romans 12:9-15 states, “Let love be genuine.” That’s our 1st mark.
Mark #1 = Authentic community entails genuine love – Paul says let love be genuine, and the Greek can also translate as let love be without hypocrisy or pretending. The problem is we have very few relationships like this. We have very few relationships that love so genuinely, so deeply, so openly, that we have the freedom to be an open book to each other. Instead we have pages and chapters we hide from each other, and this is where the hypocrisy comes in. It’s when we pretend everything’s okay in our lives when it’s not. We’re like “How’s your marriage?” It’s good. “How’s your family?” It’s good. “How’s life?” It’s good. We say it’s all good, give the appearance it’s all good, but deep down inside it’s not all good, we’re just pretending...We’re just pretending...Christians have mastered the art of pretending to be okay in church, even pretend to care for the needs of others by saying “I’ll pray for you,” but we walk away hardly ever petitioning for the person we said we’d pray for.
The church is supposed to be a safe place to be real, a safe place where love and grace can triumph over the hidden pages and chapters of our lives, but instead we pretend. Most of our relationships are filled with pretending.
Now social media reinforces this pretend love, by allowing us to give quick responses to people’s feelings with heart and tear faced emoji’s...then we scroll on, emoji a few more posts, never giving the previous posts another thought. We scroll so many posts, that we’ve become numb and apathetic to the things that are happening in people’s lives. This rapid, numb, apathetic scrolling is causing us to live emoji lives, where we give quick responses to people’s feelings, and scroll on from the person like they’re a post on our feed. We hardly give them another thought, hardly follow up with them on the things they’ve expressed. This is where our love the few so we can love the many code can be helpful. We want to love a few people so well, so genuinely, that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives.
But social media also reinforces a pretend love, by allowing us to portray ourselves as something we’re not, portray the best sides of us and hide the worse sides. When we do this, when we pretend to be something we’re not on social media and in everyday life, it’s impossible for people to genuinely love you because the person they’re loving isn’t the real you. They’re not loving the real you, they’re loving a pretend version of you. If you want to have a genuine love, it needs to start with you being genuine. If we want to have a genuine community, a genuine church with a genuine love, it needs to start with us being genuine. Paul’s teaching us the first mark of an authentic community, is there’s a genuine love for each other. All the other marks of authentic community flow from this mark. We must have a genuine love for each other.
Again vs. 9, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
Mark #2 = Authentic community entails hating what’s evil, clinging to what’s good – Paul says we should have a deep hatred for sin and evil, and it’s because of the harm it causes us and those we love. But in our sin tolerant society, we don’t like people talking with us about our sins. In our sin tolerant society we’d rather be pillows fluffing pillows, than iron sharpening iron...One of our favorite things to say is, “Who are you to judge? Who are you to judge and tell me what I can and can’t do?” We love saying that, and this is how most relationships function. We don’t ever talk about each other’s sins, because we’re afraid of being called judgmental.
We think we’re being loving by not talking about our sins, but we’re actually being unloving if we don’t talk about it. I mean it’s unloving for me to see a friend smoking crack and say, “Hey as long as it makes you feel good...you keep smoking that crack...who am I to judge.” It’s unloving for me to see a friend cheating on his wife and kids while on business trips and say, “Hey as long as you’re happy, go for it...who am I to judge.” It’s unloving for me to see my kids fighting and say, “Hey honey the kids are trying to shank each other with kitchen knives, let’s get a beer and popcorn so we can watch...because who am I to judge.” We wouldn’t consider any of this loving, and it’s because genuine love can’t sit back and do nothing while those we love are being hurt. Yet this is exactly what we’re doing in most our relationships. We’re sitting back doing nothing while those we love are being shanked not with kitchen knives, but with sin.
Now once again technology and social media aren’t helping us with this, because our devices allow us to sin in secret, and to avoid talking about the deeper issues in our lives. But we need to put our devices down, come out of our isolated digital caves, if we want to address the issues and sin issues in our lives that are harming us and those we love. It’s what genuine love does. It causes us to want to talk about these things because of the harm it’s causing us and those we love. Jesus is our greatest example of this. He hated the harm sin was causing us, so he came to talk with us about our sin, and then he went to the cross for us so we can be forgiven and set free from our sins. Jesus is the greatest example of genuine love.
So we should hate the harm sin is causing those we love, encourage them to cling to what’s good which is Jesus, and we need to do it with gentleness and care. So it’s not “Sinner!.. God hates you! Sinner!..” People who approach it like that are the reason we don’t talk about our sins. So don’t approach it like that. You’re to approach it with gentleness and care. You don’t hate the person, you hate the sin that’s hurting the person...Don’t hate the person, hate the sin that’s hurting the person, and approach them with gentleness and care. Take them to lunch saying, “I love you, I’m worried about you, I’m concerned this sin or issue in your life is harming you. How can I walk with you? How can I help you cling to what’s good?” That’s the approach of a genuine, loving, authentic community.
We also should use wisdom and timing in all this. You don’t just go up to somebody and start correcting them, especially non-Christians and people you haven’t built a relationship with. We need to use wisdom and timing, always desiring to win the heart of the person, over desiring to win an argument. It’s not about winning an argument, it’s about winning their hearts to clinging to what’s good. It’s about winning their hearts, to clinging to Jesus.
Again vs. 9, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” This is mark #3.
Mark #3 = Authentic community entails loving and honoring each other like family –Paul says we’re to love one another with brotherly affection, meaning we’re to love and honor each other like family. Another one of our codes at City Awakening is the gospel’s our common ground, Jesus is our common ground. If it wasn’t for Jesus City Awakening wouldn’t exist, and none of us would be here today. So Jesus is our common ground, and we’re to love and honor each other like family regardless of our age, gender, ethnic, or economic differences and statuses.
Paul even says to outdo one another in showing honor, which was a radical shift away from a Roman view that only showed honor to certain statuses. It’s a radical shift for our culture, because we dishonor people in certain statuses in society and on social media all the time. Just wait until the presidential elections. We’ll see people dishonoring each other real quick over their differing political views. But Paul’s saying we’re to honor each other as family regardless of our differences and statuses. He says we should even try to outdo one other in showing honor. I’ve been a pastor for 12 yrs now and I’m yet to break up a fight between two people trying to honor each other. “I’ll honor you.” No I’ll honor you. “Then I’ll just double your honor!” Then I’ll double your double honor!” Alright everybody break it up, break it up...I’m yet to break up a fight between two people honoring each other, but I’ve broken up many fights of people dishonoring each other. An authentic community strives to love and honor each other like family.
Again vs. 10, Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” This is mark #4.
Mark #4 = Authentic community entails laboring, not laziness – Paul says don’t be slothful in zeal, meaning don’t be lazy...Don’t be lazy...Instead we’re to labor out of a love for Jesus and a love for others. Historically the message of Jesus has spread not through laziness, but through laborers. Luther was known for laboring so hard, he’d literally fall into bed at night, and didn’t wash his bed sheets for an entire year...So he lived like a college guy in a dorm room...It’s just nasty!...I want to bust out the Purell just thinking about it...John Wesley was known for riding a horse 60-70 miles a day, and averaged preaching 3 sermons a day!...D.L. Moody’s bedtime prayer was “Lord, I’m tired. Amen...” We have hard working laborers right here in this church too, some serving in children’s ministry even though they don’t have any kids.
Now one of the issues most churches have is there’s not enough laborers. It’s usually the same few people carrying the load each week, and they get burnt out because there’s not enough laborers. It shouldn’t be like that, because we should be willing to labor for that which we love. For those of you who are laboring in the church, thank you for your labor. For those of you who aren’t, let your love for Jesus and love for those sitting around you, stir your affections to sign up today and start laboring, because true love labors...True love labors...The broom and trashcan should be jobs everyone’s willing to do, because we’ll labor for that which we love.
We need to be willing to labor for Jesus, to labor for the church we love...and then scatter from this place to labor for the very people we love outside the church, for the very people we want to reach outside the church. True love labors.
Vs. 12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” This is mark #5.
Mark #5 = Authentic community entails showing hospitality – Hospitality back then was different than our hospitality today, because hospitality back then was focused more on the guest than the host. But today’s hospitality is focused more on the host than the guest. We stress about the food being perfect, the house being clean, instead of leaving it messy like it normally is. Hospitality certain can entail these things, but we tie our identities to the tidiness of our home. We make hospitality more about our reputation, than about the guest. But hospitably back then wasn’t focused on all that, it was focused on the needs of the guest. Do they need to stay the night, eat a meal, or just sit and talk over a cup of coffee? So even if the house was a wreck, it’d still be considered great hospitality, as long as the needs of the guest were met. The focus wasn’t on creating a fake perfect Instagram home, it was on loving the guest in their home.
Vs. 14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
Mark #6 = Authentic community entails rejoicing and weeping together – Isn’t this what a loving family should do? Shouldn’t we rejoice when someone in our family’s celebrating, and weep when they’re hurting? A loving family’s supposed to walk with each other in the highs and lows of life. Now sometimes it’s hard to do this, it’s hard to rejoice with others, especially if they receive something we’ve been wanting and praying for. But if we genuinely love them, we’ll rejoice with them. Sometimes it’s hard to weep with others, because we don’t always know what to say. So instead of weeping with them, we avoid them. But if we have a genuine love for them, we’ll weep with them, even if that means just sitting with them, and saying nothing at all. A loving family will rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Okay so let me ask you...Can you live all this out in isolation?..
Can you live all this out, live all these marks out in isolation, with your face buried in a phone?..No you can’t. You can try and emoji it all you want, but you can’t rejoice with those who rejoice or weep with those who weep in isolation with your face buried in a phone. Eventually you have to pull away from your phone and sit face to face with people, if you want to experience genuine love and authentic community. All these marks require us being face to face with people to be fully lived out, as Paul intended. You can’t genuinely love people hiding in isolation behind the screen of a phone. Like I said before, facetime on a phone, can’t ever replace the authenticity and depth of a face to face relationship in a home. A solider overseas being able to see their family on facetime is a massive blessing! But they’d much rather see each other face to face in their home.
So let’s embrace technology, even praise God for our technology, but let’s not allow our technology to replace the authenticity of a face to face community. Let’s embrace technology for what it is, which is a helpful tool for meeting some of our needs, but it can’t meet all of our needs. It can’t meet our need to be genuinely loved by Jesus and others, in authentic community.
THE BIG IDEA:
Let’s have the worship team come up and get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea...Authentic community isn’t fake and isolated, it’s genuine and communal...So let’s be a church that strives to genuinely love each other. Let’s be a church that rejoices with those who walk in saying “It was a great week. I got engaged, got a raise, and resisted sin. It was great!” But let’s also weep with those who walk in saying “It was rough week. I’m wrestling with singleness, lost my job, gave into sin, and didn’t feel like coming to church.” Let’s weep with that person. Let’s be a church that strives to genuinely love, that strives to live out the 6 marks we just studied. We won’t be perfect at it, we’ll eventually mess it up and let you down. But we can strive to grow in living these marks out, as we keep pointing each other to Jesus. We need to keep pointing each other to Jesus, because Jesus is the only who perfectly lived these marks out.
It’s Jesus who genuinely loved us.
It’s Jesus who hated what sin and evil were doing to us and came to do a good thing by going to the cross for us.
It’s Jesus who loved and honored us by suffering dishonor on the cross so we could become his honored family.
It’s Jesus who labored for us with his life so we could enjoy eternal life.
It’s Jesus who showed us hospitality and is in heaven right now reserving a place for us.
It’s Jesus who rejoices and weeps with us. He’s our great high priest who can empathize and sympathize with us in every way.
It’s Jesus who came to live, die, and rise again so we could repent of our sins, be forgiven of our sins, and have a church community that can wrestle with us in our fight against sin.
It’s Jesus who loves the sinner.
It’s Jesus who loves the saint.
It’s Jesus who loves the church.
It’s Jesus who loves this church.
It’s Jesus who loves you!...Jesus loves you!...He literally loves you to death...
So let’s turn to Jesus, let’s worship Jesus for his genuine love, and then let’s not pretend...Let’s not pretend...Let’s not just love the idea of authentic community, let’s be real people who strive to live out authentic community. In the back left of the room we’ll have a few people there to pray for you if you want prayer, or if you want to know how to have a relationship with Jesus. You can go back there anytime you want during the worship. City Awakening let’s stand and worship Jesus for his genuine love, then let’s go spread that genuine love in our church and city.