Greater Purpose

is that's us. I don't know how to tell you. This is the general class, the adult class on Wednesday night. That's you guys. It don't get much more church body than this. It just doesn't. You guys, you guys know what it's like to live for the Lord. You know what it's like to to be faithful. But there's more there's more to uh there's more to church than just faithfulness, believe it or not. That's hard to believe, right? Because that's that's something that's something we really think about is the faithfulness of Right. That's something we see. I've seen this. I've seen people that are fruitful. I've seen people that are faithful, people that are there for eight decades. You know, I I can't help but think of brother Billy Joe.

He's passed on now. He had a third grade education. plowed the fields is my uncle Bill, my great uncle Billy Joe. And uh he worked worked the same job for 40 years. Missed a half a day in that 40 years of time. That's insane. Absolutely insane. But every service, you know where he was at? He was right there on the pew. Now, that was that was faithful. Wasn't necessarily fruitful in some way. Now, we we could probably go through and measure it and see, okay, what was his fruitfulness? Well, I'll tell you this. To me, the fruitfulness was knowing that there was an elder that was consistent and going to be there. There was something. So, I'm not going to speak ill of that, but but sometimes faithfulness is not we we look at it and say, you're either super faithful and then if I may, we look at someone that's maybe super fruitful.

And there's two paradigms of that. And we and we look at it, oh well, just wait for a little bit. It's easy. We had a we had a couple um as I was growing up one year, they brought a hundred people to church. Super fruitful. Sometimes struggled with faithfulness. And we look at, well, okay, well, that's that extreme. And and then we some of us and I'm not I'm not going to harp on this too long because I want to I I do want to make this point though is sometimes the faithful will look at well you just wait and see. And that's fair. That's fair in one sense but it's also how do we meet in the middle? How do we start looking as a as a church and we say okay that's someone that's fruitful but man they they they struggle with faithfulness.

They're they may be charismatic, so to speak, in the sense of very very person personality driven, but man, you don't know where they're going to be at tomorrow. How do we how do we help marry that? Because the reality is we need that. The church is not a paradigm of either or. It has to have both and it has to figure out uh part of part of a growing church and a church that's filled with purpose. It's a church that has to grow through warmer fellowship. Now, I don't know what that looks like to you. I don't know what fellowship looks like to you. Um, some of us it looks like talking for 10 hours after church. For some of us, it looks like, "Hey, I saw you.

Sorry about talking about you, Tim, until you started talking." Now, now you and Bonita are the lead the lead fellowshippers, right? I mean, Tim wanted to talk to the men so bad. He was like, "Guys, just hang out with me at 6:00 a.m., right?" That's right. No, that's that's our that's our men's prayer time. Uh, in in the sense of fellowship, a church has to have that. There's there's a reason we feel somewhat uncomfortable in this building still is because we don't have a lot of dwell space there. I don't know if y'all know this or not, but y'all like to stand around and talk after church and we don't have a foyer to do that in. It's a hallway and it's real tight. I mean, you just have to bob and weave and bob and weave.

That's just the reality of where we're at right now. But part of our church culture is a healthy fellowship. It's here. It's outside the four walls. It's part of It's part of making intentionality of of honestly going house to house. It's fine to have church people over to your house. It's okay to do that sometimes. Then if they come back uninvited, you're like, "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Yo, I'm from the country. Everyone was No one was ever invited anywhere. They just kind of showed up. always it's just what it is, right? Like uh and there's a reason I live 30 minutes from the church because always live right by the church. I was like, "Yeah, never again. Just never again. I ain't got that much time now." Uh something else we have to do is is how do we the body encourage someone that has no idea of our church culture, of our of our church speak?

How do we help build fellowship with them naturally, organically? Uh I don't and it starts at the individual level. How do we make sure that we are we're putting our best foot forward and saying, "Hey, you know what? You want to grab you want to grab lunch this Sunday or this, you know, you go grab some ice cream after church on Wednesday or you want to something?" There's a piece of it that just matters and everyone's going to match up differently. It doesn't it's not it's not it's it cannot be a program so to speak. We can be intentional with it but it cannot be standardized because personalities have to in that setting in that intimacy of that there has to be a genuine love for that person.

Has to be a genuine love for that soul. As as I'm going through I want to make a point tonight and I'm I'm going to run out of time. I we're we're doing a shorter shorter lesson tonight. I'm going to out of time for sure and everyone said hallelujah right uh a as as you do that there is there's something that I'm afraid that sometimes we forget is that guests equal souls and sometimes we can the parable I'm going to I'm going to paraphrase this but the parable of the elder brother of I've been here all along. Right. It's not the parable of the older brother. It's the parable of the Yeah. But the older brother said, "I was here all and so we can get we can catch that attitude every now and then." But the reality is the guest is a soul.

God values us. All of heaven rejoices when there's a soul. There's a reason we should reserve the best parking spots for our guests. There's a reason we want to make sure that we have on a Sunday we have parking and and and that we have parking for them because how easy it would be for them to keep driving if they can't find a parking spot. And I know but guess what? Some of you are here today because someone else parked somewhere. Someone else made it easy for you. They remove the barriers of entry. This the fear of entering into a new place. The fear of if if right because because the reality is if you've ever just shown up somewhere, you're looking for excuses not to go in, not reasons to go in.

And so when you're looking for those excuses, as many of those barriers as we can remove, the better off we'll be. Now, that's not my lesson tonight. Here's something I do want to talk about. deeper. A church a church finds its purpose in disciplehip. Deeper disciplehip. Uh I want I do want to ask who discipled you? How did that work? How did how did were you discipled? Was it a family member? I've seen this. Okay. I've seen a lot of people that that were discipled by family members because it was easier in in a sense and and I'll say it in this sense. So, for example, Tim, your kid, you know, Logan plays music because it was easier for you to teach him how to play music.

He was just there. Now, Justin doesn't play music because, well, how could you teach him? He wouldn't sit still. The uh the the reality is is when when we're discipling is a time intensive, it's an effort intensive, an energyintensive, a money intensive, it's an emotionally intensive process and it's not easy. Uh finding pulling someone under your wing and saying, you know what, follow me as I follow Christ. That's a scary thought. because then they become a disciple of yours. And if you're not following Christ, right, they're going to pursue they're going to produce the be the products of the fruit that you bear. So then we get back into fruitfulness versus faithfulness. Interestingly enough, we think of we think of faithfulness mattering more, but Jesus spent a lot more time on fruitfulness than we even realize.

uh he he talked in John 15 uh verse verse 8 said by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples as the father has loved me so I have loved you abide in my love if you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love these things I have spoken to you that that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Somehow joy is tied to bearing fruit in that it verse John John 15 verse 8 through 11. Somehow joy is tied directly to bearing fruit. Justin, I picked on you, so I'm going to ask this. How much joy do you get out of your boys and daughter?

All of it. Ton of joy. That's fruit of when we when we have a disciple, when we have someone we've invested in, where do we get there? The whole purpose that we're living for God becomes totally different. I had this past weekend, I had the opportunity to spend some time with uh with a kid that I I was just a part of his disciple journey. Okay. Of his journey with Christ. He was one of my van kids. He showed up this weekend. Not for me. He's chasing a girl. Good for him. He's He's supposed to He's 17 years old. It's what you're supposed to be doing at 17, right? He showed up and he came to the men's thing and and all that. I mean, he's he's in church.

He's he's a musician. He's he's living for God the best he knows how. And I couldn't help but be so thankful to sit up at 1:00 at night with him and just talk to him. What you been up to, buddy? What are you doing next? What's your relationship with God like? I was so tired. I I had to be up at like 6:00 a.m. the next morning. But I cannot tell you guys the joy, the energy I got out of just sitting down with him saying, "You know what? I had a hand in investing in him. Wasn't everything. I didn't save him, but I invested in him. Oh, I guys, I just want you to know the the lasting fruit that we find the the the fruit that lasts longer that we we we we we plant it grows into a tree and then and then and then and then man, the years of investment I have I have no doubt and I'll tell you this.

I've I've probably said this before. I'm hard on on some of these teenagers because they're going to be the ones teaching my kids. And I want them to know what in the world they're talking about. I I don't want them to be goofy and halfway know the word of God because my kid might be a smart ele, you know, have to go to church. It's like, oh no, you need to know what you're talking about. Your kid might be a smart alec. You probably need to know what you're talking about, Ethan. You know, like it it might that's true. You might need to know the word of God to be founded in something because here's the reality. If they follow us as we follow Christ, we sure enough better be following Christ.

Our fruit, our fruit will be whatever we're following. Uh Jesus said in John 15 and 16, he said, "If you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide so that whatever you ask in you ask the father in my name, he may give it to you." Uh Colossians verse one says, "We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work." What a what a way of of thinking. Part of being faithful is being fruitful. It's just part of it. I do want to ask you I I I no I don't want to ask you because I'm out of time.

I do want to I do want to I want to read this though. Matthew 21 verse 18 Jesus in the morning Jesus was doing this as he was returning to the city he became hungry and seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves and he said to it may no fruit ever come from you again and the fig tree withered at once Mark recorded it like this I do believe it was the same instance on the following day when they came from Bethany he was hungry and seeing the distance of fig trees tree and leaf. He went to it if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

And he says, "May anyone ever may no one ever find eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it. What in the world? He cursed it because there was no fruit. There is something to to be said about the the tender of the garden who and and there was another instance of that who who said, "Let me don't curse this one. Let me let me work in the ground around it. Let me put some manure on it is what he said. Let me fertilize it. Sometimes some of us have to have some fertilizer put on us. I cleaned it up. I didn't I didn't say Yeah, I said it the nice way, didn't I? Some of us need we have the faithfulness, but man, we need we need we need the tender to come and turn our soil, put some f on us because guess what?

Faithfulness does not equal fruitfulness. It should, but there are two different things. As faithful members, as faithful Christians of the most high God, the the the the great commission was focused around fruitfulness and how important it is that we never forget that our purpose is found in our fruitfulness. Our discipline is found in our faithfulness, but our purpose is found in our fruitfulness. As a church, we will never outgrow our purpose. As a as a as a body of believers, we will never outgrow our purpose. We are called to be purpose driven. We are called to have a greater purpose than any than than what we can imagine. Because here's the reality, guys. It always comes around. And as soon as we close our hand to the to the to the purpose, to the fruitfulness, to the purpose that God's given us, that's when we dry up and we die on the vine.

That's when he comes by and he curses us. I am I'm going to end I do I will find I will find just a tidbit of information just to leave you with this in in Leviticus 19 and 19 or It says, "When you come into the land and plant any uh this Leviticus 19 and 23, I'm sorry, any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard the fruit, its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you. It must not be eaten. And in the fourth year, all the fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. The fifth year you may eat of its fruit to increase its yield. For I the Lord, for I am the Lord your God." Very interesting passage here.

There's a very very weird passage that you just kind of pull out of the wall there. Three years they could not touch the fruit. Well, guess what? What they would have to do would they have to go through be very diligent about pruning the buds because if it beared fruit too early, it would break the branches. That's what that's what the uh the rabbitic tradition says is and that was that was a that was a farmer's tradition as well. If it if it bore fruit too early, it would it would bend the tree down. It would break it. It would not it wouldn't grow to where it was supposed to grow. Not not the end of the message, but a or not the point of the message, but a thought to think on is as you're discipling something as you're as you're going, how do you show the discipline and the faithfulness that then can help someone produce fruitfulness?

Because the reality is too early and they can't bear the load. Too late and you've already and they've withered away. But has to be at the right time, the right season. Jesus said out of love. So because we cut the lesson short, I don't have time to dive into that. But I do want you guys to think on this. as I am going, as I am doing, as I am following after Christ, as I am discipling, how how where is that gauge at? When is the time to allow for the bud to go? When is the time for for the bud to be pruned? Would you stand with me? Let's pray. Jesus, I love you. Thank you for so much for your kindness, God. I pray, Lord, tonight that you would help us, God.

Help us to take your word deep into our heart, our mind, and our soul. God, that you would allow us to follow after you with all of our hearts. God, you've blessed us with a faithful church, a faithful people, a fruitful people. God, you've blessed us to be a part of such a church that is growing and thriving. God, that's a healthy church that's a a purpose-driven church. God, I pray, Lord, that you would help us, God, in our endeavors, God, to as a body, God, to to find the right things, to know the right way, to to help those that need to grow. God, help us, Lord, in our faithfulness to make sure that we're not unfruitful. God, help us, Lord, to know how to disciple in the right way, to not let fruitfulness break down the tree that's bearing it.

But God, help it be paired with faithfulness. God, help us, Lord, as as elders, as as as mature saints of God, that you would help us, Lord, to know the time and the season. God, give us wisdom and understanding, God. But Lord, most of all, give us a love for souls. God, give us a love for disciples. God, give us a love, Lord, that you would love as you would love. God, help us to have your heartbeat for our city. God, we be careful to thank you and to praise you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you guys.