Seasoned Members Class (part 2)

As many of you know and many of you have taken the class with me, I am the teacher of the new members class here at Bethlehem Bible Church.

In fact, I'm teaching it today. So, this is a little weird. This is the first time

I think I can remember I'm going to be teaching two classes in one day at church. So, you can pray for me to manage to have the energy to make it all the way through.

I got the large ice this morning to make sure that I'd get it the whole way.

So, my time this summer as teacher here at Adult Sunday School, I've said, is going to be spread out a little bit.

But actually, it turned out I'm pretty back loaded. So, I'm going to be teaching this week and next.

Then, Dave Smith is back for one more time. And then,

I'll be teaching here Labor Day weekend. So, I've got three kind of in a row.

So, what I've been doing is that I'm going to be delivering this sort of refresher course on being a member here at BBC.

At least, it's a refresher for those of you who took it with me. And for those of you who didn't take it with me, well, congratulations.

You're getting a taste of what you missed out on by being here so long ago.

But it is kind of funny. I've been doing it for a long time, but you don't really think about how long you've been doing it for.

And every once in a while, it gets sort of pointed out to me just how many people now here at BBC have gone through the class with me as the teacher.

It's pretty wild. So, I wanted to call this Old Members' Class, but Steve said that that might be a little insulting.

So, we're going to call it Seasoned Members' Class. So, that's what you get for the bulletin. Seasoned Members' Class. And here we are in Part 2.

So, if you remember from Session 1, and maybe you don't, but I had three things in particular that I really wanted to make sure we remembered from Session 1.

So, I'm going to talk about them again. Number one was about the familial terms of the

Bible. Not the familiar, the familial terms. And by familial terms,

I mean the fact that we are instructed to call God our Father.

And that we are also instructed to call Jesus our eldest brother.

And we are instructed to call those of us, those other

Christians around us as, what?

Brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters. And the Bible does not use those terms lightly.

In fact, I asserted back in Class 1 that it is, and when we consider the fact that God knew all things, sovereignly decreed, created all things, and before time had his whole plan of how all of history would unfold and lay out, and was the designer of the family, that it is not a stretch at all to say that it is not that the family came first and God said,

Oh, hey, you know, like that family you guys have, that's how I want you to be like as a church.

But rather the opposite. That he designed the family to be a picture for all of us to see and understand.

That's how I want you to be as church members. As church brothers and sisters. And if you know, if you can think of an earthly father who's really great, hopefully your own father, but maybe you just have another example of some father that, just a really great earthly father.

I, your heavenly father, am far above and beyond better than that. And as much, if you're a father or a mother, and how much you love your children, and yet you are also sinners, so far and above more do

I love you. So God designed those things to be the picture, with the intention to be the picture for us to understand our relationship to him and our relationship to each other, to other believers.

Also in session one, in that then, I went with that and we talked a lot about how we need to care for one another.

How we need to care for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And it is important that we need to be humble enough to share our burdens with others and to bear the burdens of others.

Not all of us are blessed with the gift of like this sort of discernment of being able to spot people who are suffering from all the way across the room.

Sometimes there are some of us who are really oblivious and really need to be hit over the head with it. And so in order for you to be served, sometimes it requires a certain amount of vulnerability, in a church, where you are able to come to someone else, to admit to someone else that you're struggling.

And I talked, if you remember, I talked about how very often the most routine thing we are greeted with, or that we greet each other with is, how you doing?

And we usually go, good! And if that's a bald -faced lie, if you're not really doing good, then don't say good.

Or don't say, better than I deserve?

Yes, I know. You are doing better than you deserve, no matter how bad you're doing. But if you're struggling, actually tell people that you're struggling.

And then, the real challenge, the scary challenge to all of us, is to be ready to actually answer that call when someone is vulnerable.

Because if someone is vulnerable to us, and puts themselves out there like that, and admits how they're struggling, and we do nothing, you're pretty much guaranteeing that that person will never be honest and vulnerable again.

Okay? Alright, so that was session one. So this morning for session two, I am going to start, deep breaths, with the boring, and not at all controversial topic of vaccines.

Okay? Okay. We're all good, right? Right, right? Okay. So look, the purpose of a vaccine is to prevent illness.

Alright, that is the purpose of a vaccine. You receive medical treatment when you are not sick.

With the idea of not getting sick later. That is the purpose, the idea behind the design of a vaccine.

They are, vaccines are defensive in nature, right? Rather than offensive, so to speak.

And so I submit to you this morning, the analogy that we're going to go through for the whole rest of the class today, is that one of the great privileges of church membership, perhaps the greatest privilege even, is that church membership is an inoculation against temptation, against spiritual defeat, and against self -deception.

Can I have someone please read Jeremiah, chapter 17, verse 9. Some of you might even be able to just to quote this right from the reference, hearing it, but somebody read it for me please.

Mark, there you go.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Or another translation says desperately sick.

Right, just to lean in on this analogy. Who can understand it? Psalm 19, verse 12.

We do a little sword drill today. Psalm 19, verse 12. Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Who can discern his errors? It's sort of a rhetorical question with the answer of not really anyone.

That people really struggle with being able to discern their faults. They need some kind of mirror to be held up right in their face for them to be able to see what's going wrong in their lives.

And then 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. 1

Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 through 7. Turn there so you can follow along with me, but I'm going to read it.

Because I'm going to do something a little strange, if you'll permit me. I'm going to substitute a word.

From session one, I think we can all agree, and we understand from the Bible, that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to love one another.

We're in fact supposed to be. That's one of the things we're supposed to be famous for in the world, is how much we love one another.

So I do not think I'm doing this injustice here. I'm going to substitute the word brother for love every time as I read through this section.

1 Corinthians, chapter 13. Brothers are patient and kind. Brothers do not envy or boast, are not arrogant or rude.

Brothers do not insist on their own way. They are not irritable or resentful.

They do not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoice with the truth. Brothers and sisters, bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things.

Let me give you one more analogy this morning, besides vaccines. And that is sheep.

The sheep analogy. The Bible routinely and frequently calls us sheep.

And just as I said a little while ago that I'm pretty sure that God designed the family from the get -go to be the picture of how we ought to have our relationship with Him and with each other,

I am pretty sure that God designed sheep for the purpose of holding up that mirror in front of our faces as humankind and going, yes, you are this dumb.

You are this bad. Look at these sheep. This is what you are like. But sheep are famously herd animals.

They are herd animals. One of the hardest things that a shepherd has to do, I understand, is that very often they have to severely discipline the one sheep who goes astray.

Because that one sheep, because of the herd nature of the sheep, right, that one sheep tends to lead the whole herd away with them.

That one sheep keeps wandering too far over or finds a way around a fence, right, and all the other sheep go, ooh, let's go with him, her.

And then off they go, around the fence too. And so the shepherd takes these sort of escalating steps to prevent this from happening.

They will, you know, watch the sheep. They'll hit them with the rod sort of thing to get them to knock it off.

They might even actually break the legs of the sheep so that they can't walk anymore, so they'll stop walking away, and up to, in fact, even having to potentially kill the sheep that keeps going astray for the sake of the other herd, right?

So there's this very herd mentality that goes on when it comes to sheep. And sheep, of course, when danger happens, one sheep panics and the whole herd panics, right?

And when the shepherd is able to get some sheep to calm down, like the whole herd calms down and settles down.

And so why is it? Why do sheep herd like that? Why do they herd?

Why does, other than the fact that, like I said, God's trying to point something out to us, but practically speaking for an animal, why do sheep herd?

Why is it good for them? Janet? There's safety in it. Right, why? Yes, there is the idea, yes, rather than,

I won't even say the sacrificial thing, although there is something to be said for that, that if there's a big giant herd, your chances of being the one that the wolf gets are lower.

But actually, as a big giant herd, they're all helping each other to be on the lookout, right?

So one spots the wolf, they all spot the wolf, because they're all together, they can all alert each other, right?

Okay, so there's sort of that mutual defense. There's also a sense of mutual care, right?

In that they can do things like, well, that they're helping each other out, they bring each other to the good water, they bring each other to the, like, hey, look at this, there's some really good grass right over here, okay?

So the sheep, as I said, it's bad for the sheep to, for the one sheep to go astray.

If the rest of the herd doesn't follow you, then you're really in trouble. And so you want to be in the herd, okay?

So as people, we want to be in the herd. You can probably see where I'm going with this.

So the church, the local church, is your herd, right? It's your herd.

Now, I've heard in my head as I was writing these notes the possible objection, well, if I'm a sheep, and Jesus is my great shepherd, and he's the great shepherd, doesn't that mean that he's going to keep me safe?

Okay, that's a reasonable objection. And I'll say, sure, yes, he is going to keep you safe.

And what he has provided to keep you safe, where he wants you, is in the sheepfold with the sheep.

It reminds me of the old joke where there's a guy who's gotten stranded on a desert island, and he prays to God to come rescue him, right?

And a boat comes. And the boats, and the people on the boat are like, oh, hey, we're here to rescue you.

He said, no, no, don't worry about it. I've prayed for God to come rescue me. I'll stay here until God picks me up.

And then a helicopter comes. Oh, do you want us to rescue you? No, no, I'm all set. I've prayed to God.

He's going to get me out of here. And then the man dies of starvation and goes to heaven.

And he says, Lord, I prayed for you to come rescue me. He said, I know. I sent a boat and a helicopter. Why didn't you get in? So I pray to God, God, please protect me from temptation, from spiritual deception, from self -deception, from spiritual defeat.

And God says, yes, I'll protect you here. Get in this sheepfold. Get in this herd.

Be here. Be safe. Luke 15, if you can turn there.

Luke 15, verses 4 through 6. Luke 15, 4 through 6.

Let's read verse 4 first.

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

Now, before you read on, in this story of one sheep versus the 99, where do you think the shepherd is going to go with that one sheep once he finds them?

Go ahead, sheep. Where's he going to go? Is he going to just stay out there in the lost country with the one sheep?

No, right? No, he's going to what? Bring him home. Get back in the sheepfold.

Verse 5, and when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing, and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

Back to the 99. Back to the 99. All right, so I assert that where God wants us, where God wants every believer, is in the sheepfold, in a local church, in a close -knit herd of believers for their mutual care and benefit and protection.

But I'm going to tread carefully, or I'm going to try to tread carefully anyway this morning, because what

I absolutely don't want to do is put some kind of unnecessary or legalistic burden on any one of your hearts about this as I go through this, because one of the key statements that I emphasize in the

New Members class over and over again is this, that at Bethlehem Bible Church, back me up,

Scott, at Bethlehem Bible Church, we never ask our members to do more than the

Bible clearly teaches. We only expect our members to do what the

Bible expects every Christian to do. And I also admit that when

I'm talking about being amongst the sheep, that here we are in adult Sunday school at 9 a .m.,

there's a bit of a preaching -to -the -choir effect going on here, because you have all come an hour and 15 minutes early to morning service, because you recognize how important and helpful it can be to be in Sunday school and not just come to just service, okay?

So, that's great. But I do want to convince you this morning that being among the church is not just good for you, it's the best for you.

The best for you. Now notice that I did not say in church.

I said among the church. Why? Why is that the wrong preposition?

Taylor? Yes. One is definitely more important than the other, yes.

The building is just a building, right? The church, capital

T, capital C, I like that, Taylor, yes. The church is the people, not the building.

Not the organization, either. Not the corporation. It is the people. And somewhere in my studies, and I didn't take a good enough note card,

I don't take note cards, but I didn't take a good enough note to remember, but somewhere in my studies with my books,

I remember this, and then I couldn't find it later to be able to cite it for you, but that the New Testament doesn't really use the word church very much.

Ecclesiasta. It doesn't really use the church very much, but it does use the word brother and sisters a whole lot.

Especially brothers. It does use that word a whole lot. Or you could almost say that really maybe we shouldn't be calling it the church, capital

T, capital C, but calling it the brotherhood, or our brothers and sisters in Christ, but that's a lot longer title for the sign.

So there is a capital T, capital C church universal, and a church local.

And I'm going to get more into that next week. But the people of God, those of whom have trusted in Christ for salvation, and been sealed by the indwelling of the

Holy Spirit, we are the church. We are the church.

So I want us to be among the church. I'm going to try to stick to that. Not going to say in church,

I'm going to say among the church. Among the church more. Among the church as much as is possible.

In the membership covenant for BBC, which is the document that comes at the end at new members class, that everybody who become members they have to sign, there's this one line that says, my journey in Christ will be evident through my regular participation in the corporate worship services and serving in the ministries of the church.

Got that? I'll say it again. My journey in Christ will be evident through my regular participation in the corporate worship services and serving in the ministries of the church.

Okay? Turn to Acts 2, 42 to 47. We'll look at two verses, and then we're going to talk about that statement.

Or two passages, and then we're going to look at that statement. Who can read Acts 2, 42 to 47 for us?

All right. So that is a peek at, for context, right? A peek at the very first church.

That is the very first church in Jerusalem, right after Pentecost. This is just after Peter has preached his famous sermon, and 3 ,000 some odd souls have been saved.

And here they are, the first New Testament church, and this is what they are doing.

Jonathan, let's walk through it a little bit, one verse at a time, right? So the first part, they did what?

Verse 42? They devoted themselves, right? So that to the apostles' teaching.

So that is they are studying the Word together. They're listening to the teaching.

They're studying the Word together. And then the, what else were they devoted to? The fellowship, right?

Which means they're sticking together. And then to the, okay, so the breaking of bread.

We could be talking about the Lord's table, or it could just be the idea that they eat together, right?

So a little bit more of the sticking together part, but then the prayers, they are praying together, okay?

And then verse 43, many wonders and signs were being done through who? The apostles, because they were being shepherded by a leadership together, right?

Again, also being devoted to their teaching, as we saw before. And then verse 44, all who believed were what?

And had all things in common. And it goes on to say that even to the point of, if anybody had any need, nobody even thought anything of it, they just immediately went and sold whatever they needed to sell in order to meet that need.

Okay, so they were concerned for those in the church. And then lastly, at the very end in verse 47, it says that praising

God and having favor with who? All the people, all of them. Not just the people among the church, not just the

Christians, all the people of Jerusalem, right? They had favor with them, because they were concerned for those, there was a concern for those outside the church.

So they're studying the word together, sticking together, praying together, shepherded together, concerned for those among the church together.

Ooh, I almost said in. Among the church together, and concerned for those outside the church together.

Okay? All right, now let's look at Hebrews 10, 23 through 25. A little more togetherness.

Hebrews 10, 23 to 25. This is fantastic. So now let's connect this with what we just read about what that first church of Jerusalem was doing, and with the

BBC membership covenant statement that I said, that my journey in Christ will be evident through my regular participation in the corporate worship services and in serving in the ministries.

Okay? What is the purpose, according to Hebrews 10, 23 through 25, what is the purpose of meeting together?

This will be on the quiz later. What is the purpose of meeting together?

Encouragement. Encouraging one another.

And to, there's the, what's the other verb? Stir up. Right? To stir up something.

To stir up one another to love and to good works. Right? When I read it stir up,

I kind of think of like inspire. Right? To inspire folks. To set an example, maybe.

Or to just, you know, give them a big strong pat on the back. And say, you got this.

Or to give them some practical wisdom from your own personal experience, maybe.

So let's, I, I jumped ahead, but let me hear from you folks. Give me a practical example of how we can do that.

Okay? A really real thing. Somebody tell me what I could do between 10 and 10 .15

this morning. All right? Or maybe shortly after 11 .45 this morning.

Something that I could do to stir up my brothers and sisters here to love and good works.

Let's crowdsource some ideas. What can we do? Yes. Okay. That's a great one.

A genuine thoughtful conversation instead of just the sort of superficial or the disingenuous.

Yep. Yep. That's a great one. Point, point to something that you've seen them do well. And encourage them, and tell them how that's encouraged you.

Or how you know that's had an effect on others. Right? And that way it would encourage them to do it more.

I, I will share with you my own personal story that almost every time when I would teach

Sunday school. Especially as I was getting started. Bob Bowman would sit right here. Right? And he was amazing at coming up to me after the class and telling me all the things that I did great.

And how much he appreciated it. No matter how bad I did. Right? He'd always tell me what

I did well. And how much he appreciated it. And that for me.

I'm missing a lot. Sorry. That for me as getting started with teaching adult

Sunday school was just tremendous. Tremendous. I'm not asking you all to be

Bob Bowman for me later on. But in that way. We can be intentional about noticing something about someone.

About something great they've done. And encourage them. Alright. Janet. Yes. Yeah. That's really great.

To follow up on those prayer requests that you've heard about. And especially later on. I really like that Janet. Especially later on.

Because in the flurry of the moment. Probably that first week after the BBC announce goes out. They'll have like five, six, seven different people ask them about it.

But three weeks later. You know. For you to then ask about it.

That's going to be surprisingly encouraging. Yes. Yep. That's another really good one. Yep.

Just yourself being engaged in the ministry. Right? We will be a really encouraging place to new visitors.

To the attenders and adherents as Charlie put it. If they see lots of different of us doing stuff.

Right? Not just the same five people. And that's actually really great about BBC. I want to make it clear.

I don't think we have that problem so much. I think we have lots of people who do lots of different things. And that's awesome.

That's really encouraging. Okay. All right. Great. So now let me circle back to the beginning.

This morning. Now after the review. I had started off by saying that being a member of the local church.

Gives us protection against three things. Three things. Temptation. Spiritual defeat.

And self -deception. Okay. Temptation. Spiritual defeat. And self -deception. Now I'm going to assert that how that happens.

Has a common root. All right. Has a common root. But let's take it one at a time. All right.

One at a time. Does anyone have a theory as to how being amongst the church.

Protects you from. Temptation. Help me out.

You guys are teaching the rest of the class from here on out. Okay. Tim. Accountability.

Yes. Can you say a little bit more. Right. Yes.

So just the notion of. Again like we said about being vulnerable with somebody about maybe something you're struggling with.

Where if it was what you were struggling with was temptation. Right. But then you can talk to each other.

Hold each other accountable. Right. So in that way. That's a good one. What else? Yes. Right.

Being in this kind of atmosphere. Being amongst the herd. Right. Will just promote within your own mind.

Like it will promote for you that Christ mindedness. It will help to sort of overwhelm and block out and push away.

The thoughts that might intrude on you that were temptation thoughts. When instead you're just too busy enjoying

Christ with. Those who are you are you are with. I've I've heard it often said.

This is a good prescription for folks who struggle with worry. Or who struggle with anger. Or just struggle with distraction or whatnot.

That it's you know. It's very popular to say that we really you know that in the business world.

That people who can multitask. Right are very valuable that we like multitasking. But the truth is that no one can multitask.

You cannot think two thoughts at once. Okay. You cannot truly multitask. So since you cannot think two thoughts at once.

In order to stop thinking about one thing. The thing you need to do is start thinking about another thing. Right.

So if you're thinking too much about say your worries. One of the best ways to address that is to think more about.

Something else that's not worries. Right. And that's why Paul in Philippians tells us you know think on these things.

Right. Think on whatever is true and lovely and perfect. And of course who fits that bill more than anyone.

Jesus. Okay. All right.

How about from spiritual defeat. How does being.

Amongst the church. Help you prevent your spiritual defeat.

So this is kind of like the step beyond temptation. Can I define spiritual defeat.

So I by that I mean. I mean either just succumbing to a sin.

Or being struggling with a pattern of sin in your life. No I'll I'll take error on that one too.

Because self -deception I think is more just about your salvation. So is where I'm going with that one. Charlie.

Yep. Absolutely. Right. Yep. Again we're. We've got that herd. We want to be in the herd.

Right. And and to like a severe defeat might separate you from the herd.

And the pain of that is Charlie saying is often enough to just ward off any notion of like going through with it.

Right. But also how about like not even necessarily the willful choices but just the the depressions and the darknesses that can come upon us.

Right. Steve. Is that a raised hand or is that OK.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Getting counsel when you need it. Yep. Getting just in time counsel I think is a really really great way to think about it.

Yeah. Charlie. Yep. And that's just that's just really great practical wisdom there that if you're crafting too much of a social circle.

Amongst the amongst the world as Charlie said and we just said that you know what's important is that often like the severing from this herd would be very painful in a way you are setting the stage for the possibility anyway of rebellion.

You might not even be doing it intentionally but now you've got a social circle in which you can a different one in which you could fall into.

Right. You could fail into. So to speak. Right.

Yeah. Yeah. That's that's the I love that. That's the best way to do it. Right. Is we think of it not in the terms of that we're being judgy.

Right. Says that's all. That's the taboo thing to be right. Being judgy of the other person.

Being judgmental but rather in love. We are. Figuratively throwing ourselves in front of them to stop them from running headlong over the cliff that they don't see is coming.

And being amongst the church. Again exposes you shows you exposes you to them where they can see that.

Right where they can see that coming and protect you and help you. OK. Yeah. Jonathan last one. Yeah. That's really good.

And so that one I will put that into the self deception category as well to it kind of is between the two that this idea that you know.

No scripture is open to private interpretation. Right. And if you're not amongst the church.

You might get really enamored with your own pet theories of what you're reading about in the word.

Right. You need some external. I don't know.

I'm going to use the bowling analogy. You need some bumper guards. Right. To stop you from going into the gutters. The set.

Yes. You need a sounding board. You need that iron sharpens iron thing happening where you're studying the word and you're reading the word and you're thinking and wrestling with what it says.

And then you have other folks who come alongside you and say, oh, well, this is, you know, this is what we've been taught.

Right. This is what's been taught throughout all church history. This is and so on and so forth.

Right. And can either help like kind of steer you back over back into the middle of the lane.

Right. Or or give you that sort of reassuring like thumbs up like, yes, you're absolutely on the right track with how you're thinking about that.

OK. And then also just to finish it off, because I'm running out of time, that when it comes to self deception.

Right. That if anyone is not truly saved and has only self deceived themselves into thinking that they are saved, there is really no better place for them to be than in a

Bible believing, Bible preaching, gospel preaching church, because they need to hear that over and over and over and over again until God really gets ahold of them.

And that there's that, you know, MacArthur has often said that that a crisis of assurance.

Right. Often comes from strong preaching.

And if that crisis of assurance, because you heard the strong preaching is like a genuine reason, you should be having a crisis of assurance because you're not really saved.

Then then the preaching has done what God, you know, then what what's best for you and has brought you to that realization where you actually need to bow the knee that you've not done before.

OK. All right. So as I predicted, I am only halfway through my notes, which is fantastic because I have, like I said, two more, maybe even three more sessions to do this with you.

So we will pick up session two. We'll call it to be next week. And then we'll have session three later.

All right. So let's remember, though, before I quit all those things we said a few minutes ago, because here it is.

I'm going to end at nine forty five rather than starting the next section. So you've got 30 minutes or at least twenty five.

OK. In which we can stir up one another to love and good work. So let's actually do it.

All right. In these next few minutes. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the brothers and sisters in Christ that you have brought to us here in West Boylston.

What an amazing diversity of backgrounds and talents and skills and gifts that you have blessed this church body with.

And Lord, we. Freely confess that no matter how much we offer to you, that it is still tainted, tainted by our sin and falls so far short.

And yet we trust you, Lord, to sanctify it. We trust you to still have it work out for our good and for your glory, as you have promised.

That all things will be. Lord, I pray that we would take it seriously. Our responsibility, our calling to be a brother and a sister to those around us.

Here in our church that we truly would love on one another and care for one another.

If there's anybody here today, Lord, who is struggling with something, whether it be a temptation or would be just a terrible happening in their life.

Lord, I pray that they would be able to have the courage this morning to reach out to someone and to share that burden.

And that whomever they reach out to, that that person stands ready, willing and able to pour out love on that person,