Know God/Love God

June 27th, 2023
by Joey Hufstedler

Good morning,

I am so excited about our "Community" series. I believe it is important for us to understand how God has ordered the church, designed the church to function, and how each member is to plug into His order and design for the church. We were never meant to "do" the Christian life in isolation. We are to be a community of faith.

This week I will focus on the process that God has set for His church to function. We must realize how this community of faith is to function. There is a process that God has ordered for His church. It's not some hidden formula that only a select few can find.

The number 1 priority in this process is to:

Know God and love Him above all else.

36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 22:36–38.

Love is not an emotion. It is an action. We choose to love or to not love. Therefore, love can be a command, and it is a command. We are commanded to love God above all else. Many problems in the church today can be traced back to people loving other things more than God.

Some people love their personal preferences more than God. They want "church" done a certain way, their way. Some people love their hobbies more than God. They have no problem giving God some time, but not at the expense of whatever their hobby is. Some people love themselves or others more than God. So long as them or the person they love aren't being confronted with their personal sin they are fine, but the second the pastor preaches a sermon that deals with their sin, they are out.

Loving God above all else means that we care more about God and His view than anyone else's view.

Unity in a church comes when the church knows God and loves Him above anything and everything else.

13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Eph 4:13–15.

This is unity with Jesus Christ. This unity is attained by learning and applying sound doctrine. It is impossible to attain this unity with Christ when we are not striving to grow in Christ.

I hear people say all the time that they don’t have to go to church to Love Jesus Christ.

Being connected with a local body of believers is essential to the growth of a Christian. It is essential to attaining unity with Christ. However, it must be a church that is actually teaching sound doctrine.

Our next priority in the process is to:

Love people

39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 22:39.

When we love others we edify or build up the church.

to the building up of the body of Christ;
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Eph 4:12b.

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In other words, the church is stronger when we love one another instead of seeking our own gain, our own way, our own agenda, we should seek out how we can help our brothers and sisters in the church.

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The best way to accomplish this is to get plugged in to small groups. We call it Sunday School here.

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Sunday School is the place where you can share your struggles with friends in Christ.

It is the place where you can find out how to help brothers and sister in Christ.

Christianity has always been about relationships.

‌It has always been about helping those who need help.

‌It has always been about getting involved in the lives of others.

Our next priority in the process is:

Serve the world

12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service,
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Eph 4:12a.

The pastor wears many hats and has many responsibilities, but my #1 responsibility to the church is to equip you for the work of service/ministry.

Dyer, Tn has a dire need. It will take all of us working together in the power of the Holy Spirit to have the impact God desires us to have. That is one of the many reasons why the preaching of God's Word is so important and why you should treat it as important. You should be helping me with needs in the church to free me up to pray, prepare, and preach. You should be engaged in the preaching of The Word, not simply waiting for it to be over. You should be engaged because God has given me the responsibility to prepare you for work through the preaching of His Word.

Let's get serious about the mission. Let's get serious about the process. Let's get serious about the God we say we love.

Serving Him,

Bro. Joey

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