God dwells in community.
God is a communal God.
GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: build me a sanctuary so that I might dwell among them (Exodus 25:8)
Jesus is a communal God.
GOD IN THE GOSPELS: Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14)
The Holy Spirit is a communal God.
GOD AMONGST THE CHURCH: came to a community (Acts 2); laying on of hands for the receiving of the Holy Spirit is a communal impartation (Acts chapters 8-10)
God uses people to talk to people.
Hearing God is a personal journey, but it’s not a solo mission.
We are all uniquely placed to speak God’s word to each other.
You are equipped.
Ephesians 1:3 (NASB)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a Godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
The gifts of God can operate in you and through you for the edification of the body.
You are responsible
Ezekiel 3:17-19 (ESV)
““Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”
Ezekiel 3:20-21 (ESV)
“Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.””
Faithful delivery matters more than the reaction.
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO SAY THROUGH YOU?
A - HOW DO YOU HEAR
3 Ways in Which We Can Hear God:
Hearing
Psalms 27:8 (NLT)
“My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.””
We are spiritual beings and we have spiritual ears.
Seeing
Acts 2:17 (NLT)
“‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”
We are spiritual beings and we have spiritual sight.
Sensing
Proverbs 16:9 (NLV)
The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord shows him what to do.
We are spiritual beings and we have a spiritual sense.
Nehemiah 7:5 (NIV)
So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return.
B - WHAT DO YOU COMMUNICATE?
With the Word itself
Logos
2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
With Rhema words
Word of Wisdom - discerning of the present state
Word of Knowledge - revelatory knowledge of the present state
Prophecy - prophetic impression of the future
Tongues & Interpretation of Tongues - someone gets a community message in a prayer
language and another receives the interpretation for that community
C - HOW DO YOU DO IT?
Our Posture in Community:
- You conduct yourself in love
1 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV)
“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
1 Corinthians 13:2 (ESV)
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
- You’re not afraid to go and get it wrong
1 John 4:18 (ESV)
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
- You submit words with humility
2 - Our Conduct in Community:
- You shall not be weird
1 Corinthians 14:31-33a (ESV)
“For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
- Be moved to speak
- Be moved to act
2 Corinthians 7:6-7 (ESV)
“But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.”
Matthew 25:35-38, 40 (ESV)
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO SAY TO YOU
Seek His Expression in Community
Proverbs 11:14 (ESV)
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Test the Expression You Receive in Community
1 John 4:1-6 ESV
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
Forgive Others in Community
Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
Sometimes others will get it wrong.Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
We were meant to function as a community.
We are the Body of Christ!