Bill Johnson - Community, Why Connection and Your Relationships Matter to God
It’s not a sacrifice until it costs. Sometimes we don’t want attention when we’re hurting. We don’t want all the focus on ourselves, and I get that. Sometimes we might feel like we need to leave the room when, in fact, the very thing we need the most is just to stay. The time of fellowship is of the greatest benefit to us when it costs us the most. I have an old story to read to you today, but I like it, so I’m going to share it again.
An old geezer, who had been a retired farmer for a long time, became very bored and decided to open a medical clinic. He put up a sign outside that read, «Dr. Geiger’s Clinic: Get your treatment for $500. If you’re not cured, you get back $1,000.» Dr. Young, who was a real doctor, was pretty sure this old geezer didn’t know anything about medicine. He thought it would be a great chance to make some money, so he went to the clinic. This is what happened: «Dr. Geiger, I have lost all the taste in my mouth. Can you please help me?» Dr. Geiger turns to the nurse and says, «Please bring medicine from Box 22. Put three drops in Dr. Young’s mouth.» He cries out, «Ah, that’s gasoline! Congratulations, you’ve got your taste back. That will be $500.» Dr. Young gets annoyed and goes back after a couple of days, trying to figure out how to recover his money. He walks in, saying, «I’ve lost my memory. I cannot remember anything.» Dr. Geiger turns to the nurse and says, «Please bring medicine from Box 22. Put three drops in the patient’s mouth.» Dr. Young yells out, «Oh no, you don’t; that’s gasoline! Congratulations, you’ve got your memory back. That will be $500.» Dr. Young, having lost $1,000, leaves mad but comes back after several more days. He walks in and says, «My eyesight has become weak. I can hardly see.» Dr. Geiger responds, «Well, I don’t have any medicine for that, so here’s your $1,000 back.» Dr. Young looks at the money and says, «Hey, this is only $500! Congratulations, you’ve got your eyesight back. That will be $500.»
Yes, indeed, I think that’s fun. Hebrews chapter 13, turn there, if you would please. Hebrews 13, I want to talk today about community, about fellowship, about the privilege we have of being members of one another. That is actually how the Bible describes it. Seeing how God thinks about anything is an improvement for us; it helps us to see His perspective, His value system, what is a priority for Him. For example, He says if you bring your gift before the Lord and remember that someone has something against you, leave the gift, go make things right, get reconciliation, and then come back and give your gift. So, whether the gift was praise this morning, the offering that we just received, or the time you spent with a backpack giveaway, or helping a neighbor with a situation, it doesn’t matter what it is; you bring your gift. In that offering to the Lord, if you remember things are not right with someone, He says prioritize the relationship over the gift.
That’s interesting because we love to prioritize the privilege we have in giving thanks and praise to the Lord and in giving ourselves in worship. Jesus emphasized that concept even further. I think He said this twice in the Gospel of Matthew if I remember correctly. He said, «Go learn what this means: I desire compassion above sacrifice.» He is explaining that whole reconciliation thing but takes it a step further. It’s not just being in conflict; it’s actually giving a sacrifice, an offering to the Lord. Again, whether it’s time, money, or the praise we give, the context is compassion. It’s the fact that I have affection and value for the people of God, the desire to serve, to care, to touch somebody else’s life. He says, «I value that above the sacrifice.» So, if I were to use a natural sense, you might have a diamond ring, and the diamond represents the praise we give to God. But it must have a context; it must have something that holds it in place. It must have something that keeps it secure and maintains its value, and that would be compassion. It’s the actual value we have for people.
He takes this further; in Matthew 25, He says, «If you give a cup of cold water…» Now, a cup of cold water is the cheapest gift you can give. Jesus is coming in at the lowest point and says, «If you give a cup of cold water to someone in My name, you’ve given it to Me.» He takes it personally; He is so intentionally connected with every individual that when we serve, care for, or love another person, He actually takes it personally. He celebrates the moment. It’s not a big sacrificial gift; it’s not a grand noble act; it’s a cup of water, and He takes it personally.
A scary verse for me comes from 1 Corinthians 11. This is where Paul begins to talk about what we just did: communion. He discusses how he received revelation from the Lord about what that was all about and how it came about. He says, «On the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus took bread, broke it, and said, 'Take this, eat it; it’s My body. Do this in remembrance of Me.'» Then he says, «He took the cup in the same manner…» and walked them through that. Paul is now speaking to the church at Corinth regarding his understanding of communion. Interestingly, this communion time was in the context of him emphasizing the people of God as being part of one loaf. It’s a term he uses, where wheat is ground to the point where it no longer has individual identity and becomes part of something bigger and more significant than itself.
The individualism of the Western church hurts us in many ways. There are aspects that are good; God has no grandchildren. You have a direct relationship with Him; no one has a human mediator. You are not here because of someone else; it’s a personal relationship, and that’s the only way it works. So, the individualism that allows us to take responsibility for our lives does have a significant part. However, where it breaks down is that if I could illustrate it this way, the individual represents a part of the body of Christ. Our city might see a finger, an ear, or a toe of the body of Christ, but when we’re in community, they get to see the body of Christ. They deserve to see the resurrected Christ in the many members who are members of one another. He said they’ll know that you follow Me; they’ll know that you’re Christians; they’ll know that you are «little Christs,» in a sense anointed ones, because of your love for each other.
Part of the Gospel witness is, of course, bold preaching of the Gospel; it is definitely the miracles of healing and deliverance and the transformed lives—absolutely true. But there’s one of the most profound and convincing Gospel tracks, if I could use that terminology, that illustrates who He is, and it’s called the community of the believers. It’s the fact that there is care, love, affection, and devotion to one another. It not only prophesies but also illustrates and reveals Christ to the community. John emphasized this concept in 1 John. He said, «If you say you love God but you hate your brother, then you don’t love God.» What he’s basically saying is if you claim an invisible reality—in other words, I have a relationship with God, I have this gift, this anointing to heal the sick or preach—whatever you claim, this unseen reality in your life has to be measurable by visible means. «I love God» must be seen in my love for people. It has to be measurable in visible reality. Every part of our life has to be testable. Each time a person claims a relationship with God, the question is, can that relationship be reflected in how they interact with others?
It’s not anti-spiritual to say it’s the way I look a person in the eye and don’t try to fix them; I try to listen to them. Sometimes we like to bring answers so we can get out of the conversation. Sometimes we give answers because we want to fix it and escape the situation when what they really need is not an answer; they need a friend, an ear; they need somebody to listen. Community illustrates Him. We just took communion; communion is the testimony of community.
Hebrews 13, are you there? Two of you are. Did I tell you where to go? I didn’t tell you about the scary passage of communion. Oh, you’ve got to hear this; this one makes me nervous. But I like for God to make me nervous because then I know I’m still alive.
As Paul takes the church at Corinth through this insight and his experience in this communion meal—the broken body of Jesus, the shed blood of Jesus—he comes to one point where he says, «There are people among us who are weak, some are sick, and a whole bunch have died because they did not judge the body correctly.» Wow. He just gave an explanation for why some things don’t work as they should. It’s because there is an absence of proper value judgment for the body of Christ. The judgment is not condemnation; the judgment is a measuring to give value. If I have a $10 watch, I may lay it on the coffee table, which doesn’t matter to me if the kids throw it around. But if I have a $5,000 watch, it’s probably going to get put in my closet somewhere out of reach; it won’t be thrown around the yard. Why? Because I judged it and placed a value on it.
So, when he says that sometimes sickness, disease, weakness, or even death comes into the house of the Lord due to an improper judgment of the body of Christ, it could mean that the bread you hold in your hand is not just bread; it’s the body of Jesus. But also, in the context, Paul says we are one loaf, talking about the individual grains of wheat that get crushed and ground to become part of something bigger and more significant.
Amen! Good point; let’s move on. Hebrews 13, we’re going to start. I was tempted earlier to read the whole chapter, but we’ll read probably 7 or 8 verses. Verse one: «Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels.» You never know when that person outside of the grocery store, who hasn’t showered in a month, is actually dressed in that clothing to see how we respond. Verse three: «Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also.» He’s basically saying the way one is treated affects everyone, so we are to stay mindful of what others go through. Verse four: «Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; fornicators and adulterers God will judge.»
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have, for He Himself has said, «I will never leave you nor forsake you.» Read that verse again, verse five: «Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have, for He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'» Do you understand what He just said here? The cure for covetousness is a living awareness of the Spirit of God, who is in your life. Awareness of Him is actually the antidote to the bent in life that takes us into wanting to build a material Kingdom. Material things are not evil; Jesus had a seamless robe garment. The problem isn’t there; the problem is what we do and whether we try to build a safety net around our lives through material things.
What happens often—this part scares me—is that I’ve watched people become more prosperous and more independent. They become more distant from the very thing they need, which is people. Sometimes the reason is that people maneuver and manipulate to try to take or persuade them to give them what they have. I understand the reasons for it, but here’s the deal: we are often in the greatest need of what we resist the most, and that’s time with people.
Alright, I’ll try again on that in a moment. So here he says, «Let your conduct be without covetousness.» Why? Because He said, «I’ll never leave you.» So it’s His manifest presence in a person’s life that actually cures that bent towards building out of material things. I’ve said this to you a number of times through the years, but I’ll say it again today. Governments and cultures are trying to figure out how much is too much. One of these days, I’m going to have the courage to actually preach to you about it. It’ll be fun; it’ll be about money. But I do that every once in a while, just not what I have planned. I’m threatening you now.
Culture asks the question, «How much is too much?» It’s whatever amount replaces trust. For one person, it’s $1,000 in the bank; for another, it’s $100 million. It’s not the amount; don’t put a moral value on amounts. The moral value belongs to the heart of surrender. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Verse six: «So we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? '»
The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me? That word «helper» here is not the same word as in the Gospel of John, where Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit as our helper—the paraclete, the one who stands alongside to help us. This word is made of two parts: one is the cry for help, and two is to run. It’s basically saying the Lord has positioned Himself, waiting for your cry for help so He can run to you and give you assistance. That’s this word—helper: the one who is waiting to run to your aid and give assistance.
Now, jump to verse 15: «Therefore, by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.» Verse 15 and 16 again: «Therefore, let us by Him continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.»
Do not forget to do good and share. The sacrifice of praise is a huge part of our culture, so I don’t know that I need to talk to you much about that. Giving Him praise, giving Him thanks is a huge part of our life; we prioritize it. We spend a bulk of time to make sure we do that. It’s a great privilege to minister to Him. But the second part of this passage says, «Don’t forget to do good.» Now, that specifically refers to good works. Jesus said, «Let your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.» In other words, you’re not supposed to hide the good works; they are supposed to be displayed so that people are drawn to God, not to you.
It’s not about Bethal; it’s not Bill; it’s not Chris; it’s not Gabe; it’s not the long list of people that we have here; it’s actually a Gospel, a good news of the kingdom of God, and the privilege we have is to do good works so that people have this affection for God stirred up in their hearts, finding themselves longing for this one they’ve never longed for before. How does it happen? It’s through good works. But then it says, «Don’t neglect to do good; the good works and to share.» That word «share» is actually the word «fellowship.» It’s actually what we did earlier—communion.
The communion of the broken body of Jesus, the shed blood of Jesus is supposed to testify not only to what Jesus has done but also to our 'yes' to what He has done to the point where we become grafted together, interwoven together, members of one another. The Bible says that every joint supplies. The point is as we have a member connected to a member through a joint, life flows at the joint, at the connection. The whole illustration is that it’s the connection with people that keeps us healthy and alive. This, in spirit, soul, and body.
What’s interesting here is it says, «Sacrifice, for with such sacrifices"—praise, good works, and fellowship—"sacrifices.» For many of us, fellowship is what we do when it’s convenient. I heard someone say recently that fellowship is what we do when it’s convenient. Jesus is teaching here through the writer of Hebrews that fellowship is to be taken to the point where it crosses over that line of convenience into the realm of sacrifice, and God is delighted in that sacrifice.
After my late wife graduated and went to heaven, I remember being at home, looking forward to being with the people of God, and just being so hungry to be with people. Once I got here, I would want to go home. I would stay and talk with people, but the point was I was very anxious inside. I remember Brian and Jen having a gathering of the whole worship team at their house. Goodness, I think it’s every month—often there are over 100 people that come to their home. They actually built part of their house just for these gatherings. They would invite me to come, and I always liked to hang out with the cool crowd. I remember, for months, I would walk into the room, and, seeing all these people that I love so much, I was so uncomfortable that I’d turn to Brian and say, «I’m sorry, son; I’ve got to go,» and I would be there for only five minutes. I would walk in, then go home, back to being alone.
That’s rewarding; that’s rewarding when you have this ache to be with people, and then you get stuck with you. I remember sitting there sometimes going, «Man, that was stupid!» But you have to get a hold of this because whatever it is—grief, pain, or whatever—it’s taking you out of what you actually need. It’s not a sacrifice until it costs us. Sometimes I would go home, sit at home, and think, «I’m going back.» It probably looked pretty stupid to leave and then come back, but who cares? It was being in an environment with healthy people.
Sometimes we don’t want attention when we’re hurting. I get that. I understand that. Sometimes we can feel ignored. It’s a feeling that we need to leave the room when, in fact, the very thing we need the most is just to stay in the room. I don’t have to be noble; I don’t have to prophesy or preach; I just need to be there. «For with such sacrifices, the time of fellowship is of the greatest benefit to us when it costs us the most.»
So good! The intentionality; most of the time, I don’t think it’s a noble act. Most of the time, I don’t think it’s writing a check for $10,000 and giving it away or something. It’s not that; it’s not driving from here to San Francisco to pray for someone for five minutes and then come back. It’s not some noble act; it’s just the intentionality of recognizing the value of another human being and looking them in the eye and listening.
Sometimes, most people don’t need a lot of input. Most of us know too much to be dangerous anyway; what they really need is someone that will just take a few minutes to listen. Some of you will run out of here as fast as possible when the meeting is over. Joking! Some will actually stay for moments, talk with someone, look them in the eye, and show genuine curiosity about their week. You’ll find out it was rough or maybe the greatest week of their lives—you’ll take the time, and it might only be five minutes, but you can change the trajectory of somebody’s life with just five minutes well spent—eye-to-eye listening.
I remember in Weaverville there was an older couple. Now I’m the older couple, but back then, there was an elderly couple in the church named Paul and Gwen. They lived back on a dirt road in a little A-frame house. They had 10 or 15 acres—something like that, a little farm. We loved those guys. I hadn’t seen them for a while, so we loaded the kids and decided to visit. I remember we pulled up to the gate, and it was locked. They lived back there, not on the other side of the gate. So, we decided to park the car even though it was snowing, let the kids out, and play with snowballs as we walked to their house. They were, of course, shocked to see us. We hung out for a couple of hours. These guys were classic.
I remember they would have us for dinner, and Gwen, the cook, was amazing. She would set us all down for dinner, and then she would serve us pie first. Now, she made killer pies—heaven on Earth pies. She would place it in front of the kids and tell them, «Now, you have to eat all your dessert before you can have any dinner,» and I could see my kids looking at me like, «Is this legal?» I said, «Rules of the house, guys; you have to finish that dessert or you won’t get any dinner!» I remember we would drive all the way back. I spent a couple of hours with them, had fun, and found out that the gate wasn’t locked; it looked locked. So they drove us down to get our car as we went home.
But I’m kind of glad we thought it was locked because it became more of a sacrifice. Sometimes it’s just giving attention; sometimes it’s just giving time. I can’t touch everyone, but I can touch somebody. I can’t give to everything, but I can give to something. I can’t listen to every problem, but I can listen to this one, and sometimes that intentionality is really what community does. This finger is not connected to every need in my body; it is affected by every need in my body, but it cannot take care of every need.
We are connected to one another. That’s why He says, «Make sure you remember the prisoner,» because basically, what they go through affects you. We keep this in mind—we are actually members of one another—our experiences, our blessings, the increase of another actually affect our lives. Our city deserves to see the body of Christ—the head under the Lordship of Jesus—functioning together. The privileged responsibility we have to lay down individualism to celebrate the whole is a huge part of God’s design for our lives.
Strangely, perhaps, it seems strange to me, but it’s a part of God’s design, or His formula, if I can use that term, for divine health. It’s actually proper connection with people. I heard reports this last or perhaps the previous week about the incredible recovery rate of heart patients who had heart attacks or open-heart surgeries. Their recovery rate—some of you in the medical field will know this better than I do—was, I remember hearing, around 37% higher when they have fellowship connections with people. There’s something about community that actually brings them to a place of greater health and greater strength.
So this thing called communion, this thing called fellowship, brings healing; the absence of it brings affliction. The absence of genuine community can lead to wounds rather than restoration. The Lord designed us to live from one another. We heard in the Old Testament where the Lord came to the murdering brother and asked, «Am I my brother’s keeper?» The answer, of course, is yes. As a matter of fact, yes you are! It’s the privilege of being together.
So my prayer for you, for me today is that the Lord will increase our awareness, that we would have the emotional intelligence to recognize the moment we need to stop. You know, I have been the Good Samaritan that stopped on the road to help the person in pain, and I have been the priest that went to the other side of the road to avoid being pulled out of my schedule. I’ve done both. No guilt; no shame—just recognize that sometimes interruptions are Divine invitations. I pray that you and I would have the sensitivity of heart and mind to recognize those moments that God actually puts in front of us so that we can stop and give attention—prayer, eye-to-eyes, listening with a heart to make a difference in somebody’s life.
I pray that the Lord would exponentially increase our capacity for that sort of thing throughout our community and that through Bethel, through Little Country, through Twin View Assembly, and through all the different churches in our city, we would have the privilege of seeing the body of Christ under the Lordship—under the head of Christ—in such a way that this city burns with affection for this living God, who has come to heal, to save, and to deliver. I pray that they would have a chance in their lifetime to see people who are actually members of one another, willing to lose their individual stuff for the sake of establishing the corporate.
I pray that over you; I pray that over me, in Jesus' name. I know that every time we have a crowd like this, there’s a high chance that there are folks in the room who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. The Bible records that Jesus was very confrontational yet inviting. For example, He said, «If you gain the whole world and lose your soul, you have nothing. You are the most to be pitied.» There are people in this room who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus; you don’t know what it is to be forgiven; you don’t know what it is to be born again, having the Spirit of God actually come and change you from the inside out.
It’s not us conforming to a religious routine; it’s our place of surrender to love and to know God. If that’s you and you’d be willing to raise your hand just to say, «Bill, I don’t want to leave the building until I know I have found peace with God; until I know what it is to be forgiven.» If that’s you, I want to see who you are. I want to make an agreement with you. I’m asking you to put a hand up; by doing so, you’re just saying, «Bill, I don’t want to leave until I have found forgiveness.»
Alright, right here. Anyone else? Real quick, here’s another one. Alright, here. Anyone else? And for anyone online, I want to encourage you—our online family thrills us. I love meeting you when I get to travel. Just put it in the chat box; one of our pastors will be right there to talk with you and pray with you.
I’m going to ask if you stand; hold your place, if you would, for just a moment. I’m going to ask if we could have our ministry team come quickly to the front. I would like to ask these two and any others that I may have missed who want to receive prayer for coming to Christ to come over to where this banner is. It’s not about joining an organization; it’s about a relationship with Jesus. Come over here, and this team we know and trust will come and pray with you.