Accepting One Another

In the opening to our new series 'One Another', Pastor Aaron talks about how we as a church have the responsibility to accept everyone. 

Transcript

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We're starting a new series. And we just ended Holy Fear, and I gotta tell you, it is it became one of my favorite series that I've ever done because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's not, it's not just like we become more wise. No, it's the very beginning. And so it's very important. And then we're gonna we're gonna turn the page, and in turning the page, this series is completely different than the other one. We're doing our one another series. And there are so many scriptures that talk about what it means to be one anothering each other, if if that's a word. Let's go with it, Steve. Let's go with it. In fact, the New Testament, we see a phrase repeated over and over, mentioned a hundred times as commands of how we are supposed to treat each other. And those are our one another scriptures. So this is going to be a hundred weeks long. Not really. But to kick off this series, we have two verses we're gonna focus on. And I want us to just really focus on these verses. Then I'm gonna tell a story that's found in Scripture as well. The first one is Romans 14 1. Romans 14 1 says, accept other believers who are weak in faith and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. Who's convicted? Romans 15 7 is our second verse. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you, so that God will be given glory. Everyone say, Accept. Everyone say, I'm accepted. You are accepted. God has chosen you. He chose you out before, before you were knit in your mother's womb, he had a plan. Who says amen to that? Now, here is the challenge with these two verses, and this is what gets complicated for us. Being a part of a community of believers conceptually is what everyone wants. But so few do it well, so few. Because we are people. Please, keep looking. I I don't I don't need that kind of headache. In fact, when I started pastoring, I wanted to gravitate towards I want to be around like-minded people. I want to be around people that think like me, that act like me, that that at the time dress like me. I don't care anymore. I I dress however I want. In fact, I just got back, Jesse and I just got back from fishing in Canada all week. I wore the same shirt every day. Guys, I just I just hit the don't care button. I washed it in the sink with Don dish soap. I did not care. But the longer I pastor, the more I seek out those who are not like me. And those are the people that I want surrounding me and in my life. The people that they're different, they think differently, they have a different background, and there is a spirit that comes with that of welcoming anyone and everyone that wants a connection with God. Saying, I want to be a part of your tribe. And so it's not just about those that we have similarities with, but those that stretch us and help us grow. When I was in Waterloo, there was a young man that I poured a ton of time into. And it was it was the most frustrating time of my life. However, I believed God wanted to do something great in his life. We called him Juju, his name was Judonist, but Juju was the poster child of Romans chapter 7. If you've ever read Romans 7, and Paul goes on this tirade of saying, I want to do what's right, but I don't. That was Juju's life. I want to do what's right, but I don't. And I I chose in my ministry that Juju was my pet project, and yet I can tell you he was arrested about six times in about a year span. And every single time was for something just absolutely stupid and avoidable. And you're just you're just completely frustrated. I remember where I was just kind of at my wit's end with him because we're so different, right? We're so incredibly different. And Juju's mom passed away, and he's like, I'd really like for you to come to the funeral. I'm like, brother, I'll be there. I'll sit with you. And I'm gonna be honest, never been to a black funeral before, did not know what I was in for. I set aside a two-hour block. That was not enough time. That was a mistake. The service had different parts to it, and we're 2.5 hours in. I'm like, there's no end in sight. There's just it's not stopping. And I can tell you, I sat there angry the whole time, and I'm not, it's not for what you might think. Because Juju was nowhere to be seen. And I still chose to love him, and I still chose to take his phone calls, and it was clear to me God wanted him, and he gave me a big burden for him. And there's something about God that he plants that in our hearts if we if we just choose to deny ourselves and our own proclivities. To just say, no, I'm gonna follow your path, God, your plan. And so today, what I want to do is I want to summarize a story for you in the book of Acts where God gives two men visions. And you can you can turn there if you want. I'm not gonna read verse by verse, I'm just gonna summarize it for you. It's Acts 10 and 11. And there are there are two men given visions. One is Cornelius, a man named Cornelius, who's a Roman centurion, and then there is Peter, and Peter has this vision, and the story spans again these two chapters. I'm just gonna give you the highlights, okay? So there's this Roman centurion who's named Cornelius. He's a man of power, wealth, and he's a different ethnicity from Jewish believers. He was devout, he prayed constantly, what we learn in scripture, and he gave generously to the poor. And one day an angel told him to send for a man named Simon, Simon Peter. Meanwhile, Peter was on a rooftop praying when God gave him this shocking vision, this vision of it was a sheet full of animals that the Old Testament called unclean. And a voice said, Get up, Peter, kill and eat. That was verse 13. And Peter, like everything that he had ever been taught, he said, I can't do that. I absolutely can't do that. And so Peter refused. He said, I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. Check this out. The voice replied three times, do not call anything impure that God has made clean. Peter was still puzzled by all of this when Cornelius' messengers arrived. He didn't understand the vision, he didn't know what to do with it. And the Holy Spirit told Peter in that moment when Cornelius' messengers came, go with them. So there was no hesitation. He absolutely went right away. And when Peter entered Cornelius' house, he said, You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. Peter preached the good news of Jesus in that moment, and the Jewish believers heard about this and they criticized him and said, You went to the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them. That's chapter 11, verse 3. But after Peter explained everything God had done, they had no further objections. Verse 18, listen to this. Instead, they praised God and said, So then, even to Gentiles, God has granted repentance that leads to life. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you so much for your word. And Lord, what a blessing it is to know that, Lord, you're not just for a certain demographic. Lord, you're for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God, make this message so clear that, Lord, it's your heart. I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Peter had to make a choice to open the door to minister to those outside of what he had been told his whole life. His whole life said, No, you can't do that. Yet God was calling him to open his heart to everyone. Who here can embrace God's calling me to open my heart to anyone who shall believe in the name of the Lord? That's it. That's it. So there are three reasons that we find in those verses that we read earlier in Romans 14, 1 and Romans 15 7. Three reasons to accept one another. The first is this is important. Easy to say, harder to do, because God commands it. He commands that we accept one another. And Peter, he he shook the other apostles to their core with his behavior and his obedience to the vision. These are men and women that also heard from God they were following the Lord, but they hadn't heard that. And all of a sudden they're like, we don't know what to do with this. And here is the thing that we need to embrace as believers. This is where religion and relationship with Christ collide. They completely collide. And I've been instructed culturally, religiously, or socially my whole life in one thing. And then all of a sudden, God turns it completely on its head. And it's like he is asking something different of me. And notice that God confirms it three times. Now to me, that's really important. Because God always confirms through his word and what others have spoken to you through prophecy, vision, or dreams in order for you to be confident and move forward. Peter at the time he didn't have those things, right? He just had the Old Testament and doesn't know how to move forward in the New Test in the New Testament. And so as Peter's going forward, he's depending on the Holy Spirit. And something significant about God in repeating it three times makes it clear it's of God. We talked about this a while back when the angels say holy, holy, holy three times. That is speaking to a sovereign, all-powerful God. There is no higher way to say it. But Peter's actions after this, it required spiritual maturity, not more head knowledge. And this is important. It wasn't about more head knowledge, it was about this spiritual maturity and trusting God in something that he was calling you to that seemed so counterintuitive to everything he had known. It was an awakening. And it showed him exactly what he needed to do in order to reach people. Paul recognized that as people, we often quibble over some of the dumbest stuff. Can we agree? Like how you roll up your toothpaste before it's empty, right? And so we we quibble over these things, and he recognized that. Till you're blue in the face, and you can find it so hard to accept each other for some of the smallest differences. Going back to Romans 14, 1, listen to it again. Accept other believers who are weak in faith and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. It can divide churches, it can divide households, it can divide friendships. And I want us to embrace that God doesn't call us to our personal bent, how we feel, your opinions, your preferences. He called us to be in community with those who are part of the family of God. That's what he's called us to do. And so we really need to embrace the community God has placed you in. Can you do that? Can you embrace, truly embrace the community that God has placed you in? Because here's the thing we often judge the person right when they walk in the door. We also judge the actions in the person's life without ever having the empathy for how they got there. Maybe. Right. Because so, so, so often what we want to do is we desperately want to see people attain complete freedom and healing so quickly, and we get frustrated when they don't get there. And so imagine if you chose to pray for them instead of the path of frustration with them. Right? Here's the other problem. Man, my mic keeps falling down. I'm about to kick this thing to the curb. Judgment isn't just one-sided. This is key. Often all parties are guilty of it. And here's the thing: I want to share with you my dream of what a church should be. Who knows we're not a finished product? Who knows we're not perfect? Who knows we're not there yet? My dream of church is multi-generational, multicultural people celebrating in the house of the Lord. That's it. I want our church to reflect our community around us. And that's what I embrace, and that's what I say, Lord, I want. And the thing is, when we say this, check this out, and this is important. When we say this, do you realize all the challenges that come with such a vision? That's why so many churches are either young churches or they're old churches. And seldom is it in between. That's why so many churches are black churches or white churches or Hispanic churches or Asian churches. God's not going to segregate in his kingdom. He's not going to segregate in his kingdom. And so can we as the body of Christ see the business executive welcome and sit with the blue-collar worker? Can we as the body of Christ see the single mom who is on assistance sit with the business owner? And can we call each other children of God? James chapter 2, verses 113. 1 through 13. I encourage you to read that outside the church. James is outing all of our prejudices in that section of scripture. I just want to read three verses in there for you. The first is James 2, 1. It says, My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? And then James 2, 12 and 13, listen to what this says. It says, So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. Not judged by other people. So here's the thing. Can you accept the person across the room? If you can't accept the person across the room, how are you gonna win the world? You can choose to say, I Pastor, I gotta find those similar to me. But I promise you one thing. Not like you think. It's not. It's not in the comfort that I grow, it's in the discomfort. But to embrace the true community of Christ, you have to deny what you have been sold as the American church. And I think that's important for us. Come on, who says amen to that? Because here's the thing we call it community, but we don't function as a true community. We don't. In fact, the original Greek of this word means to take oneself, to receive to oneself, or to take a side with oneself. And so I want you to really dive into what this means because it presents this vivid picture of taking someone who wouldn't be regularly accepted by society and us deciding not to just allow them to be here. I want you to hear this. But to take hold of someone physically and bring them close. Wow.

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Praise God.

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The words are asking for a complete embrace. Not just tolerance. Are you hearing that? The root word carries so many implications.

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Listen to this. Taking someone into your home as a guest, it was used in scripture as such. Receiving a person into your family or inner circle, embracing someone as a full member of the community, or having equal value to you.

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The next reason to accept people because Christ accepted us. Because Christ accepted us.

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And we are just choosing to accept others because Christ has accepted us, and accepting others because Christ welcomed us in. So we should be welcoming as well. Romans 15, 7. I want to read it again. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you, so that God will be given glory. So Jesus Christ accepted you in your weakness, your sin, and your differences from him. Are you hearing that?

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Yeah, I gotta get fully rid of it, guys. Like it's just driving me nuts.

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Listen to Hebrews two nine. We do see is Jesus, who for a little while was given a position a little lower than the angels. And because he suffered death for us, he is now crowned with glory and honor. Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for some, for all, for everyone, for everyone. So at some point in your life, you found yourself on the outside looking in.

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You've been somewhere, I guarantee it that you didn't feel welcome. I went to Southeast Polk. Seeing football this year, buddy.

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And I can tell you, Southeast Polk is the school with the most clicks on the planet. Because either you were part of the jocks, the popular crowd, the preps, the nerds, the freaks, the band geeks, the stoners, or the Higgs. You were a part of one of those groups. And I remember when I was in junior high, I'm sitting there looking, what group do I belong in? To no one's surprise, the band geeks. I tried to fit into so many. Not the stoners.

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I didn't try to fit into the stoners. But imagine the kingdom of God if it was played by our rules.

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Imagine that.

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No one would be welcomed into heaven. No one. Because we'd never meet the criteria. We wouldn't. And we often think we have this mindset, God's grace is sufficient for me, but then determined because of someone else's sin that oh, they're just lost forever.

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I cannot buy into that mentality. I can't do it. Instead, it's exactly the opposite. And I want you to receive this.

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If a man as undeserving as me has received grace, then anyone can.

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I'm the least of these. And yet God's grace is sufficient. The apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15 9. It says, For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church. And yet God welcomed him in. So you choose to have this life that proclaims if Christ can redeem me, he can redeem anybody. And so Peter's staring at Cornelius.

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He's a fisherman. Probably stinks a little bit. Been wearing the same shirt for six days. A fisherman who's been humbled by God, and he's standing before this Roman centurion.

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And he's welcoming him into the family of God and calling him a brother.

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It's not for notoriety. It's not for a reward or favor, but it's for the glory of God.

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Can you embrace that church?

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That's our third reason to accept others for the glory of God. Like that's why we do what we do. That's our life's cost and purpose. And we're saying by all means necessary. And here's the thing when it comes to acceptance, and I want to be so clear: acceptance isn't just, well, the church never accepted me. Acceptance comes on both sides. It comes on both sides. I want you to listen to this quote I heard just yesterday. I love it so much. It's long, and so what you see on the screen, we're gonna get to eventually. But there's this pastor named James Bell, and listen to what he says. As a pastor, I hear this all the time. We're just looking for community. And I believe people mean it. They want a church where people know their name. I'm gonna be honest with you, as we grow, it's getting harder and harder for me to do that. They want relationships that feel real, they want something smaller, warmer, more personal, more rooted. But over time I've realized something. This is still him talking here. A lot of people don't actually want community, they want the feeling of community without the cost of community. They want people to pursue them, but they do not want to pursue people. They want to be known but not inconvenienced. They want deep relationships but not awkward conversations. They want a church that feels like family, but they do not want to carry any of the burdens that come with family. And that is where the tension begins. Because real community is not created by finding the perfect church, it is created by imperfect people staying long enough to love one another through ordinary frustrations. Community requires patience, it requires forgiveness, it requires showing up when you don't feel like it. It requires assuming the best when you are tempted to assume the worst. It requires serving people who may never fully understand what it costs you. That is why many people keep searching for community but never find it. Not because no church has it, but because community is not something you consume. It's something you help build. The community we say we want will always require a version of us we may not yet be willing to become.

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And you have to embrace living in that tension. You have to embrace it. Steve, I'm never gonna forget it. Moving into this church building. Another diagnosis. And you and I sitting in room 102 on the floor. It was a disaster. The floor was disgusting. It was disgusting. And we're sitting on the floor just for two hours.

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Not saying much.

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Those tensions we should want to run to, not run away from.

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And here's the other issue. So often we say, well, I want I want something that feels good to me. You know what? You're never gonna find it. You're never gonna find it.

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The key is to say they're seeking the same God I'm seeking. And I'm not going anywhere.

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I'm gonna fight through it all. That's accepting one another. Who saw all the faults in their spouse the day they got married?

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If any of you say yes to that, you need shot on site, okay? You just absolutely do. You need shot on site. But but there are things we see in our spouse over time, they're like, wow. Wow. I didn't know that. Do you think it's any different in a community of believers? And if you keep going out and finding the perfect church again, you're never gonna find it. It's just like I'm gonna choose to be planted where I'm at, and I'm gonna say, Man, they are pursuing the same God I'm pursuing, and I'm gonna do life with them. And yeah, they drive me crazy from time to time, but I'm still gonna take their phone call. I'm still gonna work with them because they love God. And I love God, and I wanna see them get to the finish line. That's what we're there for, amen. Okay, I sidestepped my whole message, and we're woo! Kelton, if you could please. But it's gonna cost you our preferences, our pride, and our comfort. It's gonna cost us those things. Listen to Romans 15 7. Again, don't get distracted by the worship team coming up. Romans 15, 7 says, Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you, so that God will be given glory. And church, I want you to embrace our acceptance of each other isn't for our comfort or feelings, it's for the glory of God. Because the world's gonna look at it and they're gonna say, if God can bring those people together, then I want what what he's offering, right? That's the God that I serve. And so, can you welcome all and just not tolerate?

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Can you do it?

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There's two guys I know, and some of you in this room might know them. I'm just gonna use their first names, and if you know them, you might chuckle a little bit. There's another church here in town that I've got a lot of friends at that church. And two of these guys, they're named Yuli and Cy. Let me tell you something about Yuli and Csai. They were in rival gangs in high school.

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They were in rival gangs. They hated each other. Hated. Then one day, Csai's already going to church there. One day, Yuli shows up.

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What's he doing here?

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Those two guys that used to be rival gang members now minister together. And have been doing a ministry together called Impact Our City. And those guys are brothers.

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So our goal is not just to build the best community we can, it's to say, I'm gonna glorify God with my life, no matter what he brings me.

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And that's what I choose to do. And John 17, 23, listen to this as we're closing. It's Jesus says, I am in them, and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me, that you love me, that you love them, excuse me, as much as you love me. So accepting one another doesn't start with someone else choosing to accept you. It starts with us.

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It starts with us and saying, I am accepted by the kingdom of God. So I'm going to accept them. Then hopefully, by the grace of God, they accept me.

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And any feelings that are different inside of us, that is sin pushing back against what God commands.

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Lastly, listen.

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Philippians 2, 3 through 5. Don't be selfish. Don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

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Stand with me, please.

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And so we open our heart to God and say, Lord, examine me.

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And examine if I am not living up to what it means to accept others.

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And I can almost guarantee it if you've been wronged by anyone ever in the church or ever wronged by someone who chose to walk through the door in the first time, you have found there's something inside of you that maybe is not of God. And I want to encourage you.

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Now is the time not to just repent of those feelings. But now's the time to say, God, I choose to open the door to find everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ accepted and to give that to him.

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Listen to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Most of you probably know it. This is that if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and heal their land. Church, I want to say we fall short of being welcoming all the time. But when we can sit here and point fingers at one another, we can sit here and say, Well, we got this five-step plan of how we're going to be welcoming everyone. It starts with me. It starts with me. And so it's you choosing to say, I accept, I embrace that I need to be of the will of the Father. I need to follow his commands, and I need to set aside my proclivities, my my differences with everyone that I come in contact with, my spiritual wisdom versus their spiritual wisdom. I set that all, Lord, at your feet, and I just want to follow your voice.

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Forgive me. And if you were to say, Pastor, I just need to completely repent and say, Holy Spirit, lead God and direct me. Would you raise your hands toward the Lord right now?

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Okay.

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We're gonna pray. Father God, you see hands raised all over this room, and Lord, I believe that you want to do something great in the individuals. Your Holy Spirit speaks, Lord, and you examine our hearts, that you will reveal in us the parts that are not of you that we need to repent of, we need to completely dismiss, and God say, I choose to follow your ways, and Lord, I pray that you give us great burdens for those that are nothing like us, God. Lord, to see you working in everyone's life, no matter what their background is. Lord, I pray for just a complete repentance and a pure heart and approach to you and what you have and what you want to do, Father. Lord, I can only imagine the community that you want to reach if we would just choose to obey you and follow your commands to every statue. Lord, how quickly the world would be reached by a church that chooses to do that. Lord, we love you and we thank you, God.

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You are so good.

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Lord, give us spiritual eyes to see those who feel on the outside looking in.

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To grab them and say, Come, you are a part of the family of God. You're a part of my family. Lord, we praise you and we thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.