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So uh we are actually kicking off a three-week series today. So if you're new with us, if you're a guest, this is a great place to start because we got three weeks. Uh and we're going to talk specifically about community. Uh in fact, a new kind of community. And if you're like me, when you kind of think back over your life, no matter how old you are, uh you kind of look back over your life, you probably define certain periods of your life by the relationships that you had during those seasons of life. Um like I think back to those childhood years, and I think about the group of friends that I did life with when I was, you know, in elementary and then uh and then in middle school and those awkward, weird phase uh years that were there, and then high school, and I think about the different relationships I had and how they impacted me. I was uh in athletics, I loved to play football, and really any sport they would let me play, uh, I got involved in. And so I remember all those teammates that I had and how we had blood, sweat, and tears, and and we, you know, we we uh scratched and fought, and and and into this, you know, we're gonna be a team, and and so I remember how that impacted and shaped my life. Uh I remember inside uh my college years, just a group of guys that I had the the privilege of getting to have an apartment with and and uh even live in the dorm before that apartment, and so how they shaped my life. But community is like a big deal, isn't it? Like relationships, friendships. It's a significant part of our story. Every one of us. And all of us have a few key relationships because we know we can't have like 18 best friends unless you're my eight-year-old son who has pretty much everybody's his best friend, I guess. That's just kind of he's so relational. Uh but it's hard to have a lot of best friends or really close friends, if you will, but we all have relationships that have really shaped us, impacted us, sharpened us. And that's a biblical idea that we were made and created for community. Like we're wired for relationships. Uh if you don't know much about um the Bible, uh you may not know that in the very beginning, it tells us a couple things about community. It tells us that uh God created people, human beings, and he created them in his image. And as part of being created in his image, we're made for relationship. So uh God Himself, and this is just a mind-blowing thought, he is Trinity, he is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons, yet all fully God. Okay, I'm not even gonna go there right now because we just can't even begin to crack the surface on all that. It's a mystery. But he lives in relationship with himself. So creating us in his image means that naturally we have this desire for relationship. We have a longing for friendship and connection with other people. This is part of how we're we're made. And in fact, even going on in that story, not only were we created in his image, but we we see how it plays out when here's Adam with all these animals, he's been given a task to do, to name these animals, and he looks around and he says, Hey, like, there's no suitable, suitable helper for me. Like, as in, there's no person here that like I can connect with. Where's my mate? Where's my, you know, like I see the elephant over here. They got they got their their pair, they they see this this one over here and this one over here. But where's mine? And so God is gracious, and he obviously knows all along he is going to fashion this woman. And I'm and all the men in the room said, Amen. Praise God, he fashioned a woman, right? It would be a terrible world to think about all this men running around uh some days. Uh so but you know what I'm saying? It's like, praise God, he's given us these relationships. And so it wasn't just a husband and wife thing, it was just a relational thing that we were made that way. And of course, all of us, again, have experienced community at different levels in different places and times in our life. Again, whether that was on a team, whether that was at a workplace, uh, whether that was in your neighborhood, maybe you have some relationships there, maybe it's family. You have some unique relationships, you have a close-knit family, and that really impacts you. But we were made for it, and we need it. In fact, scripture would say it's impossible for us to live the life God's intended us to live without relationships, without people who walk alongside of us. Yesterday we had a gathering here where we did some training for our volunteers, and I'm so grateful that we've got a volunteer team that every week they come and they serve and they bless and they they just are here. They do everything from meet you in the parking lot to uh serve coffee to watch the kids, and we've got a growing number of kids outside in these two buildings to my left and to your to my right, and it's awesome, but it takes a lot of people to just serve the needs of our community. And and I got to specifically talk to the next generation team, which uh I just I love that team. I love the team that pours into the birth uh through the the uh the high school senior age group and and even into college because we know that uh that it's such a critical window, and there's such a need for us to invest into their lives while they're still moldable and they're being shaped. And one of the things I mentioned to them is that every kid, every teen, they need a group of friends that believe the same things they believe. Like they need a group of friends who help encourage them to like stay the course because they're making some big decisions along the way that are gonna have long-term implications. And we've all been there, right? And and let's be honest, uh, that friendships deeply impact the place where we land as human beings. It's the they impact the direction and the quality of our lives, if you will. They impact that deeply, and so we need those friendships. And so, whatever you've experienced, and for whatever reason you've had community, you've tasted community, you've uh you've you've had this connection with other people, uh, the the deepest, most meaningful, significant community that we can have is Christian community. Community that's tied to our universal need for a Savior, who we say his name is Jesus. In fact, to be lumped into Christianity is to be connected to a community of people socially, even though that wasn't really what Jesus said is go be a Christian. That term Christian came later and it was actually considered to be an insult. They were saying you guys are like little Christ running around. And that was kind of make fun of them, but yet as we wear that term, we're connected to a bigger community, and that's why what I do impacts you, and what you do impacts me, and that's why we collectively work together inside a community. And community is a significant piece of my life, and if I were to sit down and talk with each one of you, it would be very clear that it's a big part of your life. So I want to look at a passage of scripture that we're gonna unpack over the next three weeks together. I'm just gonna read the whole thing today, and we're gonna touch on some other verses along the way as well. But if you have a Bible, I want to go ask you to go ahead and ask you to pull it out, and we're gonna look at Acts chapter 2. And this is what I think of when I think of like really cool, uh connected uh community, like relationally uh a really dynamic, vibrant place uh where people are connecting together and just some cool things are happening, some some some awesome sacrificial living to serve one another, to help one another, to encourage one another. And so Acts chapter 2. If you don't know that Acts is the is almost considered like a fifth gospel. Um Dr. Luke wrote the book of Acts, and he is recording what's going on in the early church. Once Jesus leaves the scene, uh now the early church, the first Christians uh that are part of the church uh come onto the scene, and so Luke is recording that. And what's happened to kind of set you up before I read this section is that this thing called Pentecost has just happened. Where Jesus had told his disciples, he said, I know you guys are a little freaked out that I'm leaving you. I know you're struggling. In fact, I know some of you are still even doubting. It says that in the text, by the way. So if you struggle with doubt, welcome to the club. Okay? The disciples who walked alongside with him had some doubts and fears along the way. And that's why this is a safe place to wrestle with doubts and fears and struggles because we're all there. But it says that Jesus gave him some specific instructions. He said, I want you to go and I want you to wait. Wait for me to bring you a power source, a power supply that you haven't yet fully understood. And so we understand that as the church that he says his Spirit, as in God, the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, God the Spirit is going to come on you in a powerful, dynamic way, and you're going to be empowered to go and to tell everybody about me. To tell them why I came and that I'm the Messiah and that I came to save people from their sin and to restore a relationship with the Father. That's what they were told. And so, guess what? They obeyed. Always a good thing to obey what Jesus says. Okay, can't go wrong there. So they obeyed Jesus. They sit in this upper room. It's 120 of them, so it's not just his 12 disciples. Actually, Judas had jumped off by denying Christ and committing suicide, and so they'd replaced him. But now there's these these 12 plus, there's some others that had gathered around and become a part of Jesus' sort of crew in his final days. And so there's 120 of them, is what it tells us, and they're there in this upper room, and all of a sudden, exactly what Jesus had said would happen happens. Amazing. Like God said, something's gonna happen and it happens. You can always trust him, can't you? Sure enough, the Holy Spirit comes and there's this rumbling, there's this shaking, and and it's like a storm, and then there's these tongues of fire, and it lands on these guys as they're there praying, they're crying out to God, and all of a sudden they have this just incredible boldness that comes on them to go and tell people out into the streets. And Jerusalem at that time is just packed with all these people that are there for worship. And so they go out into the streets, and not only do they have boldness, but they have this supernatural ability to communicate in the language of all the people groups that are there. So they can speak in all these different tongues of these different people's languages. I mean, can you imagine how crazy that was? These guys who were out there in the streets, they thought it was so crazy. They literally said they were drunk. Like they said, you guys have been drinking. It's early in the morning, and you guys have already started a little early there. And so they're accusing them of being drunk. And Peter says, No, wait, wait, wait, wait. It's way too early for that, right? We're not drunk, the Holy Spirit's here. And then they begin to proclaim the gospel, and as a result of Peter's message, which wasn't some big, eloquent, massive, uh, you know, well-thought out some. This is on the fly. Like he just gets out and he starts proclaiming the message, right? He hadn't sat for weeks and weeks and weeks trying to prepare exactly how he's gonna say this phrase, and at just the right time in the service, he's gonna boom, that's gonna be the point, and the Holy Spirit's gonna fall, and everybody's gonna start going into tears and come to Jesus, right? The buses will wait, kind of thing. He doesn't do that, he just goes out and the Holy Spirit empowers him. He tells the story of the gospel and how Jesus is the Messiah. And it says, catch this. 3,000 people say yes to Jesus. 3,000. Can you imagine? I mean, that's just nuts. 3,000 people. You know, what do they do now? You think we got church problems trying to find an extra uh portable for some children? These guys got 3,000 folks all of a sudden trying to figure out what in the world are we gonna do with all these guys? But it's interesting that from that point we don't get a lot of detail. And just like churches today, they had their share of problems and struggles. So sometimes we can read the Bible with like kind of a perfection brush and say, okay, everything was good, there was no disunity, there was no problems, nobody had really any issues, everybody was all good, nobody ever sinned again. It was perfect, right? That's not the truth. That's not what that's not what the scripture tells us. In fact, later in Acts, you find problems. Even amongst leadership, there was division, there was struggle. But here's what you do see, verse 41 says this. Again, if you want to read along with me, you can. It's also on the screen. So those who accepted his message were baptized. Important, right? That not only confessed that they wanted to follow Jesus, but they were baptized. They followed through with an external sign of obedience. That's not what saved them, but it was hugely important to their conversion experience to say, I'm not just saying something, I'm gonna act on it, I'm gonna be baptized. And that day about 3,000 people were added to them. And they, this new people, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together, and they held all things in common, and they sold their possessions and their property, and they distributed the proceeds to all as anyone had a need. I mean, this is this is radical. This is transformational. This is big stuff here. They start selling their stuff so that they can meet minister to each other's needs. Every day, not just once a week, not just Sunday mornings at 11 a.m., like every day it says that they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex. Okay, so they still were going to the temple and there was an area they could sit in there and teach. But also, and they broke bread from house to house, so they hung out in each other's homes. They actually spent time together on a personal level. And they ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved. So, as we talk about a new kind of community that we just described, this beautiful picture of this group of people who were mostly, I'm sure, strangers to one another, all of a sudden coming together. One thing that you note is that this first phrase of kind of what they gave themselves to indicates kind of what they were rallying around. So, we're gonna unpack that together. We're gonna talk a little bit about this first phrase of who they are, what devotion means, who these apostles were, and what were they teaching. Okay, that's where we're gonna go. So, let's start with they. Who is they? Who are they? Um, so these first guys I already kind of mentioned this to you. It's 120 of these disciples, these followers of Jesus, and now 3,000 plus, we don't even know, it says kind of roughly around 3,000 uh chill people who've come to put their faith and trust in Jesus. Now they're all coming together, and what's cool is that it's an incredibly diverse group. I mean, amazingly diverse group. And if you've been a part of Point or you've heard us talk about this before, I love the fact that the gospel message is our core message, the good news, that it brings people together that shouldn't typically hang out together, or maybe wouldn't typically hang out together. Because in the message or in the scripture here, it says in verse 8 above, before we even started and kind of telling the story, it says that the people that were out on the streets that heard the gospel, it says that they responded with this. How is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? So they're confused, right, that they're hearing the gospel in their language. They're hearing this message from these disciples, these apostles speak in their language. And it says that they go on. And it says that uh that those who live in Mesopotamia basically they're they're just gonna start listing out the different people groups: Parthians, Medes, Elamites, those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia. I love that one. Uh Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Rome. There were some Jews, there were Cretans, there were Arabs. You get the point? Like these people were from everywhere. This is craziness. It's like New York City, okay? It's like all these people from all over, and they're here they are, and they're all hanging out, and and they're hearing the gospel message, and all of a sudden they come together. Listen, uh, I don't know that there's anything more unifying than the person of Jesus. And this is why churches should be diverse, they should reflect the community in which that church is a part of. And here is this diverse, really diverse group of people gathered together in Jerusalem. And what were they doing? Well, it says that they devoted. Now, I was thinking about this idea of devotion. Like, what does that mean to devote and kind of what pops in my brain? I don't know if you guys anybody in here like to watch um America's Got Talent? Like there, a few people. Everybody's like, eh. Um my kids like it. So I get sucked in to watching it. And there is the most random stuff on there. Like, these people are devoted. There is a guy on there who was doing a headstand on a spike, a metal spike, so that he could get on this thing. And like the guy is positioning himself, they're holding him, and then he's putting himself on there and balancing himself on this spike, and then when he gets off, he's got this gigantic. Does anybody see this? He's a gigantic indentation into his head. I'm like, who does this stuff? Like too many spikes to the head or something, right? And he just he gets, and so he, of course, he makes the show because he's he's willing to do something that's crazy. That's that's devotion uh to the to a random weird thing, but he's devoted, he's committed to this thing, right? And then uh the other thing, the other show that kind of piques me my interest, it's funny that to watch my my son, one of my oldest son loves to watch it is America Ninja Warrior. See, you guys maybe don't watch America's Got Talent, but I heard a lot of oh yeahs from that one. Because everybody loves watching people wipe out and hurt themselves and laughing about it, right? And so, you know, America's America's Got Talent's great, but these American, you know, this American Ninja Warrior thing, man, these guys are insane. They like build these obstacle courses in their backyard. They train all year long, they're doing like thousands of push-ups and sit-ups and pull-ups, and they're learning to climb and they're jumping, and then they're doing, and you watch it, you know, and they do all of it so that they get their little shot at glory. Try to do the obstacle course. I mean, there's some of them that make it like 10 seconds. It's like a whole year's worth of work, and they like make it to the first obstacle and they're in the water. I'm like, man, back to the drawing board, man. Like, that's a long work, a lot of work to just fall off that thing right off the bat. Point being, that's devotion. I mean, they are committing energy, effort, time. I mean, they are going at this thing hard. I know there's some of you out there that are CrossFitters. Those people, man, they are some devoted folks, right? They are. Anyway, that's a whole nother ballgame. I've had some conversations with guys. I'm like, wow, like you guys are super devoted. But whatever your picture of devotion is, you understand that devoted means that you continue daily to give your attention and effort to this thing. Right? To daily, over time, consistently giving your effort, your attention, your focus, your life to doing this. And it says that they devoted themselves. Well, the and I want you to understand something. That genuine conversion, as in what had just happened to them, genuine conversion, putting their trust in Jesus naturally leads to devotion. Let me say it differently. The byproduct of genuine conversion is devotion to follow Jesus. Now, this is a little bit of a scary thought, but I just want to kind of put it out there for you. Because we live in the United States, and because we are around a lot of people who have been social Christians along the way, at times you would probably have to say that either one, we have a lot of people that go to church that are not genuinely converted to Christianity, like they've never had a genuine conversion, because what you don't you don't see out of them is you don't see real devotion to God. Or two, we just have a lot of Christians who came to faith and they've kind of lost sight of who Christ is over time. Maybe they've gotten lazy, distracted, and into other things, and so they're not really walking in devotion. And here's the thing: you can't really tell who's in and who's out based on this group of people. Does that make sense? You can't really tell who's really with Jesus and who's really not because they look same, the same. You got Christians who live with their time, their money, their energy, and really there's no difference between the two. In fact, if you know anything about what's going on socially in the United States right now, spiritually speaking, we as a country are moving to post-Christendom. And I saw an interesting graphic this week that kind of just painted the picture that what's really happening is that people who used to go to church because it was the socially acceptable and encouraged thing to do have now stepped away from church. And so we're growing towards an unchurched, uh, unaffiliated group of people in the United States. It's not that those people ever really were walking with Jesus anyway. They were there to just socially hang out. I'm not making any accusations against you this morning. I'm asking us the question if conversion leads to devotion, where's our heart? Like if genuine conversion, which is when the Holy Spirit comes in and sets up shop and takes over, our desires change, our attitude towards Christ changes, our passions change. We aren't the same person as we were the day before we put our trust in Christ. Like if there's a a true shift there, then how is your devotion level to Christ? And what we see here is that these people they had a genuine conversion and therefore they devoted themselves. And notice again, they says they know devoted themselves. Wasn't like they were sitting there saying, okay, apostles, spoon feed us. Okay, you leaders, it's all about you guys doing everything for us. That's uh that's kind of the American way, right? That we need our church leaders to spoon feed us because we don't know how personally to just see God in private at home in his word. And again, everybody's at a different place in your journey. And so I just encourage you to know that as you walk with God, you can learn and grow and develop an intimate walk with Jesus every day of the week. It's not just about the Sunday gathering. It got a little quiet in here when I said that stuff. You guys okay? Are you still with me? So devotion. But the next thing we notice is that there's the apostles. Who are these apostles? Well, I'm not going to spend a lot of time on them, but I just want you to understand that these are men who were sent by Jesus under his authority and with authority. They were under his authority. In fact, it says it this way, Matthew 28. Jesus is coming to them at the very end before he transcend uh ascends and then leaves. It says, Then Jesus came near and said to them, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Who has all authority? Jesus does. That's right. He's the king, he's in charge. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So so far, these apostles, these disciples, have done what he said to do. They've gone out, they've shared the gospel, and they've baptized them. Right? So they came out under the authority of Christ and with authority. And that's huge because here's the thing. The question we need to ask ourselves is who are we letting teach us? Whose instruction are we sitting under? You know, the Bible warns that there's a day coming when many people will sit under the instruction of teachers who just tell them what their itching ears want to hear. Right? And there are a number of people in our world today, in the Christian circle, who claim the person of Christ, and yet when they open their mouths to teach, they're not teaching under the authority of Jesus because they are not teaching Scripture. They're not teaching that Jesus is the Savior. In fact, if you listen carefully, you'll find that they might even use the name of Jesus, but really they're pointing to themselves. It's dangerous, isn't it? You see, we need to test who we're listening to, who we're sitting under. You need to test me. I am not infallible. I am a man, I'm a human being, and I'm standing up here doing the best that I can with the word of God to try to teach, and I'm asking God for help and trying to stay humble before him and say, help up, help us, God understand what you're trying to say to us. But when you come to church here, we want you to know we're going to teach from God's word. Because you don't need my opinion and you need God's truth. You need God's insight, you need his direction, you need his timeless, transcendent word to speak into your life. And so when you think about who you're listening to, if those teachers are teaching things that are not in line with Scripture, you need to stop listening to them. Okay? You need to stop listening to them because they're not teaching you the truth. They're leading you to a path of destruction. The other thing is if you're listening to teachers, and those teachers are teaching things that don't point you to a need for Jesus, they don't point you to the person of Christ, then it's not biblical. It's not pointing you to what the purpose of what Scripture is all about. Are you with me? Like, listen, this is not a book of self-help. This is not a book of morality that you can fix yourself. This is a book of we need Jesus. That's what it says. In fact, Jesus said it in John chapter 5. Now, this gives me great hope because what that means is that there's actually a possibility that I can change. Because if I'm left to myself, I'm gonna try and then I'm gonna fail. I'm gonna try, I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna try, I'm gonna fail. I'm gonna try to be a good person, I'm gonna fail. I'm gonna try to be a good husband, I'm gonna try to be a good dad, I'm gonna fail. But when Jesus steps in, there's a chance. It's like that dumb and dumber. So you're saying there's a chance. I don't know why that just popped into my brain. Yeah, there's a chance. There's not only a chance, but it's possible. All things are possible with a God who loves us and who has got his plan and his purpose unfolding in our lives if we will humble ourselves and come to him and say, Jesus, I need you. I need you. So these apostles were under authority, they were with authority, and we need to make sure that the people we're listening to that are influencing us, that we are making sure that they are men who are speaking from God's word. Because this is for sure authority in our life. And it always points us to the person and work of Jesus and our need for Him. The last thing there is teaching, and I've already kind of touched on it and what we should be teaching, which is the Word. But I want us to understand that in order to live the way of Jesus, we need to continue to be teachable. One of the things I pray over my kids is, God, would you help my kids to be teachable? That's just so that I won't be so frustrated at them, you know? God, would you help them to be teachable? Would you help them not to ever use that phrase I know again? All the parents are like, eh, killer. But then think about how many times we say it. You know, they're just copying us. I know. But you know that the reality is we need to continue to learn. And I want us to be reminded to be mindful that our conversion, that the moment when we put our trust in Christ, is not the pinnacle of our walk with Jesus. That's not the pinnacle experience of salvation. Did you know that? What's cool is we get everything that we need in Christ the moment we put our trust in Christ. We are now freed, forgiven, redeemed. We have life in Christ. We are given everything that we need for life and godliness, is what the scripture says. And we have an eternal home with Him forever. And that's a promise that the Holy Spirit is sealed that will not be taken away from us. That's awesome news. But here's the thing: we don't live in light of the gospel every day, do we? Because many times we fall back into the same traps of trying to pursue idols, things that to fill our hearts that just can't. Sometimes that idol might be a spouse, sometimes that idol might be a child, sometimes that idol might be an item that we just have to have. Sometimes that idol might be a job. But all those things pale in comparison to what Christ has already given us. We have everything we need. He satisfies our souls. And yet we don't always live that way. That's the truth, but we don't always live in line with the truth. And so we need continual teaching, reminders. That's why I need people in my life who will say things to me that I don't want to hear, but I need to hear. People who will call me out and say, Nick, you're not living in light of the gospel right now. It's not about you. I need people in my life to say that stuff. I don't like it. I want to punch them in the face sometimes. Can a pastor say that? Yeah. Sometimes that's how I feel. Like I don't want to hear what you have to say right now. But that's because I, even in that moment, I'm making it about me. Even in that moment, I'm making it about like how I feel about what you're saying about me rather than what Christ has already declared, which is I am forgiven, I am free, I am redeemed, and nothing that you say can change that. And I need people that are bold enough to speak into my life truth, and you do too. And we're going to talk about that next week a little bit as we work together in community. But we've got to learn, we've got to be taught. And teaching isn't just a Sunday morning sermon issue, it's an everyday letting us speak to each other the gospel. It's not just about conveying information, but helping people actually apply it to their lives. Not just about, many of us in here are very intelligent about the Bible. We know the scriptures, we could quote scriptures, we've heard them since the time we were little. The question isn't do you know them? The question is do you do them? And that's a different issue, isn't it? The Pharisees were well acquainted with the text, with the scripture, but they missed the point. So, our core message, what is it? Because a new kind of community is built on a different kind of teaching. A new kind of community is built on a different kind of teaching. And I just want to just highlight three things that are evident as you read the Bible, okay? Three things that are evident as you read the Bible that are core foundational issues for our teaching. And if these things are things that you will hear over and over and over at Point Community Church, hopefully. Number one, our core message is about a person and not a process. Our core message, which is the gospel, the good news of Jesus, is about a person and not a process. Jesus is our salvation, Jesus is our redemption, Jesus is our rescue, Jesus is our healer, Jesus is our satisfier, Jesus is our helper. He is everything we need, right? God is those things to us. And so when we when we teach, again, we teach to the person and not a process. If you look at other religions in the world, you're always going to find a process that says, okay, here's how you can get better. Here's the path you to follow, and here's the hoops you need to jump through, and here's the things you need to do. Listen, Christianity is about a person. And not only that, but it goes on to it is trusting in that person rather than just trying harder to be a good person. This is so counterintuitive. And this is why I actually think that the gospel is offensive to a lot of us in this room because we got a lot of people in here who really feel like, if you're like me, I can do this. If I just try hard enough, if I just give it a little more time and a little more, oof, I can do it. And the Bible says, no, like we're all like sheep. And we all struggle, we all wonder, we all have a hard time. And that's why, like, whether you're inside the church or you're not, whether you're a believer here today or not, we still have the same need for Jesus. Christians, we're no better than any other human being on this planet. We are all in need of Jesus. No matter where we are in the process. The difference between the Christian is that we are forgiven sinners, but we're still sinners. We still need a Savior to rescue us. And that doesn't stop. And so we think about it, it's not just a person, it's a process. It's not just a process, it's a person to Jesus. It's not just trying harder, it's trusting in Him. In fact, we even call it the Christian faith, that we're trusting in Christ. And the last one is that it's about intimacy before activity. It's about intimacy. Now, I don't know what happens when you hear that word intimacy. For some people, they instantly go other places with like, oh, I guess this is like, you know, what is it? That's kind of weird. Why use it in this context? Well, the Bible talks all along about being in a close, connected relationship with God, where we know him because he already knows us. He already sees everything. In fact, there's some pretty scary scriptures in there where it says, you know, everything is uncovered and laid bare before God. There's never a time that we're like, you know, able to hide from God. It's not like, you know, way back in the garden, it's been our tendency to hide because Adam and Eve, they were in, and they're like, they wanted to play the first game of hide and seek from God. God's like, where are you? You know, it's like, that's so so silly, right? You can't hide from God. But yet we still try it. But it's being known by God, but also, but we know God, and that we have a connection with Him, a relationship. I want you to understand that Christianity, again, the way I always heard it as a kid, it's not about religion, it's a relationship. It became so cliche, but it is true, isn't it? It's not just about doing religious things, it's about walking with Jesus. It's about knowing him. In fact, it says in Scripture in John that eternal life is to know him. To know Jesus, to walk with him. And so, John 14, Jesus says things like, If you love me, you will obey me. What precedes activity for God? Love. When Jesus was asked, what's the greatest commandment? What did he say? Go to church on Sunday. That's the greatest commandment. Right? He says, Love me. And then love people. Love me. It's a heart issue. It's not an external conformity issue, it's an internal transformation issue, which is what we talked about this weekend with our ministry teams. He says there, he says, in um in that same, in that passage, you know, he just really calls us to remember that it's it's a holistic love for God that drives our behavior. And if you guys are type A's and you're still wondering like what the first blanks were at the very top, did anybody did they put that up on the screen? Did they put it in? Oh man, you guys weren't supposed to do that. It totally messed it up. That's okay. No. They're awesome back there. Um when we understand that at the core of our community is a belief system that shapes who we are, that then determines what we do. It's not vice versa. It's not like we do our activity, and then that kind of takes us. We we become a place where people can belong and they can learn how to believe the right things and then ultimately become like Christ. And that's what we really hope for. That's what we pray for, it's what we ask God to do here. But I want to remind you that God is again after our hearts, and that what he wants more from us is not what he wants most from us, is not just for us to be good people, to be moral. Because I said a while ago, this scripture, this Bible, catch this. It's not a book of morality, it's a book of transformation. And that transformation is only possible because of God, because of Christ. I want to be a part of a new kind of community. I want Point Church, Point Community Church to be a place where when we come, like we experience really dynamic community, but it starts with believing that everything we need is in Christ. And then we can really serve each other, not from a place of trying to get acceptance from one another, but a place of we have been accepted. And that changes everything. And we're gonna talk about that over the next two weeks. Let's pray.