you may be seated so good to have you in the house of the Lord the older that I
get the more I'll live on this earth the more I understand how important
relationships are and how important it is to be in community with one another
you know I can look back over my life and I can see how God placed me in an
amazing family you know sometimes when we're in the moment we don't understand
how great the moment really is but I look back now and I see how God put
people friends family in my life that not only held me accountable that not
only sharpened me but prayed with me supported me linked arms with me so that
I could weather the storms of life and I believe that is what God has intended
for all of us to live a life that is together
you see God intended us to have families and make community when he created Adam
he stood back and he said it's not good that Adam is alone and he created Eve
what he was doing was putting in the heart of every one of us community
family love he said Adam Eve I want you to go I want you to multiply increase
the earth he was saying I want you to grow your family strong bring the other
people that are in community with you see that's what God intended for every
single one of us to do I can truly say today that I am what I am NOT because of
all my great decisions not because I was so smart because I had people in my life
who helped me who motivated me who challenged me even when I didn't want to
hear it I listened it made a difference in my
life and I believe you could probably say the
same thing I've had good people in my life you see we need to be those good
people we were never intended to live this life
isolated as an island unto ourselves God intended us to be in community with
one another to motivate to strengthen and support one another you see that's
the healthy way to live Ecclesiastes says it like this two
people are better off than one for they can each help one another succeed if one
person falls the other one can reach out and help them up you see we need each
other but you're going to live a successful life you've got to understand
the people in your life that are like-minded are important and they are
worth developing a strong relationship with a strong community with good
relationships are two-way streets it's as much about what you give than what
you receive the Bible tells us to encourage one another daily it doesn't
say wait around to be encouraged it says we are to have an exchange of
encouragement on a daily basis do you know when you need encouragement the
greatest thing that you can do is to speak encouragement because when you
speak encouragement to them you literally breathe God's life into them
and as a result you breathe God's life into your own soul
you see God says this should be an exchange of encouragement
we can't live as Islands to ourself you know sometimes it feels like it would be
easier to do it alone doesn't it because sometimes the people in our life are
annoying and they're aggravating and their travel son but you know what God
is saying it's okay if you're with the right group of people
the people I've put you with you have potential in that group of people if
there are people in your family that you don't think that they can get it right
that's okay because you're there for them and I can tell you someone else is
there for you
it's interesting because I believe that we are happiest and our healthiest when
we are helpful to other people in fact there was a study on happiness and it
was interesting because it talked about what actions that we can do that create
this emotion of happiness within us and you would think it was when we go on
vacation that we are happiest when we get a present we're our happiest but it
was saying that the emotion of happiness is really a sense of when you are
helpful and your purpose is tied to someone else and helping them that gives
you the greatest heightened sense of happiness in fact it was interesting
they called it the helpful huh that's how they that's what they labeled it
it's the helpful huh yeah I can't imagine getting high on anything but
being helpful knowing that it's such a euphoric feeling it doesn't even have a
hangover you can be helpful and get high at the same time I believe that's why
this church works I believe that's what makes this church
what it is
because this church is a place that you can come and be loved and encouraged and
prayed for this church is a place that people will link arms with you and I
love this church because you don't have to be perfect to be loved you don't have
to be perfect no one's judging you they're just loving you and being
helpful you know it's interesting because we all have people around us you
know sometimes we think well god I can't help everyone but can I tell you that if
you'll look very closely God will have many people around you that you can
invest into that can be a part of your life I was talking about how you know
one way to be a helpful person is to be a person that has the best interest of
someone else and what I mean by that is the Bible says we're to be sharpeners to
one another and think about that word just a minute if you've ever cut your
hand on a knife you'll understand sometimes sharp things hurt they don't
always feel so good but God is saying I want the people in your life to sharpen
you as you sharpen them but that only comes from a trusted community a place
where you know there's a sincere love I can tell you that my greatest growth has
come when I've been challenged by the people that love me the most when I've
been held accountable by the people who love me the most because they not only
hold me accountable they not only sharpen me but they're
also there to link arms with me and support me you see that is where we're
gonna find help and growth what am I saying today I'm saying we're better
together we were meant to be together I found that this wonderful story about
the redwood trees in Northern California and these trees grow 350 feet up in the
air they grow very close together the interesting part is their roots are very
shallow there are only about five and a half feet underground
you would think something so incredibly tall would have to go very very deep in
the ground to hold itself up but the extraordinary fact about this
tree is that the roots don't go deep but they spread wide those roots find the
other tree's roots and they begin to intermingle their roots together and
they say that they find nutrition with one another and that literally the way
their roots are so intermingled they hold each other up but a tree in the
middle of those trees can die from old age and it can stay there a hundred
years because it's so intermingled with the other trees you see it finds its
strength in all climates from being woven together with the other trees so
it weather the winds are blowing the rains are coming down or whether there's
a drought there is always stability in the forests of the redwood trees and if
we could be as united together in our lives as those redwood trees are I
believe we could withstand any storm that we could withstand any drought
because we're not only holding one another up but we are giving nourishment
to one another you see God intended us to be together
he intended us to start in our families the Bible talks about giving your life
away who are you entwined with today who are
you investing in who are you giving your life to I believe there should be people
in our lives that we ask God can I invest in this person you say you can
give people money you can give them cars you can do nice things for them but can
I tell you when you give them your greatest commodity which is yourself it
makes all the difference in the world when you entwine your life with someone
else even if it's seasonal and you invest in them I believe that's when
you'll stand strong you'll grow and you will be able to withstand the
storms of this slide they men came in
you