The Only Family that Will Last Forever · Part 1

0:29 The Only Family That Will Last Forever. You know, in life, it's very important at different times in your life to pause and just stop and ask the question, why? Why am I doing this? What am I doing and why am I doing this? Why always determines how and how long. Now, we're going to start at the beginning. Watch up here on the screen. The Bible says in Hebrews 2.10, God is the one who made everything. That's where we start. We start with God made everything. And all things are for his glory. You and every plant and animal and rock are for his glory. But he wanted to have children to share his glory. The Bible says God invented the universe because he wanted a family. God wasn't lonely. God is love. But he didn't need us.

1:21 but he wanted a family to love and to share his glory. And so he created the universe. Now the Bible says this in Ephesians chapter one, God's unchanging plan from the very beginning of time has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. So the whole reason everything exists is God wanted a family and he wants that family to be with him forever and ever and ever. He puts us here on earth as a trial test. But what is that family called? Well, we've talked about this before. That family is called the church. Jesus said in Ephesians, excuse me, Jesus said in Matthew 16, verse 18, I will build my church. He didn't say, I'll build a government.

2:13 He didn't say, I'll build a nation. He didn't say, I'll build a business. He said, I will build my church. Jesus is only interested. that God is only interested in his family. Everything else is gonna burn up. The only thing on planet Earth that's gonna last is God's family. He says, I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not defeat it. The most successful human movement of all time is the church of God. 2.3 billion believers, followers of Christ. The church is the largest organization on the planet. Nothing comes close. The church at 2.3 billion believers is bigger than China. The church is bigger than China and the United States and all of Europe put together. Nothing as big as the movement of God. You're not just part of an organization.

3:06 You're part of a movement, and that movement is going to go on for eternity in heaven. Jesus said, I will build my church, and no dictator and no ism can stop it. Now, sometimes you hear people say, well, I love Jesus, but I don't need the church. No, no, that's a really big mistake people make because you can't love Jesus without loving his bride, his body, his family, his flock. You can't love Jesus. In fact, the Bible says this in Ephesians chapter five, verse 25. Christ loves his church. Whatever he loves, you better love too. Christ loves his church and he gave his life for it. Christ died for the church. So don't ever say it's unimportant. Don't ever say it's, the only people that are gonna be in heaven is the church. Nobody else is, that's his family.

4:00 It's his family. Now it has different labels on it. Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Catholic, Nazarene, Calvary Chapel. All the labels are irrelevant. The fact is, the people who are the followers of Christ that are part of his family, that's all that's gonna be in heaven. And he built the universe because he wanted a family. Now, let's just start with the basics. What is a church? When I say the word church, some people think of a building. No, a church is not a building. A church is not a location. So when I say church, people think of something they go to attend. People often say, well, I'm going to church. Technically, that's a wrong statement. The church is not something you attend, It's a family that you belong to. Really, it'd be more accurate to not say I'm going to church, but saying I'm going to a worship service, or I'm going to a Bible study, or I'm going to a fellowship, or I'm going to an activity of the church.

5:01 You can't go to a church. A church is not an event. It has events, but the church is the family of God. Church is not an event you attend. it is a family you belong to. Does that make sense? Okay. So it's not something you go to to actually say, well, I'm going to church. You really mean to say, I'm going to worship or I'm going to service or I'm going to Bible study or whatever. It's not a place. It's not an event. It's not an institution. I'm going to give you a very specific biblical definition of the church. I'd like for you to write these four phrases down. Okay. Number one, because once I and explain this, then I'm gonna show you five benefits of being a part of God's family. Number one, what is a church? The church is God's family on earth and in heaven. God's family on earth and in heaven. The church isn't just on earth.

5:58 Many people are already in heaven. So some of the church, that's God's family, is already in heaven. Some of the church is still here on earth. but the church is both in heaven and on earth and it is God's family. First Timothy chapter three, verses 14 and 15 says this. I'm writing to you so that you'll know how to live in the family of God. We need to learn how to live in God's family. That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth. So anytime you talk about church, you're talking about God's family. Anytime you talk about God's family, You're talking about the church. There is no family of God outside of the church. It is the same. So it's God's family on heaven and earth. Number two, it's composed of saved and baptized believers. The church is composed of saved and baptized believers.

6:56 Now you might have your name on a roll as a child in some church, but that doesn't make you a part of the church. It just means you're on somebody's roll. You have to be saved and you have to be baptized. to be a part of the church of God. Let me just show you what Jesus said. Mark chapter 16, verse 16. Whoever believes in me, Jesus said, and is baptized will be saved. But whoever refuses to believe will be condemned. Now, some people look at that and go, oh, are you saying that I have to be baptized in order to be saved, that it's essential for salvation? No, I'm not. No water will save you. Only Jesus can save you. No water will save you. But if you really are saved, you want to be baptized.

7:44 It's a contradiction to say, well, I'm a follower of Christ, but I don't do what he tells me to do. That's a contradiction. So maybe you're not really saved. Baptism is what I call the wedding ring of the Christian life. This ring doesn't make me married. It was the commitment in my heart that made me married when I said I do. This ring is the outward expression. it reminds me, oh, I made a vow in my heart. Baptism is the wedding ring of the Christian life. It doesn't make you a Christian. It shows that you are. And anybody who refuses to be baptized, you had every reason to doubt they've had a commitment in their heart. Because the first thing Jesus said is, be baptized as this outward symbol of your inward commitment. So it doesn't make you a Christian, but notice he says, anyone who believes and is baptized, which comes first believing or baptism believing right you believe and then you're baptized now if you were baptized before you were believed before you believed it didn't count you don't get any blessing from that you need to do it again because you it mean it meant nothing you just got wet okay that's all it means it only baptism only matters if you believe first some of you don't even remember your baptism. So how could you possibly believe? Because maybe you weren't even old enough to know that. So you believe, Jesus said, and then you're baptized. Let me show you a couple of other verses. Acts chapter two, verse 38. This is the day of Pentecost. This is the day that Jesus began his church. And Peter preached this sermon. He said this, repent and be baptized, this is the first day of the church, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin. Then God will give you his Holy Spirit. Now in Romans chapter eight, it says, if you don't have God's spirit, you're not a Christian. You're not saved. To not have God's spirit would mean you don't really know the Lord yet. So he says, whoever believes in being baptized,

9:50 he'll be saved. And then Peter says, repent and be baptized. Now in that verse, which one comes What's first, repent or be baptized? Repent, right? So if you were baptized before you repented, it didn't count. As I said, it was just a nice little ritual, but it meant nothing. You got no spiritual blessing out of it because you didn't even know what the meaning of baptism was. It comes after you believe and it comes after you repent. Now, here's what happens. Same day, Acts 2 verse 41, it says, But then those who believed, they believed first, were then baptized, see believing comes before baptized, and then they became part of the church. Baptism is the entry door to the church. About 3,000 people that day. So baptism doesn't bless you if you did it out of order.

10:44 And if you believed after you were baptized, you need to be baptized again. Because it didn't mean anything, It didn't mean what the meaning of baptism is all about. All right? So it's God's family on earth. It's composed of saved and baptized believers. Third part is this. It's people who are committed to Jesus and each other. To be a part of the church means I'm not just committed to Jesus. I'm committed to the other people in my church family.

11:15 A church means I am committed to Jesus and to each other. Now let me show you a few verses about this. 2 Corinthians chapter eight, verse five. First, it says, they gave themselves to the Lord, and then, second, by God's will, they gave themselves to us as well. This is what we call the first base commitments at Saddleback. First, you give yourself to the Lord, and then you give yourself to a group of other Christians. The first one makes you a Christian. The second one makes you a church member. let me say it again first they gave themselves the lord that's how you get saved you give your life to the lord and it says and then they gave themselves to us as well that's what it means to be a church member you become a christian by giving your life to christ you become a church member by giving yourself to a group of other people say that's going to be my spiritual home That's gonna be my family.

12:19 That's gonna be my spiritual base for my life while I'm here in this area, whatever. It is a commitment not simply to Christ. It's a commitment to another group of other people. And we're gonna look at that today. Let me show you some other verses. Romans 12, verse 10 says, you are to be devoted, circle this, to each other. Not just to God. You are to be devoted to each other as brothers and sisters in God's loving family. That's what it means to be a church member. You're not just committed to Christ, you're committed to his family. You're committed to your brothers and sisters in that family. Romans chapter 14, excuse me, Romans 12, verse four and five. In Christ's body, each member belongs to who? All the others. Do you realize this?

13:12 that in this church family, I belong to you. You belong to me. We belong to each other. That's what it means to be a member of a family. Now notice it has the word member there. Sometimes you'll hear people say, I've actually heard preachers on the radio say this. Well, there's no such thing as church membership in the Bible. That's just nonsense. The word member came from the Bible.

13:35 There was no word member until it was in the Bible. The word member is used about a hundred times in the New Testament. The whole concept of membership was only about the church until other people picked it up and all of a sudden, you know, American Express says membership has its privileges. No, so now you can be a member of my book club, you can be a member of my Facebook following, you can be a member of some of the Rotary Club, you can be members of a million other things, But the word member came from the Bible. And it's talking about being a member of a local body of Christ. And it's used in a very different way. It's not talking about secret handshakes and funny hats and passwords and stuff like that. What is it talking about in member? Well, look on the screen.

14:27 1 Corinthians 12, 12 to 14. Just as your body has many members. What are we talking about there? Your hand is a member of your body. Your ear is a member of your body. Your eye is a member of your body. Your nose, your spleen, your liver. These are all members of your body. Just as your body has many members, and each member of your body is unique. The liver doesn't do what the heart does. All your members together form your single body physically. So it is with Christ's body. He says it's the exact same thing. Physical parallel to a spiritual parallel. The Christ body is the church. He said all the members of the church make up the body of Christ. All right? So he's saying here that only as you're connected does it really, really matter. And then he says the rest of it.

15:23 He says this. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, regardless of our background, whether Jews or Gentiles or slaves or free, we all receive God's spirit. He said, it doesn't matter what your background is. Religious background, ethnic background, language background, racial background, none of that really matters. He says, regardless of your background, we all receive God's spirit. That's what puts us in the body. We're baptized into one body, so the body isn't made up of just one member. it's all the members connected together. What is that saying? It's saying this. You are not the church of God by yourself. You are not the family of God by yourself. You're not the body of Christ by yourself. Only as we are connected together are we the family of God.

16:20 Are we the body of Christ? Are we God's church? I'm not the church. You're not the church. But together we are the church. And he said it's in that connection. So only in connection to other members are you actually in God's family. If you're not connected to other members, how are you in God's family?

16:41 So what does that mean then? What does that mean, the body, to be a part of the body of Christ? Look at these verses. First Corinthians 12, 25. The way God designed our bodies, physical bodies, is a model for understanding our lives together as a church. It says, okay, look at your body, and then you'll figure out how the church operates. Every part is to be dependent on the other parts. I can't say that I don't need this part or I don't need that part. We all need each other and we are to be dependent on the other parts. It was his intention that we live our lives together. Wow, some powerful words from Pastor Rick. And now this really is one of my favorite parts of the broadcast, letters from our listeners.

17:37 Here's Rick. Friends, it's exciting to get letters from all over the world from people whose lives are being transformed by God's word as they listen to the Daily Hope broadcast. Here's one from Rafael in Brazil who says, listening to the podcast is a regular part of his morning routine. He wrote, Dear Pastor Rick, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the Daily Hope podcast. I listen to it every single day. I started listening to it to improve my English skills. Good idea. But then it turns out that it improved me as a servant of God. I use it as my daily devotional, and it's become one of the first things I do in my routine every day. It has changed my spiritual life. And every day when I get up, my first thought is, what am I going to receive from God today through the Daily Hope podcast? Pastor Rick, I also try to share the messages that impact me the most with my family and with my parents and with the people from my church. I've shared some messages with my father because he's also learning from it. Sadly, he doesn't know English because of that. Sometimes I translate the message into Portuguese for him so he can understand it.

18:47 Wow. Thanks for writing, Raphael. And I'm really blessed to hear how you wake up every day expecting God to speak to you. Psalm 130 verse 5 says, I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised. You know, it's wonderful to know that God's using daily hope to strengthen your faith and that you are using it to help your friends and family learn to hear from God too. So Raphael, thank you for taking the time to translate Daily Hope for your father. That shows that you really care about him, and you care about others learning the hope that we have in Jesus. Now, our team, I'm going to say this to everybody, our team is working really hard to translate Daily Hope teaching, and as new languages become available, we're going to post them for free on rickwarren.org. That's rickwarren.org.

19:41 you can go and see the translations we've already got. And if you can help us by financially supporting a translation, that would make all the difference in the world. So I'd like to encourage all of our listeners to share daily hope with your friends and your family. We want everybody to keep hearing that there's hope in God's word and in God's sight. God bless you.