Recap and Stories / Matthew 5:13-16
Celebrating What God Has Done
Welcome to all of you! To those joining us in the live venue, especially if you are a guest, we are so glad you are with us. To those watching this weekend via video at our other venues, we are so thankful that you came to hang out with us.
Coming out of an Easter season is a really exciting time. When you serve in pastoral ministry, you are always reflecting right after Easter and asking, “Lord, what did you do?” Truthfully, on Easter Sunday, after waking up from a nap—because across our campuses from beginning to end, we held about 16 gatherings—I was just overwhelmed by how nuts and how powerful it was. What made it so incredible was simply that the gospel was proclaimed. Whether you were at Fig hearing Josh or here at North hearing me, it was all about Jesus. We are thoroughly convinced that the gospel is still the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
We opened up the waters of baptism spontaneously. I know what some of you were thinking before the service: Spontaneous baptisms on Easter? People are in their Easter best—no way. But people got right in the water. In fact, at both campuses, we had to hire a carpet cleaning company afterward to suck gallons of water out of the carpet because it turned into a splash zone. By God’s grace, every year we have to hire carpet cleaners because so many people want to profess faith in Jesus Christ. It was a ton of fun. But what we want to do post-Easter is follow up. Welcome to Expo weekend.
“That’s Like Us”: The Power of Expectation
Think back over your life. Have you ever had a coach, a teacher, or a mentor who profoundly influenced you? Maybe not even spiritually, but they just marked your life. They are the kind of person where, years later, you find yourself repeating things they used to say—things you thought were totally corny back then, but now you say them all the time.
I had the privilege of sitting under great coaches as an athlete a hundred years ago. I got to play football for Coach Jim Sweeney. If you have ever been to Bulldog Stadium, that is Jim Sweeney Field—the house that Jim built. He was one of the most colorful and unique men I have ever met. He was a phenomenal football coach. He knew all three phases: offense, defense, and special teams. He could coach almost every position, or at least fake it until he made it. But above all, he was the greatest motivator I have ever seen.
Coach Sweeney had these corny phrases he would yell, and we had to repeat them back. Every practice during warm-ups, every pregame meal, every team meeting, he would yell, “Run to the ball!” and fifty guys would shout, “Run to the ball!” He would yell, “Light ’em up!” and we would yell, “Light ’em up!” He would shout, “Knock ’em out!” and we would roar, “Knock ’em out!” He had other phrases I will not repeat because we are in church. He would say, “No dogs down!” When you have fifty-plus guys yelling, “No dogs down!” it meant something: We are in this fight together. And, of course, he coined the phrase that still echoes around Fresno State: “Bulldog born, Bulldog bred, gonna be a Bulldog ’til the day I’m dead.”
The greatest gift Coach Sweeney gave to me and to everyone he coached was what he called “good self-talk principles.” I use them to this day with my family and with my kids when they compete. Good self-talk principles created total clarity about what was expected, and then either held you accountable to that standard or affirmed you for meeting it.
If we played physically as a team, he would look at us and say, “That’s like you!” You would stand a little taller and think, Yeah, that is like me. I’m a physical player. If the offense scored quickly, he would say, “That’s like us!” It called you up to the standard. But if you skipped class, he would pull you aside and say, “Hey, that’s not like you.” It meant: I expect more from you; you’re better than that.
That simple phrase—that’s like you or that’s not like you—stuck with me. When my kids demonstrate great work ethic, I tell them, “That’s like us. That’s who we are as the Bell family.” When they do well in school, I tell them, “Good job, that’s like your mother!”
The question I am wrestling with as we move into this Expo week is: What does that look like for a church? Do we have a standard given to us where we can look at one another and say, “Hey, that’s like us! That is who God has called us to be as a faith community”? And are things clear enough that when we fall short, we can lovingly say, “Hey, that’s not like us. Let’s not do that”?
A Biblical Snapshot of the Church
There is a passage that clarifies what we are invited to be as the local church. It is found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Thessalonica was located on the Via Egnatia, the major Roman highway connecting Rome to Byzantium. It was a bustling, diverse, wealthy port city with Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Roman converts to Judaism. It had the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor.
The Apostle Paul planted a church there. According to Acts 17, Paul was only there for a short time—perhaps just a few weeks or a month or so—yet this young church had an incredible influence on the entire region. In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul gives us a picture of a thriving local church.
He begins in verses 12 and 13 by outlining the expectation regarding church leadership.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 (NASB)
But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.
Paul is speaking here about church elders. The governing body of a local church should always be biblically appointed, character-tested men called elders, with qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Paul tells the church to respect these elders, hold them in high regard in love because of their work, and live in peace. When a church honors godly leaders, that’s like us.
Scripture holds elders to a remarkably high bar. In 1 Peter 5, elders are commanded to shepherd the flock of God willingly and eagerly, exercising oversight according to God’s will. In 1 Timothy 5, elders who rule well are worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. In Acts 20 and Hebrews 13, scripture warns that elders will give an account to God for how they shepherd the flock.
Our elders here at the church spend time every single week praying for you, loving you, and seeking to encourage you. There are times when elders also have to lovingly admonish someone. As scripture says, if someone wanders from the truth and is brought back, a sinner is saved from death and a multitude of sins is covered. Loving, biblical leadership and humble submission to that leadership—that’s like us.
How We Walk Together
Paul does not stop with leadership. In verses 14 through 18, he lays out the expectations for every single person in the body.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 (NASB)
We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
There are nine imperative commands packed into these short verses. Do you see the picture of what is supposed to be “like us”?
We admonish the unruly. When our fallen human nature creeps in and someone begins living in a way that dishonors the Lord, we come alongside them and speak truth in love.
We encourage the fainthearted. When you are waiting on a scary diagnosis from the doctor, or when you have a child who has walked away from the Lord and your heart is breaking, the church steps in to encourage you.
We help the weak. I love seeing the emails circulate across our body: someone is in need, surgery happened, or a crisis hit, and immediately the meal train starts. We step in and carry burdens. That’s like us.
We are patient with everyone. That is not easy, because patience requires dying to self when our flesh still wants everything to be about us. We do not repay evil for evil, but always pursue what is good for each other and for everyone. We rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.
Imagine what happens when a church treats these verses not as polite suggestions, but as our corporate identity. When we love like this, we can celebrate and say, “That’s like us!” And when we stray into bitterness or selfishness, we can correct one another and say, “Hey, that’s not like us.”
Powered by the Spirit and the Word
How do godly leaders lead with integrity? How do believers submit to authority? By what power do we carry out these commands? Paul answers that in verses 19 through 22.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NASB)
Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything [carefully]; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
First, do not quench the Spirit. To quench the Spirit means to stifle or get in the way of what God’s Spirit is doing in your life. When you trust Christ, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit convicts you when anger rises, when pride takes over, or when you throw a fleshly tantrum. You can choose to ignore the Spirit and follow your flesh, or you can surrender. The fuel of the Christian life is the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit prompts you to pray, to repent, or to reach out to someone, do not quench Him.
Romans 8:26 (NASB)
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for [us] with groanings too deep for words;
Second, do not despise prophetic utterances, but examine everything carefully. In the early church, before the New Testament was completed, prophets spoke direct messages from God. Today, we have the complete, inspired, 66-book canon of Scripture. The Word of God is our prophetic plumb line. Be careful of anyone who says, “God told me,” unless they are pointing directly to chapter and verse. We must evaluate every song, every sermon, every podcast, and every opinion against the Word of God. We hold fast to what is good, and we abstain from every form of evil.
God’s Faithfulness in Our Mess
Following Jesus is not a clean, effortless path. It can be messy. The closer you get to Jesus, the more your residual sin rises to the surface, like dross floating to the top of refined gold. Look at how Paul encourages us in the middle of our mess.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
Paul prays that God Himself would sanctify us entirely. Complete sanctification will not be fully realized on this side of eternity; growth in Christ is an ongoing, lifelong process until we see Him face to face. But verse 24 gives us our ultimate confidence: “Faithful is He who calls you, and He will bring it to pass.” God will finish what He started.
When we appoint character-tested elders who shepherd well, when the church joyfully supports them, when we encourage the weak, pray without ceasing, follow the Spirit, align our lives to Scripture, and trust God to sanctify us—friends, that’s like us.
The Life Change Process: Strategic Next Steps
Because our mission is to help people connect to God and to each other in every neighborhood, we want to remove ambiguity about what spiritual growth looks like. We want to offer clear, simple, and strategic next steps. We call this the Life Change Process.
This is not a rigid, linear checklist where you merely move from step one to step eight. Some of these are one-time milestones, while others are ongoing rhythms of Christian maturity. Here are the eight areas we are calling our church family to embrace:
- Community Life: We want everyone involved in a smaller group. Life change happens in circles, not just rows. Showing up only on Sunday and staying isolated is not like us. Deep relationships are where God transforms us.
- Proclaim the Gospel: We want you to be able to clearly share the good news of Jesus and your own faith story. When God brings you through trials—such as the pain of a miscarriage or a broken season—He equips you to comfort others walking that same road.
- Believe and Be Baptized: We celebrated over 80 baptisms last week, and that is only the beginning. We unashamedly desire for every person who walks through our doors to trust Jesus Christ and publicly profess their faith through baptism.
- Attend the Gatherings: We are committed to gathering regularly as a body.
Hebrews 10:25 (NASB)
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging [one another]; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
When we gather, we sing the Word, pray the Word, hear the Word, and experience God’s grace together. 5. Serve Faithfully: You find your life when you lose it for Christ’s sake. That means serving our city, but it also means serving within the church. This past Easter, when I called our kids’ ministry director to offer my family’s help, he said, “We’re fully covered! The volunteer army stepped up.” That is like us. Serving connects you to others and fills you with joy. 6. Be Equipped: We want to train you in biblical theology, marriage, parenting, finances, and apologetics so that when cultural storms blow in, you stand firm on a solid foundation. 7. Give Generously: We desire to be open-handed with our time, talents, and financial resources. Understanding biblical stewardship, giving faithfully, and living free from the bondage of debt is part of honoring God. 8. Active Membership:
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NASB)
For even as the body is one and [yet] has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not [a part] of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less [a part] of the body. And if the ear says, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not [a part] of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less [a part] of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; or again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those [members] of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need [of it]. But God has [so] composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that [member] which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but [that] the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if [one] member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
Church membership is not a country club roster; it is recognizing that every member of the body has a vital function. We need one another to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Taking Your Next Step Today
Taking next steps together—that’s like us.
When you walked in today, you received a program with practical opportunities to plug into each of these areas. As we close early today, both here and at our video venues, we are shifting from lecture to lab. Expo is waiting for you right outside these doors.
If you have been attending without getting connected, or if you feel isolated, do not wait. Today is your day to take initiative. Stop letting the people around you remain strangers you merely sit next to on Sundays; let them become the community you do life with.
Let’s pray together.
Father, thank You for Your Word and for the beauty of the local church. Thank You for godly elders who shepherd faithfully, and for a congregation that loves and pursues You. Lord, show us where we are and give us the courage to take our next step. Help strangers become friends, and help friends lock arms so that we may walk intimately with Jesus Christ. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.