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The River ChurchSermons

Spiritual Instigators

Justin Dean · Sunday, 23 August 2026 · 44:32 · 6,438 words

Listen to this message

The book of Hebrews calls believers to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together. Drawing on Hebrews 10:24‑25 and James 2, the speaker shows that genuine faith expresses itself through deeds and that Christians are meant to be a living testimony of the gospel in community. The message asks listeners to encourage and be encouraged, to join a growth community, and to take a step of faithfulness this week. A stir stick is given as a reminder to keep stirring one another up for the gospel.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

stir 47 encourage 26 instigate 7 james 13 picture 18 troublemaker 5 fast 12 together 28 neglect 9 work 33 let 27 apostles' 4

Topics

Faith 5 The Gospel 5 Salvation 2 Prayer 2 Sin 1

Scripture referenced 8

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Hebrews 10 4:10 Hebrews 10 6:27 Hebrews 10:24 6:27 Hebrews 10:25 6:27 James 2 11:01 Acts 2 27:04 Acts 2:42 27:11 Acts 2 27:15

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

week. You may have noticed I got a little fired up in the book of Hebrews. I love the book of

Hebrews. It's, I think it was one of the first commentaries I ever bought when I was starting

off church ministry, just because one, there is so much rich history that if you don't study it,

you wouldn't really know. But then two, it just provides such a wonderful picture of who Christ

is and then who we are called to be because of it. And it's really important that we approach it

with that mindset of who we are meant to be. And when the author, or I made the case last week for

the preacher of Hebrews, as he looks and he says, let us do these things. And so there's all these

different pictures that he gives throughout this book where he looks and he says, let us do this.

Let us do this. And some of you, when I made the joke about lettuce last week, you thought that I was

joking that it sounded like that. And then you told me throughout the gathering or throughout

the sermon, you were like, no, I actually started hearing lettuce all the time, right? And then

after gathering, I got many different pictures of the Kroger, or not the Kroger, the Meyer lettuce

aisle. So I know some of you do your shopping right after gathering. I know I got some pictures of

lettuce, right? It's fun.

But really that picture is meant to remind us of it's this journey of us together. Let us do these

things. Let us do these things. Both preacher and Christian in general, let us do these things

together. And unfortunately, when we look at the world today, and specifically, I think sometimes

the mindset that we get in as believers is, it's me. I have to do it. I have to figure it out.

I have to grit my teeth.

But also only these things impact me. So only these things matter. But when we look at what

the Christian life is supposed to be, it's supposed to be in this wonderful community with

God, and then also in wonderful community with his people. And so we are called to live

differently. And so I'd encourage you, grab your Bibles, open up to the book of Hebrews. If you

don't have a Bible this morning, I encourage you, grab your phone, open up to a Bible app. Or if

you don't have a Bible this morning, I encourage you, grab your phone, open up to a Bible app. Or if

you don't have a Bible this morning, I encourage you, grab your phone, open up to a Bible app. Or if

you don't have a Bible this morning, I encourage you, grab your phone, open up to a Bible app. Or if

you stop by guest services, there are Bibles back there. They can get you one. You can take it home

for free. We want you to have God's Word. I encourage you, if your Bible's been sitting at

home collecting dust on the shelf, dust it off. Or you can bring it dusty. I don't care. And come and

bring it with us because we're going to be diving into God's Word. Let's pray before we dive into

God's Word together. Lord, we come to you this morning and we open up your Word to be transformed.

Come to your Word just for head knowledge. We don't come to your Word just as a textbook to be

studied to fill out a test. Lord, we come to your Word to be transformed. Lord, it is living and

breathing and it cuts through to our hearts, Lord. And I pray that you would help us to come to you

this morning with that intention. Lord, I pray that you would calm our hearts. Lord, whatever

trouble is stirring in our lives,

Lord, let us lay it before you. Not lay it aside to pick it back up, but for us to lay it before you,

Lord, because you know all things. You see us, Lord, and you know what we're walking through,

Lord. And so I pray that you would meet us this morning in wherever we're at, in whatever we're

walking through, Lord, and transform us there so that we can be your people and wherever you've

placed us. Lord, we love you in your precious and holy name. In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, so like I said, grab your Bibles, open to Hebrews. We're going to be in Hebrews

chapter 10. We're actually picking up right where we left off last week. And so remember I said

when we look at this book, really, it reads very much like a sermon, and we don't get a specific

author. I believe that that author is Paul. And so if you hear me say preacher or you hear me say

Paul, that's why, right? But it is kind of debated, but that's definitely where I land,

and that's where most of our staff lands. So when we look, though, if we're talking about this as

a sermon, right, we have split this up into two weeks, right? And so it reads as like almost

two different thoughts, right? Because we tackled one thought last week, and then now we're tackling

his next thought this week. But for the people who are hearing the

book of Hebrews, right, they are hearing this as one continuous thought. And as the author is

presenting this, he's presenting this as one continuous thought. So the idea is this flows

directly out of what we talked about last week. And so when we talk about this idea of who Jesus

is, and so we spent a long time of talking about who Jesus is, right? He's our high priest. He is

our sacrifice. And that's this picture of the gospel. And

out of that picture of the gospel, we have this assurance of faith, this confidence that comes

from knowing who Christ is in our lives. And that allows us to hold fast to the gospel and live it

out during trying times, circumstances, whatever is going on, temptation, struggles that we may

have. We can hold fast to that which is steady, which is the gospel in Christ Jesus. So when we

coming out of that, we look and we see that the author or the preacher looks and he says, okay,

here is how you continue to do that. Here's how you continue to hold fast. Here's how you continue

to remember the goodness of the gospel. Here's how you continue to have confidence. And here's

where we pick up. Hebrews chapter 10, starting in verse 24, going through verse 25, it says this,

and let us consider how to

stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of

some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Read that

one more time. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting

to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you

see the day drawing near.

There is a lot to unpack in these two short verses. He looks and he says, okay, how is the

Christian life lived out? And then how do we maintain our focus on it? How is a Christian

life lived out? What does it boil down to? And then how do we maintain our focus on it together?

And so right away we see, and let us consider how to stir up

one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Right away, there's this picture of how is the Christian life lived out? He says, okay, we have to stir one another to love and good works. So if you're going to encourage one another to do something, it should be to love people and to demonstrate that love through good works to other people. Remember how I said this was a continuing thought? He looks and he says, okay, you have this

gospel and you recognize the confidence and assurance that it brings you in your life and the

need to hold fast. So how do you hold fast? Or what is it that you're holding fast to? Is it just simply

this proclamation, this declaration of Christ in your life? No, no, no. It's the living out of this

declaration of Christ. Because the question could come right after he says things like hold fast, as he said things

like have confidence, right? He talked about this personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The mindset could immediately go of these Christians who are hearing this, okay, so what

we're supposed to do is all basically become sequestered monks, right? Or nuns, right? That's

what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to go into our homes, shut the door, and not interact

with the rest of the world because the rest of the world makes it difficult for us to hold fast.

Hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so we should look to challenge ourselves as little as

possible to aid ourselves in the holding fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul looks and

says, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not the reality. The reality of a life lived for God,

the purpose is to be this holy priesthood, to be his people in the world. You are here so that

people encounter a testimony to Jesus Christ. There's no other reason that you're here, right?

Because otherwise, if you weren't here to be a testimony of Jesus Christ, what happened is the

moment you became a believer, you would go to heaven, die and go to heaven. The reason, and Paul

really expands on this when we talk about how these things continue together. He says,

to live is Christ, to die is gain. So he says, the idea of us dying is only gain,

because we go and spend eternity in heaven. He goes, so to live is simply to be a testimony,

a living testimony of Jesus Christ in our world. And so when he talks about this idea of what we

should encourage one another to do, it's to live a life that is good works and love. So this light

of the gospel, it's living it out with love and good works. Living out a transformed life means

for people and loving them through the gospel and giving testimony with our lives to the person of

Jesus Christ. How does that mean works? Turn with me to the book of James. In James chapter two,

he really puts it plainly. And I love how James writes because it is just so clear.

It is so blunt. And most of the time I need blunt. I need a two by four to the face. And so in

James two, James looks and he says, some of you are looking and saying, I don't need to do anything

for my faith to be real. He says, well, yes, but also no. Here's what he says. James two,

14 through 19. We're going to read through this. I'm not going to spend a lot of time here

because really it's a sermon. It's a multiple sermons in and of itself, but it says this,

what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith,

but does not have works, can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed

and lacking in daily food, and one of you say to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled

without giving them the things needed for the body. What good is that? So also faith by itself,

if it does not have works is dead, but someone will say you have faith and I have works.

Show me your faith apart from your work.

And I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one, you do well,

even the demons believe and shudder. And so here's this picture, right? Where James looks and he says,

okay, some of you are saying that your works do not matter, that what you do does not matter.

And he goes, but that doesn't mean that they're obsolete. He says, faith without works is dead.

So we know that we play no part in our salvation, that we,

the only part we have in our salvation is messing things up, right? It's our sin.

We did things wrong. We've done evil, wrong, messed up things. Every single one of us in this room,

we have sinned. We have fallen short of the glory of God. We are at enmity with God,

not because of what God did, but because of what we did. But God loved us enough,

cared for us enough that he sought our redemption and restoration. How? He sent Jesus Christ,

his son, both God and man,

to live a perfect life, not sinning, and then to go to the cross and endure the wrath of God

and die in our place, to take on the sin, our sin, our messed up evil self. He took that on.

And where we were at war with God, he took the punishment, the wrath that we earned,

died, and on the third day, rose again from the dead, conquering death and providing to

us life, redemption, restoration. And the call is to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is

Lord and believe in your heart that he has risen from the dead. There is nothing there for us

except response. We only messed it up. God only sought our redemption. But as we're transformed,

we begin to look differently. There is a difference in saying, I believe in Jesus Christ.

I believe that God is real. I believe

that Jesus lived. And Christ is my Lord and Savior. One denotes allegiance. One denotes loyalty. One

denotes a change in standing and how we live life. This is just simply an assertion of truth.

And so what James looks here and he says, okay, some of you just say, I believe in God. You know

the cross. The demons, they know. They were watching. Satan has read God's word. He hates it.

He actively lives against it. The demons hate everything that God is about, but they

believe that he exists. And so what James is saying here is there's difference in just simply

believing that there is an existence and an assertion that Christ is the Lord of your life.

What do they do? They command and we as their servants, as the people who say, this is my Lord,

we obey and do. And so what James looks and he says, he goes, faith, a crucial part of having faith

is living differently because of that faith. Now that doesn't mean that those works save you. But

what James looks and he says, he goes, you want evidence for the faith you have? You want evidence

for my faith? Look at how you can live differently because of that faith. And so what James looks

at is how Christ has transformed me. And when he looks and he proclaims to the rest of the world,

you want to see the value of Christ? You want to see what Christ has done in me? Look at my life.

Look at how my life is different from the lives of people around me. And specifically, he gives a

very real circumstance. He says, okay, so if I encounter someone who is in need of clothing or in need

of food, and I look at them and say, I have plenty of clothes back at home. I have plenty of money for

food. My pantry is full. I have a nice water bottle on me. And they're hungry, thirsty, and without

clothing. And I look at them and say, I'll pray with you that you would find someone that has

clothing for you and food for you and water for you. All right, go in peace. And then you go on

your way. That is not demonstrating the gospel. That is not living as though Christ is Lord because

we're commanded to care for those people.

To love those people. And so this picture of love and good works is how the Christian life

is lived out. That we would care for people. We would demonstrate in good works the love that we

have for people. And that as a process of that, we would show them the ultimate piece of love,

which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That as we encounter people and we share the blessing of

the good news of Jesus Christ, that we would also show them that we care for them as much for their

bodies as we do for their souls. And so we live that out. We live that out. Our faith saves, but

our works are evidence of a transformed life. This is the gospel and this is how the gospel

is lived out. It reminds me, I probably shouldn't reference the office on stage,

but I'm going to for this morning. You know, there's this scene,

where the boss, Michael, he's in some financial trouble. And they said, the only way out is for

you to declare bankruptcy. And so he walks out into the rest of the office and he yells,

I declare bankruptcy! And then he walks back in and they're like, Michael, you know that like,

you can't just declare it. Like you have to do it. Like actually go and declare bankruptcy. And he's

like, no, no, no. I didn't just say it. I declared it. Right? Sometimes we think that that's how the

life works, right? Oh, well, I didn't just, I didn't just say I was a Christian. I declared that

I was a Christian. I posted it all over my Facebook. I've started to make all these Christian videos

that I've put out on TikTok. I reposted that post that came across my page that said like,

repost this if you love me and it's a picture of white Jesus. Right? Like I did that. And so

I'm good. Like I'm saved. And we look and say, no, no, no, no. That's not what it looks like.

James says, no, no, no. That's not what it looks like.

What it looks like is loving people and living that out with good works. We're not saved by our

good works. Our good works don't earn us merit. But we look and we say, if you're a transformed

person, if you are someone who has been redeemed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

and you can say, I am a sinner. I was messed up. And God stepped into my life. That should

give you a heart for other people who have not been saved or people who have been saved who are

hurting, who are struggling because God met you when you were struggling. And so there is this

picture of being a testimony of Christ Jesus, both in word and in deed, how we live out. And so that's

where Paul looks and he says, okay, or the writer looks and he says, okay, so let us consider as

we're holding fast to our confession of hope, let us consider how to stir one another up to these

love and good works. But then there's that, that picture, right? Where he,

he uses a very interesting phrase, right? He says to stir one another up. We don't do these things

naturally. We naturally do not want to care for other people. We have enough stuff that's going

on in our lives that how can we care for and stir up the people around us? We naturally are bent

towards selfishness. That's really what got us into this situation in the first place. We have

our own selfish desires and we put ourselves in the situation of selfishness. And so we have to

pursue those rather than pursue the commands of a holy God. And so what Paul says is there is this

natural inclination for us to not be moved towards love and good works. So what we have to do,

let us, right? There it is. Let us be moved and move one another towards these love and good works.

Let us do this together and let us not,

let people of the body of Christ fail to do that. This requires a prompting from one another. The

writer looks and says, you need to pokes it out of one another. It's interesting. When I was in

college, I was known as a bit of a troublemaker. Shocker, I know to many of you. And for all the

dumb things that I did, those things honestly didn't make me the troublemaker. The thing that

made me the troublemaker is I was a little bit of a troublemaker. I was a little bit of a troublemaker.

I was very proficient at getting other people to do dumb things, right? And so when something would,

I would see an opportunity for some trouble to be made, I would be like, hey, you should do that,

right? I bet you can't do that, right? And then now the trouble gets to be made and really my

hands are clean and I get to watch it and have fun, right? That was my mindset. And I remember

there was this moment when I was at college where I realized, man,

I am causing a lot of harm, havoc, stupidity. As a believer, should I not be using this power,

right? For good, right? Should I not be using this thing that I have, right? This ability to

stir up trouble, to stir up spiritual trouble, right? When I say spiritual trouble, I don't

mean negative things spiritually. I mean, we live in this world that's overwhelmingly

dark and evil. And so rebellion in a dark and evil world looks like living for the gospel.

And so when I look and say, well, I'm going to stir up some spiritual trouble,

that's not creating doubt, that's encouragement. And so in my last year and a half,

I made it my mission for the 50 guys that lived on my floor with me, for us to be deeper because

of who I was. That's all I wanted. I wanted us, the guys around me, to look more like Jesus,

because of who I encouraged them to be. Because I wanted to stir up spiritual trouble. I was an

instigator, but I wanted to instigate no longer stupidity, foolishness. I wanted to instigate

spiritual growth. That is the call of each and every one of us as believers, that we instigate

spiritual growth in this room by being intentional.

The author here doesn't say, and let us just be stirred up together somehow. No, he looks,

and let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works. It should be a thought

on our mind to look and say, how can we as the body of Christ, how can me and the people around me

look more like Jesus? It requires this intentionality. Sometimes we expect,

for godly community, we expect for this understanding of God's word, we expect for

godly friendships to just fall into our laps. That, okay, if I show up to this building on Sunday

morning, that I will just happen upon these things. And the only thing that it takes from me

is simply being present. No, he looks, he says, okay, there has to be this intentionality, both

of us in seeking and in us.

In producing, that we have to look and look to intentionally seek these things out. Now,

sometimes God is extremely gracious to us, and he does help them to fall into our laps.

But far more often, if that is something that you want to seek, that's what it looks out like

to live out love and good works, is to seek those things out. Look at Acts chapter 2,

verse 42. It's going to be on the screen. Don't turn there, because we're not going to be there

too long. It says this. This is the Acts 2 church.

Right? This is what Christianity spawned out of. This was the first church that formed. It says

this. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread

and prayers. So there's this picture where they looked and he said, the two things that they were

devoted to were the apostles' teaching, which many of us would say is way more important, right? If we

were preaching, I would gladly give them the pulpit every single Sunday. And we would look and say,

oh, that's what's most important. But they looked and said, there is a both to the apostles' teaching

and to fellowship. How did that play out, right? Through the breaking of bread, which is eating

together, and through prayers. So they looked and they said, okay, so these two things,

the apostles' teaching and fellowship, are what we should be devoted to intentionally

intentionally. And so they were doing these things. They were devoted to these things.

And they knew that they needed help to remain intentional to the ways that they devoted

themselves to these things. Why? Because they produced this love and good works in their lives.

They knew they had to stir one another up. They had to instigate these things being produced in

their lives. Why? Because they wouldn't normally happen. And so they had to be,

intentional, intentional to the spiritual nourishment through teaching, preaching,

God's word, Bible studies, books, all these different things, and doing that together,

together. And so there's this mindset to be unified, to stir one another up, and to be in

fellowship. And so look back. He says, let's, let us stir one another up, continuing to love and good works,

verse 25, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.

Once again, we see that phrase, let us, and then not neglecting to meet together. He looks and he

says, we do this together with one another. Unfortunately, there has developed this common

misguided expectation that it's my job as pastor,

to stir you up as church attendee, right? Many of you think that's what Sunday morning is,

that you come here, and that I am supposed to be like this big old cook in the kitchen over his

cauldron, and I'm just supposed to stir you guys all up to love and good works. But he looks and

he says, let us do this. And how? How do we do this? He says, well, you are the church. We are the church.

The author doesn't say,

or the preacher doesn't say, let me stir you up. Or he doesn't look to the people he's preaching to

and say, be better at being stirred up. He says, stir up trouble together. Be stirred up together.

Instigate one another towards spiritual growth. We have to do it for one another.

Here's some questions I would ask you. Do you know anyone else in this room? And I'm not just

talking about knowing their name, but do you know them enough to encourage them in a meaningful way?

Do you talk to them more than just when you're here on Sunday morning? Some of you say, well,

yeah, for my immediate family. I'm talking about maybe for the row in front of you or behind you.

Do you know people in a meaningful way? Have you connected with people in a meaningful way

so that you can encourage them? And not just in a way that's, I love that shirt, right? You look

so nice today. Oh, you can do it, buddy. That's not the level of encouragement. That's not stirring

up one another. There is this picture of how do we stir one another together? We are together.

Being here and being connected with one another. You can say, hey, you've talked to me about the

struggles that you're having in your marriage right now. Let me show you some passages that

help you interact with your spouse in a way that's respectful and loving, even when it's difficult.

You can do it. I've been praying for you this week, specifically as I know you've been walking

through taking care of parents who are sick. Oh, man, you're having a difficult time in a

relationship with a brother or sister. You're having a difficult relationship between you and

your boss or a coworker. Here are some things that I've used as I have walked through a similar

circumstance. Let me help you. Hey, I am having a really hard time with my sister. I'm having a

hard time with my kids right now. Help me. Could you encourage me? What are some ways you could

speak into my life? Have you ever dealt with that? There is this reality of it takes the oh so scary

word vulnerability, but we have to look and say part of stirring one another up is knowing one

another. And part of knowing one another is simply being here. Some of you don't make it a priority

to be here on Sunday morning. I'm not here to guilt you. That's not what I'm trying to do. But

scripture says is we are missing stirrers when you're not here. When you're not here, we are

missing stirrers. We are not encouraged the way that we ought to be when we're missing from one

another. And I love too what he says here is he references, he goes, not neglecting to meet

together as is the habit of some. And I know this isn't what the writer means, but I think that it's

very applicable to today when he says, I'm not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of

some. And I know this isn't what the writer means, but I think that it's very applicable to today when he says that. There are some people who once again thought that all they needed to be was spiritual monks. They could hide off by themselves and just do Christianity by themselves. There is a huge portion of our culture right now who thinks the same thing. And the way that they encourage themselves is they watch sermons online. They read books by themselves. They have their own Bible study by themselves. And they never interact with the church because it's easier. I'll be honest, it's easier to do that. There's mess in the church. Why? Because we're messy people.

That's just by nature what it means to follow Christ. We're a little bit of a mess. Some of us a lot a bit of a mess. That's me. And there's nothing wrong with doing those things. There's nothing wrong with listening to sermons online. We post sermons online as a church. There's nothing wrong with doing Bible studies by yourself. We post Bible studies to help you. But when you're doing that and neglecting to be together with your brothers and sisters in Christ, you are not being stirred, nor are you stirring. You are not being stirred up

to these things. You're not being encouraged to do these things. Why? Because if you don't listen

to a sermon, no one knows. If you neglect to read

your Bible, no one knows. If you live in a way that is contrary

to the way that God has called you to live, no one knows.

And yeah, that's easier. But that's not going to help you

hold fast to the confession of hope Paul just

talked about. And so there's this picture. We have to do

this together. We have to do this together. And we have to be

here together, be in gathering together on Sunday mornings.

But even better way to be connected is to be in a

growth community. Some of you are like, wow, Justin was just getting to this point to do his

growth community push. I am not saying this from obligation. I am

saying this from experience. The people in my life who

stir me up outside of my wife, she really stirs me spiritually.

She helps me in ways.

That help me grow extremely deeply. She calls me out in those

things, which your spouse should be doing. Your spouse should be spiritually

helping you immensely. And as a spouse, you should be doing the same.

Outside of my marriage, outside of my wife, the people who

stir me to love and good works the most in my life

and my growth community, hands down. Because they know me. Because I

see them. Because I love them. And I know that they love me.

That's the reality of

being a believer in Jesus Christ. Is we have to

encourage one another because we're not always good at it. And so we look and we say

as a priority in our lives. Right? If we

say the purpose of us being here on earth is

to demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ both in word and deed

and then to help others do that, we have to start in this

room. And so you need to, we need to take

that step. The step to stir one another.

So here's what I'm going to encourage you to do this week. I wanted

something that would remind you to do this regularly. And that's

what we're here for. And so on your way out, I

asked them to do this at the end of the gathering because I didn't want you to think that I was forcing you all to be

coffee drinkers. The greeters are going to give you

a stir stick. Simple wooden stir stick. Right? I think we got them from

Sam's Club. Right? They give all the stir sticks out. Right? There's nothing. This is ordinary.

But the picture is

to remind us to stir one another up. And so wherever you need to put

this to remind yourself of that, I'd encourage you to leave it there

and to remember the purpose. Make sure you get one. There's enough.

And so for me, I throw out my Bible. Right? It's a really great placeholder. Maybe you throw it right

in Hebrews so you know where we're going to pick up next week. Maybe for you it's, you know,

putting it on your nightstand to remember you to pray for some

brothers and sisters in Christ before you go to bed each night. Maybe for you it's

setting it on your dashboard or putting your

cup holder. Just make sure your cup holder's clean of all the other junk that's there.

Right? But to have this as a little reminder that we're called

to stir one another up. And my prayer for you is that you would be encouraged

with confidence and boldness to stir things up

this week. And I say confident and boldness because, one, it's important to

be stirred up. But sometimes we think, I'm so new a Christian.

Or I'm so messed up. I make all these mistakes. And how could I ever

care for someone else?

How could I ever encourage someone else? How could I ever instigate

spiritual growth in someone else? One of the great things I think is important for us

to remember is this picture of

Christ doing these things in us. That as God works, we are

simply the tools, the medium in which He uses.

And so in those moments where you are called to stir someone

up, know that you're never qualified. The only one that's qualified

is the Holy Spirit. And He's utilizing you. So all you're called to be

is faithful. So I'd encourage you, in faithfulness this week, be

stirred up. Let someone invest in you spiritually. Maybe seek that

out this week. But also, intentionally and faithfully

stir up the people in your world for the gospel. Be an instigator for

the gospel. Look to share Christ and demonstrate Christ with your

life. That's what we're called to do. Let us do it.

Lord, thank you for the church.

Lord, for the body of believers. Group of believers.

Lord, that we have people who, though we may have different

hobbies, we may have different upbringings, we may have different

races and genders and all these different things.

We're different in so many ways, Lord. Different things that we struggle with.

We have different circumstances that we're walking through. Lord, but we have

this unity in the one thing that matters in the gospel.

Lord, I thank you for that gospel.

It unifies us. Lord, that we have been saved from our sin.

We've been given life. Lord, I pray that together, as we live

the life that you've called us to, you would help us to encourage

one another. To stir one another up. To instigate one another towards

growth. Lord, I pray that you give us confidence and boldness.

You give us courage to be open and vulnerable about the things that we're struggling with.

Lord, that you'd help each one of us to take a step

towards stirring someone this week.

And that we would take a step towards being stirred. Whether that means maybe showing some

interest in growth community. Maybe that means taking the next step and being baptized.

Or maybe that's taking the first step of coming to know you for the first time.

Confessing that you are Lord. Believing you've risen from the dead.

Lord, whatever that may look like, I pray that most importantly

your Holy Spirit would stir us. We thank you for all the many blessings you give.

In the precious and holy name of Jesus' name. Amen.

Church, won't you please stand if you're able and join us for our last song?

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