Tonight's title: What would it look like in a group?

Quick review

Read acts 2:47b And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Who added? Lord

to what? Their number

number of what? What sort of group was he adding to? People devoted to these 4 things.

what did he add? Those who were being saved

saved means what? Healed–made whole–balanced

What was the Lord's responsibility? The growth

The people's–from the context? Pursuing balance

If this is true in the personal realm also, what would you do if you wanted growth personally?

Pursue balance

What do we often do instead?

We get out of balance.

Why?

We add lots of stuff.

Did you hear what you just said? 'Adding lots of stuff' What's going on here? (Who's responsibility have we taken over?)

It's God business to add. We've taken over God's part.

Why do we do this? What's driving us?

We want life? We think we are God. We think we can get life by ourselves by being busy adding good things.

Wow. But where does life really come from? God adds it Himself.

Are you hearing what that's saying? What's that saying to you?

I have permission to slow down. God wants me to be whole and to give me more life, not to drain life out of me.

Won't you praise Him tonight.

If we want growth in church, corporate growth, what would we want to focus on?

Pursuing wholeness, balance.–devoting ourselves to these 4 things

and letting God do what? Add lives.

What else might a church get focused on?

Adding lives. Programs. Busyness. Stuff that doesn't really add life, and gets us out of balance.

And we've done the same thing as we observed before, we fill our group life with stuff that doesn't give life and we get out of balance.

So if we were who meet here going to pursue balance on corporate level what would it look like?

How are we doing in each area? How can we stay balanced and still pursue areas that are weak?

Acts 6:4 gives us a clue–division of leadership–we all need participation in each element, but we need leaders to oversee different things.

–read through Acts to see any other insights.

Share our conversation trying to understand what scripture could give insight into these principles.

What would this look like for a group? How does fear of death manifest itself in a group?

Why have a group?

What holds a group together if people are all afraid of death? Military? Government? Even Family?–common goals and tasks.

How is the typical church full of people afraid of death held together? Programs and tasks.

How much does it matter that the people don't care about each other or even hate each other while they work toward common goals?

What happens when the task is finished–assuming it can be finished under those circumstances?

How valid is a task-based glue for the church?

How would you classify all the things they devoted themselves to?

They are being things rather than 'doing' things.

How significant is it that they devoted to being things and not doing things? I.e. prayer and not evangelism?

Comparing personal balance with group balance, what is the equivalent on the personal level of the Lord adding daily to the group's number those who were being saved? As He gives lives on the corporate level, He gives life on the personal level.

When I think I need to add life to my life I end up adding tasks which may not give me life.

In the same way when the church focuses on adding numbers to their number they may add people who don't add life–they may add dead people. (It's not always destructive–just like if I did more ministry it would be positive, people would be helped. It's not cursed because I'm out of balance, but I become more dead in the process and eventually it's totally counterproductive–how can I help if I'm dead?

How does God add life to my life personally?

He heals, he makes me more real, more safe in relationships, he saves. How what's he actually doing? He is taking up residence in us an living there.

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Compare for me the kind of people he was adding with the kind of group he was adding to.

He's adding life to life.

God's part? Adding lives

Our part? Devoting to 4 things

We can look at this corporately, but it's only as good as we're getting it personally–so let's look at it personally first:

If God adds lives to a group devoted to being balanced, what does he add to a person who is devoted to being balanced?

Life

*Why is it important to do my part and let God do His?

God knows how and is able to add life to life. Why? Apparently I am only qualified to pursue balance. Maybe I am not able to add life. Why not? God is the author of life. It takes creative power to add life. I don't have that.

So what am I going to end up doing if I try to add life to my existence?

My life gets full of stuff but not more life, and it gets all out of balance. Ask for illustrations. I do more and more stuff but the things I do aren't adding life–story? Me in ministry before coming here. Many pastors face the issue of 'staying alive' serving God, making a living, supporting their families but doing things that aren't really life-affirming. Many people do things they hate in order to live–even pursuing wealth and success only to find out when they get them that power and $ don't really make them alive–anyone in PMC last week heard about a guy's boss who's in this predicament. People even get involved in church work thinking that will make them feel more alive, but they end up overworked and stressed out or neglecting their families and feeling deader than ever. Use Jim Hohnberger's example.

Where's the good news? God gives life, I don't produce it.

Why is that good news? I don't need to be racing around trying to be busy to be alive. I don't need to impress God. He wants me to be balanced and at peace, not worked to the bone.

Who can praise Him tonight?

What happens when we focus on God's part instead of our part corporately?

We fill our groups with stuff that doesn't give life and we get out of balance.

What does it look like in church? Lot's of meetings and programs that drain life and make everyone tired.

On corporate level what would it look like? Acts 6:4 gives us a clue

–read through Acts to see any other insights.