A Community of Joy Conquers the World

The following video transcript has been lightly edited

Hi, and Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Today, I want to talk to you about how a community of joy conquers the world. Here's what I mean by that. So John, an apostle of Jesus and who wrote the book of John also writes three letters to the church. And he uses. The concept of the world in a certain way. Whenever he talks about the world, what John means is the existence, the reality that we're in, that has a degree of brokenness to it. That things like sin and death and tragedy fill our lives. And that the world is broken. Ultimately, we see this brokenness. reveal itself in the crucifixion of Christ. So the Son of God comes, but the world rejects the Son of God, sending the Son of God to the cross.

But God conquers the world through love. And so God loves the world, but the world is broken, so God comes to save the world, to rescue it. And the church is to be this community of joy, this community of joy, that continues to conquer the world. The tragedy, the brokenness, the death, the sin, the sadness that seeps into our lives.

So John wants us to focus on three things in order to do this. Love, obedience, and faith. Let me sketch each one of those out for you real quick. So love, he says that we are to love one another. That if you love the parent, then you love the child. For all you moms out there, you know this to be true. You know that to love you, you have to love your children. That you want people, you want spouses, you want family, you want friends, you want church members that are willing to love your kids too. And so what God tells us is that as the church, as his people, we are to love one another. We're to love God's children throughout the world.

Because ultimately, love conquers the world. The things of tragedy and sin and brokenness, love conquers these things. We see it in the cross, but we can also see it in our individual lives. And so whatever it is you're facing, while you might be tempted to pursue a solution some other way, what God would want to remind you is that love is the thing that conquers all.

That that's the ultimate reality. And so to pursue that, to lean into that, that is always the path forward.. So if we want to be a community of joy that conquers the world, we have to love. Love God's children as God loves the world. Second, he says that we want to be obedient. He says we are to obey God's commandments and that they are not burdensome.

By obeying God's commandments, John's reminding us to obey the commandment of loving God and loving our neighbor. And he says, these aren't burdensome. And by that he doesn't mean that it's always easy to love God and love our neighbor. But what he means is that that's where we find freedom and joy.

So think about two dogs. One dog is very obedient, comes when the dog's called. She is able to be off leash and roam around and experience all kinds of freedom because she sits and she stays and she comes. Another dog is always pressing, choking itself on its collar, running away whenever it gets out. Now which one of these dogs ends up with more freedom? The one who's obedient.

In our world, we often think that obedience means we're boxed in. But in reality, obedience to God, and the obedience that plays out in our commitments to one another, these things actually bring us freedom and joy. And so if you want to conquer the world, lean into obedience, because obedience brings freedom.

So we want to be a community that conquers the world. We want to love. We want to be obedient. We want to be a people of faith. John says in his letter that faith conquers the world. Here's why. The world, as we've all agreed, is filled with sin and brokenness and death and tragedy. Scan a newspaper. Listen to the news.

As you reflect on your own life, there are moments in which it just feels broken. That it feels like death has invaded this world, because it has. Without faith, that world is all there is. It's a world in which tragedy and sin and death reign. But faith changes the perspective. Faith changes the playing field. It opens it up. It allows us to experience an altogether new reality. And so the way that faith conquers the world is that as we put our faith in Christ, that Jesus life, death, and resurrection point to the ultimate reality of love and restoration. We too can align our lives with that and engage with hope and joy. And we too, because of our faith can build churches and nonprofits and schools and workplaces. To conquer the world through love because we have faith that love is the ultimate reality. I hope that you have a great week and I hope that you'll join with us as we try to build a community of joy that conquers the world by loving one another choosing obedience and conquering through faith.

Have a great week.