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The Power of God's Community

Elder Steven HarrisSunday, August 23, 20261130am
📖 ZEP.3.16-ZEP.3.17
Living near one another is not the same as belonging to God’s community. We are joined through relationships marked by trust, respect, unity, love, and a shared commitment to holiness. Israel’s encounter with Moab reminds us that God gives His people a reputation and preserves the community from forces that seek to weaken it. We must resist compromise within us and choose fellowship, sanctification, and mutual care.
Key Points
1.
A neighborhood (or church attendance) is not the same as community; community requires established relationships built on trust, respect, unity, friendship, and like-mindedness.
2.
Being saved makes you part of God’s family, but the speaker says being part of God’s community also requires sanctification—separating from unbelief and ungodly practices.
3.
Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom; doing God’s will matters, and spiritual activity without obedience can still be rejected.
4.
Point #1: God will give your community a reputation; Moab feared Israel because they saw what Israel had done and how many they were.
5.
The enemy attempts to weaken and infiltrate God’s community; Moab tried to hire Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam said he could not act against the Lord’s will.
6.
You can only be tempted by what is already in you; temptation comes from being drawn away by one’s own desires, and the goal is to have ‘nothing in me’ for the enemy to use.
7.
Point #2: God will preserve His community; Israel’s complaining and idolatry led to severe judgment in Numbers, illustrating God’s protection of holiness within the community.
8.
Call to action: stop merely “moving into the neighborhood” (just attending) and choose to become part of God’s community through fellowship, love, sanctification, and support.

From the Series

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Sermon Summary

Living near one another is not the same as belonging to God’s community. We are joined through relationships marked by trust, respect, unity, love, and a shared commitment to holiness.

Israel’s encounter with Moab reminds us that God gives His people a reputation and preserves the community from forces that seek to weaken it. We must resist compromise within us and choose fellowship, sanctification, and mutual care.

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