Interacting With Others

Interacting with others, and how necessary is it? Okay, my experience of going to church when growing up, and even later in life, consisted mostly of congregating on Sunday morning and perhaps additional times around Easter or Christmas. There were no meals after service. There was no gathering in other people's homes.

There was no effort to help one another with some project to help each other out. In fact, I don't recall ever stepping into another person's home or even their property of somebody else in the congregation.

And I never gave it much thought, though, until I started attending CCF. Meeting together so often was new to me, and it was a bit overwhelming at first. Maybe awkward is a better word than overwhelming, but it definitely felt strange to me.

I had typically kept to myself. I was never comfortable with small talk and carrying conversations, especially around individuals I didn't know. So when I first started attending here, I wondered to myself, "Who are you people? Why do you want to be around other people so much? Why do you want to be around each other so much? Why don't we just go home after service and do our own thing and hang out with our own family?"

So at first, sometimes I skipped fellowship meals and I skipped hymn singing and whatever. But what can I say? Now you're all growing on me. Now I truly enjoy the time we spend together, and I very seldom miss any of the activities.

But I have become curious about what does the Bible, what does the Scripture say about interacting with one another? So along with my studious assistant, my studious assistant, Nugget, I decided to do some research. So now I knew the Scripture would mention things about interacting and suggest that we do interact with one another.

But I figured there would be maybe a dozen verses or somewhere around there. But to my surprise, there were numerous verses. In fact, in a way, the entire Bible is about interacting with other people and with one another.

In fact, though, there were so many verses that my assistant became exuberated and we had to stop and take a break.

But after the break, we decided to get back to work, and we started plowing back into the Bible and going forward to search the Bible to satisfy my curiosity. Now, I don't know how helpful this presentation is going to be to everybody here.

If anyone has ever wondered enough about specifically what the Bible says about interacting with one another, to do research on it. But doing this research has helped me. But after finding more than 100 verses, I started asking myself, "Well, now what should I do?"

The verses weren't in any certain order. There were no categories or order to it. So I felt the need to create some organization. So the verses referencing seemed to fall into eight different categories. And these are the categories that I decided they fell into: advising, caring, comforting, discipleship, encouragement, hospitality, teaching, witnessing, okay, and witnessing.

And here's a few definitions that I found for advising: to offer suggestions about the best course of action to someone, to recommend something to someone, to inform someone about a fact or situation in a formal or official way.

So if you notice, they all have the words "someone" in them, or that in order to advise or receive advice, you have to be interacting with others. So you have to have interaction in order to have advice. Rather, you're receiving the advice, or you're the one trying to present the advice.

Now here, speaking of advice, it looks like someone should have advised my assistant that she hadn't selected a very safe place to take a nap. If you see, the tires are lined up perfectly with her body. So if somebody was to start driving the vehicle forward or backwards, it would probably harm my assistant. So it would have been a good idea, but it probably was not a good idea on her part, and someone should have advised her. But what does the Bible say?

Or some scriptures on advising? Proverbs 11:14, "Where there is no counsel," or we could substitute the word counsel for advice, "where there is no advice, the people will fall. But in the multitude of advisors, there is safety," or "but in the multitude of counselors, there is safety."

Proverbs 12:15, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise, but he who heeds advice is wise." Proverbs 13:10, "By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well of eyes is wisdom."

Now next on the list is caring. So I'd like to, well, first, let me show some definitions for caring. To display kindness and concern for others, to work or practice of looking after those unable to care for themselves. So again, just by reading this, you can tell that you're going to have to be interacting if you're going to care for somebody or receive care. You can't be living alone in your house and not going out and intermingling with others.

But what I would like to show now is a short three-minute video of how a man displayed kindness and concern and care. Now, some of you may have seen this video, so if you have, just bear with me.

Hey guys, watch this video. I don't know if you've seen it. If you haven't, please watch it. Watch it to the end. This mama deer stops this car mid-traffic. The guy gets out to console and comfort the deer to push her out of the road so she doesn't get hurt.

But then the guy instinctually notices that the deer is actually calling out for his help. So he follows her like 10 minutes down the road. And sure enough, look where she brings him. Her little baby is all knotted up and tied up in this soccer goal.

And she had brought this human to come and help her baby to be free. And I don't know.

She's allowing this human to put his hands on her baby to help her. And now the mom is stressed because her baby's all stuck. She doesn't know if this human's going to hurt the baby. So she starts freaking out. But the guy is just super gentle and just lets the mom know that he is there to help.

And sure enough, the little baby's free.

I just thought this was pretty magical. The guy gets back to his car, and this is where it's cool. The baby and the mom come back to that same location where he got to his car. The baby comes up, watch this.

Kneels down, puts his little head down in a sign of thankfulness, thanking this man for freeing him and helping him and listening to his mom's cries for help.

Just a magical video. Pay attention to the world around you, guys. You never know who needs help.

In a way, this video reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan. Because I don't know how many, if any, vehicles just swerved around the deer or ignored the deer, as the priest and the Levite did, to the man that was laying on the side of the road.

But the man in this story who stopped and followed the deer is like the Good Samaritan. At least that's how I feel that he expressed the Good Samaritan's behavior. All right. Move on. Some scriptures about caring. Psalms 82:3, "Defend the poor and fatherless. Do justice to the afflicted and needy."

Isaiah 1:17, "Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow." Luke 14:13-14, "But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." So again, you can see by these scriptures, it definitely wants us to interact with one another. We have some more scripture on caring. 1 Timothy 5:3-4, "On our widows, who are really widows, but if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God."

James 1:27, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Acts 2:44-45, "Now all who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need." So you can see all these scriptures are referring to interacting.

The next category is comforting.

Here we have some definitions. Serving to alleviate a person's feelings of grief or distress and serving to improve a person's mood or restore a sense of physical well-being.

As you can see, my assistant was feeling low, very sad, and uncomfortable after an operation. She was required to wear this plastic cone-shaped tube or whatever around her neck because the veterinary was concerned that my assistant might chew at the stitches that she had received. Now, because of this cone, she was not able to walk up the steps, and she was not to be carried for a few days.

So she had very limited mobility. So there was no way she was going to be able to walk up the steps in the evening to go to bed, where she normally slept at. Therefore, to comfort my assistant, I pulled her bed over next to a couch downstairs, and I slept next to her and petted her throughout the night and talked to her to help brighten her mood.

So now let's look at some scripture. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." So that is why we receive comfort, so we in turn can comfort others. So we have to be interacting with others in order to know that they need comfort and to receive the comfort. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words."

So here, it's also shown that comfort doesn't only refer to a physical comfort, that we don't only comfort one another physically, but we can comfort each other with words. We can receive comfort from just words people say to us, and that we can comfort others just with our words.

Discipleship is the next category. Definition is process of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ and growing in your relationship with him.

So some of the brothers from the church here at CCF, we meet on Saturday mornings at Kevin's workshop. It's actually the trailer shop, not the shop where we have fellowship meals and so forth. And it's for what we call discipleship development. It is a way for us to hold ourselves accountable and one another accountable, and to help one another stay on the right path and following the teachings of Jesus.

It has been a very encouraging and valuable experience for me, and I highly recommend it for everyone. And I appreciate that we have this.

Some verses on discipleship, Ephesians 4:11-12, "And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." So again, we have to be interacting.

To edify pastors and teachers to pass things on. John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." And of course, we can't show love for one another if we're not being around each other.

Acts 14:21-22, "And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them or encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying, 'We must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God.'" That was discipleship. Encouragement.

Okay. On the next slide, we're going to see, well, I guess I've got some definitions first. The act of giving someone support, confidence, or hope, persuasion to do or to continue something, and the act of trying to stimulate the development of activity, state, or belief. So of course, we cannot be encouraging one another or receiving encouragement if we're not going to interact with one another.

On the next slide, we see a couple of baby bears, some cubs. They're trying to climb over the fence with their mother, and they're having a hard time to do it, and the mother's trying to give them some encouragement, and this is what happens.

See, the first one makes it over. The mother helps the cub over. The second one's trying on the one pole. It's going to come over to the next pole and try also, and it's not going to be able to make it. It's about ready to give up.

We'll see it starts walking away, but then the mother bear comes up over top of the fence, and I'm imagining however they communicate with one another is giving encouragement for the cub to come back that, "I'm going to help you." And it reaches down, and eventually, the cub gets over.

It struggles a little bit, but with the encouragement and the help from its mother, it's going to make it. I promise.

There we go. So now we have some scriptures on encouragement. Hebrews 3:12-13, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another or but encourage one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." 1 Thessalonians 5:14, "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."

A couple more scriptures. Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, encouraging one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching."

And Romans 15:2, "That each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification." So of course, we have to be interacting, as I've already said, in order to be encouraging or to receive encouragement and to know that someone needs encouragement.

Hospitality can be defined as friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, the business of providing food, drink, and accommodation. So again, you have to be interacting to do these things. Now, on the next slide, my assistant invited me over to dinner one day, an act of hospitality on her part. I was delighted and readily accepted. However, upon my arrival and realization of what my assistant considered to be a hospitable meal, I was bit taken aback.

As you can see, she was giving me a choice: beef or chicken. So in order to not hurt her feelings, I go ahead and accepted the chicken, and we had dinner. Now, what are some of the scriptures referring to hospitality? Hebrews 13:1-2, "Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels."

Matthew 25:34-40, "Then the king will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry? And feed you, or thirsty, and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked, and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?' And the king will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.'" So of course, all these things that we're talking about, you have to interact with one another in order to visit and provide need for everybody.

Teaching. Definition. Ideas or principles taught by an authority. So if you're going to teach somebody, there has to be somebody there. You have to be interacting with someone in order to teach or to be taught. The next slide is just a picture of one of my assistant's teachers, and they just happened to be talking about turning to Matthew 28:19, which is a coincidence because that is the next verse that we're going to be talking about because it's one of the scriptures on teaching.

Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Amen."

Then 2 Timothy 2:2, "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." So it's telling us to teach, to pass on what we've learned from the Word. And of course, in order to do so, we need to be interacting with one another.

Now, the last category, I know you're all happy. Last one. Okay, witnessing. Definition. Act of sharing what one has seen, heard, or experienced with others. And of course, we can't share something with somebody if we're not around them, not interacting with them, and passing things on.

Next slide just shows my assistant out witnessing to a couple of goats that escaped into our backyard, and he was telling them how they will be separated.

And here's the scriptures. Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Luke 12:8, "Also I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God."

And Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." So here is telling us to be witnesses.

So again, we have to be interacting with one another in order to witness to one another.

Now, let's talk about a couple of verses that talk about or speak about not being alone, not interacting, and not isolating oneself. So Genesis 2:18, "And the Lord said, 'It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" So Genesis 2:18 highlights the inherent human need for companionship and community and suggests that isolation is not God's design for humanity.

Proverbs 18:1, "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire. He rages against all wise judgment." So here, Proverbs 18:1 warns against the dangers of isolating ourselves, suggesting that it can lead to selfish desires and a lack of sound judgment.

In Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, as I have done in the past, as is the manner of some, including me, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching." So here in Hebrews 10:24-25, it encourages us to avoid isolation from the church community and to actively encourage one another in our faith.

So that brings to my conclusion that we cannot obey God's Word without interacting with one another. And I am very thankful to all of you for helping me to discover this, that we must be an active member of our community, and there is no doubt that everyone here at CCF is doing this. And I really appreciate all that has been done that has helped me since I've been coming here now for almost three years, about two and a half years.

That ends my presentation, except for the last disclaimer. No animals were harmed during the making of this presentation.