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 The
Power Of Everyone
Linked Together Presented by Pastor Paul Newell November 14, 2004
“Now
all of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of |
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1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.” When I study the Bible I seldom, if ever, see a Believer by themselves. Jesus sent His disciples out “two by two” (Mark 6:7); the Holy Spirit separated Paul AND Barnabas to be the church’s first missionaries (Acts 13:2); and throughout the New Testament, over and over again the word “together” is used speaking of the early Christians. They prayed together: “They all met together continually for prayer…” (Acts 1:14) They met together: “the believers were meeting together in one place…” (Acts 2:1) They shared together: “And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had.” (Acts 2:44) They observed communion together: “Then they all went back upstairs and ate the Lord’s Supper together…” (Acts 20:11) They spent time praising the Lord and worshipping Him together: “Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:6) They worked together: “We work together as partners who belong to God.” (1 Corinthians 3:9) There is a lot of togetherness involved in being a follower of Jesus Christ. It was a 17th century preacher from England by the name of John Dunne who first wrote “No man is an island. No one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others.” (He’s also the guy who wrote the phrase “for whom the bell tolls”.) However it was a Tappist monk by the name of Thomas Merton who wrote the following:
“No man is an
island…A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be
found: for happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big
enough to make us happy. There is a false and momentary happiness in
self-satisfaction, but it always leads to sorry because it narrows and
deadens our spirit. True happiness is
found in unselfish love, a love which increases in proportion as it
is shared.”
As a believer, I can’t go it alone. As we shared last week, you become a genuine follower of Christ by giving your life to Him – alone. No one else can make that decision for you. But once you have given your life to Jesus – you live out your faith alongside others. No believer is an island and no believer can honestly go it along. As believers, we are all links in an eternal chain that God is forming. As we become a part of that by linking with other believers – God is using us to bring others to Himself and strengthen us in the process. We are links…together. (Which is why you are all busy adding your link to our paper chain this morning!) Genuine, Biblical Christianity was meant to be lived –together. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:9 one more time: “We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God’s field, God’s building…” Together. We are partners together in God’s work. And not only are we partners together – we are also God’s temple – together. Look at verse sixteen of the same passage… “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) We like to read that verse to say that each of us individually are God’s Temple because the Holy Spirit lives inside each of us – and that’s a true statement, but this verse is not referring to us as individuals – it is referring to us as a body – as a church – us together! Together as a church family, a church body, we are God’s temple! That is a very profound statement – together we are God’s temple. Do you remember what the Temple was in the Old Testament? It was where the Israelites came to worship God, to offer their sacrifices. It’s was the visible place where Israel came together to worship and sacrifice for God. It was the place where they could touch pictures that represented their relationship with God. It was a place where they could give tangibly to God. Sure, they could worship and sacrifice other places beside the Temple – but the Temple was the place where it all came together! As a church body we come together to worship God and give Him ourselves. Our church family is the key, the focal point of our worship as believers! It becomes the visible, tangible place where our faith comes together. We take it outside these walls – but we get to share it together inside these walls. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus he shared it this way: “We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21) How we work out “church” is how we worship and serve God. Why is this so important? Why is church so vital for a believer? Why is this together thing so important? Why can’t we just have our personal relationship with Jesus? Look at what the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church in his second letter to them. “But that does not mean we want to tell you exactly how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy as you stand firm in your faith.” (2 Corinthians 1:24) Paul is writing to a church that he has had to spend a lot of time “scolding” (if that’s the correct word to use.) In his first letter to this young church he had to get on them about their self-centered worship and their attitude about allowing some pretty worldly things into their church relationships. But he was also careful to explain to them that living for Jesus Christ was not about a long list of do’s and don’ts – our relationship with Jesus Christ is worked out together. “We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy as you stand firm in your faith.” Together, our interaction together as believers helps us learn how to live outside our church family. Church becomes a safe place to discover God and learn to stand firm in that relationship. Church inside helps us live Christ "outside". It’s the power of everyone – together. Listen to this song…The Power Of Everyone We pray together, meet together, share together, worship together, praise together, work together – all as God’s Temple. We become the visible, tangle Temple of God that we can experience together and the world can see and touch. That’s why fellowship is so important. When the world sees us “fellowshipping” – in the same boat, going in the same direction, for the same purpose – when the world sees that – they begin to see God through us just like the Israelites saw God through the Temple. So why is being a part of a church so difficult at times? Why is this together factor so hard for so many? Why do we shy away from becoming a strong link in the chain? I’ve uncovered four problems that we face when it comes to becoming a genuinely connected, linked part of God’s family – His church. All of them are found in the little book we looked at last week – Philippians. Four problems or obstacles that can easily keep us disconnected from God’s Church. The first problem is the problem of complacency. Look at Philippians chapter one again… “I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns.” (Philippians 1:9-10) There is a tendency once we have become believers to sort of settle into it. Sure, we’re excited for a while, but then it all becomes “normal”. But there is nothing “normal” about being a believer. Everyday God has something new for us – in His Word, in His mission for our life that day, in our work together. God’s wants us to love each other “more and more” and to keep growing in our “knowledge and understanding”. He wants us to understand “what really matters” and last week we discovered that what really matters is that God’s church (us, together) share God’s Good News with others and bring them into fellowship with Him. But it’s easy to get complacent. It’s easy to settle in and just enjoy the ride. Listen to this…God’s purpose is not for us to be comfortable – it’s for us to be crucial. We’re supposed to act like it really matters that God lives inside us and that others need to hear the Good News that they, too, can have a relationship with him. When we become complacent we get disconnected. The second obstacle is distraction. Distraction is similar to complacency, but the opposite end of the spectrum. Look at chapter two of Philippians. “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 2:20-21) All others care only for themselves. It’s easy to get distracted with what we assume will make us happy and forget what God knows will actually bring us joy. That’s why Paul shared in chapter four, “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right…pure and lovely and admirable…excellent and worthy of praise.” It’s easy to get distracted by everything but what really matters. It’s easy to get distracted by people. It’s easy to get distracted by things, by events – by everything but what really matters. Let me ask you a question…was there a time this week when you set out to spend some time with God and His Word? Maybe you went to bed and told yourself that first thing in the morning you would take time to read the Bible and pray for your church and your family. So…what got in the way? How about the last time you were planning to go to Bible study or Sunday worship and then were distracted. The problem of distraction can keep us from staying connected with what God has purposed for us to do in His church. Then there is the problem of intimidation. Sometimes we’re just afraid to get involved. The Apostle dealt with that obstacle back in chapter one: “Don’t be intimidated by your enemies.” (Philippians 1:28) The passage is dealing with people outside the church who are giving these believers a hard time for serving God. But the truth is, it’s easy to get intimidated by anything or anyone that we assume is more powerful than we are. Sometimes we don’t link up with other believers because we are afraid of what family members, neighbors or just friends might think. We get intimidated by their responses to us when we share our faith. Their response should be all the more motivation for us to keep sharing because unless they finally “get it”, unless they give their lives to Christ the Bible says they will be “destroyed”. Complacency, distraction, intimidation, and finally frustration can stand in the way of us truly linking together as a church family and living out God’s purpose for our church. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” It would be hard for me to count how many believers I’ve known who have simply stopped attending church, stopped serving with other believers, because they were frustrated in the process. They because frustrated with other believers who didn’t do things they way they assumed they should be done. They became frustrated by the fact that some things don’t happen quickly – it takes time to reach some people with the Good News. And they became frustrated with themselves; they assumed that their struggles were too big for God. Worry got the best of them. Frustration pulled them down. So what’s the answer to these four obstacles? The answer is simple. It’s simple, but it’s not necessarily easy. Look at Philippians 2:12-13, “…you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.” The rest of that passage is worth remembering as well… “In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them. Hold tightly to the word of life, so that when Christ returns, I will be proud that I did not lose the race and that my work was not useless.” (Philippians 2:14-16) The answer to the obstacles is to remember that together God is working through our church family of which you are a vital part. Did you catch it? “God’s saving work in your lives”. That’s plural. God is working His salvation through us together, not just individually. Each of those obstacles falls when we work together. It’s hard to be complacent when there are others around us encouraging us on. It’s hard to get distracted when others are challenging us to stay focused. It’s easier to handle intimidation when we know others are standing beside us – linked with us. And it’s much easier to overcome the frustrations when we are praying with other believers and they are helping us through our struggles. We are linked together – joined together “For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.” (Colossians 2:19) The one thing that binds us together is Jesus Christ. “Sinew” is an old word for tendons, the fibers that hold our muscles together. Focusing on Jesus Christ’s work for us individually and then as a church together is what gives us the strength to progress in this life. It gives us our purpose! So where do we go individually and together from here? The answer is to commit to being linked together. Commit to Christ’s church. Here are four commitments you can make this morning before you leave… (1) You can commit to pray together with your church. Join us for Bible study and times of prayer during the week – together. But you can also commit to pray together for your church. Commit to praying each day specifically for your church, your pastor, and at least one person outside your family who is a part of FamilyFellowship. “I will commit to praying with my church.” (2) You can commit to share with your church family this week. I don’t have a clue specifically what that means for you. It should mean obviously giving your tithes and offerings to God’s church, but more importantly it means sharing with someone else. What do you have that you need to share with someone else? “I will commit to sharing with my church.” (3) You can commit to worshipping with your church. How about a simple, straight forward commitment that says “I will be in church! I won’t make excuses or get distracted. I will be in church. I need the worship and I need the fellowship.” “I will commit to worshipping and praising with my church family.” (4) You can commit to working with your church. We have several events coming up where we will need volunteers to help with outreach. (Winterfest, Christmas door hangers, Christmas fellowships, Advent decorations) We also have areas every week where you can already get involved – helping in Toddler Town, with Discovery Time, with our “Roadie Team” setting up and breaking down, calling others who have missed church. You have a gift and ability that your church needs! “I will commit to working with my church family to see others come to Christ”. Together – there is a power in everyone, together! God never intended for us to go it alone. We are to be linked together, bound by our purpose in Jesus Christ. |
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(c) Paul Newell 2004 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |
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