Be A Team Player

Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Senior Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.

E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk

Note to the reader:

If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply telling me where in the world you are based- I do not need any other information. I am requesting this info so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God, that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.

Thank you.

Herman Abrahams,

Cape Town, South Africa.

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BE A TEAM PLAYER

Psalms 133:1-133:3 / 1 COR 12:12-26

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

Many seed-thoughts for this sermon was obtained from a sermon by Michael McCartney off the sermoncentral.com website. I have possibly repeated a few of Michael McCartney’s statements).

INTRODUCTION

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A Major Key to Revival - Teamwork

A key to the effective functioning of the Body of Christ and to unlocking the door of revival is teamwork. For this to happen, the team players in the church must approach their responsibilty with the emphasis on “WHAT CAN I DO FOR THE TEAM?” RATHER THAN “WHAT CAN THE TEAM DO FOR ME?”

ILLUSTRATION

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1. Pres J.F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” In the same way, “Ask not what the church team can do for you, but what you can do for the church team.”

2. SOCCER: A player will always speak about what he can do for the team.

A. THE KEY TO TEAMWORK IS RELATIONSHIPS.

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 When they exist between each of the members we are on our way to becoming undefeated. A key to Revival is teamwork.

 When the church is functioning as a team of players with different abilities, gifts & talents then we have an unstoppable force.

 If a church does not have teamwork, it will die.

 The Pastor or Pastor and Leaders cannot do all the work – even Jesus enlisted the help of a team.

1. IT STARTS WITH UNITY (BEING HARMONIOUSLY JOINED TOGETHER)

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Psalm 133:1-3

1 How good and pleasant it is

when brothers live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

down upon the collar of his robes.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the LORD bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore.

Ezra 3:1 “… The people assembled as one man in Jerusalem”

Difference between unity and teamwork:

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 UNITY - means to live together in harmony - which is very essential – “my heart is clean, I don’t carry any grudges towards any brother or sister.”

 TEAMWORK - means to work together as a team.

 Many can live together but the ones who win the race are team players who work together.

2. WE ARE ONE BODY – WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER

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1 COR 12:12-26

12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.