BE THE GREATEST:
Living the Unity We Have Been Given
I Corinthians 13.13
S: Purpose
C: Unity – Come … Together
Th: Living the Unity We Have Been Given
Pr: WE LIVE OUT ONENESS BY FULFILLING OUR PURPOSE.
?: How? How do we fulfill our purpose?
KW: Essentials
TS: We will find in our study of I Corinthians 13.13 three essentials we need to apply in order to fulfill our purpose.
Type: Propositional
The ____ essential is…
I. LIVING BY FAITH
II. KNOWN BY LOVE
III. A VOICE OF HOPE
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Be disciple makers.
• Understand that discipleship includes evangelism.
• Let our lives be characterized by faith, hope and love.
Version: ESV
RMBC 14 January 07 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Purpose (H)
The English teacher asked Tommy to give her a sentence with an object.
“You are very pretty," he answered.
Knowing that Tommy’s answer did not have an object, she asked, “Tommy, what is the object in that sentence?"
Tommy replied, “To get an A in English."
Well, one thing Tommy has…is purpose.
Do you have purpose?
Do you live with purpose?
And to put it Tommy’s way…
Do you want an A when it comes to your faith?
Or will any old grade do?
TRANSITION:
1. Our theme this month is “Living the Unity We Have Been Given.”
As I mentioned last week, I have developed this theme from the message John Fischer gave us back in September based on the passage from Ephesians 4, which we studied last Sunday.
The church has been given unity.
Randall has been given unity.
We don’t create it.
But what we do or do not do is preserve it.
In other words, unity is like marriage.
It takes work.
It takes active participation on our part.
So, we will either do our part in making it happen, or we will not.
It is a matter of the will.
You see, the Lord Jesus has built into the church the ability to be successful.
This means that we can be known for our unity.
That oneness is not just some unrealistic ideal.
Unity has been built into the church so that we might be successful.
It is our design.
And if we are not unified, it is not the Lord’s fault.
He has given us the ability to accomplish it.
2. Last week, we studied how we have unity in the gospel.
We stated it this way:
We live out oneness by standing firm in the good news about Jesus.
We made note that “practical oneness is based on spiritual oneness.” (MacArthur)
And this is what drives us here at Randall, and it is why the study of the Bible is an absolute priority for us.
What we believe, our doctrine, is our first point of unity.
But let me put this next point in a sophisticated kind of way.
Orthopraxy is just as important as orthodoxy.
In other words, how we practice what we believe is just as important as what we believe.
Or even simpler, what we do is just as important as what we say.
In fact, it is even more important, because what we do gives credibility to what we say we believe.
So, this being so, when we accept that Scripture is our authority, then we are to be obedient to what it says.
This means then, we will be obedient to when it tells us to work toward unity.
ILL Purpose (S)
Before we go any further, I want to show a clip from one of my favorite films: Gettysburg.
The movie Gettysburg, based on The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, brings to life the three bloodiest days of American history. The first scenes take place a couple days before the epic battle at Gettysburg. Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain (played by Jeff Daniels) of the 20th Maine Regiment learns that his regiment is going to receive 120 Union soldiers who mutinied. Chamberlain is given permission to shoot any of these mutineers who don’t cooperate.
Chamberlain tells the men that he’s been told about their problem. He admits, "There’s nothing I can do today. We’re moving out in a few minutes. We’ll be moving all day. I’ve been ordered to take you men with me. I’m told that if you don’t come, I can shoot you. Well, you know I won’t do that. Maybe somebody else will, but I won’t. So, that’s that.
"Here’s the situation," he continues. "The whole Reb army is up that road a ways, waiting for us. This is no time for an argument. I tell you, we could surely use you fellows. We’re now well below half strength. Whether you fight or not, that’s up to you. Whether you come along is…" He pauses and then continues, "Well, you’re coming. You know who we are. But if you fight alongside of us, there’s a few things you must know."
Matter-of-factly, he states, "This regiment was formed last summer in Maine. There were 1,000 of us then. There are less than 300 of us now. All of us volunteered to fight for the Union, just as you did. Some came mainly because we were bored at home…thought this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came because it was the right thing to do. And all of us have seen men die.
"This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history, you’ll see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new. This has not happened much in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free."
Elapsed time: Measured from the beginning of the opening credits, this scene begins at 25:15:00 and ends at 27:50:00. On DVD, the scene appears on side 1, chapter 8, "What We’re Fighting For."
Content: Gettysburg is rated PG for language and epic battle scenes.
Citation: Gettysburg (Turner Pictures, 1993), rated PG, written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell; submitted by Andrew Miller, Wheaton, Illinois
The church is likewise a different kind of army.
We are a group of people, believers in the Lord Jesus, who have been filled with purpose.
We are an army out to set other men free.
We do this because…
3. Our purpose is discipleship.
It is our purpose to help people become disciples or followers of Jesus.
We say it this way in the church’s purpose statement…
Randall Memorial Baptist Church is a fellowship of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who are determined to love God and make committed followers of Jesus Christ by:
Celebrating the person of God;
Cultivating spiritual growth in Christ;
Caring for one another in Christ; and,
Communicating the Gospel to the world.
Though, I have spoken about this before, I want to make sure no one misunderstands me today, that…
4. Discipleship includes evangelism.
Discipleship is the idea of being an agent in helping another person grow in their walk in Christ (whatever stage of growth that might be), and ultimately, be ready to meet Him in eternity.
Obviously, in the big pictures of things, evangelism, that is, leading a person to a relationship with Jesus, does that very thing.
It is in the design of the church to be fruitful.
For the church is an organism, a living body, that is designed to reproduce.
As Christians, and as a church, if we are not reproducing ourselves, we are not functioning as God designed us.
Fruitfulness is the order of the day.
We are designed to be powerfully fruitful, filled with the purposes of God, living out unity, so that each person with which we make a connection, is able to know and love Jesus as we do.
This leads us to our proposition this morning, that is…
5. WE LIVE OUT ONENESS BY FULFILLING OUR PURPOSE.
The corresponding question we ask along with this is “how”?
How do we fulfill our purpose?
Well…
6. We will find in our study of I Corinthians 13.13 three essentials we need to apply in order to fulfill our purpose.
This is a familiar verse to us…
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
These are the preeminent qualities of a Christian.
They stand above all else.
Nothing stands with them.
And when they flow out of us, unity is not only maintained, it reigns in our midst.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three…
These three essentials are captured in our church motto: “Living by Faith…Known by Love…A Voice of Hope.”
OUR STUDY:
I. The first essential is LIVING BY FAITH (Hebrews 11:1).
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
1. Faith sees spiritual reality when others do not.
To see spiritual reality, we must be connected to our Lord.
We must be able to believe what He has said and act on it.
In Scripture, the man that is the truest example of faith is Abraham.
Abraham truly believed God could do what He said He would.
He came to a point in his life that when God asked him to do the most barbaric act – sacrificing his own son.
He took his son to the mountain to do the unheard of.
He did it because he knew Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s promise to him.
Abraham was going to become a great nation through Isaac.
He believed the promise so much that if Isaac was to die, God would raise him up from the dead.
Now that is faith!
You see…
2. Faith is the courage to obey.
David believed in God when he faced Goliath.
For David to go against Goliath was insane.
For a ruddy youth to face the Philistine’s greatest warrior was mad.
And perhaps what was even more outrageous is Saul letting him go face the battle-hardened giant.
But David had faith.
David had conviction.
David had the courage to obey.
David had a confidence in God’s presence.
And he acted on that confidence.
Understand this…
3. Faith understands God is more interested in His purpose than our comfort.
We must admit that sometimes we want things to be the way we want them.
And we must admit, that this often bleeds into the way we want church to be.
We don’t, however unite, around what we want, but around the purpose God has given us.
This leads us to…
II. The second essential is KNOWN BY LOVE.
1. God’s love makes us whole.
He makes us one in heart and mind.
He takes the broken bones and fragments of our lives and makes us into new creations.
It is a powerful love that changes us for the good.
ILL Love (S)
Legend has it that a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean world looking for the Apostle Paul, encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally the merchant left with Paul’s blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, "What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before."
"Did you not guess?" replied Timothy. "Paul is in love."
The merchant looked bewildered, “In love?"
"Yes," Timothy answered, "Paul is in love with Jesus Christ."
The merchant looked even more bewildered. "Is that all?"
Smiling, Timothy replied, "Sir, that is everything."
God’s love is everything to us.
But it does not stop there.
It is a love that, then, extends out to others.
You see…
2. When we love like God, we serve (John 13.34-35).
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
It is one thing to hear this command to love one another, but, unfortunately, it is sometimes a harder task then we want to admit, as this poem reminds us:
ILL Love (H)
The first verse of the following poem was written anonymously years ago. The next five were written by Ian Service
What joy to love the saints above
When I get home to glory.
To love below, the saints I know,
Well, that’s another story!
To love mankind I always find
To be a simple task.
To have love for the man next door
Is more than one should ask!
Love’s full and free when two agree;
It isn’t hard at all.
But easy it ain’t to love the saint
Who drives me up the wall!
When someone’s kind, and has Christ’s mind,
I love him with great ease.
But one who hurts with words he blurts,
Don’t make me love him, please!
If no one needs my loving deeds,
I love unstintingly.
But hungry saints with real complaints
Should stay away from me!
But Jesus said, to those He led,
“By this all will discover
That you are Mine. This is the sign –
That you love one another.”
Hopefully, that fun, little poem reminds us that loving one another does take some work.
It takes effort on our part.
And along with that, we must also do the work to not allow criticism and fault finding to become a part of our practice, because it invalidates love.
III. The third essential is A VOICE OF HOPE.
1. We live in a world that looks for meaning.
People are trying to make their way through, trying to find that secret ingredient that will make their lives content.
So they strive for more money, more possessions, more fame…but they are still desperate for an answer.
One sees the troubles with war in Iraq and Israel, the continuing militancy and terrorism of Islamic ideology, the slaughter of Christians in Sudan, Marxism on the rise in Nicaragua and Venezuela, and women sold as slaves to become prostitutes, and it is easy to be discouraged.
Issues of abortion, gambling and addiction dominate our culture and families.
And sometimes, I just want to say, “Stop the world, I want to get off!”
There is a lot of desperation on this planet.
And the desperation will continue, for a Christless world is a hopeless world.
But a Christ-filled world is a hope-filled world.
You see…
2. We have a message of grace.
God offers us forgiveness and healing, and gives it to us when we humbly ask for it.
He brings meaning to the meaningless.
He brings purpose to those without purpose.
This is the good news that we have, and we are to share.
We are God’s voice of hope in the land of desperation.
You see…
3. Because we have grace, we have hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
A Christless world is a hopeless world.
But a Christ-filled world is a hope-filled world.
We can be that voice of hope!
APPLICATION:
1. Faith, love and hope are our essentials.
Again, these are the preeminent qualities of a Christian.
They stand above all else.
Nothing stands with them.
And…
2. When we get these right, we get our purpose straightened out.
To get there, though, we have to take a good, hard look at ourselves, and be ready to face the reality about ourselves.
ILL Purpose (S)
Many years ago, a young graduate reported to a law office for training in an apprenticeship. The senior lawyer who hired him quickly indoctrinated him in the office routine. Then the young lawyer sat at his desk and carried on this conver¬sation with himself.
"What are you going to do when you finish your apprenticeship?"
"Hang out my shingle and practice law, of course!"
"What then?"
"Why, make a lot of money!"
"What then?"
"When I get rich I shall retire."
"What then?"
"Well, I’ll die."
"What then?"
His whole body trembling, Charles G. Finney rushed out of the office and ran to a park some few hundred yards distant. He remained there in prayer, vowing that he would not return to his office or to his room until he had settled his life’s work. He saw himself as he was - selfish, ambitious, sinful. And he gave himself to the Lord for Him to use. Leaving the park, Finney stepped forth, in faith in God, to a life of usefulness rarely paralleled in the last two centuries.
3. When we get our individual purpose right, we (the church) are able to live the unity we have been given.
We begin to see how we fit into the larger picture, and importance of being what and how God has called us to be.
We will be determined to live out the essentials of faith, hope and love, because they are the greatest demonstrations of what we believe.
And when we live them, they help us fulfill our mission.
They help us fulfill our mission to make disciples – committed followers of our dear Lord Jesus.
BENEDICTION:
Might we live by faith…being a people that truly believe in the promises of God, that have the courage to follow through, showing that God is worthy of our trust.
Might we be known by our love…being a people that would do the unusual, that would truly love one another, serving one another and a world that needs us.
Might we be a voice of hope…showing that no matter what our circumstances, we have a future that is absolutely certain, we do not need to fear for we are secure in the love of our God and Savior.
Now…May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
RESOURCES:
Decker, Paul These Three… 26 June 2005
SermonCentral
Huss, Devon Faith, Hope and Love
Luke, Michael The Affection Factor
Books:
MacArthur, John, Jr. Ephesians. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.
Morris, Leon. The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. 20 vols. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. R. V. G. Tasker, vol. 7. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979.
