IF GOD IS OUR FATHER --DONT KICK HIS KIDS!
Introduction:
Teamwork is the FUEL that allows Common People To Produce Uncommon Results!"
T.E.A.M = Together Everyone Achieves More!
I.TEAMWORK REQUIRES THAT WE KNOW WHO OUR ENEMY IS.
A.Eph. 6:11-12—“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
1.I managed my daughters softball team one summer. I asked the girls what they wanted for a team name. Their response was “the enemies.” I discouraged the name, but they had the right idea.
Satan is to be dreaded as a lion.
More to be dreaded as a serpent.
And most to be dreaded as an angel.
2.God put the church in the world.
Satan seeks to put the world in the church.
B.The snare of the devil is to disguise himself as an angel of light. II Cor. 11:14-15
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
1.His master plan is to pervert the pure, distort the discernible, foster false doctrine, kill the committed, condemn he converted, deceive the disciples, pulverize the powerful, slam the sanctified, fire his darts at the dedicated, slander the saved, trip up the truth seekers and criminalize Christianity.
2.Satan’s entire tendency is to take our focus off the finish line.
3.He does this through initiating a battle plan to focus on the trivial instead of the Trinity.
C.A Team (Or Church) not acquainted with the devil’s power and plans are destined to succumb to spiritual warfare.
II.GOD’S PEOPLE MUST KNOW WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM!
Story: A man who couldn’t swim went fishing with his friend and after awhile caught a really big fish. He was so excited about catching such a big fish that he leaned too far over and fell into the water.
“Help! Save Me! Help! Save Me!”
His friend reached out and was going to grab him by the hair and get him into the boat. But the man’s toupee came off and he slipped back into the water. He came up again and yelled, “Help! Save me!” This time his friend grabbed him by the arm. As he pulled on his arm, it came off because it was an artificial limb. The man continued to kick and thrash around. The friend reached out and managed to grab a leg and as he pulled on it, it came off. It was a wooden leg. As the man continued to splash, calling out for help his friend disgustedly said, “How can I help you if you won’t stick together?”
Sometimes God has a difficult time helping us with teamwork because we have a hard time “sticking together” as a team.
A. Good news! You and I don’t have to agree on every little thing as long as we know what our objective is. And that is keeping our eyes focused on the Lord.
B.Abraham said, “Let there be no strife among us for we be brethren.”
C.Unity is the hallmark of Christianity.
In a horse-pulling contest at a county I fair the first-place horse moved a sled weighing 4,500 pounds. The runner-up pulled 4,000 pounds. The owners of the two horses wondered how much the animals could pull if they worked together. So they hitched them up and loaded the sled. To everyone’s surprise, the horses were able to pull 12,000 pounds that’s 3,500 pounds more than if they had gone solo!!
1.The greatest contradiction to the Christian faith is division.
What is the glue that holds God’s people together? It is love!
2.I John 3:16 is the manual for Christianity.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
3.A team that focuses on the faults instead of the possibilities is destined to ruin.
a.If the devil can drive a wedge between brothers and sisters, he’ll do it in a heartbeat.
b.On the Lord’s team, there must be mutual encouragement and toleration on the part of all members to maintain a winning spirit of cooperation.
4.Satan would love to devour the church by petty thinking, fault finding, unwanted and unfounded critical remarks. (Build up instead of blasting away.)
III.GOD’S TEAM KNOWS ITS PURPOSE!
A.Prov. 19:21“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
Steve Johnson call the monthly church meeting of Westside Church o order exactly 7 pm. “We got a lot to cover tonight, folks, so we’d better get started,” said Steve. “As you know, our agenda is to agree on a unified church program for the New Year. We’re suppose to present it to the congregation in two weeks.”
As chairman, Steve was feeling quite anxious over what happened. Only the annual budget meeting provoked more disagreement and debate than this program-planning meeting. “Who wants to go first?” asked Steve.
This ought to be easy. “said Ben Faithful, a deacon who’d been a member for twenty-six years. “Last year was a good year. Let’s just repeat all the good things we did last year. I’ve always believed that the tried and true is better than a lot of new fangled ideas.
“Well, I’d have to disagree with that, “said Bob Newman. “Times have changed, and I think we need to reevaluate everything we’re doing. Just because a program worked in the past doesn’t automatically man it’s going to continue working next year. I’m especially interested in starting another worship service with a different style. We’ve all seen the growth that Calvary Church has had since they started a contemporary service to reach out to the unchurched.”
“Yes, come churches will do anything to get a crowd, “replied Ben. “They forgot who the church is for: It’s for us Christians! We’re suppose to be different and separate from the world. We’re not to pander to whatever the world wants. I sure don’t intend to see that happen at Westside!”
Over the next two hours a worthy list of programs and causes was presented for inclusion in the church calendar. Karen Doer passionately insisted that Westside church take a more active role in Operation Rescue and the pro-life movement. John Manly gave a moving testimony about how Promise Keepers had changed his life and suggested a full slate of men’s activities. Linda Loving spoke of the need to develop various support groups. Bob Learner made his usual pitch for the church to begin a Christian school. And of course, Jerry Tightwad kept asking, “How much will it cost?” as each proposal was presented. They were all valid suggestions. The problem was there seemed to be no standard of reference by which the council could evaluate and decide which programs would be adopted.
Finally Clark Reasoner spoke up. Clark was the voice everyone was waiting for at this point. Whenever issues became confused at church business meetings, he’d usually make a short speech, and a majority would vote his way. But the sheer forces of his personality made whatever he said seem sensible at the time.
B.The problem in this scenario is multiple driving forces in this church are competing for attention. This results in conflict and a church that is trying to head several different directions at the same time.
C.It isn’t our job to create the purpose of the church, but to discover them. A purpose-driven church is committed to fulfilling the task that Christ ordained for His church to accomplish.
Purpose 1 – Love God with all your heart.
Matt. 4:10—“Worship the Lord you God and serve Him only.”
Ps. 34:3—“O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name
together.
Purpose 2—Love your neighbor as yourself.
a.The mission here is to minister to people.
b.Ministry is demonstrating God’s love to others by meeting their needs—less meetings and more ministering.
Purpose 3— Go make disciples.
a.The church exists to communicate God’s word. We are ambassadors for Christ.
b.As long as there is one soul who has not heard, we are to speak.
c.A great commitment to the great commandment and the great commission will grow at church.
Purpose 4—The church exists to edify and educate God’s people.
5.
a.Our desire is to build up and strengthen.
b.We must make Disciples of Christ. Strong followers
c.Col. 1:28—“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”
CONCLUSION:
Don’t focus on growing a church with programs, focus on growing people.
1.Our enemy is Satan.
2.We are a team of God’s people.
3.Know our purpose.
