The Church—The Body of Christ
Acts 2:4242 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 4:33."And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."
INTRODUCTION
You might be in a country church if:
The Call to Worship is ,"Y’all come on in!"
The Preacher says, "I’d like to ask Bubba to pray for the offering" - and five guys stand up.
Opening day of deer hunting season is recognized as an official church holiday.
A member requests to be buried in his truck because, "I ain’t never been in a hole it couldn’t get me out of".
A singing group is known as "The O.K. Chorale."
The church directory doesn’t have last names.
The only time people lock their cars in the parking lot is during the summer and only so no one leaves them another bag of tomatoes!
Baptism is referred to as "branding."
High notes on the organ set dogs in the parking lot to howling.
People wonder when Jesus fed the 5,000 whether the two fish were bass or catfish.
I have noticed that geese seem to be able to do something that we in the Church should want to do. Their flocks seem to get larger. These geese do this by reproduction, but they also must invite other geese to come join them.
I do not think that geese have a newspaper or radio to communicate with one another, but as I watch the geese, their flocks get larger and larger as the summer goes on.
In the Book “Are You A Goose?” by Johson tells us a few things that scientists have learned about geese regarding why they do what they do.
SERMON
I. GEESE ILLUSTRATE THE CONCEPT OF FELLOWSHIP
What is fellowship? Fellowship means “to have in common”, “to share”, “to participate for a common cause”.
1. ACT 2:42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
2. Why do the geese get together before they head south for the winter (God made them that way, they do not think about it)? The geese get
together because together, the journey is easier.
3. When you see geese heading south for the winter flying along in a "V" formation, you ight be interested in knowing that science has discovered
why they fly that way.
a. Re-search has revealed that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately behind it.
b. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
4. People who share a common direction and sense of community get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on
one another’s thrust.
C. Part of being in fellowship with one another is making sure that we are going in the same direction and that we are flying in formation.
1. Have you seen a group of geese heading out in all directions as they try to head south
1. Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone.
2. It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.
3. When we fall out of formation with God, we also feel the resistance pull us down away from our goal of growing closer to Jesus.
3. If we will embark on our journey to heaven together, the journey becomes easier.
4. The geese because of their instinct given to them by God, get together and head south for the winter for their survival.
5. As Christians, we need to get together and walk together, we need to spend time together and grow together.
5. 1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the
light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
6. The geese stay together and head south for their survival, we too must work together as one body for our survival.
7. As a church, each of us need to think of ways that we can grow together in Christ.
8. If we as people have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation and so will those who are headed the same way we are.
II. THEY HAD GREAT PURPOSE
A. Their purpose was to obey the Savior.
1. Jesus had asked them to tarry in the Upper Room. He said, "But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high"
(Luke 24:49).
2. Obedience is always a vital link to power and blessing from God.
Then, their purpose was to obtain the promise. The promise, was the blessed Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised in Acts 1:8,
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you . . ." THis promise is made to every person who desires to receive it
from the Lord.
B. Their purpose was to offer the Gospel. They were to be witnesses . . ."both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
C. Peter stood before the great crowd in the streets of Jerusalem and offered the Gospel to the Jews from many nations.
The sermon was simple, and his purpose was plain. He wanted to help people get to Heaven.
III. THEY HAD GREAT POWER
The power at Pentecost was the same used at creation, to divide the Red Sea, to keep Daniel safe in the lions’ den, and to rescue the three
Hebrew children from the fiery furnace.
This was also the same power that turned the water to wine, healed multitudes, fed the five thousand, - sight to the blind man raised Lazarus
from the dead.
A. This Holy Spirit power is available to every Christian who will seek God and pay the price.
a. Notice this power depends on certain things.
1.It is dependent upon…a clean life. God will not fill a dirty vessel with His Holy Spirit power. We must be clean.
2. It depends on consistent walking in the Spirit.
B. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
1. The fly-by-night, blow-hot-blow-cold, in-and-out kind of Christianity does not know the power of God.
2. Great power depends on continual walking after God.
3. Power comes thru prayer. Will you pray for me, for your church, and for its members every day?
Jesus said, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a
serpent? . . .How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:11,13).
4. God used David greatly for good reasons:
a. David had a willing heart. When the Lord looked into his heart, He saw a boy . . ."after his own heart" (I Sam. 13:14).
5. His motives were pure, his life was clean, and he was ready to go where the Lord led.
6. David also had a wise head. He was wise enough to wait until the proper time to claim the throne.
• His experience of victory over the bear and the lion, as well as over Goliath, expresses a note of wisdom.
c. David had working hands. Notice that out of eight boys, he was the one working. This is an indication that he was more suited to be king.
John 4:35
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest. “Work for the night is coming…”
Illust:
The story is told of a huge barge loaded with brick and rock that sank in a New York harbor. Over a long period of years, it had mired deep in the
mud, sinking a little more each year from weight. The engineers, attempting to build a large bridge across the body of water, were hindered by
this barge because it was necessary to plant a foundation in that very spot. All their efforts and machinery could not do the job. Finally, a young
engineer came up with an idea, and they gave it a try. Several big barges were chained together and floated into the area at low tide. Several
chains were hooked to the sunken barge, and then they backed off to wait. As the tide began to rise, there was a creaking, groaning and
stretching of chains. Soon the barge broke loose and was lifted out of its place and floated away. The power of the Atlantic Ocean had been
used to raise the barge.
d. When all our efforts of human wisdom fail, God’s mighty power can do the job!
POWER In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson's astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work
c. Great power comes thru prayer, fasting and the study of the WORD! but not prayer only. We must put “feet” to our prayers!
GEESE ILLUSTRATE SHARING THE WORKLOAD
A. I was taught a general rule regarding giving and getting work done in the church. 80% of the work and giving gets done by 20% of the people.
This rule applies to churches who are not really growing, growing churches are active churches, the more people involved in the work of the
church, the more that gets done.
B. What happens when 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people?
• The people who are doing the work become discouraged and sometimes get burned out.
C. When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the "V" and another goose flies the point. (It pays to take turns doing hard jobs.)
D. What would happen to the geese if only 20% of them would take the lead?
• The geese would not achieve their goal of survival.
e. The work of the church is important; we are building the kingdom of God.
f. There are many of you with various talents that could enhance the ministry of this church, make sure that you use them.
g. 1 Cor. 12 reminds us that we are one body with many parts, if all of the parts are not working in the body, the body does not function properly.
What if 80% of you car engine decided to quit working?
G. By instinct, geese share the work load among all the geese, as a church, we should do the same thing.
III. GEESE ILLUSTRATE ENCOURAGEMENT
A. Have you ever heard a flock of geese flying high overhead?
• They are making all kinds of noise, they are honking at each other as they fly.
B. I know that on the highway, the only honking you hear from behind is someone wanting you to speed up or get out of the way.
B. Why do geese honk as they fly?
1. The researchers tell us that geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
2. What do we say when we honk from behind?
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
4. HEB 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness
of sin.
5. More times than not, the noise that we hear behind people who are working is not the voice of encouragement, but instead, the voice of
criticism.
6. These geese are trying to encourage one another as they are on their long journey south, as Christians, we should do the same thing.
We are on a long journey to Jesus and we need encourager’s. In the New Testament, Barnabas was known for being an encourager.
ACT 4:36 And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of ncouragement).
We need to encourage one another.
IV. GEESE ILLUSTRATE SHARING BURDENS WITH ONE ANOTHER
A. This last concept is one that desperately needed in the church. The concept of sharing one another’s burdens.
B. When a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gun-fire and falls out, two other geese fall out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it.
They stay with the goose until it is either able to fly again or dead, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up
with their group.
C. GAL 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
D. ROM 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
E. If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.
F. People need to know that when they need someone, they have a brother or sister in Christ that they can reach out to.
We all need encouragement.
G. Too many times we shoot the brother who stumbles, we need to stay with them until they heal or die.
CONCLUSION
There are many things that we can learn from God’s creation like the concepts that we can learn from watching geese that can help make the church stronger.
I hope that as a church; we will fly together in the formation, that we will share the workload of the church, that when we are honking at each other
from behind, it is to encourage and that we will share one another’s burdens.
Are you doing your part?
Ill.--One shabby little old lady with gray hair listened to the testimonies of people in the church about the goodness of God.
She stood to her feet and said, "I don’t have much of this world’s goods. My health is not so good. I only have two teeth, one up and one down; but, praise God, they meet together in the middle!"
This certainly ought to be the attitude of all true Christians. There is always something to be thankful for. A good, positive attitude of gratitude will keep this a great church!
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