Building Together in Love
Ephesians 4:16
Ephesians 4:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Illustration:
"I am going to paint the house," said a big can of paint, waiting, already mixed, in the workroom.
"No, I am going to paint it!" the paintbrush asserted, bristling with indignation.
"You are, are you?" sneered the ladder lying against the wall. "How far will you get without me?"
Just then the painter, who overheard these self-confident remarks, ventured to put in a word. "Perhaps I'd better take a holiday," he said quietly. "I wonder if the house would be painted by the time I got back.
Each one of us contributes to the building of the church.
Each of us has a talent to be used for the glory of God.
The moral of this story is that we must work together for the enrichment of Christ's kingdom. Each one of us contributes to the building of this kingdom. Each one of us is needed. Every contribution counts. The task may be large or small: it doesn't matter. Each task is important. Each of us has a talent to be used for the glory of God.
CHURCH
CH CH – What is missing? If U R missing there is no church at all. So, we ought to be building the church together in love.
Quotation: The church is not complete without "U"!
Likewise, a Christian’s life can never be complete apart from a healthy, Bible believing, Spirit filled church. It goes hand in hand.
WHAT EXACTLY DO WE BUILD?
We don’t have a lot for the building.
We at FICC Dubai meet in a hotel. We don’t even have our own building.
But even if we had our own building we wouldn’t be so concerned about the building. What we are concerned about is the church.
What is a church?
The Greek word for church is "ekklesia“ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ meaning "called out ones".
That is a very special thing, to be one whom God has called out of the world, to be part of His Family!
Ekklesia" also means "assembly" or "congregation". This is how God has organized His family in the earth, through local congregations which are to be earthly representations of His Heavenly Kingdom.
Jesus Himself was the one who ordained and commissioned the church (Matthew 16:18).
Mt 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
One of the Biblical names for the church is the Body of Christ.
1Co 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Can someone be a Christian without going to church?
As Augustine once said, "He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the church for his mother."
Building Together in Love.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Building together in love suggests:
l. CONNECTION
For how can we work together if we are not connected with each other?
Scripture clearly teaches that we were created for connections. God recognized this when He said, Gen. 2:18 “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
This afternoon I want you to look at the four metaphors from the Bible that describe being spiritually connected.
These are word pictures that describe the church.
It is possible to attend church but never be truly connected to a spiritual family.
a. It’s like being built into a building.
b. It’s like being joined into a body.
c. It’s like being attached to a vine.
d. It’s like being born into a family.
Eph. 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Occasionally an electrician may install some wiring, but fail to connect it. An electric wire can be in a building and not be connected to it.
This is a metaphor for life. There are people who may come to our church but that are not really connected to the church family.
If you are not connected in a building, you are a disconnected frame with no support.
That is true in any area of life.
Unless you’re connected strong winds may blow you over and the emotional and financial earthquakes of life will undermine you.
The rains are going to beat down on your roof.
You need to be connected.
Eph. 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,
Eph. 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Eph. 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
You’ve heard before that your body is a temple, but as a church, we are all a temple together.
God is building a spiritual temple and for it to make a difference in your life, you have to get connected.
What does it mean to be spiritually connected? It’s like being built into a building where we lean on each other, help each other, and support each other when things are going wrong. If you’re not connected or framed in or welded or attached, you’re going to fall over.
What does it mean to be spiritually connected?
The most common description of the Church in the Bible is the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. What Jesus did when He was on the earth—He wants us to continue doing today?
We are different parts of one body. God designed it that way. Some are hands, others are ears, while some are feet and some are the heart.
God doesn’t expect us all to be alike. You can have unity without uniformity.
We’re many parts and we’re different. But the verse tells us that we’re all needed.
We’re like a jigsaw puzzle. If there is a missing piece you will notice the piece that is missing. We’re all important…everyone is needed. In the body of Christ everyone matters.
Another metaphor is the metaphor of the vine and the branches.
It is like being attached to the vine.
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:4
A disconnected branch cannot bear fruit.
Is there any fruit in your life? Are you connected to the vine?
What kind of fruit God wants us to bear?
Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
How I pray that the fruit of the Holy Spirit could be found in our lives.
Illustration:
This old hillbilly farmer had a wife who nagged him all the time. From morning till night, she was complaining. His only retreat was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He tried to plow a lot. He left his mule & began to eat his lunch under the shade. His wife brought him lunch in the field. One day, when he was out plowing, immediately his wife began to nag & nag, it just went on & on. The old mule got angry & kicked her on the head. Killed her on the spot. At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something odd. After the funeral the pastor asked the widower about it.
At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something odd. After the funeral the pastor asked the widower about it. He said, “Well, the women would come up & say something about how nice my wife looked or how pretty her dress was & I would nod in agreement.” “But what about the men?” the pastor asked. “They wanted to know if the mule was for sale.” I said, “NO.”
Let us now study the fourth metaphor. We
don’t need a mule in solving family dispute. It is like being born into the family. There are only three ways to get into a family:
a. You are born into it.
b. You marry into it.
c. You’re adopted into it.
a & c Describes what we
call “ Born Again.”
Under Roman law in the New Testament times, you could disown a child that you birthed. But if you adopted a child, you were forbidden to ever disown them. I have two children. They didn’t always do what I wanted for them to do. At times, they did the exact opposite. However, no matter what they did, they would still be my children.
Folks, once you are born you cannot be unborn. Once you are born again, you cannot be unborn again. You can grieve our Heavenly Father, just like I probably did to my parents when I was growing up. The fellowship was broken at times. But nothing I did could ever cause them to disown me. Once you become a child in the family of God, you are in.
Rom. 12:5 So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Building Together in Love.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Suggests:
l. Connection.
ll. Communion.
“Communion” – communion is the Old English word for fellowship.
2Co 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Koinonia can be translated
1. partnership – partnership with one another – even teamwork.
2. fellowship – fellowship with one another, excluding no other believer in Jesus Christ.
3. participation – mutual participation in each other’s lives.
4. sharing – sharing with one another.
Koinonia is the practical expression of self-giving love.
With real koinonia, you give in order to meet and support somebody else in their need.
Building Together in Love.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Suggests:
l. Connection.
ll. Communion.
lll. Coordination.
FIND A PLACE IN THE SERVICE OF THE LORD. ROM.12:5-8
NOTE: ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY 15 % OF CHRISTIANS ARE OVERWORKED WHILE 85% HAS NO WORK.
INSIGHT: ALL OF US HAVE ABILITIES.
CHALLENGE: DISCOVER THEM/ AND USE THEM FOR THE LORD. ROM.12:3-8
Illustration:
A young priest preached a sermon on the subject of Christian stewardship. Starting with the parable of the talents, he urged his people to place at God's disposal the gifts and abilities with which God endowed them. After the service, a man came up to him and said, "Father, I am not a particularly gifted man. I really don't feel capable of teaching in the Sunday school or canvassing for money or doing any of the other things that you talked about this morning. But I do have one talent that might be of use to the church."
"And what is that?" asked the priest.
"Well," said the young man, "I have the talent of criticism. I can criticize your sermons. I can criticize the choir. I can criticize everything about the church. What should I do with my talent?" The priest remained silent long enough to pray for wisdom; then he replied, "Do you remember what the man of one talent in the parable did? He buried his talent in the earth. I suggest you would be well-advised to do the same."
The talents with which God has endowed us are for the building up of the kingdom. We Christians are called to teach and preach Jesus' message to the world. As responsible followers of Christ we must not only do we hear the Word, but we must preach it as well.
Each of us is expected to perform our Christian duty according to our individual abilities. Each disciple is graced with his or her own unique power and capability of doing God's will.
There are lots of works to be done! Teaching Friday School, . Witnessing to the lost that they experience eternal life with God! Work in building up the Body of Christ.
Whatever your vocation is, you are at the same time a full-time minister of Jesus Christ out in the world. You and I - all of us - are involved in the corporate ministry of the Church. No matter where you are, no matter what your secular vocation, no matter what neighborhood you live in, while you are here, you are the Lord's ministers.
Let us not bury our talents as the lazy servant did. Rather, may we be industrious, reliable servants, using our talents for the glory of God!
There are the things that destroy unity in the family of God.
a. Fighting
b. Backbiting
c. Faultfinding
d. Criticizing
e. Arguing
So let us do away with those things and let us build each other up. Hebrews 12:14
Do you ever watch nature documentaries on TV? When a lion stalks a heard of gazelles, did you ever notice the one he goes after? The one who strays from the herd.
Building Together in Love.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Suggests:
l. Connection.
ll. Communion.
lll. Coordination.
lV. Compassion.
The phrase “ In Love” suggest compassion.
Why did the Tower of Babel Collapsed?
Because it was built in pride!
Gen. 11:3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
So in order for our endeavor to build the church succeed, we must build it in love.
Love for the Lord and love for the brethren.
Love is the glue that cements relationship. Pride destroys it.
Join in the ministry of FICC Church. And be a part of our mission and vision of planting FICC churches in strategic cities of the Emirates for Jesus.
May FICC be the catalyst and the model of a church that builds together the Kingdom of God in love. Happy 10th Anniversary to all of you.
Powerpoint is available upon your request. Just email me: ficcjoel@yahoo.com
