ARE WE ON GOD'S TEAM? (May 15, 2010)
Text: John 17:20 – 26
Just recently there were many who celebrated in the National Day of Prayer. This was the 59th annual celebration of the National Day of Prayer. There were some who were opposed to the observance of this day. Keep this in mind when you remember that God's only begotten Son came here to save a world of lost sinners. As someone (William R. Herzog II) has pointed out we live in a world that is “under siege” to its own agenda. He made the point that a community under siege can become more “cohesive or more splintered”. (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting On The Word. Year C, Volume 2. William R. Herzog II. “The Exegetical Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 543). That author expressed very well what was perhaps one of Jesus's biggest concerns. Jesus was concerned about the world that He came to save. He was concerned about the current generation of disciples then and every generation of disciples that would follow. That is why He prayed this prayer in John 17:20 – 26 with both a present tense and a future tense.
A MISSION TO FULFILL
The church is in the world to change the world.
1) Singer and songwriter John Mayer just recently wrote a song that talks about “waiting on the world to change”. Every time I hear that song on the radio I think about two groups. There is the spectators who watch and wait for change. Then, there the is the other group, the agents of change---the participants. There is no question as to which group that Jesus's disciples should belong.
2) There is another John---John Chrysostom who was a bishop of the early church. John Chrysostom once made the point that “people would know the teacher [our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ] by His disciples”. (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting On The Word. Year C, Volume 2. Peter J. B. Carman. “The Theological Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 542). How well are we changing the world by our witness?
Our mission is to make God's God's dream come true.
1) Tommy Tenney once wrote a book that was founded on this prayer that Jesus prayed. The title of that book is more than just a catchy title. The title of that book suggests what is perhaps God's ideal and our potential. The title of that book is God's Dream Team. It is one of the same books that I suggested for recommended reading in April's newsletter.
2) In the first chapter of that book Tommy Tenney writes … “God dreams of unity, but his difficulty and chief obstacle is the will of man. His dream cannot be accomplished and His will cannot be done until we submit our will to Him. He will only do what we allow Him to do. Sadly we are better at talking about His will than doing it. We cannot sincerely pray, “Thy kingdom come” until we have legitimately prayed “My kingdom go.” Truth without proof becomes an empty cliché, and cliches' can become the oratory of hypocrisy”. (Ventura: Regal Books, 1999, p. 23).
3) Are we on God's Dream Team?
Our marching orders to fulfill God's mission on earth never changes.
1) Today we celebrate with those who have graduated from college as well as those who will soon graduate from high school. Though one chapter in your life has been completed, your mission to change the world keeps on going.
2) Our mission to change the world never ends because His kingdom is forever.
3) The success we have today effects what will happen in the lives of the generations that will follow us. That is why all of us can not slight our responsibility as His disciples today!
4) Just think about the impact of what happened in an earlier generation when (thanks to Madalyn Murray O'Hair) the freedom to pray in the public schools became an issue. Think about the impact that has had on our world today.
5) That is one of the ways that we live in a world that is “under siege”.
6) We never graduate from God's Dream Team until we have completed our mission.
UNITY IS IMPORTANT TO OUR MISSION
We cannot succeed if we are divided.
1) Someone (William R. Herzog II) has said “If the community breaks into fragments, its chaos will undermine its mission to the world.” (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting On The Word. Year C, Volume 2. William R. Herzog II. “The Exegetical Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 543). What does that kind of “chaos” look like? Does it look the same for unbelievers and Christians alike?
2) “Madalyn Murray O'Hair was interviewed on Public Television. During the course of this interview it was noted that Ms. O'Hair seemed to have a lot of clout. The interviewer asked why she didn't organize the atheist movement better so as to be a stronger power. She responded with a telling answer: "Because every time a bunch of atheists get together, all they do is argue." Christian unity should always demonstrate regenerated believers working in cooperation and love to extend the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, though, churches sound more like Ms. O'Hair's camp of disagreeables. (Raymond McHenry. McHenry's Quips, Quotes & Other Notes. [Source: "The Church's Mission," Bill Donahue, Seeds Tape Ministry, Feb. 3, 1992]. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, p. 38).
3) Listen to the result of one argument between disagreeable Christians. In the late 1800s, there were just two deacons in a small Baptist church in Mayfield County, Kentucky. The two deacons hated each other and always opposed one another. On a particular Sunday, one deacon put up a small wooden peg in the back wall so the minister could hang his hat. When the other deacon discovered the peg, he was outraged that he had not been consulted. The church took sides and eventually split. The departing group formed a new church, called The Anti-peg Baptist Church. (Raymond McHenry. McHenry's Quips, Quotes & Other Notes. [Source: "New Life for Your Church, Doyle L. Young, 1989, p. 63]. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, p. 270).
4) Consequences : We laugh at how silly that story sounds. But, there is nothing funny when unity falters between Christians. We have to think about how many would-be Christians might have been turned off because of such pettiness between two church deacons. We also have to think about the reality that our own pettiness can do the same thing in this generation.
What happens when there is failure in our unity? One of the things that happens when unity fails between Christians is that it can turn would-be Christians against Christianity.
1) Gandhi is reported to have said that he “... would have become a Christian were it not for observing Christians”. (Tenney, p. 50).
2) “Disunity costs our credibility”. (Tenney, p. 29). 3) Disunity enables Satan territory to expand, divide and conquer and destroy through division. 4) Tommy Tenney gave some really good advice about Christians at adds with one another when he said “put down the swords and pick up the towels”. (p. 74). The message was pretty clear. We use verbal swords for fighting. Our swords represent our pride.
What happens when unity flourishes? Among the many profound insights that Tommy Tenney had there are three that stand out that illustrate how Christian unity flourishes and has the the potential to flourish. Those three things are very simple.
1) The first thing that we have to understand is that “servanthood is a unity builder”. (p. 72).
2) Servants become “catalysts for change”. (p. 16).
3) The first two ideals can open doors for progress because “unity is the cause for revival”. (p. 128). God is much “... more interested in the development of our character than the expansion of our comfort zone”. (p. 129).
4) Have you ever wondered why geese fly in the shape of a “v” ? Flying in this way improve the aerodynamics of the wind as they fly. “When flying together in a V formation, often the lead goose will drop back into formation to rest a bit while another takes its place as the leader. An easy lesson is found in the value of sharing the load. It prevents weariness in well doing and empowers the leaders and the led.” Those who study geese have noticed that two geese also look after those that fall out of formation to nurse them back to recovery so that they rejoin the flock. (p.52).
5) The world often lives contrary to checking on those who get wounded because there are many times when people walk on the other side of someone else's pain rather than showing compassion. Jesus once asked what does it profit a man to gain the world and yet forfeit his salvation (Mark 8:36). Are we on God's Dream Team to be revived within and influence revival without?
We cannot succeed if we are disconnected! As Tommy Tenney points out, “Our refusal to walk in unity literally gives the world good cause to believe Jesus's virgin birth, His death and His resurrection are a hoax. Is it it any surprise that the world wonders if any of us are from God or even if God loves them? No woncder society rejects the Church! We have rejected His prayer. … This prayer is Jesus' only unanswered prayer. (p. 30). What do we need to do to be connected and united with God?
1) Like Jesus, we need to seek God in prayer so that we can seek to do His will. When we humble ourselves, seek God's face and pray (II Chronicles 7:14).
2) When we truly seek God's face we will be able to do what God requires of us in doing justice, love kindness and practice it as we walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
3) We have to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength and love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Luke 10:27).
4) Jesus is the vine and we are the branches and apart from Him we cannot do anything (John 15:5).
5) The glory that God gave to Jesus, Jesus has given to us so that we could be one with Jesus just as Jesus is one with God (John 17:22).
6) Others will know that we are His disciples by the way we love others (John 13:35). “Either God's dream shatters or our will breaks. His dream cannot exist in the presence of an unbroken, unsubmitted human will”. (p. 30).
7) Our love should reflect Jesus's love so that “the world may believe that God sent Jesus” (John 17:21) .
8) Are we on God's dream team? We must live our lives daily in such a way that the answer to this question is an undeniable yes!
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
