The Power of Agreement Part 3b
Scriptures: Philippians 2:1-5; 13-15; Matthew 5:16
Introduction
Last week I started this message and we looked at the first five verses in Philippians chapter two. I shared with you the beginning process of things we must do internally in order to come into agreement with each other externally. I walked you through what Paul said about our giving up selfishness; how we should regard others as more important than ourselves; and how we really should be looking out for the interests of others. This morning I will take up from where I left off last week.
I. Why We Should Come Into Agreement
Last week I focused on the "how" and this week will look at the "why". When I first started this message several weeks ago, I shared with you what Jesus said in Matthew 10:20 that when two or more come together in His name He would be in our midst. Let's take a look at what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13-15 which also reconfirms what Matthew quoted from Jesus.
"For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world." Philippians 2:13-15 (NAS)
In the verses above, Paul gives us the "why" behind our need to come into agreement with one another. In verse 13, Paul says that God is the one who is at work within us. What does this mean? It means that God is using us to get His will done hear on earth. The second part of verse 13 Paul confirms this stating that God is using us for His good pleasure. Remember last year when I told you that anything that is going to be done on earth for God is going to be done by those who believe in Him? When we begin to walk with God, He begins to use us to get His will accomplished. Remember what Jesus said in John 6:38 when He said He had come here not to do His own will but to do the will of the One who sent Him, His Father? That is also what we are here to do, the will of God. If God is going to work His will through us, we have to be open to allow Him to operate. This comes about when we seek to come into agreement with one another focusing on what God wants done versus what we want done.
If we begin to understand that God is working through us to get His will done then it makes us more sensitive to how we interact with others. For example, you may have an interaction with someone on your job who is not saved. Through your interaction, that person gets a glimpse of God and decides to accept Him in their heart. Through your brief interaction, a soul was saved. God used you, even without your prior knowledge, to save a lost soul. That is the beauty of how God operates. When we begin to yield to Him, we do not have to know all of the particulars of how God will use us, we just need to be available and open. But in the process, we begin to expect God to use us in our every day interactions so we become careful about the things we do and say. So the first "why" behind our need to come into agreement centers on the fact that God is using us and He can get a lot more accomplish through people who are in tuned with Him and in agreement with each other.
Next Paul tells us that we should do all things without grumbling or disputing. Oh I cannot tell you the number of times that I have done things while grumbling. When I was growing up, sometimes I would try and talk back to my parents in a very low voice. Sometimes I got away with it and sometimes I would not. I would do this when they told me to do something that I did not want to do. Ever done that? Have you ever had to do something on your job, at school or even at home that you did not want to do so you grumbled while you were doing it? This is what Paul was talking about. When we come into agreement with each other, whatever we decide to do, everyone must be in agreement and then we move forward as one. It does not mean that you started off in agreement, but once the decision is made, we all walk in that decision as one body. This will require that we not grumble once we start to move. If we are being used by God for His will to get His things done on earth, we must be very careful about grumbling because we could actually be grumbling against God. Every thing that we do is a reflection on the one we serve. The attitude we display when we are doing everything in our lives will reflect on God if you call yourself a Christian. I told you before that people have a different expectation of Christians and how we are supposed to act in different situations. To this point we must always be mindful of what display in our actions.
Paul says in the rest of the verse that when we do things without grumbling or disputing, we prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent; children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. When we begin to operate like the rest of the world (our attitudes, ways of doing things, etc) we run the risk of clouding the light that is supposed to be shining through us. People will begin to think that there is nothing different about a Christian versus anyone else who is in the world. However, when we respond to things the right way and when we are consistently doing the right things, we become a light shining in the darkness. Remember what Jesus said as recorded in Matthew 5:16? He said "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Paul reminds us of this when he said that when we are doing what is right in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, we appear as lights in the world. We all know that our world is full of darkness and within that darkness we exist. However, the only light that the world has is that which comes from those who are serving God and walking with Him. This encompasses more than just "doing the right things" but also includes being spiritually able to help lost souls find the one true light. How we walk is crucial to our testimony; what others will see and believe when they encounter us. When we begin to walk in agreement, we will begin to change the world around us.
II. Agreement At New Light
(For those of you who are reading this message and you are not a member of New Light, I ask that as you read this, you will consider your responses to your own Church and whether or not you are in agreement with your Church in these areas. If you are not in agreement with your Church AND you do not see any possibility of coming into agreement with your Church, then you need to consider if you are in the right place. But, if you know you are where God wants you, then you have an obligation to come off the pew, seat (or chair), find out where your church is going and then get on board. You'll be surprise what you will be able to get done when you start contributing.)
New Light, there are several areas that we must come into agreement on. Although I cannot cover all of them in this message, I want to cover a few of the more important ones and we can discuss the others as we continue to move forward.
Beliefs. Do you agree with the beliefs of this Church? All of you have copies of our Constitution and By-laws which contains our beliefs. I ask that you go back through them and refresh your memory of what this Church stands for. By doing this, you will have answers for those who may have questions for you when you are inviting them to come out and visit with us. You must know what you believe as well as what your Church believes. If you believe that our Church beliefs are scriptural then you have taken the first step to coming into agreement with this ministry.
Church Building. I am not sure about you, but I dream about the day when we will have our own building. A permanent place that we can call home. To see this dream become a reality will require that we come into agreement on the type of building, how the finance it (fund raising, tithes/offerings, etc), its location, size, etc. All of these things must be decided on so that as we are praying about our building, we are one. When we make the decision as to what we can afford and what will allow us to continue walking in what God has called us to do, we must all stand together in support of the decision. We will not be able to build anything if some want to move one way while others in a different way. We must come into agreement as one.
Church Ministries: We have several Church ministries operating in this Church. As the Church continues to grow, these ministries will likewise grow as they continue to develop. We will also add on additional ministries as we grow as a Church body. As you evaluate the ministries that we currently have in place, i.e. the Women & Men's ministries; children and Youth ministries; the Music ministry, etc, do you view them as important to this Church? Are they worth a couple of hours of your time each month? The things that we view as important are those things that we choose to participate in. The ministries that are currently in place and those that will come on board later all need your support and in order for you to support them, you must agree that one, they are important and two, they are worthy of your time.
Sunday Morning Service: This is one of those things that personally troubles me. If we come into agreement that our Church service will start at a particular time, why is it that there are times when we may be 15, 20 or even 30 minutes late? We would not walk into a movie, 20-30 minutes late. If you had tickets to a professional sporting event, you would not walk into that game 20-30 minutes late. If your child was involved in something, you would not get them to their even 20-30 minutes late. Why? Because being at the movie at the beginning is important. We must get their in time to get a good seat and our refreshments before the movie starts. Same things with a professional sporting event or having our child at their event. We place importance on these things, but when it comes to God, our attitude can be "as long as I get there He will be happy." I am not sure if that is true though. We depend on God for our very existence, but we give Him only what we have left of our time, our finances and our energy. We want God to accept our leftovers but we want His best. I am asking you to come into agreement with us that we will begin to walk as one in our Sunday morning service. If you do not wish to come for prayer at 8:45, at least be here and ready to start by 8:55 a.m.
Wednesday Night Bible Study: I cannot tell you the number of times that people have come to me, not necessarily from New Light, but in general looking for answers to life questions according to the Word of God. This is one of our most important ministries because here is where you learn. I know there are times when some of you cannot attend because of work, school, homework, etc. But there are also times some of you do not attend because you're just too tired. I understand this because I am sure there are many occasions when all of the teachers are tired too, including me. It can be very disheartening for a teacher to spend all their time preparing a lesson and then no one shows us. How important is Bible Study to you? How important do you place Bible Study for your children. When you do not bring them on Wednesday evening, are you teaching them at home? When you do not come on Wednesday evenings, are you studying at home? We can be involved in a whole lot of things which takes precedents over God, yet we call ourselves His children. How do you expect to raise a child that is God fearing and places God first in their lives if you do not teach them that by your actions? Don't you realize that if you have God 25% of the time you dedicated to your entertainment, your TV, your shopping, your eating out and all of other miscellaneous things we do that you Christian walk would be mush stronger. How can you expect to grow stronger in your faith walk if everything else is more important to you than doing what it takes? I am asking you to come into agreement with this Church and move Bible Study up on your priority list.
Church Finances: If we commit to all of the above, the finances will be there to do whatever we need to do. We will be so in tuned with God that we will start making different decisions about what we give Him versus what we keep for ourselves. The more we learn of Him, the more we want to give Him. I believe if we come into agreement in the other areas, the finances will take care of themselves. Enough said.
New Light, it is time for us to move forward. We must come into agreement with one another so that we can begin to step as one. Our decisions will be made as one and carried out as one. God cannot establish our path as long as we are seeking our own way, we must all turn towards Him together. I am looking forward to a great 2006 as we all come into agreement with one another. May God bless and keep you.
