Scripture: Ephesians 4: 1
to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely
humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit˜just as you were called to one hope when
you were called˜one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of
all, who is over all and through all and in all.‰
We‚ve come a long way in the building of the new church. Many days of
hard work, many thousands of dollars spent and many prayers have gone up
to get us where we are today.
This is a great task to be accomplished and very important, but we must
not forget what is more important: „the building up of the body of
Christ.‰
Story
I remember years ago when we use to go deer hunting for a week. We
planed for weeks before the hunt to get everything ready and we traveled
to the northern part of the state to the most remote place we could find.
I remember one year in particular. It was Monday morning, the first day
of hunting season, it was 5 am and we were busy getting all our stuff
together to go out to hunt. There was one guy that went with us every year
and we loved having him along. His name was Dennis, but everybody at camp
called him Buck. Well, that morning we all took notice to what Buck was
doing. He was packing everything he thought he might need so he could
stay out and hunt all day without having to come back to camp. He filled
up his thermos with coffee, he got an extra pair of socks in case he got
his feet wet, he got toilet paper, flashlight, gloves, toboggin, scarf, a
pocket hand warmer, a hot seat, knife, rope for pulling a deer if he got
one, deer scent, matches, two sandwiches and some candy bars. Well ol‚
Buck was not very big and with all this stuff he looked like a little
Eskimo. We started walking away from camp and probably was 3 or 4 hundred
yards away from camp when Buck stopped dead in his tracks and said „ By
Jack!!‰ Buck would always say by Jack when he got excited. We all
stopped and turned to look at Buck. He said „By Jack I forgot my gun.‰
We seem to be pretty sure of ourselves, that we will not forget the
most important thing, when we can actually look back and find that we do
quite often.
We as the body of the church, must always remember to work together in
unity so as to edify each other for the glory of God.
Paul compared the body of Christ to the human body in the book of
Corinthians. In our human body, the eye cannot become the hand, the foot
cannot become the arm. Each part of the body has a specific function and
all the parts work together in harmony as God meant them to do. That is
the way it should be in the Church. Each person has a responsibility to
the whole body of Christ. We are to edify our brothers and sisters in
Christ. Too often we do more tearing down of the body than we do the
building up of it.
The same goes for our human body. We can start an exercise program,
work out everyday. We find out fast how good we start to feel. Not only
do we feel better on the inside, but we start to look better on the
outside too. This goes on for a few days or weeks and then one day we see
that big arch in the sky. So we say to our self, „ what can one big mac
hurt. We stop and go in and order 2 big macs, a super size fry and a
large coke. This makes us feel good at first, but soon after comes the
guilt . We tell our selves that we will not do that again, only to find
that we do it again and again and soon find that we‚re not working out as
much.
That‚s what happens to many in the Church. We start out in great
shape when we are new Christians. We feel good and people even notice
that we look better on the outside. We smile more often. We have nice
things to say. We offer our help whenever we can. Then we stop at the
big arch. We want to have a big mac , fries and a coke. We start to
talk about someone in the Church. Oh, it feels good at first, but soon
after comes the guilt. We tell our selves that we will not do that again,
only to fine that we do it again and again and soon find that we‚re not
attending church as much.
It says in verse 22 thru 25 „to put off your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your
minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood
and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.‰
Speech which does not become an instrument of grace and up building
among the people of God is worthless speech. What we let come out of our
mouth can do so much harm. We can not take our words back. Martin Luther
once said, „More harm has come to the Church through the tongue than by
all the opposition and bloody persecution of the enemies of the Church.‰
We must build up the body of Christ with good words. Words of
encouragement and love. Words that are kind and gentle.
What can happen if we do not do this? In verse 30 it says do not
grieve the Holy Spirit. The ill use of the tongue grieves the Holy Spirit
of God. That is why it is so important as to how we speak to and about
each other as Christians. Do we find ourselfs building up the body of
Christ or tearing it down.
Let‚s continue in verse 31: Get rid of all bitterness, rage and
anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave
you. Be imitators of God.‰
There is so much in the Bible that tells us how to treat each other in
the body of Christ. Here are some things that it says:
Love one another
Encourage one another
Be devoted to one another
Build up on another
Be kind to one another
Live in harmony with one another
Accept one another
Serve one another
Have concern for one another
Confess your sins to one another
Forgive one another
Teach and admonish one another
Pray for one another
All of these help build up the body of Christ. When we learn to do
these, we become more like Christ. We become a body of Christians working
together in unity for the Glory of God!!
When one in the body has victory we all should rejoice together and
when one in the body hurts we should all feel the hurt.
Story
There is a story about a special Olympics that was held in Seattle,
Washington. Nine runners, all physically or mentally challenged, lined up
at the starting line for the 100 yard dash. At the sound of the starting
gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the eagerness
and joy to run the race, to the finish and win. All started out good,
except for one boy who stumbled. He turned over a couple of times and
began to cry. The other eight runners heard the boy cry. They slowed
down and paused. Then they all turned and went back. Every one of them.
One girl with Down‚s Syndrome bent down and kissed the boy and said, „That
will make it better.‰ Then all nine of them linked arms and walked
together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the
cheering went of for 10 solid minutes.
Why did the runners finish like this? Because they all had the same
heart. And they knew that the goal was to win, but that the greater goal
was to cross the finish and it was better to do it together, than to leave
one behind, hurt and crying and alone.
Church, we must have the same heart. One heart in Christ. With one
heart we are to rejoice together when one is honored. And with one heart
we are to reach out in love and compassion when one is hurt.
Can you imagine how rediculous it would be for you to be in a
competition, let‚s say a tennis match and our body would start arguing. .
Maybe the left arm would say, „let me use the racket now.‰ Or the eyes
would say, „We‚re tired, we‚ll going to close for a while.‰ Does sound
rediculous, huh?
We can look at what geese do when they fly south and learn from them.
When geese fly south, just by flapping their wings they create an uplift
for the bird immediately following. By flying in a V formation, the whole
flock adds at least 70% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its
own. (As Christians we sometimes can be the leaders and help those that
follow and sometimes we gain by just following someone.)
Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and
resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation
to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.
(It‚s good for us to stay in line with the direction of the body of
Christ, for His glory.)
When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and
another goose flies point. (It helps in the body of the church when others
help with the hard jobs so some can rest.)
When the geese are flying they honk from behind to encourage those up
front to keep up their speed. (We can do this in both directions. Giving
encouragement to those that lead and giving encouragement to those that
follow.)
And finally when a goose gets sick, or is wounded , two geese will
fall out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They
stay with that goose until it is either able to fly or until it is dead.
(this is what we must do as Christians. We must minister to those that
are hurt in the body. They must be brought back into the body of Christ
so we can in unity do the work of the God for the glory of God.)
In everything we say and do we are to do for the Glory of God. What a
glorious Church we could have if we would follow what the Bible says. We
could be a Church that is on fire for God. A Church that can stand up to
anything the devil throws at it. A Church that has the unsaved looking at
it and wanting what we have.
Are you a builder in the body of Christ?
Or is this an area where you need more help from God?
I know I do and all this week I had to move up to this sermon. God has
showed me many ways that I can do better in the body of Christ.
You see now how we are a body and how we must work together, in one
mind and in one accord for the glory of God. We are the body and Jesus
Christ is the head. We do everything together for His glory.
Do you want God to help you in this area? Do you want to have a
Church that works in unity for God‚s glory?
Then won‚t you come tonight and ask for God‚s help.
I think we all have been guilty at one time or another of tearing down the
Church.
God wants us to work together and we can with His help.
We have the Holy Spirit living in us. We just need to yield to His
leading.
As the music starts tonight, won‚t you step out for God? Let Him help us
to be ONE BODY working together for HIS glory
