GETTING ALONG IN GOD’S HOUSE – 15:1-13
BEN FRANKLIN: As I look over a congregation like this I feel like he must have felt when he saw lightning and thought, ‘Oh if I could ever harness that energy’ Church could become an unstoppable army but for three things. Gideon’s army in Judges 5 was whittled down from 13,000 to 300 because of two things. Lack of faith and a lack of focus. A third we find here which is a lack of fellowship.
How do we avoid the things that can divide us. There are so many things that if we chose to we could get upset about and use as seedbeds of strife in any church.
Visitor? If you want to you can find plenty to criticize about this church or any church. If you can’t think of enough come to me and I could tell you more. You want to have fun, become a pastor. If you want to criticize somebody you could start here. None of us are perfect, that is why we came to Christ. But if you want to find a blessing you could find them all around. Depends on what you are seeking?
1917: Russian Orthodox Church bishops were having a convocation: came to a heated debate with fusing and feuding. A few doors down the street another meeting was going on. The Bulshavics were together plotting the overthrow of the Czar. Revolution- the beginning of what we now know as Communism. What was the church arguing about while the Empire was crumbling around them? Candles, were they to be 18” or 22” long.
Chuck Swindoll says that he has looked at many churches which have split and he has yet to find a church that split over what we would call an essential or a fundamental issue.
How important is it that our fellowship be strong and that we know who we are and what we are to really be about as the body of Christ.
(THREE IMPORTANT TRUTHS TO CONSIDER)
WE NEED TO COMPENSATE FOR ONE ANOTHER (1) Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. (2) Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. (3) For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ’The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me’.
(Three things we need to do for our brother or sister in Christ)
1. BEAR WITH YOUR BROTHER
a. PHILLIPS ‘We who have strong faith ought to shoulder the burdens of the doubts and qualms of others and not just to go our own sweet way.
b. Two types in the church: Weak & strong in faith.
1) Characteristic of a weak brother: infirmities, w/o strength. Failures: prone to mess up, problems are pushing them down. Bad habits are overwhelming them, instead of being of top of their problems there are constantly under them, often their behavior is disappointing to a stronger believer.
2) Characteristic of a strong brother: bear with others, self-denial and self-sacrifice Paul included himself
1 COR 9:19, 22 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
c. Idea of word ought, which in Old English is the past tense of word ‘owe’ is that we have an obligation in Christ to support, carry, and bear with those who are weaker in their faith.
Father & Son taking a walk. Child seems always distracted, off the path, walking at a different pace. Child might say, ‘Dad I have to take three steps to every one of yours. An impatient father might say things like, ‘hurry up, catch up with me, get back over here now’. A wise father slows his pace, teaches along the way, and enjoys that fact that they are together.
2. BUILD UP YOUR BROTHER 15:1-2 not just please ourselves….please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
a. Stronger believers have the primary responsibility in the church to maintain harmony. To not seek to just please themselves.
Decide time for choir practice: Usually each person considers what works best for their schedule and says I vote for ______. A stonger believer looks at the needs of everyone and even if it is not the best time for them says I vote for ______.
b. In every relationship we have with fellow believers we need to seek how we can:
1) Put joy in their lives: for his good. Encourage them in the right directions in a manner to maintains a spirit of enthusiasm and harmony.
a) Don’t just give in to things that are bad for them and for the church to ‘please men’ but we realize that unity in the body is something Jesus put at as high priority.
2) Build them up in their faith. To their edification. Our goal is to be to bring them farther along in their walk with Christ.
Tulsa, witnessing venture led a man an his wife to Jesus. They were caught up in motorcycle gang, alchoholism, drugs. Man’s name was James Reed. Came to church, baptized, got married in pastor’s living room but would struggle with old life. Do well for a while and then be back with gang, drinking and drugs, convicted and come back and then be tempted again. The young man who led them to Christ said, you are moving into the apartment next door to us. Every morning at 6AM there would be a knock on the bedroom wall, ‘Get up, it is time for your quiet time….are you up yet,’ Each night would come over and just open God’s Word and study and disciple James Reed and his wife. DID IT WORK? Today James Reed is a SBC Missionary in Uganda
3. BEHAVE LIKE CHRIST TOWARD YOUR BROTHER V:3
a. The ‘strongest human who ever lived?’ JESUS CHRIST. He is the prime example for even Christ did not please Himself but…
1) Phil 2 teaches us that Jesus put aside His position to come to meet our need. There is no comparison in the church to how much stronger Jesus was to even the strongest believer. Can we not love others who are really not that much different from ourselves.
b. Jesus didn’t put himself first but chose the will of God in every decision. Didn’t spend His life in self-gratification.
Taught us that strength is not found in independence from God but in dependence upon.
Examples in Scripture of those we would consider strong in faith.
ABRAHAM: stood with Nephew Lot when the had to divide. Looked over the fertile Jordan Valley and even though older gave Lot first choice. MOSES: gave up his place as a prince in the household of Pharoah that he might ‘suffer reproach with the people of God’. JONATHAN: gracefully yielded his right to the throne to David because he knew God had chosen him. JOHN THE BAPTIST: gave up a thriving ministry and pointed to Jesus saying, ‘He must increase; I must decrease’. None who gave up ever lost anything but on the eternal scale of things they all ultimately gained.
WE NEED TO BE COMMITTED TO ONE TRUTH (4) For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (5) Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, (6) so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (7) Therefore accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
1. Paul reminds them that we have one standard. What was written to others was also written to me that I might know God’s mind and find hope in His promises.
2. Three things that are in the heart of God for His Church
a. be of the same mind with one another. Have a heart of unity. This is so important regarding the power of the testimony that the church will have before a lost world.
b. with one voice glorify God Remember these are Jews and Gentiles: people with racial, cultural, religious differences and a history of hatred for one another. The Roman church was a mixture of Jews & Gentiles, slaves & free men, rich & poor, strong & weak. God doesn’t want to hear many voices criticizing one another but one voice focused on the Savior.
Feel at home asking various people to lead us in prayer because it is something they are comfortable with but I heard of one Pastor who spoke up and said, ‘Bro. Brown would you please stand and lead us in a word of criticism’.
c. accept one another as Christ has accepted us I guess the day I can decide whether I will accept another person is the day that they have done more against me than I have done against Jesus. If He accepted me then I can accept them.
Two men who were brothers in Christ and strong leaders in a church had serious differences of viewpoint. It brought them to a deadlock in which they were not able to resolve. Both felt they were right and it was threatening a very important program in the church. It looked as nothing could be worked out and the two with others began to pray that God would intervene. At the final meeting scheduled to try and work this out one of the men said, ‘There is no need for us to talk about this, God has already been talking to me. He has showed me that I have been stubborn and I am sorry, let’s go on to other things now and get this program started’. The entire thing just faded away because God is able to change situations and bring about unity.
Blood is the life of the body: Love is the life of the church. I woke up the other night after having slept on my right arm for most of the night. It was beyond anything I had experienced before with an arm or a leg ‘going to sleep’. I would try to stretch out fingers and they would snap back, the whole arm ached, took a long time to return to normal. A lack of love circulating through a church only causes ___
WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON ONE CAUSE (8) For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, (9) and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written….
1. Paul reminds us of what Jesus did in emptying Himself and become a bondservant that the gospel might be preached to the entire world.
a. Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost
2. Our one cause is to reach this lost world with the gospel. That is the Great Commission. That is the only thing we can do here that we can’t do in heaven(worship, preaching, fellowships)
Corporation Headhunter: Job was to seek out top executives for corporations. The best way I have found is to meet with them and then take them to a relaxing enviroment, talk with them about various interests such as sports. Get them loose and relaxed. We put our feet up, loosen our ties and then out of nowhere I look them directly in the eye and ask, ‘What is the motivating purpose of your life?’ If they stumble and struggle to answer we don’t want them. One man answered back w/o hesitation, ‘To go to heaven and to take as many with me as I can!’ Motivated by_____ money, possession, popularity, bigger and better_____
a. Jesus had one thing on His mind….Paul said, I have become all things to all men that I may by all means win some to faith in Christ.
3. Important? Paul gives us three Scriptures to back it up: One from each of the three major sections of the Old Testament(From the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses a fact is confirmed).
LAW: (10) Again he says, ‘Rejoice O Gentiles, with His people(Deut 32:43)
WISDOM: (11) And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’(Ps 117:1)
PROPHETS: (12) Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the Root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope’.(Isa 11:10)
a. Confirms the fact that like Jesus we need to put all else aside and work together to be a light to a lost world.
C.S. LEWIS: wrote the Screwtape Letters which was a narrative between the devil and his supposed nephew names ‘Wormwood’. Regarding the subject of how to sabatoge the church the devil counseled his nephew,
‘The church is a fertile field if you just keep them bickering over details, structure, organization, money, property, personal hurts and misunderstandings. One thing you must prevent: don’t let them ever look up and see the banners flying, for if they ever see the banners flying then you have lost them forever’.
We need to stop looking around with such sharp eyes of criticism and selfish motives and start looking up and setting our eyes on God’s glory.
If we ever fix our eyes on Jesus, and set our minds on the things above and not the things here on earth, and if we learn to count all earthly things as loss for the sake of Christ and to press on towards the upward call of God in Christ Jesus then the devils vacation will be over and hurting lives will find healing and lost souls will find deliverance. THAT IS THE POWER OF FELLOWSHIP!
