INTRO.- United we stand, divided we fall. Where are those words found in scripture? Who said those words in the Bible? NO ONE SAID THOSE WORDS IN SCRIPTURE. They are not found in scripture.
Jesus said something similar but not those exact words.
Matt. 12:25 “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”
Every kingdom, city, country, home, church, etc. divided against itself will be ruined or will fall.
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. Who did say these words? People have attributed these words to Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln but neither of these men said these words. They may have quoted them, but neither of them were the author of these words.
These words were actually penned in a song by a man named John Dickinson in what is called “The Liberty Song” (1768).
“Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all!
By uniting we stand, dividing we fall.”
Later George Pope Morris, the journalist and poet, quoted these words in 1853.
ILL.- It’s been said that when our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin stood up and said, "Gentlemen, now we must all hang together, or surely we shall all hang separately."
The church, the Lord’s church, Jonesboro Christian Church must hang together. WE MUST BE UNITED IN SPITE OF DIFFERENCES. But that sad truth is, many of our churches have not hung together or worked at unity.
ILL.- A man asked the preacher, “How many active members do you have in your church?” The preacher said, “They’re all active. Half of them are working with me and half of them are working against me.” AND THIS DOES HAPPEN IN SOME CHURCHES.
ILL.- Here’s the title of a newspaper article in the 1960’s: “PREACHER TURNS OTHER CHEEK, GETS POKE IN EYE!” A preacher and his church got into a real fight. Guess where this took place? New Providence Baptist Church, Blytheville, AR. Nearly unbelievable!
ILL.- The following question was asked: “When you have fifty people all of different opinions, what do you have?” Someone replied, “A BAPTIST CHURCH.” It could be any church.
Even though people have differences of opinion about many things or many subjects, they must work together as best they can to woo and win the lost world to Christ.
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The Lord’s church must be known for her love, not her feuding and fighting.
ILL.- Maxwell Perkins, editor, once wrote, "One of my deepest convictions is that the terrible harms that are done in this world are not done by deliberately evil people... They are done by the good people--by those who are so sure that God is with them. Nothing can stop them; for they are certain that they are right.”
One of the reasons for fighting and feuding in our churches is that certain people think they are always right about everything and they become very legalistic about it. “It’s my way or the highway!” What a terrible attitude.
Instead of fighting, warring, arguing, and criticizing, we must work at building the church. We must work at building up one another, not tearing one another down. We must eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive. We must focus on the positive, instead of the negative.
ILL.- Here’s a couple of examples of what I’m talking about. Wayne Smith preached at the Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY, for forty years. He worked very hard to keep his church from splitting. He said they had many opportunities to split but never did.
One time while Wayne was away one of the associate ministers preached the morning sermon. He essentially told the church that if anyone was a member of any Lodge that they could not go to heaven. Wayne said that next week, “all hell broke loose.”
Wayne had a talk with the associate minister and then they went to call on a number of families in the church who were obviously offended and tried to make peace. Apparently, they did.
ILL.- Another time a family came forward during the invitation time and placed their membership with the church. The family had a little girl who held a Cabbage Patch doll. Wayne said, “That’s an ugly looking doll.”
Wayne said later, “Why did I say that? I don’t know. It was really dumb.” (And of course, this just shows how we should weigh our words before we speak, or think before we speak).
Later that week Wayne went to see that little girl to try to make up with her. He said he took her four large candy bars. Her father said, “CAN YOU BRING THEM EVERY WEEK?”
Wayne Smith definitely had the right attitude. He wanted to mend an offense and make peace in the church.
Heb. 12:14 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men…”
Rom. 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Rom. 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
We are admonished in Scripture “to make every effort” to be at peace, to promote peace, to build up one another in the church, to edify, to maintain unity in the church.
PROP.- In the introductory words of Paul’s letter to the Philippians we can get a sense of the unity that we should have in the church today. There is:
1- Unity in service
2- Unity in station
3- Unity in setting
I. UNITY IN SERVICE
V. 1 “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.”
Paul and Timothy were united in their service for Christ. They were opposites in many ways and yet they were united in their service for Christ.
They were different: in nationality, age, background, vocation, education, experience, etc. but they were united in their service.
ILL.- Although preacher George Whitefield disagreed with John Wesley on some theological matters, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the gospel. When someone asked Whitefield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, "I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him."
That’s the humble attitude that we should have toward one another.
Phil. 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”
George Whitefield and John Wesley disagreed with one another about certain doctrinal matters, but they were still servants of Christ. Both served Christ in their own particular ministry. They were different, had different ways of thinking, had different ministries, but they were united in serving. THIS IS THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE LORD’S CHURCH.
ILL.- Bob Russell is the Sr. Minister of the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. Bob graduated from Cincinnati Bible Seminary in 1965. The next year, 1966, Bob became the preacher of the Southeast Church. At that time, they had about 120 people. Now they have about 17,000 people who attend one of the three services every weekend. Their building seats 9,000.
About 1989 Dave Stone came to the Southeast Church to be their Preaching Associate minister. He quickly became quite popular with the people. His preaching style is different than Bob Russell’s. He’s funny and more forceful in his preaching style.
Business First magazine named him one of the top 40 leaders under the age of 40 in the Kentucky/Indiana area. He was the first clergyman to ever receive that honor.
These men are different in age, background, etc. and yet they share the same pulpit. It looks to me like they could easily become jealous of one another, because both of them have become quite successful in their pulpit ministries.
Apparently, they get along well and work with one another. That’s called “unity in service.” And this should take place regardless of what we do to serve in the Lord’s church.
ILL.- I had an elder at the First Christian Church of Iberia, MO, many years ago who could seemingly do it all. He was an excellent Sunday School/Bible teacher, he could preach, he could sing, he could lead the congregational singing, and he was an excellent handyman. The only thing I could do was preach and not well. BUT WE GOT ALONG FINE. I am quite sure that he endured me in spite of my inabilities or liabilities, etc.
IT’S CALLED UNITY IN SERVICE! And this is something that we must work at in the church. We all serve Christ, just in different ways or in different ministries. We should never become jealous of one another nor resent one another.
ILL.- I worked as the Assistant Manager at the Trees ‘n Trend store in Cape Girardeau, MO, for several years. The manager was a young man, only about 32 years of age. Prior to being our manager he had worked as an assistant manager with Wal-Mart in California. Steve knew his business. He knew the retail business. He had a good knowledge of the products that we sold and knew how to merchandise them. Merchandising is what sells your product. He also knew how to delegate work, instead of doing it himself.
On the other hand, I didn’t know our products very well. I knew some of them, but not nearly as well as our manager. Also, I could not merchandise as well as the manager, but I was good with the customers and with our employees.
Even though Steve and I were different in many ways, we got along well. He was raised a Catholic and I had been a Christian Church minister for a very long time, but we were united in service, in serving our customers, in delivering good service, etc.
If we can do it in the world, why can’t we do it in the church? Sometimes, sad to say, the world exceeds the church in being united and in giving good service. MAY GOD HELP US TO BECOME MORE UNITED IN SERVICE, NOT BEING JEALOUS, OR CONTENTIOUS, ETC.
II. UNITY IN STATION
V. 1 “To the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi.” Paul directed his letter to the “saints.”
ILL.- Listen to this telephone conversation.
General: “Hello, we need 12 vehicles in the parade square immediately. Two of them must limousines.”
Soldier: “What are the limousines for? To haul those fat-slob generals around, in I bet.”
General: “Soldier, do you know who I am?”
Soldier: “No, I don’t.”
General: “This is General Watson.”
Soldier: “Do you know who I am?”
General: “No, I don’t.”
Soldier: “SEE YA ‘ROUND, FATSO!”
I’m pretty sure that things really don’t work that way in the armed service. Hopefully, there is more respect for a person’s rank than that.
WHAT’S YOUR RANK? How do you rank in life? Or what’s your station in life? Guess what? You rank a lot higher than you might imagine.
Paul wrote to the “saints” in Christ. These brothers and sisters ranked as “saints.” We, too, fall in that category, rank or station. WE ARE SAINTS and we didn’t have to die to get that rank!
II Cor. 5:21 “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Because of Jesus we have a high rank or high station in life. The Father looks us upon as “saints,” and it’s because Jesus traded places with us. Jesus made our ranking with the Father possible. We didn’t climb the ranks, so to speak. We were given a high ranking just because of Jesus. We are privileged characters.
We need to be united in regard to our ranking. One saint is no higher than another saint.
ILL.- While visiting with Wilma and Cecil in the hospital last week I mentioned that I was going to Elmer Schilly. Wilma said, “If there ever was a saint, its Elmer.” I RESENT THAT! Not really.
I understand where Wilma is coming from. Most of you probably feel the same as Wilma. Elmer Schilly has a tremendously good spirit in spite of all the negative things that have happened to him in life. Most of us, if not all of us, feel he is a “cut above” or a step above in the realm of sainthood.
ILL.- I felt the same way about several of my Bible College professors. Don DeWelt and Wilbur Fields, to name two of them. These men were so good, so holy, so righteous, so devout that I felt like a private compared to them. AND IT WAS GOOD THAT I HAD A HUMBLE ATTITUDE TOWARD THEM. That humility and respect enabled me to learn from them.
If I had thought of myself more highly I would not have listened to them and learned from them.
Rom. 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. HONOR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES.”
Brothers and sisters, we are to be united in station, in regard to our station in life. Never think lowly of another brother or sister in Christ! Their circumstances may be different than yours. They may not have as much materially as you. They may not be as pretty as you or as gifted as you, BUT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD THEY ARE JUST AS PRECIOUS, JUST AS SAINTED!
Phil. 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”
ILL.- I remember a church member saying to me one time many years ago in regard to another family in the church, “They’re not our class of people.” OH, BUT WE ARE! We’re all in the same class. Consequently, we must strive for unity.
Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight! All are saints. We should act like saints and love one another like saints and honor one another above ourselves.
III. UNITY IN SETTING
V. 1 “To all the saints IN CHRIST JESUS.”
HOW MANY OF YOU WERE BORN IN MISSOURI? We Missourians need to hang together. The same should be true of Arkansans or Illinoisans, etc.
ILL.- Many years ago when I lived in Joplin, MO, they had a slogan. “Think well, speak well, do well for Joplin.” Not bad. Every citizen should do the best they can for their own town or city. And there should be a certain amount of patriotism and unity because of that association.
ILL.- Several churches decided in the South decided to go together and have one big revival meeting even though there were differences in their faith. The song leader was a Baptist and was very proud of his denomination. He asked, “How many Baptists are here tonight?” All except one lady raised her hand.
He asked, “Lady, what are you?” She said, “I’m a Methodist.” The song leader said, “Well, why are you a Methodist?” She said, “Because my grandparents were Methodists. My mother was a Methodist, and my late husband was a Methodist.”
The song leader said, “Well, suppose all your relatives had been morons, what would that have made you?”
She replied, “Oh, I see. A Baptist, I suppose.”
Brothers and sisters, I realize there is a great diversity of opinion and thinking in the world of Christianity. And some people think their church is “it” in the sense, they are the only ones who mean anything to God or will be the only ones saved in heaven.
If a person has half sense and one eye, they surely know better than this. God is not a strict legalistic; thinking, believing and saying that only one group of people or only one church is going to be saved! How ridiculous! How unloving! How unchristian! How unbiblical! How unlike God!
Make no mistake about it. Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God and the Savior of the world! He did die on the cross for us. He did become sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God.
We believe John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.”
But when it comes to other people who believe in Jesus as the Christ we have no right to judge them or condemn them. Just because someone is a charismatic or something else that we might not particularly believe in, it doesn’t mean they will not be saved.
ILL.- For example, there are many TV preachers or televangelists that I wouldn’t give you a dime for. I never did like Jim Bakker of the PTL Club and Heritage USA. I thought he was dumb and acted stupid on TV. Of course, he got some things he certainly didn’t want and he admitted that he was wrong.
I think a whole lot more of him now than when he had a big TV ministry. He’s probably still a charismatic and I am not. I am not in the sense of believing what many charismatics believe. I CERTAINLY BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS GIFTS TO US, BUT NOT THE WAY MANY CHARISMATICS BELIEVE!
But this still doesn’t give me the right to condemn him, them or write them off.
Most TV preachers are very shallow in their preaching, as far as I am concerned. I question how much good they are doing. However, there is the other side of the coin and it’s this: THEY MAY BE DOING MORE GOOD THAN I AM DOING OR WILL EVER DO!
I have no right to judge them and they don’t have the right to judge me. WE ALL NEED TO LET GOD BE GOD AND DO THE JUDGING OF OTHERS!
James 4:11-12 “Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. BUT YOU – WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE YOUR NEIGHBOR?” Powerful words.
Brothers and sisters, we must strive for unity in setting! By this, I mean that “our setting” is in Christ. We’re in Christ and so are many other people with whom we disagree. Even though we think differently about some things, go to different churches, etc. we must be as united with them as possible!
God knows who belongs to Him and to His son Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility to be a united as possible in order to convince the unbelieving world that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world!
ILL.- Here’s an example of what I’m talking. I go to the YMCA nearly every morning at 6 to work out. Since going there I have met many different people. And guess what? Most of them claim some kind of relationship to Christ. They believe in Christ, even though they may go to different churches.
I talk to those people every day. I talk to them about working out, but I also talk to them about Christ, Jonesboro Christian Church and their church. I ask them about their church, etc. And when I leave them every morning, I say, “The Lord bless you” or “God bless you.” I bless them every day.
The worst thing I could do, would be to shun them or act like I was better than they are or not talk to them at all.
GOD PUT US HERE TO BUILD UP PEOPLE, TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, TO HELP PEOPLE, TO LOVE PEOPLE, TO BE UNITED WITH PEOPLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Shame on us if we don’t work at this!
CONCLUSION----------------------------------------
Brothers and sisters, the world is fractured, but we must not be! The Lord’s people must be united: in the church and outside the church! And with all who claim to follow Christ.
ILL.- A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God said, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?"
Christ is our only hope for salvation, for forgiveness, for winning the lost, and for unity. He is our unity. As we bow to Him, and allow Him to tune us, so we will be tuned in harmony with one another.
