May 1, 2005 Psalm 133:1
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
A Minister’s Prayer for God’s Church: LORD, Help Us to Walk Together
I. As an individual church
When we were at the Seminary one of my professors told us to “beware of the loners” - the fellow ministers who didn’t like to hang out with other ministers. Why did he say that? Because it’s not natural for Christians to shun fellow Christians - especially ones that are proclaiming the same faith - supposed to be on the same team.
This is true in a local sense as well. There was once a pastor who had a young member who didn’t want anyone to bother her. He was called to the home, where she had the shades drawn and laid in bed. Whenever her parents or anyone came near her, she yelled at them and told them to get out. This was over thirty years ago, before they knew about mental illness. But when the pastor got there, he knew right away, something was not mentally right with the girl - so they got her help. He knew something wasn’t right. If a Christian person doesn’t like fellowship - doesn’t like to be around other Christians - it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is something mentally wrong. But if they want to be alone, there’s almost always got to be some sort of an emotional, physical or spiritual problem involved - either with the individual or the group as a whole.
Consider the Scriptures. When Jesus raised from the dead, Mary Magdalene was one of the first women to come to the tomb that morning. She thought someone had stolen his body from the tomb. I can’t imagine the overwhelming sense of joy when Jesus reached through her tears with the simple name, “Mary.” In response, Mary must have given Jesus a big old bear hug, and just wouldn’t let go, because Jesus had to literally say to her, “don’t keep clinging to me.” She didn’t want to let go. That story really gets to me. She wanted Jesus to remain on earth with her forever. Who can blame her? God has created us to be in fellowship with Him - to serve Him day and night in His temple as we gaze at His beauty. That’s why we enjoy listening to the Word of God and taking the Lord’s Supper. It makes us closer to God. That’s also why we look forward to dying - at least somewhat. We are naturally drawn to our Creator and Redeemer - to have fellowship with Him.
God isn’t the only Person we desire to have fellowship with. In a perfect creation, God still said of Adam in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” The writer of Ecclesiasties also wrote in 4:10-11, “Woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?” People need the fellowship of other people. This is even more true on a spiritual level. You can see this intense desire for fellowship even in the strongest of believers. When Elijah had to run from Queen Jezebel, fearing for his life, he said to God in 1 Kings 19:14, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” As God came to talk to Elijah, he still felt deserted and alone - like he was the only believer left in Israel - and he desired more. This sense for fellowship was also desired in Paul. He wrote to Paul in 2 Timothy 1:4 “Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.” Even these pillars of faith loved to have people to walk with in the faith. They longed for it.
Why did they long for it? Paul wrote to the Romans in1:11-12, “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” A purpose of Christian fellowship is primarily for the mutual encouragement of faith. Paul also wrote to the Ephesians that, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Think about this. It cannot be a sign of spiritual strength to want to be alone - to think that joining a church is optional - not that big of deal. It is just as dangerous to think that joining a fellowship involves nothing more than going through classes and then attending worship when you like. It’s the idea that church is just another activity - kind of like wading in a pool. Imagine you had a pool that had a zero entrance - and also a deep end - but it was wide at the narrow end and skinnier at the deeper end. Let’s say you had a hundred people that went swimming. You can either jump head in or just dip your toe in the water. Imagine if almost all hundred people stood on the edge of the pool with their toes in the water, kept about five feet from one another - said hi - and then went home. Only a few went into the deep end. People would say, “well, that wasn’t much of a pool party! Nobody talked to one another. Nobody hardly even got wet! I’m not going swimming there again!” That’s how I think a lot of people view church membership. They say, “I learned how to swim - went through instructions.” But then they spend the rest of their time at church just getting their toes wet. They’ll come to worship - but they don’t want to get too deep. By “getting too deep” I mean that they don’t work at learning more of the Scriptures. They don’t work at trying to get to know other members. They don’t want to become involved. It takes too much work - too much patience - too much time - time of which they already don’t have. So in reality we become a church of strangers - people who get their toes wet one hour a week and then come back home - alone. Then we wonder why some don’t bother coming back as often - why bother if I’m only going to get my toes wet?
That’s not what God had in mind with the church. The fellowship is to be deeper. God’s Word says to love your neighbor as yourself. How can you say you are loving your neighbor if you won’t even take the time to ask how he or she is doing? How can you say you are really a part of a fellowship if you don’t see anyone in the fellowship? Unless you can say you know every person’s name here - unless you can say you’ve prayed for every member every day - that you’ve done all you can to help each one here - to help seek the lost - you’ll have to admit you’ve not done your part. You haven’t fulfilled God’s desires. When it comes down to it, you’ve only earned hell by not joining as deeply as you could. But that, my friends is why we have a baptismal font at the front and center of our congregation. That, my friends, is why we have a cross in the middle of our altar. These are to remind us of a deeper fellowship that we have in this congregation - with Jesus. Jesus has bound Himself to us - promised Himself to us - given Himself to us. At our baptism God promised to stay with us - even through our sin - to forgive us - every minute of every day - even when we aren’t here - because of the Great Exchange that took place on the cross. Each and every one of us have a deeper fellowship with Christ than we will ever have with each other - through faith. When God commits Himself to us - He doesn’t do it half heartedly. He jumped in both feet first by bathing in our sins on the cross. Therefore, when Peter wanted Jesus to wash his whole body Jesus said, John 13:10 “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.” We have all been bathed in Christ at our baptism. We have faith in Jesus Christ. We are all clean. Thank God for that fellowship that He has with us. Paul wrote it well in Romans 8:38-39 when he said, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God does not dedicate Himself to us based on how dedicated we are to one another. He dedicates Himself to us because of His undeserved love and grace - in spite of who we are. The simple point is that in light of this dedication and fellowship that God has with us - we could be - even should be - digging for a deeper fellowship.
II. As a Synod
In New Testament times, you can see how deep that fellowship spread. Not only do you see a much stronger fellowship among individual churches, but also among the Christian Church as a whole. Consider for instance what Paul wrote about in the book of Romans. It appears that there was a famine or a persecution which caused the Jews in Jerusalem to become poor. So Paul wrote to the Romans saying, “I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” (Ro 15:25-28) Even though these churches were hundreds of miles apart, they felt an intense desire to help the saints in Jerusalem - many of whom they didn’t even know. It pleased them to do so.
Consider also the Corinthians. They were having problems and becoming divided over who they thought was the better teacher. Instead of coming himself, Paul sent Timothy - whom they had never met - to help them in their Christian life. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:17, “I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” Because Timothy had been approved by Paul, they could trust that what he had to say was in accordance with God’s Word - while also being like the Bereans and still testing it to make sure. Here the Corinthians were able to gain from a strong Christian man sent from another Christian congregation to help them mature in the faith.
Something similar happens in Acts 15. Luke writes, Acts 15:1-2 “Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.” Notice that they decided to have their spiritual leaders discuss a problem that happened in a local congregation - and make a decision according to God’s Word. They could use the greater church body - the Synod - to help guide them and keep them on the right path.
In all of these instances you can see where the churches did not consider themselves as simply individual groups who didn’t have to answer to anyone. Since they were connected together in a common faith, they depended on one another to keep their doctrine straight, and to also take care of one another. Fellowship among the larger church body was an important thing to them. It was especially necessary since at that time there were also many false prophets and apostles who were going around claiming to be sent from God - when they really weren’t. They needed this closer fellowship to keep one another on the right path. As we live in Topeka, KS, we also are a member of a larger body of Lutheran churches called the W.E.L.S. This is short for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. We watch videos about this Synod every month called the WELS Connection. They have asked us to take a Sunday to celebrate this as a “Walking Together” Sunday. Just as God blessed the New Testament churches with a fellowship we also have a fellowship of other congregations that we walk together with - called a Synod. So this Sunday isn’t set apart to boast on the Synod. It is to boast on the God who has blessed us through the Synod. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” If we don’t recognize these gifts, we don’t recognize the Father who sends the gifts.
I want you to stop and consider what a wonderful blessing God has given us through this Synod. Consider what this group of people walking together - can do. Did you realize that this church building and the parsonage is due in large part to our Synod? This larger group of Christians throughout the world agreed to borrow us the money (at a very reduced rate) to pay for this property, because they wanted to see God’s Word shared in Topeka. On top of this, this same group of Christians has recommended and sent different pastors that they trained at different worker training schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Synod has very faithful and intellectually gifted men who serve at our Seminary. They were called to make sure that your pastors were thoroughly trained in God’s Word and learned it in the original languages. The Synod - that includes a portion of your offerings also - paid for the schools to be put up and even for about half of their tuition. As a result of this - you have not had pastors come in here and tell you that the Bible isn’t really God’s Word - or that sin is no longer really sin. They haven’t preached humanism and converted to a man-centered you can do it religion. The Synod also has sent missionaries throughout the world - to Russia, Japan, China, Europe, Mexico, Africa, and beyond. They have helped us to examine tough modern applications of God’s Word when it comes to fellowship, interpretation of God’s Word, and many other issues that have come up under Christianity and more specifically Lutheranism in the past years. They’ve helped to set guidelines that will help us to walk together in a way that can hold to God’s Word as best as possible. Since these Christians have joined together, they have been able to coordinate their efforts in order to help spread the Gospel in ways we could never have done as an individual congregation. That is not to say that our Synod is perfect. Whereas there are problems financially and issues that continue to come up, as there always will be in a sinful world, God has still blessed us with a Synod that has done much good - not only for us - but also for our fellow Christians throughout the world.
The simple message for today is for you also to think about that. Be thankful for that also. A popular talk show host opined this past week about how 500,000 people went into a web sight to vote on who they thought the most beautiful person in the world was. Yet only 450,000 were willing to sign a petition to close the border to Mexico. Why was this? He felt it was because people were just too consumed with their own lives. Again, are we guilty of this as a congregation? Sure we are. We are an hour away from any other churches in our fellowship, and we tend to only think of our congregation right here. Are our bills paid? Is our building clean? What are we doing to reach out? But how often do we pray about the state of our Synod? Does it concern you that we’ve had to send back missionaries due to a budget shortfall? Or does it anger you more if the pastor picks a hymn you don’t like? Do you think about how you could possibly help out a mission in some way - or assist a student in becoming a pastor? Or do you think more about whether you can afford the latest DVD recorder? I have no idea if you are - but I would be surprised if anyone even thinks about our Synod much here. Even Manhattan, our own daughter congregation, how much do you think about them or pray for them?
I’ll have to admit that part of this is my fault. I, as your pastor, am usually concerned solely with what goes on here - how our attendance is - how our building is - how our souls are. A part of me likes to be out here - so that I don’t have think about bigger issues in the WELS, or what not. But that’s selfish on my part. I should pray more for our church body. It’s important for all of us to do this. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. Paul specifically pointed to the importance of the Corinthians prayer for their deliverance from peril. The involvement of the church HELPED. God blessed their prayers. I can’t help but wonder if some of the struggles our Synod is having with finances and what not are due to the fact that you and I are not praying for our church body as much as we could or should? Is it because we aren’t as concerned and praying as much as we could be?
A lot of people like to worry about the state of our Synod. There are the doom and gloomers out there who fear that we will go the same way as so many other liberal churches have gone. Either that or the state may some day shut us down, or our own membership would decline to the point where we couldn’t keep the “Synod” together. Lots of things could happen. Revelation chapter 11 predicts that the liberal false teachers will pounce on and kill those who “torment” them with God’s Word. Satan hasn’t given up. Even with our prayers - we have no guarantees on what will happen to our Synod. Who knows what the future may hold? Do you know what the really comforting thing is? Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” The LORD of the Church is still the LORD of the Church. God does not need a Synod to bless us. If He blessed us with this Synod, He can bless us without it. If He kept us with it, He can keep us without it. When Elijah went running from Jezebel - he thought he was the only one left. Yet God still assured him that there were still 7,000 left! Elijah overlooked 7,000 people. That may not sound like a lot - but it’s still something! The message is clear to me. God will preserve the Church - whether we have a Synod or not. Jesus is still crucified and risen whether we have a world wide fellowship or not. Salvation is still sure. It always will be. Nothing can take away that fact. In the meantime, I will celebrate the unity I have with my brothers and sisters in the faith. I will enjoy walking together with fellow pastors and believers who confess Christ and believe the Bible exactly as God has revealed it. I will say with the Psalmist - Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! I will then do what I can to keep that unity - to pray for that unity - to ask God to bless that unity. I hope and pray that today you will do the same. Amen.
