How many of
you grew up watching “The Lone Ranger” when you were kids? Of course, you did. I loved that show. How many of you remember the scene where
Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a
sudden both sides were filled with Indian warriors on horses, dressed for
battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, "What are we going to do?" Tonto replied, "What
you mean 'we,' Whiteman?"
You don’t
remember that one? No, you don’t because
it never happened. Tonto and the Lone
Ranger were partners. They may not have
always agreed on the best way to do something but they were in it together
whatever they did and wherever they went.
If watching
The Lone Ranger, Big Valley, Have Gun-Will Travel, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza taught
us anything as kids it was that you don’t leave your family or your buddies
when the going gets difficult. Can you
imagine Hoss Cartwright or Festus running away just because the men in the
black hats came a’gunning? Can you
imagine Marshall Dillon leaving Dodge City because Miss Kitty and he had a
difference of opinion? No!
Now, I’m
sorry if some of you are too young to know what good TV was and you don’t know
some of these characters so let me put it in a way you might understand. Can you imagine, I don’t know, Jay-Z and
Beyonce breaking up over some little misunderstanding? Ok, you probably can. That’s not a good illustration because times
have changed and unity is not as valued as it once was. But it shouldn’t be that way.
Actually,
unity has never been easy. We seem to be
hardwired to have difficulty with this for at least two reasons. First,
we know best. We know what we need and
what we like and we know what other people need and like even better than they
do and if they disagree then they are just wrong. That’s just how it is, right?
Secondly, we have to look out for #1 and if
we don’t, then who will? Who is going to
make sure that our feelings are protected and our rights are secure? Who else, besides us, is going to make sure
we are not abused or taken for granted?
We have to let the world know that everything revolves around us just as
much as the next guy and if we don’t do it, nobody will.
It is not
just a recent problem. It was going on
in the New Testament because it is a problem we see Paul address in 1
Corinthians. In fact, it is the first
thing he addresses to a really messed up church in ancient Corinth. Paul writes this letter to a church that has
a whole lot of things that need to be worked on. In fact, he had to write a second letter to
get it all in.
We have the
great benefit of being in a church that is not messed up like this church was
but we can learn so much about what we are supposed to do and not do by
studying this powerful letter so we are going to spend the next seven weeks or
so making sure that, as we grow, we are biblical in every aspect. We want to make sure that we know what we are
supposed to do and that we know why we are supposed to do it.
Unity was a
problem in the church at Corinth just like it is at some other churches even
today. The sad thing is that so many
times in a church, disagreements pop up, not on great theological issues, but
on things that are small or even some good things. The Corinthian church was divided about who
was the better minister. It says that
some people liked Paul but some were big fans of Apollos and others just knew
that Peter was the best and so everybody else was way wrong.
It would be
like some of us who might say that obviously Ben is the best song leader. Everybody knows that. But then somebody else would say, no, they
like David better and somebody else might say that Morris has the best
hairstyle and so he is best and they just know that everybody else is horribly
mistaken. I’m sorry, Morris, but that’s
not something to really brag about since Ben doesn’t have any hair and we don’t
know if David does or not because he is always wearing a do-rag.
So, what
happens when a difference of opinion comes up?
And Heaven forbid a real problem like style of music or song selection
come up. That’s gonna be huge! What happens then? Well, it can either be two fists coming
together with the pain and breakage that comes with it…or two hands coming
together to work together and be united in what really matters.
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that
Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk
right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like
this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
"Which channel do you want?"
asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like
that?"
What works best,
though, is two hands coming together to work in unity and unison. Paul tells us how to do that in two passages
in the first part of the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians. Let’s look just at chapter 1, verse 10 and
chapter 2, verses 1-2. It’s on page 807
in most of the Bibles in the pew. 1
Corinthians comes right after Romans.
Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 1:10 and 2:1-2.
I appeal to
you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with
one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that
you be perfectly united in mind and thought. –2-And so it was with me, brothers. When I came to you, I did not
come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about
God. 2 For
I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified.
Now, let me ask you a question.
What makes a family? How does one
become part of a family? I hear all the
time people say they are part of this or that family and they are not talking
about husbands and wives and kids and uncles and aunts. You have firefighters or policemen who talk
about being in that family. Certain jobs
or professions are sometimes referred to as a family. Sports teams refer to themselves as a
family. Even here at Christ Fellowship,
we talk all the time about doing things as a family.
Paul, here, comes to the Corinthians and doesn’t try to persuade
them because of his great knowledge or his power. He says, I appeal to you as brothers; as
family, but not just any family. We all
know of some families who are anything but united. Paul says they are his brothers in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that even that might be something to argue
about. But, as the family of God, we, of
all people ought to be able to come together.
If Paul had just said, “I,
Paul, appeal to you people over there in Corinth to be united in mind and
thought” then they probably would have just ignored him. Who is he to tell us what to do or
think? But when he came at them as a
brother, a member of their family, and not just any family but the family of
God through Jesus Christ, then that changes everything. He is saying in that little sentence that they
– and we – should be like Jesus. We
should, as children of the One True King and our Heavenly Father, want harmony
in the family.
The comedian Robert Orben said, “Who can ever forget Winston Churchill's immortal words: ‘We shall
fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in
the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.’ It sounds exactly
like our family vacation.”
Being in a small church; a small family, has its
advantages and disadvantages but there are two important aspects of this I want
us to concentrate on. Paul says there should be no divisions and there
should be unity in mind and thought. If that is going to happen at Christ
Fellowship then we absolutely have to do 2 things. These 2 things are not
complicated but sometimes they can be difficult. I understand that.
I want you to
write these two things down. We all need to pray about what these are
going to look like in our lives. Are you ready? The two things we
absolutely have to do at Christ Fellowship to have no divisions and to have
unity are 1) Show up and 2) Forgive. You have to show up and you have to
forgive.
If we don’t show
up then we will, by definition, have division. The problem is that when
we do show up, we are going to have disagreements. We are going to get on
each other’s nerves. We all think we know what is best and we all want
the best for ourselves and others and so there is going to be friction.
There is going to be problems. The answer to that is just to show up and
forgive.
How many times
have you had some kind of problem and some well-meaning person has told you, “Let
me know if there is anything I can do”? It happens all the time and I
think most of the time they are sincere and want to help. But do you know
the best way you can help most of the time is just by being there for
them? It’s the same in this church family. Every week somebody has
some kind of crisis, some kind of great need and do you know what they need
most after your prayers? They need your presence.
They usually
don’t need your physical help in doing something. They need your physical
body present. They don’t usually need great words of wisdom and they sure
don’t need to hear your story of how you went through something. Most of
the time they just need you to be there.
I’m reminded of
the story of Job. You remember that Job lost everything he had; his
health, his family, his income, everything he had and then his three friends
show up. In Job chapter 2 it says that Job’s friends heard about his
troubles and went to comfort him and when they got there they all sat on the
ground with him for seven days mourning and crying with him and it says in
verse 13 that no one said a word to him for seven days because they saw how
great his suffering was.
Those are the
friends I want! Do you know what kind of friends I don’t want?
Those same 3 guys who for the next 30-something chapters tried to tell him what
he did wrong and how he should fix it. Don’t we all just want some family
around us during difficult times? Don’t we all just want some family who
will be there and not try to tell us what to do but just be there?
Let me give you
some advice. Unless you know for sure that God has given you a specific
word to that hurting person, the best things you can say are “I’m sorry”, “I
love you” and “I’m praying for you.” Don’t say it if you don’t
mean it. If you don’t mean it then at least you are physically there for
them but all you really need to say when you get there is, “I’m sorry”, “I
love you” and “I’m praying for you.” Repeat.
Then, in your
heart, make sure that you forgive those who have hurt you because you will be
hurt. But if we are to have unity we have to show up and we have to
forgive. Anytime you get even just two people together, somebody is going
to say or do something that is going to offend the other, right? All the
married people just said amen. So, we have to show up and we have to
forgive if we are going to be a biblical church.
Now, I want you
to see in what Paul says we can all be unified. As a church family, we are
going to have some differences of opinion about almost everything. We
agree on some things, that’s for sure. By looking at the fridge in the
Fellowship Hall it’s obvious that we all agree that Dr. Pepper is better than
Coke but there are going to be some even bigger issues that come up. Do
you know what every family needs to have unity? Every family needs to be
a team with all the members fighting on the same side with one common goal and
one common plan. We can disagree on some things and show forgiveness when
needed but we all need to be rowing in the same direction as a family and Paul
says in chapter 2 what our common goal is.
Look again at chapter
2, verses 1-2. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence
or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For
I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified.
Obviously Paul is
not saying that all he ever taught or preached were the passages of scripture
that talked about Jesus. He was saying that everything revolved around
Jesus. He wanted that church and he wants this church to have everything
they did be about and for Jesus. The preaching, teaching, music, prayer,
meals, fellowship, fun and even grief and mourning to be glorifying to Jesus.
How can you have
disunity when every member of the family shows up, comforts, encourages and
forgives those who need it, not for their glory but for the glory of our risen
Savior? Disunity is not going to happen. That’s what Paul
says. That’s what the Holy Spirit told Paul and as such we now know that
if there is disunity in the church then there is sin in the church.
If two people or
two parties are not unified; if there is uncontrolled or prolonged strife
between two groups, then you can be sure that there is sin in there
somewhere. Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as far as it
depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” That means you are
going to have to forgive people in your family. That means you are going
to have to overlook some things as you keep your eyes on Jesus for the sake of
your sanity but mainly for the sake of the family and for the sake of His
Kingdom.
Some people might
think I am being a little too honest about what I am going to tell you now but
I think it’s important for you to know. Several years ago when this
church was in Runaway Bay – you know, on the other side of the Jordan River – I
took a written test that Gerry Lewis of Harvest Baptist Association gave to
several local pastors. It was a test to see how much longer your church
will survive.
It included all
sorts of questions based on factors like age of congregation, amount of debt,
how people felt about change, how people felt about unity, submission, giving
and sacrifice. I took that test and then got the results and I was bummed
out. I’ll just tell you I started preparing myself to have to do
something else because that church was not going to last much longer by any
measure.
But some of you
know, some of you were here when God and God alone decided otherwise.
Weren’t you? It meant moving locations and changing pretty much
everything which immediately turned off most of the congregation. Moving
over here, just 5 miles down the road, meant pruning quite a few people and it
was painful as some of you remember. But God provided everything we
needed. He grafted in the Unchained Biker Church, He brought people from
the community, He made Bart McDonald forget our phone number (some of you will
get that joke) and He completely changed this church into the church that He
wanted us to be.
Now, we are a
church with great potential; a church that has a passion for people and a
passion for others. We are here to minister to the poor, the addicted and
the incarcerated and that gives us great joy to know that God has entrusted
those people to our care. With His protection and provision we will
continue to do so for many years to come but it starts with showing up,
forgiving those that hurt us and keeping Jesus as the main goal.
We’re not a
perfect church. We’re not for everybody. I say all the time that
being a member of this church isn’t easy. Becoming a member is
easy. All you have to do is be a disciple of Jesus and walk down here
during the invitation in a minute and tell me you want to be a member. We
don’t check your blood type or your bank account. You don’t have to be a
Baptist. We’ll get you there soon enough.
But being a member
of this church is more difficult than being a member at some other churches
because we insist on being biblical and being biblical isn’t always easy.
Jesus knew that. Paul knew that and we know that but it starts with
showing up, forgiving and focusing on Jesus.
We focus on Jesus
because we know that He died for our sins on the cross. He paid the debt
we couldn’t pay but then He rose again and we can have a relationship with Him
even today and He will help us to be biblical. He will help us to show up
and forgive and with so much more.
Do you know Him?
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