Unity through God-gifted Leadership Pt. 5

In the 1957 movie 12 Angry Men, which takes place almost entirely in a single room, imagine that in a movie taking place entirely in one single room, 12 jurors are are are deciding the fate, the guilt or innocence of. A young teenager accused of killing his abusive father, they must come to a unanimous decision and if the teenager is found guilty, he is going to face the electric chair. Now the movie begins with all of this evidence stacked against the young man, and the jurors are in near unanimous agreement. And you think this is going to be a short movie as they enter into that room? But over the next hour and. 1/2. Those 12 men, as they accuse and argue and deliberate, they eventually come. To the truth. Now, that premise might seem relatively boring compared to your latest CGI action-packed thriller. It's, but it's a tense movie that that pits 1 juror who believes the defendant is innocent, with 11 jurors who are in agreement, basically with the. Seemingly overwhelming testimony of the witnesses, and it's compelling. Because the movie. Is not only about the pursuit of truth. But how these 12 angry men? Of different personalities, backgrounds and motivations, they come to an agreement and eventually overcome their prejudices, prejudices, suspicions and apathy, and they grow to, in the course of the hour and a half respect each other. And by the time they reached their unanimous judgment, you could even say they have grown together. It's a small mirror. Many it's, you know, considered one of the top movies of all time. And often it's seen as a a mirror of societies and communities that you come into it and you see yourself somewhere in those 12 angry men as you watch them. Who are forced by common responsibility come to respect each other while confronting each other. Now, at the time of the early church. There was often just one church in any given city or region, like the church. In Ephesus, which is. What we've been studying these Sundays together. You can really choose which church you wanted to go to. You can find one that suited your preferences and so there was of course a natural Crucible in every church. Much like the jurors room. Where disagreements would arise and personalities would rub against each other like. Paul calling out. Yodea and Cintique in the book of Philippians to agree with each other in the Lord. You had all of these opportunities? Yes, for for sin and division, but more importantly. For growth and grace, forgiveness and love. Hopefully this is not a church full of angry men and women. But we are likewise charged with the common task. And given an opportunity to be united in seeking the truth. And through that process, maybe we get upset. Maybe we have different point of views, but Lord willing grow in our understanding and love and respect for each other. To remember where we left off from last week, we spoke about the way we grow as a church, namely this dynamic of speaking the truth in love. By truth, we mean first and foremost biblical truth, doctrinal truth, immutable, eternal, immortal truths about who God is and what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. The words of scripture contain these truths and the church. Is fundamentally a pillar and buttress of the truth. Meaning this is the place that is not only grounded by truth, it builds up in truth and supports the truth. By love speaking the truth and love, we mean that attitude of genuinely seeking the highest good and benefit of others, which is not always for them to get what they want. As you know from dealing with kids, you love them, and so you keep them from having you know. Ice cream and cake. For breakfast, most of the time you wait till you're an adult and then you do. That for yourself. But when it comes to other people, you don't love yourself. Yeah, I'll eat all this stuff. But you love your kids like, no, don't do that. We want others to hear the truth then, because that's what is for their good and we do it in a loving way because we want them. And to hear it. And so we wanted to give it in the most earnest and sincere for their benefit way possible. So we don't shy away from. The truth, but we must demonstrate our genuine concern. For those that we speak to. And so there's. You know, kind of two simple tests just to just review for last week when you talk to someone has to be true, you need to investigate. You need to search the scriptures, you need to be a good barein. You need to check your biases. Why am I? You know, am I coming at this? Am I wanting scripture to say what I want? It to say. Or am I twisting it or bending? Yeah, you have to be willing to be wrong when you come to the scriptures. We were Pastor Chris and I met with a gentleman this this past week who's a part of a fellowship of Christian athletes, and he was saying that he was. He was in the tradition that he grew up in. They would say that when the Holy Spirit baptizes you, it gives also evidence. Of speaking in tongues. And it was such a part of their mantra, they believed it was a verse in acts Chapter 2. But as he got out, you know, started reading his scriptures and was hearing other things outside of his church tradition. He realized this verse in Acts 238 or whichever it was, where where he had always thought it added in literally that. The sign of being baptized by the spirit is to speak in tongues. Wasn't in there nothing about tongues, nothing about necessity of tongues is an evidence of the Holy Spirit's baptism or anything like that. And so he was confronting, you know, people not confronting, but he was bringing this up. He's like, can you show? Me the verse. And they were so sure. And they started scrambling through. Not one verse in the scriptures talk about how speaking in tongues is a necessary sign of being baptized by the Holy Spirit or of salvation. But they were so sure they were so sure about it. Because they grew up that way that they're like, no, no. I will show you. We must be sure we need to be willing to be wrong as well. Not only does that too has to be loving, of course, so we have to check our motives. I like this idea of checking your temperature before you talk. To someone are. You too hot or too cold? I mean, are you, are you too upset to really be coming off as loving? Or are you too remote and distant and don't care and callous when you come to someone? Has to be loving the and that's not so much about you as it is other person. Remember, you're doing this for their benefit, but if they think you're saying this to hurt them if they think your motive is to be vindictive, they're you could be the most truest thing in the world. They may not want to hear. It doesn't. You know, dismissed that you're being true, but. Paul's very clear. We speak the truth in love. So check your motives. Check your temperature. Now as we come to for 16, we're sort of summing up everything that we've seen really, almost in all of Ephesians 1-2 and three, but especially in Chapter 4. And Paul then says this. We'll start in verse 15 rather speaking. The truth in love, we are to grow up in every way and to him who is the head into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. When each part is working properly, makes the body grow, so that it builds itself up in love. The church grows by a deliberate process. Of being fitted together. Paul is going to use some metaphors here to describe the the process of body building and the word for body here, soma and means like a human physical body. So it's going to use some imagery. He's actually used some building and construction imagery to talk about how our human bodies are built together. To use as an illustration for how the church is to grow up, OK, so this is.

Paul, just you'll just use.

2-3 analogies at the same time so, but don't worry, you don't need to be a construction worker or a biologist or anything to understand the word pictures here. So the the first one is the word or the verb joined the word for joined. We actually read in Chapter 2 verse 21 and we talked about that a little bit. But this describes a process of laying stones. To build a wall. In those days, walls were often made using a dry stack process, meaning there's no wet mortar between the stones, so you could go for a really good example of this. You go to the Western Wall and Jerusalem. You see these great big stones that have been fitted together so tightly you can hardly even if you. If you go that you know there's a tradition to put a prayer on a piece of paper and stuff it in between the cracks. Of the stone. Well, you can't. Really slip them in. And so whenever you see these pictures, they're just kind. Of like coming out because the edges have cracked a little bit. So you can start cramming stuff in, but the actual space between the stones you can't really fit anything in there. There's no mortar or anything, they're just been fit together so well that they've lasted for thousands of years. It's incredible. You think? Oh, you just lay stones on top of each other. That's gonna fall over. Well, no, this. Could only work if a skilled Craftsman would carefully shape and fit these stones together and then just gravity alone. That wall would stand. The even the test of time, even the weather. But it is. And so this building of the wall is both like this idea. It's both intentional, but natural, right? It's intentional, cause each stone has to be fitted into this wall. But the only thing keeping them together is the fact that they are fitted. Of course, our bodies are also formed by very intricately designed and placed cells laid next to each other and very specific orders and layers to create all of our organs and parts, our skin cells, or if you ever you know, really all of our cells, if you look at through a microscope, they're they're like little stones laid next to each other. And their skin cells create this amazing wall and barrier between us and the outside world. Paul is saying that Christians and churches are like skillfully and deliberately and individually placed together stones and cells in the body of Christ. In local gatherings like this. That make the whole body function and grow. Similarly, the word held together in verse 16, it is similar to that idea of things being laid next to each other or on top of each other. So it sounds almost redundant to to join, but this is not emphasizing like physical connections or physical joining together. It's more like. Logically connected or coherent? Harold Hoehner, whose commentary again on Ephesians is, is excellent if you're ever doing a study for yourself on the book of Ephesians. He uses the analogy of a lawyer who's presenting an intricate but logically consistent case before a judge. Each evidence, in fact, leading to the next one with each step connecting to the. Previous in order to build this airtight case. Actually, if you watch 12 angry men, that's what you see happen is what what seems at first absolutely unbelievable that the defendant there could be innocent once there is a sense of a logic that's applied, you start to see that if that is true, then this is true. Then this is I. Don't wanna spoil it. But I think I already.

Did but.

That it eventually builds essentially an airtight case. Once you see how all of the steps stack together, maybe a more modern analogy is for you. Programmers held together is like a stack of code where each line is flawlessy, linked and dependent on the ones preceding it. They're perfectly. Point to all the other parts of the program and it's that miracle of hitting compile and everything works as it is intended when all of the codes and lines they they actually fit with all the other parts of the code. And of course, similarly, our bodies, they're wonderfully designed and created to have all of these very different and intricate parts work very consistently, coherently, logically, without confusion or contradiction, together at least. When we're healthy. What is the definition of unhealthy or sick or? Disease is when that's not happy. Happening right this very intricate, coherent, orderly design gets messed up somehow and organs not doing what it should or you have cells that are reproducing too rapidly in cancer. But when you think about all the different kinds of cells, all the trillions of cells together, when you're healthy, they're all working together. It's incredible.

The healthy church.

Then is 1 where every believer is connected to and dependent on the other believers, it doesn't mean that every believer knows every other believer intimately and directly. That's hardly possible. We think these churches and efficient efis was perhaps larger than this. I don't know. Yeah, but the idea isn't that somehow you know, you know, 200 people very close. Like your your best friend or something. But it's to say that there is a thread that connects us to each other. That brings us together that draws us close. Now, just as a personal application, I'm thinking about this. I'm not just trying to preach it, I'm trying. To understand it for myself and know what that means as a Christian, as a brother in Christ, not just as a pastor. But there are it's. I know I realize it's tempting probably to think that the pastor knows what's going on with everyone. But we don't, we're not omniscient. Again, that's one of those perks of being God. He gets to know everything all the time, everywhere and every brain. So we I'll tell you we're thankful and people let us know what's going on with them. And we're thankful when people who are connected to other people let us know, hey, maybe we should get, you know, hey, pass your maybe should. Give so and. So a call or oh, did you know, you know this person is in the hospital? Like we very much appreciate that kind of heads up, it helps us to draw closer together with every believer as much as we can. Well, we can't be. I don't think everybody's best friend. It's in my heart to be connected to every person in this room in some way. Shape or form? That's why we have, you know, different Bible study opportunities and different activities in the church, even though we might all seem like very different people and and and connected the Holy Spirit, we trusting that the Holy Spirit is working in each of us and pulling us together. He does know, I don't know, but the Holy Spirit doesn't know all of our hearts and minds. He knows how to pull us together and when to do that and at the right time. But in our part and we get to this in a second, we have. To give opportunity. We have to have a desire and see that responsibility, just like those jurors in that room. They were forced to be together because they had a common responsibility. We have a common responsibility here as well to make disciples of the nation. And and to see every person equipped to do the work of the ministry. That responsibility ties us together, so we need to figure things out. And if you're doing ministry with someone and and there's a confusion or there's misunderstanding to work that out, not just, say, well, I'm not gonna. Do this. Anymore. This is a duty. We have to get things done. That's why, Paul says, by every joint with which is is equipped, the word for joint actually just means like a contact point of contact or connection point. Many versions translated join, it's just to fit that imagery of a body like where do your your bones attach to each other that they attach at. Joins, but Paul isn't trained to necessarily offer a word picture. He's he's saying that for this growth to happen, there needs to be points of contact between the parts. And again, 2000 years ago, when you didn't have many options for which church you belong to. It was inevitable to be in contact with each other. But I imagine that even still, even if there's only one church in town, that any real Christian was going to be going to, I imagine there's so some people who went, who tried to avoid as much contact as possible still that when the countdown timer was going off on the PowerPoint, you know, pause PowerPoint. They would, you know. Go to the bathroom every time or go to the water, cool every time and just try to. Avoid people as much.

If you did that, don't think.

I'm calling you out. It's just, you know it. It's just an illustration, but it's not as if there was not people back then too.

You were like.

I don't know. I don't. I kind of wanna do this. On my own I. I I I would rather just. Not be bothered when I come to church. Just come in, sit through the message and go out. But and you can imagine especially remember in Ephesians 2 and three, especially if you're a Jew and there's Gentiles there. Or if you're a gentile and there's Jews there, there's even more reason to maybe. You know, if you happen to be seated next to a Jew, if you're a Gentile, to think, oh, this is a nice time to go to the bathroom or. Cooler instead of, you know, fellowship. That's why Paul has to. Remind and write the believers of these things. If you aren't finding points of contact with folks at this church, even rubbing each other the wrong way and getting into some conflict once in a while, you may not grow the way that God intended. There needs to be the joints. Coming together at some point to flex and bend, and that does mean friction. Sometimes not that the goal is conflict, as if you must have conflict in order to grow, and so we gotta create as many opportunities for conflict as possible. That's not what we're trying to say. Rather, that conflict is the. Inevitable result of contact, which is what Paul is urging. So for having contact then yeah, guess what? There's times when you're gonna stick your foot in. Your mouth. There's times where you're gonna be in a bad mood and say something. Insensitively, there's times when you're gonna make a promise and then fall through on that if if you're married, you already know how that is, there's points of contact that's points of failure. But Paul isn't saying is not the goal is conflict. And what Paul's not saying is suffering. You know, just make as much suffering as possible, cause that's how people grow. He's just saying if you are growing, you are connecting. If you're connecting, stuff is going to happen. Expect that and understand, that's all. Part of this process where we are being refined. And being more. Fitted together, you have opportunities to speak the truth and love and grow, so don't avoid that situation. Just know that it's going to happen cause it's a good thing to grow, Paul continues. When each part is working properly, meaning that our responsibility is to use those gifts God has provided. Our responsibility is to work out what God has worked in as some pastors. Have said we're not expected to do anymore than work in the same measure that has been given to us. We already talked about the Giftings of God. We've already talked about what God has given to us as individuals. Because after all, God is causing the growth. This is his body. This is his process. This is his plan. But we're still working. We're still exerting effort. Into seeing the. Body grow the phrase or the word properly, it highlights that we only need to do that. Which we are equipped and called to do. It means I should never expect someone else to do what I must do, nor to try and do all the work myself. In other words, you you can't be lazy. There's no excuse to be lazy, but you also shouldn't burn yourself out. Each part is working properly in its role in its design. No room for laziness, but also no, no, no need for you to try and be and do everything yourself. You can have real health problems when. The cells of your body start. To grow without being in harmony. With the rest of the body. When the body part isn't fitting together with the rest of the body or isn't performing its full function in the body, and so similarly we can have an unhealthy church when we don't have a good sense of how we fit in the body of Christ. So how can we grow in understanding? What is our role? What is our place? What can I do? What should I do? Well, I mean one thing is do you ask people to speak the truth in love to you? Hey, what do you think I am good at? Pastor, your are there. Some ways that I can help. Here's some of my background and experience and that's. Again, some of the motivation while we did the volunteer fair a couple weeks ago is just even to open up that dialogue and to start that process of informing us about your willingness to serve, and maybe even I don't know how to serve, but I can guarantee you I can tell you right now. If you are a warm body. In this church. God still has a work. For you to do properly. In this church. Without exception. And I do oftentimes hear from some Saints either from age or, you know, disability or life circumstance. I don't think I have anything to contribute. I I don't know what use I am. Well, it's not my opinion. It's not my. Me just trying to boost your self esteem when I tell you. No, you you still if you're alive and drawing breath, God obviously still has some kind of plan for you, because if you had finished the work that you had to do, you wouldn't be here anymore. You'd be in heaven enjoying your reward with the rest of the Saints, so if you're still here, there's. Still something for you? Maybe I don't know what that is just yet, but rest assured, according to this passage, there is still a part for you to work at properly. Take some time, maybe to think about your gifts. You know, take some time to think about whether you're making and taking opportunities to be in contact with other believers. I know whatever it is that. The Lord has you to do. It is going to be something. That builds the body up. So if you. Say I don't know how it can be of any, you know service or anything and you're involved in nothing at the. There, you know, there's no points of contact with anyone else at the church. I think that's a. Great place to start. Well, how about getting to know the people here and seeing where the needs are hearing about what others are going through and seeing how you can make some connection points and in that way understand, oh, I'm the missing, you know, knee. It joins the lower leg and the upper leg. Like I see that now, but you sort of have to. Be aware of what's going on, so there needs to be connecting points. You need to consider whether there are ways for you to be further equipped or further serve the body. Maybe you know sort of. You see the gaps in ministry, maybe you see the the things that are going on as you are going to Bible study or the different services or or fellowshipping with others and you start to see those but you don't feel. Like you're equipped. You don't feel like you, you know how to serve the body? Well, that's what the pastors are here for. To equip the thing through the work of the. Ministries to come to. You have an idea I. Be something that could really minister and serve well. That's what we're here to do. And but I don't feel adequate for how to address that. We want to equip you. We want to tell you what the big picture is, of what's going on, the life of the body and how you can contribute and participate. Not that we are ultimately the ones that you know, you know, skillfully craft each believer into this wall. That's that's what God does. I'm also being, you know, skillfully crafted by God. To fit in here, so to speak. But part of my. Responsibility of what God has equipped me to do is to help you to find your place and understand how God is shaping you. So please, we want to be. A part of that. Process in your life. Because the goal is that this body builds itself up in love. There are church growth gurus who can all but guarantee certain percentage gains in attendance. If you buy into their programs, read their books, go to their seminars, hire them as a consultant. I've heard of elder boards looking to grow the church. Because they need to pay for the new gym. Or the new building project. I had one rather famous pastor in the area tell me that, essentially because his church was grew so fast and so large, it must mean he's doing something right and the Lord is on his side, as if numbers proved faithfulness. But what does Paul mean by church growth? Is it numerical? Is it that we need to pack these pews? Is it that we need a certain, you know, budget? What does Paul mean? Well, the only measure he has and and we've never done this here, but we we joke about a thermometer on the wall. You I hope you've never been to a church like this, but they've been a Baptist Church. Sometimes they'll have some projects going on and they could be good projects. Don't get me wrong, but they'll put literally like a graphic of a of a thermometer. And funding is here next week and they'll have the thermometer on the wall, right? To get up there. But it's it's, it's either it's going to be money, almost always money or it's, you know, numbers or at least even if they don't put the thermometer on the wall, the elders and deacons, they essentially have one in their own mind. What's in Paul's mind? What's his measure? What's? What's that? You know, temperature, you know. Thermometer bulb filled up with. What's he looking?

To see filled up.

And there's no church growth guru, consultant expert. They can prepackage. That and sell you that. This has to be something that the Lord does through believers who have humbly submitted themselves. To Jesus Christ. The measure of our church. Is not in anything else except is our love here like that of our head, Jesus Christ. Such a marvellous thought. That every church is to be a living embodiment of love in the midst of this very, very sin. Cursed, perverse, fallen world. That has so many. Even hateful definitions of love.

We get to be.

The place where God says if you want to see love, everybody don't go to. TikTok or turn. On the radio or open YouTube. Go to a church. And there you will see love. That is our goal. I hope it's your goal too. I know people can have different ideas about why they go to a church or why they choose a church. You know, if they're visiting and and and in an area, but if ultimately the body is to be grown being built up in love, that's something I think you cannot just. You you can't just take a temperature of that. You can't just sit in the Pew and say, oh, yeah, this is this. Is loving or not loving? You have to have some skin in the game you have. To be involved. And care enough to actually yourself be participating in that. Process and get to know people because there's all kinds of churches out there. Some of them can seem kind of cold. When you first get there, some of them can be overly friendly. Some of them can feel like you're part of a production. Some of them are just like walking into a family.

Really, I don't.

Care about those kinds of structures and and and how it looks and feels. If it's being built up in. Love, I don't care. How big the church, how small the church? What kind of building it is, how many pastors they have? None of that. Those are all just the means. Of attaining to the goal of being built up in love. God is love. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, his own son, that he loves is the beloved son. He sent his son to show us his love, and the son shows us his love by willingly, not begrudgingly, but willingly. Saying yes, Father, I understand you, our love. You wanna show your love to these sinners? I agree. And so I will in love. Lay down my life for them. And in love, Jesus dies on the cross, brings us into his family, makes his his body, then the Holy Spirit says. I know those guys. They're disgusting, they're sinful and rebellious, but as a third person in the Trinity. I'm the spirit of love. I will enter into their hearts, and though. God should not be united with any kind of darkness or evil. I will inhabit their sin, cursed hearts, and I will. Allow love to grow there. The love of God. To flourish, and they will show it by their love for each other. And the context. Local churches where we actually are in contact, sometimes conflict with each other. It's a beautiful thing to be a part of. It's exactly the thing that this world needs to see. His God's love. The love of the father, the. Love of the son, the love of the Holy Spirit. We have that chance and that opportunity to do that. That's a privilege. That's an honor. Should be eager for these things, but I know. The days get long. We get tired, we have good intentions for what we want to do with the day, and then the day. Hits us like a. Truck and all those good intentions go out the window and all the things you wanted to do and then, you know, talk to so and so invite some and. So over to dinner, all these things, it happens, I get it. Fortunately, the grace of God, he's so good. He's so patient. He's so kind. Fortunately, I hope we're also it's OK. I know you wanted to have us over today, but you know didn't pan out another time we can exchange. Yeah, I I know you screw that up a. Little bit, it's not a big deal. We'll get it right next time we. Have this opportunity to bear with each others. I should have ran this by Catherine first. If you if you guys don't have any lunch plans today, you wanna grab some lunch and come over to our place and hang out. You're you're welcome to do that. We have some.

Like like a.

Orange chicken and chow Mein from Panda Express. So if if if you don't have enough money to buy. Food we do have food and we. Got drinks. But if you wanna come over today after the service and after the coffee and Donuts, you just come over, get my address after the service. And you're all invited.

It'll be OK. It'll it'll be OK. It'll be. OK, no, this is not April fools. I was thinking, oh, you know, we wanted to have some people for lunch.

Like who? And as I thought about this morning, I was like this invite everyone. They're not all going to come. I don't know. But we do have so some caveats. You can just hang out outside, but we do have like a. Dog some cats, some chickens, birds 4 kids. So you can just hang out outside if you want. Don't want. To hang out. Inside with the the animal situation there. But you don't invite it, so if you want to come over, come on over. Yeah, we do have some food, I don't think. Enough for everybody here. So just grab lunch and then bring it over. We'll hang out and we'll do some of this stuff. Right. We'll do some of this stuff. I can't just sit here and talk about this. Have contact and connections and never do something like that. So I've got. I haven't had invited most of you over to my house before, so I've I've been feeling guilty about it for years, so I was like, you know what? Just invite them today. You don't have to. Bite again for another 20 years.

No, it's not like that.

I would love to have you guys over. It's up to you. It's up to you. Don't feel any pressure, if you. Can't make it? We'll take a rain check. But I'm throwing. That out there, if it gets too crazy, we'll just ask our next door neighbor can use their backyard. I'm just kidding. They have a really nice big backyard, but kids are welcome and just the situation, the dog. Just letting you know. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this body. I really, really have grown so much through this church and from people being willing to put up with, with me and Lord feeling so ill fitting at times. But I've seen it. I've seen you shape and craft believers. To fit together into the body so that when we're all working and to see everyone serving each other and serving. You to see people. Deepen and mature in their love numbers come and go. Oh, and and everything else. Lord, I pray that we would be a church that builds itself up in love, and so give us many, many, many opportunities to do then or thank you for loving us first and the message of Christ going to the cross. Not begrudgingly, but because of the joy set before him enduring the shame bearing the reproach for our sakes, cause he knew we'd be bringing many sons and daughters to glory. So let us have the same heart, the same attitude, and pray this in Jesus name.