Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

!

I.              Everybody Is Somebody In the body.

*Introduction:* In the church that Jesus Christ is building, people are involved in *one anther’s lives.

*And in this church at Calvary Chapel La Mirada people are involved in *one another’s lives*.

The church is not a theater where people go to watch what happens.

We are not supposed to come in, sit down, walk out, and have no other involvement with the fellowship.

*Instead, we’re commanded, as the writer of Hebrews says to* “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb.

10:24, 25NASB).

*Listen to the way the NIV renders it: *"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

(Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV)

*Listen to the NLT:* "Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near."

(Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)

!!! 1.

The particular expression of love mentioned here is fellowship love.

The Jewish readers were having a hard time breaking with the Old Covenant, with the Temple and the sacrifices.

So the writer is telling them that one of the best ways to hold fast to the things of God is to be in the fellowship of His people, where they could love and be loved, serve and be served.

!!! 2.             *The day drawing near* could refer to the imminent destruction of the Temple, which brought all the sacrifices and rituals to a close.

The Old Covenant simply could not function without the Temple, which, when the book of Hebrews was written, was about to be destroyed by Titus.

But I believe the primary reference is to the coming of the Lord, which makes the passage apply to all of us.

The only place where we can remain steadfast until He returns is with His people.

*We need each other.

We need to be in fellowship with each other, as we strengthen each other and encourage each other.*

You are a part of a living organism called the body of Christ—or the church.

You are not the entire organism; you are only one part.

In spiritual as well as biological terms, your survival hinges on the health and well-being of the other members of the organism.

Equally, their health and well-being rest on yours.

You are not an independent operator.

If any member of your physical body began functioning independently of the others or stopped functioning at all, you would take immediate action to correct the problem.

You wouldn’t dream of saying, “Well, it’s just my lung.

After all, I do have two.”

Or “I’ve got nine other good fingers.

I’ll just work around this broken one.”

The members of your physical body are so interdependent that they make it a priority to care for one another.

*Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:21 *"And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you."  (1 Corinthians 12:21, NASB95)

What is true for the physical body is true for the body of Christ as well.

I cannot say of any member, “I don’t need you.

I don’t need to restore my relationship with you.

I don’t need to forgive you.

I can do just fine without you.

I can go my way, and it will have no impact on me whatsoever.”

To do so is to deceive myself.

*Referring to the actual body of Christ, Paul said, *There should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12:25–27).

Did you get that?

There should be /NO/ division in the body.

On the contrary, we should make a priority of caring for one another.

Why?

Because when one member suffers, we all suffer—just like a physical body.

Charles Stanley

My wife and I were driving back from North Carolina not too long ago on a Sunday morning.

As we were passing through one small town, I couldn’t get over how many churches there were.

They were everywhere.

And each one had a handful of cars in the parking lot.

I commented to my wife, “Imagine the impact they could have if they would join together in an organized effort to reach this city.”

We passed through several other small towns that morning, and every one of them was full of churches.

Now don’t get me wrong.

I am all for people having the freedom to worship in an atmosphere that is comfortable for them.

But I have been around long enough to know that many of those churches are as dead as they can be.

I can look at the parking lots and tell.

Think about it.

Why would a town of five to ten thousand people need five or six Baptist churches?

I can tell you why.

Because many of the people in those churches can’t get along with one another.

So they compete.

Competition between churches—within a denomination or between them—must truly grieve our Lord Jesus Christ!

!! A.           The Positive “One Another’s”

!!! 1.            “Be kindly affectionate (devotedNASB) to one another” (Romans 12:10a).

!!!! a)            */With /Brotherly love* reflects the nature of Christians.

!!!!! (1)           The apostle John powerfully affirms that truth.

*In his first epistle, chapter 2 verses 9-11 he states that *“The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9–2:11).

*In the next chapter the apostle uses even stronger words: *“By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother (1 John 3:10).

!!!! b)            Passing from death to life (1 John 3:14).

!!!!! (1)           *Being kindely affectionate or devoted *is one of the marks by which the world will know that we belong to Christ.

The enemy wants us to not get along & to hate each other.

Then the world would look at the church and say, what’s going on with these so called Christians.   

*But Jesus Himself said that *“By this (which is brotherly love), by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

!!!!! (2)           This love is not optional for believers.

*It not only is required but is inescapable, because *“whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him” (1 John 5:1).

*In John 15 Jesus said *"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

(John 15:12, NKJV).

!!!!! (3)           How has Jesus loved us?

With an unconditional love *(Romans 5:8)*.

!!!!! (4)           If this love *is not evident in our lives, our salvation can be questioned*.

!!!!! (5)           The Bible describes lost persons in (Titus 3:3) by saying that they are /“hateful & hating one another”/.

The place of hatred, of jealousy, of bitterness you find yourself in is a place of death.

You need to pass from death to life!

!!!!! (6)           If your life is characterized by hatred, then you have never really experienced the new birth:

*You may say, how could you say that, well John says *"If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

(1 John 4:20-21, NKJV)

 

!!!! c)            Whoever Hates His Brother is a Murderer (v.15a).

!!!!! (1)           To Hate Our Brother Is To Murder Him In Our Hearts.

!!!!! (2)           Though we may not carry out the action (for fear of punishment), we /wish /that person dead.

Or, by ignoring another person, we may /treat /them as if they were dead!

Hatred can be shown /passively /or /actively/.

!!!!! (3)           John seems to have in mind the teaching of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount regarding the true fulfillment of the law: