The Unified Church (Part 3): The Path to Unity
The Unified Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsWe live in a broken world that loves to exploit all the negatives. But the Church is not supposed to mirror the world. We are to reflect Jesus who loved us so much He gave His life for us, even while we were His enemies. This message explores three priorities we must have if we are to be on the path to unity and be a proper reflection of Jesus to the lost world.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Illustration by Chip Ingram’s “Your Divine Design” about paint brushes in the hands of an artist.
The painter uses different brushes and different strokes to make His masterpiece.
God is the Master and when we place ourselves in His hands He uses some in broad ways, some in more intricate ways, and some in ways that seem general, but they all work together to produce His masterpiece.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
3 Priorities for the Path to Unity:
3 Priorities for the Path to Unity:
1) Passion for Jesus! (v. 1-2)
1) Passion for Jesus! (v. 1-2)
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We cannot be a United Church if we are not passionate about Jesus.
This Church is HIS CHURCH! He has to be our greatest desire. He has to be what we long for most of all!
The path to unity as a church starts with surrendering ourselves to Jesus first!
We are to be living sacrifices.
We are to have our hearts zeroed in on Him so that He is our primary influence, not conforming to the patterns of this world, but being renewed in our thinking.
In order to be unified, seeking and pursuing the will of God with the mind of Christ has to be a priority for us.
As with the new life that we have, being a unified Church starts with Jesus and sustained by Jesus and our passion for Him!
2) Participating in His Church (v.3-8, 11)
2) Participating in His Church (v.3-8, 11)
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
As our passion for Jesus grows and our living faith in Him develops, we need to be active with other believers!
We cannot think that we do not need each other, or that we have no place in the Church.
We need each other. To think otherwise is prideful and pride is the enemy of unity.
In Jesus we are united with Him and His Kingdom!
This means we are to be an active part of a unified body in Christ.
As the collective body of Christ we work together just as our body has many parts that work together. (v.5)
If the parts of our body stop working together we have major issues.
The same is true for the Church. When we stop working together we develop major issues.
God has designed us each with different gifts and ways that we understand and comprehend things.
Romans 12:6 says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…”
verse 11 says, “don’t be lazy but passionately serve the LORD!”
In order for us to be a united church, we must all actively participate, using the gifts that God has given us through His Spirit.
You can’t say “I don’t have a gift”…to do so would mean either you don’t have the Holy Spirit or God is a liar…we know that God doesn’t lie!
Maybe you need to discover what your spiritual gifting is, but if you are in Christ you have the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, you have a spiritual gift that He freely and sovereignly gives you!
Paul goes on to give some examples:
Prophecy (proportion to our faith)- Not foretelling, but forth-telling. Hearing the authority of God in the Word and, through the Word, passing on God’s message in God’s authority over our lives for the purpose of directing us closer to Jesus. (1 Corinthians 14:3 “On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.”)
Service - Willingness and readiness to take on whatever task is needed in order to glorify God and assist others.
Teaching - learning Christian teaching and doctrines and then passing that information along to others that they may learn.
Exhorting - Encouraging and cheering on people in their faith with relationally connecting enthusiasm
Contributing (in generosity) - More than just regular tithes and offering giving. This is connecting needs with means for grace purposes and gospel intentions.
Leading (with passion)- Inspiring and organizing others towards a specific goal and purpose.
Acts of Mercy (with cheerfulness) - Walking into someone else’s hardships and meeting needs in Jesus’ name for the sake of bringing hope in the midst of despair and refreshment in the midst of resentment
This list is not the only place we see examples of spiritual gifts, but it is a good place to start.
Unity is not uniformity; it is allowing God to harmonize different parts to bring together His masterfully designed purposes. We do not all have the same gifting but should all have the same love for one another.
Just like how a brick wall needs mortar to be cohesive and strong, we need to participate together in the body, through the Spirit.
Whatever our gifting is through the Holy Spirit, we need to exercise and strengthen those spiritual muscles as we prioritize a passion for Jesus and prioritize participating in His Church.
3) Positivity Towards One Another (v. 9-10, 12-16)
3) Positivity Towards One Another (v. 9-10, 12-16)
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
Our love must be genuine:
Genuine love for God (v.9)
Genuine love for one another (v.10)
As we love God and love one another, it actively shapes our lives, our attitudes, and our fellowship.
Rejoice in hope
Be patient in hard times
Be constant in prayer
Contributing to the needs of the saints
Seeking to show hospitality
Blessing those who don’t want to bless us.
Walking with one another no matter the circumstances (Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep)
Live in harmony
Associate with everyone
Not looking to our own wisdom or experiences.
In a world that is always seeking to exploit and magnify the negatives, as a Church we are most unified when we are quick to exploit and magnify the positives!
We will still need to admonish one another as we love each other in the Spirit, but we do so out of love and encouragement.
Overall, because we love one another, when it comes to the Church, we need to focus on and live in the positives!
We need to give each other the benefit of the doubt and look for where the Spirit of God is bring out His best and celebrate those things!
We need to find any and every excuse to rejoice, practice patience, pray with one another, contribute to the church, show hospitality, be a blessing, walk alongside one another, celebrate differences as we pursue harmony with everyone in our fellowship.
It’s easy to be negative Nancy’s about everything…We need to actively prioritize positivity towards one another.
CLOSING
CLOSING
If we are to be a unified church, the path to unity starts with Jesus, is sustained by Jesus, and has Jesus as its destination.
Let us be a unified church that prioritizes a passion for Jesus, participating in His church, and pursuing positivity towards one another!
