Relate: Bond

Intro:

— Before society takes any new tech on we have to be bought in with the vision. The “what’s in it for me?” has to be answered with a clear idea of how our future will be improved. That explains the success of people like Steve Jobs at Apple. He was a genius when it came to selling a future that we would buy into, like the iphone for instance. He demonstrated the product so we could see it, wrap our heads around how our lives would be transformed.. There was a world where our phone, our camera, our fitness tracker (did that even exist?), our led light, our computer with its email internet browser, calculator and even mine sweeper.. Would all fit into one device.

— AI is no different. Who knows how all of this will really play out. But if you didn’t know, the stock market is positioned as all bought in.. I mean I hope it works now! But the reason people are buying in at least to a certain extent is this vision of ease. This vision where AI will do all the boring work. Robots will come and the price of goods will drop to where we won’t have to work etc.

— It reminds me a bit of what some of us get wrong with eternity. You know, we are all in heaven strumming our outdated instruments (harps) sitting on clouds for an eternity.. But that isn’t the case! The vision we get in Rev. and elsewhere in scripture is that those who “endure” will rule and reign with Him. We should have an eternity doing more than just sitting around playing harps all day! We will continue to have a purpose and assignment!

— I want to paint a different picture today. What a blood bought Spirit filled community of faith can look like, meant to look like. When people of every generation, every race, male and female, with disparate gifts and talents and personalities come together as the bride of Christ.. Each one contributing walking out their God given purpose in a unified fashion accomplish heavens mission by reaching the lost. By preaching the Gospel to every corner of this planet. By building each other up in love as the scripture says.. Can you see it? Can you see how that could change your life? Can you see that God created you on purpose with a purpose!!

Setup:

The book of Ephesians helps set the vision for new believers. It was written to new believers in Christ, helping them un box their new life in Christ. The first 3 chapters were a bit more personal, giving us a picture of our new identity in Christ and all the benefits we have now.. But in Ch 4 it pivots from personal to giving us a view of what being in the body of Christ is..

++Ephesians 4:1–6 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Prayer

Story: Getting the big mini van so the kids wouldn’t go crazy with each other. So we would have peace..

Transition: Maybe it was a good practical decision to get the space in the van. But there were systemic issues that needed to be dealt with. We as parents needed more patience, kids being kids needed less selfishness…. We needed to get on the same page as a family! Today, we look at the bond we have as Christians. If we should be eager to "maintain" this bond, we should get a crash course on it!

Text:

This Bond isn't:

-- Unity is not uniformity: is not about everyone being the same!

-- To give a geographic example

-- If you live in the PNW you have so much rain forests everything is green

-- If you visit Wyoming, Kansas, you have beautiful open spaces

-- If you visit Hawaii, you have incredible blue water with colorful sea life!

-- You can appreciate the diversity of this planet, we should also appreciate the diversity of humans! There is a same that is lame

-- God has given us all different perspectives, different giftings etc.

-- Unity isn't always agreeing and being agreeable

-- Because God has given us differing perspectives and differing gifts that will inadvertently lead to "discussions"

-- Holistic life group: Learning Something, Fellowship, Worship, Outreach

-- In a life group you usually have someone who stands for one of those things!

-- Those voices help bring a wholeness to the group, and a good leader will do their best to help balance the tensions inherent in leaning in to all those elements and having them represented.

-- Unity isn't all the churches looking the same

“It is not a desirable thing that all Churches should melt into one another and become one; for the complete fusion of all Churches into one ecclesiastical corporation would inevitably produce another form of Popery, since history teaches us that large ecclesiastical bodies grow more or less corrupt as a matter of course. Huge spiritual corporations are, as a whole, the strongholds of tyranny and the refuges of abuse; and it is only a matter of time when they shall break to pieces.” (Spurgeon)

-- What excites us isn't that they have the same governance, or worship with the same style. What connects us to other churches isn't in us employing the same methods, but rather that we preach the same Gospel message.

-- Unity isn't compromising the truth of God's Word Just to get along.

-- We see corrupt regimes and governments forcing people to comply with wild unbiblical things. Just comply to get along, be a dead person inside.

-- We see this in unhealthy religious institutions. Well it may be unbiblical but just get with the program don't rock the boat!

Glue from the top

-- 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

-- We can infer from that that our job is to MAINTAIN something that should already be there.

-- We don't make unity. Unity isn't something we generate! BUT WE CAN degrade our unity.

-- Where does it come from? How does this work?

-- I worked at Weyerhaeuser they made me sign a document that I wouldn't share company secrets. While I was assembling office furniture I wouldn't be tempted to spy on an engineer and go, "Oh, that's how the plywood is made..."

-- I have a plywood sample. Bonded together, stronger than its individual layers

-- But the bond is somewhat of a mystery!

-- To help with this idea let's look to Psalm 133

Psalm 133

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

-- Pretty wild word picture! Nothing like oily beards to get us thinking unity thoughts

-- In the Old Testament under the law of Moses, the Priest was to be anointed for service.

-- The idea is that the oil is the calling that comes from God, it would run down from the top of his head to the 12 stones in his breastplate representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

-- When God pours out His Holy Spirit HE mingles among disparate persons and makes us one in the Spirit!

-- We see this in the interaction between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth

Luke 1:40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

-- Regardless of your AGE, RACE, LIFE EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND, CULTURAL DISTINCTIVES, FOOD CHOICES, GIFTS ETC!! You have something in common with your brothers and sisters in Christ!! The Spirit inside of you resonates with the same Spirit in your spiritual family!

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

2. eliminate what delaminates

-- We can't manufacture it, but we can dismantle it! We need to MAINTAIN this unity of the Spirit

-- This piece of plywood is in good shape now. It's held together by mystery and "science" but if you left it baking in the sun, or you left it in water etc it would warp and delaminate!

-- Jesus wanted us bonded, He prayed in the garden John 17:21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

What causes delamination?

a. not walking in your new identity

— God has given you a new heart! There is a progression in Ephesians and before we get to ch 4 we have verses talking about our new identity in Christ..

++Ephesians 2:4–5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”

— Sin always hurts others and serves to delaminate your relationship with God and others

— David, when he sinned with Bathsheba? It resulted in the death of her husband, the death of their first born..

— But David when confronted by the prophet with his sin prayed this:

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

— The reality is sin ALWAYS delaminates. But through the cross we can a transformed life with resurrection power. He gives us a new heart.

b. lack of gentleness, humility and patience and ability to bear with one another in love..

.. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

— Gentleness: This word in the new testament is usually used in the context of “discussions” and it is one of the fruits of the Spirit!

— In those heated moments especially when you “know” you’re right can you still have a soft voice?

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

— Humility: Jesus came lowly, in other parts of scripture dealing with unity it brings up this idea of humility..

— Like Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

— Are we more concerned about ourselves? What we get, how we look etc. than concern for others?

c. Gossip/ not dealing with things directly with whom it is concerned

— I have seen too many times where people don't communicate and people assume the craziest things.

— When there is something that needs to be dealt with in the body of Christ we go to that person.

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

-- The enemy will try and convince you that if someone misses your mark (your expectations) to go and get an ally. Go bend someone else's ear.

-- Jesus says to go to that person alone! Talk specifics. Maybe that person was unintentional, or there was a misunderstanding.

-- If we don't get that opportunity one on one, confusion and dysfunction and spiritual chaos ensues!

— it is on all of us to KEEP THE UNITY:

“One another” is two words in English, but it’s only one word in Greek: ἀλλήλων (ah-LAY-loan). It’s used in 100 times in 94 New Testament verses. 47 of those verses give instructions to the church, and 60% of those instructions come from Paul.

Be at peace with one another (Mk 9:50)

Don’t grumble among one another (Jn 6:43)

Be of the same mind with one another (Ro 12:16, 15:5)

Accept one another (Ro 15:7)

Wait for one another before beginning the Eucharist (1 Co 11:33)

Don’t bite, devour, and consume one another—seriously, guys, don’t eat each other (Ga 5:15)

Don’t boastfully challenge or envy one another (Ga 5:26).

Gently, patiently tolerate one another (Ep 4:2)

Be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving to one another (Ep 4:32)

Bear with and forgive one another (Co 3:13)

Seek good for one another, and don’t repay evil for evil (1 Th 5:15)

Don’t complain against one another (Jas 4:11, 5:9)

Confess sins to one another (Jas 5:16)

Love. One third of them instruct Christians to love one another.

Love one another (Jn 13:34, 15:12, 17; Ro 13:8; 1 Th 3:12, 4:9; 1 Pe 1:22; 1 Jn 3:11, 4:7, 11; 2 Jn 5)

Through love, serve one another (Ga 5:13)

Tolerate one another in love (Ep 4:2)

Greet one another with a kiss of love (1 Pe 5:14)

Be devoted to one another in love (Ro 12:10)

Humility. About 15% stress an attitude of humility and deference among believers.

Give preference to one another in honor (Ro 12:10)

Regard one another as more important than yourselves (Php 2:3)

Serve one another (Ga 5:13)

Wash one another’s feet (Jn 13:14)

Don’t be haughty: be of the same mind (Ro 12:16)

Be subject to one another (Ep 5:21)

Clothe yourselves in humility toward one another (1 Pe 5:5)

3. your bond is showing

— Here is a vision that the whole world can get behind!

++John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

— Yes, it’s HIGH MAINTENANCE!

— At this point, I am thinking the unity is high maintenance! You mean like I have to deal with my own brokenness that causes trouble in the body? I have to be bold and have direct conversations with people instead of simply venting to others? You mean I need to lay my own rights down and prefer others?

— This looks like Jesus.

++Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

— He gave us our peace and it cost Him. When we understand what our unity cost Him, we should become eager to Maintain it!

— To be a healthy church in this way doesn’t mean that we won’t have issues. A healthy body will still fight sickness. But it’s immune system will heal the body. Same with a healthy church. There will be disagreements, misunderstandings. But when we are EAGER to maintain the unity, we will work through the stuff!!

— And when we do walk like this, people operating in their gifts. We have a culture of celebrating others, we have a culture that lifts each other. A culture where people deal with their offenses. Where there is reconciliation and marriages being restored.. Where the generations get along, where every race, both genders get along.. That is attractive!