Blest Be The Ties That Bind

BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS

We're continuing our series in which we're looking at the stories behind some of our best loved hymns. In today's story we'll journey back to the 18th century, to the town of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England.

John Fawcett was the pastor of the Wainsgate Baptist Church there — a small, very poor congregation that was barely able to pay him a living wage.

Since he was a talented and dynamic preacher, he eventually received an offer to be the pastor of a large, affluent church in London. It was a great opportunity for him, but it presented a problem: He dearly loved the congregation in Wainsgate, and it was breaking his heart to leave.

After he and his wife had packed away all their belongings, members of the church came to see them off. During their tearful farewells, Mary Fawcett said to her husband, "John, I cannot bear to say good-bye!"

He thought for a moment and said, "Neither can I. And so we won't. This is our home. These are our people. Here we will stay." And they unpacked the wagon.

John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry serving this one church. Years later, as he reflected on his decision to stay, he wrote these words...

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit dwell together in unity. All the angels of heaven also dwell in perfect unity with their creator. And so John Fawcett is saying that when we live together with one another in unity, it's like heaven on earth.

A recent Bank of America advertising campaign has been: Life is better when we're connected.They're using the phrase as a play on words; "connected" means connected online, you can do your banking anywhere, we're customer focused and provide personal service, and so on.

I don't know how well this phrase applies to banking, but I do know that it applies very well to church life, and family life, and community life. Life is better when we're connected.

That's why throughout Paul's letters you encounter again and again the recurring theme: God has called us to live together in unity. A good percentage of living the Christian life is demonstrated not only in our devotion to God, but in our devotion to one another, as well.

That's why you hear King David say...

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! ()

It's why you hear St. Peter say...

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. ()

And it's why you hear St. Paul say...

Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being on in spirit and purpose. ()

And it's why we hear Jesus praying for his disciples...

"...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." ()

He's saying that the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

Today, as we look at this hymn that so many of us have sung most of our lives, I want us to consider our call to community. God's desire for his people is that we should live in harmony — just like the Father and the Son. And so today we'll consider how we can experience the spirit of unity with one another — the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.

Our text for today is from — where the Apostle Paul tells the church how to act like a church. Today we'll look at three areas in which we can strengthen our commitment to unity. First of all ...

1. We need to make sure we're all moving in the same direction.

Which direction am I talking about? The direction of holiness. The direction of obedience. The direction of love. The direction of unity. The direction of Jesus Christ.

In Paul talks about this common direction and this common purpose. He says...

5 So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

And then Paul goes on to talk about how we use these differing gifts to serve the church, and to serve one another.

God wants us to have a shared vision — and that vision is that we work together and serve together and worship together as one.

John Fawcett wrote these words...

Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.

What he's saying is that we're not so different, after all. I would say that's true of our church today. For the most part, most of us want the same thing: our fears, our hopes, our aims are one. The majority of us — there may be a few cantankerous holdouts among us, but the majority of us — want to be faithful followers of Christ. We want to grow in our walk with him. We want to move in the direction of holiness and obedience. We want to do his will. We want to make a difference in the world around us. And we want to get along with one another. We want to live by the words of the Apostle Paul...

18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

This is our shared vision. This is the direction in which we all need to be moving.

This doesn't mean that we will always agree on everything all the time. There's an old joke: When you put two Methodists [ie, your denomination] together, what do you get? You get three opinions. We won't always agree with one another on every minor detail ... but we can agree to work out our differences in a spirit of love.

You've heard me repeat these words of John Wesley before ...

Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.

There are some who have the attitude: If you disagree with me politically, you hate America. If you disagree with me doctrinally, you're a heretic and a false prophet. If you disagree with me in any other area, you're not only my opponent, you're my enemy.

However, if we understand that we all have the same shared vision, that we all desire to move in the same direction, we can take a more balanced, rational, emotionally stable approach to our differences of opinion. We may not all think alike, but we can all love alike, and we can treat one another with love and respect and good will — because our fears, our hopes, our aims are one.

Here's the second area in which we can strengthen our commitment to unity.

2. We need to be willing to look out for one another.

Oftentimes the worst thing about going through hard times is the feeling that you're going through them alone.

A friend of mine lost his job awhile back, and on top of feeling like a failure in his career, his felt his family — specifically his wife — blamed him for everything. If he had been more successful at work, he wouldn't have been downsized. If he had managed his money better, the family would be prepared to endure the coming months. And if he's serious about being a good father and family man, he better find a solution fast. He said to me, "I feel like I'm all alone in this; there's no one else in my corner."

There's no reason that a believer should feel this way.

In the verses we looked at last week, Paul said...

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ()

And he also said...

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. ()

I realize that we can't solve everybody's problems, but there are times when we can help them carry the load. Many times, "carrying the load" means first and foremost we let them know that we're there, and we care. My unemployed friend wasn't looking for a hand out as much as he was looking for just a hand to hold — he just wanted to know that he wasn't alone.

This is why Paul says in today's text...

13 Share with people who are in need.

And it's why he says...

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

In this beloved hymn that we are looking at today, John Fawcett wrote these words...

We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear; And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.

We need to let one another know: you're not alone. I'm here. We're here. We'll take this journey with you. We can get through this together.

If you look to the left of you and look to the right of you ... you have no idea what it's like to be that person, but you can be sure of this: There are times when they struggle. There are times when they hurt. There are times when they feel lost and alone, forgotten and afraid. They need to know that the collective "we" will do what we can to help them carry their heavy load.

That's what believers do. That's what churches do. We share each other's woes; our mutual burdens bear. As much as we can, we look out for one another.

Here's the third area in which we can strengthen our commitment to unity.

3. We need to take every opportunity to develop lasting relationships.

A friend of mine moved to a new city a couple of years ago and began his search for a new church — and he was not prepared for what came next. At his old church he was "somebody" — he was involved in several areas of leadership and ministry. He assumed that when he found a new church home he would make friends, find opportunities to serve, and, in time, he would be able to put his leadership skills to good use.

He didn't realize, though, just how hard step one of the process would be. He said, "I visited more than a dozen churches of all shapes and sizes in which no one at all spoke to me — except maybe an usher when he handed me a bulletin. Some churches I visited several times — and whether I was there or whether I wasn't, nobody noticed. I felt like the invisible man."

We say, "But that would never happen here." But, would it? Could it? Are we intentional in our hospitality to others?

A pastor friend of mine told me that one afternoon in town he ran into a man who had visited his church a few times before, a few months before. He asked the man, "We've missed you. Why haven't you been back?"

The man said, "I'll give you the courtesy of an honest answer. Your church has great music, plenty of programs, and good preaching. But each time we visited, no one spoke to us — except for you, once or twice."

And then he said, "If you really missed us, why didn't you reach out when we stopped visiting?"

I could spend the rest of the afternoon telling you stories I've heard about churches who make no effort to welcome guests, but I won't. Instead, I'll just say: We can never allow this to happen here. We need to be as intentional as we can be in our hospitality to one another.

It's why Paul said in plain and simple words.

13 Practice hospitality.

Hospitality includes, obviously, welcoming others into your home. And it also includes welcoming others into our home here, within these four walls.

It can begin with a simple habit. When you see someone you don't know, and you don't know if they're new, or if they usually go to the other service, or if they usually sit on the other side of the room — you only have to say, "Hi. I don't think I know you yet. My name is ...."

And that's the first step to telling our community — and reminding one another — that we're a friendly, loving church: We talk to one another, even people we don't already know.

Mark Zuckerberg, one of the creators of Facebook, recently made news when he said that he wants Facebook to focus on developing communities for people who don't belong, because he sees a trend in which people are becoming more and more disconnected from one another. He even compared Facebook to a church, and he wants Facebook users to be like pastors.

A lot of people blasted him for his comments, posting things like: Facebook is not my church, Mark Zuckerberg is not my pastor, and so on. Of course, that's true — Facebook shouldn't be anyone's church — but Mr. Zuckerberg recognizes something that many churches have failed to grasp. People need community, and they'll go where they can get it. People need relationships, and they'll build them where they can.

If we're doing our job, people won't need an online platform to feel connected. No one who has been to this church should ever feel the need to turn to Facebook — or for that matter, the corner bar — to experience a connection with others. And that's because here, in this fellowship, we build lasting, lifelong relationships with one another.

Our goal is to live out our faith as Paul challenged us to...

10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

We want this neighborhood, this community, this city to know that this is what we're about. We're committed to building heart-deep relationships with one another that last a lifetime.

As John Fawcett wrote in the final stanza...

When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain; But we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.

That's what it means to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. That's what it means to honor one other above ourselves.

It's not just that we love each other because we have to love each other. It's that we choose to like each other because we want to like each other.

CONCLUSION

In virtually every letter Paul wrote in the New Testament, he talks about the need for unity. This is a subject that God does not take lightly.

Jesus prayed that we would be one, as he is one with the Father. That means that unity needs to be a priority for God's people. We may not always see eye-to-eye on every issue, but we can still embrace one another heart-to-heart.

Why? Because we're devoted to one another. We're moving in the same direction. We share one another's burdens. We're committed to building heart-deep relationships that last a lifetime.

We don't just love each other because we have to love each other. We like each other because we want to like each other.

Life is better when we're connected, so let's devote ourselves to one another.