We are One Family
If you have your Bible invite you to turn with me to the book of Ephesians chapter 4 verses one through six if you didn't bring a Bible you can use the blue you Bible that's in front of you and turn to page 800. A relationship with Jesus should change the way that we relate to one another. And that should especially be true in the church. The most Christian the most of us know that God expects for us to get along with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ, but is this always easy?
Let's face it. Sometimes we don't like our brothers and sisters and sometimes we are not alike our brothers and sisters. And if we're not careful, these differences can lead to problems in the church. If you ever wonder how a church can come together despite many differences in background of opinion of lifestyle of ways of looking at the world. In this text the Apostle Paul wrote from prison just for you. Let's read it together Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6 All rights as a prisoner for the Lord then I ordered you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received be completely humble and gentle patient and bearing with one another in love make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord One Faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all? Will you pray with me to church? Heavenly Father we thank you so much for your words. And we thank you so much for your church family that meets here and Eiffel. Gotta pray during these next few minutes that you would open our eyes to see you open our heart to receive the truth of your word challenges and changes draw us closer to you and closer to one another in Jesus name. I pray amen. How many of you have ever had a disagreement with someone? Now we're all Christians. So surely not a single one of us right. Now. Of course you have life and especially life in America today with our tents political climate disagreements between two parties at presents so many opportunities for disagreement. with this disagreement often comes anger comes argument even hatred and Division for people who are not like you. See it's hard for us to accept and associate with people that we don't like and that we are not like if we don't like what a certain table news channel is saying if that's not our opinion, what do we turn it on to a different one? If we don't like a certain political position what we often do and I see many people do is take the social media and be for sure things that are attacking people of a different position and then if you have any Facebook friends
Well, then you just attack them real quick before you unfriend them so they can't respond. You don't want that kind of negativity on your Facebook make you angry. And because they make you angry. You push them away. And you push people away.
BC disagreement division doesn't just take place in politics. I can work the same way in a family. at workplace in a community organization, and yes even in the church. It's one thing. To push another person away from you. Because they sit on the other side of the aisle politically.
But what happens when the person that you disagree with and that you dislike sits across the aisle from you in a few on Sunday morning. What do we do then? How can we handle this or say it a different way? How can a church? Be unified how can different Christians with differences of opinion get along? And work together. For the glory of God and for the gospel now, this is not a new question. This is a question that is as old as the church because in the early days of the church that Paul is the church was made up of two very different groups of people. On the one hand you had Jewish Christians. They were very traditionalist in the way that they like to worship. They were very formal in the ways that they dressed and they acted they worship God and certain way that have been developed centuries of tradition. And those Traditions were very very important to the Jews. But on the other hand was allowing Jim to come into the church. God was reaching out to non Jewish Christian and these Christians were coming together and worshipping with these Jews and remember in those days. You didn't worship at a building or a public gathering like this.
And God was expecting for these two groups to come together and get along even though they look different they acted different they dressed different different and because they hate different they smell different. They did not like the same kinds of things. They look at the world completely different set of eyes because they came up in a different completely different and not only that but these two groups have bad blood between their answer has been warring with each other for their great-grandparents. I killed their great not trying to unite these two groups together was like trying to bring together the Hatfields and McCoys and yet in the church, that is exactly What God?
How is it possible? We asked the same question today. How can people in a church who are so different from each other together and get along. Just how can there be unity in the church?
false answer to this question is simply the church has unity. When we live out our god-given identity. Church has unity when we live out our god-given identity look with me in the fusions chapter 4 verse 1 All rights as a prisoner for the Lord then I urge you to strongly urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received if you were here today, you have received a calling from God. And if there is to be unity in the church. Then we must begin to live. As if we have been called you see when God saved you.
when God saved you
he called you to be something different.
And guess what? If there's a brother or sister that you disagree with that you don't like when he save them he called them to the same calling. He called you. When you were saved from your sin, God gave us all a new identity. Play a big part of this identity is that we all belong together in the church. Verses four through six pulses that there is one body. And one Spirit just as you were called to one help when you work all one Lord One Faith one baptism one God and Father of all to his over and through all and in all how many churches are there.
is 1 One church church, and we who meet here in Naples? In this place. We are just a small part of it. Paul describes the church as a body and each person in the church is a member of that body without all of its members operating the body do all it was meant to do. Paul says we are all regardless of our differences by The Same Spirit the Holy Spirit. We are all sharing the same. Hope of Salvation in Jesus Christ. We all have one more in Jesus Christ. We are all Servants of that one Lord, Jesus Christ. We are all sharing.
When we were baptized we were all baptized into Christ.
And despite our differences. We are all children. Of our heavenly father, you're kind of language. That is if God is our father. What does that make you and I Brothers and sisters we are all children in one. Family that means whether you like me or not, whether you like the person on the other side of the aisle or not, if that person belongs to Christ and God is their father just as he is yours. You belong together with? the person In the church, we are one.
And you think these true that Paul prevent suicide Verses 4 through 6. These are the true that unite a church together. You see the Church of Jesus Christ is not United by political affiliation.
The church is not United by common interest. The church is not United by racial preference. We are not United by Community. We are not United by style of worship. We are not United by blood relation. We are not United by tradition.
If we can agree. On the core principles that the Apostle Paul talks about Annie's verses that we are one body. One Spirit one. Hope one Lord One Faith one baptism one God and Father of all, this is our God given identity.
And We Are Family
and if we are a family we need to live like it, but the question is how I said before it is not always easy. How can we do this call tells us to weigh. Mercy says no because we are one family. We must accept one another despite our differences. Look at me a verse to be completely humble and gentle be patient bearing with one another in love.
I've been thinking about this all week. and I'm convinced that one of the reasons why there is so much division in churches that It's because we expect more from the church in from other Christians. Then God expect from us. Let me tell you what I mean. We went to church.
Where everybody makes us happy.
We want a church where there are no problems ever. We want a church where everybody in the church like Jesus to us all the time never makes us upset. There was never a scandal never an argument never a disagreement. That's the kind of church that we want.
Let me tell you something if you find that shirt, would you let me know?
the problem is I don't think it exists. You often hear people, especially in the Churches of Christ talk about how we want to be a New Testament Church.
Now that's not a bad thing to say because if you read the Bible and see what God did through the New Testament Church, he moved to change lies. He did amazing things that I think that is a wonderful thing.
But have you read the New Testament? Because if you read the New Testament, especially the letter that the apostles wrote to the New Testament Church. You'll see that they're constantly addressing problems in the New Testament Church.
There was in fighting there was division there were people to their pride. We're trying to exalt themselves over other there was sent in the church that need to be dealt with there were people getting drunk during communion and there were all sorts of problems in these churches that they had to address. Why should we think that our church that any church? would be any different
What makes a church faithful to Jesus?
What makes a church faithful to Jesus is not the Perfection of its members.
What makes a church faithful to Jesus is how its members respond to the imperfections in each other. I'm going to say that again because that's good. Got hit me straight between the eyes. Is that this week? What makes a church faithful to Jesus is not the Perfection of its members can any of us be perfect. Should we expect that of any of us? Not this side of Heaven? But what makes a church faithful to Jesus is the way we respond to the imperfection of its members. You can't control? What your other church members do or say? God didn't give you that Authority.
But you can control how you respond. That's why Paul says these words. This is when somebody is difficult. When somebody disagrees with you, how do you respond? He says you need to be completely humble and gentle. humble Responding in humility recognizes. You are called to serve the needs of others not so that your own these can be served. That should not be your focus. You should let the church serve you and hopefully it's a Church's working and people are working that you will be sir, but your job is to following Christ not to be sir. but to serve
we should respond gently. losing control in anger never accomplishes any good purpose Paul says we need to be patient with one another. I'll never forget. The definition that I heard a preacher use one is making room in your heart for the imperfections of others. if you don't understand that person that you're dealing with weather there in your family whether they're in your church family whether you're at your work if you don't understand,
You're going to be shocked that they would do the things that they would do or say things they're going to say. but if you remember that that person is a sinner in need of God's Grace Just As You Are If you look at them Through The Eyes of patients that Jesus Christ looks at you with. and recognize that even when they disappoint you And you can accept them. Is brother or sister?
And things go different.
We need to bear. with one another in love and adore The Faults of others graciously.
Don't always get the chance. We don't always get the authority. We don't always get the pic. Who our family is doing?
But we do control how we respond to our family. Are those of you who have siblings, you know exactly what I'm talking about? For the first three and a half years of my life. I was a single child. That was my parents pride and joy, I was the center of attention. I didn't have to fight anybody for them. And then for some reason they decided they wanted to bring home a baby brother.
and things changed Now some of you have met my brother he's been here. Some people say that we kind of favor one another and our actions but in reality weird night. I'm very reserved and quiet he is outgoing and social butterfly. We do share some same interest but personality-wise he was the athlete I really wasn't he was completely different. And there were times when he drove me crazy there times to this day when he still drives me crazy.
I don't get to choose who I got.
But I accept him and he's a part of my family. One because I've learned to love him over the years.
Potato because despite my best efforts to prove. Otherwise my father.
Do we get the right?
to decide who are Brothers and Sisters in Christ are
now that responsibility goes to the father and it is the Father's word that matters.
Do we have the right when somebody in the church to retaliate against let me ask you did your parents accept the excuse. I only hit them because they hit me first. now And your heavenly father doesn't either. Do we have the right to get angry? that depends anger as an emotion is something that is natural when we've been offended. The Holy Spirit God gives us the ability to control our anger. And our response needs to not be in Anger our response needs to be forgiveness and love. Do you have the right to bear a grudge?
The passage doesn't say bear a grudge against one another in love is fair with each other. Seeking the good of one another not trying to harm them. But it's been my experience in the church that when people have problems.
But they don't typically just rush to explode I can get there. It can get there where people can get mad and start yelling each other in church meetings. I've seen that happen.
But it doesn't start there. What most people do when they get upset about something? Is there a ignore it and if they can't ignore it? They withdraw I'm just saying. I'm not going to deal with this.
That's why Paul second point is so crucial for us to understand. He says this because we are one family.
Because we are one family. We must work to stay together. Like as me a verse 3 Paul says make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of Peace. There are certain things in life that are worth working for.
There are certain things that are worth fighting for their certain that it's worth expending effort in order to protect. Impulses that the unity of church is one of those things and if we are going to keep unity in the church, here's what we have to do. We have to be proactive and we have to work for it. I like the way it says it in the ESV eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace relationships. All relationships were there in the church weather there in the home for the most relationship you could think about relationship and maintaining a garden. Let's say that your neighbor has a beautiful garden that looks like this. What do you love a garden like, that would be awesome, but I think I would probably live there if I had a credible. And you decide that you want to have a garden like that too. So instead of hiring a landscaper landscaper my flowers and vegetables. And after you do all of that doesn't Hoegaarden before is your work done. Absolutely, not. All you've done is lay the groundwork giving that Garden the potential to grow. BC if you're not out there every single day feeding and watering and fertilizing and doing those things. Things just not going to grow the seeds won't Sprout even if they do there with her and I'll buy so every single day you have to be out there and you have to be working out there trying to make these things grow. But after you fertilize and if you do all these things up, so you have a healthy garden is your work done. Absolutely not because something else is going to grow as well something that you don't and it's natural and it comes up every single time every single year ahead.
Yeah, I've done it. My wife is smirking cuz she is the gardener in the family.
weights
I think about weeds is if you're vigilant. You take care of them while they're small. barbecue It's fine. There's probably a bunch of them, but they're just little sprouts.
But if you like those weeds grow.
you're not out there actively working on they're going to grow and they're going to grow in there pretty soon that beautiful garden that you wanted and looks like
If you like that I've got plenty of this stuff out behind my house.
But you can't walk through it. It's not very pleasant. It's not pretty doesn't smell good. Just
relationships be like that. Just as a garden. effort in order to make it good and beautiful and what you want. Relationship take effort and maintain.
if you don't
then weeds will grow up in that relationship and it will make it harder and harder as time goes on. It was all. I can give you a perfect example of this some of you were here several years ago when we had a course called United and I think we had to go through this over about a year. I remember when we were doing it how hearing testimony after testing on about how this work. and how these relationships that
you know why it worked. It's because instead of running past one another instead of focusing lie on all of your activities and work and kids and everything else and just put in your relationship.
In that course each day, you had to sit down with your spouse and you have to go over these things and pray together and discuss your relationship. Now, I'm sure that many of those conversations were not pleasant. But I got things out in the open rather than just ignoring ignoring a problem in a relationship does not make it go away. It does not fix anything. It does not solve anything it just grows and grows and grows and it gets worse and you wonder how when things happen in a relationship or just goes bad and everybody jealous how it gets to that point. It's because they haven't been working on it while these problems were small. And I grew and they grew and grew we've all heard stories about churches who divided over stupid things. And you say how in the world can Church divided over that? Because the problem wasn't dealt with when it was small. And because it wasn't dealt with when it was small it grew and it grew and it grew and it got out of hand cannot let that happen.
In the church and in our home we need to actively address those problem when they arrive. So let me tell you what I think Paul's incurs used to do. If you have a problem with a member of your church family. Don't sit on it. Don't stew in Anger. Don't stop coming or say. Oh, well, you know, it'll just go away. Cuz it's not going to work. the best thing that you can do
if you can't let it go if you can't get it or over it if you think it needs to be addressed it to go to the person who defended you and talk to them about it. Not in text face-to-face talk to them about it. Now is that sounds like a fun conversation? No, it doesn't. In fact, that's a reason why we don't do it. That's a reason why we let these things just because we don't want to have the conversation yet. The pain of having that initial conversation is a lot.
If you're a leader in this church, the duty Falls to us to lead in this respect if we see problems in the unity of the church.
To try and get them to talk it out to try and get them to resolve those issues.
What if people have issues with us? We need to listen. And we need to respond gently and we need to model exactly what this text help.
UC Even if you're not a leader in the church.
God is probably giving you some kind of leadership. You might be a leader in your home Mom Dad.
Is there Unity? In your home with your kids.
Those are things that God has given it is all of our responsibility to work on them because a beautiful relationship a beautiful church family that does not just happen if we let it go. This is what happened. but when we work at when we maintain God is glorified and we grow. The church has unity when we live out our god-given. Who are we we are one family under God that doesn't mean that we're going to agree on everything. It doesn't mean that we can't respect each other's differences the New York time about a woman by the name of Alexandra Pelosi. Now, if you hear that name Pelosi in that sounds familiar to you. It's because she is classy. And to be fair to be honest, she shares many of her mother's political views. Rather than trying to attack people who are on the other side of the house rather than trying to argue with him rather than trying to fight them. She makes a concerted effort even though she lives in New York and many of them there. Befriend conservatives. She's a filmmaker and she is coming out with a documentary that's called outside. Internet documentary. She goes all across the country with her two kids. She needs to sit down with conservatives and talk to them and get their opinions on all of trying to argue with him.
There's a funny Exchange in the article where he was talking to one. Who was he was he even made this comment?
and she smiled and she explained who she was and brought her and brought in her 10 and 11 year old son and introduce him to Nancy Pelosi's grandchildren.
There's just this disarming moment. The report of the New York Times ask her why why are you doing this? You don't have to you can just jump on the train and feel the division just like everybody else.
Why are you trying to reach across the aisle? And she said that she said I don't think from what I've seen that the divide in this country is as bad as the news media from both sides agree. That's not what I want. Then she made the statement. I think it's so important. So telling for us. She said that she said it's hard to hate of clothes. It's hard to hate up close. That is what Paul's point.
You can run away from your problems. It's not going to make them any better. Your problem is in the church. You can run away from the church.
What Christ is encouraging us to do today? Easter pursue Unity as possible UT is possible in the church. It's possible for us to use around a common identity and admission, but only if we come together.
as one body one thing one thing
we pray with me.
Father God I thank you so much for this time. Thank you so much for this imperfect family. Got to pray. You would help us to work on Unity here. Father I'm not saying there major problems in division. But God help us. to represent you the way that we work things out in the way that we resolve our differences in the way that we come together as 5 piece.
What are Churchman?
Be a testimony of your grace. the Sinners Like A
Let the words. So many the words of Jesus.
Become real here.
But they'll know we are Christians because of the way that we love one another.
Thank you Lord. I Praise You In Jesus Name? Would you stand with me chair?