TOGETHER STRONG (2)

TOGETHER PT 4

For the past month, we’ve been exploring the theme TOGETHER, as we draw lessons from the book of Ephesians. Through the past three weeks, we’ve explored the themes

Together We Find Peace

Together We Experience Love

Together We Grow Stronger.

Today we’re going to discuss the idea that Together We Can Change the World.

ILLUSTRATION

Who’s Your Favorite Superhero?

Our biggest movies are multi-million dollar blockbuster superhero movies. There’s Spider-Man and Batman. There’s Captain America and Captain Marvel. Black Panther. Thor. Wonder Woman. There are the Avengers, the Justice League, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Incredibles. Even Ant-Man and Aquaman and Shazam have their own movies.

BUT What I THINK the world needs more of than superheroes is more Mr. Rogers.

Every day, in his own soft-spoken, friendly way, Mr. Rogers told kids they were special. “I like you just the way you are,” he’d say.

In fact, he got into TV because he didn’t like the way that TV and the culture were treating kids.

Mr. Rogers built his entire career out of making others feel welcome and included.

He didn’t put others down; he always lifted them up.

And it’s no coincidence that Fred Rogers was an ordained pastor.

The principles he built his show on and the characteristics he lived out were Christlike.

The world needs more Mr. Rogers because the world needs more Jesus Christ.

And we as a church can learn a lot from Mr. Rogers about creating space that welcomes people in — all people — to encourage them, to dream with them, to listen to them, and to walk with them.

When we REALLY do that -- we too can change the world. Changing the world doesn’t require superheroes or even superhuman powers -- it requires consistent choices to follow Christ daily and to walk together on the journey as He leads us.

(TLB) Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.

(TLB) Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.

Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.

Dream BIG, Act SMALL

I think Mr. Rogers must have been familiar with these verses. Be kind to each other. Be tenderhearted. Forgive each other.

Often -- when we think about making an impact in the world -- changing the world, we get hung up on thinking about big acts, superhero kinds of things — like Thomas Edison or Albert Einstein or Nelson Mandela or Steve Jobs.

But listen to that list again:

Be Kind, Be Tenderhearted, Forgive Each Other.

Those are fairly simple acts. They may not always be easy -- but they can be easy. Sometimes as easy as a smile or a question or five minutes to listen. Even those kinds of efforts -- when multiplied by many people, consistently over time, build into a powerful force.

Think about those people who did change history, for better or worse: Mozart, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Adolph Hitler, Walt Disney, The Beatles.

Now that we have a list going in our minds, ask yourself two questions about these people:

1) He or she may be best known for one big impact, but what were the steps along the way?

2) Did they do it alone?

In every case where the change was for good, we see small steps, and people who didn’t act alone

I think we get too hung up on viewing changing the world as a giant mission. We think for it to be real and meaningful -- it has to be big and impressive change.

Too often we fall into negative comparisons of our everyday life activities to someone else’s single, grandest accomplishment.

Be Kind. Forgive. Love. Sacrifice. Together — over time it makes a huge difference

WE as a church together can change the world. The church gives us a place to find support, co-laborers, and even cheerleaders in our steps to change the world. A SAFE PLACE to journey and grow together to become the authentic people God has created and called us to be.

ILLUSTRATION

Acting is an ability that every human being possesses. Children know how to act; teenagers know how to act; husbands and wives know how to act; and employees know how to act. If needed, every person on the planet knows how to switch into an acting mode! Acting is something that everyone can do.

In , the apostle Paul wrote these words: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.” The word “FOLLOWERS” is the Greek word mimetes. RICK RENNER says The word mimetes means to imitate someone or to mimic what you see someone else doing. It was also used to describe actors or performing arts artists who acted on the stage for their profession. In addition, mimetes frequently depicted the modeling of a parent, teacher, champion, or hero. When a person was known for his high moral character, others were encouraged to emulate or copy that person. - Sparkling Gems from the Greek.

Change In The World Happens One Person, One Relationship At A Time, So Our Choices To Be Kind, To Show Compassion, To Choose Understanding Over Judgment, To Give Grace Instead Of Anger, To Choose Service Over Position — Those Are World- Changing Actions.

(TLB) Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.

Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.

Recognize KINGDOM

TRUE TOGETHERNESS means a shared purpose. Being united in purpose keeps us working together and moving forward rather than getting caught up in the disagreements that cause us to work against each other.

Paul warns the church in Ephesus that they must be prepared to fight for their community.

In the same way -- we must be united against evil and ready to fight against division.

In Paul instructs the believers to put on the full armor of God -- Not To Fight Each Other -- or even to fight against outsiders -- but to stand against evil and to become one in the battle for the hearts and souls of the world.

(TLB) Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

When we know that the real battle is a spiritual one -- it helps put the rest in perspective.

Is what we disagree about really worth fighting over?

Is the person who disagrees with us an idiot, a loser, our archenemy — or a sinner who needs God’s grace and salvation just like we do?

Because the battle is not about what’s temporary or finite. Even when we can’t see it or understand it -- we know the real battle is about the KINGDOM.

Stay CONNECTED

Even when we recognize the KINGDOM -- changing our world together takes effort — and it requires CONNECTION.

(GW) We must continue to hold firmly to our declaration of faith. The one who made the promise is faithful. We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things. We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.

We must continue to hold firmly to our declaration of faith. The one who made the promise is faithful. We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things. We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.

An important part of life for us as the church is getting together.

That can mean physically gathering for worship or study or fellowship. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that can interfere with that. Schedules, commitments, disagreements, — the list goes on. It can be easy to let our time at church together get SQUEEZED OUT.

Sometimes it just seems easier to skip the discussion or conflict and plow ahead on our own with our head down. But isolation kills.

TOGETHER WE FIND PEACE, EXPERIENCE LOVE, AND GROW STRONGER.

Being TOGETHER -- staying CONNECTED -- is vital for us to impact our world.

Even Jesus, God Himself, Surrounded Himself With A Group Of People. He Invested In Relationships And Took Time To Be Together With Others.

CHURCH is where we commit to that kind of togetherness. We invest in the relationships among believers -- and we are challenged and supported to pursue togetherness in other ways in our relationships outside the church

ILLUSTRATION

Our culture offers us many counterfeit ways of staying connected, like the yearly Christmas card or scrolling through endless posts on social media. While those aren’t intrinsically bad -- they do not provide the real, relational connection we need.

We come back to church and pursue being together because we all need more than a Facebook group.

We need real connection and authentic relationships.

We need support and a place of belonging.

We need encouragement and reminders of who we are and what we’re called to.

None of us is immune to those needs. JESUS & The great apostle Paul wasn’t, and knew it. He faced his own obstacles — he had many of them, not the least of which was prison. But even as he traveled -- Paul stayed connected with fellow believers. He visited them and stayed long periods with them. He wrote letters, sent messengers, prayed for them, and asked them to do the same. And he constantly reminded them of their calling and their purpose to follow Christ and to change the world around them in small and large ways.

This is the kind of connection we need and the kind of connection we can have together.

Community Matters. Connection Matters. Unity Matters. Living As A Part Of God’s Family Matters.

When we pursue these things together, we find that

Together We Find Peace — the peace of Christ in our own spirits and peace and unity among our brothers and sisters.

Together We Experience Love — God’s love poured out in and among us and the flow of God’s love out into our greater communities.

Together We Grow Stronger — We experience the grace to journey together and be a part of God’s greater collaborative work in our world.

And Together We Can Change the World — We are able to discover our purpose and plug into ways that we as a church can accomplish God’s world-changing work around us.