Agree in the Lord
20/20 Vision: See Clearly to Press On • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsChristians must work at resolving conflicts with the help of the Holy Sprit and one another so that the church can press on in the work of the gospel.
Notes
Transcript
SERIES TITLE > SERMON TITLE
What began as an innocuous Twitter survey blew up when a lot of church members and leaders were eager to share about fights, schisms, and conflicts in their congregations. They were equally as eager to point out the absurdity of these issues. Of course there were the ones we’ve heard often: temperature in the worship center, color of carpet, order of worship, and color of walls. Thom Rainer captured 25 of his favorites and I’ll share a few of them here:
SLIDES
A timely church argument and vote to decide if a clock in the worship center should be removed.
A 45-minute heated argument over the type of filing cabinet to purchase: black or brown; 2, 3, or 4 drawers (Some churches have members’ meetings, some have cabinet meetings.).
A 45-minute heated argument over the type of filing cabinet to purchase: black or brown; 2, 3, or 4 drawers (Some churches have members’ meetings, some have cabinet meetings.).
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
A deacon accusing another deacon of sending an anonymous letter, and deciding to settle the matter in the parking lot.
A dispute in the church because the Lord’s Supper had cran/grape juice instead of grape juice (Of course it should be grape juice. It’s right there in Hezekiah 4:11.).
Two different churches reported fights over the type of coffee. In one of the churches, they moved from Folgers to a stronger Starbucks brand. In the other church, they simply moved to a stronger blend. Members left the church in the latter example (Perhaps they started a new church: The Right Blend Fellowship.).
[https://thomrainer.com/2015/11/twenty-five-silly-things-church-members-fight-over/]
(ESV)
If you’ve never had the “amazing” experience of having conflict with another person in the church, or having your feelings hurt by another Christian, either you’re a new believer or you’ve never gotten involved in serving. I can guarantee that if you get involved, you will have a conflict with another Christian, probably sooner than later…mark it down.
I don’t say that to discourage you from getting involved, but rather to help you think realistically and to be prepared for the inevitable, so that you’ve thought through how God tells us to handle it.
At some point, or on some level we’re all idealists. We think that when we get involved in the work of the Lord we’ll never have painful conflict. Oh, sure, we know it’s inevitable but we minimize the fact that it will really cause pain, and that it may be extremely challenging to work through.
If you remember from earlier in our study of Philippians, this church was made up of people from very different backgrounds. I’m sure that they had very different ideas of what “church” was supposed to be. Different church backgrounds, different religious upbringings, different races, natives to the area and implants who moved to the area.
And the Lord has a word for them from the Apostle Paul.
SLIDE
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
SLIDE
Christians must work at resolving conflicts with the help of the Holy Sprit and one another so that the church can press on in the work of the gospel.
Steven J. Cole, “Lesson 21: Getting Along With One Another (),” in Philippians, Steven J. Cole Commentary Series (Dallas: Galaxie Software, 2017), .
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
There is a story of a little teeny pygmy who was standing over a rhinoceros that he killed. This was an odd sight to behold, a big, violent rhinoceros under the feet of a little teeny pygmy. A guy saw this dead rhinoceros and this little pygmy over it and said, “Did you kill that?” The little pygmy said, “Yeah I killed it.” Curious, the man asked, “So how did you, a little tiny pygmy, kill this rhinoceros?” He answered, “With my club. Yep! I killed this rhinoceros with my club.” The man was still thoroughly confused, “Well, how big is your club?” The pygmy said, “There are about a hundred of us in my club.” In other words, he was surrounded by folk who had the same belief systems and worked together so that they could handle being attacked by a rhinoceros.
[Body of Christ]
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
One hundred pianos, all tuned to the same tuning fork, are inherently tuned to one another. In order for there to be unity, there must be something out there that everybody is tuned to. For Christians, that tuning instrument is the Spirit. The only way to be unified is that everybody is focused on going where the Spirit is going. Everyone has to have a God perspective that governs their thinking.
One hundred pianos, all tuned to the same tuning fork, are inherently tuned to one another. In order for there to be unity, there must be something out there that everybody is tuned to. For Christians, that tuning instrument is the Spirit. The only way to be unified is that everybody is focused on going where the Spirit is going. Everyone has to have a God perspective that governs their thinking.
;
If a football team is unified, it does not mean that everyone’s playing the same position. It does mean everybody’s going to the same goal line. If an orchestra is harmonious, it’s not because they’re all playing the same instrument; it’s because they’re all playing the same song. If a choir is singing in great harmony, it’s not because they are singing the same parts; it’s because they’re adding their part to the same song. It is the goal that produces the unity. Unity is not sameness. Unity has to do with same purpose.
[Body of Christ; Christian Living, Purpose]
;
Conclusion
Conclusion
Each one of us needs to ask ourselves two questions:
Are you at odds with anyone else in this church? If you are, or if you know that someone else is at odds with you, you need to work at getting the problem resolved.
The answer isn’t just to pick up and move to another church. (I’d argue that that is actually counter-productive, and ultimately a demonstration to the world that we can’t work out our differences.)
The answer isn’t just to pick up and move to another church. (I’d argue that that is actually counter-productive, and a demonstration to the world that we can’t work out our differences.)
(2) Am I involved in the work of the gospel? You say, “I’m not gifted in evangelism!” It doesn’t matter. If you know Christ, you’re on the team, and there are no bench warmers on His team. God has gifted you to do something toward the cause of the gospel. Euodia, Syntyche, Clement, and all the others who aren’t named were not seminary graduates, with “Reverend” before their names. They were just people in Philippi who had met Jesus as Savior and Lord. That qualified them as team members and fellow workers with Paul in the cause of the gospel. If you know Christ as Savior, you’re on the same team! Get off the bench and into the game!
It may be hard work, it may require some painful self-confrontation, it may require significant patience, it may require the help of an outside party, and it will require much prayer. But you need to resolve it. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” ().
This includes family members!
Am I involved in the work of the gospel? You say, “I’m not gifted in evangelism!” It doesn’t matter. If you know Christ, you’re on the team, and there are no bench warmers on His team.
God has gifted you to do something toward the cause of the gospel. Euodia, Syntyche, Clement, and all the others who aren’t named were not seminary graduates, with “Reverend,” or “Pastor” before their names. They were just people in Philippi who had met Jesus as Savior and Lord. That qualified them as team members and fellow workers with Paul in the cause of the gospel. If you know Christ as Savior, you’re on the same team! Get off the bench and into the game!
SLIDE
We’ll teach and equip you! March 1st we have two new SS classes beginning, one of which is called Express Your Faith
Steven J. Cole, “Lesson 21: Getting Along With One Another (),” in Philippians, Steven J. Cole Commentary Series (Dallas: Galaxie Software, 2017), .