The Unity of "One Another"

OPEN - “Amen” and “Awomen”

Congress, SCOTUS, POTUS - Many upset with the outcome of the election, control of Congress, White House (commentary, if desire)

So....how about we rely on God, not horses!

Isaiah 31:1 NASB95

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!

Psalm 20:7 NASB95

Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

(READ the Psalm, and comment)

SERMON: Primary avenue for trusting God? THE CHURCH

Who is the church? A whole bunch of individual people - “One Another”

Not an individual matter, and Not a general matter

It’s not the family or the government, even though these were ordained by God

Family designed intimately, mirroring God’s relation to us, and we bring strong family TO the church

Government designed to help us self-govern, while still following God’s will

This, CHURCH, is interpersonal, people working with people, “One Another”

INTRO - “One Another”

English - two words

Greek - one work, ah-LAY-loan

Used 100X in 94 NT verses

47 give instruction to the church, 60% of them from Paul

Great study to parallel the epistles and Jesus’ teaching (we’ll do that here)

POINTS

Crucial for the church to STEP UP, be bold, and we still have the freedom to!

Church needs to be strong - starts inside!

Then, the church can be strong outside, presenting Christ as the answer

THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT, but it’s purposeful, intentional

We see this worldwide church, USA church, and we might track trends around the world, see some news about the church in China, etc.

But, church is really about a small group of people, interacting, getting the work of the Gospel done locally

This is our realm, our area of influence, US, a bunch of “one anothers”

Who are these “one anothers?”

Some are those inside the church, fellow believers, like or unlike us

Some are those outside the church, also believers

Some are those outside the church, not believers, unlike us

Some are those sort-of inside the church, non-believers, non-members

Lots of ways to break down the “one another” passages

Unity, Love, Prayer, Encouragement, Humility, Forgiveness

UNITY - Our point today

1/3 of one another passages deal with unity of some form - (Discuss each, minimally)

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)

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

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

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

Jesus started this teaching, Paul emphasizes it greatly

(Gospels - get saved, prepare to live it out. Epistles, live it out, now that you are saved)

Peace, acceptance, not grumbling, do communion right together, not boasting, no envy, not a challenge or competition

Believers need one another, the church, people like and unlike them

To reject being in and part of church is to tell God His plan was wrong, and He doesn’t know what He’s doing.

To be invited, and decline, not good.

Matthew 20:1-16 - A parable

To teach us a couple things: salvation available to all, and also, how God treats us all fairly, by His grace, making us one, implying UNITY!

(Read the parable, and remind what a parable is, earthly story, heavenly meaning)

POINTS

Justice, we demand it, even if we don’t vocalize it

Little seems more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals

Unity is seen in the church, based on the FACT that God has granted all of us the same GRACE. (Look back at the verses, all those things, we can do, because we are all beneficiaries of His GRACE.

Together, we want FAIRNESS, and if you are the first workers in this parable, the pay doesn’t seem fair.

But this is about God choosing how He rewards, and how God chooses to save any who will respond, and how GOD’S GRACE COVERS US ALL - and thus, we have unity.

This is no time for little stuff to divide us. It’s actually no time to little things become big things to divide us.

We are fools if we ask God for justice, instead of grace, otherwise we’d all be damned.

Peter asked a question back in Matthew 19:27

Matthew 19:27 NASB95

Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

It’s a good question. And Jesus says, “Peter, relax, don’t worry about that. Let’s get this “church” thing done.

And we see Peter do just that in Acts 2. And the early church that resulted was amazing at:

Peace, acceptance, not grumbling, do communion right together, not boasting, no envy, not a challenge or competition, gentleness, patience, WITH ONE ANOTHER.

UNITY with one another in the church. It means you are here, active, participating, encountering each other, encouraging, being encouraged.

I need the church. I really do. How about you? And I mean that seriously.

Let’s pray for what is to come, and pray that through it all, we will have unity here.