The Unity of the Gospel

Introduction

Dismiss Children

Great breakfast yesterday. Thanks Tony, Dave, and the guys who were here setting up and tearing down to make that thing happen.

looking forward to the next one on April 2nd.

I love being apart of Liberty. This place is full of such amazing people. People that love the Lord, they serve one another, and have a desire to impact their homes, this church, and their community with the gospel.

I believe one person can spark change on a grand scale but it takes many people working together to scale up and bring lasting change. I believe this is one of the reasons God didn’t entrust the spread of the gospel to just one person, one organization, or one methodology. All of the Apostle’s were there to receive the great commission directly from the lips of Christ. Paul planted multiple churches throughout the region that operate independently of one another. Paul and Peter were two completely different people with different approaches to ministry and styles of preaching.

Yet, they didn’t contradict one another. They didn’t fight and argue between one another. They had their differences but they were unified in their goals.

It’s that unity I want to speak to you about this morning. Before we do that though, I want you to see 5 enemies of unity in the church and home.

5 Enemies of Unity in the Church and Home

1. Lack of Shared purpose

Jesus said that some believed He came to unite them yet He said he came to bring division. While obviously true, we must see on what truth He is bringing division. The Gospel will either unite us or divide us at a deep level. What you believe about Jesus and His death burial and resurrection will determine whether you can be unified with those who believe the Gospel.

2. Failure to Communicate

While this can pertain to the logistics of an event or the ongoing operations of the church, I believe in the church family it centers around not just how often but how clearly the gospel is communicated.

3. Gossip

It’s unfortunate how synonymous churchgoers and gossip have become. I believe this is because we have confused gossip with slander. Slander is spreading false reports. We would all say that’s bad. However, what if what you are saying is true. I mean if Sheryl’s husband is a drunk and your just telling people about it or if someone has upset you because they said something and you go talk to someone OTHER THAN the person who said it…that’s gossip. Don’t do it. Gossip will not exist when we all follow

Matthew 18:15 KJV 1900

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

4. Lack of Forgiveness

When someone offends us and we wont’ forgive them. We may say we forgive. But we won’t trust them again because then they would take advantage of us...

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

5. Prioritizing Secondary Issues

It’s too hot in the auditorium, it’s too cold in the auditorium, he calls it an auditorium and not a sanctuary, they call it a sanctuary and not a worship center, they sing hymns and no new songs, they only sing new songs and not hymns, the carpet should be this color, the sign should say this....

There are towns in the south that have First, Second, and Third Baptist Churches because of splits over issues revolving around secondary issues. People dieing for their faith in foreign lands and we take offense to these things…God help us.

How do we defeat these enemies? How are we supposed to overcome these things.

1 John 4:4 KJV 1900

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

We can’t but He can. And through Him we can because

Philippians 4:13 KJV 1900

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

That all starts right here were Jesus is with His disciples int he upper room.

We are hours away from his passion and crucifixion. his betrayal is at hand. And he sits to dine with not just the faithful 11 but also with Judas..Judas Iscariot.

Who is Judas Iscariot? Judas Iscariot is the man that has walked with Jesus for 3+ years and will now betray him for 30 pieces of silver..

And what did Jesus do in these last moments with this tratior in his midst? Did he call him out? Did he tell his apostles to unite around their hatred Judas?

Follow along with me and we will see what Jesus did...

Luke 22:14-30

Luke 22:14–30 KJV 1900

14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! 23 And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. 24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. 28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

PRAY

How do we keep the enemies of unity out of our homes and our church?

I. Build the bonds of unity on a strong foundation

A strong foundation is required for a home to stand the test of time. If you have cracks in a foundation you have some major problems.

Many of you have been bonded with others over a foundation throughout your life. You may not think of it that way but let me illustrate

In high school or college you had a mascot or fight song that was important to you. My high school was and still is the falcons. We didn’t have a fight song per say but the student body did have a song that if it came on during a dance everyone would stop and sing. It was called “I’ve got friends in low places.” I didn’t sing, I was one of the friends they were talking about.

Maybe you have a group of friends that are united over your love for a sports team, or a hobby, or work.

Whatever it was or is, you have a foundation that bonds you with others in your life. These types of foundations can change though.

My wife attended a school called Sullivan South. They were the Sullivan South Rebels. Now remember, we came from Tennessee. Their mascot was a confederate soldier and the “unoffical” school flag was a confederate flag.

The county closed this school and 2 others to combine into one large school and now her mascot doesn’t exist. If she had friends who were bound because of their attachment to that school…that school is gone. The foundation is gone...

Jesus sits with His disciples and tells them that He has desired to eat this passover with them.

He has been looking forward to this moment.

The passover feast is a celebration of the Israelites Exodus out of Egypt and onto the promised Land. It is called the passover to call to remembrance the death angel that passed over the Israelites doors that had the blood of the lamb on them.

It is at this feast, this last supper, that Jesus lays the foundation of their unity and the focus of their lives going forward.

He takes the bread and prays over it and says “this is my body which is given for you...” Then he takes the fruit of the vine and says “this is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you...” This do in rememberance of me.

They are bound not by their desire to see Rome overthrown, their hatred for Judas, in fact at this point Judas is STILL THERE. They are bound by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

His death, burial, and resurrection.

The gospel of Jesus is an unchanging foundation that unites those who believe on Him deeper than secondary issues and allows us to overlook the things that offend our flesh to forgive as we have been forgiven. To be taken advantage of in the name of Jesus. To show love and expect nothing back because of Christ. It is the Gospel of Christ that keep a home together and a church unified towards the Lord’s vision for them.

Jesus told a parable in

Matthew 7:24-28

Matthew 7:24–28 KJV 1900

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Build your house, build your church, build your relationship, on the foundation of the gospel and no matter what winds blow, storms come, or how much snow falls the house will not fall because it will be built on the sure and unchanging foundation of the gospel.

Are the relationships in your life that are not built upon the foundation of the gospel? It’s time to break them down and rebuild upon a sure foundation.

Because it takes a strong foundation to build lasting unity.

The Disciples had the belssing of starting their relatioships out being built upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

And even with that, their relationship were not perfect.

Look at

Luke 22:24

Luke 22:24 KJV 1900

24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

They are showing one of their weaknesses. Pride.

It’s good for us to see these men with weakness. It helps us know God can use us in ours. For Him to do that though, you have to

II. Know your weakness, so you can see His strength

The Apostle’s are with Christ at the feast of passover where he has just presented them with the new testament in his broken body and blood. AND…a part Luke leaves out his mentioned in John that we need to see…Remember Judas is STILL WITH THEM

John 13:4-10

John 13:4–10 KJV 1900

4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. 6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

Hold up…Jesus…Jesus knew Judas would betray Him…and Jesus washed the feet of Judas...

There is a whole sermon in itself…I digress

This has happened…and now they are bickering over who is the greatest..again...

If you remember..they have done this before.

Mark 9:33-35

Mark 9:33–35 KJV 1900

33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

They argued then and Jesus gave them the same answer. They hadn’t become aware of their weakness or atleast hadn’t done anything about it?

What are your weaknesses? Pride? Gossip? Fear? Anger? Slander? Lying? Lust?

You need to know your weakness so you can see His strength.

When we don’t identify our weaknesses and surrender them to God they will cause problems in our homes, our churches, and our relationships.

How do we identify our weaknesses?

Not the way a woman named Tammy did. I once read about Tammy and how she had noticed some bumps on her tongue. She got really scared and did what most do in the 21st century to discover what is going on with their body, she googled her symptoms.

A quick search turned up a variety of results and as she clicked through what Dr. google presented to her. She was relieved when she saw it could just be “Transient lingual papallitis” but was then horrified whens he realized it could be Scarlet Fever.

So she turned to plan B and went to the doctor. The doctor enters the room as Tamm frantically explains these bumps on on her tongue and asks the Doc to take a look.

The Doctor takes her little light not sure what she will see but looks with an open mind as Tammy opens her mouth. The Doctor spends a few moments examining Tammy’s tongue making a couple sounds “mmm…aaahhh”

Then asks tammy to closer he mouth and says “well.. I’m glad to tell you I know what the bumps on your tongue are” “What are they?!?!?” Tammy Responds with fear. “ They are callled papillae and contain gustatory cells.” The doctor snickers.

Tammy says “Why are you laughing that sounds terrible..” The Doctor continued..they are commonly called…Taste buds and allow you to enjoy your food.

You see Tammy went to the wrong place to define her symptoms but once she went to the source she was able to understand what was going on and be relieved.

Fortunately Tammy didn’t have anything to worry about but as believers we have serious symptoms that plague our walk with God and if we don’t go to His Word that is given for Doctrine, Reproof, Correction, and Instruction in Righteousness we may not properly diagnose what is going on and we definitely wont’ see how to overcome it.

When you see your weakness in light of Christ you will see His strength that will overcome your weakness. His humility and grace that overcomes your pride. His forgiveness and mercy that wipes your slate clean in front of your Heavenly Father so that you may wipe the slate clean for others in your life. You can see His kindness, gentleness, and acceptance that will help you with your anger.

It’s in our weakness He is made strong…Know your weaknesses and seek his Strength.

The disciples weaknesses have creeped up into their lives and Jesus gives the formula for overcoming it specifically while also providing what I believe is the prescription for each of us.

Don’t think yourself great, be a servant.

Proverbs 13:10 KJV 1900

10 Only by pride cometh contention: But with the well advised is wisdom.

Humbling ourselves under the truths of the gospel brings us to the place of a servant. And as you seen Jesus not wait for the disciples to ask for his feet to be washed, neither should we wait for the opportunities to serve

Because

III. Proactively serving your family, church, and community increases your gospel impact.

Notice how Jesus responds to their arguments

Luke 22:25-27

Luke 22:25–27 KJV 1900

25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

He compares how they should be serving to how the Gentile kings exercise their Lordship over their subjects. The kings did not wait for people to come to them and say “Please rule over me. Please place laws over me. Please make me start paying taxes to you.”

Then he uses the word exercise when he speaks of benefactors. The word benefactors means well doers. The kings and those exercising authority over them were said to be doing good, or at least in their eyes.

They were not waiting to Lord over them. Evil does not wait it pounces and takes advantage of every situation it can.

Jesus is telling them you won’t be like the kings you will be servants. I see this as him saying “exercise your servitude.”

Seek ways to serve.

Are you tired of fighting with your spouse? Seek a way to serve them.

Is your relationship strained with your kids? Seek a way to serve them.

Looking to make progress in your faith? Serve others.

How can you serve? If you don’t know, ask. If you do know, do it.

Serving won’t always be glamorous. Jesus was washing the nasty and disgusting feet of these men from 1st century Jerusalem who walked around all day wearing sandals.

Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, was willing to kneel down and wash those feet. Let me ask you husbands, what are you not willing to do to put a smile on your wifes face? Ladies, what excuses are you giving to not serve your husband? Parents, are you seeking to serve your kids or forcing them to serve you?

Are the relationships around you strained? serve.

Are you desriing to have a gospel impact in your church and community? Serve.

As believers, we serve together. Unified on the foundation of the gospel. We know we have weaknesses and we know how strong He is. Because of who He is we proactively serve others so that they may know Him and we can make Him known.

The Gospel can bring unity, unity in the gospel leads to service, service leads to impact.

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