Good morning! Here we are in our sixth week of our Developing a Healthy Church by Following the One Another Commands. In the first week, we looked at an overview of the series, and then we looked at our need to spend time Hanging Together by greeting one another, being hospitable to one another, and by having fellowship with one another. After that, we spent a couple of weeks on Serving Together where we both shared about great times of ministering together, as well as several different aspects of serving like submitting to one another, praying for one another, and being humble to each other. Last week, we talked about Playing Nice Together and covered the topics of Being kind and compassionate, Living in harmony with one another, and finally Being at peace with one another
This week, we’ll start looking at the fourth major section:
Hanging together
Serving together
Playing nice together
Challenging together
Restraining together
Challenging Together
• Accepting one another Romans 15:7
• Devoted to one another Romans 12:10
• Spurring one another on towards love and good works Hebrews 10:24
As I stated last week, I believe that Playing Nice Together is a step more difficult than Serving Together. Likewise, I believe that Challenging Together is another step more difficult than Playing Nice Together.
We’re going to look at a couple of passages from Romans this morning and then jump over to Hebrews. Paul writes:
Rom. 15:5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
I think that this passage is kind of a transition from last week’s thoughts to this week’s. Paul reminds us that in the midst of life’s struggles that we need to remember that God is the One who give us endurance and encouragement as we work together to have unity…or the word we looked at last week…harmony…among ourselves.
As I’ve talked with a variety of people here at church this week, I’ve heard several people talk about how they’re feeling the opposite of these two words…worn out and discouraged instead of having endurance and encouragement. Paul reminds us that we need to be asking God for these two positive heart and mental attitudes so that we’re able to give glory to God the Father.
I see this passage tying so many things together neatly as we see the encouragement coming from God which allows us to live in harmony together, which in turn allows us to bring glory to the Lord, and then others will see that internal love so that they too want to worship the Lord.
Also, in this process of living in unity under God’s blessing, we’re commanded to accept one another. Once again, Paul doesn’t give us much “wiggle room” as he writes this command. We aren’t given a suggestion. We aren’t told to accept those who are exactly like us. We aren’t told to accept others when we feel like it.
NO…in fact, Paul writes a pretty airtight description here. The verb that he uses here is actually one that could be translated: “Keep on accepting one another”. Paul recognizes that it’s hard to accept someone once and let it be that way forever. Because, just as soon as you accept someone, it seems like that person, or even someone else that you’re working on accepting, does something bad or even REALLY bad that causes you to NOT want to accept them anymore.
Furthermore, Paul gives us one of those really tough comparisons; we are to accept each other in the same way Jesus accepted (and keeps accepting) us. Think about that…how did Christ accept us? While we were still sinners; while we were running from God; while some of us were purposefully against God; and so on….
You don’t have to raise your hands…but does anybody in here know of a Christian who has sinned? Do any of you know a Christian who has done a REALLY big sin? Is there the potential that anybody in here today has sinned a little? What does 1 John 1:9 tell us? If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and will keep on cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
Man…that is so incredibly encouraging to me…Jesus…whose death and resurrection we’ll be celebrating in just a couple of weeks accepted me when I was His enemy and was by nature a sinner…AND…He continues to accept me…even when I sin!
Paul tells us…accept your brothers and sisters in Christ in that same way!
In the second passage here, Paul is still on that same kind of theme of our need to love and accept one another.
Rom. 12: 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
I love how so many of these one another commands are intertwined…here we see that being devoted to one another is wrapped up in serving the Lord. Hmmm…maybe we have to work on the whole package of these commands in order to develop a healthy church family that is able to work together and enjoy being in harmony together. It’s also very interesting that this particular passage is just a few verses before the section that we looked at last week about living in harmony with one another…so, again, these commands are really tied together!
Paul has just concluded a section on how we are each members of Christ’s body and how we need to exercise our individual spiritual gifts. He acknowledges that each of us are different and that we have our own views of things; even so, we must be devoted to each other.
We can’t all be piano players. We can’t all work in the nursery. We can’t all mow the yard. We can’t all make meals for the community. We can’t all preach, etc…. BUT, we CAN be devoted to one another and celebrate what each other is doing!
The word used here for “devoted” really stresses the family aspect of our relationships within the body of Christ. In fact, someone has translated it as, “With brotherly love have family affection for one another.
Now, I know some of you don’t have the world’s best relationship with your brothers, sisters, parents, or other family members. Yet, you know what a loving family SHOULD look like. That’s what Paul is telling us here. We must show that kind of love and devotion to one another just like we’d like to do in our families.
The third passage we’re going to look at today comes from the book of Hebrews. Here, the author writes:
10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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.
We’re told that we need to keep our faith strong and not let it waver…because God is faithful in doing what He says He will do.
In the body of Christ, we’re instructed then to share that confession of our beliefs with others in the body. We’re even told to stir things up with one another so that they love better and so they do good works better.
A week ago, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of fathers and their children at my home church up in Pontiac. While I wasn’t specifically thinking about this passage, it’s interesting how my thoughts there parallel this concept well.
I was sharing about the church and the men in that church had really helped me in my spiritual growth and in my ability to be a good father.
Here are some of those examples of people who stirred me up to love and good works:
Jon taught my Sunday school class when I was in third or fourth grade. He and his wife also opened up their home and the couple of acres around it for our annual Day Camp where I was able to start serving as part of that team.
Can you think about someone who taught your Sunday School class or helped with VBS or some other summer ministry?
People who allowed me as a junior high student to teach over 20 2 & 3 year olds during Children’s church or later as a high school student being able to have a group of junior high boys that I was responsible for.
Can you remember the first time that you were given leadership responsibilities to teach a class or lead a group of people at church?
There was Stan, my youth pastor, who worked with me and helped develop a passion for me going into youth ministry.
Do you remember someone who believed in you and was instrumental in helping you develop a passion for serving Jesus?
Wes & June demonstrated hospitality by hosting a fall festival that we used to have, and they were the first people I knew who adopted kids.
Do you remember someone who did something “different” in the body of Christ that caused your life to be changed?
My future father-in-law Tony did special numbers with me as I played my trumpet and he played the piano.
Do you remember someone encouraging you to join the choir or play the piano for a special music number?
Dave and the elders of the church flew up to Michigan for my ordination service.
Do you remember someone doing something “over the top” to show they believed in you and really wanted to encourage you?
And there is also Pastor Brian: When Karen and I were missionaries with Young Life out in South Dakota, I was preaching many weeks; teaching Sunday School, leading youth group, and leading all of our Young Life ministries…all without strong Biblical input. However, Pastor Brian’s sermons were available for me to get each week, and they sustained me for much of that time.
Do you have someone in your life who has been that huge spiritual encourager for you?
As I spoke, I saw many of you get both smiles and tears as you thought through people in your life who have stirred or spurred you to live your faith out.
Of course, the question then is…who are you impacting? Who are you spurring on to live out their faith better? Who will look back twenty or thirty years from now and say, “BOY Kenny, Judy, Joseph, Max, Karen, or ________ really blessed me by encouraging me to step it up in my walk with Jesus so I could serve Him better”?
The writer also strongly encourages us to make sure that we’re getting together as members of the family of God. In Young Life, we used the phrase, “Earning the right to be heard” as we met new students and talked with them about their life and things going on before we were able to get to the point of talking to them about Jesus.
I think this passage carries that same connotation. We need to be coming together at church. We need to get a piece of pie together. We need to grab a Dr. Pepper or coffee together. We need to be part of each other’s lives so that we have that freedom to stir and spur one another on in their passionate pursuit of the Lord.
How are we doing at positively Challenging Together? Is there someone you need to work at continuing to accept like Christ accepts us? Is there someone in the family here in Goodfield that you need to work harder at being devoted to as a good brother or sister would? Is there someone that you need to contact this week to thank them for spurring you on in your faith journey? Is there someone you need to say something to that will encourage them in their walk with Jesus?
God is passionate that we keep on attempting to Develop a Healthy Church by Following these One Another Commands!
Pray.
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