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Sermon
by Dr. Jeffrey Jeremiah "United
in Christ”
Over
the past month, I have thought and prayed a lot about the last three
messages I want to leave with you.
Next Sunday I’m going to share the journey the Lord’s had
me on these past months; how He called me to my new position, and why
I have great confidence that the months and years before you will be
the best you’ve ever enjoyed. On
my last Sunday with you, I want to share some pastoral insights and
wisdom that I believe will help you during the coming interim.
When I told my family what I’d be doing on October 1, they
said, “That will be a short message!”
This
brings me to today. What
is a key truth from God’s Word that will be most beneficial to you?
That’s the question I want to answer.
I’ll begin to do that by affirming two facts.
First, we all know how important we are as individuals created
in the image of God, saved as we are in a one-to-one relationship with
Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
We also know that God has a plan for our lives, a plan that
fits perfectly with who we are and no one else.
God Himself values you as a unique individual, created and
saved by Him. Second is
the fact that He brings us together in His church, and in spite of the
fact that we’re incredibly distinctive and diverse in our
backgrounds, outlooks, perspectives, personalities, and spiritual
maturity, He declares a purpose for us that’s truly amazing. We’re brought together as men, women, boys, and girls in
Jesus Christ into a community, and that what is to characterize that
community, what that community is to be known for is unity, in fact,
oneness. Three times in
His prayer in John chapter 17 Jesus prays that His people—us—would
be one (17:11, 21, 22) just as Jesus and His heavenly Father are one.
And again, that we “may be brought to complete unity” (v.
23). Unity;
perfect and complete. That’s
God’s purpose for His church, for us!
Humanly speaking, we know that this is just not possible.
The story of human history is that differences produce
division. God’s Word describes the divisive plight of humanity in
verses 12-14: “alienated...strangers,
(with) no hope...without God...in the world...divided by a wall of
hostility.” It’s a
dramatically different thing that God’s doing in His church.
He’s creating what John Stott called a “new society.”
I Peter 2:9 describes this society as, “a chosen people, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
God’s commitment to us is to do something completely
different, doing something exactly opposite from the way the world
operates. His “new
society” isn’t a place where people “put up with” or tolerate
one another; it’s where acceptance, affirmation, compassion and
kindness, humility, forgiveness and love are shared.
These characteristics, according to Colossians 3:14, bind us
“all together in perfect unity.”
Do we accept and affirm one another because we’re all the
same? No!
Do we forgive and love because we’re part of an organization?
No. We’re united
by a power that isn’t natural or human, it’s spiritual.
The unifying power is the power of Jesus Christ Himself.
He’s the source of our diversity in that He created and saved
us as precious, unique individuals.
And He’s the source of our unity.
God’s purpose is for us to be united, one in His Son.
God can put forward this remarkable purpose for us because He’s
already provided the means by which this vision can become a reality.
He’s dealt with and defeated the power that produces disunity
and division. Verse 13
says, “But now, in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been
brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Notice what the text doesn’t say.
Not, “we have brought ourselves near.”
It’s not something we do or have done for ourselves.
No, it’s done for us.
We have been brought near by Jesus Christ.
He takes the initiative; it’s His work and He brings us near.
But before we can be brought near to God, near to one another,
that power that divides us must be addressed.
That power is sin. Sin separates, it divides, it builds walls of isolation, it
creates hostility between us. Jesus
defeated that power in your life through His shed blood, His death on
the Cross. II Corinthians
5:19 says, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not
counting our sins against us.”
Why wasn’t God counting our sins against us?
Because He was counting our sins against His Son.
God took your sins and mine and put them on Jesus.
He demanded the penalty for your sin be paid, and at Calvary
Jesus paid that price, in full, once and for all.
And though Jesus Christ was slain on the Cross, He was also the
slayer. He slew the sin
that separates us, that alienates and divides, that builds walls which
produce suspicion, hostility, and conflict.
His victory is our victory.
And in that victory the door is open to enjoy community,
relationships with one another that fulfill His plan for us—unity,
oneness with Him, in Him. In
Ephesians 4:3 we’re exhorted, “Make every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
The problem is that more often than we care to admit, we do not
make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace.” We struggle
with tension and division in our relationships with one another in
Jesus Christ. That truth has application in all relationships, but our
church family is the focus here.
In John 17:21 Jesus prayed this way for His church, for us: “May
they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent
me.” When there’s conflict and division in the community that
Christ prayed would be one just as He is one with the Father and the
Father’s one with Him, that’s devastating.
Let me put this way: What does division in the church declare
to the watching world? It
strikes me that we fall into divisive wall-building when we feel
threatened (or maybe just uncomfortable) with our differences. I will be the first to admit that affirming both diversity
and unity in Christ can hard. When
we feel we can’t do both, the typical solution is to jettison
diversity and enforce uniformity.
How many times have you had a difference of opinion with
someone and you said, “I’m afraid we’re headed down the road to
disagreement and maybe even division.
I know! I’ve got
a solution, let’s do it your way!”
That rarely happens, doesn’t it?
It’s always, “Let’s do it my way!
Then we can move forward together!”
Of course, that’s not what happens.
Division breaks out, and often over some pretty mundane issues.
I
spent more than seven years studying 17th century English church
history and theology. Some of the issues that divided Bible-believing Christians
300 years ago included: kneeling or not kneeling in worship, bowing or
not bowing at the name of Jesus, taking communion sitting down or
coming to the rail and receiving the elements directly from the
minister, reading prayers in worship as opposed to extemporary
prayers. Here’s a big
one: should an infant be crossed at baptism? More than once, I’d step back from my research and say to
myself, “This is ridiculous! Where’s
the focus on Jesus, where’s the commitment to unity?”
Then I think of some of the issues that divide churches today:
Should worship be formal or informal, should music be traditional or
contemporary? Should
there be clapping in worship or not?
Here’s a favorite: Did you know that a church in our
denomination almost split over the size and color of the brick for
their new sanctuary? And
they picked the wrong color! The
fact is, if we want to, we can find and focus on all kinds of issues
that can divide us. What
would our division declare to the world about God and His Son?
Let me conclude this point in this way: If Jesus Christ is my
personal Savior and Lord, and Jesus Christ is your personal Savior and
Lord, and there’s conflict or division between us, what’s the
cause of our estrangement? Not Jesus Christ! His
commitment is to oneness, unity between us.
No, its sin that separates and divides.
It breaks the unity, the oneness we share in God’s Son.
One
of the things I most appreciate and treasure about this church is its
commitment to unity and peace. I
came from a church with a wonderful ministry for Jesus Christ in the
nation’s capital. But
because that church existed in a highly politicized environment, there
was rarely a sense of unity and peace within the Session or
congregation. A main
source of the problem is that we held two Session meetings each night
we met. The first meeting
was the regularly scheduled one.
It met from 7 to 10 or 11 or sometimes 12 o’clock at night.
The second meeting was the meeting that took place in the
parking lot after the first meeting.
The second meeting was the gathering of elders who didn’t
like what that Session had just done.
As pastors, we usually knew within 48 hours what the discussion
was at what we called “the parking lot meeting.”
That is what I came from. I have to say that the parking lot
meetings at my previous church have pretty much gone away.
In fact my colleague, Rob Norris, said that when I departed
they stopped, but that’s another story…. That’s
the background I brought to First EPC.
In my fourth Session meeting, in November of 1994, we had a
spirited discussion about an issue and then voted 6 to 5 to proceed. When the vote was announced, I asked, “What did we just do?”
I was told, “We just
voted 6 to 5 in favor of the motion.”
I then explained that where I came from, a 6 to 5 vote usually
sparked a Session meeting in the parking lot.
I was told, “We don’t do that here.
We debate an issue freely, sometimes fiercely, and then we
vote. After the vote, we
speak with one voice in support of the motion that is approved.
In fact, you can expect that members of the minority will be
the most vocal supporters of what we decided.”
And for 12 years, that is the way it has been in this church.
And that is special and something to be truly treasured.
And
that’s how it’s been in my time here.
Members of the Session have often said, “Let’s do it your
way for the good of our church.” The spiritual leadership of this church has modeled to me, to
all of us, the unity and peace Jesus desires for us. That doesn’t happen in all churches, but it does happen
here, and it happens here because the God who so passionately desires
unity in His people is alive and well and working to bring His vision
to reality, and we His people are not focused on ourselves. We
do the best we can to keep our focus on Jesus Christ, the Head of this
church. I have to tell you that this fact, this reality that
characterizes our life together has helped to make being your pastor
life-giving, energizing, and exciting!
If you’ve started worshipping with us in the past few months,
I hope you sense the unity, peace, and joy with which our Lord has
blessed us. Again, it is
only in Jesus that that can happen.
I can’t make it happen, the Session can’t make it happen. Only Jesus can make it happen.
Only Jesus can break down walls, bridge the gap, restore
relationships of openness, love, and unity that are His purpose for
our lives, and for our church, to unite us, make us one in Him. |