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Tri-Bond
Ephesians 4:1-6
Tonight we are going to look at our last game in this series. It may not
be a game that your are very familiar with but it is a game that we must
play if this congregation is going to be the body that God desires for
us to be.
Our game this evening is Tri-bond. This is one of those games that
either love or hate. The object of the game is very simple, you have to
move all three of your pawns into the home base by figuring out what
with three seemingly unrelated clues have in common, or what is their
bond.
Since I don’t know how many of you have played this game I wanted to
give you an example of what I am talking about:
If I were to say tree, car and elephant what would you say they have in
common? The answer is that they all have trunks.
Ok now you get it let’s try another one, Eggs, Eyes, A Load of Laundry
... They have whites
Here is another one Florida, A Locksmith, A Piano ... They have keys
One last one Buffaloes, Cellular Phones, Nomads ... They roam
Depending on your mental make up, this game is either the best game that
you have ever played or the most frustrating but the key to winning is
figuring out what bonds those items together.
I think that it is vitally important that this church looks at the
things that bond us together instead of the things that could divide us.
If we are ever going to make an impact in our community, we have to
discover our common bonds and make that our focus. Anything less is not
acceptable.
You see during the history of the church to many of us have focused on
the non-essential things, and tried to make them spiritual. The end
result was that we have torn the body of Christ to shreds and lost our
influence in the community. Instead of being one, our fellowship has
divided or split on such deep theological issues as:
Bible School Curriculum
Whether or not to support orphans homes, & missionary societies
Lord’s Supper (some demanded that only one communion cup be used, some
demanded that you had to break the bread before you passed it to the
body)
Kitchens in the church building
The role of the Holy Spirit
What songs could and couldn’t be used in the worship
Dancing, card playing, swimsuits, Shingle colors for the building and
Bible interpretations
And as we have continued to look at the things that we disagree on
friendships, families, and the very body of Christ has suffered.
Someone much smarter that I once said “If we focus on our differences,
our focus is on each other. if we focus with unity, our focus is on
God.”
Even though this would be considered a small family church the diversity
here is amazing.
Just starting with our traditions of worship: Some of us have only
worshiped at this congregation, some of us have gone off to college and
worshiped under the traditions of other churches, some of us have
children that worship in churches that have different traditions than we
do, and we come together every week as a diverse melting pot of ideas on
how worship should look.
We also have a variety of occupations. There are full time students,
bank tellers, factory workers, farmers, teachers, business owners,
dental hygienist, stay home moms, management personnel, and those who
are retired.
But just because we are diverse doesn’t mean that we don’t have a common
bond. Those things that make us different make us stronger. Our
differences give us the ability to pull from so many different talents
and abilities as we have the need. But these same differences can create
some interesting challenges; with all of this diversity, unity can be a
truly difficult feat to accomplish.
So how can a church with this much diversity experience true unity that
we need to accomplish greater things for God? We need to remember that
the things that unite us are far more important than the things that
divide us. And if we are going to be the church that we were called to
be then we must learn to focus on our common bond.
As believers, we are united by seven common bonds. Please open your
Bibles to Ephesians 4:1-6 and let’s read our text for tonight. (Read
Text)
The first thing Paul says that we have in common is that We share a
common body
This does sound a bit strange but it is true. When you placed your faith
in Christ and entered the watery grave of Baptism you became a member of
a new body. The church is meant to be a visible representation of Jesus
Christ in this world. The Apostle Paul says that we are the Feet of
Jesus in Romans 10:15 and Peter says that we are His hands in 1 Peter
4:10.
In practical terms, the church is to be the witness for Christ where the
rubber meets the road. We are meant to show Christ’s love to the
unlovable, reveal Christ’s forgiveness to the unforgivable and radiate
Christ’s light in the midst of darkness.
Just as the church cannot be invisible; so each Christian is meant to
have a visible role in the ministry of the church. When Christ can be
seen in you and through you; that is when you can truly make an impact
for His kingdom.
What are you doing to make Christ more visible in your life?
We share a common Spirit
There is only one Spirit within the church and it is by the work of the
Holy Spirit that the church moves and lives. The Spirit spans division
and pulls together diversity.
The same Spirit that seeks to guide me also seeks to guide you. The same
Spirit that seeks to convict me of sin also seeks to convict you of sin.
The same Spirit that brings sanctification in the lives of others also
seeks to bring sanctification in your life.
The problem is that too often we become led by our flesh and what we
want rather than by what the Spirit desires. It is during these times
that we get ourselves into the most trouble spiritually.
Are you seeking after what the Spirit desires or are you seeking what
you desire?
We share a common hope
The hope that we share as Christians is that we will one day be forever
in the presence of Jesus and share in His glory. Our hope becomes a
reality by one of two ways:
We pass from this life to the next
Jesus returns and takes His people to be with Him
This hope is a real and vibrant part of the life of the church. It is
this hope that gives us focus when life becomes a blur. It is this hope
that keeps us going through the toughest difficulties in life.
When a person is focused on this hope, all differences begin to fade
away. Have you placed your focus on divine hope or have you placed your
focus on human hype?
We share a common Lord
Those who have believed in Jesus and have placed their faith in Him all
share the same Lord. The simple fact is that Jesus is Lord and there is
none above Him, beside Him or before Him. He is the Lord of the
universe. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the
beginning and the end.
It is the same Jesus who left His glory to live a human life and
surrender that perfect life as a payment for your sin. Jesus died to be
your Savior and lives to be your Lord!
Jesus is the one, true Lord and it through Him and Him alone that we can
find salvation. Today, Jesus wants to be the Lord of your life. Have you
given Him complete Lordship over every area of your life? Are you
motivated by His direction for your life and for the life of this church
or are you more motivate by your desires for the church?
We share a common faith
Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation
There is only one faith that leads us to God the Father and that is
through Jesus Christ. There is no other faith that will bridge the gap
between heaven and humanity. Faith is the commitment to follow Jesus and
accept His leadership for your life. It is in essence making an
allegiance with Jesus and allowing Him to join forces with you to live
your life.
When we place our faith in Jesus it changes our lives because it gives
us someone to trust in an untrustworthy world. Do you completely trust
Jesus with your life or are you just giving Him lip service? Do you
completely trust Jesus with this church or are you just acting like you
trust Him?
We share a common baptism
The purpose of water baptism is revealed in the personal identification
with Christ’s death and resurrection. The role of baptism is to initiate
believers into the body by giving them a means of making a public
statement of their faith in Christ.
The reality is that every believer truly comes into the body through
water baptism and thus there is one mode of entrance. Baptism is
symbolic of Christ’s death and resurrection but far too often we don’t
allow the old life to die and it creeps into our new life in Christ. It
is impossible to live the new life in Christ to the fullest without
letting go of the old attitudes and ways of living. It is this baggage
that creates division and difficulty within the church.
What baggage of the old life are you still trying to carry in your new
life for Christ?
We share a common God and Father
As Christians, we believe there is only one God who reigns over all of
creation. We share the same heavenly Father, which makes us one family.
Every believer is led by the same God.
God is above all: He is the supreme sovereign of the universe
God works through all: He desires to work through all to accomplish His
plan and purpose
God is in all: He dwells in the lives of all believers and is present
with every believer always
Since the same God is over everyone, works through everyone, and is in
everyone, we should stand united. Our common bonds are far more powerful
and far more important than our differences.
In his book, Let Me Tell You A Story Tony Campolo shares the following
story:
Peter Arnett was a CNN television commentator and reporter. He tells of
a time he was in Israel, in a small town on the West Bank, when a bomb
exploded. Bloodied people were everywhere. A man came running up to
Peter holding a little girl in his arms. He pleaded with Peter to take
her to a hospital. As a member of the press, he would be able to get
through the security cordon that had been thrown around the explosion
scene. Peter, the man and the girl jumped into his car and rushed to the
hospital. The whole time the man was pleading with him to hurry, to go
faster, heartbroken at the thought the little girl might die. Sadly, the
little girl’s injuries were too great and she died on the operating
table. When the doctor came out to give them the news the man collapsed
in tears. Peter Arnett was lost for words. "I don't know what to say. I
can't imagine what you must be going through. I've never lost a child."
It was then that the man said, "Oh, mister! That girl was not my
daughter. I'm an Israeli settler. She was a Palestinian. But there comes
a time when each of us must realize that every child, regardless of that
child's background, is a daughter or a son. There must come a time when
we realize that we are all family."
The church is called to a similar unity and it is only when we pursue
this Christ centered unity that we will find all of the greatest of
God’s blessings being poured out among us.
When differences arise put your focus on the common bonds that we all
share. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one
hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God
and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Does your life show that God is control?
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