Colossians 3: 9-17
D. L. Moody once said, "There is one thing I have noticed as I have traveled in different countries.
I have never known the Spirit of the Lord to work where the people are divided.
There is one thing that we must have if we are to have the Holy Spirit of God work in our midst,
and that is unity."
At the beginning of creation God made the statement:
"It is not good that man should be alone." (Genesis 2: 18)
Since the advent of time, each person has been created for fellowship with God and with other people.
Emotionally, physically, and spiritually -- it is not good for man to be alone.
Medical doctor and novelist, A. J. Cronin wrote,
"Loneliness not only brings sorrow tomorrow -- it saps today of its strength."
Uprooted by two world wars and others that have followed, bewildered by a constantly shifting society
that tends to dilute moral values, and with our modern families being continually transferred
from city to city and change houses almost as often as they do cars -- loneliness can often result.
One out of every five families in the United States will move this year and they need to be a part
of a New Testament Christian family called the church.
Old family ties and social securities are changing.
People have lost their identity in a rootless mobility, in the anonymous living huge apartments
and condominiums, and in the isolation of suburbia.
Is it any wonder that alcohol and drug addiction are rising fastness among housewives
trying to drown their loneliness?
Is it any surprise that the problem is compounded by baffled and bewildered people
who are searching for a light out of the darkness, and for a way out of their gnawing,
aching pains of loneliness?
In a world grown weary of superficial "togetherness,"
the church of Jesus Christ must dare to offer people a new kind of abiding togetherness
-- a warm fellowship where people are loved in spite of their sins, unloveliness, and weaknesses,
all because of the love of Jesus Christ.
Listen to God's message in Philippians 2: 1-2:
"If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that you be like-minded, having the same love,
being of one accord, of one mind."
The duties of the Christian life cannot be borne in isolation.
Its privileges cannot be enjoyed in solitude.
The New Testament life requires fellowship with God in Christ Jesus and with other Christians.
The word translated, church, in the New Testament means one thing only: a united fellowship.
This union is not static; it must be dynamic.
Christ is the Creator, the cornerstone, and the King of His church.
Members must develop a closer union with the divine Redeemer so that when they walk, they walk with Christ.
When they talk, they talk with Christ.
When they give, they give to Christ.
When they live, they live with Christ.
The Scripture points out three bonds of union for our fellowship in Christ.
The three bonds of union are a comfort, a companion, and a cause.
The first is the comfort of "love."
New Testament love has always been God's way to entwine the hearts of people.
In the Christian fellowship, we discuss with each other, plan with each other,
and pray with each other in the love of Christ.
Christ invites, "Come now and let us reason together." (Isaiah 1: 18)
If anyone thinks every deed done in the church will be absolutely perfect,
then he is hanging onto a twig that will snap and tumble into the dirt.
The church is composed of imperfect people, and mistakes may and do occur.
But we need to remember that no mistake needs to be malicious,
and none needs to be intentional.
Underneath and surrounding every act must be the spirit of Christ's love.
In the warm and gracious fellowship of the church of Jesus Christ,
there is no place for malicious gossip, arrogance, or a judgmental attitude.
Adlai Stevenson once said, "He who slings mud always loses ground."
If, we as church members, would just be patient and understanding with each other,
we can carry out any service for Christ.
One of the main missions of the church is to dispel the bad and replace it
with the good and pure love of God.
Dr. H. A. Ironside told this story at a Bible conference.
A small Christian group, which felt it was the only church, was having a convention.
Outside the auditorium, they displayed a motto, "Jesus Only."
There was a bad storm on the first night of the convention.
The wind blew away the first three letters of the sign.
The amazing thing was that the particular group liked what was left so much that they did not change it
during the whole convention; so, it read, "US Only."
Needless to say, it was only a few years later that this religious group had disbanded.
Anytime any congregation thinks it has arrived, that it's "Us only,"
that it does not have to work together for Christ, then it has taken the road to death.
As in the beehive, so in the church -- every member has a job to do, and unless he does that job
and cooperates with other members the church will suffer, and maybe, even die.
"Said a selfish old bee at the close of day,
This colony business doesn't pay,
I put my honey in that old hive
That others may eat and live and thrive,
And I do more in a day, you'll see,
Than some of these others do in three!
So the old bee flew to a meadow lane,
And started a business all her own.
She gave no thought to the buzzing clan,
But was all intent on her selfish plan.
But the summer waned and the days grew drear,
And the lone bee wailed as she dropped a tear,
For the animals gobbled up her little store,
And her wax played out and her heart grew sore.
So she winged her way to the old home band,
And took her meals at "the helping hand."
The second bond of unity is the living companion,
the "fellowship of the Spirit."
What a glowing assurance it is to know that a Christian never needs to enter an empty room
or travel in solitude.
We can tread the longest path without loneliness and speak for the living Saviour
in the power of His living Spirit.
When we gather in the church as the soldiers of the cross, we stand united
through the love of Christ and we commune with the all-powerful Spirit of the Living God!
When you study the church of the New Testament, it is exciting to discover a comfort, the love of Christ;
a companion, the living Spirit of Christ; and third, a dynamic cause, leading people to Christ.
God's mercy has brought redemptive mercy to each one of us.
Paul wrote,
"I beseech you... by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
... which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12: 1)
It is not optional
as to whether a Christian should witness or not.
Every person who experiences the mercies of God is set apart as a sacrifice to serve
and to lead people to Christ.
He or she may be a candle or a thousand-watt bulb, but he or she is a witness.
Mel Trotter was a world-famous evangelist, who led hundreds of people in Chicago
to put their faith in Christ.
But have you ever heard of how difficult it was to win Mel Trotter to Christ?
Mel's second baby died because his father neglected him and was away from home in a drunken stupor.
Trotter returned to the house for the funeral -- not because his heart was softened,
and not because he was crying tears of repentance and remorse
-- Mel Trotter returned for his babies funeral, so he could steal his own baby shoes
and to sell them for more money to buy more booze.
This hardhearted Mel Trotter had a friend who prayed for him, and told him about Jesus.
He persuaded Mel Trotter that Christ had the power to comfort, to keep,
and to kindle a sacred flame of right living in any person's heart.
Mel Trotter used to say,
"I had the deafest years, and the hardest heart of any man in Chicago,
but when my friend prayed for me and told me about Jesus' love on the cross,
it broke my heart and changed my life, and now I belong to Christ."
Thanks be unto God for Christian witnesses!
J. Winston Pierce related this story of the dean of women at Stetson University in Florida.
She was 49 years of age and was still single.
One day she was returning in the late afternoon to park her car, and she noticed that a student
had parked his car in the space that she was to occupy.
That presented quite a problem because the dean of women had to park her car in that particular space.
The man who brought the groceries for the cafeteria early the next morning had a key to her car,
could move it, and then drive his truck up to the door to deliver the groceries.
Of course, he would not be able to move this young man's car.
The young student was sitting in his car with a pretty coed.
He had his arm around her shoulder and they were staring out into space.
You can imagine the anger, and the absolute disgust that came over that pretty little coed's face
when the dean of women drove up beside them, stuck her head out the window, and asked,
"Pardon me, my dear, but can I change places with you?"
There is a great adventure, which is urgently needed today.
No one can take your place in it, and that adventure that all of us must take is the strengthening
of the fellowship of the church of God.
What united the early New Testament church into a fellowship which overflowed,
can unite our church today.
The dynamic unity of that early church was not that the people looked alike;
acted alike, or even thought alike: it was that the people loved alike;
they loved the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore, they could love one another.
They had an uncommon allegiance to their uncommon Lord;
therefore, they had a loving and uplifting allegiance to the Lord's church.
A husband and wife had been married for five years.
They had fought, fussed, and fumed each day of those years.
One day they had been screaming at each other for an hour when the wife suddenly stopped,
marched over to the window, and poked her mouth into a pout.
The husband yelled for another five minutes before he ran down.
Then, as he walked over to stand behind his wife, he glanced out the window
and saw two horses pulling a heavily loaded wagon up the hill.
The horses would slip back a bit, then they would pull together and make progress up the hill.
The husband said,
"Honey, look at those two horses working together, and going forward together.
Why can't we be like that?"
Without changing her pout for a moment, the wife replied,
"Because one of us is a stubborn mule!"
Shifting the blame to someone else, being hypersensitive, wearing your feelings on your sleeve,
being quick to criticize and slow to admit mistakes, choosing sides -- not by what is right,
but by whom they think is right -- by personalities rather than issues,
taking the shortsighted rather than the farsighted view of Christ's plans for His church,
saying, in effect: "My mind is made up, don't confuse me with the facts!"
Any of these attitudes are sand in the motor, square pegs in round holes,
and impediments to the progress and happiness and power of Christ's Church.
We are called to make friends for Christ, and we must look for the best
in our Christian brothers and sisters.
In Isaiah 41: 6-7:
"They helped everyone his neighbour; and everyone said to his brother,
'Be of good courage'.
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith and he that smoothed with a hammer
him that smote the anvil."
We must take opportunities to make friends.
We must look for the best in the other person, as Christ looks for the best in you.
Then, we must be willing to lend a helping hand.
This is the core of the Christian faith.
The God of the universe saw us struggling and sinning, and He extended His hand to us in Christ Jesus.
Christ extended His hand to us from the cross.
And we, as his servants, must be willing to extend a helping hand to those in need.
Christ said that His church will be a warm and winsome fellowship,
if the members will take occasion to make friends for Christ;
look for the best in the other person as Christ looks for the best in us,
and be willing to extend a helping hand.
Where shall we began?
Right where we are with the people where we are.
Children can be led to Christ, and it is extremely important that the child be won to Christ early in life.