WEBVTT 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:06.080 Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.759 of all, who is over all and through all and in 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:15.599 all. Several years ago now, a friend of mine 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:19.879 accepted the challenge of a church which had 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:24.539 at its beginning of his ministry 33 people, including 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:30.539 the children, only 12 of whom were members. After 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:35.700 one and a half years of sacrifice, prayer, hard 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:40.200 work, teaching the word, over a hundred people 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:44.600 had trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:48.939 followed him in baptism. Think of what was accomplished 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:55.420 in those 18 months. And then one man became negative 00:00:55.420 --> 00:01:00.979 and critical of my friend's ministry. For example, 00:01:00.979 --> 00:01:03.759 on visitation night, instead of going visiting, 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:07.980 he would go with another man, but the two of 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:12.719 them would sit together and in the entire time 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.799 of visitation talk about the pastor's ministry. 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.760 The result was that there developed within that 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:26.219 church of 150 or so people a small group of critical 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:30.439 people who gossiped. primarily about the pastor. 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:36.219 The result of that was that the blessing of God 00:01:36.219 --> 00:01:40.200 lifted from that church. After just two months 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:44.180 of that kind of activity, missions giving dropped 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.519 off to nothing, and it was not long before the 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:53.060 pastor left, to his own admission, probably prematurely. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:58.599 But he heard the noise of the minority. and the 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:03.719 majority was quiet. Sad to say, that church has 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:06.640 not to this day recovered from that incident. 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:11.000 Nothing is more important to a local church than 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.379 the unity of the Spirit in the body of that church. 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.379 The loss of spiritual unity is really the death 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:23.879 knell to its ministry. Oh, it may exist all right. 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:27.460 but it cannot thrive and it will not be effective 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:31.500 because of the lack of unity. Our text today 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:34.460 in Ephesians chapter 4 deals with this very practical 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:40.319 topic. The unity of a local church is a sacred 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.300 treasure, which is to be appreciated, encouraged, 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:49.300 and it says here protected. It is essential for 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:52.979 that unity. to be thusly treated for that ministry 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:56.360 to be God -honoring. I want you to think with 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:58.780 me, first of all, regarding the source of unity. 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:03.740 It is supernatural in its origin. The unity of 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.280 the church does not come from the natural state 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.680 of the people who belong to it. It does not come 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:13.060 because everyone pays a certain amount of dues. 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:16.219 It does not come because they meet together and 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:18.479 they eat a certain meal one time a month, as 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.979 some clubs do. Rather, the origin of the unity 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:26.439 in the church is a supernatural origin because 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:31.060 it comes from God himself and is personally administrated 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:34.039 by the Holy Spirit. Thus, it is called the unity 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:38.840 of the Spirit. That unity is not merely some 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:43.560 vague spiritual identity, but rather it is, as 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:47.759 George Johnson says, quote, a profound oneness 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:55.000 made possible by God's Spirit. That unity exists 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.819 as a reality due to the work of the Holy Spirit 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:02.879 in placing us together into the body of Jesus 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:06.599 Christ. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.319 11 speaks to this when he says, excuse me, chapter 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:14.120 12, when he says, even as the body is one and 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.240 yet has many members, and all the members of 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:19.759 the body, though there are many, are one body, 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:24.220 so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:29.560 all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greek, 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:33.459 whatever our ethnic or national origin may be, 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:37.680 whether slaves or free, whatever our social position 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:42.300 may be. He says we were all made to drink of 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:47.819 one Spirit. That, my friend, is the source of 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:51.560 the unity in a local church. It is the result 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:55.139 of a supernatural work of God who, by the Spirit, 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:59.459 places us together in identity in Jesus Christ. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:06.579 The diverse members of the body are organically 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:11.269 united by this work of the Spirit. Now think 00:05:11.269 --> 00:05:14.170 with me secondly concerning the seal of the unity. 00:05:14.610 --> 00:05:17.569 For it says here in our verse, we are to preserve 00:05:17.569 --> 00:05:22.449 that unity in the bond of peace. The word bond 00:05:22.449 --> 00:05:25.769 means that which binds together. In Colossians 00:05:25.769 --> 00:05:29.269 2 .19, the same word is translated, ligaments, 00:05:29.649 --> 00:05:32.870 the ligaments of the body, holding it together. 00:05:33.209 --> 00:05:37.550 Again in Colossians 3 .14, the same word is translated 00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:40.899 in the Greek literally, the bond of peace. completeness. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:46.279 Skevington Woods says this peace is the clasp 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:50.480 that ensures that this God -given unity will 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:54.680 not fall apart. What is being said here is that 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:58.560 the peace in a local church is the indication 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:02.620 that everything is in place, that it's in order 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:07.079 in the church. Many churches have lost their 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:11.259 bond of peace. signifying the unity of the Holy 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:16.100 Spirit. It can be recovered, but only as the 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:21.060 Holy Spirit is able to effect cleansing and renewal 00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:25.620 or restoration within the body. It cannot be 00:06:25.620 --> 00:06:29.199 achieved by human effort. It's impossible. Only 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:33.180 the Holy Spirit is able to cause that unity and 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:37.160 the resulting peace in the church to be rekindled, 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:41.620 to be real. Of course, all of us are concerned 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:45.720 about that which would divide the body. Equally 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:50.319 as dangerous as the immoral person or the one 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:55.519 who may murder or steal is the church troublemaker 00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:01.259 who divides the body and destroys the unity of 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:04.920 the church. I'm not referring, of course, to 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:09.379 one who speaks against false doctrine. that may 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:14.639 arise in the church, or one who may expose hypocritical 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:18.800 living, that needs to be done in the right way. 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:24.720 It needs to be done with meekness and love. But 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:26.879 that kind of thing must be brought to the surface. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:30.819 I am glad, frankly, that I am not one of those 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:35.569 privileged to the information about PTL. Because 00:07:35.569 --> 00:07:37.970 to have that kind of information and be responsible 00:07:37.970 --> 00:07:42.790 for it is a tremendous burden. Yesterday, a lot 00:07:42.790 --> 00:07:46.589 of us saw John Ankerberg on the television set, 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:49.569 and even Friday night, talking about some of 00:07:49.569 --> 00:07:53.670 the details that he claims to be true. I think 00:07:53.670 --> 00:07:55.930 it's wise for all of us just to sit back and 00:07:55.930 --> 00:07:58.889 not get too excited until some of these things 00:07:58.889 --> 00:08:01.850 are brought out in a way that the proof is clear. 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:05.339 But the fact is it's a tremendous responsibility 00:08:05.339 --> 00:08:11.000 to have facts and information about false teaching 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.920 or false living within an organization or a mission 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:18.379 or a church. Because one must handle that in 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:22.740 some proper way. It cannot be overlooked. That 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:25.639 kind of a person is not a troublemaker in a bad 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.120 sense, although he may be a troublemaker in a 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:31.470 good sense. I remember King Ahab called Elijah 00:08:31.470 --> 00:08:35.409 a troublemaker, and Elijah turned the word on 00:08:35.409 --> 00:08:37.529 him because it was Ahab who was really the troublemaker 00:08:37.529 --> 00:08:41.190 in Israel. And in talking about this, I'm not 00:08:41.190 --> 00:08:43.629 speaking about the person who may have a legitimate 00:08:43.629 --> 00:08:47.070 complaint or who voices a dissenting opinion 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:51.710 on an issue. That is not a troublemaker. We do 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:54.190 not all think the same way. We do not all have 00:08:54.190 --> 00:08:56.409 the same perspective on everything that happens. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:02.659 seek to express our differences in the right 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:06.200 way at the right time. That is proper to do that, 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:08.399 and that is not making trouble in a church. So 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.679 that's not the kind of thing that we're talking 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:14.480 about in division. But rather I would define 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:17.340 a troublemaker in a church as one who takes peculiar 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:22.919 pleasure, and it is peculiar, believe me, in 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:26.720 habitually opposing the church's philosophy or 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:30.740 direction. or one who attacks others within the 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:35.100 church to destroy them, or one who continuously 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:40.740 complains, murmurs, slanders, or otherwise negatively 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:45.340 influences people. I tell you, as dangerous as 00:09:45.340 --> 00:09:49.779 cancer to the human body is the malignant spirit 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:54.950 of a divisive person. I thank God that we've 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:57.610 had as little of that kind of thing in our church 00:09:57.610 --> 00:10:01.470 in these six years as I think anywhere I've been. 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:05.690 We've had some, but we've really had very little. 00:10:05.870 --> 00:10:08.350 And it's surprising to me that that's the case, 00:10:08.389 --> 00:10:10.669 if I may speak just very honestly with you for 00:10:10.669 --> 00:10:12.690 a moment. Of course, I'll speak honestly for 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:19.429 more than a moment. But about this issue, because 00:10:19.429 --> 00:10:22.330 a church that has gone through what we have, 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:25.259 in the first six years with the rapid growth 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:31.080 and so on, tends to attract people who are disgruntled 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:34.940 in other churches. Sometimes that disgruntlement 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:38.919 is proper and right. There are things wrong there. 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:44.720 Sometimes the unhappiness is not right. And so 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.480 there is a tendency for a church like ours to 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.919 attract some people who come with a wrong kind, 00:10:53.029 --> 00:10:57.970 of disgruntlement. And usually, if they don't 00:10:57.970 --> 00:11:01.490 get themselves healed of that inwardly and restored, 00:11:02.029 --> 00:11:05.070 what happens is, in a period of time, they become 00:11:05.070 --> 00:11:09.529 disgruntled in their new church. It takes a little 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:11.610 time for that to happen. It may be months or 00:11:11.610 --> 00:11:16.190 it may be a few years. But unless God does a 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:18.830 cleansing work, setting the heart of that person 00:11:18.830 --> 00:11:22.259 right, there begins to be the same pattern in 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:24.539 the life. I have seen people like that in my 00:11:24.539 --> 00:11:27.360 ministry, and undoubtedly in your church experience, 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:29.759 you've seen people like that. They're around 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:31.840 for a little while until they get unhappy and 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:34.759 complaining and griping, and then they move on 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:36.879 to another church. The same pattern, the same 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:39.480 cycle occurs all over again, and it's a very 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:44.940 tragic thing in their lives. Almost inevitably, 00:11:45.059 --> 00:11:49.879 the issues are predictable. And it's true whether 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:52.480 it be a mission, or if it be a local church, 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.899 or it be a Christian college, or it be some Christian 00:11:55.899 --> 00:12:00.539 organization. Almost inevitably, the issues are 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:03.679 predictable as to what a particular troublemaker 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:08.179 will attack, will land upon as, quote, his issue. 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.580 And of course, the one obvious one is the leadership 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.679 of the organization. whether it be the president 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:16.980 of the mission or the president of the school 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:19.600 or the pastor of the church or the board of directors 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:23.759 or the trustees or the elders or the deacons. 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:29.600 Often anyone who's trying to do his job as best 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:34.080 he can by the Spirit of God in leading that Christian 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:38.549 group. I say anyone who's trying to do his job 00:12:38.549 --> 00:12:41.029 will become the focus of attack, especially by 00:12:41.029 --> 00:12:47.110 one who has a malignant spirit. And all questions 00:12:47.110 --> 00:12:50.250 come up, well, why is it being done this way? 00:12:50.309 --> 00:12:52.470 Because where I came from, this is the way we 00:12:52.470 --> 00:12:59.850 did it. There are too many staff members. Not 00:12:59.850 --> 00:13:03.580 enough of the staff has been to seminary. Now, 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:05.480 I haven't heard that within our church, but I've 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:07.620 heard that outside of our church about our staff 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:09.639 because I think only about half of us have been 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:12.419 to seminary. That doesn't include me. I've not 00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:15.980 been to seminary. I don't brag about that. I 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:19.200 thank God for it sometimes because I didn't have 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:21.379 to spend the five or ten years getting over it. 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:25.879 But there are some of the tools, undoubtedly, 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.799 that seminary would have given me that I don't 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:31.419 have. But this has been the will of God for my 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:35.580 own life. And yet that has been a criticism focused 00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:38.500 at me, again I say by some outside the church. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.600 But inevitably church leadership is one focus 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:46.860 of attack by troublemakers. And often these attacks 00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:51.480 come out of misunderstanding. They come out of 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:55.139 poor information or gossip. They sometimes come 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:58.899 out of jealousy. They sometimes arise out of 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:03.919 hatred and dislike. but inevitably there will 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.659 be that kind of an attack. And then a second 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.360 one that is obvious to you, I'm sure as it is 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.440 to me, is that of finances. Organizations are 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:17.960 attacked for this, and sometimes those finances 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:20.720 have not been rightly handled, as is one of the 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:23.059 allegations now against the ministry that I mentioned 00:14:23.059 --> 00:14:25.980 a few moments ago. Time will tell, I suppose, 00:14:26.220 --> 00:14:29.129 as to whether that's the case. But since we're 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:32.309 talking in the realm of a local church this morning, 00:14:32.350 --> 00:14:35.570 let's just limit it to that realm. So often there 00:14:35.570 --> 00:14:39.409 are people with malignant spirits who question 00:14:39.409 --> 00:14:42.850 and attack the allocation of money or how it's 00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:45.549 spent or how it's raised. And the fact is that 00:14:45.549 --> 00:14:50.789 few people, few even of the dedicated and sincere 00:14:50.789 --> 00:14:54.049 people of a church, really understand the unique 00:14:54.049 --> 00:14:58.480 aspects of a church's finances. There are some 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.919 parallels to business, but there are also some 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.779 contrasts to business, some ways in which a church 00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:12.100 is not run like a business. Budget control and 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:15.399 expenditures and control of expenditures is an 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:17.639 important aspect of any organization, including 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:21.519 a church. But you really can't compare the way 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:23.799 it's done in the church to a business just across 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:29.840 the board. For example, You're a physician, let's 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.360 say, or you're an attorney. Let's suppose that 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.320 your clientele paid for your services by freewill 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:40.960 donations. Let's suppose that you sent out a 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:42.919 statement each month and said, well, your charge 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.039 is this. Now, please remit whatever you feel 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.639 like remitting. How would you control the finances 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:54.019 of your organization, of your office? Or let's 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:57.679 say you're a salesman. And let's say you sell 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:00.539 cars, and you sell a car to somebody, and you 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:02.279 say, well, now sign here in the dotted line, 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:04.259 and we sure would appreciate a donation toward 00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:08.019 this car that we're selling to you today. It 00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:10.539 doesn't quite work that way, does it? And yet 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:14.879 a church must operate on the basis of what people 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:18.299 choose to give to it, on the basis of donations. 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.659 I think you can obviously see there how that 00:16:22.659 --> 00:16:25.470 can affect. budget -controlled and expenditures 00:16:25.470 --> 00:16:30.870 in a church. Let's suppose that if you own a 00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:34.009 business or even if you're employed by a corporation, 00:16:34.450 --> 00:16:37.509 let's suppose that every financial decision of 00:16:37.509 --> 00:16:41.070 your corporation, every one of them had to be 00:16:41.070 --> 00:16:44.629 decided by the stockholders. Can you imagine 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:46.889 calling the stockholders together every time 00:16:46.889 --> 00:16:49.210 you needed to make a little decision in your 00:16:49.210 --> 00:16:55.139 church? And yet there are people who expect a 00:16:55.139 --> 00:16:58.440 church to operate that way who think that every 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:02.019 time a church spends more than $50, some say, 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:05.240 or more than $500, the church should call everybody 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:07.359 together and everybody together should make that 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:12.279 decision instead of the board of deacons or trustees 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:14.480 or elders, whatever is appropriate in the church. 00:17:15.819 --> 00:17:18.039 I think you can understand what I'm saying there. 00:17:22.029 --> 00:17:26.809 you in your business, your small business, had 00:17:26.809 --> 00:17:30.710 to annually post for your customers to view what 00:17:30.710 --> 00:17:34.210 your income is. And not only that, but they were 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:36.069 allowed to vote on whether that was the proper 00:17:36.069 --> 00:17:39.230 income for you. Would that make you feel good? 00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:43.690 And yet there are some churches that insist that 00:17:43.690 --> 00:17:46.589 the salaries of their staff members be publicly 00:17:46.589 --> 00:17:50.269 disclosed to the whole congregation so that everyone 00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:54.559 can... can have a vote and whether that is the 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:58.420 right amount or not. Ignorant of the fact, apparently, 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:01.640 that there's no larger church that I know of, 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.140 at least, with a multiple staff that does that 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:07.440 sort of thing. But somehow there seems to be 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:10.859 this insistence that public disclosure of those 00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:14.859 kinds of details is important to everybody. I 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:17.660 guess when I've heard that before, my response 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:20.119 is probably a little carnal, if you'll forgive 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:23.000 me. But my response is, if we're going to have 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.400 public disclosure, let's post everybody's salary 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:28.619 so that everybody knows what everybody makes. 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:31.500 And then beside that, in the second column, let's 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:36.079 post what everybody gives. Right? And then we 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.079 have public disclosure. And we have all the information 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:41.299 out there so we can all gossip and talk about 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:45.400 it. Whether it's common issues like those that 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:48.000 I've named or it's some other unusual or minute 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.859 issue, as is sometimes the case, in what kind 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:54.559 of an organ to buy or what color to paint the 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.240 classroom or whether to buy new tires for the 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.539 bus. And all of those have been causes of church 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:05.099 splits. We need to understand how destructive 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:10.680 that kind of squabbling can be because it destroys 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:15.440 the unity of a body and it cripples its effectiveness 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:21.049 for this reason. It absorbs energy which should 00:19:21.049 --> 00:19:26.029 be used in ministry. Not only that, it quenches 00:19:26.029 --> 00:19:31.529 the Holy Spirit. The peace that arises from oneness 00:19:31.529 --> 00:19:35.690 of mind or singleness of purpose and unity of 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:40.710 heart is a powerful testimony to Jesus Christ. 00:19:41.190 --> 00:19:44.369 And that is why the Apostle emphasizes it so 00:19:44.369 --> 00:19:48.160 strongly. as he does in our text today, the oneness 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.640 of the body. What does God say about discord? 00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:55.900 Let us look quickly at two or three passages 00:19:55.900 --> 00:20:08.200 of Scripture. First in Proverbs chapter 6. I'm 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:11.779 going to begin reading in verse 12 to get the 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:15.380 context here. But it says, a worthless person, 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:20.099 a wicked man, is one who walks with a false mouth, 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.920 who winks with his eyes, who signals with his 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:27.779 feet, who points with his fingers. Now here you 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:32.220 have people who have inside information and they're 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:36.940 sharing it by signals that are secret. And he 00:20:36.940 --> 00:20:39.980 says, who with perversity in his heart devises 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:45.200 evil continually. who spreads strife. Therefore 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:48.019 his calamity shall come suddenly, instantly. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.779 He will be broken, and there will be no healing. 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:54.480 There are six things which the Lord hates, yea, 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:57.599 seven, which are an abomination to him. Here 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:02.799 we have God's hate list. Haughty eyes, a lying 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:07.859 tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:11.690 heart that devises wicked plans. feet that run 00:21:11.690 --> 00:21:14.829 rapidly to evil. Notice the anatomy of evil here. 00:21:14.910 --> 00:21:17.069 He talks about the eyes, the tongue, the hands, 00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:21.470 the heart, and the feet. He continues, a false 00:21:21.470 --> 00:21:25.289 witness who utters lies, that's perjury, and 00:21:25.289 --> 00:21:30.490 one who spreads strife among brothers. The word 00:21:30.490 --> 00:21:33.529 spread there means to send, just as God sent 00:21:33.529 --> 00:21:38.069 the prophets, or it means to loose, to let loose, 00:21:38.150 --> 00:21:41.420 just as captives were. let loose from Babylon. 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:46.400 So he says, the one who loses strife or quarreling 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:50.500 or contention among brothers. And so we see quickly 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:53.380 what God's attitude regarding that sort of thing 00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:57.240 is, because God prizes the unity of his people. 00:21:57.579 --> 00:21:59.859 Turn with me in the New Testament to Galatians 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:05.519 chapter 5. The specific problem here was one 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.059 who was bringing in false teaching and was thus 00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:12.420 bringing division and confusion to the Galatians. 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:17.319 And he says in verse 7, Galatians 5, 7, You were 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:21.759 running well. Who hindered you from obeying the 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:25.420 truth? When I read that verse, my mind goes back 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:27.779 to the illustration I started with this morning 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:31.000 in that little church that knew God's blessing 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:36.119 and then lost it. Who hindered you? This persuasion 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:40.190 did not come. From him who calls you, a little 00:22:40.190 --> 00:22:45.569 leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. I have 00:22:45.569 --> 00:22:48.569 confidence in you and the Lord that you will 00:22:48.569 --> 00:22:51.289 adopt no other view, but the one who is disturbing 00:22:51.289 --> 00:22:55.890 you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. And 00:22:55.890 --> 00:22:59.049 so the Apostle Paul was quick to isolate the 00:22:59.049 --> 00:23:03.410 troublemaker and to warn of judgment. And then 00:23:03.410 --> 00:23:08.630 in Philippians chapter 4, verses 2 and 3. You 00:23:08.630 --> 00:23:11.190 say, is it just up to the apostles to isolate 00:23:11.190 --> 00:23:16.430 troublemakers? No. Here, however, Paul did name 00:23:16.430 --> 00:23:22.309 a couple. He did it publicly, and he did it for 00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:24.089 all of eternity in the sense that it's written 00:23:24.089 --> 00:23:26.369 in God's eternal word. And it says in verse 2, 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:32.789 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in 00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:37.500 harmony in the Lord. It says to be of one mind, 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:41.380 literally. And he says, indeed, true comrade, 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:47.740 I ask you also to help these women who have shared 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:50.960 my struggle in the cause of the gospel. Please 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:55.619 notice that these were not careless women. These 00:23:55.619 --> 00:23:57.900 were not lazy women. These were women who were 00:23:57.900 --> 00:24:01.039 active and involved in serving the Lord Jesus 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:04.559 Christ, even with the Apostle Paul. that something 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:07.000 had come up, whatever it may have been. They 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.799 were at one another's throats. And Paul was concerned, 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:12.819 and you see it in the whole book, he was concerned 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:16.140 about the unity of the church in Philippi. And 00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:18.779 so as he brings it to an application, he names 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:23.720 the two sore spots. And then he says, I urge 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:27.839 you, true comrade, to help these women. That 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:31.180 word help means to take and to bring together. 00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:35.039 So you see, all of us have a responsibility. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:38.440 That's my point. All of us have a responsibility 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:42.740 when there is discord in the fellowship to seek 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:47.400 to bring about resolution, to seek to bring about 00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:53.079 harmony and peace. Now the significance of unity, 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:57.200 going back to our text today in Ephesians, the 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:01.160 significance of unity is this, that the oneness 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:05.930 of mind, and Spirit in the church reflects the 00:25:05.930 --> 00:25:11.450 unity of our faith. Notice the triads here in 00:25:11.450 --> 00:25:15.390 verses 4, 5, and 6. In fact, you will notice 00:25:15.390 --> 00:25:18.109 that there are three of them, each one related 00:25:18.109 --> 00:25:25.230 to a person of the triune Godhead. In verse 4, 00:25:25.309 --> 00:25:29.470 the Holy Spirit is in focus. In verse 5, it is 00:25:29.470 --> 00:25:33.930 the Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6, it 00:25:33.930 --> 00:25:39.750 is God the Father. Now notice with me what is 00:25:39.750 --> 00:25:42.809 said here regarding the unity of what we believe, 00:25:42.890 --> 00:25:48.690 of our faith. He says there is one body. Why 00:25:48.690 --> 00:25:50.910 is it that we should be concerned about unity 00:25:50.910 --> 00:25:55.309 in our church? Because there is one body. It's 00:25:55.309 --> 00:25:59.829 not Jew or Gentile. It's not rich or poor. It's 00:25:59.829 --> 00:26:03.349 not middle class or lower class. It is one body. 00:26:04.049 --> 00:26:06.750 And why is it one body? Because there is one 00:26:06.750 --> 00:26:11.230 Spirit, as we've said before, the Baptizer, the 00:26:11.230 --> 00:26:14.710 one who brings us into identity with Christ and 00:26:14.710 --> 00:26:17.930 with each other, resulting in what he calls one 00:26:17.930 --> 00:26:22.750 hope, that which the Spirit has called us to, 00:26:22.849 --> 00:26:26.589 the destiny of glory with Jesus Christ. We shall 00:26:26.589 --> 00:26:28.930 share that with all of God's children. Why should 00:26:28.930 --> 00:26:31.789 we not be fighting with one another? Because 00:26:31.789 --> 00:26:34.490 we're all going to be in heaven together. We 00:26:34.490 --> 00:26:36.289 might as well learn to get along together down 00:26:36.289 --> 00:26:40.730 here. And then he mentions our Lord. There is 00:26:40.730 --> 00:26:44.089 one Lord, that is Christ, who is the head of 00:26:44.089 --> 00:26:46.970 the church. Christians can call no other one 00:26:46.970 --> 00:26:53.619 Lord but him. And there is one faith. That could 00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:55.900 refer to the body of doctrine, we believe, but 00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:58.420 most probably refers to the way that we're saved, 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:03.140 by faith. There is one way to be related to the 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:07.660 Lord, and that is through faith in him, by repentance 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:13.079 of our sin and commitment to him and trust. And 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:16.559 then he mentions one baptism. Now, he's already 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:19.759 talked about the Holy Spirit in verse 4. This 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:23.099 baptism in verse 5 is undoubtedly water baptism. 00:27:24.539 --> 00:27:28.480 Water baptism, which demonstrates the unity that 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:31.200 believers have with Jesus Christ and his death, 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:33.700 burial, and resurrection, and with fellow believers. 00:27:33.859 --> 00:27:37.500 One baptism. And then in verse 7 he says, One 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:41.460 God and Father of all. All believers, that is. 00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:45.349 This is the redemptive fatherhood of God. He 00:27:45.349 --> 00:27:47.289 is saying there's only one God that we have. 00:27:47.430 --> 00:27:52.029 We are not polytheists like the pagans. There 00:27:52.029 --> 00:27:54.910 is one God and Father of all, and it says he 00:27:54.910 --> 00:27:58.509 is over all. That is, he is sovereign and supreme. 00:27:58.650 --> 00:28:02.930 He's over all believers. And he is through all. 00:28:03.089 --> 00:28:06.930 What that means is he's operated in all. He is 00:28:06.930 --> 00:28:12.410 effectively working in all of his people to make 00:28:12.410 --> 00:28:15.839 us salt and light in our world. And he is in 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:19.559 all. Of course, he's everywhere. He is in the 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:23.380 world he created, separate from it. But God is 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:26.339 everywhere present in this world. But there is 00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:28.940 a special and unique sense in which he is in 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:34.859 us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:38.180 so the unity of a fellowship, a local church 00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:42.759 like ours, either upholds and honors this unity, 00:28:43.470 --> 00:28:48.309 these onenesses, or it's disunity and discord 00:28:48.309 --> 00:28:53.109 denies this doctrine. That's the significance 00:28:53.109 --> 00:28:56.309 of it. You see, the way that we operate, the 00:28:56.309 --> 00:29:01.250 way that we conduct ourselves, reflects upon 00:29:01.250 --> 00:29:05.150 what we say we believe about God. That's why 00:29:05.150 --> 00:29:09.029 it's so important. And then finally, the security 00:29:09.029 --> 00:29:12.880 of unity. Notice that he tells us in verse 3 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:17.519 that we are to preserve the unity of the Spirit. 00:29:18.980 --> 00:29:22.519 Each one of us, that is, is responsible for that. 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:27.099 To maintain, to guard the unity within the body. 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:29.940 And notice that that is not to be done casually. 00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:34.220 It is not to be done as an afterthought. But 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:36.740 that is to be an upfront issue for all of us. 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:42.319 It is to be on the front burner. Diligently preserve 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:47.059 the unity of the Spirit, making every effort 00:29:47.059 --> 00:29:51.240 we can with determination and resolution that 00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:57.480 the body remain united. I've wondered what might 00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:03.079 have happened at my friend's church if 95 % in 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:07.900 the body who supported him actually had taken 00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:11.420 this command seriously. And instead of sitting 00:30:11.420 --> 00:30:14.420 on the sides and saying nothing when the few 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:17.940 were attacking him, had actually done what the 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:20.920 scriptures told them to do, to confront the troublemakers 00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:27.640 and to maintain the unity of the body. I wonder 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:29.339 what might have happened in that church and how 00:30:29.339 --> 00:30:32.880 the last 12 or 15 years might have been different 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:35.500 than that part of the Twin Cities had that taken 00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:44.069 place. is posted by God as a sentry for the body. 00:30:44.930 --> 00:30:49.349 Again, not to suppress legitimate concerns, but 00:30:49.349 --> 00:30:52.809 to see that those are addressed and answered 00:30:52.809 --> 00:30:58.650 in an appropriate way. Not to ignore falseness 00:30:58.650 --> 00:31:03.990 or hypocrisy or wrong and just try to put it 00:31:03.990 --> 00:31:06.009 under the carpet and never face it. Not that. 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:09.740 not thinking that we might otherwise create a 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:13.099 disturbance if we did point it out, but on the 00:31:13.099 --> 00:31:16.160 other hand dealing with those things in a biblical 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:20.019 manner. We are posted as sentries that we might 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:23.180 be on the lookout for any who would be sowers 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:26.839 of discord and dividers of the brethren, emissaries 00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:30.619 of the enemy, to disrupt the work of God. Say, 00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:33.980 how do you know them? Well, Jesus put it very 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:37.000 simply and I think very plainly. By their fruit 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:41.599 ye shall know them. And let's remember the blessed 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:44.279 words of our Savior. I say blessed because it's 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:47.160 a part of the Beatitudes. For he himself said, 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:50.119 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:54.420 called the sons of God. Let's bow together in 00:31:54.420 --> 00:32:00.019 prayer. Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. 00:32:02.220 --> 00:32:04.940 I wonder in this matter of the unity of the Spirit, 00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:08.440 just what... the Spirit has said to you today? 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:14.920 And how would you respond to that? Would you, 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:18.359 in the quietness of these moments, address the 00:32:18.359 --> 00:32:22.960 Lord and tell him what your own concerns are, 00:32:23.059 --> 00:32:27.019 what your commitment is as one who has received 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:45.140 the challenge of our text today? There may be 00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:48.099 someone that you need to approach regarding an 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:52.539 opinion that you have. Or there may be someone 00:32:52.539 --> 00:32:55.759 that you need to approach because you're aware 00:32:55.759 --> 00:33:03.059 of discord being sown. It may be that you are 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:15.390 the one who needs to repent. Father, I thank 00:33:15.390 --> 00:33:18.309 you for the peace that you, by your Spirit, have 00:33:18.309 --> 00:33:21.170 engendered within the body of Grace Church Roseville, 00:33:21.250 --> 00:33:26.450 and for the healthy way in which the body has 00:33:26.450 --> 00:33:30.890 responded in past years, and even for the unity 00:33:30.890 --> 00:33:33.109 and peace that we sense is in the body at this 00:33:33.109 --> 00:33:37.829 very time, this moment. I pray that we will not 00:33:37.829 --> 00:33:41.470 take that for granted, that none of us will be 00:33:41.470 --> 00:33:45.980 careless and casual, Neither may we see this 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:51.119 work as drudgery, but may we be excited and committed 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:55.420 that we might obey the Scriptures and with diligence 00:33:55.420 --> 00:34:01.000 preserve the unity which the Spirit administers 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:06.640 in our local church. And Lord, we pray that as 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:09.480 that unity continues and as it is manifested 00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:13.250 in even greater ways, that the result will be 00:34:13.250 --> 00:34:18.829 more energy used in ministry and a clearer testimony 00:34:18.829 --> 00:34:23.630 of the oneness of our faith in you, the great 00:34:23.630 --> 00:34:30.929 three in one. We thank you that we are one in 00:34:30.929 --> 00:34:37.789 the Spirit. We are one in the Lord. But I'm aware, 00:34:37.909 --> 00:34:40.070 Father, there may be some friend here today without 00:34:40.070 --> 00:34:44.340 Jesus. who does not know what it is to be born 00:34:44.340 --> 00:34:48.139 into your family, who does not feel and experience 00:34:48.139 --> 00:34:53.300 that oneness because it's not there, I pray that 00:34:53.300 --> 00:34:56.039 that one will come to understand the sacrifice 00:34:56.039 --> 00:35:00.940 of Jesus Christ and would respond in repentance 00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:05.699 and faith to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and 00:35:05.699 --> 00:35:12.760 Lord. Bring that one into the family. Make him 00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:18.920 a part of us. And we pray, continue using our 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:21.980 church in whatever way that it pleases you to 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:27.539 use it. In Jesus' name, amen.