WEBVTT 00:00:07.390 --> 00:00:11.230 When the merger between Edina Baptist Church 00:00:11.230 --> 00:00:13.730 and Emmanuel Community Church was considered 00:00:13.730 --> 00:00:19.010 in the winter of 1981, a new name identifying 00:00:19.010 --> 00:00:23.149 the two of them together was a part of the agreement 00:00:23.149 --> 00:00:26.969 of the congregations. Initially, the name Christ 00:00:26.969 --> 00:00:31.559 Church was suggested. It was discovered that 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:34.000 that was a name already used by a congregation, 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:37.320 at least in a form, here in the Twin Cities area. 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:41.420 And so we began to search then for an appropriate 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:44.500 name. I can well remember the elders meeting 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:47.619 that we had when we were all gathered around 00:00:47.619 --> 00:00:52.799 the table and we went over 70 -some suggestions 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.920 for the name from the sublime to the ridiculous. 00:00:56.900 --> 00:00:59.740 And after probably an hour and a half or two 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:03.880 hours of considering most of the suggestions, 00:01:05.659 --> 00:01:08.840 we finally arrived at the name Grace Church and 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:11.060 presented that to the congregation and it was, 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:15.599 with enthusiasm, approved. We felt that Grace 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.519 Church is a name that is warm, it is a simple 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:25.159 name, and is a name that communicates the essence 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:28.659 of the message that we have to preach, and that 00:01:28.659 --> 00:01:32.700 is the message of the grace of God as revealed 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:36.700 in His Son Jesus Christ. I think if the Jerusalem 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:40.739 church had selected a name, if that had been 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:44.040 the custom in that day, the grace might well 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:46.500 have been one of their high considerations. It 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:48.359 would have been appropriate to call it grace 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:53.260 church in Jerusalem because of the abundant grace. 00:01:54.240 --> 00:01:57.340 God manifested there. Let's begin reading in 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:23.800 verse 32. Follow along in your Bible. For there 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.439 was not a needy person among them, for all who 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:29.159 were owners of land or houses would sell them, 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:31.900 and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.780 them at the apostles' feet, and they would be 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:39.039 distributed to each, as any had need. And Joseph, 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:43.159 a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:46.060 Barnabas by the apostles, which translated means 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:49.939 son of encouragement, and who owned a tract of 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.199 land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:57.569 it, at the Apostle's feet. This particular text 00:02:57.569 --> 00:03:00.129 in the book of Acts brings us to the high -water 00:03:00.129 --> 00:03:04.729 mark of the Jerusalem Church. From this point 00:03:04.729 --> 00:03:08.830 on, there were some difficult things that occurred. 00:03:09.870 --> 00:03:14.289 But we have before us today an amazing text because 00:03:14.289 --> 00:03:16.449 it tells of the things that happened in that 00:03:16.449 --> 00:03:19.710 church because of the abundant grace which they 00:03:19.710 --> 00:03:25.879 experienced. Not all of these things are intended 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.879 to provide a model to be followed throughout 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:33.939 this age. After all, as we look in chapter 4 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:36.840 of Acts, we are looking at a transitional period 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:39.919 in the book. We are looking at a time when the 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:43.199 foundation is being laid for the church to be 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.300 revealed. So not everything in these chapters 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:49.120 of Acts should be patterned or followed today 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:53.300 in our churches. However, we can learn a great 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:57.039 deal by observing what happened in those early 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:02.159 days in the Church. The Church in Jerusalem experienced 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:12.259 abundant grace. God's favor unmerited yet wondrously 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:16.639 bestowed upon them. Notice with me the evidences 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:21.550 of God's abundant grace. in the Jerusalem church. 00:04:22.470 --> 00:04:26.870 The first one is the phenomenal unity which was 00:04:26.870 --> 00:04:30.029 present in that church. You say, well, Pastor, 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:32.410 we have mentioned unity often as we have come 00:04:32.410 --> 00:04:35.350 through these chapters of Acts. Why is that? 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:39.430 Because the text itself mentions it so frequently. 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:43.529 We have talked about unity no more than the text 00:04:43.529 --> 00:04:48.100 itself talks about it. And consider what an amazing 00:04:48.100 --> 00:04:50.620 thing this was, that they should have such unity 00:04:50.620 --> 00:04:53.360 as described in the first sentence in verse 32. 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.019 For after all, in the matter of a few weeks, 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:02.060 they had grown from only 120 people to well over 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:06.459 5 ,000. There were 5 ,000 men, and in addition 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:10.920 to that, women and undoubtedly children. And 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.699 in those few weeks of explosive growth, they 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:19.180 yet had an amazing, phenomenal unity in their 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:23.600 assembly. What is the origin of such oneness? 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.939 Where does it come from? How do you explain that? 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:32.939 There is only one answer to it. This unity comes 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:37.339 from God Himself. It is a reflection of the unity 00:05:37.339 --> 00:05:40.680 of the Godhead, of the Father, the Son, and the 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:45.000 Holy Spirit, who are three and yet one. in their 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:49.699 essence. This unity is in the first place an 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:52.079 answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:55.240 Come back with me to John chapter 17 and refresh 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.879 your memory with what he requested of the Father 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:02.120 in his high priestly prayer as found in John 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:08.079 chapter 17. Look at verse 11. He says, I am no 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:10.879 more in the world. Now of course he was physically 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.430 and literally at that moment in the world. But 00:06:13.430 --> 00:06:16.370 as he prays, he is praying as though he has already 00:06:16.370 --> 00:06:18.930 passed the work of Calvary which was to come 00:06:18.930 --> 00:06:22.490 the next day. He is praying as he would pray 00:06:22.490 --> 00:06:25.350 as the great high priest back in the presence 00:06:25.350 --> 00:06:29.069 of the Father after his resurrection and ascension. 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:34.569 He says, yet they themselves, his disciples, 00:06:34.889 --> 00:06:39.170 are in the world and I come to thee. Holy Father, 00:06:39.910 --> 00:06:44.009 keep them in thy name. the name which thou hast 00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:49.389 given me, that they may be one even as we are." 00:06:49.389 --> 00:06:53.689 Then verse 21, that they may all be one even 00:06:53.689 --> 00:06:57.709 as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that 00:06:57.709 --> 00:07:02.110 they also may be in us, that the world may believe 00:07:02.110 --> 00:07:04.970 that thou didst send me. Then again in verse 00:07:04.970 --> 00:07:10.110 23, I in them, thou in me, that they may be perfected 00:07:10.110 --> 00:07:13.529 in unity. That the world may know that thou didst 00:07:13.529 --> 00:07:16.189 send me, and thou didst love them, and didst 00:07:16.189 --> 00:07:19.870 love them even as thou didst love me. And so 00:07:19.870 --> 00:07:23.490 the Lord Jesus three times prays that his followers 00:07:23.490 --> 00:07:27.170 may be one. Now it's utterly ridiculous to think 00:07:27.170 --> 00:07:30.089 that he was praying for denominational unity. 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:33.250 For after all, there were no denominations in 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:35.389 that day. That is the creation of man and probably 00:07:35.389 --> 00:07:39.129 not a very good one either. What is Jesus praying 00:07:39.129 --> 00:07:42.649 for is he prays that they may be one. He is praying 00:07:42.649 --> 00:07:45.029 that they may know that we may know the same 00:07:45.029 --> 00:07:50.350 kind of oneness, the same unity as he and the 00:07:50.350 --> 00:07:56.589 Father knew. As I am in you, as you are in me, 00:07:56.649 --> 00:08:00.689 so that they may be one in us is what Jesus prays 00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:03.389 for. An amazing thing. And I believe that this 00:08:03.389 --> 00:08:07.810 prayer was fulfilled initially at Pentecost when 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:10.750 the Holy Spirit came and baptized the believers. 00:08:11.949 --> 00:08:15.850 bringing them into one body, one corporate group, 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:21.449 no longer 120 separate disciples, but essentially 00:08:21.449 --> 00:08:26.709 at that point one church, one body. And that 00:08:26.709 --> 00:08:28.930 has continued on to this day for every time a 00:08:28.930 --> 00:08:31.750 person trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, he is brought 00:08:31.750 --> 00:08:35.250 into that essential oneness with the rest of 00:08:35.250 --> 00:08:38.509 the church since the day of Pentecost, and a 00:08:38.509 --> 00:08:42.309 oneness as well with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus' 00:08:42.389 --> 00:08:47.110 prayer has been answered in that spiritual sense. 00:08:47.990 --> 00:08:51.110 But there is a sense in which as a congregation, 00:08:51.889 --> 00:08:56.090 a local body of people, we too need to reflect 00:08:56.090 --> 00:08:59.350 this unity, this oneness in our fellowship. The 00:08:59.350 --> 00:09:03.149 Jerusalem church certainly did. We know also 00:09:03.149 --> 00:09:05.470 that unity is the fruit of the work of the Holy 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:10.000 Spirit. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4. Once again, 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:12.620 these are verses that most of you probably have 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:17.019 read. But notice what it says that we are to 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:21.139 do in verse 3. He says, Be diligent to preserve 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:26.299 the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:32.340 He calls unity here of the Spirit, indicating 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:35.860 to us once again that it is the Holy Spirit who 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:39.220 produces the unity. We are then responsible to 00:09:39.220 --> 00:09:43.340 keep it and to maintain it. 1 Corinthians 12 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.480 .1 says, For by one Spirit, were you all baptized 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:51.799 into one body, unity is the fruit of the Holy 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:56.919 Spirit's work. It is what he does. And that unity 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:00.220 that belongs to us spiritually is to be expressed 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:05.600 outwardly in our fellowship. Oneness is created 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:10.320 when all of us are in fact yielding to Christ's 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:15.700 Lordship so that our wills, our ideas, our desires, 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:19.879 our goals are all bent in that same direction. 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:23.379 That is the only way that unity can be practically 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:28.299 experienced in a church. When we all yield to 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:31.039 the Lordship of Jesus Christ and follow Him, 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:35.009 then we are bent in the same direction. When 00:10:35.009 --> 00:10:37.129 I think of this, I think of Jesus being like 00:10:37.129 --> 00:10:41.409 a magnet and we the iron filings. For as the 00:10:41.409 --> 00:10:43.649 magnet is drawn through the filings, they are 00:10:43.649 --> 00:10:46.129 attracted to that magnet and all flow in the 00:10:46.129 --> 00:10:49.250 same direction. And so it is when we yield to 00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:52.429 the lordship of Jesus Christ, we all flow together. 00:10:52.690 --> 00:10:55.870 There is a oneness, a unity that is phenomenal 00:10:55.870 --> 00:11:00.350 and marvelous. It has to be a supernatural unity. 00:11:02.190 --> 00:11:05.769 It is holiness which produces unity, holiness 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:11.850 of life. We have enjoyed in the four years that 00:11:11.850 --> 00:11:14.809 we have been together, I think, an unusual unity. 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:18.570 Not that there haven't been times when there 00:11:18.570 --> 00:11:21.669 have been questions that have resulted in people 00:11:21.669 --> 00:11:26.330 being factious, but by and large our congregation 00:11:26.330 --> 00:11:31.679 has known an amazing degree of unity. To the 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:34.759 degree that we have enjoyed that, let us be careful 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:37.080 to understand that it's because God has produced 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:41.419 it by His grace in our midst and because we have 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:45.480 been, to some degree, intent on preserving and 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:50.580 keeping that unity which He has produced. Well, 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:52.679 if Jesus prayed for it and if the Holy Spirit 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:56.000 produces it, what is it then that creates division 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.840 in the Lord's Church? It certainly is not the 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.379 work of God. when there is division and a factious 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:07.960 spirit. What is it that destroys oneness in a 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:11.980 church? There is one very simple answer to that. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:17.240 If being holy is that which creates unity, if 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.659 following the Lordship of Jesus Christ is that 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:24.299 which allows unity to be maintained, then it 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:26.659 is the opposite of that which creates division. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.019 To put it simply, it is sin. which creates division. 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:36.399 Go back to James chapter 4 and look at verses 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:41.279 1 and 2. James makes it very clear to us what 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:43.840 the source of divisions in the church fellowship 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:51.340 actually is. He says, what is the source of quarrels 00:12:51.340 --> 00:13:00.509 and conflicts among you? Is not the source your 00:13:00.509 --> 00:13:05.450 pleasures that wage war in your members. He says, 00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:11.009 your desires, your own selfish ambitions, your 00:13:11.009 --> 00:13:14.629 lusts, what pleases you, he says, is that not 00:13:14.629 --> 00:13:19.789 the source? You lust and you do not have, so 00:13:19.789 --> 00:13:23.470 you commit murder. And if not literal murder, 00:13:24.250 --> 00:13:30.200 we commit murder in an analogous sense. by slaying 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:34.740 people's reputations, by politicking, by manipulating, 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:40.000 by maneuvering. He says you commit murder because 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.340 you desire and do not have, and you are envious 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:49.639 and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:53.779 James could not be more direct and he could not 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:57.019 be more clear that divisions in a church are 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:02.100 created by that kind of sinful conduct. It comes 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:08.100 from within ourselves. It comes from within ourselves, 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.419 from that part of us that is carnal, or what 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:15.940 the apostle Paul calls the flesh. Now, what is 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:20.299 the flesh? Is that our body of flesh? No. That 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:22.139 is not the meaning in the sense that he uses 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:24.500 it in Galatians chapter 5, and that's the next 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:27.980 text I'd like you to look at. The flesh is that 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:34.500 part of us which still reflects the old man that 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:40.320 we were before we were saved. The flesh is the 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:46.200 old habits, the patterns of activity which characterized 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:53.620 the old man. We will have the flesh with us to 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:57.000 some degree. until the day that we see the Lord 00:14:57.000 --> 00:14:59.879 Jesus Christ and we are then made entirely like 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:04.000 him. The flesh and the spirit are at war within 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.340 us. The one seeks to suppress the other and to 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:13.820 dominate the life. There is no compromise between 00:15:13.820 --> 00:15:17.360 the flesh and the spirit in our lives. That is 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.460 the spirit that produces unity in a church, but 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:24.830 it is the flesh which produces factions. Notice 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:29.090 what he says in verse 19, the deeds of the flesh 00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:35.110 are evident. Well, what are they then? Immorality, 00:15:35.889 --> 00:15:39.269 impurity, sensuality, and so it covers sexual 00:15:39.269 --> 00:15:47.070 sins. But they go on. Idolatry, sorcery, those 00:15:47.070 --> 00:15:51.610 are basically religious kinds of sins. And then 00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:57.940 he talks about social sins. enmities, strife, 00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:05.320 jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, notice, 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:11.000 dissensions, factions. Then he goes on to say, 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:15.340 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like 00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:18.580 these, of which I have forewarned you, just as 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:22.440 I have forewarned you, that those who practice 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.559 such things shall not inherit the kingdom of 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:29.139 God." That is, those whose lives are characterized 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:32.059 by these things, he says, give evidence of the 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:35.799 fact that they are still in the flesh and are 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:40.139 not in the Spirit. His warning, though, is that 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.500 even though we may be in the Spirit in the sense 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:45.480 that we are saved, it is possible that we can 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:50.360 revert to go back to the expressions of the flesh 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:54.379 in our lives in any of these areas. Any one of 00:16:54.379 --> 00:16:57.820 us, though we may be genuinely saved and sealed 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:02.940 by the Spirit of God, are capable of expressing 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:06.920 any one of these works of the flesh in our lives. 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:12.240 Our subject is that of unity and the destruction 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:18.819 of it, disunity. And he says that disunity or 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:23.599 factions or dissensions are produced by the old 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:27.440 habits, the patterns of activity, which characterize 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:37.779 the old man, that is, the flesh. The more fleshly 00:17:37.779 --> 00:17:41.539 individuals that there are in a fellowship of 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:45.259 God's people, the more it will be tended to be 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:50.140 wracked with division and with strife. Because 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:54.140 those fleshly people give evidence of the works 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:58.079 of the flesh in their lives, and it creates that 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:00.980 very sad kind of characteristic of the church 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:05.319 where it is wracked with division. I think most 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.579 of us have been experienced enough in churches 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:10.779 to know the kind of thing that I'm talking about. 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:14.640 And that is the kind of thing that we never want 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:19.940 to see develop in Grace Church Roseville. It 00:18:19.940 --> 00:18:24.210 happens so easily in a church. I can remember 00:18:24.210 --> 00:18:27.349 well in one church that I pastored, we were building 00:18:27.349 --> 00:18:32.690 a school. Many decisions had to be made in the 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:34.690 course of that construction, including the kind 00:18:34.690 --> 00:18:38.829 of heating that we were going to have. That might 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:41.990 not seem like a big decision. Indeed, we did 00:18:41.990 --> 00:18:44.210 not think it necessarily was, although it did 00:18:44.210 --> 00:18:46.990 involve a lot of money. But we didn't think it 00:18:46.990 --> 00:18:50.029 should have created a problem, but it did. Do 00:18:50.029 --> 00:18:53.049 you know why? because there was one individual 00:18:53.049 --> 00:18:59.750 in our church who sold oil for a living. And 00:18:59.750 --> 00:19:01.890 when he saw that big building going up of 100 00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:05.269 ,000 square feet, he knew that it would take 00:19:05.269 --> 00:19:09.509 a lot of oil. And he was the distributor for 00:19:09.509 --> 00:19:12.990 that area. And he began to politic and lobby 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:17.470 in the church that the decision might be made 00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:20.880 to heat the school building with oil rather than 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:25.400 with the gas or electricity. And it created a 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:31.779 division and a strife within our church. We were 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:34.720 able to handle that before it got very big, and 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.559 that's one of the secrets. When that kind of 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:40.039 thing begins to develop, it's nipped in the bud. 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:45.380 It has to be handled delicately, but swiftly 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:51.640 and with force. And we did. And as a result of 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:54.619 that, sad to say, he and his wife ended up leaving 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:59.079 the church. But that was better than for them 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:02.380 to continue sowing seeds of strife and discord 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:08.240 within the fellowship. I'm thinking of a mission 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:10.720 field where a similar thing happened. It wasn't 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:15.460 the same situation. But the mission made certain 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:20.420 decisions on that mission field. there was a 00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:22.619 couple on that field that disagreed radically 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:24.880 with the policy that had been made by the leadership 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:29.039 of the mission. Now we often think of missionaries 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.740 as being above this kind of thing, but I think 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:34.519 missionaries would be the first to admit that 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:36.779 they are prone to the same fleshly concerns that 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:40.799 any of us can be. And that couple began then 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:44.259 to create division and to talk behind the backs 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:47.599 of the field council and to create strife. on 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:51.140 the field so that the Spirit of God was quenched. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.200 And though they were approached a number of times 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:59.059 regarding ceasing what they were doing, ultimately 00:20:59.059 --> 00:21:01.319 that couple had to be recalled to the United 00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:04.579 States and summarily dismissed from the mission 00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:11.599 because of their factious kind of activity. But 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:14.519 what had happened? Well, the couple had simply 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:17.789 allowed the flesh to dominate in their lives 00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:20.970 because they disagreed with a decision that was 00:21:20.970 --> 00:21:23.410 made and they began to lobby and to politic and 00:21:23.410 --> 00:21:26.670 to manipulate and the result was very sad indeed 00:21:26.670 --> 00:21:29.609 for them as well as a real danger to the work 00:21:29.609 --> 00:21:35.470 of God on that foreign field. I think of a staff 00:21:35.470 --> 00:21:41.549 member in a church on the west coast who had 00:21:41.549 --> 00:21:44.869 some problems getting along with people. And 00:21:44.869 --> 00:21:46.869 a number of issues were involved which are not 00:21:46.869 --> 00:21:51.589 worth going into. But sadly, ultimately the elder 00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:54.410 board had to remove the staff member in order 00:21:54.410 --> 00:21:58.769 to stop the strife that he was creating within 00:21:58.769 --> 00:22:02.369 the church. How does this kind of thing begin? 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:09.269 It usually begins with one person or a few. And 00:22:09.269 --> 00:22:12.589 then others begin to catch it. It's almost like 00:22:12.589 --> 00:22:16.690 an infection. that occurs within the body. And 00:22:16.690 --> 00:22:19.789 when that happens, it has to be dealt with quickly, 00:22:20.109 --> 00:22:24.730 lest the whole body become ill. A dear friend 00:22:24.730 --> 00:22:27.250 of mine pastors in a church in another state, 00:22:29.150 --> 00:22:32.509 a man in this church became a deotrophes a couple 00:22:32.509 --> 00:22:36.670 of years ago. That particular man had had a real 00:22:36.670 --> 00:22:39.250 important part in founding the church. The church 00:22:39.250 --> 00:22:42.670 is only a little bit older than our own. But 00:22:42.670 --> 00:22:44.970 he had fallen out of grace in some way with the 00:22:44.970 --> 00:22:50.170 pastor and turned against him and began to do 00:22:50.170 --> 00:22:53.269 everything that he could to undermine the pastor's 00:22:53.269 --> 00:22:57.829 ministry. He gathered around him a little clique, 00:22:58.490 --> 00:23:03.730 a little group of people who took his side in 00:23:03.730 --> 00:23:07.170 the issues. This whole thing has been boiling 00:23:07.170 --> 00:23:11.220 and bubbling now for about a year. Letters have 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:14.339 been written to the congregation. On the very 00:23:14.339 --> 00:23:16.500 same night that we had our annual meeting, they 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:20.799 had an annual meeting as well. I prayed for them 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:25.200 earnestly that night. Certain motions were brought 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.680 before the congregation which would have dealt 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:33.440 with the issue properly. And yet, although there 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.299 was just a minority of people who followed that 00:23:36.299 --> 00:23:40.690 factious person, There were enough votes there, 00:23:40.890 --> 00:23:45.269 17 to be exact, that nothing could be passed 00:23:45.269 --> 00:23:48.230 that evening to bring a resolution to the problem. 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:52.589 I talked to the pastor two days later, and he 00:23:52.589 --> 00:23:57.430 said, Galen, what shall I do? I said, you only 00:23:57.430 --> 00:24:01.130 have one choice, really. If there are not enough 00:24:01.130 --> 00:24:05.289 people in your congregation who trust you, then 00:24:05.289 --> 00:24:06.869 you're going to have to look for another place 00:24:06.869 --> 00:24:10.289 to go. And I imagine he's probably going to do 00:24:10.289 --> 00:24:13.809 that. Very sad. Well, how did that happen? How 00:24:13.809 --> 00:24:15.470 did they go from the unity that they enjoyed 00:24:15.470 --> 00:24:17.890 at the beginning a few years ago to the point 00:24:17.890 --> 00:24:20.369 now that the church is completely divided and 00:24:20.369 --> 00:24:23.509 paralyzed in its ministry? It happened because 00:24:23.509 --> 00:24:27.109 of one individual who became miffed about something 00:24:27.109 --> 00:24:28.990 and then gathered around him a little click, 00:24:29.730 --> 00:24:32.890 and the result is a church that is on its way 00:24:32.890 --> 00:24:36.029 to destruction. You say, well, that only happens 00:24:36.029 --> 00:24:39.319 today, doesn't it? I'm sorry to say it does not 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:41.640 only happen today, it's happened through the 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:44.619 centuries of the church. Turn back to Philippians 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:47.299 with me and look at what the Apostle Paul wrote 00:24:47.299 --> 00:24:51.039 to those dear people. The Philippians who are 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:55.319 among the best of the congregations that Paul 00:24:55.319 --> 00:25:01.720 founded in his ministry. He writes to them in 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:05.099 the first chapter and he says, Conduct yourselves 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:09.200 in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:12.079 that whether I come and see you or remain absent, 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:15.680 I may hear of you that you are standing firm. 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:18.980 Notice how they're to stand firm. In one spirit, 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:23.579 with one mind, striving together for the faith 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:27.000 of the gospel. Now why would the Apostle Paul 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:31.289 say this? Why would he exhort them? to be this 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:33.509 way. Well, the implication is that at that moment 00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:36.869 there was a danger they might not be that way 00:25:36.869 --> 00:25:40.269 when he would come to see them. And so he goes 00:25:40.269 --> 00:25:43.630 on in chapter 2. He says, if there's encouragement 00:25:43.630 --> 00:25:46.390 in Christ, if consolation of love, fellowship 00:25:46.390 --> 00:25:49.269 with the Spirit, affection and compassion, he 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:52.289 says, then make my joy complete by being of the 00:25:52.289 --> 00:25:57.009 same mind. maintaining the same spirit, united 00:25:57.009 --> 00:25:59.990 in purpose, intent, or united in spirit, intent 00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:02.930 on one purpose. Why would he write those words? 00:26:03.650 --> 00:26:05.970 Because there was the danger of a division within 00:26:05.970 --> 00:26:09.150 the Philippian church. And so he comes in chapter 00:26:09.150 --> 00:26:14.450 4 and he gets very, very specific. He says, I 00:26:14.450 --> 00:26:19.009 urge you, Odea, verse 2, and I urge Syntyche 00:26:19.009 --> 00:26:24.220 to live in harmony in the Lord. Literally, what 00:26:24.220 --> 00:26:30.720 he says is, I urge Euodia and Syntyche to be 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:36.319 of one mind in the Lord. That's what he says. 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:39.940 Who were these two people? Well, he says, they 00:26:39.940 --> 00:26:43.599 are women who shared in his struggle, verse 3, 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:47.960 in the cause of the gospel. They helped him. 00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:52.839 They shared with Paul in the ministry. But now 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:57.180 there is some unnamed issue that has caused these 00:26:57.180 --> 00:27:01.920 two women to turn upon each other. And the Apostle 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.119 Paul knows what will happen if that's allowed 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:08.059 to continue, that it will create within the Philippian 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:11.920 church division which will destroy them. And 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:15.140 so he exhorts and urges them. He names them in 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.660 the eternal word of God, if you can imagine that. 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:21.200 How would you like to have been? and know that 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:23.140 your name is going to be mentioned in such a 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:27.039 context throughout the eternity to come. He says, 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:30.940 I urge these two women to live in harmony, to 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:35.740 be of the same mind together. How subtle the 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:41.539 enemy is in creating division in a church. He 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:46.720 uses innuendos and suggestions. He takes partial 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:50.789 knowledge of an event. And then creates an atmosphere 00:27:50.789 --> 00:27:55.910 of suspicion and distrust. Or he instills hatred, 00:27:56.910 --> 00:28:01.289 resentment, bitterness, or rebellion in hearts. 00:28:02.410 --> 00:28:06.230 He creates the spirit of skepticism or cynicism. 00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:09.329 And I want you to know that all of that, all 00:28:09.329 --> 00:28:14.670 of that is not of God. And it doesn't take long 00:28:14.670 --> 00:28:19.769 to narrow down where it does come from. In Genesis 00:28:19.769 --> 00:28:22.490 chapter 3, we have the first cynical statement 00:28:22.490 --> 00:28:25.509 to be found in the history of the world. And 00:28:25.509 --> 00:28:28.650 it came from the lips of the serpent, from Satan, 00:28:29.410 --> 00:28:34.789 when he said, Hath God said? A note of cynicism, 00:28:35.029 --> 00:28:38.509 skepticism. He bred it into the human heart, 00:28:38.589 --> 00:28:41.890 and from this day until this day, the same kind 00:28:41.890 --> 00:28:45.849 of sinful skepticism and cynicism is within every 00:28:45.849 --> 00:28:52.680 human breast and can be. Well, that's how divisiveness 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:55.440 gets started. It destroys oneness. It destroys 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:58.279 the unity of the Church. And we're going to see 00:28:58.279 --> 00:29:00.420 in a few weeks that it happened in the Jerusalem 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:04.960 Church. Here they're at a high watermark when 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.740 they're all of one mind and one spirit and sharing 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:12.599 things together. And very shortly, division is 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:15.619 going to raise its ugly head and threaten the 00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:18.509 Church. And we'll see at that point how they 00:29:18.509 --> 00:29:23.170 handled it. But how do you deal with a divisive 00:29:23.170 --> 00:29:27.829 kind of spirit or with a divisive person? Well 00:29:27.829 --> 00:29:29.809 apparently this was so much of a problem in the 00:29:29.809 --> 00:29:32.730 early church that the Apostle Paul is very clear 00:29:32.730 --> 00:29:35.630 about it and we as a church need to be instructed 00:29:35.630 --> 00:29:38.529 as to what to do. Turn over to Titus chapter 00:29:38.529 --> 00:29:48.579 3. In verses 10 and 11, we are told exactly what 00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:51.900 we, as a congregation, are to do in light of 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:57.640 a divisive person. It says, reject a factious 00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:00.940 man. The King James says heretic, and we often 00:30:00.940 --> 00:30:03.859 think of a heretic as a false teacher. But in 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:05.839 the New Testament language, it does not mean 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:08.319 a false teacher. It means a person who draws 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:12.740 a party after himself. It is one who says, here 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:16.900 is my issue, on whose side are you anyway? It 00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:20.200 may be a theological issue. It may be an issue 00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:23.059 of action within the church. But it's a person 00:30:23.059 --> 00:30:26.660 who says, I am dividing up sides. Are you on 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:30.920 my side or are you on their side? Reject the 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:34.099 factious man after a first and second warning. 00:30:34.140 --> 00:30:37.279 In other words, you're to give a warning or two 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:41.029 to such a person. But then he is to be rejected, 00:30:41.450 --> 00:30:45.109 knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, 00:30:45.410 --> 00:30:48.470 being self -condemned. Not just condemned to 00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:50.730 the congregation of the Lord, but he says being 00:30:50.730 --> 00:30:56.730 self -condemned, self -condemned. Dr. W .A. Criswell 00:30:56.730 --> 00:30:59.769 is the illustrious pastor of the First Baptist 00:30:59.769 --> 00:31:01.670 Church in Dallas. Maybe some of you have heard 00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:05.150 him preach. He is one of the true orators of 00:31:05.150 --> 00:31:08.640 our day in the Southern sense. He is probably 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:12.339 one of my very favorite preachers. He piles adjectives 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:15.740 and adverbs up to the heights of mountains as 00:31:15.740 --> 00:31:20.980 he preaches and is so flowery that you sit there 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:23.019 and just absorb it. It's a wonderful experience 00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:25.799 to hear him preach. I was at a pastor's conference 00:31:25.799 --> 00:31:29.140 there a number of years ago now and he told about 00:31:29.140 --> 00:31:31.740 what happened when he first became the pastor 00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:36.079 at First Baptist back in 1944, 45, something 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:39.430 like that. There was a man who was very powerful 00:31:39.430 --> 00:31:41.569 in the church, and he happened to be the chairman 00:31:41.569 --> 00:31:44.349 of the board of deacons, a judge in the city 00:31:44.349 --> 00:31:46.630 of Dallas, very wealthy and quite well -known. 00:31:47.509 --> 00:31:49.349 And some of the things that young Criswell brought 00:31:49.349 --> 00:31:52.910 into the church were revolutionary. The church 00:31:52.910 --> 00:31:55.170 had been pastored for a number of years by the 00:31:55.170 --> 00:31:59.029 far -famed George Truitt. In fact, he had pastored 00:31:59.029 --> 00:32:02.390 it for almost 50 years, since late in the 1800s, 00:32:02.390 --> 00:32:05.430 and then went to be with Christ in 1943 or four, 00:32:05.470 --> 00:32:08.559 something like that. and they called Chriswell. 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:11.099 But in the latter years of Truett's ministry 00:32:11.099 --> 00:32:14.220 there, things got stale, and things began to 00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:17.200 go downhill. So when Chriswell came in, God brought 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:19.940 him in to do a new work, and the church is still 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:22.259 today experiencing revival. They're running seven, 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:24.900 eight thousand people, and in fact just within 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:27.579 the last year have grown by two thousand people 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:30.259 in a marvelous work of the Spirit of God under 00:32:30.259 --> 00:32:33.750 Dr. Chriswell's ministry. But this man did not 00:32:33.750 --> 00:32:36.829 like some of the innovations that this whippersnapper 00:32:36.829 --> 00:32:40.049 from out there in the plains of Texas brought 00:32:40.049 --> 00:32:41.970 to the city of Dallas. And he summoned him to 00:32:41.970 --> 00:32:45.849 his office in downtown Dallas and explained to 00:32:45.849 --> 00:32:49.150 him what he didn't like and said it had to change. 00:32:51.829 --> 00:32:54.690 And Dr. Criswell is not the kind of a person 00:32:54.690 --> 00:32:58.509 who would say, yes, sir, and leave the office. 00:32:59.529 --> 00:33:03.349 He stood his ground. against the judge and said, 00:33:03.529 --> 00:33:05.750 sir, I am the pastor of the church. God has called 00:33:05.750 --> 00:33:08.329 me here, and this and this and this are the ways 00:33:08.329 --> 00:33:11.990 that we're going to do it. Fortunately, the judge 00:33:11.990 --> 00:33:14.089 backed down. I think he knew he had met his match. 00:33:15.089 --> 00:33:17.869 Later on, and in the conference, Criswell made 00:33:17.869 --> 00:33:20.250 this statement. He said, I knew that in doing 00:33:20.250 --> 00:33:26.230 that, I was putting my ministry here in jeopardy. 00:33:26.869 --> 00:33:29.269 But he said, I'd rather be swallowed by a whale. 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:36.880 than to be nibbled to death by guppies. And I 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:41.339 concur entirely with what he said. Why does the 00:33:41.339 --> 00:33:44.079 Lord allow those kinds of things? After all, 00:33:44.180 --> 00:33:46.859 if he wants unity in the church, why doesn't 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:51.839 he just block division? Why doesn't he supernaturally 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:55.099 strike dead any of us who would dare divide his 00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:58.660 church? The reason is that if he did that, the 00:33:58.660 --> 00:34:02.039 churches would be much less populated, because 00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:04.880 there are times when all of us are tempted to 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:07.599 do things like that, because we all have that 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:12.860 carnal, fleshly part of us. Why does the Lord 00:34:12.860 --> 00:34:16.179 allow these things? Turn over to 1 Corinthians 00:34:16.179 --> 00:34:19.800 11, where again the Apostle Paul speaks to the 00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:23.780 Corinthian church. And remember, they had a few 00:34:23.780 --> 00:34:27.630 problems along these lines. In 1 Corinthians 00:34:27.630 --> 00:34:34.929 chapter 11, verses 18 and 19, he says, in the 00:34:34.929 --> 00:34:37.570 first place when you come together, that is for 00:34:37.570 --> 00:34:41.670 the Lord's Supper as a church, I hear that divisions 00:34:41.670 --> 00:34:45.949 exist among you and I, in part, believe it. I 00:34:45.949 --> 00:34:48.170 think Paul does a wise thing here. He says, I'm 00:34:48.170 --> 00:34:50.170 hearing these things and I'm believing part of 00:34:50.170 --> 00:34:53.329 it. He gives us a wise example to believe only 00:34:53.329 --> 00:34:56.599 part of what we hear. But part of it was enough 00:34:56.599 --> 00:34:59.659 for Paul. He goes on to say, for there must also 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:02.099 be factions among you. Now notice he says there 00:35:02.099 --> 00:35:08.780 must be factions among you. Why? In order that 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:13.000 those who are approved may have become evident 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:17.179 among you. In other words, he says that from 00:35:17.179 --> 00:35:19.960 time to time there will be a sifting process 00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:24.000 and that this will take place through factions. 00:35:24.170 --> 00:35:27.650 in a church. So as much as we don't like them, 00:35:27.690 --> 00:35:30.769 as much as they make us feel uncomfortable, we 00:35:30.769 --> 00:35:34.150 must recognize that when they do come, that they 00:35:34.150 --> 00:35:36.389 are not here by accident, that God has allowed 00:35:36.389 --> 00:35:39.150 that to take place, and that they only serve 00:35:39.150 --> 00:35:43.110 actually to accomplish His purpose, to show those 00:35:43.110 --> 00:35:45.750 who are approved and to sift out those who are 00:35:45.750 --> 00:35:49.269 not. But I think the greater question that we 00:35:49.269 --> 00:35:51.289 need to talk about is we talk about the phenomenal 00:35:51.289 --> 00:35:54.239 unity of the early church. is the preservation 00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:57.980 of it. We've talked about the origin of it. That's 00:35:57.980 --> 00:36:01.219 God Himself, the prayer of Jesus, the work of 00:36:01.219 --> 00:36:05.000 the Holy Spirit. We have spent some time talking 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:08.219 about the destruction of oneness, but let's talk 00:36:08.219 --> 00:36:12.980 about the preservation of it. A spiritual congregation, 00:36:13.659 --> 00:36:16.500 or maybe a better way to say it, a congregation 00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:23.099 composed of spiritual people, mainly, will repel 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:28.940 divisive factions. It will reflect arrows of 00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:32.659 disunity and not allow itself to become ripped 00:36:32.659 --> 00:36:37.539 apart by the enemy's scheme. You say, well, I 00:36:37.539 --> 00:36:39.980 want to be that kind of person. How can I be 00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:43.500 a preserver of peace and oneness within the Lord's 00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:47.380 work, His church? A couple of answers to that. 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:53.119 Number one, be holy yourself. Give no place to 00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:57.739 the devil. Do not allow him so much as a toehold 00:36:57.739 --> 00:37:03.119 in your life in this area. Purpose before God 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:09.119 to be a unifier and not allow yourself even inadvertently 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:14.219 to be sucked into becoming a divider. Be holy 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:18.840 yourself. It is holiness which provides unity 00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:25.559 in the church. Then secondly, how do you handle 00:37:25.559 --> 00:37:30.500 a person who wants to become critical and divisive? 00:37:32.280 --> 00:37:36.639 Well, if you want to be a preserver of the oneness 00:37:36.639 --> 00:37:38.300 of the church, let me tell you how to handle 00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:42.880 that. It's not easy to handle it because sometimes 00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:45.880 friendships are involved and at times can even 00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:50.719 be put on the line. But how do you handle If 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:53.559 you want to be a peacemaker, how do you handle 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:56.699 someone who comes and wants to gripe and criticize 00:37:56.699 --> 00:38:01.119 and divide? The answer is, in the first place, 00:38:01.300 --> 00:38:05.039 refuse to participate even by listening to it. 00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:10.159 I heard about a conversation that took place 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:13.840 a number of years ago on a telephone line. One 00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:15.920 person called another and said, have you heard 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:19.139 about so -and -so at the church? And the individual 00:38:19.139 --> 00:38:22.380 said, You know there's enough talk over the telephone 00:38:22.380 --> 00:38:25.480 now. Let's not you and me be a part of it anymore. 00:38:27.019 --> 00:38:29.199 I Thought what a great answer that is what a 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:33.219 great answer You say well, I've already done 00:38:33.219 --> 00:38:35.059 that I've already listened on the telephone. 00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:37.820 I've already done the talking then the thing 00:38:37.820 --> 00:38:40.039 to do is to go back to each person that you've 00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:45.039 talked to or listened to to ask forgiveness and 00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:48.159 Exhort that person to go to the right person 00:38:48.159 --> 00:38:52.980 and to stop talking You say, but that's humiliating 00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:58.079 to do that. Yes, it is. It is humiliating. It's 00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:01.219 embarrassing. And that's part of the built -in 00:39:01.219 --> 00:39:03.739 price of making things right, of restitution, 00:39:03.900 --> 00:39:05.960 so that we are reminded by the Spirit of God 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:10.719 not to do that anymore. That's why it's commanded 00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:16.340 of us. It is important after we have dealt with 00:39:16.340 --> 00:39:19.019 the initial contact to direct the individual 00:39:19.019 --> 00:39:22.090 to go to the right person who needs to hear the 00:39:22.090 --> 00:39:25.349 concern. And I would say even to offer to go 00:39:25.349 --> 00:39:28.409 with him to make sure he does, because too frequently 00:39:28.409 --> 00:39:31.070 when you say to an individual, well, you need 00:39:31.070 --> 00:39:33.050 to go to so -and -so about it, they never go. 00:39:33.289 --> 00:39:35.469 They just go to another person and continue the 00:39:35.469 --> 00:39:38.769 talking. So the best thing to do if you really 00:39:38.769 --> 00:39:41.130 want to be a unifier in a church is to say, look, 00:39:41.150 --> 00:39:43.769 I don't really want to talk about that. What 00:39:43.769 --> 00:39:47.190 you need to do is to go see so -and -so. And 00:39:47.190 --> 00:39:49.510 I'm going to go with you. When can we do it? 00:39:50.789 --> 00:39:53.949 If that approach is taken, then we will effectively 00:39:53.949 --> 00:39:56.610 preserve the unity and the peace within God's 00:39:56.610 --> 00:39:59.750 church. You say, well, who do you go to? Well, 00:39:59.989 --> 00:40:02.010 you may need to go to the person being criticized, 00:40:02.849 --> 00:40:04.670 or you may need to go to the person who's in 00:40:04.670 --> 00:40:08.150 charge, a leader, or go to a person who can at 00:40:08.150 --> 00:40:10.949 least be a part of the solution and not just 00:40:10.949 --> 00:40:14.409 continue the talking with no fruit coming out 00:40:14.409 --> 00:40:20.329 of that. Unity is a delicate and lovely blossom. 00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:25.440 like a flower. If the plant is properly cared 00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:29.800 for and protected, the blossom will produce a 00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:34.360 fragrance and a beauty that all can enjoy. My 00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:39.659 friend, it is only carelessness which will easily 00:40:39.659 --> 00:40:46.119 kill it. Considering the potential of selfish 00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:51.280 sin within all of us, We have to admit that it 00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:54.239 was only the gracious work of God that unity 00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:59.059 can exist at all in any church at any time. The 00:40:59.059 --> 00:41:01.579 reason this Jerusalem church has such phenomenal 00:41:01.579 --> 00:41:05.219 unity as found in verse 32 is because of the 00:41:05.219 --> 00:41:09.300 gracious work of the Spirit of God within it. 00:41:10.380 --> 00:41:13.199 In 1st Corinthians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul 00:41:13.199 --> 00:41:19.500 says to that church, By the name of our Lord 00:41:19.500 --> 00:41:24.539 Jesus Christ, that you all agree and there be 00:41:24.539 --> 00:41:28.099 no divisions among you, but you be made complete 00:41:28.099 --> 00:41:33.599 in the same mind and in the same judgment." Be 00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:36.699 made complete, he says. The word there is restore. 00:41:37.739 --> 00:41:39.940 It is that word that maybe you've heard used 00:41:39.940 --> 00:41:44.239 elsewhere for the mending of fishing nets. He 00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:47.980 says, Corinthians, you are divided. There are 00:41:47.980 --> 00:41:50.900 factions, there are parties within your fellowship. 00:41:51.340 --> 00:41:54.199 Later he explains that comes out of your carnality. 00:41:55.260 --> 00:41:58.000 He says, I exhort you in the name of the Lord 00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:04.099 Jesus Christ. Be mended. Be put together. Allow 00:42:04.099 --> 00:42:10.320 yourselves to be healed. Be restored to oneness. 00:42:13.179 --> 00:42:16.039 It is the job of all of us to preserve unity. 00:42:17.130 --> 00:42:19.750 But if it is the job of all of us to do that, 00:42:19.809 --> 00:42:23.469 it is especially the job of leadership. In Acts 00:42:23.469 --> 00:42:27.670 chapter 20, the Apostle Paul's words are again 00:42:27.670 --> 00:42:32.030 found as he addresses the elders of the church 00:42:32.030 --> 00:42:35.929 at Ephesus. Among a number of things he says 00:42:35.929 --> 00:42:39.710 to them, he says in verse 28, be on guard for 00:42:39.710 --> 00:42:45.940 yourselves and for all the flock. "...among which 00:42:45.940 --> 00:42:49.000 the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:51.940 the Church of God, which he purchased with his 00:42:51.940 --> 00:42:56.300 own blood. How precious is the flock of God to 00:42:56.300 --> 00:42:59.260 him! He has purchased it with the precious blood 00:42:59.260 --> 00:43:02.460 of his Son." The apostle goes on to say, "...I 00:43:02.460 --> 00:43:06.599 know that after my departure savage wolves will 00:43:06.599 --> 00:43:11.159 come in among you, not sparing the flock." These 00:43:11.159 --> 00:43:14.980 are people from the outside. Savage wolves, he 00:43:14.980 --> 00:43:17.599 says, who will come in, undoubtedly referring 00:43:17.599 --> 00:43:21.880 to false apostles, false teachers. Then he says 00:43:21.880 --> 00:43:25.019 in verse 30, and from among your own selves, 00:43:25.559 --> 00:43:30.460 men will arise, speaking perverse things. And 00:43:30.460 --> 00:43:33.980 why will they do this? Why will they twist things? 00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:39.159 Why will they distort them? He says, to draw 00:43:39.159 --> 00:43:44.139 away the disciples after them. There is a perfect 00:43:44.139 --> 00:43:47.079 definition of the heretic that we saw a few moments 00:43:47.079 --> 00:43:50.739 ago in the book of Titus. One who desires to 00:43:50.739 --> 00:43:54.300 draw away people after himself, to create his 00:43:54.300 --> 00:44:00.099 own clique, his own bandwagon. I want you to 00:44:00.099 --> 00:44:02.800 know that as the pastor of the church, I take 00:44:02.800 --> 00:44:06.059 very seriously what the Word of God charges me 00:44:06.059 --> 00:44:10.840 to do. I am jealous for the unity of this body. 00:44:12.360 --> 00:44:16.179 Just as healthy blood cells are jealous for the 00:44:16.179 --> 00:44:19.559 health of the body, so do all of us need to be 00:44:19.559 --> 00:44:24.860 healthy cells jealous for the health of the body 00:44:24.860 --> 00:44:29.699 to fight infection. And I urge every one of you 00:44:29.699 --> 00:44:34.639 to that same kind of commitment. A few years 00:44:34.639 --> 00:44:38.440 ago, I pastored a church in Texas, as some of 00:44:38.440 --> 00:44:43.960 you know. When I went to the church, we were 00:44:43.960 --> 00:44:48.659 running about 375, and there seemed to be good 00:44:48.659 --> 00:44:53.840 potential for growth. It was the first church 00:44:53.840 --> 00:44:57.079 I'd ever candidated at. In my first ministry, 00:44:57.079 --> 00:44:59.000 where I was for seven and a half years, I was 00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:01.880 already on staff and was called to be pastor. 00:45:02.360 --> 00:45:06.639 So it wasn't really a candidation. That was my 00:45:06.639 --> 00:45:09.280 first candidacy in Texas. Believe me, I have 00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:11.929 learned since then how to ask. more incisive 00:45:11.929 --> 00:45:18.570 questions of a pulpit committee. But on the surface, 00:45:18.809 --> 00:45:23.150 things seemed to be pretty well in hand. Over 00:45:23.150 --> 00:45:28.010 the next five months, though, we grew from 375 00:45:28.010 --> 00:45:32.510 to about 250. It wasn't exactly the direction 00:45:32.510 --> 00:45:36.849 that we had in mind in going there. About halfway 00:45:36.849 --> 00:45:39.949 through that period, I found out what was going 00:45:39.949 --> 00:45:44.659 on. within the church. The former pastor of the 00:45:44.659 --> 00:45:47.199 church was quite opposed to my coming because 00:45:47.199 --> 00:45:51.320 I was not of his particular stripe of Baptists. 00:45:52.280 --> 00:45:54.980 Although he was pastoring a church in another 00:45:54.980 --> 00:45:58.679 state altogether—and when you are in another 00:45:58.679 --> 00:46:04.039 state from Texas, you are a long way away—he 00:46:04.039 --> 00:46:08.860 was back in Dallas periodically. When he would 00:46:08.860 --> 00:46:11.949 come to town, About every three weeks as a matter 00:46:11.949 --> 00:46:15.250 of fact He would get on the telephone and call 00:46:15.250 --> 00:46:19.130 people within that little church and urge them 00:46:19.130 --> 00:46:35.449 to leave lying about me making My response though 00:46:35.449 --> 00:46:40.400 it was tempered publicly internally was not exactly 00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:46.300 tempered. I know what disunity can do to a church. 00:46:47.659 --> 00:46:51.860 I have seen divisiveness at work. I know how 00:46:51.860 --> 00:46:56.900 it destroys. And that's why I'm so unutterably 00:46:56.900 --> 00:47:04.460 opposed to division and to strife and to factions 00:47:04.460 --> 00:47:08.000 within a church body. Here's how I feel about 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:12.460 it. This may be a little strong for some of you, 00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:14.559 but I don't think it's overstating the case. 00:47:15.659 --> 00:47:20.099 I believe that the unity of a church is its virginity. 00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:25.679 And to assault the unity of a church is to rape 00:47:25.679 --> 00:47:32.340 it, the pure bride of Jesus Christ, and to leave 00:47:32.340 --> 00:47:41.340 it spoiled. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle 00:47:41.340 --> 00:47:46.019 Paul warns those who are creating problems in 00:47:46.019 --> 00:47:50.519 the church at Corinth that the local church is 00:47:50.519 --> 00:47:57.340 the temple of God. And he says, he who destroys 00:47:57.340 --> 00:48:02.800 the temple of God, or he who defiles the temple 00:48:02.800 --> 00:48:10.530 of God, him God. will defile. That is a very 00:48:10.530 --> 00:48:14.130 serious statement. There's a good deal said in 00:48:14.130 --> 00:48:16.170 the New Testament, as we have seen this morning 00:48:16.170 --> 00:48:20.929 about oneness. Why is that? Because oneness is 00:48:20.929 --> 00:48:26.010 so important, so fragile, and so difficult to 00:48:26.010 --> 00:48:29.550 keep. I've said enough for this morning. We'll 00:48:29.550 --> 00:48:31.670 go on with the rest of the message next week. 00:48:32.309 --> 00:48:34.309 But I felt it was important to go into this. 00:48:34.940 --> 00:48:38.780 to speak to the subject at length on this Lord's 00:48:38.780 --> 00:48:42.780 day. He that has ears to hear, let him hear. 00:48:43.219 --> 00:48:46.340 May the Spirit of God cause us to respond in 00:48:46.340 --> 00:48:49.960 our hearts in a positive way as He would lead 00:48:49.960 --> 00:48:53.860 us to, to preserve the unity of the local church. 00:48:54.360 --> 00:49:00.179 Let's bow together. Father, I pray that you will 00:49:00.179 --> 00:49:03.360 help each of us to see how precious is unity. 00:49:05.360 --> 00:49:11.579 It is a pleasant thing, says your word. We give 00:49:11.579 --> 00:49:14.099 you blessing and thanks for the unity that you 00:49:14.099 --> 00:49:18.260 have brought in our church in its four years 00:49:18.260 --> 00:49:23.460 of existence. Thank you, where people have been 00:49:23.460 --> 00:49:28.739 faithful to check division, to stop disunity. 00:49:29.900 --> 00:49:32.119 Thank you for the joy that we have experienced. 00:49:32.280 --> 00:49:35.400 And Father, it is our expectation. for that to 00:49:35.400 --> 00:49:38.639 continue. We recognize for that to happen it 00:49:38.639 --> 00:49:40.840 will mean the abundance of your grace poured 00:49:40.840 --> 00:49:44.280 out in our church. For there is within every 00:49:44.280 --> 00:49:48.800 one of us the awful, terrible possibility of 00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:54.159 destroying, of defiling your pure bride. And 00:49:54.159 --> 00:49:56.159 I pray that you will do whatever is necessary 00:49:56.159 --> 00:50:00.480 in our lives to prevent us from doing that. But 00:50:00.480 --> 00:50:04.750 may we live in holiness. and not give Satan a 00:50:04.750 --> 00:50:09.769 toehold in our lives. Give us repentant hearts 00:50:09.769 --> 00:50:15.269 and determined hearts that we might see a phenomenal 00:50:15.269 --> 00:50:19.409 unity maintained within the fellowship of this 00:50:19.409 --> 00:50:22.949 church that you've called us by your grace to 00:50:22.949 --> 00:50:26.650 be a part of. And it's in Jesus' name that I 00:50:26.650 --> 00:50:31.650 pray this. Amen. In closing, I'd like for us 00:50:31.650 --> 00:50:34.590 to sing together The first and last verses of 00:50:34.590 --> 00:50:40.550 136. I'm going to stand here at the front as 00:50:40.550 --> 00:50:43.449 is our custom. And if there is some need in your 00:50:43.449 --> 00:50:46.610 life or if there is today a spiritual commitment 00:50:46.610 --> 00:50:49.630 that you want to make, I invite you to come. 00:50:49.989 --> 00:50:53.289 Meet me here and pray. Let's stand together as 00:50:53.289 --> 00:50:57.489 we sing. Number 136, the first and then the last 00:50:57.489 --> 00:50:57.889 verse.