"Flying Together"

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Introduction: The church is going through an identity crisis. In a gallop poll, many stated sentiments like this: “I am my own church.” It isn’t just that there are many who don’t believe in Jesus. Even more, there are many who don’t believe in the Church. They don’t understand the identity, purpose, or mission of a church. They don’t think that churches are that important. They believe that all that is important is to believe. “I can do it on my own,” they think.

So I’d like to pose this question: Can you be in God's will and not go to church? I think the answer to this has to be "NO." I say this, because you cannot be partly in God's will. This morning I want to explore 3 reasons why we need to be not only committed to Jesus Christ, our risen Lord, but to His Church as well.

I. Created to be in relationship- (Psalm 122:1)

I believe God has not only created us to be in relationship with Him, but to worship Him, and to serve Him. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He is also to be our Lord. And to be our Lord, we must worship Him. Of course, it is possible to worship God individually, but God has also designed worship to be done together. There is something special and profound when we worship with other believers and interact with other believers, that cannot be reproduced when we are alone.

Example- A number of years ago there was a strong push for men to grow in their faith. This movement was called “Promise Keepers.” Promise Keepers’ mission is to ignite and unite men to become passionate followers of Jesus Christ through the effective communication of seven promises to God. Promise Keepers’ vision is simply put in three words: “Men Transformed Worldwide.” They are currently in their 17^th year of doing men’s conferences. The 7 promises are as follows:

PROMISE 1- A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.

PROMISE 2- A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.

PROMISE 3- A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.

PROMISE 4- A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.

PROMISE 5- A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.

PROMISE 6- A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

PROMISE 7- A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

You can see that there is a big emphasis on building relationship with God and with others. This push toward men was because men struggle more than anyone to be in relationship. And yet, this is true for all of us. We have grown up thinking that we need to be independent, and this thinking keeps us from connecting to God’s church as well.

I remember going to some of these Promise Keeper conferences. One was held at the Coliseum. There were about 75,000 men gathered together to sing praise to God and to hear God’s word preached! What a powerful experience that was.

Big group worship like this is powerful. But so is a smaller, more intimate worship; whether it be here at our church, with about 75-80 people, or on a Monday night with about 15 people. Worshipping with other believers is important.

In the book of Genesis, we see that whenever Abraham stopped in his travels, (and of course we remember he was traveling because God called him to go to the place God would show him), whenever Abraham would stop to rest for a while, he would build an altar there to give honor to God, but also to have a place where they could worship God together. In the book of Exodus, you see that even when the Hebrews were wandering through the desert, they had a place of worship. It was called the “tent of meeting.” It was a mobile sanctuary. Since the people of God were mobile, they needed a sanctuary, or a temple, that was mobile, so that they would always be able to worship God together.

In Psalm 122:1 we read, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Why is the psalmist rejoicing? Not just because he is going to God’s house to worship God, but because there are others who WANT to go to God’s house and worship as well. There is rejoicing in worshipping together!

II. Created to be connected- (John 16:7; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 14;

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Secondly, going to church helps us to be plugged in. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus promised us this in John 16:7, when He said, "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." And having been filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given gifts of the Spirit, as told to us in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. ⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

But these gifts are not to be used for ourselves, or for just a few chosen people. Did you notice that the apostle Paul makes it clear that these gifts are given ‘for the common good’? What this means, is that we have been given gifts, talents, abilities, that are to be used to bless others! It is impossible to use them for the common good if you are not plugged into a church. The church is referred to as the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:14 tells us, “Now the body is not made up of one part, but of many.” You cannot be the body of Christ by yourself! The body consists of many members; many members that are designed to work together.
Example- “Flying Geese.” If you have ever seen a flock of geese flying together, you probably have noticed that they fly in a “V” formation. Scientists have discovered that there is a very important reason for this “V” formation. What happens is that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in this “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. On top of that, the lead bird faces the greatest resistance of air. And so after a while, the lead bird will drop back so that it can be shielded some from the wind. By doing this, each bird takes its turn at the front!

As a church, we are Christ’s gathered people who share a common direction and sense of community. When we do this, we will be able to get there better because we are “uplifting” each other towards this common goal. We do this through loving each other, encouraging each other, and strengthening each other. As Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: ¹⁰ If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? ¹² Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

But we also support each other by being connected. Being connected means that we work together. If it is true that we each have important gifts given to us by God for the common good, then we need to bring our gifts to the church. Unfortunately, over the past 30 years, more and more churches have started to rely on “trained” staff. There are many who get paid by the church to do the work of the church. And while it is true that in many ways they might seem more qualified, the truth is, God qualifies each one of us by giving us certain gifts. When we don’t use our gifts, then we are in essence causing the ones who are working, to get overly tired, because they are always the ones out front.

As a pastor, I am expected, and paid, to do many things. But the truth is, I don’t have all the gifts. There are things I do in areas where I am not particularly gifted. I do them because it is an extension of my job. But there are some of you who are gifted in these areas where I am not. By your giving of yourself in these areas, the body of Christ, and specifically myself and this church, would be blessed.

III. Created to give- (Malachi 3:8-10; Mark 10:21; Acts 20:35;

1 Corinthians 6:20; Philippians 2:4-5)

A third important factor about being connected to a church, also relates to giving. Not only are we called to give of our gifts to the work of the body of Christ, but we are called to give of our money. In the Old Testament, Malachi 3:8-10, the prophet Malachi challenges us with these words: ⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." We are called to give a tithe; which is a tenth of what we make. When we don't give back to God a tenth of what God gives to us, then we are in essence robbing God.

Now you might think that these are pretty strong words. Can we really rob God? We question this, because we have a misunderstanding. The misunderstanding is this: WE BELIEVE THAT THE MONEY WE EARN IS OUR MONEY. Especially when you focus on that word EARN; this word gives the indication that since we work for it, it belongs to us.

Let’s think about this for a minute: First of all, when we think in this way, we believe that we have ownership of the things that we possess. But, this goes against the very foundation of creation; God created us in His image, as His people. God gave to us everything, not to own, but to manage and to care for.

Second, Jesus talked about giving often. He talked about giving to the poor. He talked about giving as a means to overcome its ability to possess us: EX. The rich man who came to Jesus asking how he could get to heaven: Mark 10:21- “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” And in Acts 20:35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

And the New Testament also reminds us that our life is not our own: 1 Corinthians 6:20- “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” How are we to honor God? As the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 2:4-5, “Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had.” And as we have just come out of Holy Week and Easter, we know that Christ came to give Himself fully for us. Christ expects that of us as well!

We need to be giving our money to God's work through the church. In this way we fly together by fulfilling the will of God. At the end of February, we were $10,000 in the hole for the year. This figure should cause us to pray about how we can help toward erasing that deficit. Am I giving all that God is calling me to give? But it should also cause us to pray that God would provide others who can come alongside this body and fulfill God’s will.
I have never met anyone who was a giver, and who didn’t love life. But I have met many people who struggle to give, and who don’t love life. I believe God knows what He is talking about when He challenges us to give of our money. It is indeed a blessed thing to give in ways that you know makes a difference. And I don’t think there is any better giving than giving to the church, because it makes an eternal difference!

Conclusion: God has given us this church. It is God’s church. But by God’s grace, it is also our church. As our church, we have the opportunity to worship God with other believers. We have the opportunity to put the gifts that God has given us to use. We have the opportunity to give our money in a way that helps God to fulfill His purposes through you, and me, and this church! As you think about yourself and others, what might be keeping people from going to church regularly? How can we help them to overcome their misconceptions so that they will want to come to church?… How can you give of yourself the way God desires if you are not connected to the work of the church? In what ways might you be able to give of your talents? I praise God for the understanding that I am not in this alone, but have been joined to the body of Christ. I, like the psalmist, rejoice at the thought of worshipping God with God’s people, and giving of my time, talents, and money. Let us seek to fly together in this way, this day and always. Amen.