Pastor Mark
Mikels – September 24, 2006
“THESE PEOPLE
ARE SO SPECIAL TO ME”
Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #1
Intro … Today is the day that this whole series “Church Under
Construction” starts to be fun … I say that because today is the day
that we actually begin to talk about the kind of life that the family
of God is intended to enjoy and I firmly believe that it was from the
heart of Jesus that Walt Disney stole his key description of Disneyland
– “the happiest place on earth”.
God never intended Disneyland to be “the happiest place on earth”. He
intended His Family – Christ’s Church – to be that place. Scattered
throughout the New Testament is an entire collection of descriptive
phrases that highlights the kind of life that members of Christ’s
Church are intended
to experience.
And believe you me … anyone who experiences the kind of relational
life that the New Testament describes will be living an incredibly
happy and blessed life.
Are you ready to check it out? Or do you already know it to be true?
Now here’s the deal … these blessings only come to those who are
confidently living their lives inside the security of the church
structure Christ is building …
Now that structure requires a foundation … and we have seen over the
past few months that the foundation upon which Christ’s Church is built
and upon which we stand as we live our Christian lives is formed out of
the Basic Doctrines of the Christian Faith.
That why we spent eight weeks or so working our way through our Sonlife
Statement of Belief – we’ve come to know exactly what it is that Christ
is building His Church upon – we’ve come to know just
how solid a foundation we stand upon.
Those who reject or deny these basic Christian doctrines are unable to
enjoy the blessings of the family life because they have not yet
entered into the structure … they have not yet committed themselves
to take their stand upon the foundation that underlies the structure
itself.
They are still on the outside looking it – they might observe the happy
family inside but they will not share that delight themselves until
they definitely decide to come in.
Now there’s a second thing … in addition to a solid foundation, this
structure that Christ is building called “The Church” also requires a
well-laid out framework … a carefully defined set of behavioral
standards that establishes the understood boundaries within which the
family life will be enjoyed – the walls and ceilings, if you will.
To that end we spent several more months working our way through our
Sonlife Covenant of Behavior – a series of statements that define the
boundaries of the Christian Life – a series of statements that define
as well the family that will be sharing this home together.
And now, finally, we are ready to talk about the quality of the life
Christ intends to be experienced inside this well-designed, carefully
constructed structure He has built.
We are ready to move into the relational phase of His Construction
Project … it’s in this phase of Christ’s work that His House becomes
our home.
I want you to imagine that each of the messages in this section of our
series is taken from plagues that might be found hanging on the kitchen
walls – you know like the Pennsylvania Dutch wall hanger that says,
“Kissing don’t last, cooking do”.
Each of these messages will focus on one Biblical Relational Directive
that, if followed, will cause the church family to truly be “the
happiest and the most blessed place on earth”. We might call them the
“One Another Directives”” of the New Testament.
The truth is … if followed, they will make your own personal family a
pretty happy place as well.
So then let’s consider …
Biblical Relational Directive #1 …
“Be DEVOTED To One Another In BROTHERLY LOVE”
Romans 12:10
Now who wouldn’t be happy and feel blessed to live in a place where
everybody is devoted to you … where everybody thinks you are pretty
special … where everybody treats you like you are
someone special?
Now turn it around … who wouldn’t be happy and feel blessed to live
in a place where all the people
you are devoted to also live? Everyday you get to hang around with the
people that you think are the greatest!
What a blessing that would be. The family of God – the church – is to
be just such a place.
Notice the family terminology that Paul uses … “Be devoted to one
another in “brotherly love” … here Paul employs the Greek word
“Philadelphia” … it’s because we are “brothers in the Lord” that this
devotion is possible.
We are to see one another in relation to the Lord to whom we are
absolutely devoted – thus our devotion to the Lord spills over to those
who belong to Him.
Here at Sonlife Community Church this devotion should express itself
both generally … we are devoted to every member of the Body … and
specifically … we are devoted to every member of the particular
Cell Group or family group to which we belong.
Human beings who are devoted to one another – who are genuinely
delighted in one another’s company – not only feel blessed, they
attract attention.
Though we might all have a pretty good idea of what it means to be
“devoted to someone” or to a “group of someones”, let me flesh it out
just a bit more by sharing from other New Testament Scriptures …
Three Examples Of Devotion In Action …
1. ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER … Romans 15:7
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to
bring praise to God.”
People who are devoted to one another, accept one another just as they
are … we might say, “warts and all”. It doesn’t matter what they look
like – what they dress like (within reason) – how much education they
have … how big or small their bank account is … what background
they come from.
The thing that makes them acceptable is that they share a bond with us
in Christ … they have been accepted by Christ just as we have been.
We didn’t earn His Acceptance and our fellow believers don’t need to
earn ours. It comes automatically with our entrance into the family.
To use our image of the moment … acceptance comes to every person
“living in the house that Christ is building”.
Now keep in mind that all those who are, in fact, living in that house
Christ is building have already shed themselves of a lot of otherwise
unacceptable things …
They have shed themselves of their own intellectual pride – they have
accepted God’s Word to be the final word on all matters it addresses.
Listen carefully … God doesn’t tell us to accept or be devoted as
brothers to those who deny the clear teachings of the Christian Faith
or who are still in the process of coming to grips with it.
To them we witness and for them we pray as we seek to lead them to full
faith in Christ. Them we love even as Christ has loved us but we can’t
yet “accept” them for they are not yet members of the family.
They are still “outside the house” as it were – they are the lost and
“acceptance” is something that is conditioned upon their decision to
yield their heart and mind to Christ.
Those living “inside the house” are those who have shed themselves of
their own intellectual pride – they have accepted God’s Word to be the
final word on all matters it addresses.
They have also shed themselves of their own willful, sinful ways – they
have adopted for themselves the lifestyle laid out in the Scripture.
They are seeking to live a life that is pleasing to God and thus are
highly motivated to follow the guidelines for living laid down in the
Scripture. (Perfection is not in view here but persistence is.)
Thus those who are “living in the house” – those whom we are to “accept
as Christ has accepted us” are those who have (to use the terms that we
find familiar) embraced both the Doctrines laid out in our Sonlife
Statement of Belief and the Standards laid out in our Sonlife Covenant
of Behavior.
It’s those very life decisions that underlie our sense of devotion to
every house member … we accept them sincerely – warts and all –
because we can distinguish between that which is substantial and
that which is merely superficial.
To feel accepted in Christ and by Christ’s People is a marvelous
feeling. To communicate acceptance to those around you – to those you
know are your fellow believers – is an almost magical thing. It creates
in the midst of this highly competitive and suspicious world a very
happy place.
Now here’s a second example of “devotion in action” and it surely is
easier to do once we have learned to “accept one another” …
2. LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER … 1 Peter 3:18
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic,
love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
One way to live “in harmony with one another” is simply to refuse to
let every little thing become a big deal … (example – you come in on
Sunday morning and someone is “sitting in your seat” … now that
presents a real potential “threat to harmony”!
It also presents a real opportunity to practice saying “No big deal”
and simply go sit in “someone else’s seat” and let them also
participate in this Biblical Directive!
However, the best way to “live in harmony with one another” is for us
to consciously keep our focus on the things that we all hold in common
– our common faith in Christ and our common commitment to live lives
that are pleasing to Him.
When we do that we just automatically “live in harmony” because we
“are” in harmony … we are like “peas in pod” … and there’s nothing
that feels better – that can better generate feelings of gratitude and
happiness than to truly be “living in wholehearted harmony” with your
fellow man.
And it all comes of “being on the same page” and “valuing the same
things” and “experiencing the same reality” … and in this fallen
world, God intends it to happen in the Family of God – the happiest
place
on earth!
And now we come to a third and final example of devotion in action …
It’s an action that pretty naturally occurs when people who “Accept One
Another” and who “Live In Harmony With One Another” – that us, when
people who are “Devoted To One Another” – encounter one another …
3. GREET ONE ANOTHER … Romans 16:16
“Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
Now, of course, the form the greeting takes must be culturally
determined … (kissing may not be the most acceptable form) – the
point is, there is warmth and delight communicated when one member of
the Family of God sees another.
Think of the person that you cherish more than any other … think of
how your heart leaps when that person comes into view. Do you not run
to greet him or her, especially if you spotted him/her before he/she
spotted you?
Anyone watching can tell pretty easily how you feel about the person
you have just “greeted”.
Now, members of the same household of faith should feel something like
that for one another
when they encounter each other. The thought process might go something
like this …
“Here is one of my own family … here is someone who believes as I
believe – someone who seeks to live the same way I am seeking to live.
Here is someone who reinforces and confirms everything about my own
commitment as a follower of Jesus Christ … Here is someone to whom I
do not have to explain myself – or defend myself … Here is someone
who doesn’t consider me to be weird or old-fashioned or out of step
with the times or living in some sort of fantasy world.
Here is a brother or sister in Christ – a member of my own local
fellowship – one who has committed him or herself to the very same
belief system and behavioral standards that I have. How fortunate that
I have encountered him or her – how good it makes me feel!”
Those kinds of feelings should only be multiplied when we enter the
fellowship of a Sunday
Morning or into the smaller fellowship of a Cell Group.
“These people are so special to me … I am devoted to them … I am
blessed to be part of their company – they help make this place for me
at this time, the happiest place on earth.”
Final Thot … Our DEVOTION to God will be revealed
by our
DEVOTION to the members of our CHURCH FAMILY.