We are a Team!

Sis Melinda Song

We were once a society that centered around family. There are multiple generations under one roof and relatives/clansmen lived near each other.

Nowadays families are scattered. Our connections with other people are most often in the workplace and those connections are usually transient.

The culture today is very individualistic and narcissistic. What does it mean to be narcissistic.

ILLUSTRATION: The Greeks, as so often in human experience, provide us with just the right story about the Me problem, the seed story of selfish. It is the story of Narcissus.

Narcissus was a gloriously handsome young man. All the girls fell in love with him. They adored him, threw themselves at him, treated him like a glamorous celebrity with all the attributes of a god. But Narcissus paid the girls little mind. He rebuffed ignorance and dismissed them. He scorned their adulation. Narcissus had no time for them; he was all the company he needed. He could not waste time on anyone; he required his full attention.

One of the girls (that Narcissus slighted) prayed to the gods for redress, a prayer that was immediately answered. Greek deities love answering these kinds of prayers. The great goddess Nemesis was right there to answer the prayer of the girl with the broken heart; she heard and stepped in to take care of Narcissus. She decreed, "May he who loves no other love himself only."

One day as Narcissus bent over a pool to get a drink of water, he saw there his own reflection. Wow! He already knew he was important; he knew all the girls were falling all over themselves to get his attention. But he had no idea that he was this good-looking. He fell in love with his reflection immediately. He exclaimed, "Now I know what all those girls see in me, no wonder they are in love with me—I'm in love with me! How can I ever bear to quit looking at such loveliness that is me mirrored in that water."

Narcissus couldn't tear himself away from his image. Kneeling at the pool he pined away, fixed in one long, adoring gaze. The whole world was reduced to that image, the Narcissus-adoring self. Narcissus got smaller and smaller and smaller, until there was no Narcissus left; he had starved to death on a diet of self. Selfism is suicide. All that is left to this day is a white flower that we call Narcissus, a frail memorial in the cemetery of selfism.

• Eugene Peterson, Learning to Love the Church, www.christianitytoday.com

We love ourselves so much that nowadays there is such a thing as sologamy!

Individualism and disconnectedness occurs in church as well. Many people serially date churches. Some remain distant and on the margins, attending only when something better isn't going on. Others are committed but they are not all in. They aren't fully known by their community.

Doing life on our own is not part of God's design.

Text:

Hebrews 10:19-25, NKJV

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Why go to church? To answer this question we have to look at man’s nature and the nature of the church.

Concerning the nature of man:

A. WE ARE CREATED FOR COMMUNITY

God is a community in himself existing for all of eternity past in perfect loving fellowship as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In creating mankind, God desires for us to participate in that community and know the perfect and joyous love the Godhead share.

But God didn't create man to be in community with Him alone. After he created the world and Adam, God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Genesis 2:18). God created man and woman to have families and live together. The family is God’s idea. That is why “God sets the solitary in families…” (Psalm 68:6). Jesus was born into a family which provides a context for

When Jesus is asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” He answers in terms of relationship, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is like this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31). Life reduced to its essence is relationship. 

ILLUSTRATION: Based on a 1960s study, Roseto became known for a cultural anomaly where the health of Roseto residents, especially cardiovascular well being, was dramatically better than American norms. Residents of Roseto had significantly fewer heart attacks, even without adhering to a heart-healthy diet or doing regular exercise. The study found that this predominantly Italian borough had all the telltale signs of a community on the verge of cardiac arrest: pervasive smoking, drinking, and a diet rich in red meat and fat. But it had very few heart attacks, widowers outnumbered widows, and men over 65 were twice as likely to outlive the national averages.

What caused this? According to the study, it was due to Roseto’s sociological framework. Roseto residents experienced an emotional well being that greatly aided their physical fortitude. When asked the key ingredient to the physiological and emotional vibrancy of Roseto, Dr. Stewart Wolf, the lead researcher in the Roseto study, used one word: community.

Community is what most of us truly long for—deep, meaningful, supportive relationships. Sadly for the town in Pennsylvania, Roseto lost its effect. As the community modernized, its people quit living the integrated community life they once led. Individualism became the goal, and within 10 years, according to a later study, the emotional and physical benefits that it once enjoyed disintegrated. Roseto now reflects the same diminished health as the rest of our population.

• Adam Stadtmiller, How Your Church Can benefit from “The Roseto Effect”, www.Christianitytoday.com)

WE ARE CREATED FOR COMMUNITY! No matter how you’re wired—introvert, extrovert, socially adept or socially awkward—something in your soul longs for meaningful relationships with other humans. That’s why solitary confinement is used as punishment for the worst criminals.

If community is something we all want, what keeps us from achieving the type of meaningful human relationships that God wired us for? Sin has warped our relationship with God and with others. Selfishness prevails.

God in His mercy has redeemed us from sin and all its effects. One of the chief purpose is to restore our capacity for community with Him (v. 19-22) and with one another (v. 23-25)

B. WE ARE REDEEMED FOR COMMUNITY

Scripture is all about community. God chose the Israelites to be his people (Leviticus 26:12). They lived and worshipped God together in community. Even in exile and during the Diaspora, the Jews lived out their faith in community.

Following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, God then instituted the church, the Body of Christ as a community of believers who are interdependent on each other. "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27). Churchless Christianity is grossly unbiblical.

God’s people are called to live in loving and intentional community with one another, and never in isolation (Acts 2:42–47). The church is a body with many parts (1 Cor. 12:12–31), a family with many members (Gal. 6:10), a temple with many living stones (1 Peter 2:5), and a nation with many citizens (1 Peter 2:9). These and other scriptural metaphors emphasize the nature and necessity of the church for the Christian life.

Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (v. 25). Why?

Same reason why attending a live concert or game is much more exciting than watching on television but more important…

C. WE GROW, SERVE AND ARE TRANSFORMED IN COMMUNITY

A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is an individual experience, but it is not a private experience. Just as a baby is born into a family and grows and matures, so Christians are born into spiritual families that help believers grow and mature. 

Every church is a family and every family has a certain personality. Likewise, every church has a certain atmosphere that is determined by its overall attitude toward ministry and growth.

You have been called to this church for such a time as this. This is the place where God is going to grow and mature you, where you serve depending on your SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, & Experiences).

What happens when we come together?

Hebrews 10:23-25, NKJV

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

We’re a T.E.A.M. and Together Everyone Achieves More!

1. Together We Hold Fast the Confession of Our Hope Without Wavering (v. 23)

ILLUSTRATION: While visiting family in Alaska, a man asked his cousin about the best places to go hiking.

Then he asked my most important question: "What about the bears?"

"Attacks usually happen when people go by themselves," the cousin responded. "That's what happened to a woman last week. She was running alone and got caught between a cub and a momma bear."

"We don't need to go hiking while we're here...." the man said.

"We are safer if we all go together," the cousin replied.

There aren't bears out there in everyday life, but

there are wolves who seek to destroy us. False or aberrant theology abounds at every turn. Satan and his legions try to distract us with temptations. Our own sin leads us astray.

We need spiritual oversight (Heb. 13:17), brothers and sisters to watch our backs. We are our brother’s keeper to warn, rebuke and advise.

Oversight also means we submit (an ugly word nowadays) to the covering and authority of spiritual leaders, within the boundaries of God's Word (Heb. 13:17). God designed this system of accountability for the progress and protection of His flock. This is only possible if we are a part of an organized fellowship which has identified elders, pastors, or leaders.

Submission necessitates a commitment and relationship to a local body of believers and to their spiritual leaders that includes discipline.

Besides offering security and protection, families also help shape our beliefs and values. That’s one reason why TOP is aligned with the AOG and is not an independent church.

Apparently, it was the “habit of some” to neglect public worship and thus disregard their church family. In order for them to “hold fast the confession of [their] hope without wavering” and stay tethered to their spiritual moorings, it was paramount for everyone to remain under the sound ministry of the Word and in close fellowship with one another (v. 23).

2. Together We Consider One Another to Stir Up Love and Good Works (v. 24)

The phrase "one another" is derived from the Greek word allelon which means "one another, each other; mutually, reciprocally." It occurs 100 times in the New Testament. Approximately 59 of those occurrences are specific commands teaching us how (and how not) to relate to one another. The command “Love one another” alone occurs at least 16 times.

Obedience to those commands is imperative but you cannot “one another” alone. Community is the laboratory in which we learn to rely on God’s grace and experience the gospel’s transforming power.

It’s a T.E.A.M. effort. Together Everyone Achieves More!

The two important verbs in this verse are “consider” and “stir up.” Christians are urged to seriously “consider” or “pay attention to” the spiritual needs of others, and not just their own. We are our brother’s keeper!

To “stir up”, also translated “spur on” or “provoke” or “incite”. The Greek word is paroxysmos from which we get paroxysm, a sudden convulsion or violent emotion.

Normally, this word has a negative meaning in the NT.  For example a sharp disagreement (paroxysmos) came between Paul and Barnabas. Sad to say, some of us are good at stirring up trouble, adding wood and oil to fire.

As used in Hebrews 9:24, the meaning connotes encouragement, encouraging a pleasant sense of prodding our brothers and sisters toward love and good deeds. The way we live should be provocative to other Christians in the best sense of the word. The result of our example should be love and good works in the lives of other believers.

Fellowship with the body of Christ is where love is tested and proven. It is God’s great classroom of the development of Christian character. The mature ones help to strengthen and encourage us, while the weaknesses in the less mature give us the opportunity to practice and to test our spiritual growth in such characteristics as patience, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, etc. to bring forth progress.

It’s a T.E.A.M. effort. Together Everyone Achieves More!

3. Together We Exhort/Encourage One Another

The word encourage comes from Old French,  en- "make, put in" + corage "courage, heart".

To exhort or encourage requires us to come alongside other people in a way that will strengthen them in Christ. Encouragement may mean bearing a load for them. It may mean prayer, companionship, or sharing your own conviction that God is faithful based on your experience of his loving care.

Like climbers roped together on a steep mountain, like players in a football team (Pele and the beautiful game) we must keep track of one another and cheer each other on.

Most of us are starving for honest and meaningful affirmation in a world that knows better how to beat us up, than build us up.

ILLUSTRATION: A lady worked at a meat distribution factory. One day, when she finished with her work schedule, she went into the meat cold room (Freezer) to inspect something, but in a moment of misfortune, the door closed and she was locked inside with no help in sight. Although she screamed and knocked with all her might, her cries went unheard as no one could hear her. Most of the workers had already gone, and outside the cold room it's impossible to hear what was going on inside. Five hours later, whilst she was at the verge of death, the security guard of the factory eventually opened the door. She was miraculously saved from dying that day. When she later asked the security guard how he had come to open the door, which wasn't his usual work routine, this was his explanation:

"I've been working in this factory for 35 years. Hundreds of workers come in and out every day, but you're one of the few who greet me in the morning and say goodbye to me every evening when leaving after work. Many treat me as if I'm invisible. Today, as you reported for work, like all other days, you greeted me in your simple manner 'Hello'. But this evening after working hours, I curiously observed that I had not heard your "Bye, see you tomorrow". Hence, I decided to check around the factory. I look forward to your 'hi' and 'bye' every day because they remind me that I am someone. By not hearing your farewell today, I knew something had happened. That's why I was searching every where for you."

Encouragement could be as simple as greeting someone!

Unless providentially hindered, therefore, make church attendance the highest priority in your weekly schedule, and thus “encourage one another … all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25b).

It’s a T.E.A.M. effort. Together Everyone Achieves More!

Help us Lord to:

• Members of One Another
• Devoted to One Another
• Honor One Another
• Be of the Same Mind with One Another
• Accept One Another
• Admonish One Another
• Greeting One Another
• Serving One Another
• Carrying One Another’s Burdens
• Bear with One Another
• Submit to One Another
• Pray for One Another
• Encouraging One Another
• Build One Another up
• Love One Another

Many thanks to Sis Melinda for her sermon notes.