Sermon Tone Analysis

With You

The other day I was watching the show Shooter and for those that don’t know its about a phenomenal Marine Sniper who is set up and made to look like he attempted to assassinate the president of The United States.

The show lets you know two things right away

1) He didn’t do it

2) He was set up by a long time friend and Marine

As the show winds its story around these two mens lives continue to intertwine and eventually they find themselves working together in one explosive episode.

As they try to fight their way out of the building together, the wayward friend puts his hand on the heroes shoulder.

I was at the edge of my seat as I waited for something to go wrong?

Was he going to stab him?

The camera lingered on that hand on his shoulder for what felt like an eternity.

Shoot him?

Betray him again?

Well thankfully none of that happened.

Instead, he let our hero know he wasn’t alone, but that he had his back.

They repeated this scene twice but the same thing was said both times as he placed his hand on his shoulder

“With You”

God With Us

You might recognize this phrase “God with Us” right away.

It was a prophetic name that was given to Jesus, “Immanuel, God with us.”

The thought of God being with us brings comfort even in our most difficult times.

I will be with you!

I am With You!

Will be with you

I am with You

Deut

Goes with You

You are with me

I am With You

There are many other portions that convey the same comfort, the same reassurance, the same confidence that only those who believe in Jesus have.

God with us and the ultimate God with us is when Jesus, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

And there is no question that God is with His redeemed, scripture declares it to be true time and time again.

We know that God is with us in intense trial.

We know that God is with us when everything seems dark and hopeless.

We know that God is with us when we face incredible odds, God is with us.

And what happens when God is with us?

The fortified walls of Jericho fell, the Red Sea parted at just the right time, saving God’s chosen people and destroying their enemies.

A handful of small fish and bread feeds thousands of people, the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, demons are cast out, healings of every manner, and the dead are brought back to life and eternal life and a full pardon of sin are available for all.

God with us is miraculous!

Us With Us

This next admission is going to be painful for a life long Buffalo Bills fan: The New England Patriots understand the concept of us with us.

Tom Brady, arguably the best QB to ever play the game, regularly takes pay cuts to free up enough money for the team to keep key players.

Everyone does their job and when someone is injured the next man up does that job nearly as well as the man he replaced.

As a result they just continue to win championships, every player giving credit to the entire team effort.

In the second chapter of Acts we see the great coming of the Holy Spirit and His filling of the believers.

The gospel was being preached in every language.

Peter delivered the message and this united group of believers had over 3000 new converts added that Day!

So this is what it looks like when we are us with us and God with us.

Hunger for study, real fellowship, prayer.

They even sold personal possessions and property to help give to anyone who had need.

Their hearts were glad and sincere, they praised God and look what happened, God gave them the increase!

God with us and us with us is amazing!

In fact the combination of the two is the only way we can be a light on a hill, a city that cannot be hidden.

People were being saved daily!

So What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Now it doesn’t take a great deal of intelligence to know how this went down.

I like to picture the Church at a gathering… almost like a Corps dinner and there’s conversation in the food serving line because someone at the head of the line just can’t quite make their mind up about desert.

“So who enrolled you as a soldier?”

“Captain smith”

“Captain huh”

“Well what about you?”

“Major Jones”

A third party in the line hears the conversation...

“Did you say Major Jones?”

“You heard correct”

“Well he enrolled me too… of course he was a Colonel when he enrolled me so...”

See you can almost see it go down in the Church in Corinth like this too.

Isn’t that crazy?

It all sounds so immature doesn’t it?

Thank God that we don’t do anything quite like this...

They were so caught up in arguing with one another, trying to one up each other, fighting for position and recognition that I am sure they started fighting about even the most significant things… like who got the most ham at the church dinner, or who was going to control the serving lines.

I’m guessing pretty soon rather than cheering each other on they began to hope for one another’s failure or embarrassment.

We just

I’m confident that I can make this jump in human nature because Paul is still addressing the Church in Corinth and ha to continue spelling this out to them:

So people in that church were thinking or feeling one of a few different things:

We’d be better off without so and so…

Or I wish I had what so and so had

But it went beyond just thinking about it because Paul mentioned that he had heard there was fighting and so it probably sounded like this:

“You know you’re just the dishwasher, we can find another dishwasher, we don’t really need you”

Or from the other direction, “Did you see SHE’s on the Sunday program reading scripture?

The Ugliness Of Division

So what happens at this point is usually fairly predictable.

When I was younger my dad and I were invited to a church that was having an outreach dinner.

We sat at the table and food was being passed around, it was nice.

When the ham was passed I took a few pieces and before I could pass the plate on I heard someone mutter a complaint about the choir, how they got their food first.

Someone else agreed and muttered in return about seeing the cook eat a plate before the food ever made it out .

I tuned my young ears in to try to try to hear some more and then I regretted doing it.

So much negativity.

So much jealousy, so much bitterness.

About a year later we were driving down around that way and the church was boarded up.

We asked the gentleman who had initially invited us for dinner what had happened and he cited finances, location and a slew of other things, but even then I knew it was because of the way they treated one another.

Loved ones, I want to be honest with you this morning.

This kind of attitude, this kind of behavior never ends well.

Pretty soon rather being filled with the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, a church body becomes infested and produces the fruit of the flesh.

Listen to how Eugene Petersen interprets

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.

I could go on.

Peterson, E. H. (2005).

The Message: the Bible in contemporary language ().

Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

This is what it looks like when its no longer us with us and none of this is pleasing to God.