Sermon Tone Analysis

Vision - Have you ever been a part of something that was bigger than yourself?

Today we’re going to look at number three, a Gospel Centered Community has the Same Mentality

A cooperative project, a play, a music group, a sports team?

There is something fulfilling about an entire group that is working well together to accomplish a common goal.

We have all seen Unity Gone Bad...

You end up wearing the same nike tennis shoes, drinking kool aid, or something crazy like that You walk into a church and everyone looks like they’re related?

The ladies and girls all hand made their dresses from the same pattern

Some people get scared of the word unity

San Francisco Symphony: they appear to all be pretty normal people.

All different backgrounds, sizes, gender, but what they shared in common was a love for music and a desire to perform it with excellence.

But the performance was actually just the fruit of what was already in place.

What we enjoyed was the result of hours of practice, and failure, and undoubtedly frustration, and high emotions, but also a conductor that consistently pounded the vision of musical excellence, and the path to getting to reaching that goal in their heads until they all came together as a single whole.

And when they played that night, the result was a gathering of a people who were moved and inspired.

Keep in mind, Unity is not the same as Uniformity But in efforts to bring a church together in unity - a pastor ends up pressing people into a cookie cutter mold and that is a recipe for UNIFORMITY, and unfortunately, NOT Unity (WRONG RECIPE)

Jesus had this Same Vision for the Church

A vision of a diverse gathering of people from all over the world, every language and tribe, and nation, male and female, type A and type B, C, D, E, single people, married people, moms and dads, retired and professional, blue, white, and brown collar, all kinds of people, no exceptions, no excuses, no provisos, Jesus prayed these words to the Father:

John 17:

Unity is not a bad thing, unity within the church is our picture of the TRI-Unity or the Trinity

John 17:

The Tri-Unity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) is THREE persons in ONE Nature There are not three gods working independently of one another on different tasks that’s called polytheism - the Bible speaks of MONOTHEISM There is only ONE God

Three times he prays that the Church of at that time primarily lower and a few middle and upper class Jews would be one each other, but not only with each other, but with the Gentiles not only of the first century but of the coming centuries into the 21st century (yes that means millennial’s and the iGen too) would be ONE.

Now if we stop right there, the door is left open for one type of people, or one gender, or one generation, or one denomination — one small sliver of people to make the determination that everyone is to be one, just as they are one, but that is not what Jesus prays three times.

Three times he prays, make them ONE as WE ARE ONE.

The vision of unity that Christ has for His church is that we are ONE UNIT as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are ONE UNIT.

Three distinct, unique, and equal persons living and being and acting as ONE.

Each of the three persons of the Godhead has a unique role to fill in the world.

Paul was a great teacher

Great teachers know that students don’t learn JUST by being fed information Good teachers learn what their students know by QUESTIONING

So the vision that Jesus prayed for cast for the Church is that we would be one as the Trinity is ONE, so what happened?

When I look at the Church globally it’s hard to even discern where she’s at.

Who actually makes up the Church?

This is a question for another time, but it ought to grieve us to know that what Jesus prayed for and cast out as a vision for the Church is more often than not, NOT even on our radar.

I wonder when the last time you thought about decisions that you’re currently making and whether or not by them you’re promoting unity or disunity?

Asking rhetorical is also a great tool to remind someone of something they already know... that’s Paul’s intention here

I had two conversations with people NOT in this congregation this week that inform me of where I think many Christians are at when it comes to unity.

Look at the way Paul words these phrases.

It’s obvious that Paul is not questioning these things, he is reminding his readers of these profound truths - with a tag

Pastor friend from Yuba City shared the story of his own mentor who has been leaning towards a universalist understanding of salvation.

And when the pastor confronted him about his position and literally pointed out that by following this view point that he would be teaching a divisive doctrine and is the opposite of unity, the man whom he had looked up to for so long looked back at him and said, “I don’t care about unity, I care about freedom.”

I met a friend of another friend I was spending some time with on Thursday.

We had prayer together and he began talking about churches, and he shared that he was presently attending a church in the area.

I spoke highly of the pastor and he said, wait, actually that’s the church we went to before we began attending this other church, but he was considering going to this other church because they have a better youth group...

I began to meditate on these truths

Guys, I’m not saying it’s never ok to go to another church, but let’s have a higher regard for what Jesus expects for His bride.

And it’s tempting to view this in only a grand perspective and therefore believe that Jesus really only cares about His big “C” Church, but while we know that Jesus was praying this for the Church that would span from when he prayed it until his return, let’s be clear, Jesus sees every local church too.

We won’t read , but Jesus seems to be writing a letter to seven different churches, calling them each to repent for a slightly different error in each one.

And while it’s difficult to pinpoint what happened, I think we can all agree that there is a problem, we’re not going to fix the “BIG C” Church problem, but it is worth our time to see how we can be sure we understand how to be a unified local church in the 21st century in Sacramento, CA.

And realized, I need to be reminded of these four things on a daily basis.

Briefly, let’s survey these truths

We won’t read , but Jesus seems to be writing a letter to seven different churches, calling them each to repent for a slightly different error in each one.

What the Church is (and is not)

Let me be clear… the church is not place, not the building, it’s not even the Sunday worship service.

So, just so we don’t misunderstand, the symphony analogy is not about having a well-oiled machine of volunteers who are working towards the common goal of pulling off an awesome worship experience so that others will flock to this place, we can grow, and meet in a bigger building ad infinitum...

The first, There is consolation in Christ

I DO believe we should have volunteers who work together with excellence, bringing order, beauty, and benefit to each other and to those who walk in those doors so that we can glorify or reflect who our excellent God is, but that’s not where I’m going, nor do I believe that was what Jesus had in mind.

There is encouragement - the offering of hope - IN CHRIST Discouragement?

Depression?

Debt?

Second, There is comfort from Love

Actually, our Sunday worship service is an opportunity to be recharged, renewed, equipped.

An opportunity to love each other in a non-hostile environment, so that we can know how to love each other and serve the world in a hostile environment.

To use the symphony metaphor, when we gather we are being reminded by our conductor (Jesus) that we are his people, his disciples, we’re being inspired by His words, strengthened by his gentle and loving character, we are being reminded of the Music Score, not to deviate and start playing our own notes, and we practice going out of our way to serve and love one another.

To piggyback on this analogy with a sports analogy, it’s half-time; it’s time to put the ice pack on, wipe off the sweat, bandage the wounds, and to listen to the coach remind us of the game plan, the strategy, the playbook.

The love of God is a down pour of comfort (come along side) He saw me in my worst, but still came, died, rose, and lives for me today He sees my inconsistencies, my sins, but He still loves me and accepts me

We perform the music and play the game when we go outside these walls, as a team and tell the world with out lives and with our words what God is really like.

We shine when we serve as ONE.

Third, There is Fellowship in the Spirit

Yes!

This is NOT Game Time, this is practice, or this is the huddle.

The performance begins when this huddle ends.

And some of you might not be convinced of this just yet, and that’s okay, but I want you to read the words of Jesus one more time and answer this… what is the purpose of the Church being United as ONE as Father, Son, and Spirit?

The fellowship He is speaking of is the same word that we use for partnership It is through this partnership that UNITY is made possible In our church, marriage, work place, etc...

The Holy Spirit indwells all who believe, but fills only those who will humble themselves and let Him do the work in your life

Fourthly, There is Bowels and Mercies

So, if the purpose of our UNITY is that the world may believe Jesus was sent from God and therefore the Gospel, how will the world ever see the CHARACTER of Jesus if we’re never together in the world?

The bowels Paul speaks of here means affection and compassion Frank Graef was known as the “Sunshine Minister” he was one the happiest, brightest men alive, on the outside.

Inside Mr. Graeff struggled with depression, insecurities, and suffering that no one really knew about.

On the verge of giving up, he turned to the Casting all your care on Him for He cares for You...

He then penned the hymn “Does Jesus Care?” OH YES He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief, when the days are dreary and the long nights weary, I know my Saviour Cares.”

I hope that this will light a fire in us to see why Sunday gatherings are so important.

Going back to the conversation I had with a friend of a friend, when he told me what church he was going to be moving to, he looked at me as if to say, I know that my new church waters down the truth, but (and then he spoke out loud) “I can find God anywhere.”

Paul had them, just like he has us, all stirred up and grateful for the benefits of being IN CHRIST... and then the caveat

Sunday gatherings are important (among other things) because we need to know what we as a church, led by the Spirit are to be and do (AS ONE) in this community so that this community will know the truth about who Jesus is and believe.

If those things are true, AND YOU KNOW THEY ARE, then complete my joy and GET ALONG!

No doctrinal error You can be doctrinally sound and not be totally mature, that’s where they were

So let’s take a look at a passage that gives us a few vantage points as it pertains to UNITY.

The book of Philippians is a local church meeting throughout the city of Philippi.

Paul begins this letter with a prayer of praise for their “Partnership in the gospel from the first day until the writing of the letter.”

A major thread running throughout the letter is that suffering wasn’t actually a sign that things were going wrongly, but that actually they were on the right track and instead of isolating to minimize the pain of suffering, they were to lean in together:

There is only one command being given and it’s our third reflection of a Gospel Centered Community... Having the Same Mentality

Phil 1:27-28

New churches like Philippi typically begin with great momentum and excitement.

Everyone is on the same page, there is little derailing them because they are unified.

But that unity can be deceiving.

Inevitably, a church like that will add to it’s congregation (and so every church should) and with addition comes in the addition of new backgrounds, new perspectives, new experiences, different taste for worship styles, preaching styles, outreach strategy’s.

It’s just the nature of all living things.

So how does this happen in the church?

What does unity look like?

How can we keep it from becoming uniformity

This creates a fork in the road moment for leaders and the people in those churches, will we be a unified people working towards a common mission and goal, or will we resist all these new people and ideas; people who are either babies that need lots of attention and patience, or veteran believers who have hard lines in their theology and philosophy of ministry?