Sunday, November 14,
2010 pm
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? (9)
Hindrances to Unity (2)
a.
God has
given us emotions to help us through this life.
You will not truly obey the gospel without your emotions being
involved. Every emotion we
have from joy to sadness to anger can help us and make us better, BUT
only if we learn to manage our emotions.
Emotions often come in levels from mild to intense. We must be careful
to make sure that our emotions do not consume us.
b.
The Bible
warns us to keep our emotions in check.
i.
When Paul
spoke on being in control of our own bodies, this would include our
emotions – 1 Cor. 6:12 Paul said, “All
things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of
any.” The any here would
include one’s emotions.
ii.
Prov.
4:23, “Keep your heart with all
diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
iii.
Prov.
14:16,17, “A wise man fears and
departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident.
A quick tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked
intentions is hated.”
iv.
Prov.
22:24-25, “Make no friendship with
an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways
and set a snare for your soul.”
v.
Prov.
25:28,”Whoever has no rule over
his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”
vi.
Eph. 4:26,
“Be angry and do not sin.
Do not let the sun go down on your wrath”
c.
Often
times, we let our emotions get in our way of doing what is right.
When problems arise, our emotions are going to become involved.
We may be angry at the way we are treated or what has happened.
We may be heart broken as brethren have not treated us properly.
We may be frustrated because something was not handled a specific
way. There are many emotions involved in problems between brethren.
Will we control them or will they control us?
How we manage our emotions will have an impact on how a situation
will turn out, for good or bad.
II.
The tongue –
a.
How many
times are matters made better or worse by what we say?
How often are problems started because of our failure to control
our tongues? How often are
problems resolved properly because we use our tongues properly?
This is one of those areas that when we speak of hindrances to unity it
is obvious. BUT it is also
so extremely important that we need to remind ourselves of this.
b.
We need to
control our tongues as Christians.
It is simply not an option if we are to please God.
i.
James
3:1-12 is the classic text warning us of the dangers of the tongue.
Note how with it we curse men (while blessing God)
ii.
Prov.
13:3, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide
his lips shall have destruction.”
iii.
Prov.
25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of
silver.”
iv.
Prov.
26:24-26, “He who hates, disguises
it with his lips, and he lays up deceit within himself; When he speaks
kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his
heart; though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be
revealed before the assembly.”
v.
Psalm
141:3-4 says, “Set a guard, O
Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked
works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their
delicacies.”
c.
Chances
are, if we want to resolve problems or maintain unity, the first thing
we need to do is put our words in check.
Let us not be the ones guilty of saying something that we will
regret at any time in the future – whether it be the actual words OR the
tone with which we say them!
III.
Worldliness –
a.
A sad
reality is that many problems that exist today between brethren are the
product of worldliness in the Lord’s church.
Whether it be our possessions or our worldly friends or something
else, if they are threatened by some problem in the Lord’s body, we are
going to have to choose which one means the most to us.
The worldly will choose the world first.
b.
When we
are not spiritually minded, worldliness gets in the way.
1 John 2:15-17 warns us not to love the world or the things in the
world. Note how he says, “If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is NOT in him.”
James 4:1-10 speaks of brethren who are
fighting with each other.
There are many observations in this text that indict worldly brethren.
Chief is the reminder that that friendship with the world
produces enmity against God.
c.
We need to
be spiritually minded to please God.
Romans 8:1 tells us there
is no condemnation to those who are in Christ, who do not walk according
to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Rom. 8:5-8 reminds us that to live according to the flesh puts us at
enmity with God. Then in Vs.
12-14 we are told that we are to by the Spirit to put to death the deeds
of the body so that we will live.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Paul rebuked the Corinthians for their division because they were
carnally minded – 1 Cor. 3:1-4.
Note vs. 3, “For you are
still carnal. For where
there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and
behaving like mere men?”
d.
Do you
want to resolve problems within the Lord’s church?
Purge her of worldliness and you will come a long way!
IV.
Cowardice –
a.
Often
times when there are problems within a congregation, there are those who
know something is wrong, but rather than stand up and defend what is
right (even if it means rebuking all sides of a problem), they are
afraid to say anything.
Sometimes they will see one with the truth struggling and being
maligned, but rather than stand up for him they stand by and do nothing.
They don’t want to get involved.
While allowing brethren to resolve their differences without interfering
is usually a good thing (sometimes it is the best thing), at other
times, when the church is being torn apart, we need to make a stand for
what is right, even if it is unpopular.
Sometimes, the solution that some make when problems arise is to leave
and go elsewhere. Sometimes this is done in ignorance or with good
intentions, but at other times it is cowardly and it leaves a struggling
church in worse shape.
b.
God has
little respect for the coward.
Rev. 21:8 begins a list of those who “shall have their part in the lake
which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”, with
the cowardly.
John 12:42-43 describes a group of rulers who believed in Jesus but
would not stand up for Him.
God was not pleased.
2 Timothy 4:16 records Paul saying, “At
my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.
May it not be charged against them.”
c.
Cowardice
CAN hinder both unity and growth within the congregation.
V.
Compromise –
a.
Sometimes
“unity” is achieved within congregations but at the cost of the truth.
Today, this seems to be a predominant trend.
Rather than facing and discussing differences, many churches are
actually ignoring them for the sake of unity.
They use the title of our series, “Can’t we all just get along”
in a totally different way than what I mean.
b.
Unity at
any cost is not acceptable to God.
2 Tim. 4:2-4 warns of those with itching ears.
Timothy was told, “Hold fast the
pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 1:13)
The idea was that he never let go of the truth.
Prov. 23:23 says, “But the truth,
and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”
Galatians 2:5 speaks of Paul and those with him not yielding ever for an
hour to those who brought a false gospel.
c.
We need to
strive hard for unity. It
needs to be a priority and we have shown a willingness to sacrifice to
achieve it ought to be important to us.
If we will set aside our personal liberties for the sake of
unity, it is more likely to happen.
Sadly, divisions are going to happen (because everyone will NOT seek it
with proper attitudes). They
have existed since shortly after the church began.
BUT we can NEVER seek to achieve unity by “selling out” God’s and
His word. Compromise may
relieve conflict, but it will not achieve TRUE unity.
VI.
Our failure to pray –
a.
When it
comes to achieving unity, we cannot leave God out of the picture.
We need to approach Him for wisdom, strength with our attitudes,
the attitudes of others, and simply for His help in dealing with our
problems and differences.
Also do not forget the prayers recorded in scripture about unity,
such as John 17:20-21.
b.
We know
the importance of prayer according to scripture.
It is to be a continual part of our lives.
We can pray for that which is God’s will and we certainly ought
to seek His guidance.
James 1:5, “If anyone lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without
reproach, and it will be given to him.”
It is my hope we have established the need to wisdom in dealing
with unity and problems.
James 5:16 reminds us that we are to pray for one another.
It also speaks of the effective prayers of the righteous.
Would this not include praying for unity.
In Matthew 5:44 calls for us to pray for those who spitefully use us.
This COULD include brethren who are not conducting themselves
properly.
Colossians 1:9-14, Paul’s prayer for them was that they walk worthy of
the Lord, fully pleasing Him and being fruitful in every good work, etc.
All such things are inherent in the unity we have been
discussing.
Pray without ceasing – 1 Thess. 5:17.
Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”
c.
When we
neglect prayer in anything, we are leaving God out of the picture.
Quite often, when we do that, we are prone to stumble.
Prayer helps us toward unity in many specific ways:
i.
It keeps
our mind on God as we face our difficulties and problems.
We are reminded that He is in control.
ii.
It keeps
our mind on our brethren, as when we pray for them hopefully our desires
are right.
iii.
We remind
ourselves of our need to seek and promote unity.
Truly, we need to seek unity with one
another and we need to ensure that each of us individually is not part
of the problem. Rather part
of the solution. May we seek
to do all that we can, within God’s boundaries, to remove hindrances
from our love and unity toward one another.