GETTING TOGETHER
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
GETTING TOGETHER
June 1, 2008
Text: Acts 5:27-42
Throughout my time in the Navy, I would attend some of the command's formal and informal parties. As the time for a party approached, many of us would begin making an unofficial pact that we would keep the conversation at the gathering away from our work and life on the boat. We wanted to get away from thinking about those things that invaded and occupied so much of our lives. Yet, take a wild guess on what we were talking about a mere ten or fifteen minutes into the event. It didn't matter if our families were there or not; here we were talking about something that happened on that last patrol, or the orders we just received, or that tough job that was being accomplished. Sea stories - past, present, and future - continually occupied our thoughts and our conversation.
Why? What caused us to rehash over and over those things that we sought to escape from for a few relaxing hours? In fact, what causes just about any human being to focus so often on experiences that they wanted to get away from in the first place? Like war, or the harshest winter, or the hottest, driest summer? Well, I think that Scripture sheds some light for us on our behavior as we examine the lives of Jesus' disciples.
The first element of getting together is shared struggle. Norm Evans, president of Pro Athletes Outreach, wrote that "several years ago, when I felt like I was about to die of heat exhaustion during our afternoon practice in eastern Washington, I griped, 'Why do the Seahawks leave cool, pleasant Seattle for training camp in this desert?' Soon I found out. I heard family counselor Gary Smalley say that the single most common factor in creating strong family bonding is shared struggle - camping, for example. When I heard that, I began to realize that it would have been a mistake for the Seahawks to make things cozy for us. The most important byproduct of that struggle called training camp can be good teammate relationships." (Second Look, vol. 3, #1, p.11)
Onboard the boat, our shared struggles of equipment maintenance, responding to hectic operating orders, maintaining vigilant watches, and other shared activities brought us together and bonded us. So it was for the apostles. Having grown together under Christ's teaching and witnessing the straining events of the crucifixion and resurrection, they were now being persecuted themselves. They were rounded up and tossed into prisons. They were hauled into court of the Sanhedrin.
Yet, they stood their ground. Their relationships and camaraderie with each other and with Christ were intact because of their shared struggles. They were like a strong family, bonded together, because they shared in their faith with God and because they shared in the events of life.
Through Christ, Christians today continue to share experiences and struggles which promote bonding and relationship building. We give a portion of our own resources for God's work. This means that we sometimes have to turn down other activities because we have chosen His work first. Sometimes we are asked to compromise and obey man instead of God. If we respond with "we must obey God rather than men!" we may have problems. But out of the problems - the struggles - we can become even closer to other brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. This is what Paul meant in writing to the Galatians, chapter 6:2: "Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
A second element of getting together is maintaining a servant attitude. After being flogged and released from the Sanhedrin, the apostles left, "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Each of them subjected themselves to servanthood. They were servants of the Lord, and that promoted their relationships with each other and other believers.
Having a servant attitude and being servants is an important theme throughout the good news of Jesus Christ. "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
With a servant attitude, we serve a two-fold purpose. We invite others to Christ, and we deepen relationships which are started. Bart, the son of Dr. Tony Campolo, beat out Joel, an older high school student, for the position of soccer goalie. Joel could have easily gotten angry and vengeful over the situation, but he didn't. Instead, he became a mentor to Bart. He befriended him and went places with him. He took him to church youth group, and he challenged Bart to accept Jesus Christ. "Joel found that following Jesus delivered him from bitterness and opened up a relationship that offered him a lot of fun." (Who Switched the Price Tags?, p. 62) Maintain a servant attitude.
A third element of getting together is verbal encouragement. Build on another up. The Biblical word is edification. Paul reminds us in Romans 14 to "make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification." In Proverbs we are told that "pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and pleasing to the bones."
In one of the places we have lived, I helped out with Little League. One of the things that all of the coaches continually reminded the players was to build each other up with congratulations and words of encouragement. If one player made a good play, all of the teammates were to let him know. When a player was disappointed with himself, teammates encouraged him by letting him know that he is important to the team, and that he will have another chance to bat or field the ball. In fact, part of the expressed purpose of Little League is to help "children become good and decent citizens. It strives to inspire them with a goal and to enrich their lives towards the day when they must take their places in the world. It establishes for them rudiments of teamwork and fair play." Thats from the Little League Handbook.
Verbal encouragement helps build unity. As the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing, I can imagine some slapping Peter on the back and saying, "Good job! You weren't afraid to tell them about our Lord. And they backed down." And Peter, in return, saying, "Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you being there. It was a close call this time; we still were flogged. But we made it together. Now let's go preach the good news that Jesus is the Christ."
Fanciful, maybe, but regardless of how their conversation might have really gone, it was still a far cry from the days when they were arguing with each other about who would be greatest and who would be sitting at the right and left hand of Christ. Paul recognized the value and ministry of verbal encouragement. In 1 Corinthians, he wrote, "For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." Paul didn't undercut Apollos' ministry, but made it equal with his own. And in about every letter, Paul has some high praise for some of the servants in the church. For example, "Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord."
Concluding his article, Norm Evans wrote: "Back in those tough training camps, I didn't realize that our common struggle was bonding us together as a team. But I've learned that the best way to build great relationships is to honor your teammates (that is, place high value on them as a person). Then, a servant attitude and verbal encouragement come easy. The natural byproduct: real team spirit." (Second Look, vol. 3, #1, p. 11)
This is true for the Christian life as well. When we look upon other believers as fellow servants of our Lord, and upon those who don't believe as potential servants of our Lord, then we do get in the habit of placing high value on them. And a servant attitude and verbal encouragement come easier, especially when we rejoice in fulfilling Christ's commandment to love one another as He has loved us.
The apostles were bound together in unity and fellowship because they worked and struggled together in the common purpose of serving Christ. "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." We, too, are apostles who work and struggle together in service to our Lord. We get together because we have been drawn together - called out - by God Himself. So let us get together to build each other up. Even though its most familiar use is for weddings, Matthew 19:6 applies to all of us who are part of the body of Christ: "What, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
PO Box 515
179 W. Broadway
Bunker Hill, IN 46914
765-689-7987
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