Sermon Series: Jesus-Everything We Need 

Walking and Working Together 

Philippians 4:2-3 

CBC Bishop, August 10, 2003

In a nutshell: For us to move to the next level in attendance and effectiveness, our church family must be committed to "walking together" and "working together".

I. Introduction

A. Worship Folder Quote

In my study this week as I was reading about "unity" in the church, I came across an interesting statement from a pastor and author by the name of James Hewitt. I put it on the front of your worship folders. Take a look at it…

"We will never become a church that effectively reaches out to those who don't know Christ if we shoot our wounded and major on the minuses. Instead of being fishers of men, as Christ has called us, we will become keepers of an ever-shrinking aquarium."

B. Geese

One of the interesting things I experienced when we lived in Missouri was to have the opportunity to watch birds up close. We lived in a somewhat rural area just west of the Missouri River, on ground that used to be part of a large marsh. At the advice of some friends, shortly after we moved there, I put up a bird feeder right outside our family room window.

It was fascinating to watch the different birds that came to that bird feeder. But the most spectacular experience was when summer came to an end and the cold chill of the fall season started upon us. Then we got to hear and see literally thousands of geese flying in multiple groups, heading south for the winter. Every group that crossed over our house, flew in a perfect "V" pattern, and the noise of their "honking" was something you could hear from miles away. The sight of these magnificent birds fascinated me. And that led me to do some research on geese, and this is what I found.

1. First of all, when geese fly in a V formation, they do it very intentionally. Studies have shown that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift of air for the bird that's flying immediately behind it. So, by flying in a V formation, the whole flock, as it works together, adds at least 71% more to each individual bird's flying range than if a single bird tried to fly on its own.

2. Second, whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

3. Third, when the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the formation and another goose flies in the point position. Once he takes his place at the front, the geese honk from behind to encourage the new leader to keep up his speed.

4. And finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by a hunter and falls out of the sky, two geese always leave the formation and follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly, or until he is dead. Then the two who left their formation launch out on their own or join with another formation to catch up with their original group.

It's amazing to me folks, how geese instinctively know how to function together in a group to accomplish something significant. If only the church of Jesus Christ could develop that same instinct. I'm convinced that if we only could, we'd see a lot more movement away from being just "keepers of the aquarium", and we'd truly become effective "fishers of men".

C. Transition to today's passage

Well, it's this idea of functioning well together that the apostle Paul addresses in the two verses that we'll be looking at this morning. So, if you have your Bibles, I'd like to invite you to turn in them to Philippians 4, and today we'll be looking at verses 2 and 3...

Philippians 4:2-3 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

D. Our present situation

It's obvious that God has been blessing our church family here at CBC. -As of right now, we are healthier in our finances than we've ever been before at this time of year, in our 48 year history. -More people are attending our morning worship service than ever before. (Last week I counted about 30-35 of our regular attenders and members who were gone on vacation, and still this room was at 81% capacity.) -People are accepting Jesus Christ as Savior in our worship services and in the various programs of our church. -We're seeing a number of people re-dedicate their lives to follow Jesus Christ as the true leader of their lives. -And we're seeing individuals take a public stand for their faith through baptism.

To accommodate this growth, and the additional growth that we're anticipating is going to happen in the fall and winter of this coming year, our leadership has given the "green light" to move our worship service into the gym. There we'll be able to more than double our seating capacity and accommodate new people who want to be a part of this church family.

Illustration: In a lot of ways, it's like we're surfers, and we're riding a wave of blessing from God. It's a great experience that is totally from God, and not anything we've done. The only thing that could mess us up is if we do something that causes us to fall off the "board".

At last Sunday's meeting with some of our church leaders, I told them, "I don't want to do anything that will blow this. We all have to make a renewed commitment, as leaders, to stay godly and not do anything that will cause God to remove His hand of blessing from us."

Illustration: Do you remember the story of Achan in the book of Joshua? When they first moved into the Promised Land, the Israelites were given a glorious victory over the huge walled-city of Jericho. But Achan, one of the Israeli soldiers, disobeyed God's direct orders and took some precious items from the battle back to his tent and buried them there. This disobedience so displeased God that when Israel went to conquer the next city-a much smaller and weaker city, called Ai-they were routed, and a number of Israelites were killed in the battle.

Joshua 22:20 20 When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.'"

Friends, I don't think any of us want to be the Achan that will do something to cause God's hand of blessing to be removed from this church at this time. To make sure none of us is the culprit, it's important that we all listen to the words Paul wrote in these two verses, and make sure we apply the principles to our individual conduct and to the way we live our lives together.

So, let me point out two very important principles for us to take to heart and apply this morning that will keep us effective as a church…

II. Walk Together

The first principle for us to be effective, is that we must walk together. Look again at verse 2…

Philippians 4:2 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.

A. Conflict in the Church

Now, what we have here is a problem in the Philippian church. There was a conflict between two of the church members-Euodia and Syntyche. These were two women who in the past, had worked with Paul. We don't know very much about these two gals, other than that. We don't even know what the problem was between them. All we know is that they were disagreeing with each other and that was causing problems.

You'd think things would have changed in 2000 years. But they haven't. Whenever I'm with a group of pastors, it seems like we always wind up talking about some kind of conflict that's occurring between people in our churches. And some of you know from experience, like I know, church conflict is usually devastating to the spiritual life of a church, especially when it's not handled in a biblical way.

B. Why Conflict?

Why is there so much conflict in churches?

1. We let an Independent Spirit dominate

Well, one reason is that sometimes we let the independent spirit of our culture dominate our lives. In other words, we fail to live up to who we are in Christ. We live like we are not children of God. And we allow selfishness, personal preferences, and our own opinion to control how we deal with each other.

In the eight months that I've been here in Bishop, I've had at least a half dozen "prayer warriors" from four different churches in our town tell me that one of the reoccurring sins that has plagued this valley for years is an "independent spirit."

If you look at the history of many of the churches in the Owens Valley, you see that much of the conflict that has happened is a result of pastors and/or people in their flocks operating out of their own self-interest.

Let's face it, before any of us had a relationship with Jesus Christ, we were all pretty selfish. That's human nature. But unfortunately, sometimes we don't turn that selfishness over to Jesus' leadership. And one of the big reasons we have conflict in the church is because people want their own way. But when you think about it…there is no healthy human relationship where everyone gets his or her own way all the time.

Illustration: Take marriage for example. Marriage is the joining together of a man and a woman in a covenant relationship for life. The unity in this relationship develops over time. And for unity to happen, each person in the marriage must change.

But when you have two people, each of whom is unwilling to change, living under the same roof, you soon have conflict. I've counseled many married couples, and I have never seen a marriage where change was not needed by both individuals.

Do you know something…? I think God planned it that way! Marriage teaches us to deal with our own selfishness. And friends, so does being a part of the church.

2. Fail to Agree

Another reason for conflict in churches is we fail to walk together in agreement. The Bible's word for agreement is "Unity".

Unity means that we come together in what we believe, and we share a common vision. But for that to take place, each and everyone of us has got to change. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 1:10 10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

When you read these words of Paul you get a strong idea that we don't have to disagree with each other. In fact, it really is possible for us to agree. It's possible for us to be perfectly united in mind and thought. Now, for some of us that's kind of hard to believe, because we've seen so much conflict and disagreement over the years in the church. And it's hard for us to believe that the church could exist without conflict.

But friends, the church can not only exist without conflict, the church must exist without it. Paul gives us a strong exhortation in this verse from 1 Corinthians. It is even stronger in the original language. In the Greek, the implication is that we can be in agreement even in our opinions.

Let me show you that same verse as it's translated in the Amplified Bible.

But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony, and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you; but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments. (1 Corinthians 1:10 Amplified Bible)

Maybe you're still thinking this agreeing stuff is impossible. -Well, I'll be honest with you, it is impossible if we only care about our own interests. -and it is impossible if we demand our own way. …But if we will intentionally begin to see ourselves as part of the community of the King, …under the leadership of the King, …seeking to make the King's will our will, …then it is possible. But the bottom line is that God's will must become our will, not the other way around.

Illustration: Have you ever found yourself praying and telling God what you want and asking Him to bless it? In other words, we ask God to make our will His will. That's just wrong! That's exchanging places with God. And that doesn't work.

What we need to do is discover God's will and adopt His will as our will. And if we all do that, we will be of the same opinion. (And by the way, if you want to understand God's will better, I'd encourage you to visit our website and look up the sermon What is God's Will? From Philippians 3:15. Or get the tape from the Media Center after the service.)

Friends, if one of the characteristics of the people of the Owens Valley is a fiercely independent spirit, then the people of the Owens Valley need a new model. They need to see a church who is fiercely walking together in unity. Our effectiveness depends on it. Our testimony depends on it. Our usefulness to the Kingdom of God depends on it. The spread of the Gospel to the Owens Valley depends on it. If you don't believe me, listen to what Jesus said concerning the importance of our unity:

John 17:21 21 (I pray) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Our unity with the other people in this church family is a testimony to the entire Owens Valley that God the Father sent God the Son into this world to be the Savior. That's how important unity is to the effectiveness of this church. We have to commit to walk together in unity for the sake of the Gospel.

You see, unity is a choice. Unity is not a feeling. It is an intentional decision that we make to pull together for the common good. In order to do this, you and I must lay down our personal preferences and recognize that we are part of a bigger picture. If we can do that, we will have unity. And we will be a testimony to the entire Owens Valley that Jesus Christ makes a real difference in the lives of people who follow Him.

So, in order to be an effective church and not miss the wave God is sending us, we must walk together in unselfishness and in unity. But we must also...

III. Work Together.

…work together. Look at verse 3 again…

Philippians 4:3 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Illustration: In our motorcycle club, we all have nic-names that reflect who we are. But the rule is, a nic-name has to be given to you by someone else. You can't choose your own nic-name. I've told you mine is "Big Dog". The guys who gave it to me told me it's because I Depend On God, Big Time.

Well, what a great nic-name Paul gave this friend who was part of the church in Philippi. Paul calls him, "loyal yokefellow". He's someone Paul can count on and someone who has worked alongside Paul at some time in the past. Well, Paul asks L.Y. to help these two women get past their differences. Because they too have faithfully served alongside Paul in the ministry in that city, and they are valuable people in the church.

Now, we don't know who this loyal yokefellow was -- maybe it was Epaphroditus, who was carrying this letter to Philippi. Some think it was Luke, the doctor who worked alongside Paul. But it really doesn't matter who this person was. We just have to know that Paul trusted someone to help heal the rift between these two other valuable ministry partners. And that's where I get this second principle of working together.

Friends, we have got to see that we are interdependent in this church. We cannot go it alone. We need one another. I need what you have in Christ and you need what I have in Christ.

Listen to something else Paul says to the church in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 12:12 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

Illustration: The picture he paints is one of the human body. Our bodies are made up of many specialized parts. My hand, for example, is quite different from my forearm. It's far more specialized in what it can do. And because of that, a person could argue that the hand is far more useful because it can do so much more. But if my hand were not attached to my forearm, it would be useless. And the same is true for every other part of my body.

You see, the parts of our bodies must not only be in the same room, they also must be connected.

The same is true for this church. You must not only be worshipping in the same room, but we must also be connected. God doesn't want you to simply attend church. He wants you to be an active participant in the life and ministry of this church. You are needed.

Look at what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:

Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:15-16 NLT)

When you're connected together with other Christians in this body, you will help each person in this body to grow. That's why we each have been given a gift of the Spirit. We have been given gifts so that we can bless others. That's the purpose of spiritual gifts. God doesn't gift us so that we can wear them like merit badges. God gives us gifts so we can use them to encourage others, build up others, help others, and minister to others.

In our self-centered, individualistic, and self-serving society, we have developed this notion that somehow God is here to bless us -- that everything centers on us. But the truth of the kingdom of God is that we are here for one another and our needs are met in the process of meeting the needs of other people.

IV. Conclusion

Listen friends, what we're talking about this morning is so important to riding the wave of blessing that God is sending our way. Unity is essential, and teamwork is vital. We need both if we're going to be effective in accomplishing our purpose of "loving all people to Christ and helping them on their journey with God and each other." Both are indispensable principles we need to follow. If one or both are missing in you, then this church is in trouble. When both are present in each of us, this church can accomplish a whole lot! -Each one of us must make an intentional decision to walk together with the people of our church family in unity for the sake of the cause of Christ, a cause that is so much bigger than any of us. -And each one of us must make a decision to work together with the other people of this church family for the sake of that cause.

Billy Graham once said, "Church-goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out."

Friends, don't let the fire go out! Let's make a renewed commitment today, to walk and work together for the sake of God's Kingdom advancement in the Owens Valley..

Amen.