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Oneness
Church
Separation in
The story has been told of
a small church affiliated with an exclusive “splinter” denomination. The
members had cut out some gold letters and fastened them on the wall in front of
the church. The letters said: “Jesus Only.”
One day a gust of wind blew
away the first three letters. The sign then read
more accurately: “Us Only.” ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Strife
In Paul’s Letter to the
Philippians
there are named two ladies who could not get along with each
other
Euodia and Syntyche (or
as it has been rendered
Odious and
Soontouchy). They obviously had trouble working together. Then and now
the
church is too often described in this little jingle:
To dwell above with saints
we love
O that will sure be glory.
But to dwell below with
saints we know
Well
that’s another
story!
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Church
Strife
The church filled with
strife may do well to be reminded of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar who
coming on
deck and finding two British officers quarreling
whirled them about
and—pointing to the ships of their adversary—exclaimed
“Gentlemen
there are
your enemies!” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
A visitor to a mental
hospital was astonished to note that there were only three guards watching over
a hundred dangerous inmates. He asked his guide
“Don’t you fear that these
people will overpower the guards and escape?”
“No
” was the reply.
“Lunatics never unite.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
For safety reasons
mountain climbers rope themselves together when climbing a mountain. That way
if one climber should slip and fall
he would not fall to his death. He would
be held by the others until he could regain his footing.
The church ought to be like
that. When one member slips and falls
the others should hold him up until he
regains his footing. We are all roped together by the Holy Spirit. ── Michael
P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
A man asked his young son
to break a bundle of sticks. He returned a little later to find the lad
frustrated in the task. He had raised the bundle high and smashed it on his
knee
but he only bruised his knee. He had set the bundle against a wall and
stomped hard with his foot
but the bundle barely bent.
The father took the bundle
from the child and united it. Then he began to break the sticks easily—one at a
time.
So it is with the church:
united we are strong
divided we can fail or be broken. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Church
Unity
Many years ago
two
students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest ranking
student in the class was a blind man named Overton
and when he received his
honor
he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend
Kaspryzak.
They had first met one another in school when the armless Kaspryzak had guided
the blind Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into
friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried
the books that the armless man read aloud in their common study
and thus the
deficiency of each individual was compensated for by the other’s ability. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
If you fell and severely
injured your wrist
it would swell up and become very painful. The rest of your
body might feel so bad about it that it would sit up all might to keep it company!
That is what the body of
Christ should do when one member is hurt. When one hurts
all hurt—and all
should respond. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
Two porcupines found
themselves in a blizzard and tried to huddle together to keep warm. But because
they were pricked by each other’s quills
they moved apart. Soon they wee
shivering again and had to lie side by side once more for their own survival.
They needed each other
even though they needled each other!
There are many “porcupine”
Christians running around. They have their good points
but you can’t get near
them because the bad points prick too hard. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Church
Unity
Have you ever wondered what
makes the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam? How can a
medium-power laser burn through steel in a matter of seconds
while the most
powerful spotlight can only make it warm? Both may have the same electrical
power requirements. The difference is unity.
A laser can be simply
described as a medium of excited molecules with mirrors at each end. Some of
the excited molecules naturally decay into a less excited state. In the decay
process they release a photon
a particle of light. It is here that the unique
process of the laser begins. The photon moves along and “tickles” another
molecule
inviting another photon to join him on his journey. Then these two
photons “tickle” two more molecules and invite two more photons to join the
parade. Soon there is a huge army of photons marching in step with each other.
It is this unity that gives the laser its power. A spotlight may have just as
many photons
but each is going its own independent way
occasionally
interfering with other photons. As a result
much of its power is wasted and
cannot be focused to do any useful work. However
the laser
because of its
unity
is like an army marching in tight formation and is able to focus all its
power on its objective. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
In any flesh-and-bones
body
there are a variety of cells. There are nerve cells
blood cells
muscle
cells
and many others
each having a distinct function. The body operates
smoothly
not because the cells get together and vote on what to do
but
because each one does what it was designed to do. It is the function of the
head to bring all these different functions together
so that the body operates
effectively as each cell gives itself to the task of functioning according to
its design.
Certainly the body would
not operate properly if its cells chose to go their own way. Do you know what
we call a rebellion of the cells of your stomach? We call it indigestion! A
revolt of your brain cells is called insanity. Any time the cells in our body
don’t operate properly
it means that the body is sick
that something is wrong
with it.
Many of the problems in the
church today are a result of our forgetting that the church is a body with a
head
Jesus Christ. Instead we sometimes try to operate the church as an
organization. As a result
the church has no more power than any other human
organization at work in the world. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Church
Unity
The story is told of a time
when a little child in an African tribe wandered off into the tall jungle grass
and could not be found
although the tribe searched all day. The next day the
tribal members all held hands and walked through the grass together. This
enabled them to find the child
but due to the cold night he had not survived.
In her anguish and through tears
the mother cried
“If only we would have held
hands sooner.”
It is not enough that we
all share a common goal. We must all work together to accomplish it without
hesitation. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
As members of the body of
Christ
we can be compared to pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece has
protrusions and indentations. The protrusions represent our strengths (gifts
talents
abilities)
and the indentations represent our weaknesses (faults
limitations
shortcomings
undeveloped areas). The beautiful thing is that the
pieces complement one another and produce a beautiful whole.
Just as each piece of a
puzzle is important
so each member of the body of Christ is important and can
minister to the other members of the body.
Just as
when one piece is
missing from the puzzle
its absence is very obvious and damages the picture
so also is the whole weakened when we are absent from the body of Christ.
Just as
when each piece of
a puzzle is in place
any one piece is not conspicuous but blends in to form
the whole picture
so it should be in the body of Christ. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Church
Unity
The story is told that
during the American Civil War
when the rival armies were encamped on the
opposite banks of the Potomac River
the Union’s band played one of its
patriotic tunes
and the Confederate musicians quickly struck up a melody dear
to any Southerner’s heart.; Then one of the bands started to play “Home
Sweet
Home.” The musical competition ceased
and the musicians from the other army
joined in. Soon voices from both sides of the river could be heard singing
“There is no place like home.”
In a similar way
the
church
in spite of its many divisions
is bound together by that one strong
link—we are all going home
nd to the same home. We have a common destiny. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Unity
Born in
In 1829 Smithson
who never
married
died and left his considerable fortune to a nephew. Rumor had it that
the terms of Smithson’s will stipulated that his entire estate was to go to one
recipient upon the nephew’s death. The English scientific community hoped that
he had made sizable grants to their favorite institutions. But when the terms
of the will were made public they were shocked!
Smithson had written: “Just
as England has rejected me
so have I rejected England.” During Smithson’s
lifetime
Let us be careful of saying
to some member of the body of Christ
“I have no need of you
” only to find
that the same member could have met some of our greatest spiritual needs. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
I want the whole Christ
for my Savior
the whole Bible for my book
the whole Church for my fellowship
and the whole world for my mission field.
John Wesley.
Calvin
who saw that the
Devil's chief device was disunity and division and who preached that there
should be friendly fellowship for all ministers of Christ
made a similar point
in a letter to a trusted colleague: "Among Christians there ought to be so
great a dislike of schism
as that they may always avoid it so fast as lies in
their power. That there ought to prevail among them such a reverence for the
ministry of the word and the sacraments that wherever they perceive these
things to be
there they must consider the church to exist...nor need it be of
any hindrance that some points of doctrine are not quite so pure
seeing that
there is scarcely any church which has not retained some remnants of former
ignorance."
Charles W. Colson
The
Body
1992
Word Publishing
p. 107-108.
In the Cambridge
Minn.
Star: "Isanti County Commissioner Tom Pagel has 100-percent support from
his family
not 10 percent
as was stated in last week's article on Pagel's
announcement to seek re-election."
Reader's Digest.
"To remain divided is
sinful! Did not our Lord pray
that they may be one
even as we are one"?
(John 17:22). A chorus of ecumenical voices keep harping the unity tune. What
they are saying is
"Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must
come together in one visible organization
regardless... Unite
unite!"
Such teaching is false
reckless and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our
alignments. Truth comes before unity. Unity without truth is hazardous.
Our Lord's prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context. Look at verse
17: "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." Only those
sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to
betray the Gospel.
Charles H. Spurgeon
The
Essence of Separation
quoted in The Berean Call
July
1992
p. 4.
During World War II
Hitler commanded all religious groups to unite so that he could control them.
Among the Brethren assemblies
half complied and half refused. Those who went
along with the order had a much easier time. Those who did not
faced harsh
persecution. In almost every family of those who resisted
someone died in a
concentration camp.
When the war was over
feelings of bitterness ran deep between the groups and there was much tension.
Finally they decided that the situation had to be healed. Leaders from each
group met at a quiet retreat. For several days
each person spent time in
prayer
examining his own heart in the light of Christ's commands. Then they
came together. Francis Schaeffer
who told of the incident
asked a
friend who was there
"What did you do then?" "We were just
one
" he replied. As they confessed their hostility and bitterness to God
and yielded to His control
the Holy Spirit created a spirit of unity among
them. Love filled their hearts and dissolved their hatred.
When love prevails among
believers
especially in times of strong disagreement
it presents to the world
an indisputable mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ.
Our Daily Bread
October 4
1992.
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy
demanded that Linus change TV channels
threatening him with her fist if he
didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take
over?" asks Linus.
"These five
fingers
" says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl
them together like this into a single unit
they form a weapon that is terrible
to behold."
"Which channel
do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away
he looks at his fingers and says
"Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
Charles Schultz.
There are two ways of
being united -- one is by being frozen together
and the other is by being
melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love
and
then they may expect to have power.
Moody's Anecdotes
p. 53.
Tonto and the Lone Ranger
were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were
filled with Native American warriors on horses
dressed for battle. The Lone
Ranger turned to Tonto and asked
"What are we going to do?" Tonto
replied
"What you mean 'we
' Whiteman?"
Edward Dobson
In
Search of Unity
p. 20-27.
There can be union without
unity: tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline.
Source Unknown.
Has it ever occurred to
you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned
to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned
not to each other
but to
another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred
worshipers [meeting] together
each one looking away to Christ
are in heart
nearer to each other than they could possibly be
were they to become 'unity'
conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer
fellowship.
A.W. Tozer
The Pursuit
of God.
Snowflakes are one of
nature's most fragile things
but just look at what they can do when they stick
together.
Vesta Kelly.
ONENESS OF BELIEVERS.
Believers are members of
Christ’s body
hence members one of another. As illustrating this
we will take the
word “together” as showing our oneness with Christ and one another.
Ⅰ. Oneness in death. “ Planted together in the likeness of His death”
(Romans 6:5).
Ⅱ. Oneness in resurrection. “ Quickened……and raised up together
(Eph.2:5
6).
Ⅲ. Oneness in position. “ Made us sit together in heavenly places”
(Eph.2:6).
Ⅳ. Oneness in suffering and glory. “ If we suffer with Him……glorified
together” (Rom.8:17).
Ⅴ. Oneness in by possession. “ Builded together……habitation of God”
(Eph.2:22). Not only purchased and pardoned
but possessed by the Holy Spirit
who will fill us
as God of old fillen the tabernacle and Temple with His presence.
Ⅵ. Oneness in fitness. “ Fitly framed together” (Eph.2:21). As the
covering of the tabernacle were coupled together
as the stones in Solomon’s
Temple (each on was put in its won place)
so each believer is first made fit
then fitly framed
then fitly framed together—thus fit to live and serve in the
place he occupies.
Ⅶ. Oneness in place at the coming of Christ. “ Live together” (1.
Thess.5:10); “ heirs together” (1.Peter 3:7); caught up together to meet Christ
in the air (1. Thess.4:17). Different positions in glory
but all with Him.
Ⅷ. Oneness in fellowship. We read of the disciples who were on the way
to Emmaus
that they “ talked together;” and “ how can two walk together except
they are agreed?” These two were talking of the Lord
and He of whom they were
conversing drew near and spoke to them; the secret of true fellowship one with
another is communion with the Lord Himself.
Ⅸ. Oneness in sympathy. “ Comfort yourselves together”
(1.Thessalonians 5:11).
Ⅹ. Oneness in prayer. “ Peter and John went up together into the
Temple at the hour of prayer” (Acts 3:1). The secret of Judah’s victory over
Ammon and Moab was
“that they gathered themselves together” to ask help of the
Lord” (2. Chron.20:4).
Ⅺ. Oneness in work. Sower and reaper working and receiving the joy of
service now
and at the great harvest together (John 4:36).
Ⅻ. Oneness in worship. “ They sang together by course in praising and
giving thanks unto the Lord” (Ezra 3:11).
XIII.
Oneness in thought. “ Perfectly
joined together in the same mind” (1.Cor.1:10).
XIV.
Oneness in conflict. “ Children of
Israel went out……gathered together as one man” (Judges 20:1).
XV.
Oneness in love. “ Knit together in
love.” (Col.2:2).
XVI.
Oneness in labour. “Striving
together for the faith of the Gospel” (Phil.1:27). In all the above Scriptures
we see the union there is from God’s standpoint amongst all those who are His;
and if we would have manifest unity among the Church of God
there must be—and
it will only come in this way—the recognition of our oneness in Christ
hence
our oneness one with the other.
Christians
remember there are many children in the family. They may call themselves by
different names
but there is only one family—one Father; many members in the
body
but only one house—one Head; many stones in the building
but only one
Vine; many sheep in the flock
but only one flock—one Shepherd; many priests
but only one order—one High Priest; many crumbs
but only one Loaf; many
citizens
but only one city.
── F.E. Marsh《Five Hundred Bible Readings》