Spring
retreat for RCCCCG (Asheboro, NC)
Sunday
AM @ Mar 17, 2002
By
DJ Chuang
Ephesians
4-5
Illus: Theme song from Cheers
(what I watched; today you might watch Friends)
Making
your way in the world today
Takes ev'rything you've got
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot
Wouldn't you like to get away
Sometimes you wanna go:
Where
ev'rybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You wanna be where you can see
People are all the same
You wanna be where ev'rybody knows your name
This
weekend we’ve surveyed several vital areas to help you connect the spiritual
world to the real world; spiritual life to real life. That is the vitality you
and I need, to be motivated for a life that is full and satisfying, and will
fulfill our purpose in the world.
To
achieve the retreat’s goal of reaching people with the love of God in Jesus
Christ, normal people need the real life evidence. People are not as concerned
with the afterlife as they are this life. They are looking at Christians to see
if their faith really works in real life, and if it really makes a difference.
While people have always been attracted to Jesus Christ, the same cannot be
said of Christians.
The
Scriptures speak of something that takes place among Christians that will make
people take notice.
John
13:35::
By
this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
When
Christians genuinely and deeply love each other, and build an authentic
spiritual community, three things will happen: (1) people will take notice,
acknowledging you are Christ’s disciples; (2) you fully live out your calling;
and (3) the Spirit’s power is most clearly seen.
1 The Spirit
builds a spiritual community (ch.4)
The
lifeline that God gives us is the Holy Spirit, which we put our full confidence
in Jesus Christ. This lifeline gives us the grace and wisdom to live. This
divine connection gives us the spiritual foundation for life. That connection
gives us grace, which is God accomplishing in us what we cannot do on our own.
And when we live by God’s grace, we need a context to live, and that is a
spiritual community. It is in community that our spiritual vitality is
expressed. Each one of us has a connection and a context. A spiritual
community is a group of believers connected to the Spirit and to each other.
For Christians to connect with one another is more than being in the same room,
doing worship or prayer or Bible study. The passage in Ephesians 4-5 gives us
some of the characteristics of a spirit-filled community.
Ephesians
4:1-3, 32::
As
a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling
you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with
one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through
the bond of peace.
32 Be kind and compassionate
to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
First,
as Christians, we are called to live this life. Because God has given us
everything in Christ, and He’s given us the Spirit, the response to that call
is a worthy life. The passage gives us a list of characteristics to build a
spiritual community:
Be
completely humble and gentle: to be truthful with the gifts we have to use and
to give, and not boastful nor putting others down. As people and even as
Christians, there is a tendency for us to compare ourselves, whether prestige,
pedigree, or personality. In God’s eye, every person is valuable, called, and
has intrinsic worth. That is also how we as Christians must see each other.
Related
to this is being transparent and honest with each other. I don’t know how often
you’ve noticed, but people make themselves out to be more than they really are.
You know what I’m talking about- the persona of having it all together. In
reality, every person is human, having struggles, questions, and doubts. Every
person puts his or her pants on one leg at a time. Let’s knock it off with the
charades, comparisons, and pretense.
Be
patient, bearing with one another in love: there are many differences among
Christians, and to bear with one another requires patience, and this
demonstrates love. If someone is slower than you, be patient with them to catch
up. If someone needs help to understand, take time to teach. If someone takes
more time to make a decision, don’t rush them. Help them with the abilities
that you have when they are open to receive it.
Keep
the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: be intentional and
diligent about making peace, that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are
responsible for each other, we are connected to each other, and we look out for
the best interest of each other. There’s no room for bitterness, unforgiveness,
grudges, nor animosity. Be united and come together in what you decide God
wants you to do together.
Be kind and compassionate to one another: there is to be a kinder and gentler environment that welcomes people in a spiritual community. This type of community is to be safe and accepting, and when people share their failures and pains, the community comes along side to offer comfort and service. And especially when people share their struggles and sin, they will not be met with judgment and condemnation; rather they’ll be restored and encouraged to receive God’s grace and start afresh.
Forgiving
each other:
This is perhaps one of the most difficult things for people to do, both
Christians and non-Christians alike. When we are wronged personally and
painfully, it’s only natural to seek revenge. But God’s Word exhorts us to
forgive, to love our enemies, to let God enact His justice. Only in a spiritual community can you find
the resources to deal with conflict, and to forgive to restore relationships.
When you consider how much Christ has forgiven you, so comprehensively and
completely, what someone might do to you is small in comparison. That’s how
you’re able to have the grace of God and His strength to forgive.
Illus: Forgiveness and
reconciliation in my own life has gained me a stronger relationship than I
could build on my own. When I had offended someone by not observing protocols,
even though my intentions were not to offend, I was just plain ignorant, I
confessed my offense (Matthew 5:24), and sought genuine forgiveness so that our
relationship could be restored. Having a spiritual community was essential, and
by the grace of God, I was able to experience forgiveness, and grow in my
sensitivity to bear with another’s protocols.
2 The Spirit
gives love within a community (ch.5)
As
relationships are formed in a spiritual community, love in action naturally
overflows.
EPH
5:1 Be
imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a
life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.
You
are imitators of God. As a person created in God’s image, and connected to
God’s grace, you act on behalf of God. God’s calling on your life is to join
Him in what He desires to do in this world, to restore it towards perfection.
And as we look upon the life of Christ, he set the perfect example of how we
too can live a life of love. We have a direct connection to God’s grace to do
what is best for others.
Love
is a loaded term in our times, practically losing its meaning. It’s most often
used of fleeting romance and a lustful desire to satisfy one’s own needs.
From
God’s perspective, love is seeking the best for the object of love. So when God
loves mankind, He seeks the best for mankind, and meets His most desperate
need—the need for a Savior, and the need for grace. Human problems don’t have
human solutions. The Spirit of God gives us what we deeply need in Christ. And
because He’s loved each of us so, we are to love each other. Christians are the
means and conduits for God’s love to flow in a real way in real life.
If
love is to seek the best for another person, what does it look like? In a
spiritual community, where we are able to be ourselves, in safety and
acceptance, then people get to know us personally. We stop hiding from each
other. We talk honestly and transparently with each other. Some of the best
conversations happen in the parking lot after 11:00pm, when we’re too tired to
play games and wear masks. Then we can earnestly pray for each other, because
we know each other.
We
make progress in knowing others, to cheer them on as they pursue their calling
(dream and vision), to help them up when they fail, and to call out their full
potential. Sometimes we all need people to believe in us when we don’t believe
in ourselves. That’s what a spiritual community must be. A spiritual community
is people coming together not because they have to, but because they want to.
EPH
5:18 Do
not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always
giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
“be
filled with the Spirit”- Being filled with the Spirit is not so much for your
personal spiritual life, as it is for the spiritual community. As we’ve looked
at select verses in Ephesians 4-5, we see how it constantly talks about being
together with one another, and how to build an authentic community.
When
this spiritual community is together, they make beautiful music together. Every
person doing their part, using their gifts and sharing their gifts with each
other. The best music happens when people enjoy being together. It’s more than
a technical or performance thing, music comes from the heart. When we’re
sharing from a heart filled with the Spirit, it overflows to the spiritual
community, and to the broader community who is outside and watching.
“Submit
to one another” And there is mutual submission to one another, because the
members of this spiritual community realize that they need each other. You’ve
got gifts that I need, and I’ve got gifts that you need.
Illus: Larry Crabb (The Safest
Place on Earth) observed retired people in Florida, how everything they’ve
lived for has came to this—sitting on a porch of neatly aligned chairs, with no
conversations nor relationships. People stared blankly straight ahead, as if
they were numbed. Instead, we can turn our chairs, face each other, wash each
others feet, worship together, know each other, and dialogue. When we talk with
each other, it’s not to make conversation, but to make a difference. This is a
kind of oneness and unity that helps one another to be more than we could be
than by ourselves. This stirs a flame into a fire. (Hebrews 10:24 -- And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds.) This is a spiritual community, where we
relate with one another in a way that manifests the Spirit.