Live In Harmony

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, the 29th of January, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Last week I mentioned that, leading up to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, I’d like us to revisit some of those places Jesus visited, witness His mighty works, listen to His divine words, follow along with Him as He ministers to the people.  Much of this is saved for us in our Gospel accounts of the Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Matthew and John were first-person eye-witnesses to all that Jesus did, while Mark and Luke interviewed first-hand witnesses to gather the information for their accounts.

There is one other apostle, who neither witnessed Jesus in His ministry nor interviewed other witnesses (that we know of), but who received special insight straight from Jesus Himself.  This is the Apostle Paul, who, while still blinded by our Lord’s glory, was shown the truth.  Through Paul’s letters, we can gain insight ourselves into the messages Jesus delivered, not just in our Lord’s words, but also in the example He set for us to follow.

Please listen and follow along as Paul relays one such message from Jesus regarding how we should live.  This comes from Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, the church in Corinth, from chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 and verses 10 through 18, and I’ll be reading this from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”

13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News — and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

--1 Corinthians 1:1-3, 10-18 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for calling us to be Your holy people, and for making us holy by means of Your Christ Jesus.  Father, You created the family unit so that we would have a place to be nurtured, where we could grow.  And then You sent Your Son Jesus to bring us into Your greater holy family.  Thank You, Father, for adopting us as Your children.

Please forgive us, Father, when we squabble among ourselves, when we just can’t seem to get along.  And forgive us when we fail to heed the words of Your Son’s apostles, like Paul, who tell us how we should act and live.  Please help us be more attentive and observant to all that You have saved for us in our bible.  Help us be better, more faithful servants for You and Jesus.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who are so willing to carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  May we fully realize the damage done when Jesus’ church is fractured and broken apart, especially within single congregations.  This we pray in the wonderful name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Two employees were chatting together one Friday morning. One informed the other, "The boss wants a meeting today at 4:30."  The other let out a sigh and asked despondently, "Why must he always have them on Friday afternoons at 4:30?"  The first responded, "Because everyone tends to agree with him then."

Many of us are retired now, but think back to those days of employment and those mandatory meetings, often called without notice.  If the meeting started a half hour before quitting time on a Friday afternoon, we’d doing nothing but stare at the clock, watching that minute hand creep closer and closer to a weekend of freedom, worrying that the meeting might intrude on our personal time.  In a situation like that, don’t we tend to agree with anyone about anything, just so we can get this meeting over with and get out of there!?

I think this agreeing to things holds true in almost any situation, if it suits our purposes.  But what about when it doesn’t suit our purposes?  What about when we can’t get anything out of it?  How agreeable are we then?  How harmonious is our conversation?  How one-minded and united are we in our thoughts and purpose?

In the first part of the 27th verse of the 1st chapter of his letter to the Philippians, Paul tells us to...

27a Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ…

--Philippians 1:27a (NKJV)

Jesus tells us to approach all situations with love, no matter what we do, to do it with love.  Do we?  We are to love others as we love ourselves.  That isn’t always easy to do, but it would certainly go a long ways to helping us live in harmony with one another.

Paul appeals to us, by the authority of Christ Jesus our Lord, to do just that – to live in harmony with each other.  Now my daddy was born and raised in Harmony, North Carolina, and I’ve often thought of what it would be like to live there, but somehow I don’t think that’s what Paul meant.

There’s one consideration I do need to point out, though.  When Paul wrote this letter, the church in Corinth was experiencing some sharp fracturing.  It was dividing itself into pieces, with the differing factions arguing against each other.  Paul's message was aimed at stopping sectarianism in this church, trying to keep it from tearing itself apart.

Unfortunately, since Corinth was one of the earliest Christian churches, it appears the church has always been at odds with itself, and it continues still today.  We disagree on things small and large.  And this is the main reason why we have so many denominations, and so many different churches, today.

We Christians need to do a better job of getting along, especially within any given church family.  We need to be more worthy of the Gospel of Christ Jesus in our conduct.

This isn’t the only time Paul urges us to live in harmony, nor was Corinth the only church to concern him in this regard.  The circumstances were different, but he also wrote to the church in Philippi pleading for unity.  Listen to Paul’s words from the 2nd chapter of his letter to the Philippians, verses 1 through 3…

1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

--Philippians 2:1-3 (NKJV)

Paul is appealing to us by our kinship through Jesus, through the Holy Spirit within us, appealing to our mercy and affection for one another, asking that we be like-minded, in one accord, of one mind.  Every Sunday, including today, I pray that God keep us of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  I’m a little selfish in this prayer.  I know that this church family experienced a horrible split some number of years ago, before I was called here, and I just don’t want to see anything like that happen again.  I don’t want to see disagreements tear us apart.

We’re a family, and like any family, we’re going to have our little disagreements and squabbles.  It’s just going to happen because we’re all human.  But if we do as Jesus says and act out of love, we can work through the squabbles and still live in harmony with one another.  Our disagreements don’t have to divide us and tear us apart.

In closing, I’d like us to hear what the Apostle Peter has to say on getting along with each other.  This comes from his 1st letter to the early church, the 3rd chapter, verses 8 through 12…

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will grant you His blessing. 10 For the Scriptures say,

“If you want to enjoy life

and see many happy days,

keep your tongue from speaking evil

and your lips from telling lies.

11 Turn away from evil and do good.

Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,

and His ears are open to their prayers.

But the Lord turns His face

against those who do evil.”

--1 Peter 3:8-12 (NLT)

There it is again: be of one mind, be like-minded, love each other.  Be tenderhearted and humble.  Don’t lash out in retaliation when someone does something that hurts you.  Instead, pray for them and ask for God to bless them.

And then Peter quotes King David, from his 34th Psalm, when he tells us to watch what we say.  That’s what it boils down to – be careful what we say.  Let’s not spread any gossip or unfounded rumors, or say anything bad about or to anyone.  We must search for, strive for, a peaceful solution to whatever it is that’s bothering us.  And we must remember that God watches over us and listens to us when we’re doing what He wants us to do, but not when we’re causing harm.

I might add to Peter’s warning that we not only must watch what we say to others, but we also need to be careful how we react to what someone may say to us.  It’s too easy to overreact, and then so very hard to overcome that reaction.  We can’t un-ring the bell.  We can’t un-say what has been said.

In both cases – before we speak and before we react to what is spoken – we need to pause and ask ourselves…  Are we acting in a loving manner?  Is our conduct worthy of the gospel of Christ?  Are we behaving as if we truly understood the message of the cross, or as if it is just foolishness?

Family, through His apostles and through His own words, our Lord implores us to live in harmony with each other.  Let us try with all our hearts to obey Him.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, You created Adam, and then You created Eve to be his companion, his wife, so he would not be alone.  And Father, almost from that very beginning, mankind has disagreed with one another, and oftentimes violently.  War has been prevalent throughout our history, with a few moments of peace scattered here and there.  But You, dear God, are still merciful to us, even in our disobedience.  Thank You, Father, for giving us chance after chance to get things right, for loving us even when we are unlovable.  Forgive us, please Father, when we don’t take the time or make the effort to try to get along with one another.  Forgive us when we don’t love as You love.  Please, loving Father, help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You command us to love others, and You showed us how to love in how You loved – unconditionally, without thought of personal gain, even when we’re not loved in return.  Jesus, You know that we cannot always live in harmonious times, but we can strive to live in harmony with one another, especially within Your church, within Your body left on earth.  Please help us get along.  Remind us to stop and think before we speak or react to what someone else might say.  Help us to always act in love, not in hatred or retaliation, but with kindness and mercy.  Help us to forgive as we are forgiven.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.