Being a disciple who knits!

We're reading from 1 Corinthians 1, verses 1-17.

1 Corinthians 1:1–17

Praise to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus,

that in every way you are enriched in him, in all speech, in all knowledge,

even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,

so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful by whom you are called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree,

and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarrelling among you, my brothers.

What I mean is that each of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ.

Is Christ divided?

Was Paul crucified for you?

Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.

I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.

Beyond that, I don't know whether I baptized anyone else.

But Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel,

and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Well, I may have lost my marbles, but I'm moving more fluidly than Joel is by the look of it.

Okay, well, it's nice to be back, I think.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to come back after having a FaceTime vision of what you did at camp.

Making fun of me, so I'm still to determine who actually was the instigator of that particular game.

I shall have a conversation with him sometime.

So I thought when I looked at it on FaceTime, it was absolutely brutal.

But then I thought afterwards, actually, no, there was heaps more that could have been said.

So I actually decided I got off rather lightly.

So thank you for being merciful to me in making fun of me at the same time.

Obviously, 13 weeks, 14 weeks, it turned into 26 weeks,

and we're going back for another stint after this month of April.

So, yeah, the Lord sort of swept aside our thing that we had planned for years in terms of local ministry.

He just seems to have swept that aside,

and we're in a totally different place to what we ever imagined ourselves to be,

and quite happily so.

And I just want to recognize that Alison has been a big part in that.

She's stood alongside me in ministry for 44 years.

And she's actually been encouraging me to stay longer.

What's happening out here needs your skills, is what she said.

So that's very generous over to me.

And it's very hard for her to do that sort of thing in a strange place.

So I'm particularly thankful for that.

The two congregations are small, but if they combine, which they're trying to do at the minute,

they get every chance of thriving.

So if we can keep the vision dominant of the enjoyment of being together

and the benefits of being together and stop people becoming process dominant,

that is, arguing about governance or what the style of church looks like,

then there's a good future.

And the two churches out there think I might be useful in helping that process

because while I know both the Presbyterian system and the Anglican system,

I'm not rusted on to either of them.

So that puts me in a position, they think, to be able to sort of, I don't know,

help them navigate or referee this time of change for them.

So, yeah, all right, we'll look at God's word now.

So, hmm.

Well, the question, as I always do to start, is,

is it possible to be married but to continue living as though you were a single person?

Now, sadly, we've got to answer that not only is it possible,

but it's actually very common these days.

A more personal question then to develop that.

Is it possible to be a Christian,

to be committed to this church family here

and yet live and act like a non-Christian?

Is it possible for us, speaking collectively now, corporately,

is it possible for us as a church family to be Christians,

to talk about Jesus, to pride ourselves on our Christian heritage

and still act collectively like non-Christians?

I think the answer must be yes.

And that's a scary answer.

And that answer, yes, is our point of connection into Paul's letter

to the Christians at Corinth.

The reality for the Christians at Corinth was

that they were being tutored more by the Corinthian culture all around them

than they were by Jesus and his word.

And the evidence of that was in the church.

They were Christians, and we'll see that.

Paul has no trouble at all in saying they're Christians.

But in the challenge of relationships in the church family,

they very quickly defaulted back to their old pre-Christian way of thinking

and acting towards one another.

Hence the title.

They were plugged into Jesus, but not switched on to Jesus.

It's just like a fan.

Imagine, just picture a fan, just a cooling fan.

It can be plugged into a PowerPoint,

but it actually is useless until it's switched on,

until the power flows through the fan

and enables the fan to do what the fan was created to do.

We've got to be plugged in and switched on to Jesus.

But let me pause for a moment and just say two things.

The next four Sundays are my last four sermons,

four periods of formal teaching after 24 years.

The elders wanted me to do some handover stuff,

some things, some pointers that I would urge the church family to

as I move out the door and others step up.

And I thought 1 Corinthians would be a really good way of doing that,

looking at this thought of how we can be plugged into Jesus,

but not switched on.

In other words, how we can be here,

but not actually useful, mature disciples of Jesus.

Second thing that I want to do is just step back into the background,

the backstory of the church at Corinth

before we jump into the details.

Corinth was a large, young,

absolutely booming city.

It was a melting pot of religions and philosophies and lifestyles.

It was said by the local writers of the time

that any pleasure, any vice or sexual perversion imaginable

could be found in Corinth.

That's the sort of cosmopolitan city it was.

Personal freedom was valued most of all

and meant that then any behaviour had to be deemed to be acceptable.

It's my freedom, it's my right.

I'm talking about a city some 2,000 years ago.

It sounds a little bit modern and familiar, doesn't it?

In among all that was a fledgling church,

probably only about five years old when Paul writes this letter back to them.

Acts tells us, Acts chapter 18 is the backstory,

Acts 18 · chapter mention

and you can go and read it.

It's a very interesting reading.

Paul was there for about 18 months,

getting the church set up and running.

But 18 months isn't very long.

And then Paul moved on to other fields,

and Apollos took over the pastoring of the church.

So, in this very strong Corinthian culture,

was this young church.

It's not surprising there, I think,

to discover heaps of serious issues in the church.

It's not too much to say this church

was almost dysfunctional

in terms of relationships,

and on a bigger level,

their credibility in the local city

was almost in tatters.

The people looking into the church

couldn't see any difference

between what was happening in the church

and what was happening out in society.

It was a mess.

The Corinthian culture was impacting,

and you'll see this if you read through the letter

of Corinthians 1 and 2,

it was impacting what they thought

was important in the church,

who were considered good leaders in the church.

What was appropriate sexual behavior

among individuals in the church?

What was their own view of personal freedom,

and how should you exercise freedom

in the context of a community?

Their rights,

their use of money.

What makes a person worthy of respect in the church?

How and when to get involved in the church,

and on what basis?

And so the list of problems,

you can read through,

and you can tease all those problems.

There was a bag full of problems.

The church was

a mess.

And it's into that relational dysfunction

that Paul introduces the key principle.

And this key principle underpins

everything else in this letter.

And it's such a simple principle,

and yet it seems so hard for us

to get a hold of it.

The principle is really simple.

It is, if you're following the outline,

you'll see it in front of you.

The principle is this.

Remember that in Christ,

you have it all.

In Christ, you have it all.

Paul was hurting for these believers.

He was their spiritual father.

And he was responding to a report

that things had fallen apart.

And they were pleading to Paul

for urgent help.

And when you think about

the dysfunctional mess

that Paul's speaking into,

and then the way in which

he engages the believers

at Corinth,

it's absolutely amazing.

Paul begins with an absolutely

extravagant description of them

in verse 2.

And remember,

as we start reading this text,

remember the dysfunctional mess

I've just described.

It's everywhere.

The place has just fallen apart.

And Paul says,

to the church of God

in Corinth,

to those sanctified

in Christ Jesus,

called to be saints,

together with all of those

who in every place

call upon the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

both their Lord and ours.

Grace,

and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's response

first utterance

into this dysfunctional mess.

Hey guys, remember,

you're the church of Christ.

You're died for people.

You're sanctified.

You're called

saints

in Christ.

God's special,

holy,

set apart people.

In other words,

Paul sent him,

remember guys,

you are a community

defined by Jesus,

defined by God's

saving work within you.

You have the most

incredible privilege

of being forgiven.

You've been made new

from the inside out.

You've been brought

into God's own family.

And you're brought

into fellowship

with Christians

everywhere across the world,

but especially there

in Corinth.

Paul wants them

to remember

and take on board

practically

that in Christ

they have it all.

And he follows through

with lots more detail

in verses 49.

Paul wants them

to remember

that in Christ

they were graciously

saved,

verse 4.

I give thanks

to my God

always for you.

Put that alongside

the dysfunctional mess

I've just described.

Isn't that quite

extraordinary?

because of the grace

he gives thanks

because of the grace

that was given you

in Christ Jesus

that in every way

you were enriched

in him.

Get that?

In every way

you were made rich

in him.

They have every blessing

imaginable.

What is every blessing

imaginable?

it's in there.

They've got the ability

to understand

the gospel

and they've responded

to the gospel.

They've been plugged

into Jesus.

What more is there

says Paul?

That's the secret

of light

and life.

and more than that

they've got the ability

to speak it to others.

Verse 6

they were the living

proof

testimony

about Jesus

was confirmed

to me.

They actually

were the living

proof

of the changing

power of the gospel.

people.

Verse 7

they lacked

nothing

by which

they need

or nothing

they needed

to live obediently

until Christ

returns.

And verses 8

and 9

who will sustain

you

the same Jesus

who will sustain

you to the end

guiltless

in the day

of our Lord Jesus.

Again

get that

against the

dysfunctional mess

these people

were making

and continue

to make

guiltless

in the day

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful

by whom you were

called

into the fellowship

of his son

Jesus Christ

our Lord.

In other words

in spite of

all the mess

that's all around you

that you're causing

actively

says to these

Christians

these believers

the Lord Jesus

himself

would keep you

to the end

why?

Because that's

what God

does

it was

God who

called you

to himself

sovereignly

in the first

place

and promised

to keep you

for eternal

life.

Now

why have I

labored that?

Because friends

we ought to be

so encouraged

by

and drawn

to

Paul's

grace

based

approach

to this

church.

There were

serious problems

in the church

divisions

immorality

power struggles

but Paul's

reminding them

those struggles

actually

while they're

real

do not

define them

as believers.

they're the

church

says Paul

not because

you got

everything

right

or are

getting

everything

right

but because

the Lord

has started

a wonderful

work of

total renovation

through his

spirit

in your

midst

and he

will

complete it.

my friends

it's just a

very practical

problem for

it is so

often

we lose

sight of

our standing

in Christ.

When we

come under

pressure

when our

relationships

come under

pressure

what do we

do?

We immediately

toss out

gospel categories.

We might be

gospel shaped

for years

and then

pressure

comes on

and suddenly

we turf

out gospel

shape

and we

revert back

to the old

pre-Christian

way of

thinking and

doing things

and relating

to one

another

and it

just causes

carnage.

We lose

sight of

our standing

in Christ

and all

the blessings

that are

ours to

be enjoyed

the blessings

that we

need

to be

mature in

Christ

to be

different

in this

world.

we

already

have

them

in

Christ

but we

lose

that

because

we

become

focused

on

our

failings

and

shortcomings

things.

It's

so interesting

to me

and it's

been a

model I've

tried

you can be

the judge

of how

successful

I've

been

but it's

a model

I've tried

to have

all my

ministry

years.

Paul doesn't

rip into

these believers

when they get

it so badly

wrong.

He doesn't

rip into

them in

anger.

He doesn't

say what a

hopeless bunch

of losers

you are.

I'm out of

here.

He doesn't

seek to

shame

them

in their

stupidity.

He doesn't

seek to

intimidate

them into

just doing

the right

thing because

of what

will look

good.

He doesn't

seem to

manipulate

them or

threaten

them.

He doesn't

withdraw

support of

them as

a strategy

to put

pressure on

them to

do the

right

thing.

Paul will

have nothing

of that

sort of

approach.

It's

always,

hey,

remember

who you

are in

Christ.

That's

what you

need to

think about

at this

stage.

Paul's

confident

that if

only they

can understand

their new

identity in

Christ,

then they'll

overflow with

the right

connections from

that, right

thinking, right

desires, right

actions.

All of those

things that

reflect their

new grace-based

life.

things that

are

going to

apply to

the right

principle

practically in

verses 10

to 7.

It applies

it to the

relational

dysfunction.

Verse 10,

11 puts

the spotlight

on a

very serious

problem in

the church.

It says,

verse 10,

I appeal to

you,

brothers,

by the

name of

our Lord

Jesus

Christ.

There's

that grace-based

approach again,

that all of

you agree and

that there be no

divisions among

you, but that

you be united in

the same mind

and the same

judgment.

The serious

problem is this.

There's some

sort of major

disconnect in

these Christians,

as I said

before,

plugged in but

not switched

on.

They were not

living as

people who

have it all

in Jesus.

Internal

fights,

bickering,

had caused

them to

splinter into

hostile,

competing

factions.

Verse 12,

it seems so

innocuous and

yet so profound

in the church.

Division seems

to have arisen

out of

seemingly

harmless

loyalties.

Look at

verse 12.

What I mean

is that

each of you

says,

and here's

the seemingly

harmless

loyalties,

I follow

Paul,

or I

follow

Apollos,

or I

follow

Cephas,

or the

super-spiritual

ones saying,

well I don't

follow any

person,

I just get

my orders

direct from

Jesus.

It seems

harmless,

doesn't it?

It's just

human nature.

To warm

to one

personality

more than

another

personality.

To warm

to one

style of

teaching

more than

another

style of

teaching.

To engage

with one

person over

a longer

period of

time than

another

person.

But what

happened here

was that

this seemingly

harmless

loyalty,

as people

promote the

various

teachers who

had featured

in the

life of

the

church.

But it

turned into

rivalry,

which turned

into

hostility,

which turned

into competition,

as their

preferences and

loyalties

became reasons

to break

fellowship with

those who

thought differently,

and perhaps to

stand in judgment

over them.

Well,

obviously,

we,

our group,

has actually

got it better

than your

group.

My friends,

what started

with seemingly

harmless

loyalties

ended up

in civil

war in

the local

church family.

And you've

got to scratch

your head and

think,

how the heck

did we get

to there?

How the heck

did we get

to there?

How the heck

did we get

to there?

And Paul

responds firmly

because it's a

serious threat

to the community

of believers.

His challenge,

again,

is to live

as the grace-based

people you are.

He makes

three points

in these

verses,

and bear with

me,

it's not going

to take too

long.

I just said

that especially

for Sarah.

It tells me

not to apologize.

Paul appeals

for agreement.

Renewed

unity

in both

mind and

action.

New determination

to handle

differences of

opinion and

preferences in

a way that

demonstrates their

deep unity in

Christ.

You look at

verse 10,

this is where

the knitting

bit comes in.

I appeal to

you,

brothers,

by the name

of our Lord

Jesus Christ

that all of

you agree

and that there

be no divisions

among you,

but that you

be united

in the same

mind and

the same

judgment.

In the Greek,

that word united

there is the

word,

it's like

knitting,

that you be

knitted together.

And it's

probably a

medical term

where a

bone is

broken and

when properly

set,

so I've read,

hopefully the

medicals here

aren't going to

jump up and

disagree with me,

disagree with me

afterwards,

just let me in

my own little

world in the

minute.

But apparently

when a bone

is properly

set and

knits together

again properly,

then that

knitted together

joint is

actually stronger

than the

original bone.

That's the

picture that

Paul's saying

here.

Bickering in

the church,

says Paul,

is like having

a broken bone.

And we all

know what

happens if we

have a

displaced fracture

and we

ignore it.

It can

cause serious

deformity,

or in the

worst case,

it can cause

death if

sepsis gets

in.

So Paul's

saying,

look, we

just can't

ignore a

broken bone.

We can't

leave it

unattended.

It will

cause infection,

it will cause

pain, it will

cause disfigurement,

it will cause

the destruction

of the church

family.

Now, given

that we're all

sinfully self

interested at

some point,

or many

points, it's

impossible to

imagine in a

community like

this that we

will avoid

relational breaks.

They will

happen.

Far more than

we want them to

happen, but they

will happen.

Paul's point is

that when they

do occur,

then every

effort needs

to be made

to ensure

they're healed

properly,

properly knitted

together again,

and even

stronger,

therefore, than

the original

connection.

My friends,

here's where it

starts to become

really practical.

Every person

here,

knitting's often

seen to be the

domain of old

women, but I'm

telling you this

morning, every

person here,

men, women,

boys and girls,

every one of us

need to be

master knitters.

if the future

of this church

is going to be

guaranteed.

We need to be

passionate about

healing relational

dysfunction,

properly healing

relational

dysfunction.

We must be

passionate in

choosing not to

live with

permanent relational

pain, permanent

relational

disfigurement.

the pathway to

true healing

simply to

express

practically who

we are in

Christ.

We already

have deep

unity in

Christ.

Being

passionate to

maintain,

protect, and

build up deep

unity in

Christ is what

will make you

the most useful

and mature

disciple you

can be in

this church

family.

And that's one

of the things I

want to say to

you all as I

sort of am out

the back door.

You want to be

useful?

I hope you do

want to be

useful in this

church family.

Well, be a

relational

knitter.

Don't live with

relational

disfigurement.

we're just in

the process of

combining two

churches in

Weewa.

The biggest

issue I'm

going to be

dealing with

when I go

back for the

next ten

weeks is a

whole raft of

relational

dysfunction.

People move

from the

present church

to Anglin

because of

broken

relationships and

vice versa.

And it's all

coming to the

surface.

It's all

coming to the

We must be

knitters.

You must be

a knitter.

It's not the

elder's job.

It's your job.

Well, it's not

only their job.

Sorry.

It's your job.

Not only is it

a threat to the

congregation, but

even worse than

that, failure to

be passionate about

healing and

relational

dysfunction ends

up making a

mockery of

the changing

power of the

gospel.

And the

church just

becomes like

the rest of

the world.

Another place

of rival

factions and

vicious attack.

Well, the

second thing

then Paul says

to the

believers in

Corinth is

major in the

majors.

Keep Christ

and salvation

issues central.

Paul throws

up three

questions in

verse 13.

Very profound

questions and

yet very simple

questions.

Is Christ

divided?

You guys

have managed to

make it appear

as if he

divided.

You've got

now all these

different factions

all claiming to

be followers of

Christ and yet

not talking to

each other or not

relating to each

other.

Is Christ

divided?

Is Christ

divided?

Was Paul

crucified for

you perhaps?

You've given

absolute loyalty

to Paul or

Cephas or

Apollo or

somebody else.

Are they the

ones who are

responsible for

you being here

now in new

life?

Or perhaps

you were

baptized into

the name of

Paul.

And Paul

then goes into

a little bit of

discourse.

pretty blunt

point isn't

it that Paul

makes here?

Remember

your

indebtedness

for all the

help that

Paul or

Cephas or

Apollo or

any of the

other leaders

or any of

the other

pastors for

all the help

they've been to

you in your

Christian walk.

Perhaps they

were the one

who introduced

you to Christ

in the first

place.

And that's a

wonderful thing

but for all of

that,

your

indebtedness

for your

new life

belongs to

Christ.

And remember

that when you

were baptized

you weren't

Paul may have

baptized you

or Cephas or

Apollos but you

weren't pledging

loyalty to them

when you were

baptized.

You were making

a statement to

the whole world

in the church

community of

your loyalty

to Jesus

Christ.

I'm thanking

him that

he's washed

you and

made you

clean.

The

identity,

the personal

gifts of

the baptizer,

the emphasis

of the

baptizer,

totally irrelevant

says Paul.

Paul wanted a

following for

Christ,

not himself.

And my

friends,

I tell you,

I've lived long

enough to say

that too many

pastors,

yep, I'm

talking about

pastors,

too many

pastors I

think have

sought to

build a

following for

themselves.

And I

trust that

that's not

been the

case here

for me.

That would

be the

worst thing

anybody could

say to

me, I

think,

is that

Father,

would you

just

sought to

build a

following

for

yourself?

And

verse 17,

Paul says,

For Christ

did not send

me to

baptize,

but to

preach the

gospel,

not with

words of

eloquent

wisdom,

lest the

cross of

Christ be

emptied of

its power.

Remember,

says Paul,

it's Christ's

mission that

you're engaged

in.

What was I

sent to

do?

Not to

big note

myself,

but to

serve

Christ.

And it

says to

these

believers,

your

responsibility

is to

promote the

lordship of

Christ.

And when

you promote

the lordship

of Christ,

you can't

promote your

own lordship

at the same

time.

It's that

simple.

You can't

promote your

own preferences,

your own

understanding.

Those sorts

of things

actually undermine

the gospel,

undermine the

lordship and

the focus

on Christ.

Friends,

if we're

practically aware

of who we

are in

Christ,

then we'll

be able to

keep first

things first.

We'll be able

to measure on

the measures

and keep the

minors in the

place where they

ought to be in

the minor.

And that

will promote

unity rather

than difference.

Third and

final thing

then,

think harmony,

not unison.

Promote unity

in the context

of diversity.

Now,

when you look

at verse 10,

it's very clear

that it's not

saying that

every church

family,

every believer

in every church

family should

agree absolutely

on every single

issue.

I don't think

it's saying

that at all.

But it does

demand that

the differences

should not

leave to

strife and

division.

Paul,

Peter,

Apollos,

they all had

absolute

identical convictions

about the

necessity for

somebody to be

saved and how

they're saved

through the

Lord Jesus

Christ by

grace alone.

But undoubtedly,

three different

personalities had

three different

approaches to

teaching.

Perhaps even

three different

emphases.

Well,

we know there

are three

different

emphases in

teaching on

things other

than the

actual means

and pathway

of salvation.

They had

different

emphases,

no doubt,

in terms of

how things

should be done

in the church.

I have said

to you this

morning that

such differences

are normal

within a

community like

this,

especially a

larger community.

Because all

the time we're

looking at

biblical principles

and we're

trying to work

out how do

we apply those

biblical principles

faithfully into

a changing

cultural setting.

And that's a

legitimate thing

to struggle with.

But here's the

problem.

When one

Christian or one

group of

Christians push

their preference

as the only

godly option

for how things

should be done

and refuse to

allow legitimate

differences in

viewpoint where

legitimate

differences in

viewpoint might

actually legitimately

be held.

That was a

very clumsy

sentence,

wasn't it?

But I got

there in the

end.

Then when we

do that,

harmony has

been sacrificed

for uniformity.

Uniformity,

we all have to

just be vanilla

flavoured.

Harmony is

we get a

whole range of

colours and

flavours,

but we stand

united.

holding our

convictions

strongly and

interacting with

others who

hold different

convictions

strongly where

those different

convictions are

legitimate.

See,

uniformity,

and I've

seen it in

churches,

uniformity is

where every

believer has

to have the

same viewpoint

before they

can be accepted

as serious

minded Christians.

And unfortunately,

uniformity,

as I've observed

it,

has always been

imposed from

the top down

by heavy-handed

leadership.

But true

unity is

expressed in

diversity.

That's when

you have

harmony.

Now,

hear me

carefully.

There needs

to be fundamental

agreement on

salvation issues.

But beyond

that,

there are

legitimate

issues where

legitimate

differences might

be held

and debated.

Different

ideas about

how we might

do church.

Different

ideas about

what projects

this church

family should

follow into

the future.

These are

things that the

elders will

call you to

contribute to

and perhaps

make suggestions

to.

And there

will range.

Some of them

will be quite

out there.

One

personality

or preacher

will engage

you much

more easily

than another

personality.

Some of you

will be saying,

well, it's nice

to have

Calderwood back

and others

will be saying,

oh, gosh,

why can't we

have Dave

Bott up the

front as

normal or

whatever.

That's the

way it

works.

others

won't always

see your

viewpoint with

the same

passion that

you see it.

But here's

the rub from

1 Corinthians

as I understand

it.

Those

differences are

legitimate,

but what's

never right is

to dig a

trench based

on your

differences.

to withdraw

from people

based on your

differences.

To refuse

to join

fully in the

life of this

congregation

because that's

not how I

see it at

this point.

And worst

of all,

even to go

to war

with the

church family.

Maybe it

seems extreme,

but I tell you,

I've seen it.

I suspect most

of you here

have seen it

too.

legitimate

differences

should never

determine the

existence and

quality of

relationship.

And here's

putting this

positive now.

Hopefully it

hasn't been too

negative, but it

needs to be said

the way it was

said.

If we turn that

around now, if

we discuss our

differences and

debate them while

keeping our focus

on Christ,

then what

happens is that

we actually

enjoy helping

one another

better understand

God's word.

That can't be a

bad thing, can

it?

There's nothing to

fear in that,

is there?

And we remain

united and avoid

bitter strife

and division at

the same time.

Now friends,

as I wrap up now,

I have to say

this, I'm so

glad that the

Lord has

preserved us

from these

types of deep

division and

disunity that

was evident in

the church in

Corinth.

But hear this

equally, we are

not immune to

such developments.

And I tell you,

they can just

spring up

overnight.

we need to be

careful and

vigilant,

especially in

times of

change like

our church

family is

experiencing

currently.

A raft of

new elders,

me stepping

out after 24

years, others

stepping up.

All the seeds

are there

for people to

start saying,

I wish it

was like

the good

old days.

I wish

colder was

it was

back.

I wish

this, I

wish that.

I'm not

happy with

this, I'm

not happy

with that.

What a

tragedy, this

next point

might seem

self-promoting

but I'm

trying to use

it as an

illustration.

What a

tragedy it

would be

if folk in

this congregation,

I'm looking at

you now, if

you were more

rusted onto

me than

rusted onto

Jesus.

That would

torpedo my

life ministry.

What a

tragedy it

would be if

your involvement

in this church

was just tied

to personalities

rather than

tied to

Jesus.

What a

tragedy it

would be if

your commitment

to being a

useful disciple

in this

family was

tied to,

again, a

personality.

I don't

like the

new regime

so I'm

going to

adopt a

passive-aggressive

commitment and

involvement.

friendship.

My friends, we

need to be

committed to

displaying the

reality that we

already have in

Jesus, a deep

unity, that we

might continue to

display the

changing power of

the gospel.

What a

tragedy it

would be if

moving into

the new

chapter of

life as this

church family,

all you could

do was find

fault with the

new elders.

elders.

Will they

fail you?

Of course they

will, just like

the last lot

did.

John and me

can testify only

too well to

that, can't

we?

Of course they'll

fail you, because

they were sinful

men when they

were appointed

elders, and

they will remain

sinful men until

the day they

die, or the

Lord comes to

take them

away.

Get alongside

them.

Support

them.

Encourage

them.

And if

necessary, challenge

them on the

basis of God's

word, and I

tell you, the

men that are

there will

welcome being

pushed back into

God's word.

That's their

nature, that's

their character,

that's why

they're there.

And value the

different personalities,

value the

different approaches,

and have this

harmony view.

Say, look, any

one of them by

themselves, like

just Coldward by

himself, would

really get up your

nose super quick.

when he's part of

a team, he's

tolerable.

He might

actually even be

helpful.

That's a

harmony expression.

Realistic and

harmonious.

In Christ, we

already have deep

unity.

We will always

have more in

common than we

have at odds.

Christ.

So let's be the

best disciples we

can be by

approaching every

relationship and

knowing who we

are in Christ.

Pray with me.

Please.

Lord, these words

are so easy to

hear in some ways.

They're not hard to

comprehend the

meaning of the text,

and yet so, so

difficult for us to

apply them

consistently.

Lord, help us.

Help us to be

relational knitters.

Help us to be