A Sample Sermon from Steve Jones

GOD’S SPIRITUAL STIMULUS PLAN – PEACE

INTRODUCTION:

Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.

Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.

Wouldn’t you like to get away?  Sometimes you want to go:

Where everybody knows your name; and they’re always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see; our troubles are all the same.

You wanna be where everybody knows your name.

 You wanna go where people know; people are all the same.

You wanna go where everybody knows your name.

You may recognize those lyrics and that tune as the theme song from the long-running television show “Cheers.”  “Cheers” revolved around a group of friends who hung out at a bar in Boston.  The lyrics speak to the yearning to have a retreat where we can escape from the stress and hostility that characterizes so much of our lives.  We need a place where we can be known and accepted by a loving group of family and friends where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came; a place of peace. People do, indeed seek that refuge in bars and clubs, and maybe they find it there, to a certain degree.  But my contention is that God designed the church to fill that need in our lives.  It is the church that SHOULD be the place where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.  The church should be our refuge of peace.

I’m in a sermon series entitled God’s Spiritual Stimulus Plan in which we’re identifying the provisions God has made to keep our spirits strong even if our circumstances are challenging or painful.  In previous sermons we’ve already talked about God’s provision of the church where we have relationships that are gospel partnerships and spiritual friendships.  We’ve also talked about the spiritual champions that God brings into our lives to encourage and strengthen us.  The church is indeed a peaceful refuge…MOST of the time.  However, believe it or not, interpersonal conflict can erupt EVEN in the church. It was true in the days of Jesus and it’s true in our day as well.  In this message I want to talk about what we can all do to MAINTAIN the peace of the church that is so essential to our spiritual well being.  I’m NOT addressing a current problem.  Ours is a very united and harmonious congregation.  What we’re doing today is called PREVENTATIVE maintenance.  We’ve got a good thing going here and we want to keep it that way, right?  Right!

I. PEACE BREAKERS

Philippians 4:2 “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other”

Can’t we all just get along?  What was the problem between these two women?  We’re not actually told.  Maybe they were just grumpy because they each had been given such burdensome names.  How many “Euodias” and “Syntyches” do we have here this morning?  Let me suggest some of the common reasons for conflict in the church. 

One reason Christians don’t always get along is sin.  When someone in the church is living in open rebellion to God’s Word then that causes problems.  The New Testament records an example of this in the Corinthian Church. In that case, a man was living in sexual immorality with a woman, meaning they weren’t married.  Not only that but it was the man’s own stepmother to boot.  And yet, they were “members” of the Corinthian church.  Paul told the church to take a stand against that sin and expel them from the church until they repented (I Corinthians 5).  That action caused some friction in the church; it wasn’t easy, but sin will do that.  And sexual immorality is just one kind of sin.

Another reason Christians don’t always get along is honest disagreement over methodology or Bible interpretation.  In Acts 15 we read that Paul and Barnabas disagreed over whether or not to take John Mark along with them on their second missionary journey.  Luke records “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company”  (Acts 15:39).  As far as I can tell this wasn’t a sin issue.  Neither of these men was out of harmony with God’s will.  They simply didn’t agree on who should be on the mission team.  There can be honest disagreements over who should do what in the church and how it should be done and that can lead to friction.

ILLUSTRATION: Maybe we moved here from up north and we’re not used to the way they do church down here in the South.

You Know You're in a Redneck Church if...

-The finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.

-People ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the 5000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish, and what bait was used to catch 'em.

-When the preacher says, "I'd like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering," five guys and two women stand up.

-Opening day of gator season is recognized as an official church holiday.

-A member of the church requests to be buried in his 4-wheel-drive truck because "It ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of." 

-The choir is known as the "OK Chorale."

-In a congregation of 500 members, there are only seven last names in the church directory.

-People think "rapture" is what you get when you lift something too heavy.

-The baptismal pool is a #2 galvanized "Wheeling" washtub.

-The choir robes were donated by, (and embroidered with the logo from), Fat-Boy’s Barbecue.

-The collection plates are really hubcaps from a '56 Chevy.

-The final words of the benediction are, "Y'all come back now, Ya hear."

Sometimes the reason that Christians don’t get along with each other is just plain old personality conflict.  I can’t prove it but my suspicion is that this was the problem between Euodia and Syntyche.  Paul doesn’t mention a sin-issue, a doctrinal issue or any issue at all, so I think maybe they just had a personality clash going on. 

I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.  Exactly why, I cannot tell. 

But this one thing I know full well.  I do not like thee Dr. Fell. 

I know that as a preacher I’ve irritated people in all of these ways and more.  Over the years I’ve had people get mad at me because I preached against certain sins, because of my methodology and because of my personality.  The first two I can understand but…my personality?  What’s not to like?

ILLUSTRATION:  I’m like Harry Truman on the campaign trail in 1948.  Truman asked a man how he intended to vote.  The man said, “Mr. Truman, I wouldn’t vote for you if you were the only person running.”  Truman turned to an aide and said, “Put that man down as undecided.” 

My point right here is that these things happen.  Conflict happens even in the church.  Baptism doesn’t automatically make people nice or easy to get along with.  In fact, some of us act like we were baptized in vinegar and weaned on a dill pickle.  “From hound-dog disciples and sour-faced saints spare us oh Lord.”   So, let’s get on with the business of learning how to keep the peace in the church.

II. PEACE MAKER

Philippians 4:2-3 “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.”

The first step of making peace is to admit the need.  There is a need for those of us who are “in the Lord” to have peace with one another.  This conflict had a negative effect on the entire church, and we could talk about that, but I want to focus on the effect it was having on the two women themselves.  As long as each woman was not a peace with her sister in the Lord, she would find her own inner peace compromised.  Can’t you envision Euodia as she bows her head to have a quiet time of prayer only to find that she can’t?  She senses the futility of prayer offered by one with anger in her heart.  Can’t you see Syntyche trying to meditate upon the Lord’s Supper on Sunday but instead of picturing Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross all she can picture is Euodia’s offense against her?  When we’re in conflict with a brother or sister in the church we often surrender one blessing after another and we eventually forfeit our peace.  We NEED to make peace.

The second step of making peace is to recognize that the basis for our peace is Jesus Christ himself. 

Ephesians 2:14ff “For (Jesus) himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.  He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” 

That passage was written about the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles by the cross of Christ, but it applies to the reconciliation of any groups or individuals who are at odds with each other.  Jesus is the greatest peacemaker of all time.  To become a Christian is to enter into a peace treaty with God and a peace treaty with every one of his Christian children.  The cross has a vertical beam and a horizontal beam.  The crucifixion of Jesus reconciled us vertically to God and horizontally to each other.  Is the anger to which we hold more important to us than the blood of Jesus?  Is the resentment that we feel more powerful than his sacrifice on the cross?  Is the injustice that we suffered so much greater than the injustice we committed against God and for which Jesus died?  The inability to forgive and make peace with a brother or sister in Christ is oftentimes a sign that we have never comprehended that WE ourselves were justly condemned death-row inmates who let Jesus take our place in the execution and then accepted full pardon from God.  Once we know that, or are reminded of that, forgiveness and reconciliation with our fellow pardoned inmates is not quite so unrealistic. 

ILLUSTRATION:  You’ve heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys.  Their names have become synonymous with the word feud.  It’s said the feud of the Hatfields and the McCoys started over a stolen pig.  Before it was over, fifteen lives had been claimed over a period of thirty-three years.  The turning point in the feud came on a cool clear day in 1911 when Devil Anse Hatfield, at the age of 72, went forward at the invitation in a Revival meeting and was baptized in the cold clear waters of Island Creek.  Afterwards, preacher Dyke Garret claimed to be the “man who baptized the devil.”  Historian Keith Davis writes that the baptism not only helped end the feud, but impacted generations of Hatfields and other families throughout the region.  According to friends and neighbors, Devil Anse spent the last ten years of his life in peace, knowing that his sins were washed away in the cool waters of that stream.  His death of pneumonia at the age of 81 was followed by the largest funeral ever held in Logan County, drawing several thousand people.  They say some of the mourners even bore the name “McCoy.” 

III.  PEACE PARTNERS

Philippians 4:3 “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.”          

Paul not only wrote to Euodia and Syntyche pleasing with them to agree in the Lord, he also wrote to his “loyal yokefellow”, probably the preaching evangelist at the Philippian church, and Clement, and the rest of the congregation to help these women reconcile.  Maintaining our little island of peace is everybody’s business, from the preacher, to the elders to every last member of the congregation.  We are all PARTNERS in keeping the peace.  What can we do to encourage peace and help create a climate and culture of peace in the church?

First, be humble and tolerant about Biblical interpretation.  One of our slogans is: “In matters of faith unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; and in all things LOVE.”  That’s a great slogan and goes a long way to creating a culture of peace.  Just because we disagree on a point of interpretation doesn’t mean we have to go to war or one of us has to leave the church. 

Secondly, be quick to make peace and eat humble pie.  Wayne Smith preached at the Southland Christian Church in Lexington Kentucky for forty years.  I went to hear him at a minister’s retreat and he said “Men, I don’t apologize for Jesus or the Bible, but I apologize for Wayne Smith almost every week.” 

Thirdly, always try to support the elders, deacons and ministers on the leadership team.  Without united leadership we’re all in trouble.

Fourthly, be patient with each other. 

Ephesians 4:2-3 “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.”

ILLUSTRATION: It was the first snow of winter - an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers.  A little girl had managed to get into her itchy wool snow pants but struggled with her jacket because it didn’t fit well.  It was a hand-me-down from her brother.  Finally it was time to have the teacher help her with her boots.  She handed teacher her boots and stuck out her foot.  Like most children, she expected the adult to do all the work.  After much wiggling and pushing, she managed to get the first one into place and then, with an audible sigh, worked the second one on too.  The little girl announced, "They're on the wrong feet."  With the grace that only experience can bring, teacher struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.  The girl said, "These aren't my boots, you know."  As teacher pulled the offending boots from her feet, she still managed to look both helpful and interested.  Once they were off the girl said, "They're my brother's boots.  My mother makes me wear them, and I hate them!"  Somehow, from long years of practice, teacher managed to act as though she wasn't an annoying little girl.  She pushed and shoved, less gently this time, and the boots were returned to their proper place on the girl’s feet.  With a great sigh or relief, seeing the end of her struggle, teacher asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" The girl looked into her eyes and said, "I didn't want to lose them, so I stuffed them into the toes of my boots."  PATIENCE, people, patience.