Bridgeway Community Church
Pastor Dr. David Anderson
October 17, 2021
HIGH FIVE!
Mighty in Fit
INTRODUCTION
Today is the end of a five-week series: High Five! from Ephesians chapter 4.
Mighty in Function (v. 11-12)
- We talked about using your “Best gifts for the greatest ”
Mighty in Faith (v.13a)
- We talked about God using spiritual leaders (five-fold ministry) to heavily influence Your spiritual maturity.
Mighty in Fullness (v.13b)
- We talked about filling our spiritual buckets by adding 7 beautiful qualities from 2 Peter 1:3-8
Mighty in Fortitude (v.14-15)
- We talked about spiritual maturity weakening spiritual flimsiness & strengthening our spiritual fortitude
TODAY – Mighty in Fit (v.16)
SERMON IN A SENTENCE:
- Spiritual connection & spiritual covering gives us a sense of spiritual comfort and calm.
The anointing of God flows through the authority and through alignment.
Psalm 133:1-3 ESV
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
“It’s a picture of the unity within the body flowing because it’s in alignment under the headship and authority.”
“The idea is that the dew [v.3] is covering the mountain in the morning and that covering is a sense of peace, a sense of calm, a sense of newness…”
“We see that when there is connection, when there is covering, when there is authority, and when there is alignment within it, it brings blessing (v. 3)…”
O.I.L. stands for Order In Life or Order In the Lord
Disorder brings chaos, confusion, and discomfort.
“Some of us, that’s exactly what we need…the dew of God, the freshness of God that covers us and that comes back to us when it feels like life has burned everything away. When it feels like we’ve gone through the most difficult time, because life brings that…but in the morning, there is that new dew.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV84
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Hence, God’s favorite soda is Mountain Dew. 🙂
Spiritual connection & spiritual covering gives us a sense of spiritual comfort and calm.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV84
11 “It was he who gave some to be the apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
There are 5 Key OBSERVATIONS from verse 16 that describe God’s alignment for his church.
THE SOURCE – (“From him” v.16)
Jesus Christ is the HEAD (The source)!
“The source of our unity, the source of our connection, the source of the oil coming down from the head to the beard to the robe, the source of the dew that covers our lives is Jesus Christ. He is the head of the church. The church is not only FOR him, the church is FROM him.”
THE SUM – (“The Whole Body” v.16)
1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV84
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
“No part is more important than another one. Just because some are more prominent, it doesn’t mean their more important.”
Paul says in Colossians 2 that religiously legalistic people have lost their connection to the head of the body, Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:18-19 NIV84
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
THE STITCH (“Joined & Held Together” v.16)
“God is the one that stitches us together as a body. Blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, males, females, children, adults, seniors – we’re all a part of one body.”
“It’s not blending in cultures to the degree that you can’t see distinction. It the beauty of the distinction that are fitted together…that makes the body of Christ work. The Holy Spirit is the one who keeps us together.”
“Some parts are joined together. Some parts have to be held together…Jesus is the glue that holds us together.”
When we were going through the George Floyd aftermath season in our country, as a church, we had to “hold things together” as a church as we addressed the race issue in America.
There are times in our lives, in our country, in our homes where we have to “hold things together.”
“We’ve gotta remind each other what’s most important and that’s our unity in Christ. But that doesn’t mean you don’t address when the stitch begins to come apart…you still have to address it…to hold it together.”
- You’ve gotta hold that family together
- You’ve gotta hold that marriage together
- You’ve gotta hold that mind together
- You’ve gotta hold that ministry together
“The stresses and strains on the body of Christ can challenge the unity of the faith, but we are Followers of Christ United in the Spirit. Let’s stick together.”
“True unity isn’t masked by false kumbayas and moments where you just forget that there is any problem. It’s about addressing and attaining healing for offenses and injuries, and righting of wrongs. That’s where the healing come from!”
True unity comes from forgiveness, and what I call “For-graceness – Doing Good to Those who’ve Hurt you”
THE SUPPORT – (“Every Supporting Ligament” v.16)
Ligaments are the unpresentable parts (1 Cor. 12:24) that serve, sight unseen.
1 Corinthians 12:22-24 NIV84
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it
“People who are serving in the church, serving on your job, serving in your family who may not be the ones that are most prominent, make a true difference to keep things moving. That’s what ligaments do.”
What is a ligament?
A ligament is connective tissue that ties bone to bone A tendon is connective tissue that ties muscle to bone
Colossians 2:19 CSB
He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.
“Each of us ought to be like a ligament within the body. The ligaments are the supporting mechanisms that allow our limbs to connect and operate smoothly.”
“Do you know what attacks those joints? Arthritis!…When people act like arthritis by wrongly accusing and attacking other parts of the body, it causes pain.”
“Christ is the head, yes, but we are the body. In other words, Christ is the head that commands us, but we are the hands and the feet of Christ. God desires not only to work in us, but to work through us in the world.”
Matthew 25:40 NIV84
[Jesus speaking] The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:40 NIV84
[Jesus speaking] “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Jesus is saying, ‘I am the head but I am working through you to effect the earth.’ We are Christ’s hands and feet and we are the body of Christ, the connective tissue that allows the grace of God to move throughout the earth.”
Without the support systems in the church, there is no accounting of offerings, operating of facilities, bathrooms, tents, lights, air control, parking, children’s ministry, etc.
“It takes a unified operation for the church not only to produce and execute a service, but also to serve the community.”
THE SURGE – (“Grows and builds itself up in love” v.16)
“As churches grow in grace, they oughta surge in love. God wants us to be a place of love.”
John 3:16 NIV84
[Jesus speaking] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Quote: Love is the central measuring rod of Christianity. This is why our vision is:
“To be a multicultural body of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who are moving forward in unity and LOVE to reach our community, our culture, and our world for Jesus Christ!”
2 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
1. Commit to being a great ligament
Being a connective tissue that holds things and people together within the our church.
Altar Prayer Team Care Ministry
You can become a great ligament by becoming an official partner of Bridgeway. Becoming an official partner is one of the 30 mature & mighty challenges to help you grow this year! Go to Bridgway.cc/thirty and click that challenge to join.
4 promises every partner makes at Bridgeway:
- I will PROTECT THE UNITY of my church
- Refuse to gossip, tear people down, or talk negatively about others
- Work to bring reconciliation when possible
- I will SHARE IN THE RESPONSIBILITY of my church
- With giving and serving and talents and time
- I will SERVE THE MINISTRY of my church
- I will SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY of my church
Question: What is keeping you from partnering with us this year?
Become a supporting ligament through serving & giving
Your time, talents, and treasures are a great support for keeping us held together Some of you are already great ligaments and strong in your support.
- You attend church
- You give your offerings You volunteer your service
- You encourage our staff, clergy, me, and my family THANK YOU!
500 of you are already engaged in the Mature & Mighty 30 Challenges!
2. COMMIT TO GROWING IN YOUR LOVE
John 13:34-35 NIV84
[Jesus speaking to the disciples] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
“Our Christianity is defined by our love, not by our theological positions or our philosophical positions or by our preferences or our passion. All those things are important but love beyond your position!”
There is nowhere in scripture that says, if someone disagrees with your biblical view, then you don’t have to love them anymore. There is nowhere in scripture that says, if someone has a different lifestyle than what the scripture lifts up as ideal and normative, then you don’t have to love them.
Listen friends, we must “Treat all others as sisters and brothers”
“I wanna challenge you that your brothers and your sisters are beyond the body of Christ. You have brothers and sisters within Christianity, but you also have brothers and sisters within humanity.”
“ ‘I don’t know if I agree with that pastor.’ That’s the problem! When you treat all others like sisters and brothers it changes the way you relate, but when you treat them as ‘those who are out there’ it also gives you a sense of superiority, exclusion. God is trying to include people.”
Is this in scripture?
Matthew 25:40 NIV84
[Jesus speaking] The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“He talked about the poor, he talked about people out on the street, people who need to be fed, people who need to be clothed, he said the least of these are my brothers and my sisters…within humanity…you have brothers and sisters… human brothers and sisters. If that’s the case treat them like that.”