Devoted To One Another

Introduction

I appreciate so much the worship we’ve already been able to engage in together, mutually serving God, praising Him, and uplifting our hearts together. I appreciate so much prayer Brother Rufus offered this morning, particularly his expression of concern to our Father about the tiny nation of Sri Lanka. You may have seen the news this morning of the bombings, and the last headline I saw was over 200 had been killed in the violence on their Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka’s churches and hotels were targeted. I heard the news this morning. I went through some of my things and have in my pocket a flag. The nation of Sri Lanka. That country means a lot to Deedra and myself. We’ve made trips there, preaching the gospel and trying to strengthen the brethren on that tiny island nation.

And I tell you, you’ll find no better people on earth than the sweet people of Sri Lanka. You find no brethren stronger, I believe, in their resolve to live the good Christian life. I’ve reached out to several of those brethren this morning. I haven’t been able to hear back from them. I trust and pray that they’re safe. The hotels and churches were targeted. One good thing about our brethren there that may help them, that they don’t worship in what we call traditional church buildings, and so I’m praying that they were not targeted uh in any of those attacks. Uh we watched on the news of one church building and one hotel that we were familiar with in the capital city of Columbo, and our heart breaks for those good people as it always does when evil rises its ugly head and tries to destroy goodness and tries to be an affront to the peace and the love that we ought to have in God.

So I appreciate that prayer, and I solicit your prayers for those good brethren. And if I hear from them, I’ll certainly let you know. I’d been planning recently a new a next trip to that nation. We’ll see what this violence does in regard to that trip, but I certainly solicit your prayers and concern for the good people of Sri Lanka and your brothers and sisters that live on that island. And I want to call a truce.

Because we’re to be one. We’re to be united. And so whether you fall into the camp demographically of those who are good looking, or whether you’re in Greg’s camp, I pray that we lay aside our differences and work together because our theme this year has been growing together. And in that theme that we’ve been focusing on, we put to the great extent the emphasis upon the idea of growing. And appropriately so. The New Testament has a lot to say about growth and growth as a Christian. But this morning I’d like for us to emphasize the last word of that theme, and that is together. That we’re to grow, but we are called upon to grow together and be together. The New Testament has equally as much to say about the idea of unity and togetherness and the love that ought to exist in the hearts of brethren.

You know, Christians are described by a lot of different terms in the New Testament, whether individually or corporally. And when we’re corporate, we think of terms such as the body. And when the church is referred to as the body, the emphasis seems to be on the idea of working together. That we all are supplying something to that body. Remember the passages in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, where the Holy Spirit through Paul talks about the different parts of the body all adding something up to the growth of that body, as he would say in the book of Ephesians, chapter 4. Sometimes we’re referred to as the kingdom of God. It’s easy to understand the emphasis in that description is that we are subjects in God’s rule.

That we have willingly submitted ourselves to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That we don’t just call him Lord Lord, but we do what he says. We’re sometimes referred to as the army. That means that there’s a fight, that we’re engaged in a spiritual warfare, and that we all have a role in the army of God. But the most common description of God’s people when viewed together is the idea of family. That we are a family. To that end, Paul in Romans 12, if you’re reading in the New American Standard Version, says that we are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. I want to talk about that concept this morning of you and I as brothers and sisters. And what it means to be in a family, and what it means when we’re commanded as a family and members of the same family, that we are to be devoted to one another.

1. The Concept of Family

First, let’s just talk about the concept of family. You fall into one of two different camps. You may be the fortunate that your physical, earthly family may be wonderful. You may be blessed as I was to have good godly parents who were both Christians and to the best I believe of their ability tried to serve God. And they taught me and my brothers to do the same. They loved one another. They were patient. Now they weren’t perfect. But they loved one another and were patient and kind. I had brothers that, although at times we tried to kill one another, for the most part, we liked one another. Me and my one living brother, we love one another and would do anything for the other.

That the best of your family experience is what God is trying to portray when he likens us to a family. And so you have a model. You know what it’s supposed to look like and act like and to be like.

Literally wanted to kill each other. What if your family is just a mess? Then you have the blessing and the benefit of having a replacement for that. For having not the family that you grew up in physically and earthly, but in having a spiritual family that will do for you what your physical family could not or would not. That you have a heavenly father who’s perfect in every way, who James says every good and every perfect gift comes down from that father above.

Who waited for his son’s return. And I believe by implication in that story was not just waiting, but was longing and maybe even looking. As every parent who’s had a teenager with a driver’s license can relate, or any parent who’s had a prodigal son or daughter of their own, that you’re waiting for their return, for their safe return. You have that father. You have brothers and sisters who love you. And though we may have differences, we may have different colors of skin and different backgrounds and different economics and different everything. We have what binds us together. And so you have the blessing of having a family, a good family. The family as God intended it. And so in that family, you’ve been commanded to devote yourselves to one another.

2. We Are Family, Blood Brothers

And so let’s talk about this idea of being devoted to one another. Let’s emphasize again that we are family. Do you realize that the word brothers or brethren is used over 230 times in the New Testament? That’s an unmistakable emphasis upon the fact that we are family. And God does not describe us thusly by mistake. He is intending something in that obvious and oft-repeated description of his people as brothers and sisters in him. It again, as we said, it implies that we have the same father. That we have the same older brother, and that there is something that inextorably ties us together. We are, to borrow a phrase, we are blood brothers. Did you ever read the old book Tom Sawyer? Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, after they witnessed the gruesome murder.

They went through that old ritual of becoming blood brothers. Because they knew that what they had witnessed changed their lives forever. And because they witnessed it together, it tied them together. And so they took out that old rusty knife and cut the palms of their hands and shook hands, blending their blood together, and they said they were blood brothers. That’s us. What we have experienced has changed our lives forever, and because we’ve experienced it together mutually, it ties us together. Turn with me, if you will, in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1 lists the myriad blessings that we have in Christ Jesus. And describe beautifully and powerfully how we are changed spiritually. If you’re a child of God this morning, what you have witnessed, what you have experienced has changed your life profoundly.

And it has, by so doing, it has tied you together with everyone else who has experienced that. In Ephesians 1 and in verse 7, among those blessings, it says, of Christ, in him we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of our sins, according to the richness of his grace. We have redemption in his blood. We need to understand that we are blood brothers and sisters. That’s what ties us together. Now that means that nothing else matters. Everything else that might divide us or splinter us doesn’t matter. It’s all pushed aside. It is all ignored and dealt with because what matters is what binds us together in Christ. We are bound together through the redemption that we share in the blood of Christ. Back up in Ephesians chapter 1, how we got to be in this family in Ephesians 1 verse 5, having been predestined to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of his will.

Now the New Testament mixes metaphors, does it not? Sometimes we’re spoken of as being born into this family or born anew into this family. When that language is used, it speaks of the reconciliation, the being made new through baptism. But the New Testament also speaks, as it does here, of the idea of being adopted into this family. Adoption is a special circumstance, isn’t it? Because adoption, many times, unlike birth, adoption involves choice. You chose that child whom you would adopt. And many times, not always, but many times the idea of adoption involves charity or kindness. That child is up for adoption because they either don’t have parents or their parents are unable or unwilling to raise them as they ought to be raised. And someone else steps up and kindly adopts them into their own family, makes that charitable choice to help and to benefit them.

That’s certainly the illusion that we’re reading here. That we were adopted as children into his family. God chose us in Him and in Christ Jesus. And that mutual adoption into this wonderful family of God, of having God as our Father and Christ as our elder brother, gives us the shared experience. That we’re brothers and that we’re sisters. And we share the benefit of the blessings and the charity and the love of God. Through his richness of his grace, he adopted us into his family. This speaks again of the ideal of the brotherly love that should exist. Doesn’t always, but should exist among families. And if we’re brothers and sisters, if we’ve been adopted into this mutual family, then this carries with it certain family obligations. Now again, don’t think of the worst of families.

Think of not even the best of families. Think of the ideal of families, of the way God intended it when God created the family. Whether you’re talking about your earthly biological family or your spiritual family, think in terms of the ideal. God has set up the family unit for a purpose. And when we do it God’s way, it works beautifully, doesn’t it? When husband and wife become mutually dependent upon one another with the differences that they all bring into that union. And they work together, not angered because of the differences, but appreciating the complementary things that each partner, male and female brings to that family.

And we understand that those older members of the family have a responsibility to the babes. That a child comes into life and can literally do nothing for itself. But God has so ordered it that others would be there to care and to protect, to feed and to nurture, and to generally love.

Even the older siblings had to help raise the younger siblings, didn’t they?

And then at some point in life, the roles get reversed, don’t they? We once were the babies that the older siblings had to look after, but now we’re the older siblings all of a sudden. How did that happen? But now we repay or we pay it forward by helping our younger brothers and sisters. And the tables get reversed, don’t they? That at the beginning of your introduction in this family unit, it was someone else who was feeding you and making your decisions for you and changing your diapers, and all of a sudden your parents or grandparents are aged, and those roles have been reversed.

And so, what does God mean when he says that his people are a family? Look in Matthew chapter 19. In the discussion of what we leave and sacrifice for the cause of Christ, Jesus understood that and stated as much in Matthew chapter 19, but said, don’t forget what you get back. There is certainly eternal life, but before he even gets to heaven, look what he mentions in Matthew 19 and in verse 29. And everyone who has left brothers or houses or brothers or sisters, our father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. That’s the beauty of family. Jesus said, You’ve given nothing up that you won’t receive again. Now, and so maybe you’ve been in that unfortunate situation to where becoming a Christian has made things rough in your physical family.

That happens still. Or maybe you were in that unfortunate circumstances and you didn’t have much of a family to leave. Maybe you could even describe your life as not having of time has taken much of your family away from you.

Jesus says you have a family. When Deedra and I traveled to Sri Lanka, waiting at the airport, were two of our brothers. Joe and Legendron. They, from the time we landed, they wouldn’t let us touch our own luggage. They picked it up, carted it to the van. They made sure everything was taken care of. We traveled over that island meeting brothers and sisters in Christ who loved us and cared for us, who sacrificed, though many of them, if not all of them, were living in poverty to make sure that we were taken care of and protected. Because we’re family.

You know that you have brothers and sisters in Christ. You know that these obligations, as the Hebrew writer said, turn to Hebrews chapter 13. We understand everything that we do to one another is because we are family. Hebrews 13, verse 1 says, Let brotherly love continue. These obligations over and over again are placed upon us because we are family. Let brotherly love continue. Two things about that. That’s the way it ought to be because we’re family. Again, think in terms of the ideal, but also think in regards, if these exhortations, these commandments are given to us, that tells us something, doesn’t it? It tells us that although maybe it should, it doesn’t always come naturally. It has to be commanded upon us. And so it’s something that we have to work at.

3. Let’s Act Like Family

And so that brings us to our third point. If we are brothers, blood brothers, bound together by the redemption that we have through his blood, then let’s act like family. And again, this doesn’t give you an excuse. Don’t act like your family. But act like the ideal family, what a family ought to be, whether it be physical or spiritual. Evaluate your attitude toward your family members. Evaluate your actions. How often do you think of your brethren? How often do you pray for your brethren? How often do you associate with your family? And how often do you help your family? Here’s some takeaway points of some things that we need to do to act like family, to be devoted to one another. Number one, make a written prayer list.

Make a list. The bulletin’s a good place to start. It lists your brothers and sisters who have needs. We send out the members’ needs email of other ones who need your attention, who needs your prayers. Write it down. If you’re like me, you’ll forget. And so make a list. And I’m pretty sure God’s okay if you open one eye while you pray to read that list. And go down that list.

Here’s another exercise. You have a prayer list. It’s called the directory. A wonderful exercise is just to get the church directory and start with the A’s and pray all the way through the Z. I guarantee you, every name listed needs your prayer for something. Because we’re all going through something. Make a written prayer list. Get personally involved. James, in talking about the ridiculous hypocrisy of the facade of a religion, says, true and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows. James 1, verse 27. That word visit means you’ve got to be personally actively involved. Visit. And that really that word visit in the original doesn’t mean just to stop by to chat. It means to stop by to see to the needs of.

In whatever ways that you can. And visit with the goal and the idea of helping and seeing those needs. I know I’m guilty of this. Going to see some brother or sister in Christ and wading through three feet of grass in the front yard and stumbling on the broken steps in the front. Walking over the unvacuued carpet in their house and to see things piled up, dishes in the sink.

And then leaving and saying, if you need anything, call. When it was obvious they needed something.

So get personally involved. Ask yourself, what can I do? You have a gift, you have a talent, you have some kind of resource to help and to be a family member. We talk about this a lot when we talk about the body. What part of the body are you? And are you supplying something to the body? Let’s think about in family. What are you? What obligations do you have as a brother and a sister? And then lastly, as we always say, do something now. Get involved. Challenge yourself to do something this week. Today’s the first day of the week. Do something this week to serve your brethren. Just one thing. To serve a brother and sister in Christ. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Conclusion

Now it may be that you’re not a child of God. That you’re not a part of this wonderful family. Then why not become a part of that family now? It’s the best family you can ever be a part of. You’ve got some wonderful brothers and sisters who will come to your aid both physically and spiritually, but they’re not the best part. You have a Father in heaven who loves you and will save you in the end. Why not become a child of God this morning? Maybe you’ve done that in the past, but you haven’t been the family member that you ought to be. You haven’t served your father as you ought. Then why not come to Him again this morning? If we can help you in any spiritual way, why not let it be known right now as together we stand and we sing?