Pt.1 Cultivating Church Unity: Peace, Restoration, and Joy in Christ

And if you don't want to change we're gonna lovingly ask you to go to some other place You can't leave unhappy disgruntled people mixed in with happy unified people Before long as I said everyone's gonna become unhappy Everyone's gonna be bothered If you if you're in a room Go back to the pink eye scenario If you're in a room with one kid with pink eye everyone touches that one kid touches their eye or their mouth what happens The whole room has pink eye We don't wanna be a church with pink eye I ain't going to a church like that So squash the beef If there is beef squash it Don't wait Do it today If you have a an ought or an issue with someone go to them and talk to them If they have an issue with you receive what they have to say to you But squash the beef loved ones 'cause you can't just leave it Agreeing in the Lord is more than avoiding tension It means actively restoring what's broken That's the third way we work to cultivate unity We practice peace and restoration Number 3 we practice peace and restoration The saying the saying that all time heals wounds well that's a lie You guys ever heard that saying "Well all time You give it enough time it's gonna heal the wound." That is a lie Time doesn't heal wounds It it hides them and what's hidden doesn't get better It gets infected and it turns septic and it poisons everything that it's connected to That's why unresolved conflict in the church is so dangerous If we don't deal with it it will come back louder messier and more damaging than the first comment when it first popped off And Paul knows this and so he doesn't just call Euodia and Syntyche to reconcile but rather he pulls someone else in He says "I also ask you," true partners true lovers of Jesus Christ and His church "I also ask you," true partners "to help these women." In other words I need you to step in between their mess."I need you to step in be- between these 2 ladies Not to take sides not to throw gas on the fire but to be a bridge to be a peacemaker to be a person who's going to reconcile these 2 ladies in peace." That's what the church needs The church needs people who don't just walk past tension but they step into the fray and they do so with humility and grace People who say "Can we talk?" People who broker forgiveness People who are willing to agree that it's time to move forward in Jesus Christ Peacemakers are so vital They aren't afraid to have hard conversations They don't sugarcoat the truth but they also they don't weaponize the truth They speak it with love just like Jesus did with the woman at the well He was able to tell her all about herself and her stank and her lostness without her feeling offended but he did it with truth and grace loved ones The church should be known for having people of peace people who can step into the middle of situations and bring reconciliation and restore peace between the 2 parties Peacemakers they have a way of showing you the error of your ways that makes you feel remorseful and cared for all at the exact same time You ever had someone tell you about yourself but you felt cared for Someone else say something to you you probably pop off at them right But there's something about that one person she sat you down and she and she you had a cup of coffee with her and she shared her story and then she showed you uh where you were going wrong You're like "You know what I have messed up." There's something about people of peace Might I encourage us to be that kind of person the one who steps in not with drama but with peace the one who helps others come together to heal and to move forward Let's be a church that is known for its peace and restoration Let's be known for that Although necessary peace and restoration they aren't the end goal They're the environment that we want to create that we want to continue to thrive in and that brings us to our next way we cultivate unity Number 4 always rejoice in the Lord It's something about putting our minds and our hearts on something other than ourselves that causes us to walk free of drama and free of all of our issues It's something about being able to rejoice in who God is and what He does for us that changes the way we live and changes the way we treat each other Here's where I'm getting at Paul isn't making a suggestion He's giving a command He says "I command you essentially rejoice in the Lord." And then he repeats himself because joy Paul is saying it's not optional for a believer You must rejoice You must be joyful And loved ones this isn't just surface level happiness It's not this forced churchy smile that some of us put on This is real deep joy that runs underneath every circumstance because it's rooted in Jesus Christ To rejoice means to live from a place of gladness to be thankful for who Jesus Christ is and what He's done for you and what He's promised to do for you in the future And Paul says "Always rejoice," as in not just when life is good but when you're also when you're still waiting on your answer to come through rejoice When you're walking through disappointments rejoice When things are going good and when things aren't going so good he's like "Rejoice." Joy doesn't come from out of our situation but rather rejoicing comes from the fact that we have a relationship with Jesus Christ And Paul knew that firsthand Again he's- he's written this entire letter from a jail cell locked up 365 24/7 This is the place he wrote this entire letter from and he's able to command and also lead by example telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord Again I say rejoice." His joy could have been taken from him but he maintains his joy And the question is how and why was Paul able to do that Loved ones he was able to do that because he was focused on Jesus Christ and Christ alone Bridge Fellowship Church I wanna call us to do the exact same thing Rejoice in your salvation Rejoice in your spiritual growth Rejoice in what God is doing for you right now in this local body We hear it time and time again people come and they visit us and they say "We've been looking for a church that actually teaches the Bible." People come and they say "We've been looking for a place where the the leadership is trustworthy and and they are approachable." People come and say "We've been looking for a church that people actually love to be around each other." And by God's grace we are that church and we're still becoming more and more like that church We're not perfect we're not polished but we are faithful And here's why It's because we rejoice in the Lord Our hearts and our minds stay focused on Jesus Christ as a church It's not about a program It's not about the person on the platform or who's leading worship but it's about Jesus Christ alone And so we make a big deal about rejoicing in the Lord When we rejoice it keeps us from drifting It keeps us focused on the mission of the Church It keeps our hearts from chasing the wrong things like buildings numbers image and also influence Without joy without rejoicing we start looking for things that we shouldn't have in the first place At least not until God says "Yes." Like a bigger building and a more prominent location with this mindset it's going to attract more people to come to church and we're gonna have more impact and more influence Or desiring and having this mindset that we should only go after certain kinds of people because they're going to help us get to where we want to be in the future in terms of a ministry And in the end we start longing for things that take us away from the mission of the church And when that happens we are out of order with the Lord But when our joy is in Jesus we stay grounded we stay grateful and we stay unified So again like Paul said "Rejoice in the Lord always Rejoice in the good things that He's already given us Rejoice in the good fact that He's holding this all together And rejoice because joy keeps on flowing down from Him to us loved In addition here's number 5 be known for peace Be known for peace Paul keeps it simple He says "Let your graciousness be known to everyone." In other words be someone marked by peace not tension not drama not chaos You shouldn't be the one always stirring the pot so to speak always in the middle of conflict always needing to have the last word You guys ever meet someone like that Like you done left a situation you left the argument and walking away they gotta say something else behind your back Be the one who brings calm into the room who gives grace not attitude Be the person who knows how to calm the storm and not gaslight a brand new storm Just so you know most conflicts they don't pop off on big issues Most conflicts they usually start when someone feels ignored or disrespected or like they have something to prove But if your identity is in Jesus Christ there's nothing left to fight for is there You've been seen by Jesus You've been chosen by Jesus And you are currently being loved and provided for by Jesus And so if you're constantly demanding attention if you're constantly demanding recognition if you're constantly seeking payback because someone wronged you then you need to ask yourself a serious question "Is Jesus Christ really enough for me?" Peace is a fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23 So if peace is constantly absent from your life if you're always angry always offended always feuding always arguing with someone it's not a personality thing but rather it's a heart condition thing Because that kind of unrest doesn't come from a person who has the spirit of the living God inside of them Um you I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry you can't tell me that a person who is contentious always bickering always fighting truly loves Jesus Christ This is not the case of someone who is always in the middle of some mess keeping mess going always got some gossip the latest whatever to to drop on your doorstep That person is not in Jesus Christ Because if they are the spirit of the living God would keep them from behaving that way They wouldn't even desire that type of behavior I would encourage you as early as this evening go back home and read Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit And if that's you if you're the person who's always in the middle of something this is a great opportunity for you to confess that thing repent and surrender your need to be right to be in control to be singing to Jesus so that He can truly transform your heart Do your best loved ones to be known as a person of peace Be known for your grace And don't forget Paul's next line "The Lord is near." You guys see that there He says "The Lord is near." What is Paul talking about there Jesus is watching and He's coming back soon And when He comes back you're gonna give an account just not for what you believe not just the theology that you believe and you've been following but you're gonna give an account for also how you treated people So today and every day choose peace over drama And the only way we can constantly choose peace is by staying in constant prayer trusting God with our every need and our burden That's the 6th way to cultivate lasting unity Number 6 pray in agreement and trust God to meet every need Pray in agreement and trust God to meet all of your needs Nothing kills unity faster than unchecked worry Why Because worry it turns our focus inward It traps you in your fear It makes you feel insecure and you start comparing yourself to other people And loved ones when that happens it never stays private but rather it spills out into your tone your attitude and also into your relationships Unresolved worry makes us impatient It causes us to be defensive and it also can lead to jealousy Even bitter when someone else gets the very thing that you've been praying for And that kind of complex doesn't just steal your joy it also poisons the entire community So the question is what's the answer How do we mitigate that How do we safeguard against that It's not just "Don't worry." Paul gives us something better He tells us to pray but he doesn't just say "Pray," any old thing He tells us how to pray He gives us these filters to pray through Here it is loved ones Number one if you want to pray without worry you need to change your perspective Paul says "Don't worry about anything." That's not advice it's a command Worry uh worry says "I'm on my own," but rather faith says "God has this." So might I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to shift your perspective Stop obs- obsessing over what you don't have and see your situation for what you don't have as a means for God to bless you in the future Did you hear me