Download Sermon Notes - Pioneer Memorial United Methodist Church

Ecclesiastes 4: 7-10
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Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers;
yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am
I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy
business.
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Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one
will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.
The Word of God, for the People of God. Thanks be to God.
Philippians 1:27-2:4 –
Most important, live together in a manner worthy of Christ’s gospel. Do this, whether I come
and see you or I’m absent and hear about you. Do this so that you stand firm, united in one
spirit and mind as you struggle together to remain faithful to the gospel. 28 That way, you won’t
be afraid of anything your enemies do. Your faithfulness and courage are a sign of their coming
destruction and your salvation, which is from God. 29 God has generously granted you the
privilege, not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for Christ’s sake. 30 You are
having the same struggle that you saw me face and now hear that I’m still facing.
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2 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the
Spirit, any sympathy, 2 complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being
united, and agreeing with each other. 3 Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility
think of others as better than yourselves. 4 Instead of each person watching out for their own
good, watch out for what is better for others.
The Word of God, for the People of God. Thanks be to God.
As Americans, we are taught to idolize independence. We like songs like “I’ve Got to Be Me,”
and “I’ll do it my way.” We honor the Lone Ranger. Of course, even the Lone Ranger had
Tonto, but we like the idea of being totally independent. As a culture, we have bought into the
myth that the key to happiness is independence. If I have relational independence, financial
independence, independence in every other area of my life, if I don’t let anybody get too close
to me, but instead stay totally self-sufficient, then I will be happy.
However, God says that the key to happiness is not independence but inter-dependence. We
need each other. We belong to each other. We need community in our lives. God wired you to
go through life not as a solitary individual but in community.
As you might recall from a few weeks ago, Romans 12:5 tells us that “Since we are all one
body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” That’s right – we
need each other. Now, you may be thinking, “I'm very self-sufficient. I don't need other people
in my life.” But the truth is we absolutely have to have other people in our lives, if we’re going
to be all that God wants us to be.
So today, we’re going to start the journey toward an even bigger idea: which is that is you and I
cannot fulfill God’s purposes for our lives all by ourselves. It’s simply not possible. There’s no
way we can be all God wants us to be, do all God wants us to do, fulfill the purposes that we
were put on this planet to fulfill, without one another. We have to do it in relationship to other
people. We need each other, and we belong to each other in the body of Christ. So today, we’re
going to discuss and discover what it really means to develop true, intimate relationships.
We’re going to look at why we need each other. Specifically, we’ll look that the five reasons the
Bibles tells us that we need to be an active part of the community of faith, God’s family.
The First Reason is that we need other people to walk with us.
What does that mean? It means I need you to help me grow spiritually. Colossians 2:6-7 says
“Just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” The Bible compares life to a
walk because we are on a journey. We don't just sit still in life. We’re not where we used to be,
and we’re not where we’re going to be. We’re on a journey. And so, the Bible calls the spiritual
life, the Christian life, a walk. Throughout the New Testament we’re told to walk in wisdom, to
walk in love, to walk in light. We’re told to walk in obedience, to walk in the Spirit, to walk as
Jesus walked.
But one of the key ways that God tells us to walk is this: we were never meant to walk through
life alone. This has nothing to do with whether you’re single or married. Nothing at all. There
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are plenty of single adults who are involved in deep, intimate, meaningful community. But there
are also plenty of married couples who are desperately lonely. Marriage does not solve the
issue. Community does.
Some of you might say, “what’s wrong with walking alone? I can go at my own pace, my own
speed. I don’t have to wait for anybody. I like walking alone.” Yes, we may like being alone,
being independent, but that doesn’t change the fact that we need others to walk alongside us, for
three very important reasons.
First of all, we need others to walk alongside us because it’s safer. Walking through life with
other people in your life is safer. It’s less risky. Have you ever had to walk through a dark alley
at night in the inner city by yourself? It’s a little scary. And of course, we’ve all heard horror
stories of folks who have gone hiking or mountain climbing without a partner, and gotten
injured – folks who go out into the desert by themselves and were never heard from again. It’s
safer to walk through life with others.
Secondly, we need others to walk alongside us because it’s supportive. When we walk with
other people, we find the energy to keep on going, rather than giving up. There’s an old
Zambian proverb that says, “When you run alone you run fast. But when you run together you
run far.” Good words. What this proverb is describing is known in the racing world as a
“pacemaker.” It is not unusual for a trusted team of pacemakers to be hired to keep a runner at a
speed that they can manage for the rest of the race. Life is not a 50-yard dash, it is a marathon.
And we are more likely to be able to finish the race if we run with a team of pacemakers.
Finally, we need others to walk alongside us because it’s smarter. We learn more by
walking with others than we do by ourselves. Proverbs 28:26 says “Only fools trust in what
they alone think.” In other words, if I'm the only one who thinks this and nobody else agrees
with me, guess what? I may be walking in the wrong direction. If I’m walking by myself
through life, then I don’t have anybody next to me who can say, “Hey, Erin – we’re off the
path. We missed it. We’ve got to get back on the path.”
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together. Instead, let us
encourage one another.” We are created for the kind of community that can only happen in
small groups, where we can practice love and encouragement. Community is God’s answer to
loneliness. We all need a place where we can practice love, because life is not about
achievement, life is about relationships. God is love, and God wants us to learn to love Him and
to love others.
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Ephesians 4:16 puts it even more strongly, saying, “As each part [of the body of Christ] does its
work, it helps the other parts grow, so Christ’s whole body is healthy and growing and full of
love.” God wants us to be healthy and growing and full of love. But there’s only one way we
can do that – by walking through life with other Christians, in community. So again, the First
Reason community is important is that we need people to walk alongside us, because we’re
made to be in relationship. Community is God’s answer to loneliness, because it is safer, more
supportive, and smarter.
The Second Reason community is important is that we need others to work with us.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “God made us to do good works, which He planned in advance for us to
live our lives doing.” Before you were even born, God planned to give you specific talents and
natural abilities, because God has a purpose for your life.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two people are better than one, because they get more done by working
together.” We get more done by working together! Everybody knows that many hands make
light work. Even Mother Teresa didn’t change the world all by herself – she had an army of
people helping her. As the saying goes, snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them stick
together they can stop traffic. Look at Habitat for Humanity, for instance. A bunch of folks
show up and do their part, and where there was nothing, suddenly 52 days later, there’s a new
home. Working together, we can fulfill God’s purposes more effectively. Community is God’s
answer to fatigue.
Have you ever watched a flock of large birds, like geese, flying in “V” formation and wondered
why? In 1970, aerospace engineers Peter Lissaman and Carl Shollenberger realized that by
flying in this formation, the birds are more efficient than they would be alone. As a goose flies,
air rushes around its wings in rotating patterns, called wingtip vortices. The vortices push air
downward and upward in different spots, and if another goose is flying in one of the spots
where the air is getting pushed up, it gets some free lift from the efforts of the first goose. So if
geese fly in a group and arrange themselves correctly, then everyone behind the leader gets a
little extra lift and doesn’t have to flap as much to maintain altitude and forward momentum.
Studies show that when they fly in this formation, they can flap their wings less, save 11.4-14%
of their energy, and therefore, can fly farther.
However, researchers have noticed that while large birds usually fly in positions that give them
some energy benefit, not every bird is always in the optimal position, and therefore they get
lower energy savings. The reason is that energy savings is not the only important goal. They
find that those positions that have a bit lower energy savings are great for helping maintain
visual contact and communication with each other, making it easier to keep the group together
and navigate. Researchers from the University of Rhode Island hypothesize that a “V” angle of
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29 degrees or more would allow every bird in the group to see every other bird. However, just
like with energy conservation, the birds don’t always choose the optimal spot for clear visual
contact, either. Most fly, in positions that give them some benefit in terms of both energy and
flock contact. So too, we need to find our place in the community, where we can both share the
load and be in meaningful, authentic relationship.
The Third Reason community is important is because we need others to watch out for us.
Philippians 2:4 says, “Look out for one another’s interest, not just your own.” We all have
blind spots. And we all need people watching out for our souls, helping us stay on track.
We need folks who love us enough to say, “I'm not going to let you give up. I'm here with you.
Let me support you.” And they encourage you in your spiritual life. If you’ve got a tail light out
on your car, you need someone to say, “You’ve got a tail light out!” We need to watch out for
each other because there’s stuff we just can’t see.
Hebrews 13:1 says, “Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord’s followers should.”
We’re brothers and sisters in God’s family, who should “keep being concerned about each
other.” That means that we need to be vigilant of those things that seek to separate us from God
and one another. The habits we can’t break, the hurts and resentment we won’t let go of, the
obstacles we have difficulty changing, the problems and circumstances that challenge us, the
relationships that break our hearts. We need other people who will watch out for us and help us.
We are stronger together than we are apart, as Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “A person standing alone
can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even
better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
So here’s my question: is there anybody watching out for you? Do you have anybody close like
that? People that are there when you’re going through the tough times, that won’t let you get
discouraged. We all need people in our lives to help us on the journey.
Community is God’s answer to defeat. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, “If one person falls, another can
reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.” All groups are
based on this principle. I have never yet met a single person who doesn’t have something in
their life they’d like to change. But it is very difficult to change on our own. We need other
people. Some problems in our lives only get solved by tackling then together as a team. We
need other people to walk with us and work with us and watch out for us.
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The Fourth Reason community is important is because we need others to wait with us and
to weep with us. I'm talking when bad news is coming. We need people with us in the
inevitable crises of life, when the tragedies hit. We can’t face those alone.
There are situations that nobody should ever have to go through alone. Nobody should ever
have to wait in the hospital while a loved one is in a life or death surgery. No woman should
ever have to wait alone for the lab report back on a problem pregnancy. Nobody should have to
wait for news from a battlefield alone. Nobody should have to stand at the edge of an open
grave alone. Nobody should have to spend the first night alone after their spouse has died.
The fact is some of these things are going to happen to you. They’re inevitable. You’re going to
lose loved ones. You’re going to go through tragedy. You’re going to get bad news. You need
other people in your life. Rather than going through life totally unprepared for something we
know is inevitably going to happen, the time is now to build a safety net, a network of
supportive friends. Just like we need to prepare our will and set up an Advanced Directive and
designate beneficiaries for our financial assets, we needs to get a relational safety net in place
for emergencies, because we all know that at some point tragedy is going to happen. We don’t
know what it will be, or when, but the time to prepare is now.
The Bible says this in 1 Peter 3:8 “You should be like one big family, full of sympathy toward
each other.” When you’re in the hospital, you want to have four or five folks from the church to
call or come see you and say we’re praying for you. We need to have folks that we can trust in
times of crisis, and whom we will also support in their times of crisis, as we wait with each
other and to weep with each other.
Community is God’s answer to despair. Romans 12:15 says “Be happy with those who are
happy, and weep with those who weep.” We celebrate as in the group. Somebody has a
promotion or celebration, a graduation, or a 100th birthday, and we have a good time together.
We have fun! In the same way, when somebody has a tough time, we weep with them and
comfort them. A good rule for this is that whenever you’re together and someone starts crying,
that means that it’s time to stop and pray. Advice has its place, but so often the best thing we
can do in times of struggle is just to be there – to sit together in silence, as we do as 1
Thessalonians 5:11 says, and “Encourage each other and strengthen one another.” We need
other people to walk with us and work with us and watch out for us and wait with us and weep
with us.
The Fifth Reason community is important is because we need others to witness with us.
Every single one of us have a life message that God wants us to share with the world. God put
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us on earth to fulfill a mission – but we are not meant to do it alone. Just like the disciples, who
were sent out in groups, we are to go out together.
And the best way to witness to people who don’t know the love of God is by loving other
people. Jesus said to his disciples in John 13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the
world that you are My disciples.” The one thing that proves to the world that we are in the
God’s family, is that we love one another. That’s what impresses the community.
“See how they love.” That’s what I hope, that this church would be known for the place where
you can experience God’s love. A place we can honestly share of grief and our joys, and
support one another in love. A place where you’re not perfect but we love you anyway, because
none of us are perfect. That’s what we should be known for as disciples of Jesus Christ.
God’s answer to fear is community. Philippians 1:27 says “You are working together and
struggling side by side to get others to believe the Good News.” In order to do that, we need to
deepen the sense of community within our church. We all need each other. We need other
believers to walk with us, to work with us, to watch over us, to weep with us and wait with us,
and to witness with us.
By living as a community of faith, as God’s family, we can lessen the impact of Loneliness,
Fatigue, Defeat, Despair, and Fear. Like the geese, we need to learn to balance communication,
looking out for one another, and lessening the load – in community. Rather than focusing on our
independence, to the neglect of all else, we need to declare our interdependence, as we learn
how to become better people and followers of Jesus Christ, and find ways to spread the Good
News of Jesus Christ more fully to a world in need. May it be so. Let us pray:
O God, it’s time for the church to be the church. And it’s time for a revolution of love and
fellowship and community. Please begin it in our hearts, so that our churches can fulfill God’s
purposes together. When that happens, we’ll see a new reformation and a new spiritual
awakening begin to occur in our community, our country, and our world. Forgive us for the
times we think we don’t need other people. We want to be a part of what You’re doing on earth
through Your family, the church. We want to experience real community. We want to learn to
really love and be loved in a deeper way. Thank You for this place to belong and grow, in Your
name. Amen.
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