Interdependance Days (7/4/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 Pet 3:8-16.

As we in America contemplate and celebrate Independence Day, we need to be reminded that it's necessary for the Body of Christ to have a spirit of interdependence. Yahweh has called us to work together, to combine our gifts so we can fulfill the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. It's great to honor those who have been a part of making this a great nation, but we must also become part of the fight to help it remain a great nation. Without some dedicated prayer and effort, especially on the part of the Body of Christ, our nation won't remain a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. Too much about our Christian heritage is being removed and denied in the teaching of our history. The Church, every fellowship and congregation which names Jesus as their Lord and Master, must stand up and proclaim the need for our nation to repent and return to the one who helped us become a nation in the first place.

The key for the Church is found in the first verse of what we just read. "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble." Living in harmony means being of the same mind, united in the Spirit. It doesn't mean we agree on everything, but that our vision and mission are the same. Being sympathetic is to sympathize with one another. We have common troubles that we face in our world and society. Loving as brothers means to love as members of a single household. In spite of the fact that we meet in different places and see things differently, we're still family and should have a love that overcomes our differences. To be compassionate and humble is to be tenderhearted and courteous with one another. We're supposed to honor others before seeking honor for ourselves. You know, our greatest task is to serve one another.

If we can live with each other in this manner we can overcome a lot of the problems we have between denominations and doctrinal positions. When we focus on our need to serve one another we go a long way toward overcoming the individualism that does great harm to our churches. The spirit of rugged individualism that's worshiped in America must be dealt with. Our culture has raised up the person who can do it for themselves, who can go it alone. There are all kinds of rah-rah, egotistical statements we use to honor rugged individualism. For many it's a highly respected and esteemed characteristic. But in the Body of Christ those qualities can actually be very hurtful. The Bible, the Word of our Creator and Lord, clearly states that we need interdependence to function properly.

In Numbers 20 we find Moses getting himself in trouble for his independence. The Israelites need water. They're murmuring against Moses and Aaron, as usual. Moses must once again, in Yahweh's name, command water to come from a rock. His instructions were to only speak to thr rock for the water to come forth, a definite miracle which would show the Israelites, again, the power of their mighty God.

But Moses and Aaron got it wrong this time. Because of his aggravation with these complainers, Moses took the glory for himself. In verse 10 we read, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" There's a lot of arrogance in that WE because it wasn't them who brought forth the water. They were told to speak to the rock, not hit it. They didn't give Yahweh the glory that was due only to him. Instead of a mighty miracle of seeing water come forth from a rock just by a word from the prophet, the people saw Moses hit the rock, not once but twice.

Moses spoke unwisely, using his lips for the wrong reason. His pride and frustration made him step out of his role as mediator. His sinful independence and rebellion to a direct word from Yahweh is condemned, and it keeps him out of the Promised Land. We all have to be careful how we allow what others do to affect us. Dealings with those who murmur and complain are never easy. Many times we can speak truth plainly and clearly but the grumbling will continue because they refuse to listen. But we must remain steadfast in trusting and believing what our Lord God Almighty has spoken to us.

John Wesley wrote about a man who "wanted for nothing." He spoke about him already having all the "necessaries, conveniences, and superfluities of life." He asked the question, "For what salary will you abstain from all other diversions, than the doing of good, and the praising of God?" His conclusion was that this sort of person wasn't likely to travel thousands of miles per year on horseback, through all kinds of weather to deliver the Gospel to needy people. This kind of person wouldn't preach "18 or 19 times every week."

The independence that being without human need brings often turns people away from their dependence on godly provision or interdependence with other Christians. Mr. Wesley's answer for himself is, of course, very scriptural. "What comfort would it be to my soul that I had left behind me gold as dust? Will it follow me over the great gulf, or can I go back to it?"

The person who thinks he doesn't need anything from anybody else is an extremely poor person. Yahweh designed us to work together, to help one another, to be incomplete without each other. It works that way in marriage and in the Church and even in our society. We're designed to live in community with a sharing of our gifts and blessings. Don't think communes or communism, but genuine love for one another which drives us to do what's best for somebody else.

We run into problems in the Body of Christ when we put too much emphasis on "my" faith. Some people make their faith out to be the most important thing in the world, even making faith the independent source of their individual salvation. But the Bible clearly points out that we live and move and breathe through Jesus, not our faith. Yes, by faith all things become possible, but the power isn't in our faith. It's strictly in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - the source of our faith. Yes, we must exercise faith to continue to grow spiritually, but again we must remember that our Lord gives us the faith to operate in obedience and trust. We need individuals with strong faith to be a strong body, but too many separate themselves from the ministry of the body through their selfishness. It's silly how some avoid contact with other Christians either because they feel arrogance about their level of faith as compared to others or they feel doubt that they can fit in with others because of their weak faith. Both are selfish positions.

The goodness of faith isn't found in its moral excellence or our ability to "have faith." Faith originates in the righteousness of Jesus, our Messiah and Master, and grace is the power source. The peace that passes all understanding doesn't come from our faith. It comes from Yahweh, the God who is our Shalom, the ultimate in peace. Faith reaches out and touches the hem of our Lord's garment as he passes by. It's only then that healing virtue comes out from him and into our being. We must remember that our faith is our Lord's faith, and that we must be sold out and surrendered to following him before it operates with heavenly power. Eph 4:5 mentions "one faith" as part of what helps us work in unity. So let's put our individual faith together and become a strong body.

It's a good thing to celebrate the independence of our nation. Without that independence we wouldn't have the kind of freedom we have to worship and serve our heavenly Father. We should respect and honor the sacrifices of those who helped to win our freedom and maintain it throughout our existence. But we shouldn't then think it's OK for us to do whatever we please. The freedom bought with the blood of patriots doesn't give us the right to be Lone Rangers, making our own rules for living. It calls us to work together to keep the hard-fought freedom in place for generations to come through whatever level of personal sacrifice is necessary.

Yahweh calls us to be interdependent. He calls us to be unified in our efforts to spread the Gospel around our world. He calls us to be a team building his Kingdom. Rugged individualists don't fit into this picture. Surrendered, obedient followers of Jesus do. We're to be a family united in bringing the Good News of the Father of the whole world to those who don't know or recognize him. Most families have problems, but even the most dysfunctional can set aside differences for a common cause. The true children of the Most High God must set aside their differences and be interdependent, using our individual gifts for the building of Yahweh's Kingdom instead of our little physical and intellectual properties.

Yahweh is the one who placed us together in our churches and fellowships. The process is supposed to be that the Holy Spirit draws us together so we can do good work as the priests and kings of our Savior's Kingdom. It's our responsibility to work to preserve unity, to help one another strengthen the Body of Christ. As the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one - so is His True Church. We need one another, that's the way we're designed. Denial of this need is denial of our Lord's Word. Let's quit being so selfish and work together because Daddy says so.

Blessings & Peace, Mike