Rated R: Division

Question: Have you ever experienced divisive people in your relationships? Maybe someone in your family that is constantly negative no matter the situation. You could be a family thanksgiving meal and this person is going to find something about the food to complain about...

Or maybe a co-worker that you’ve worked with before that is bringing down the whole team because of gossip or bashing other teammates.

Or maybe you’ve experienced division in your home with your spouse. When you’re trying to decide what to eat for dinner and it just gets more complicated than it should…

Theme: Unified and Unstoppable. Keeping unity in the body of Christ.

Christians don’t always have the reputation for being the most united people. Unfortunately we are often known for fighting with each other, and not fight for each other.

It’s a great scheme of the enemy to try and destroy the unity of the body of Christ. Why? Because when the church is unified it is unstoppable! There is nothing that can’t be accomplished when we are focused on the mission God has called us to live out! Division distracts, dilutes, and ultimately destroys the body and renders us useless in the Kingdom of God.

BUT where there is unity, there is blessing, favor, and the anointing of God! How many here today says “let’s be unified!”

Look at your neighbor and say “I’m going to fight for you!”

Passage: Romans 16:17-18 ESV, 1 Corinthians 1:10 CSB

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” - Romans

“Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.” - 1 Corinthians

Pray: (Pause 3-5 seconds)

Background:

Teaching a false doctrine is teaching your agenda, not God’s. If you’re creating obstacles for God’s Word to be understood and to be the foundation of the mission and vision, then you’re creating your agenda, not God’s.

In the same way, a person that lives with no understanding and no convictions is living out of their own agenda, not God’s. They gain their understanding by their own personal preferences and insights, not God’s.

I want to be clear about something before I unpack this text for us this evening. False teaching is one way that the enemy brings division into the body of Christ, but it’s just one of many tactics. One can create division and obstacles against sound doctrine with their actions and attitudes just as they can with their words.

As we’ll see in other texts we examine this evening, Paul was relentless in encouraging and charging the people of God to maintain harmony and unity in the body of Christ!

Main Points:

1. Stay alert, avoid apathy
   1. “watch out for those who cause divisions”
   2. Division should radically stand out in a context of unity

   3. It starts small…

      1. It could be someone in a crew that speaks negatively about something or someone in the church and then everyone gets carried away in conversation and it results in division
      2. It could be a bad attitude towards the vision that you’ve been carrying around that you may not have shared with anyone, but it’s obvious to others that something has changed.
      3. It could be as small as a lite hearted jab at someone in the church that was taken personally. Now months later that relationship is non existent.

      4. Division always starts small, but it always leads to great destruction!

         4. “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8

      5. Now, I’m not calling someone that causes division the devil, but I will tell you that they are acting on agenda from the devil! They are on the same mission as the enemy and the result is destructive!

      6. His agenda is to cause division and distention in the body of Christ to distract them from the mission God has called them to.

         5. Call it out & fight for unity!

      7. Let’s be a people that keeps our hearts tuned to unity and harmony. If you see, hear, or feel division start to creep into the body of Christ, let’s be quick to move in and fight for unity.

      8. Watch out for people that bring their own agenda into the church. Watch out for people in your life that want to speak a false doctrine over your life! Guard your heart, guard you mind, and guard those God has placed in your life.

      9. Create opportunities, avoid obstacles

         1. “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles”
         2. Creating opportunities says, what can WE do to accomplish this goal. Creating obstacles is simply a lazy approaches to productivity and creativity.
         3. Think about an obstacle course… Obstacles are meant to slow you down or prevent you from completing the mission.
         4. Serve before you solve

      10. Get in the game and become a contributing member to the team before you try to solve perceived problems.

      11. Illust: That person that talks to you for 5 minutes about your business and then tries to solve all your problems. Or that person that you’ve only known for a day and they’re already giving you relationship advice. C’mon, you don’t even know me.
      12. Serving others not only gives you a voice, it also gives you perspective. You go from being far away, to up close. You go from looking on to leaning in.
      13. Let a servant’s heart be the first response in our relationships and not an afterthought.
      14. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard onto his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—life forevermore.” - Psalms 133:1-3 CSB
      15. Let’s constructive, not critics. Builders, not bystander. We want to create opportunities for people to hear the Gospel, not obstacles.

      16. Establish convictions, avoid deceit

          1. “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”
          2. The deceiver wishes to bring division to the naive and ones weak in their doctrine. He targets those that can easily be swayed from the truth of God’s Word.
          3. Let’s establish our roots and stand firm on the word of God, SO that, when we see flattery and smooth talk, we can call it out in Jesus Name and shut it down!
          4. “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” - 2 Corinthians 13:11 CSB
          5. Core convictions based on the Word of God

      17. No I’m not going to gossip...

          1. “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.” - James 1:26 2. No I’m not going to dishonor our leadership...

          2. “The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” - 1 Timothy 5:17 3. No I’m not going to tear down the body of Christ...

          3. “No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” - Ephesians 4:29 4. No I’m not going to gripe and complain...

          4. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.” - Psalms 100:4 5. No I’m not going to distort God’s Word

          5. “holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.” - Titus 1:9

             6. Not today devil! We’re going to stand on our convictions! Hold fast to the faithful Word of God! And We’re going to denounce anything or anyone that would wish to bring deception and division in this house!

Closing: Working at UPS

This was a rough place at 11pm-4am. There was every reason for people to not work well together, every reason for people to cause division.

It’s not complicated! The mission is simple! We’re going to meet people where they are and point them to Jesus. That is our purpose, that is our mission, and that is going to always be our vision!

Unity propels the mission, division dispels the mission. Division brings stagnation and ultimately death. There’s one vision, one mission, one purpose! It’s not complicated.

We’re going to be a church that obeys the call on our lives to live out the mission God has called us to in this city!

We’re going to always create an atmosphere where people can come without fear of being judged or condemned so that they can hear the Good News of the Gospel. We’re going to do that in our Crews, with our serve initiatives, at our workplaces, in our homes, and wherever God sends us on mission.

We’re going to always be a people that looks at this city as a great opportunity to share the hope of Jesus Christ. We’re going to be relentless in our pursuit of people! We will not settle for low impact in this city!

We are going to be a people of faith! Believing that life change is possible in every life! That there is nobody too lost, nobody too far for Christ! We’re going to have faith that God called us to our relationships for a reason, and that reason it the purpose by which we are called… to meet people where they are and point them to Jesus.

We are going to always serve before we solve. We see the world around us as people not projects.

“If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” - Philippians 2:1-2 CSB

Invitation: The problem, the penalty, the provision, the decision.

Song:

Let’s pray.