John 17:20-26 “I pray… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…”
Children of God are to look like Jesus… and we can’t do this alone. We all need help… It is not good for man to be alone…
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”” Genesis 2:18
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
Jesus demonstrated togetherness from the very beginning. Jesus was never without a “suitable helper.” Having been part of the Trinity with His Father and the Spirit, He came to show us that we are not meant to be alone.
Jesus came, not alone, nor to be alone to win the world by Himself, but in fact…
● Born into a family
● Practiced fellowship and discipleship: 1, 3, 12, 72, 120…
● Went to the synagogue and the Temple
● Celebrated the feasts
● Continued to fellowship with the Father in/with/through the spirit
Jesus walked among us, with us, walking, talking, teaching, training, equipping his disciples - in and for relationship - to establish the Church. He did this out of love, to show us how to live and love, to do with and for others what He had done with and for His own. He came and lived to show us a better way – that we might do the very same things – the same way, in the same manner, that Jesus and the disciples had done together. And even at His leaving...
● Promised he would not leave us as orphans, so he sent the fellowship of the Spirit
● Established the church – Universal, local body
● Promised He will return for us, and inaugurate eternal fellowship - together
We must realize that everything God does is to bring us “in”. With Him. With one another
Psalm 119:175 “I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands”
Isaiah 53:6 “We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Luke 15:4 “Leaves the ninety-nine…”
We have been saved and placed, purposely, in the Body as part of a body and ours is to belong and care and to be cared for - to deviate from this design is to deviate from God’s purposes - it is to place ourselves in peril
Why then, if we need one another so much, do we stray when we need company the most? (Genesis 3)
● Guilt and shame - hide, isolate
● Pride and self-sufficiency - covering self, by self, leaves
● Fear induced blaming, shifting responsibility - “this woman…”
● Anger at God - “...you gave me…!”
● Resignation - “I will never be able to…”, “How could God love me?”, “God must be disappointed with me”
● The Devil’s lies and schemes (Gen 3:8-12; Luke 4:1-13; Eph 6:11; James 4:7; 1Peter 5:6-9)
We tend to separate ourselves from God and one another - especially when we find ourselves, or get ourselves, in trouble - and by separating ourselves, we get ourselves into more trouble…
We all need help… It is not good for man to be alone…. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Gen 2:18
God is a helper, our helper.
Psalm 33:20 “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”
Psalm 115 “...trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield.”
Hebrews 13:6 “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” So we way with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
John 14:18,26 (15-27); 15:26; 16:7 “When the helper comes…”
We are to help one another. We are suitable - well fitting - helpers. (1Cor 12; Rom 12; Heb 3; 1Pet; 1John)
Phil 2:2-4 “...make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to interests of the others.”
1Thes 5:14 “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
We are to seek help from...
God, the Holy Spirit
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.”
Psalm 50:15 “...call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
Psalm 57:1 “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy for in you my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.”
Psalm 105:4 “Seek out the Lord and his strength; see His face always.”
One another - Accountability, responsibility, care, and healing:
James 5:13-16 “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
So, do not forsake the fellowship:
Hebrews 10:23-25 “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another…” Why?
That we might…
Hebrews 3:13 “…encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
What is sin’s deceitfulness? It is anything that opposes God and God’s truth and way. It is the subtle call to leave the way. It is the world and its ways, things that appeal to our flesh but can lead us astray. They are a mix of half and twisted truths or rules that appear wise but have no power, no wisdom. (Col 2)
We need to recognize that we become what we are “discipled” by, that is, what and who we subject ourselves to, what and whose ways have become our primary diet and fellowship.
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride of life - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1John 2:15-17
One of the deceptions is that we can do this on our own…
“...let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, as all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
Our flesh runs in line with this world and its ways. It is a powerful force. Our “i love you” to God is to say “no” to the world’s invitation to itself. This invitation is no small thing, no weak thing, nothing we can resist on our own. So God, who promised not to leave us alone, or “as orphans”, gives us “helpers” (Gal 5)
● His Spirit and Truth (the Spirit of Truth) (that we would not fall to the lies)
● One another - the fellowship of believers - that we might have tangible relationships with others, our brothers and sisters, on the same path)
Ephesians 4:14 “Then you will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming…”
4:15 “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
4:16 “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Hence, we are to submit to God and one another… to love God and one another
