7-24-22 Kasey Campbell: We Need Each Other
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Good morning! It is my privilege to bring the word again today. If you
would open to Nehemiah chapter 3 today, we’ll continue our study there.
Interestingly, both Autumn and Charlotte talked about unity and community in the
past few weeks because that’s the topic this chapter brings up as well. How many
of you know that if God says something multiple times to us, there’s a good chance
that He really, really wants us to get it?
Honestly, I don’t think God wants us to keep talking about unity and
community because we don’t understand or aren’t doing it right now. I can say
with confidence that you all are some of the most friendly people I’ve ever known,
and you all do a great job relationally loving each other. I think we understand that
God cares about whether or not we get along and that we generally want to be in
step with one another.
But I believe God wants us to talk more about this topic because He wants
us to become a prophetic community that moves into the power dynamic of being
in complete unity, where ‘no man is left behind,’ so to speak. We want everyone to
experience the presence of God and be ministered to by Jesus, and the more unity
we have, the more dynamic and powerful it becomes.
When I say God wants us to become a prophetic community, I don’t mean
that we go around trying to predict the future for people as a group. I’m also not
talking about the manifestation (or the use) of the gifts of the Spirit in the church
community. I’m talking about a prophetic community in terms of the heart of
prophecy, which is helping people see Jesus Christ. Revelation 19:10 AMP “the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [His life and teaching are the heart of
prophecy].”
The heart of prophetic ministry is that we would be in a deep relationship
with Jesus (so we share in His life) and grow in following His teaching.
Unity | 1
And a big part of our relationship with Him is how our time with Jesus flows
out to others and affects them. And how that is supposed to look comes from His
teaching on how we operate in church community. It’s about how we relate to
those inside our church family and those outside.
Jesus said in John 13:34-35 NKJV A new commandment I give to you, that
you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By
this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
How is this new? Doesn’t it say in the old testament to love God and others? It’s
new because now it’s the only commandment. I might add that this is impossible to
do on our own.
We have to let the Holy Spirit birth a new kind of love in us for others, and
as He does that, everyone will see the type of love that breaks chains, soften hearts,
moves in compassion to help in times of need, and ministers God Himself to the
hurting and broken. It’s a new kind of love, a new quality of love that never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not
envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does
not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but
rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.”
This kind of love is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit enabling
us to do it. And as we stick close to Jesus and abide in His love and presence, our
hearts towards people will start to change to the point where this becomes a way of
acting towards people that just feels natural. Or supernatural, we might say.
My point here is that God wants us to be a prophetic community. When we
walk in love and unity with one another, it’s a prophetic way of operating because
not everyone is doing it!
Unity | 2
Or in other words, when God’s people love one another, the entire group
becomes prophetic because the outside world sees the love of God and is totally
and completely amazed by it. The way Christians love one another and operate in
unity of mind, purpose, and worship should dumbfound those who aren’t
Christians because there’s so much grace, peace, and love flowing through all of us
that it doesn’t make sense.
And the Holy Spirit will help us love another. We don’t have to grind out
teeth and suffer through our time with one another - the Holy Spirit will birth the
same love for people in us that Jesus has. Romans 5:5 CEV “God has given us the
Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.”
My point is that God will make us into a community of believers that
ministers in a mighty way to others as we grow in love for one another and unity.
He’ll make us a prophetic community to the world. That was a little pre-message
message, I suppose. But let’s pray before digging into scripture a little more.
Father in Heaven, thank you for this time we have together. Thank you for helping
us love one another. I ask that you would fill our hearts with your agape love today
as we submit to Your word and Your Holy Spirit. God help me to get out of the way
as I speak your word, and may You minister to us today in power and grace. Holy
Spirit of Jesus Christ, have your way in our hearts as we open them to You, in
Jesus’ Name, amen.
I’ll skip around in Nehemiah chapter 3 here - there are many names, and a
lot of stuff is getting built. I think you’ll get the idea. Nehemiah 3:3 NKJV Also
the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors
with its bolts and bars.” Nehemiah 3:8 NKJV Next to him Uzziel the son of
Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Hananiah, one
of the perfumers, made repairs; and they fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad
Unity | 3
Wall. Nehemiah 3:12 NKJV And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh,
leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.
I’ve picked a few verses here, but everyone is working together. They are in
unity building the walls of Jerusalem. There were 38 leaders and people from 8
different types of jobs (even the guy who made perfume helped build the wall).
Seven villages were represented, seven different rulers, and different kinds of
family relationships. It was genders and generations, old and young, men and
women, working together in unity to build the walls of Jerusalem. They were all
committed to one another and the work that God gave them to do. They couldn’t
have completed the job without each other. They needed each other, just like we
need each other.
The walls of Jerusalem couldn’t be restored without everyone working
together, and neither will we be fully restored nor fully built up into the people
God wants us to be without a commitment to loving unity and interrelationships
within the church, the Body of Christ. Everyone worked together - there was no
hierarchy of status involved. We’re all sons and daughters of God; there’s no
gender, age, or ethnic barrier to us moving together to see Jesus Christ ministered
to lost and hurting people. Galatians 3:27-28 NKJV For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.
The Bible says we’re all one now. The word one literally means ‘in
opposition to many’ or ‘there are not multiple,’ There’s only one. In Jesus Christ,
we are all one. Now, we’re still us; we’re still individuals. But as we come into
Christ, we are also supposed to move into community and unity - to become one
with the believers around us. Our walk with Jesus doesn’t flourish in isolation. It
just doesn’t work.
Unity | 4
And it doesn’t work because we can’t practice loving others as God loves
them when we’re in isolation. It does take practice to love people, let me tell you.
It’s not about never having conflict with others, just smiling, going along with
everyone, and never having your own opinion. Conflict can be healthy. It’s
learning how to have conflict and how to fight each other in a healthy way.
The corporate process of discipleship, or how we grow in our church
community and our relationships with others, should inform and supplement
personal discipleship. In other words, we have a personal relationship with God
and need to grow in that; but we also have our walk with others in the church and
need to grow in that. And our personal relationship with God and our corporate
relationship with the rest of the church work together to help us grow up into
Christ, who is the head over everything we do.
Ephesians 4:15 AMPC let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things,
speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in
every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the
Messiah, the Anointed One).
The problem is it’s challenging to love difficult people. The problem, often,
is people. It’s not natural to come into a community and love one another. It’s
supernatural. It’s an outflow and a work of the Holy Spirit. But there is a natural,
fleshly tendency we have to be pulled toward two extremes. One extreme is
individualism; cowboy Christianity - we can do it ourselves! The other is
institutionalism; we only ever want to be around other people and a part of a group
- we don’t want to do the personal, individual work. And all we can do about these
pulls is to embrace the tension. In other words, get used to it. Dietric Bonhoeffer
said it this way:
Let him who can’t be alone beware of community. He will only
harm himself and the community.
Unity | 5
Alone you stood before God when He called you; alone, you had
to answer that call; alone, you had to struggle and pray; and alone, you
will die and give an account to God. You can’t escape from yourself
because God has singled you out. If you refuse to be alone, you reject
God’s call to you and can’t be a part of the community of God’s people
who are called. But also, let him who is not in community beware of
being alone. God called you into the community, and the call wasn’t
meant for you alone. In the allied community, you bear your cross,
struggle, and pray. You’re not alone, even in death, and on the last day,
you will be one member of the congregation of Jesus Christ. If you
scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ,
and your solitude can only be hurtful to you.
What’s ironic is that when we are set free from bondage to the expectations
and opinions of other people, we become capable of serving them better. The
desire to please Jesus makes us better at serving others, but we don’t become
people pleasers. Just as the fundamental threat to community and unity is
self-centeredness, others-centeredness is the vital builder of community and unity.
Hell is self-centered and complete isolation; heaven is others-centered and
relational. Unity in community is difficult because it goes against our fleshly
instinct for privatization and control.
But the Bible teaches that unity in community is worth the cost because the
most incredible joy experiences occur when they are shared with others. Joy
quickly atrophies or dries up when it’s hoarded.
True unity and community aren’t created by straining and striving to make
them happen; they’re a by-product of others-centeredness, and this is a by-product
of finding our lives after losing them for Jesus’ sake. 1 Matthew 16:25 NKJV For
1
Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, P421. Zondervan, 2001.
Unity | 6
whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it.
If the leading enemy of corporate unity and community is selfishness, the
top contributor to unity and community is servanthood which comes from
self-denial. While the world values celebrities, the Bible values servants.2
John 13:2-5 NKJV And supper being ended, the devil having already put it
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing
that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from
God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took
a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began
to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was
girded.
John 13:12-17 NKJV So when He had washed their feet, taken His
garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done
to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I
then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to
you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor
is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them.
After we’re converted to Jesus, we must be converted to His cross. This
conversion is a process that involves a series of deaths: death to life on our terms,
death to our quest for comfort and happiness, death to our dreams, and death to
autonomy and independence.
2
Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, P424. Zondervan, 2001.
Unity | 7
Death is the only way to resurrection because none of the things we die to
are bigger than God, and we’ll find that as we die to ourselves more and yield to
God and His Holy Spirit more, His resurrection power and life will flow through us
unto power, witness, and new life in body and spirit.3
Romans 6:3-4 NKJV Or do you not know that as many of us as were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.
The point here is that to have unity in community the first step is to come to
Jesus and follow in His footsteps, learning how to die to self and love like He first
loved us. Then, as we come into church community, the Holy Spirit will help us
feel His love for His people, and as one people, one church, one community, we
will be a prophetic picture of heaven to the outside world.
People who don’t even like God or the church will say, ‘man, I don’t want to
be a Christian, but I have to admit those are the nicest, best, most compassionate
people I know!” This happened in the book of Acts.
Acts 5:12-15 VOICE “The church would gather as a unified group in
Solomon’s Porch, 13 enjoying great respect by the people of the city—though
most people wouldn’t risk publicly affiliating with them. 14 Even so, record
numbers of believers—both men and women—were added to the Lord. 15 The
church’s renown was so great that when Peter walked down the street, people
would carry out their sick relatives hoping his shadow would fall on some of
them as he passed.”
The church became a prophetic community in unity, and record numbers of
people came to Jesus Christ.
3
Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, P424. Zondervan, 2001.
Unity | 8
We get our English word ‘church’ from the Greek word ‘kuriakos,’ which
means ‘belonging to the Lord.’ The term is only in the New Testament twice, and
it’s used of the Lord’s Day and the Lord’s table. I imagine this word became our
English word ‘church’ because the church is a people, not a place, and over time,
followers of Jesus were described as ‘the Lord’s people,’ or people who belong to
the Lord.
You may be more familiar with the Greek word ‘ekklesia,’ which means ‘an
assembly of people.’ Ekklesia is the word Jesus used for His followers and is
translated into English as‘ church.’ In the world, this word referred to the
lawmaking or legislative body of Greeks. It’s like if we were to say, ‘Congress has
assembled.’ Regardless, Jesus didn’t necessarily emphasize that people were
getting together. He made it clear that this group of people would be different
because they were HIS.4
Matthew 16:18 NKJV And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The church is not unique because of its name, its buildings, or how cool and fun it
is. It’s unique because it belongs to Jesus; spiritually, when we gather together, we
become His body.
The Bible uses quite a few different metaphors to describe the church and
what we’re like when we all come together in unity and form a community of
people who belong to Jesus and do His will. You probably know the first metaphor:
we, as people, together form the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NKJV
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were
all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and
4
Duffield, Guy P., and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, P63-65. Foursquare Media, 2019.
Unity | 9
have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one
member but many.
The church isn’t an organization; it’s an organism!
And this body metaphor speaks to how we need to operate in unity. You can
read the rest of 1 Corinthians 12 on your own if you want, but it describes the unity
of the church, how we’re all connected, and how important each member is. When
we understand the church as a body, it gives us essential insight into worship and
ministry. The body suffers when ministry is thought of as the work of the
professionals on the stage. God has placed leadership in the body to preach, teach,
organize, and administrate, but the entire object and point of it all are to equip the
body to minister to each other and the outside world!
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping
of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till
we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit
together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which
every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in
love.
God wants each of us to have a ministry or witness Jesus to others in some
way. Not only that, but the individual ministries should equip and edify the whole
church. If that happens, people will come to Christ. The result is spiritual and
numerical growth.
Unity | 10
And we have to remember that the force holding all of this ministry, this
body, together is love. Unless church attendance, participation, and ministry are
motivated by and carried out in the Spirit of Love, growth will be transient, and the
ministry won’t have the impact it should if it works.
1 Peter 1:22 AMP Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified
yourselves for a sincere love of the believers, [see that you] love one another
from the heart [always unselfishly seeking the best for one another].”
Love for Jesus and one another is the key to unity and survival in
community. It’s the key to building up the body, to making it strong, healthy, and
able to minister to those outside.
Another metaphor the Bible uses for us as God’s church is His kingdom. A
kingdom is the people over whom a king reigns. This metaphor speaks to having a
place to live and a way of operating there. There is also an emphasis on the fact
that we must do what the King says to be in the kingdom.
Matthew 16:18-19 NKJV And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on
this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven.”
Jesus talks about His church and directly relates his people to being kingdom
ambassadors for Him. The power, message, and authority of the kingdom have
been given to us by Jesus. The kingdom of God as an actual physical place we live
is still yet to come, but the kingdom of God as dominion has already come, and the
church, or us as a community in unity, get to exercise that power. The church is not
the same thing as the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God is bigger than
the church. But the church is the current instrument of the kingdom and will
inherit the kingdom of God.
Unity | 11
The ultimate kingdom of God will include the church, the old testament
saints, the regathered remnant of Israel, and the righteous nations that will be part
of the millennial reign of Jesus. That’s a whole other topic, but the point is that as
God’s people, we are a kingdom under God’s rule if we submit to Him and one
another in love. Ephesians 5:21 NKJV submitting to one another in the fear of
God.
I will move quickly now through other biblical metaphors for the church.
The church is God’s family. Matthew 6:9 NLT “Pray like this: Our Father in
heaven, may your name be kept holy.”
The word Jesus uses here for Father is ABBA, a beautiful word. It’s the
syllables that every child knows - dada, abba, papa. It shows us that we are known,
loved, and part of a family. We belong. And we belong to a God who loves us so
much that He gave His Son to die for us.
The church is a fellowship. That’s a strange word to us today, but the greek
is koinonia, and it means ‘people who have something in common.’ This metaphor
shows shared mission, purpose, worship, and action. Acts 2:44 NKJV “Now all
who believed were together, and had all things in common.”
The church is like a team of athletes. Phillipians 1:27 NKJV Only let your
conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or
am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one
mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
The word ‘striving’ there means ‘compete as athletes together.’
The church is like an army, the Lord’s army, marching and working together
to fight and win spiritual battles. This metaphor shows how we need to fight
together, be bold and strong in the power of the holy spirit, and wage spiritual
warfare.
Unity | 12
The church is like a flock of sheep following the good shepherd. It speaks to
how much Jesus loves and cares for us as we follow Him, even when we get into
trouble. The church is like God’s school. Jesus is often referred to as Master and
Teacher. In other words, we’re learning to be more like Him daily. We’re his
students, all in class together.
The church is God’s steward of the gospel - together, we dispense and
manage His word to others. We’re a spiritual building or sanctuary. In other words,
we house God’s presence when we’re together. Paul calls us a ‘mystery.’ in the
New Testament, that actually means something hidden from the outside world but
revealed through Jesus.
We, the church, are God’s field. 1 Corinthians 3:9 NKJV “For we are
God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.”
There are planters, cultivators, and reapers. We’re also places where God’s
seed of truth goes and sprouts up. We’re a royal priesthood, the bride of Christ, the
Lord’s embassy, a pillar of truth, pilgrims, God's inheritance and His masterpiece,
the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and fishers of men. We’re a crucible and
a wild olive branch. There are a lot of metaphors to describe who we are as a
community.
But the main point in all is that we need each other. These metaphors
describe things with a corporate and ‘togetherness’ aspect and individual
responsibilities. I need you, and you need me to fulfill God’s call to unity and
community. And God will give us love for one another as we step out to fulfill his
command to follow in His footsteps.
There is one thing that will stop us from becoming the community God
wants us to be and walking in unity. It’s pride. It’s the idea that I’m better than you
are. It’s the idea that I don’t need you. Nehemiah 3:5 NKJV “Next to them the
Unity | 13
Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of
their Lord.”
The nobles had positions in their tribe. They thought of themselves as the
‘great ones’ in the group. That’s what the word ‘nobles’ means. They were the
great ones who had it all together, so they didn’t help build. It’s a sad thing.
Because in this list of Nehemiah chapter three, people are mentioned by name in
the bible for simply saying yes to the Lord and helping as best they could near
where they lived. But the Tekoite nobles wouldn’t bother. They wouldn’t put their
shoulders to the work of the Lord. The Hebrew translates this word ‘shoulders’ as
neck. In other words, they wouldn’t yolk themselves with God’s people.
And this is sad because Jesus said, Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon
you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Moving in unity in community makes God’s work easy! That doesn’t mean
it’s easy to get along with others, love them, or give them grace. But it means we’ll
see God’s work and ministry move forward in mighty power because the world
will look at us in amazement and wonder why we all get along so well.
The restoration of the walls is a joint effort dependent upon people working
together. For restoration to occur, we must recognize our relationships, their value,
and those we need to create with others. These can be hindered by fear or personal
ambition. The Bible commands believers to “submit yourselves to one another”
(Ephesians 5:21) for the protection, growth, and the intended purpose of our lives
as part of the Body of Christ to be fulfilled.
Unity | 14