"Role-Model Saints" Romans Pt. 17

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"Role-Model Saints" Romans Pt. 17 Series

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 24, 2007 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Romans 12:15-21

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Summary: Paul in chapter 12 tells us that we must be role models saints for this world and not act worldly but instead act like living sacrifices for Jesus. This in turn will make us a hero in the eyes of Kingdom of God.

Role-model Saints (Cont. pt. d)

Romans part 17

Opening Illustration: From Blue-fish TV “The church saved my life.”

Thesis: Paul in chapter 12 tells us that we must be role models saints for this world and not act worldly but instead act like living sacrifices for Jesus. This in turn will make us a hero in the eyes of Kingdom of God.

Scripture Text: Romans 12

15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Introduction:

Let’s review the character traits of a role-model saint and a hero for the kingdom of God that we have explored so far from Romans 12:

 A role model saint is a living sacrifice for the Kingdom of God.

o They have chosen to give up their life to Christ because he chose to give up His life for their salvation.

 A role-model saint lives holy in an unholy environment.

o When a person observes a saints life they see a person living different than the rest of the sinners.

 A role-model saint lives a life that pleases God.

o They live a life that makes God smile!

 A role-model saint does not conform to the behavior pattern of this world’s inhabitants.

o They instead conform to the image of Jesus Christ and seek to live godly imitating His lifestyle.

 A role-model saint has had their mind renewed by God’s Word.

o They have a point of view that has an eternal perspective and a Biblical world view rather than a corrupt self-centered mindset.

 A role-model saint does not think they are someone special because they have a sensible view of them self.

o They do not over rate themselves and live a prideful arrogant lifestyle.

 A role-model saint chooses the path of love over hate.

o The hero in the Kingdom of God imitates the character trait of God – God is love and he choose this approach to others so the saint also needs to choose the path of love over hate and behave like God does.

o Quote: “You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.”

 A role-model saint hates evil and also holds on for dear life to that which is good and godly.

o This hero does not hold onto that which is evil.

 A role-model saint is devoted to other saints through the bond of love.

o The role-model saints bond together in love like the Band of Brothers did in Easy Company and many other combat outfits in World War II.

 A role-model saint keeps their spiritual zeal for the Lord and for service to the Kingdom.

o It means we love Jesus more today than we did yesterday and we make him the focus of our life.

 A role-model saint honors others in the Kingdom over themselves.

o Role model saints honor others from their unit as they fight against the enemy of our society and to the church of Jesus Christ.

o We all need to remember that all role-model saints will be honored with the Medal of Honor in heaven for our service to the Kingdom.

 A role-model saint is joyful in their life.

o Role-model saints are individuals who are filled with joy, happiness and freedom which draws others to the Kingdom.

 A role-model saint is patient in affliction.

o Role-model saints show tremendous poise and peace under stress and pressure.

o These saints look at the Lord for help in their time of trouble and do not place the blame for their hardship on the Lord.

 A role-model saint is faithful in prayer.

o Role-model saints know that to hear from God and to be in tune with God requires that they have an open line of communication between them and the Lord.

 A role-model saint shares with God’s children who are in need – character trait number 15 (vs. 13).

o They have learned to die to self-centered ways and to use their resources to help out others in the Body of Christ who are in need.

 A role-model saint is hospitable to others - character trait 16 (vs. 13).

o Saints have learned to care about others so as to be a witness for the Kingdom of God.

 A role-model saint blesses those who persecute them instead of cursing them - character trait 17 (vs. 14).

o Saints who are heroes in the kingdom give the gift of forgiveness to others out of respect for Jesus and his great gift to them.

 A role-model saint rejoices with those who are rejoicing – character trait 18 (vs. 15).

o A hero for the Kingdom of God is one who is others biggest fan!

Paul makes it clear that the role-model saint for the Kingdom of God is to be a

living sacrifice and therefore this will make them a hero for the Kingdom of God because they live by the value system of the Jesus society.

Quote from sermoncentral.com:

“Jesus says in his society there is a new way for [people] to live:

you show wisdom, by trusting people;

you handle leadership, by serving;

you handle offenders, by forgiving;

you handle money, by sharing;

you handle enemies, by loving;

and you handle violence, by suffering.

In fact, you have a new attitude toward everything, toward everybody.

Toward nature, toward the state in which you happen to live, toward women, toward slaves, toward all and every single thing.

Because this is a Jesus society, and you repent, not by feeling bad, but by thinking different.” (Wiebe, Rudy, The Blue Mountains of China, McClellan and Stewart, 1970.) – from contributor Chris Tiller

The Word tells us that we are to be a part of Jesus Society and we are to act like “Christians” like “Role-model saints” so that God gets the glory.

1. A role-model saint rejoices with those who are rejoicing- character trait 18 (vs. 15).

a. Paul tells us that “role-model saints” care so much about each other that they rejoice – are happy for others when they receive the blessings of God.

i. This really is about sharing again – you know who your true friends are when they rejoice – or are glad for you blessings in life!

1. They are not excited because of what they may receive from your blessing but they are genuinely happy for God’s provision in your life.

b. This is all about having relationships with others that are the real deal and about having the Jesus kind of love which cares enough for others that you are happy for those who get blessed by God.

1. Instead of being envious of them – you are glad for goof fortune!

2. The bottom line is this all about having authentic genuine relationships with others in the Body of Christ.

3. It tells others whether you love them or not!

c. Story from sermoncentral.com about creating a community that would be there for one another in the good times and in the bad times:

i. The year was 1630. The place was the Massachusetts Bay along the Atlantic coast near the place known as Plymouth Rock. On board the ship the Arabella John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company challenged the Puritan settlers to establish a new kind of Christian community.

Winthrop said: We must be knit together in this work as one man, we must entertain each other in brotherly affection. . ., we must delight in each other, make others’ condition our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together. . ., our community as members of the same body, so shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, the Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us.

Winthrop knew that they were in this thing together; no one could go it alone. Contributor D. Greg Ebie

d. I liken this character trait to a football game with the crowd rejoicing over the accomplishments of their team on the field.

i. Would it not be awesome to have something like this happen in church – to have people rejoicing in the victories of their fellow saints?

1. To have the wave go through as we celebrate together in another’s victory in Jesus.

2. Would it not be cool to do the wave when someone got a breakthrough in their life and a blessing from God?

ii. Video Illustration: “One fan” from Blue fish TV on the power of rejoicing with others for breakthroughs.

1. It only takes one person rooting for another to put a smile across their face.

T.S. – Life is about connecting with others in the Body Christ and becoming a loving family that rejoices with each another and then also mourns with each other.

2. A role-model saint mourns with those who are mourning- character trait 19 (vs. 15).

a. In other words we know how to grieve and comfort those who are grieving by empathizing with their state of being.

i. Let me ask you a question today “Do you really care about others when the hardship of life hits them?”

1. Do you care about the people who have lost loved ones in the 35W Bridge Collapse?

2. Many people could care less!

ii. I hear on a weekly basis about daily losses in people’s lives from not just the news but from newspapers, TV, radio, magazines, and word of mouth. It is everywhere and it communicates to us that everyone will have to face some type of crisis and or loss in their lives. It could be a divorce, a spouse who is unfaithful, a crime, an accident, a death, a health issue, a family crisis, a financial crisis, an addiction, a job loss and the list could go on. We all will face crisis and our friends and families will also.

1. Dr. Wright states it this way, “There is no limit to the number of losses and crises that occur in life-some of them are inexplicable traumas that affect an entire family” (15).

iii. Illustration from Illustration of Bible truths:

1. No Burden: An American missionary who was walking down the streets of a Chinese city was greatly interested in the children, many of whom were carrying smaller children upon their backs and managing at the same time to play their games. “It is too bad,” the American sympathetically said to one little fellow, “that you have to carry such a heavy burden!” “He is no burden,” came the quick reply; “He is my brother.” “Well, you are chivalrous to say so!” said the man, and he gave the boy some money. When the missionary returned home he said to his family, “A little Chinese boy has taught me the fullest meaning of the words, ‘Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.’ ” He recounted his interview and added, “If a little Chinese boy can carry and care for his brother and refuse to consider him a burden, surely we ought not to think it a burden to carry our brother, the weak and the needy ones, who look to us for help. Let us rejoice as we carry one, and say, by our actions, ‘He is no burden; he is my brother.’ ”

iv. Quote: Author Edgar Jackson poignantly describes grief: Grief is a young widow trying to raise her three children, alone. Grief is the man so filled with shocked uncertainty and confusion that he strikes out at the nearest person. Grief is a mother walking daily to a nearby cemetery to stand quietly and alone a few minutes before going about the tasks of the day. She knows that part of her is in the cemetery, just as part of her is in her daily work. Grief is the silent, knife-like terror and sadness that comes a hundred times a day, when you start to speak to someone who is no longer there. Grief is the emptiness that comes when you eat alone after eating with another for many years. Grief is teaching yourself to go to bed without saying good night to the one who had died. Grief is the helpless wishing that things were different when you know they are not and never will be again. Grief is a whole cluster of adjustments, apprehensions, and uncertainties that strike life in its forward progress and make it difficult to redirect the energies of life. Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong, p. 171.

Contributed to Sermon Central by: James Dunn

b. Dr. H Norman Wright tells this story: My wife and I had just arrived home from vacation, and the phone rang. It was our house painter. He said, “I remembered that your son died. My daughter just lost two of her little boys. Can you help her?” We agreed, so my wife and I made an appointment. This young, mother came in and, as best as she could, told us the story. Her husband had been depressed and even suicidal for some time. He was under the care of both a psychiatrist and a psychologist. He had been treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With medications, but it was discovered later that he was actually bipolar. He had become increasingly depressed a few days earlier. He said that he wanted to take the boys down to the beach and asked his wife to go with him. She said she preferred to stay home with their five-month-old baby. He took his five-and six-year-old sons to the beach, took out a handgun, killed them and attempted to kill himself, which he bungled. Hours later the police came to her home; but it was the media person who broke the news to her holding a microphone in her face, asking “How does it feel to know that your husband killed your children?” How would you feel, and what would you do or say? This was possibly one of the most difficult and painful cases for us to handle. Often after a session, my wife and I would both cry for that woman’s pain and some of our own, which had been activated once again. We spent over two years working with her. The entire community came to her support. The 31 mothers of the preschool where her sons attended provided dinner each night for her and her son for the next year. This was an example of what it means to minister in the name of Jesus (Crisis and Trauma Counseling, pages 14, 15).

c. My question to you the church today is this “Will you the church, the body of Christ, the hands of Jesus be prepared to help others through the process of grief? Will you be willing to mourn with those who mourn?” My mind reflects on:

i. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

d. The following information is from Dr. H. Norman Wright’s book Crisis and Trauma Counseling Chapter 1 pages 17-27. From his great book we learn the gift of mourning with those who mourn.

i. Jesus understood that techniques in the counseling of others was based and rooted in the premise that he had relationships with the people he ministered too.

1. This was His foundation for ministry!

a. He created relationships with people on a personal basis.

b. We also must seek to develop relationships with others if we ever tend to help them through the grieving process of a crisis or trauma.

c. The key point is does the person you are trying to help and support know that you genuinely care for them.

2. Do you show and have you shown people love, empathy, caring, concern, acceptance, and understanding?

a. I have had some people come to me and say “I tried to help these people but they rejected my help!”

i. Usually it’s because the person lacked the interpersonal relationship with these people in need and they knew it.

b. God has created each us to be involved in others lives. This means the more relationships I develop today the more able I am to help someone in the future.

ii. Jesus revealed that his approach to helping and giving counsel was always a process.

1. Process is a key most people don’t like but it is necessary – there are no quick fixes in crisis counseling and crisis support.

a. Jesus knew that life is not just a one time fix and then off he went to the next person but he spent time with people and helped them through the grieving process.

i. Look at the situation with Lazarus who had died and his response to his sisters.

2. Jesus reveals to us that the Wonderful Counselor work’s with people in an in depth way through life’s crisis and traumas.

a. The truth is many people become more open to the ways of the Lord in crisis.

i. When 911 hit church attendance rose by nearly 60% in New York as people sought the comfort from the Lord to deal with this crisis. It has since dropped back to where it was prior to 911 – how soon we forget were are real support comes from!

iii. Jesus was a compassionate counselor because he genuinely cared for the people who were hurting and he wanted to see them through to a healing or to a fix for the problem.

1. In a sense he felt their pain, their hurt and their grief.

a. Jesus had empathy for others and we need to also.

2. Mark 8:2: 2“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

3. Mark 6:34: 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

iv. Jesus accepted people right where they were at.

1. Jesus never said go and fix yourself – clean yourself up and then come back to m for help! Jesus used the God moments and met the person at their point of need – with no strings attached.

a. John 4:1-26: The woman at well is a great example because he could have condemned her but he did not instead he reached out to her right at her point of need.

b. John 8:1-11: We see him do the same with the woman caught in adultery.

c. Luke 19:1-10: We see him accept a dishonest tax collector named Zacchaeus.

2. How well do you do with this skill?

v. Jesus gave people worth and value and he let them know that they mattered to God.

1. I still remember when God opened my eyes to this truth in Chicago. He actually sent me to a Mall by the church were I was pastor and told me to look at the 100’s of people as they walked by He then etched into my heart and my head, “Everyone of these people matter to me!”

2. Jesus was criticized by the religious leaders because he attributed value and worth to every individual he met.

3. The religious people want to judge others and decide who is worthy of help and who is not. Jesus saw potential in every person he ministered too!

4. DO you see potential in everyone you minister too?

vi. Jesus met people’s needs and it did not matter if they were rich or poor, religious or not-religious, servant or leader, Roman or Jew.

1. John 3:1-21: Jesus even helped a religious leader named Nicodemus in the middle of the night.

a. Jesus helped the religious, the rich, the poor, the outsider and the insider.

2. Jesus was no respecter of person and he helped all who came to him.

vii. Jesus used the right words at the right time and did the right action to facilitate a healing to a person in need.

1. Mark 3:5: 5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

a. He knew what to say, when to say it and how to say it.

b. He knew when to act and bring about a miracle.

viii. Jesus emphasized right behavior so that the process would bring recovery.

1. This is an important point that I want to drive home today – we must emphasize that right behavior is a prerequisite to setting a healing in motion!

a. I often have people come to me for counseling, for a healing, for deliverance from substances, or recovery in relationships but the person refuses to change their dysfunctional behavior patterns and the result is there is no recovery, there is no healing.

i. Even in crisis counseling people must choose the right behavior to facilitate a step toward recovery.

b. The sad truth is some people choose to stay stuck in

their grief and refuse to correct their improper behavior.

2. John 8:10-12: 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

a. Jesus would minister to a person in a point of crisis and then offer wisdom from above to bring about a recovery process.

3. Luke 6:47, 48: 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

a. We are to put the words of Jesus into practice or we will see our life crash and burn.

ix. Jesus encouraged people to accept responsibility for their healing.

1. John 5:6: “Do you want to get well? “ Jesus’ question to the man at the pool of Bethesda.

a. I have decided to start asking people this question before I start counseling them because so many do not want to take responsibility for their healing.

b. If they do not want to be healed then they are just wasting my time and there’s in counseling.

2. Mark 10:51: “What do you want me to do or you?” Jesus asked the Blind man.

a. The point here is people must understand that they have to make a choice to either remain the same or to be willing to change and grow through the experience.

i. I often ask people, “The miracle question” in my first session with people to clarify what it is they are looking for from the Lord.”

b. Wright states, “A goal of crisis counseling, as you will see, is to help the person in need accept and take responsibility” (21).

x. Jesus encouraged people and gave them hope.

1. Matt. 11:28-30: 28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

xi. Jesus would emphasize peace of mind and then let them know where to find it.

1. John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

2. When we seek the counsel of the Lord and tap Him as our resource then we will encounter peace.

3. We must in the counseling process show people where true peace and contentment comes in their times of crisis.

xii. Jesus helped to reshape, or restructure people’s thinking

1. Luke 5:22-25; 12:22-27: Jesus helped people reshape their focus from the unimportant to the important things in life.

a. In counseling others in crisis we must help people see what is really important in life.

2. Matthew 6:19-21: Jesus reminded and taught us and others that earthly treasurers would not bring about a joy filled life only when we focus on Heavenly treasures would this occur.

a. Once again we see Jesus helping people to see the eternal things in life and not to focus on the temporal things of life.

xiii. Jesus was a teacher throughout the process of healing

1. Luke 14:1-6 and Luke 6:39-42 all reveal the importance of teaching others through difficult life situations.

2. A large part of counseling through grief is being able to use some of those teachable moments with the one in need.

a. Jesus taught with direct statements and with questions and He knew how to teach.

b. We need to be there for others and help them see the lesson to be learned through the pain and the process of healing.

xiv. Jesus spoke with authority

1. Matthew 7:28, 29: Jesus spoke with the authority of God’s Word and he has not bashful about it.

a. 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

2. Jesus knew were His authority came from and we need to know as well.

a. Out authority to help others comes from the Lord Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

b. We need to communicate this to one we are helping – I believe we are led to certain people to help them because God has enabled us and given us the authority to minister to this person at their point of crisis.

c. Story of the lady in 911 from Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York – leading a friend to Christ on a bus as the buildings collapsed.

xv. Jesus confronted and corrected situations to facilitate the healing process.

1. Matthew 8:26: 26He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

a. Today if you told someone you must increase your belief in God and raise you level of faith to jump start your recovery. Many would be mad at you!

b. Jesus confronted wrong beliefs and wrong mindsets because he knew they would hinder the recovery process.

2. Matthew 18:15 -17: 15“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

a. When ever we have to confront someone it is usually because we desire restoration and healing to occur in a person’s life.

3. John 8:3-9: 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

a. We also may have to confront the religious and the judgmental ones to help facilitate a healing in a person life.

b. The truth is there are times when you may have to confront the individual you are working with about their problem or their behavior toward the problem.

c. This so that the healing can progress.

e. Jesus was effective and we can be effective in helping others if we learn to live a life of faith, and to see things through the eyes of the Lord.

i. Jesus was obedient God – John 12:49: John 17:4 – We also must be obedient to God and do what He directs us to do!

ii. Jesus was faithful to God and to His call – Mark 5:36 – We also must be faithful to God and to our call to help out those who are in need.

iii. Jesus was a pray warrior – Luke 5:15, 16; Luke 6:12, 13 – We too must be prayer warriors is we desire to help people through the grieving process.

iv. Jesus was personally involved with God and with others and we must do the same – We must be connected first to God and then to His church.

v. Jesus used the power of the Holy Spirit – Luke 3:21, 22 – We too must understand that we can do nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit!

f. God wants His church to relate to one another – are you willing to do this? Or will you continue to live in your little space and bubble and neglect the work of relationships?

i. Will you refuse to help out others in need?

ii. Will you refuse to learn how to become more caring and compassionate?

iii. Will you refuse to help people through the process of grieving?

g. Role model saints are there for one another in the good times and in the bad times and they know how to come up beside a person who is mourning and mourn with them. They know that in helping someone through the process of grief they are helping themselves as well and who knows this person may be the one to help you through a difficult time!

T.S. – Role-model saints mourn with others and they choose to be a living sacrifice for the Kingdom and help others through the process and the result of this sacrifice unites the body firmly together with a bond that will not be broken.

3. A role-model saint lives in harmony with others - character trait 20 (vs. 16).

a. Definition of Harmony:

i. Webster’s Dictionary states this about our word: Greek, joint, harmony, from harmos joint -- more at ARM

1 archaic : tuneful sound : MELODY

2 a : the combination of simultaneous musical notes in a chord b : the structure of music with respect to the composition and progression of chords c : the science of the structure, relation, and progression of chords

3 a : pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts a painting exhibiting harmony of color and line b : CORRESPONDENCE, ACCORD lives in harmony with her neighbors c : internal calm : TRANQUILLITY

4 a : an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative b : a systematic arrangement of parallel literary passages (as of the Gospels) for the purpose of showing agreement or harmony

ii. Harmony- Harmony is the act of adding chords to a given a melody. Most harmony is based around sets of rules. Some of these rules can be found in cadences, others in voice leading. Overall, harmony is the act of enhancing the musicality of a given melody, through chord choices made to support the melodic flow (http://sprkershaw.net/music/harmony.html).

1. Illustration from sermoncentral.com - Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a moment and then replied, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony." (elbourne.org) Ed Vasicek

2. Illustration from sermon central.com - ALL IN TUNE: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all turned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship” SOURCE: A.W. Tozer in "The Pursuit of God."

iii. Here is another Definition of Harmony from Viet Dictionary: noun

1. compatibility in opinion and action [syn: harmoniousness]

2. the structure of music with respect to the composition and progression of chords [syn: musical harmony]

3. a harmonious state of things in general and of their properties (as of colors and sounds); congruity of parts with one another and with the whole [syn: concord, concordance]

4. agreement of opinions [syn: concord, concordance]

5. an agreeable sound property [ant: dissonance]

b. The definition of this term is - One mind; to be like-minded; to be in harmony; to be of one mind in faith, belief, purpose, mission, and ministry.

i. The Practical Application - Note that God is the Author, the Giver of love and peace. The believer must therefore accept the challenge to live in harmony with other believers and live accordingly because this is God’s will for all who are part of the Body of Christ (From practical word studies of the New Testament).

c. Unity and harmony in the Body of Christ was one of Jesus’ priorities and one of his major concerns for the Body of Christ – His prayer in John 17:20-23: 20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

i. The Message states it this way: “I’m praying not only for them But also for those who will believe in me Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.

ii. I find it utterly amazing that with death breathing down his back and the cross in the very near future Jesus was concerned the most about unity in His community. He wholeheartedly wanted the church to be one, together, intertwined with each other. This was his primary prayer and concern for the church. Jesus knew the principle all to well that if you can divide them then you can conquer them. Jesus still today cries out for unity in His community. He knows if Christians could live a life of unity then the world would be a better place. I believe the Gospel would be impacting more people.

iii. This characteristic is always common in any revival the community of believers is united. There are no divisions in the Body of Christ. Thigpen states it well when he says, “The Christian Community that can’t overcome its divisions can’t expect to grow up” (Discipleship Journal, issue 101, pg.36). He goes onto add “The heart of God is broken with grief over His fractured family.” Dissension and disunity have hindered more revivals and squelched more revivals than we could imagine.

iv. The seekers are not looking to be apart of another organization that is battling over irrelevant issues. They just say, “If you can’t even agree on the truth among yourselves, how could you possibly teach us the truth?” It’s so sad that those who call themselves Christians become stumbling blocks to the seekers. They push people away rather than draw them in by the love and unity that Christ preached lived and died for.

d. Don’t deceive yourself people are watching --they are looking for a community with unity.

i. Recent statistic says that today’s society lacks one important ingredient – Commitment to others. We live in an era of rugged individualism. Where self is the focus – not others!

1. We are quick to say,” Were together!” until we disagree then we usually flee. The most common phrase today is “Do to others before they do it to you!”

ii. The truth is today instead of people working out disagreements they run away and say all manner of lies and gossip to uplift themselves while putting the other person down.

1. They choose to go against the will and the teaching of the Lord Jesus in this manner!

e. The role-model saint is one who is one minded with others, having like mindedness with the rest of the singers in the song- it’s being in harmony with Christ and with those who are following Jesus!

f. A role-model saint is committed to unity among the Body of Christ at the cost of their own life – this is what it means to be a living sacrifice!

T.S. – A role-model saint commits to unity at the cost of their own personal way and therefore they become a hero for the Kingdom of God. This type of saint has been able to say “NO to Pride” and be what Christ has called them to be.

4. A role-model saint is not prideful and conceited but treats others with respect and dignity.

a. Pride - THE WORD MEANS... Self-exaltation, conceit, pride, puffed up, arrogance, haughtiness, insolence, putting oneself above others, looking down upon others, scorn, contempt (From Practical Word Studies).

i. Practical Application - It means to lift one’s head above another, to hold contempt for another, to compare oneself with others. Pride can be hidden in the heart as well as openly displayed. God resists the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 3:24).

b. Illustration: Pumping up balloon - watch what happens when pride is in control of ones life.

i. Kapteyn helps us see what happens with pride along with some of my observations: Pride is what hurts us in our relationships - in church, in families, (at work, at school), with friends. Pride makes us stubborn - I’m right, she’s wrong - (I know all more about this than they do-they need to listen to me!). Pride stops us from forgiving "I was right she needs to apologize to me not visa versa! Pride makes us put up false fronts "I’m not letting anyone else know my sins and weaknesses" ("I don’t have any problems only those kind of people do! My life is perfect! I don’t make mistakes!) It creates walls of pretension. Pride makes us think we are better or know more than the other. We become proud of what we do, read (or achieve). I am so smart! Nobody could do my job! Look at their picture and mine -no comparison! I have education therefore, I am smarter than you! You cannot speak into my life you don’t have a BS degree. I have more money than most others! I can preach better than he can! I can teach better than he can! I do not need leadership classes "I’m a self made leader!" Look at my success! It makes me work for salvation rather than to receive it freely. It removes grace from God from us, as far as we see it, (We earned our salvation - just look at my works!), and makes us less gracious toward others. We become more judgmental. Pride makes us put others down. We look down on another because he is black or oriental. (Educated or not educated, wealthy or not wealthy, dresses in a suit or not a suit, of a certain denomination or not part of a denomination).

ii. Pride- how is it affecting you? Are you afraid to serve because you may fail? Afraid to share your faith because of what others will think? Afraid to pray out loud because of how you might sound? (Afraid to step out in your spiritual gift because of what others may think?) Afraid to reach out to someone because they might reject you? Afraid to be vulnerable because you might get hurt? Afraid to sing because you might make a mistake? Afraid to?????

If you answered yes to any one of these then you have a problem with pride --- Pride is the sin of placing more importance on self than you do on God or others!

1. Proverbs 8:13: "To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech."

2. Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit before a fall."

3. Isaiah 2:11, 12: "The eyes of the arrogant man will be brought low; the Lord alone

will be exalted in that day. The Lord almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled).

4. Daniel 4:37: "Now I Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble."

5. James 2:1-13:1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there!” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder!” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

5. Illustration: I like what Jesse Duplantis says about pride and prejudice, he says that we were all made of dirt, that there’s white dirt, red dirt, yellow dirt, brown dirt, and black dirt, so we all came from the same place, we’re dirt. We would think that it crazy if we saw one clump of dirt telling another clump of dirt" I’m better than you are. "That is exactly what we do, when we tell someone who’s not the same color that we are, I’m better than you, or I’m so different than you that we can’t associate with each other. We’re all just dirt and no matter what color dirt we are, we’re still just dirt.

a. Story: I recall the times in my own life when I encountered the disease of pride and prejudice. The person who led me to Jesus was an African American brother. I ended up attending his church which was a African American Pentecostal Church. Wow was it different from White Catholic Church I had known growing up. When I started attending the church I felt warmly embraced by all the brothers and sisters. But I do recall times when I came in contact with the diseases of Pride and Prejudice. I became infected by the disease when my parents threw me out of the house because I started dating an African American Girl. I came home one day and my stuff was packed in my brother’s truck and I was told to leave. I ran into the disease again one day in North Mpls. when a bunch of black guys told my girl friend Violet who was African American that light and dark don’t mix and that girl was to stay away from me. I came in contact with the disease again in my church one day when one of the brothers informed me that you we were instructed in the Bible that you were not to marry outside your race. I went to Pastor Nate and he instructed me that the brother was wrong. I once again ran into the disease by a sister when she made this comment, “Mike’s not white he is black on the inside and just white on the outside.” I know she meant it as a compliment but the thought that I was not really white but really black. The truth is I am a Christian. In my life I have encountered these two diseases over and over. It happened this week with one of the guys from Chicago who came with Danny this week. He encountered this hideous virus of death. The sad fact is I have come in contact with this disease in the church and out of the church. This should never happen because “God is no respecter of person!”

b. We are never to allow favoritism to cloud our view of others especially in the church.

i. How does this disease work its way into a person’s heart and into a team.

1. It uses the infectious method of deception and distortion of the mind.

2. It warps the common sense of people by messing up their minds.

3. “A proud man has no God” - Benjamin Whichcote

ii. Let’s not allow ourselves to buy into the world’s motto, "Be Proud". But do what is pleasing to God.

1. Side note - When I was preparing this message this week I typed in Pride to do a search and more than ½ of all the sources where on Gay Pride! Something to think about?

2. How many people today are proud even of their sins!

c. A role model saint does not have a mindset that is prideful and arrogant and filled with conceit instead they have a humble mindset filled with humility because pride has been driven out by a commitment to Jesus.

Conclusion:

Role-model saints are heroes for the Kingdom of God and they are making an eternal difference by the way they choose to live their lives. These saints have chosen the more excellent way to live and that is as a living sacrifice for the Kingdom of God.

We need to choose to die to self and be living sacrifices because we do not want to get to the end of our life and say to others – Don’t follow my example I was a rotten role-model for the Kingdom!

Illustration from sermoncentral.com: Mickey Mantle, an almost mythical baseball star who feared he had failed to fulfill career expectations because of alcohol abuse and whose recent years were haunted by self-recrimination, died of cancer. He was 63. The former New York Yankees center fielder and a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame said at a news conference that he had squandered a gifted life and warned admirers he was no role model. “God gave me the ability to play baseball. God gave me everything,” he said. “For the kids out there, don’t be like me.” We are people that like to have an example to follow. For so many people in the world today, they find their examples on the television screens and in many other places. Sadly, most of these examples are not good examples for people to follow and do not show how to live a Chris like life. It is a sad thing to hear a kid today tell you their examples and role models, because the example often stinks. I believe that we desperately need Godly examples for people to be able to follow. We need people who can show people what it means to live a Christian life and how Christ changes your life. Contributor Jason Cole

Review the 21 character traits covered so far in Romans 12: