Introduction
What’s the Largest Organism in the world? How about the Blue Whale weighing in at 109 tons and over 100 feet? Or maybe a giant redwood at over 200 feet high with a trunk 100 feet around? Or how about this guy right here (Flip to slide of single aspen tree)? The Quaking Aspen. It rarely gets over 100 feet high and you’ll seldom find a trunk more than a foot wide. But the Aspen’s got a secret. What you see in this picture is not the whole story.
(Flip to next slide--photo of aspen grove) This is the rest of the story. The Aspen’s preferred method of growth is by new shoots off the old roots. In this way an individual plant may cover hundreds of acres all growing from a single interconnected root system. While the individual stems rarely live over a hundred years a stand like this one may be 8000 years old.
The interconnectedness of the Aspen gives life and strength. When a fire comes through the forest though every tree may be burnt down the Aspen root survives and quickly reestablishes itself, usually taking over territory formerly inhabited by pines, maples and oaks.
Proposition: We in the church are meant to be like the mighty aspen, not like the oak fighting for survival on our own, but growing from a common root of fellowship in Christ Jesus.
Interrogative: It’s a pretty illustration Pastor but what does that look like in the real world? What is the basis of Christian fellowship, what does it mean to be one stem in the aspen grove.
Transition: In the passage we read today we can see something about that root of fellowship, and what it takes to nourish it as Paul describes the trip that he took to Jerusalem to meet the other apostles. There are seven things I note here that underlie or serve as a basis for our fellowship in Christ the first is...
1. Humility
1Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
Given what we know about Paul just from what we’ve studied in Galatians so far this is huge concession for him. He was nothing if not sure of his divine call and divine message, yet in humility he goes to see the leaders of the early church and sets before them the message God gave him to make sure that he was getting it right.
It is easy for us to become sure of ourselves in what we think the Lord has called us to, or in what we think "real Christians" ought to think or do or say. A little humility is called for in our life as believers. God has called others too and he may have something to say to you through them. And if you’re sitting there thinking of someone that needs to hear this other than yourself, let me tell you something this is the part of the message that God wants you to hear today.
Christian Fellowship must always be characterized by humility. Next Christian Fellowship has room for...
2. Diversity
3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
I believe Paul intentionally brought Titus as an uncircumcised Gentile believer, who was also a model of Christian integrity as a model of God’s grace through faith alone and not by the requirements of the Law. The fact that the Jerusalem brethren accepted him as is became Paul’s proof of the truth that salvation was by God’s grace through faith alone.
That also makes him a model of the fact that salvation and the fellowship of believers transcends racial boundaries. Not only can gentiles be saved, they don’t have to imitate Jews to do so. Not only are blacks and whites brothers in Christ, we don’t have to walk alike, and talk alike, and sing alike, and clap alike to prove that we’re brothers, our bond is deeper than that our bond is in the roots, our trunks don’t have to look the same.
Asian and European, Arab and Latino, Baptist and Lutheran, we are brothers and sisters in our diversity.
The next mark of Christian Fellowship is
3. Loyalty
4This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
Paul was loyal not only to the truth of the Gospel that we are saved by God’s work and not our work, he is loyal also to His Brother Titus. It would have been easy for him to say, look buddy it’s going to be easier if you just play their game, it will prevent a quarrel.
No Paul stuck to his guns, He was loyal to the man and to the message.
The point here is that while there is room for diversity in non essentials, the core of the Gospel is not negotiable and it requires loyalty, even when the chorus around calls for compromise.
Now this requires some discernment, I know, because at other times the Scripture calls upon us to give in for the sake of the weaker brother. But we must each know what the real core of the Gospel is, the point at which diversity is not OK. For me there are basically two non-negotiables: the fact that salvation is by grace through faith in the sacrifice of Christ for sins, and that Scripture is the authoritative guide for faith and life.
To those truths and to the brothers and sisters who hold those truths, Christian fellowship demands loyalty. Next Christian Fellowship is based in...
4. Unity
6As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.
Paul and the Jerusalem leaders agreed that they were preaching the same message. They had unity is the essentials. You say that sounds like the last point, well yes, but I want to take it a step further. Where there is no unity in these essentials there is no Christian fellowship.
It is not profitable to pretend Christian fellowship exists where this unity in essentials is missing. That’s not to say that we can’t join with others to do good work in the community and for charity but we need to be careful about projecting an image of acceptance for those whose doctrinal commitments make them unacceptable.
Yes I know I’m walking a tightrope here as an Army Chaplain, but understand what I’m saying: I don’t deny anyone the right to believe what they want, I will fight to protect the right of others to worship in ways that I don’t agree with, but I will not say that I do agree with them. I will not say that the essentials are optional. And I will not pretend that Christian fellowship exists where there is not Unity in the essentials.
Next Christian Fellowship entails...
5.Responsibility
7-8On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.
Paul had a job he was called to do, Peter had a job he was called to do. That was the way God had planned it. They each had a territory they were to stake out, they had a common root but they were showing their faces in different places.
Each of us has a job to do too. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about how each of us is gifted by God to do a different ministry in the Church, not for our own self satisfaction but for the benefit of the whole. Each of us is responsible to do the job God has equipped us to do. If you don’t know what that is yet, do something whatever appeals most to you and as you get in motion God will get you turned in the right direction.
Nobody is exempt from responsibility in God’s Aspen Grove, get your limbs up there and start photosynthesizing.
The next thing that marks our fellowship is...
6. Congeniality
9aJames, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.
This is the Gospel according to Rodney King. "Can’t we all just get along?" No actually it goes beyond that. The picture is one of genuine warmth. We don’t just tolerate one another in the church, the basis of our Christian Fellowship is the love of Christ. We let the Lord love others through us, even when it’s hard to generate that love on our own.
This is also, I believe, one of the most important aspects of our work in spreading out this Aspen grove and sprouting new believers.
Jack van Ens wrote in Leadership magazine, "People join churches more because they want warmth than light. We [pastors] like to think it’s our stunning proclamation of the truth that keeps them in the pews. Sermons may get them into church the first time, but what keeps them coming are friendships that foster inward awareness and support. (Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 3.)
Congeniality, warmth, the love of Christ waters the roots of our fellowship. Finally our fellowship is seen in...
7. Charity
10All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Charity is simply the Love of Christ lived out. We don’t simply feel loving towards others, our fellowship is nourished as we do something about it. Caring for physical needs as described here in verse 10 is certainly part of it. But there is so much more.
Often remembering those in need costs us something far more valuable than what’s in our wallet, it costs our time. Doing something maybe but maybe doing nothing. Maybe its making yourself available to that one who seems so needy, who doesn’t really fill a relationship need you have but who is desperate for some Christian affection that you can give.
That would be a genuine act of charity.
CONCLUSION:
Go back over the list and find one way to be in compliance with what the Lord has asked of us this morning.
Maybe it’s humbling yourself by going with an apology to someone whose offended you
Maybe it’s an act of reconciliation with a brother or sister who looks different than you
Maybe its standing up for something you shouldn’t have backed down on
Perhaps it’s stepping up to your responsibility in ministry
Maybe it’s asking the Lord to help you love an unloved one, and praying for that one
Maybe it will mean taking some time for that one
Just go through and pick one, and as we pray together commit yourself before God to do that one thing this week.
