Some Christians are Dumber than Geese
Ephesians 4:1-6 Romans 12:6, 14:19 15;5-6, 1 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Cor 13:11, 1 Peter 5:8,
John 15:1-8, Eph 4:11- 16
I. How many of you were ever told when you were little, " you don’t have the sense of a goose".
A. I guess I was special because I was told that a lot. The ADHD probably had something to do with it.
B. I can relate to Mark Lowery when he says " Mt parents told me one day you are going to be something special but until them please take this pill.
C. When I was kid I was told "you don’t have the sense of a goose" more times than I can remember.
D. But now I think that it may have been more of a complement than any of us realize
E. As a matter of fact there are a lot of things that I think we Christians can learn from a goose.
F. If more Christians were like geese we might be doing a better job as servants of God..
II. Did you know that when geese fly in a V formation each bird flapping it’s wings creates an up draft for all the others coming behind it.
A. By doing this it increases the flying range of the each bird by 71%.
B. A Goose that can fly 500 miles by himself can fly 855 miles with a group.
C. We Christians can learn a great lesson from this.
D. A group people that share common goals can get somewhere easier and faster than one alone can.
(Eph 4:1-6 NIV) As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
E. Of all the things that a church can have unity is the most valuable, and the Paul puts a great deal of importance on unity.
(Rom 12:16 NIV) Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
(Rom 14:19 NIV) Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
(Rom 15:5-6 NIV) May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Cor 1:10 NIV) I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
(2 Cor 13:11 NIV) Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
F. Unity is one of the most valuable things that a church can have.
G. If we all catch a vision of what this church can be, and work toward accomplishing a common goal we can accomplish unbelievable things.
H. But if we argue and grumble among ourselves we will destroy all that God wants to do through this church. I have seen it happen over and over again to churches that were doing a good work with God. Someone starts grumbling, and then they choose sides and before you know it satan has them tearing at each other, and all the good that they have done in the past is destroyed.
I. Aesop tells the story about four bulls who were great friends. They went every where together, fed together, and laid down rest together, always keeping so close that if any danger was near they could all face it together. There was a lion that had decided he was going to eat them, but he could he could never get at them singled out. He was an easy match for anyone of them alone, but not for all four of them at once. But he would watch for his opportunity, and when one them lagged a little from the others as they grazed, he would creep up and whisper that the other bulls were saying unkind things about him and the four friends became uneasy. Each thought the other three were plotting against them so they started to suspect each other, and so they put distance between each other, and quit sticking together and the loin was then able to destroy them all.
J. Listen to this verse folks, (1 Pet 5:8 NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
K. Satan is a lion that is seeking to destroy you, and there is strength in numbers. Your Christian brothers and sisters are there to support you. When we are bonded together under the headship of Jesus and we are living in the unity in Christ that God intended us to live in we are stronger because of each other.
L. But if we let satan begin to whisper in our ear "ole so and so is talking about you and they don’t like you," and so on, he will separate us and pick us off one by one.
M. As Christians it is our job to lift each other up, just like geese in a V formation. The love, and support of those who are flying with us is to be our updraft. When we are around our Christian brothers and sisters we are to lift each other up, and help each other a long.
N. As members of God’s family we are to help each other be able to fly higher and farther that we ever could alone. We are to share in the burden of the journey, and there are times that you are going to need to be lifted up by those in front of you and there are times that you are going to need to move back so that others can lift you up.
O. But that is not possible if you let satan create division. That is not possible if you let satan keep you at odds with each other, and not only does it hurt you, but it hurt the rest of this body of Christ that is here to function as a family together.
P. One of the things that I tell my football players every year, is that we are a team, and I will not tolerate them running each other down, because when they are on that field they have to depend on each other and work together. The same is true for a church. But for that to happen like it should, we have to stay in spiritual formation.
III. We have to stay in formation following our leader Jesus and lifting each other up. Whenever a goose falls out of formation it immediately feels a drag of not being in line the leader and gets back in formation to take advantage of the lift that the others provide.
A. And, we Christians have to stay in spiritual formation.
(John 15:1-8 NIV) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
B. The first thing that we have to remember about our formation is that the leader must be followed.
C. Jesus is the leader and can be the only leader of a formation that is going to get where it wants to go.
D. If a branch is disconnected from the vine it will not live, much less produce any fruit.
E. If we abide in Christ and stay connected to the source of strength then we will be an alive Christian. There are so many Christians that talk about eternal life and look eternal dead.
F. To Be a Christian that looks like they have eternal life we have to stay in formation with our leader, for the journey to be what it is supposed to be we have to follow the one that knows where we are going.
G. To be able to produce fruit we have to we have to stay connected to the source of our strength. If we want a life of joy, and a life that produces the fruit that it is supposed to we have to stay connected to our power source.
H. We stay connected to the vine by abiding in Christ. What does it mean when it says abide or remain in me. The Greek word that Paul used means "keep on remaining in me", now that might sound redundant, but it not when you look at what Jesus just said in that passage. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
I. What Jesus is saying is You who have heard and believed, are already clean and pure, you don’t need to be made pure, you are pure, and if you (excuse me while a go redneck for a minute) will hang with me, I will hang with you.
J. If you remain IN me, I will be there with you. If you live by my example, I will take up you slack.
K. How do we abide. We stay connected by staying in daily contact with Him.
1. We stay connected by staying in touch with his word.
2. I’ll say it again, Daily prayer and Bible study, Worhip, Fellowship, Service. What he is saying is keep in touch.
3. Hang out with me daily, stay close to where I am, well actually stay IN me.
4. The Bible says that we are IN Christ when we accept him as savior. What Jesus is saying is staying there is stay behind the leader and close enough that your can be lifted by the updraft.
5. If we abide in Him we can do anything, that is in His will, and if we abide in Him, we will know what His will is because we will be close enough that we will know where He is going.
IV. There is no doubt that Jesus is the leader of the flock. But have you ever seen Geese that were flying with more than one V in the formation.
A. There are Vs within the Vs at times, there are leaders among leaders, And what Jesus wants of us is to remain with Him so that we can be followers of Him and leaders of others.
B. And when the leaders in these Vs get tired another who has been benefitting from their Updraft moves up and takes some of the load of them.
C. The weaker geese are in the back of the line, because it takes less effort to keep moving forward when you have the Updraft from those in front of you to break the resistance.
D. But the goal is for others to become stronger so that they can move up and take some of the strain off of the ones who are in the lead.
E. A church is the same way. Nobody can stay out in the front forever alone.
(Eph 4:11- 16 NIV) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ( to run the whole church and do all the work, that’s not in there is it) TO PREPARE GOD’S PEOPLE FOR WORKS OF SERVICE, SO THAT THE BODY OF CHRIST MAY BE BUILT UP UNTIL WE ALL REACH UNITY IN THE FAITH AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD AND BECOME MATURE, ATTAINING TO THE WHOLE MEASURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST. Then we 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 men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 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.
F. There is that unity thing again, and notice it says that we are a body in which all joints are to supply their part.
1. There has to be more than one person out in front, we are all to be daily spending time with God so that we can grow up, step up, and build up, but there are a lot of people who just want to come and be fed until they throw up.
2. To be what we are supposed to we have to abide daily so that we can grow daily so that we can grow up to be the part of the Body of Christ carrying out the function that God wants us to.
3. And those that are able to lead have got to be willing to come to the front and lead.
G. If the goose in the front rotates back because they are not able to push against the full force anymore, and no one else comes forward to lead then the flock won’t go anywhere. And, the ones that are out front are leading and doing what they are there for then nobody goes anywhere.
1. There have been a lot of people who have stepped up, and taken on leadership roles, but there are still too many people that are responsible for too many things.
2. And it is time for more people to step up, and start taking on roles that God has gifted them to take on, but the first thing is to abide. We have to remain where it is that we were given the ability to be, and that is in Christ.
3. We have to put forth the effort to spend time with Him daily.
4. We have to grow up in the faith and lift each other up.
H. Geese aren’t as dumb as a lot of people think. Well, at least some of them aren’t, but do you know which ones the dumb ones are? The ones that lived with wings clipped or in a cage, and never learned that they could be free.
1. Geese that live in freedom, work together to allow everyone to be able to produce the best possible.
2. When they get out of line they get back in formation as soon as possible so they can be connected to the source of their strength.
3. They spread the load of the work among everybody so no one feels that they have to do it all. And so everyone is allowed to have there place in the flock that allows God to use them.
4. And, they lift each other up, always, because they know that the only way for them to get where they need to be is work together behind their leader, Jesus.
5. Maybe Christians could learn a lesson or two from a goose.
