PARTNERSHIP

“I’ve fallen head-over-heels for him (her),” “It was love at first sight,” “I just can’t help being in love with her (him).”

Do any of those sound familiar to you? More often than not, something like this is said when a believer in Christ starts dating, or even marries a non-believer.

Does the scripture have anything to say on this subject? Read this passage in

2 Corinthians 6:14 - 18 (NASB)

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

“I will dwell in them and walk among them;

And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

¹⁷ “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean;

And I will welcome you.

¹⁸ “And I will be a father to you,

And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”

Says the Lord Almighty.

It is easy enough to blame “love’s irresistible charms,” but the truth of the matter is, we DO have a choice. The principle is the same in 1 John 2:15 - 17 (NASB) where we read

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Merely claiming to be part of God’s family obligates us to follow this principle by the very name “church.” Not the local church, but the church referred to by the Greek word ekklesia, which means “called out;” called out of the world, away from the things that displease God, to Christ our Savior.

If you are married to a non-believer, the scriptures say stay that way (1 Corinthians 7:12-13), but if you are only dating or considering a serious relationship with one that does not believe in Christ as their Savior, meditate upon God’s Word on the subject.

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OFFEND

Some people seem to take offense at every word we say. They get upset because we think something different than they do, or they perceive we don’t really care about them as a person, or, the list could go on forever.

I must admit that there have been times that I would say, “That’s their problem” and move on. As I’ve grown older, and read the scripture below, I realize that by giving them occasion to take offense at something I’ve said, it could be an obstacle to them, as I claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

See what you think about Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:3. I have listed three different translations of the same verse for you to read:

We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. (NKJV)

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. (NLT)

We don’t want anyone to find fault with our work, and so we try hard not to cause problems. (CEV)

New King James says no offense in anything. Now that is all-inclusive, though I’m sure what is meant is we try to give no offense in anything.

The New Living Translation emphasizes that the way we live, whether good or bad, can cause an adverse reaction in others.

Lastly, the Contemporary English Version emphasizes the desire for no one to find fault and trying hard to see that they don’t.

We should try hard to give no offense to anyone in anything, whether through the way we live, the words we speak, or even the way we look at someone. Why? So that our ministry, our witness for our Lord Jesus Christ, is not compromised to the saved or to the unsaved. We won’t always be successful, but the Lord looks at the intentions of the heart.

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TEAMWORK

Teams are common in sports, businesses and sometimes, churches. After all, aren’t we supposed to work together in the church? Teamwork implies a leader, possibly sub-leaders and other people, that combine their efforts to accomplish a task.

What is the task that we in the church have before us? It is to first, be Christ-like (hence the name Christian) and second of all to tell other people about Jesus Christ (If we don’t get the first one right we lose our credibility).

Listen to this passage of scripture from Exodus 18:19 - 22 (NASB). Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, is speaking:

“Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, ²⁰then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. ²¹“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. ²²“Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

The pattern of teaching others the truths of God and placing some of them as leaders over others to teach them is also found in the New Testament:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; Ephesians 4:11 - 12 (NASB)

One leads, teaches others who then become leaders that teach others, who then become leaders that teach others, who then become…. You get the picture. That’s what it’s all about…teamwork, and each one of us is responsible for our part.

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HARMONY

As some of you may know, I am a musician. Music has played an important part in my life. When I was in college, we learned about “contemporary” music, atonal music without harmony. It seemed to me rather chaotic and unordered. I’m pretty open-minded about music, but really! Without harmony, there is dissonance and discord. There is a parallel to be seen between music, our lives and our churches…

“Israel’s leaders took charge,

and the people gladly followed.

Praise the LORD!”

Judges 5:2 (NLT)

God gives the victory when we work together.

He puts leaders in charge for us to follow.

When that happens,

there is harmony!

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters,

by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ,

to live in harmony with each other.

Let there be no divisions in the church.

Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)

God’s ways are higher and BETTER than ours are.

Above all,

clothe yourselves with love,

which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:14 (NLT)

If you want to experience the harmony in life, that God intended for you,

listen to Him…

Dear brothers and sisters,

I close my letter with these last words:

Be joyful. Grow to maturity.

Encourage each other.

Live in harmony and peace.

Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)

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RESPONSIBILITY

Whose responsibility is “church growth?”

Jesus said that He was!

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matthew 16:18 (NASB)

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:32 (NASB)

Jesus has the authority:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18 (NASB)

He told us to

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19 - 20 (NASB)

Who was Jesus talking to in this passage?

His disciples.

Who then is responsible for this today?

All believers…all of His current disciples. Not just the preacher. Not just the elders or deacons. Not just a committee. All those who claim Jesus as Lord are commanded to make disciples (followers of Jesus), baptize them and teach them to obey Christ.

We ALL are to live for Christ…

and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:15 (NASB)

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IGNORE

It’s a bit of a drag when you meet a new friend, everything seems really cool for a day or two, and then you don’t hear from them for several weeks. What kind of thoughts go through your head? Do they not like me? Did I do something to make them mad? What did I say…

I imagine God feels that way about us sometimes. We come to Him when we’re down and need help, but then when things are going better after He’s helped us…we don’t talk to Him again for a long time.

As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. ²For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:1 - 2 (NLT)

Does the God that created everything that exists deserve to be ignored or, should we be seeking Him every day, thanking Him, praising Him and telling Him that we love Him? Wouldn’t you want your friend to be that close?

After all, God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place. He reconciled us to God the Father. How many “thank you Lords” are enough?

Today, right now, take time to thank Him and tell Him that you love Him.

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EXCUSES

Even those of you who don’t go to church or weren’t raised in the church have probably heard of Moses. After all, they made a movie about him a short while ago called “Prince of Egypt”. His story is found in Exodus chapter two. He was raised by Pharoah’s daughter (v. 10), and lived a life of ease until he killed an Egyptian and had to flee from Pharoah to avoid being put to death (v.15)

He fled to Midian and moved in with a fellow named Jethro. He married one of Jethros’ daughters named Zipporah (v.21) and had a baby son named Gershom (v.22). Moses was a shepherd and watched the flocks for his father-in-law. He had a comfortable life.

Then, GOD CALLED

He met God (Ex 3:1-6) and God showed him the problem that He wanted Moses to go and take care of (Ex 3:7-10), namely get the Israelites out of Egypt. At this point Moses had a choice.

What an honor! I mean, we’d all jump at the chance to help God, right? The truth of the matter is, we’d probably react just like Moses and make

EXCUSES…

Moses tried to get out of it five times! I want to share with you his excuses and God’s answers in His Word for us today…

1. Ex 3:11 – I’m not qualified was Moses’ response. God says we are…

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; ³seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:2 - 3 (NASB)

2. Ex 3:13 – I don’t have the authority, Moses said. Jesus said, you’ve got mine

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18 - 20 (NASB)

3. Ex 4:1 – People might not follow, Moses said. God says, That’s my problem! I’ll take care of it.

⁶Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 (NASB)

4. Ex 4:10 – I don’t have the skills, Moses said. God says just ask.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7 - 8 (NASB)

5. Ex 4:13 - Send somebody else, Moses pleaded. Jesus said,

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 (NASB)

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