7/ 15/ 2000  Worship service            
         
Here are top 10 things which you may not hear in church.  Number 10: "Hey, it's my turn to sit in the front pew."  Number 9: "I was so enthralled that I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes longer than usual."  Number 8: "Personally, I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf."  Number 7: "I've decided to give our church $1,500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists."  Number 6: "I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the junior high Sunday School class."  Number 5: "Forget the denominational minimum salary--Let's pay our pastor so he can live like we do."  Number 4: "I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before."  Number 3: "Since we're all here, let's start the service early."  Number 2: "Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas."  And number 1: "Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign."

At our church, all the ten things I mentioned above are actually happening, so I take it that you're laughing at this not as a joke.  Our church, some time ago, was rumored as the largest, fastest growing and most active church in the Southcentral US.  Now is the time for us to go back to our initial mind set when our church first started out and focus our efforts on becoming more mature Christians.  Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, stated "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."  

Basically, Paul was stating that since we believe in one God, we must become one through Jesus Christ.  If we are to grow and mature as a church within God's grace, we must become one first.  One true wish of the Lord, our Father, is for us to bond and become one.  In Ephesians 4 verse 4, it is stated "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling."  There can be only one soul in a body.  More than one soul in a body means there is a monster within the body.  Paul, in Corinthians 12 verse 27, states "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."  Further, in Ephesians 1 verse 23, it is stated that the church is the body of Christ.  

Since we are all part of the church, which in turn is the body of Christ, we must share one soul.  Although our hands, arms, legs, head, mouth, nose, and other organs have different individual functions, they are directed by one soul; this allows our body to function properly.  Likewise, those who are to live in one Spirit, under one wish, and attached to Christ must share one soul and become one.  Paul, again in Ephesians 4 verses 5 to 6, states "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is above all, and through all, and in you all."  Since we serve one Lord, Jesus Christ, and have been baptized in the name of our Lord, through the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, we must share one thought and one soul.  

In Peter 5 verse 8, it is warned "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." The devil attacks us when our church is divided and cannot function as one.  Therefore, we must be vigilant against any possible rifts and put our efforts towards bringing everyone together, to be united under one goal and thought.  The unity we seek is not similar to the totalitarian or socialistic unity, where everyone thinks the same thought and shares the same opinion.  Rather, the unity we seek accepts and recognizes the differences in thoughts, opinion, faith, origin, and character; this unity strives to bring everyone under one Lord, Christ, through unity in diversity.  To say again, we accept that all people are different; despite these differences, we strive to bring everyone together to become faithful servants to our Lord.
When the 5th Republic was established in Korea, one of the most powerful political organizations was created called "Hanahoe," which means one committee.  

When the members of this organization would meet and separate, they would chant their motto, which was "Under one sun, one moon, one earth, we will remain as one."  Even secular political organization strove to achieve unity; it is vitally important for us to become one in order to effectively spread the word of the gospel as a church.  How can we, who all have grown under different background and character, especially under two disparate cultural backgrounds--of Korea and America--become one?

We can find the answer in Ephesians 4 verses 2 to 3.  First, we must approach our Lord with a humble state of mind.  Saint Augustine has stated that the three most important virtues of a Christian is humility, humility, and humility.  We all must become humble servants under Christ.  When we accept others as being better than ourselves, the Lord will help us become one.  Jesus has said that those who, like children, serve others in humility will become stalwarts in Heaven.  We all must strive to, at the least in the church, lower ourselves and become humble servants in order to become one in Christ.

Second, we must become warm and benevolent.  It is when we possess warm and gentle hearts that God's church becomes one.  There is a story about a first day on the job.  He was a new clerk in the produce department of a super market.  A lady came up to him and said that she wanted to buy half a head of lettuce.  He tried to talk her out of this, but she persisted.  Finally he said, "I'll have to go back and talk to the manager."  He went to the rear of the store, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him.  He found the manager and said, "There is some stupid old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce.  What should I tell her?"  Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turned around, and seeing the woman, he added, "And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce.  Will that be all right?"  

The relieved manager said, "That would be fine."  Later in the day, the manger congratulated the boy on his quick thinking.  Then he asked, "Where are you from, son?"  The boy said, "I am from Toronto, Canada, the home of beautiful hockey players and ugly women."  The manager looked at him and said, "Well, my wife is from Toronto."  The boy said, "Oh, what team did she play for?"  Don't you wish we could solve our relational problems this easily?  But unfortunately most of us cannot.  It is when our hearts are warm that we can use kind words, comfort our neighbors, and become one within the great band of love.  I wish, in the name of the Lord, that we can all serve our neighbors with a kind and gentle hearts.

 
Third, through accepting one another with patience and love, we can become one.  In Corinthians, love is patient and never easily angered.  Through patience, forgiveness and acceptance we can become one.  I have mentioned the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in New York before.  This church, similar to the church in the book of Acts, was able to unite as one despite the different background of its congregation:  Those who lived in poverty, those who were affluent, and those with diverse ethnic backgrounds.  I was greatly graced when I read the confessional memoirs of the Tabernacle Church's pastor, Reverend Jim Cymbala.  Once, a man named Calvin came forward with a request for prayer.  He was a drug addict and a drug dealer.  He was living in a deserted lot, in a pig sty.  One Tuesday night, Calvin's wife went to the church to pray for her husband.  

Upon hearing that Calvin's wife was praying for her husband, Reverend Cymbala asked the gathered congregation of 2,000 to pray for the drug addict named Calvin.  Calvin, upon watching this over TV, burst out of his house and went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle church.  When he got off the bus and entered the church, he saw over 2000 people calling out his name and praying for him.  Calvin collapsed, and rose as a new born man.  He transformed into a born again Christian.  I believe that when we remember a person's name, and accept that person through love and forgiveness, God will open our calloused hearts and help us become one.

 
Fourth, when we put forth the effort to preserve the rope of tranquility that bind us together, as bestowed by the Holy Spirit, we can become one.  Peace and tranquility is the immovable force that binds us as one.  Lack of peace in the heart is the cause of all divisions, rifts, and conflicts.  When we believed in Christ, our Lord has bestowed upon us true tranquility and peace that this world could not offer.  We must become one under the rope of tranquility that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon us.

 
Conclusion:  I want this church to be a community of unity where everybody knows your name and everybody can pray for you.  I want this church to be a great community of peace where everybody can become somebody; I want everybody to be special to one another, to knows your name and your need.  We are all lonely.  We have all experienced hurt and pain.  Like the way our Lord accepted us, forgave us and gave us peace, it is our turn to give love, forgiveness, and peace to our neighbors.  Broken hearts and rifts are not the work of God's spirit; rather, it is the work of the devil, who tries to befall us.  I pray for the day when we, under one Lord and one faith, live and breath as one.  I pray for this in the name of our Lord.