World Cup: One Body

  • Matt Mehaffey
  • Jun 13, 2010
  • Series: World Cup

 

Anyone else, besides me, totally into the World Cup right now? I have to admit, I used to be the guy who hated soccer (or football). Many people tried unsuccessfully to convince me to give it a shot. I heard all the usual arguments from soccer fans:
“It’s the most popular sport in the world.” 
“It’s such a fast-paced sport and there are no breaks in the action.”
“You Americans just don’t like soccer because you’re not any good at it.”
For a long time, I just couldn’t get on board with a sport where a match could end in a zero to zero (or nil to nil) tie! Plus I grew up in the heartland of the U.S.A. and soccer just isn’t a big deal there. It’s all about basketball, American football, and baseball.  
But it was the World Cup in 2006, that got my attention and each year since my interest has been building. Now I am the guy who is proudly wearing his USA soccer jersey and writing this seven week series called “World Cup.” 
Whenever the World Cup comes around (like the Olympics) there is a spirit of unity that comes over the world. Nations come together around competition, and wars, division and conflict take a backseat. One major newspaper recently wrote this: Question: what quadrennial sporting extravaganza brings the world together for weeks on end, transcending war, poverty, class, and culture, and culminating in the most watched television event ever?  If you guessed the Olympics, odds are you're an American. The rest of the world knows better.  Did you know that on July 11, more than 1 billion people will watch the World Cup final match? That is one-sixth of humanity! In comparison, this past February, do you know how many people tuned in for the Super Bowl? 106 million. And that was the most watched Super Bowl ever.  So the World Cup is this unifying event that for a short time reminds us that we are one world.
I believe the Church could use a similar reminder. Think for a moment about how divided the Church has become. We have become just as divided (if not more so) as the rest of the world.  We have Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Independents, Non-Denominational and within these groups there are countless other divisions.  Whatever happened to being identified simply as followers of Jesus?  We have become like those athletes who care more about what name is on the back of our jersey rather than the team name on the front.  I can’t help but think about how people who are far from God, people who are on the outside looking in at the Church, what they must think of all us who claim to love and follow Jesus but look at one another as the enemy. This has to break the heart of God, right?  This can’t be what Jesus had in mind when he envisioned his church.
As a matter of fact, in John 17, Jesus spoke very clearly what his dream for the church was. Jesus was just hours away from being arrested, put on trial and sentenced to death on a cross. And he knew it. He spent his final moments in prayer and he was in agony as the time of his death approached.  If you knew you were about to die, don’t you think you would spend your time thinking about and doing what you care most about?  Jesus knew he was about to die and he spent his last moments praying for his church.  Look at the words here from verses 20-23.  Jesus had just finished praying for his disciples who were the ones he had hand selected to start the church and then he says: 
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that 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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I 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.
Clearly it was the dream of Jesus that his church be ONE.  And I think we can all see that we have gone far off track.  But if the world can come together around a sporting event like the World Cup, I believe the Church can come together too but we must be firmly committed to the vision Jesus has for his church (not our own vision, our own preferences or our own style).  So part of what I hope this series does over the next seven weeks is to shine some light on what the Bible teaches are the “core beliefs” of what makes a church a Jesus-centered church. And we need to rally around those “core beliefs.” That way when we see other churches and other people who hold firm to these “core beliefs” we can see them as the brothers and sisters in Christ that they truly are.  But at the same time when we see other churches and people who do not hold to these “core beliefs” that the Bible lays out for us, while we still must love those people with the love of Jesus, we must be able to recognize what separates them from being a part of the true church Jesus is building.  I would encourage you to go to our website and read through the section called “Pursuit Beliefs” because we list out the “core beliefs” of the church.  The Bible speaks very clearly about these beliefs and they are not up for debate because God has spoken.
The key verses that will be driving us through this series come from Ephesians 4:3-6.  The Apostle Paul writes this:  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.
If you are observant you might have noticed that the word “ONE” is found seven times in this text.  And our plan for the next seven weeks is to focus on these seven “core beliefs” the Bible lays out for us.  So today we are taking a quick look at the first core belief that there is only “ONE BODY.”  
Think with me about what God says the church is, or at least what the church is supposed to be.  The Bible says that the church is the body of Christ.  And this is not just a metaphor telling us of that we are all different parts of the body with unique tasks and are all supposed to work together, I mean sure that is definitely part of it.  But what “ONE BODY” really means is that the church is meant to be the physical, visible, tangible, living, breathing, acting, doing, loving, serving, transforming presence of Jesus Himself in this world.  Jesus said, “when two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” And Jesus is reminding us that we’re not just doing things He told us to do or doing things for Him or in His name, but we are meant to BE Him, to be His presence in the world and do with our lives what He did with His life when He was physically present on this earth.  Let me say it again: we are not meant to just do what He said to do, we are meant to be His presence in this world.  The church is supposed to be the presence of Christ in this world, the primary way that people can personally experience and encounter the real Jesus.  The church is meant to be who Jesus is and do what Jesus does.  And what Jesus does is change the world through God’s grace.
Think of it this way.  I think the church is supposed to be like this. (show Pez dispenser)  Remember these?   This is a Pez dispenser and you would fill them up with Pez candy.  When I was a kid, we were big into these.  Imagine that the candy in here, imagine that Pez was something that people’s lives depended on.  Imagine that if people didn’t get Pez or have enough Pez, that their lives would fall apart and be ultimately empty.  What if you really had to have Pez for life to work?  What if you really had to have Pez for life to make sense and to find purpose and meaning and direction and fulfillment?  And what if Pez was the only thing that could do that?
If all of that was true, Pez dispensers would be pretty important, wouldn’t they?  Pez dispensers would be precious, crucial things, wouldn’t they?  (Now I know you can buy Pez and eat it without the dispenser, but work with me here.)   Here’s the point: the grace of God is the only thing that ultimately can make life work.   And I kind of like the candy analogy, not just because I like Pez, but because the Bible says “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  (psalm 34)   And that is what the church is meant to do.  The church is meant to help people taste and see the grace of God, and when someone tastes and sees that only God can give the hope and strength and mercy and love and power and purpose that they need, it changes everything.  And we should expect the church, we should expect ourselves to be nothing less than God’s dispenser of grace, and only God’s grace can change the world.
See, the church is the hope of the world.  And the church is the hope of the world because God’s grace is the hope of the world and the church is meant to be the primary dispenser of His grace.  We’re not the Pez, look at this verse from 2 Corinthians 4:7, “We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.”  But we are meant to be the Pez Dispensers.
The best example I can show you of a church that understood this is found in Acts 2:42-47.  This a description of the church in its earliest days.  The book of Acts is a historical book detailing the inception of the church of Jesus.  I’m going to read this from the New Living Translation so it may read a little differently from your translation.  I’ve put the words on the screen to help you follow along. It says:
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
The early church understood what being “ONE BODY” was all about, didn’t they?  They devoted themselves to Bible teaching.  They devoted themselves to the church community, they loved one another and shared meals together, they took Communion together, they shared everything they had.  They even sold stuff they owned and gave the money to people in the community who were in need.  And as a result of this ONE BODY what happened?  “Each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”  People who were on the outside looking in saw this community of Christ-followers and said, “I’ve never seen people love each other like these guys.  I want in!  I want to know this Jesus guy.”  
And if we go back again and look at the prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden before his death, isn’t that what he asked for?  Read it again with me.  He prayed: 
Father...may they [the church] be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Earlier this week I saw Nike’s new ad promoting the World Cup and I wanted to show it to you today. It features several of soccer’s biggest stars from nations like the Ivory Coast, England, Portugal, Brazil and the ad is telling us that during the World Cup every kick, every touch, every tackle has the potential to lift a nation up or bring it to its knees. That there is no such thing as small actions.  Every action has huge ramifications.  (Show Video)
Write the future.  I like that slogan.  I think it is a great reminder for us that our actions are helping write the church’s future.  We may think when we gossip, or lie, or criticize, that we aren’t really hurting anyone but in reality we are destroying the “oneness” that Christ calls us to.  But at the same time every action of love, patience, self-control, kindness, peace, faithfulness and generosity ... when we display these actions we become the presence of Christ to people in this world.  
May we rally around this core belief of being ONE BODY as we make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

 

Anyone else, besides me, totally into the World Cup right now? I have to admit, I used to be the guy who hated soccer (or football). Many people tried unsuccessfully to convince me to give it a shot. I heard all the usual arguments from soccer fans:

“It’s the most popular sport in the world.” 

“It’s such a fast-paced sport and there are no breaks in the action.”

“You Americans just don’t like soccer because you’re not any good at it.”

For a long time, I just couldn’t get on board with a sport where a match could end in a zero to zero (or nil to nil) tie! Plus I grew up in the heartland of the U.S.A. and soccer just isn’t a big deal there. It’s all about basketball, American football, and baseball.  

But it was the World Cup in 2006, that got my attention and each year since my interest has been building. Now I am the guy who is proudly wearing his USA soccer jersey and writing this seven week series called “World Cup.” 

Whenever the World Cup comes around (like the Olympics) there is a spirit of unity that comes over the world. Nations come together around competition, and wars, division and conflict take a backseat. One major newspaper recently wrote this: Question: what quadrennial sporting extravaganza brings the world together for weeks on end, transcending war, poverty, class, and culture, and culminating in the most watched television event ever?  If you guessed the Olympics, odds are you're an American. The rest of the world knows better.  Did you know that on July 11, more than 1 billion people will watch the World Cup final match? That is one-sixth of humanity! In comparison, this past February, do you know how many people tuned in for the Super Bowl? 106 million. And that was the most watched Super Bowl ever.  So the World Cup is this unifying event that for a short time reminds us that we are one world.

I believe the Church could use a similar reminder. Think for a moment about how divided the Church has become. We have become just as divided (if not more so) as the rest of the world.  We have Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Independents, Non-Denominational and within these groups there are countless other divisions.  Whatever happened to being identified simply as followers of Jesus?  We have become like those athletes who care more about what name is on the back of our jersey rather than the team name on the front.  I can’t help but think about how people who are far from God, people who are on the outside looking in at the Church, what they must think of all us who claim to love and follow Jesus but look at one another as the enemy. This has to break the heart of God, right?  This can’t be what Jesus had in mind when he envisioned his church.

As a matter of fact, in John 17, Jesus spoke very clearly what his dream for the church was. Jesus was just hours away from being arrested, put on trial and sentenced to death on a cross. And he knew it. He spent his final moments in prayer and he was in agony as the time of his death approached.  If you knew you were about to die, don’t you think you would spend your time thinking about and doing what you care most about?  Jesus knew he was about to die and he spent his last moments praying for his church.  Look at the words here from verses 20-23.  Jesus had just finished praying for his disciples who were the ones he had hand selected to start the church and then he says: 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that 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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I 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.

Clearly it was the dream of Jesus that his church be ONE.  And I think we can all see that we have gone far off track.  But if the world can come together around a sporting event like the World Cup, I believe the Church can come together too but we must be firmly committed to the vision Jesus has for his church (not our own vision, our own preferences or our own style).  So part of what I hope this series does over the next seven weeks is to shine some light on what the Bible teaches are the “core beliefs” of what makes a church a Jesus-centered church. And we need to rally around those “core beliefs.” That way when we see other churches and other people who hold firm to these “core beliefs” we can see them as the brothers and sisters in Christ that they truly are.  But at the same time when we see other churches and people who do not hold to these “core beliefs” that the Bible lays out for us, while we still must love those people with the love of Jesus, we must be able to recognize what separates them from being a part of the true church Jesus is building.  I would encourage you to go to our website and read through the section called “Pursuit Beliefs” because we list out the “core beliefs” of the church.  The Bible speaks very clearly about these beliefs and they are not up for debate because God has spoken.

The key verses that will be driving us through this series come from Ephesians 4:3-6.  The Apostle Paul writes this:  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.

If you are observant you might have noticed that the word “ONE” is found seven times in this text.  And our plan for the next seven weeks is to focus on these seven “core beliefs” the Bible lays out for us.  So today we are taking a quick look at the first core belief that there is only “ONE BODY.”  

Think with me about what God says the church is, or at least what the church is supposed to be.  The Bible says that the church is the body of Christ.  And this is not just a metaphor telling us of that we are all different parts of the body with unique tasks and are all supposed to work together, I mean sure that is definitely part of it.  But what “ONE BODY” really means is that the church is meant to be the physical, visible, tangible, living, breathing, acting, doing, loving, serving, transforming presence of Jesus Himself in this world.  Jesus said, “when two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” And Jesus is reminding us that we’re not just doing things He told us to do or doing things for Him or in His name, but we are meant to BE Him, to be His presence in the world and do with our lives what He did with His life when He was physically present on this earth.  Let me say it again: we are not meant to just do what He said to do, we are meant to be His presence in this world.  The church is supposed to be the presence of Christ in this world, the primary way that people can personally experience and encounter the real Jesus.  The church is meant to be who Jesus is and do what Jesus does.  And what Jesus does is change the world through God’s grace.

Think of it this way.  I think the church is supposed to be like this. (show Pez dispenser)  Remember these?   This is a Pez dispenser and you would fill them up with Pez candy.  When I was a kid, we were big into these.  Imagine that the candy in here, imagine that Pez was something that people’s lives depended on.  Imagine that if people didn’t get Pez or have enough Pez, that their lives would fall apart and be ultimately empty.  What if you really had to have Pez for life to work?  What if you really had to have Pez for life to make sense and to find purpose and meaning and direction and fulfillment?  And what if Pez was the only thing that could do that?

If all of that was true, Pez dispensers would be pretty important, wouldn’t they?  Pez dispensers would be precious, crucial things, wouldn’t they?  (Now I know you can buy Pez and eat it without the dispenser, but work with me here.)   Here’s the point: the grace of God is the only thing that ultimately can make life work.   And I kind of like the candy analogy, not just because I like Pez, but because the Bible says “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  (psalm 34)   And that is what the church is meant to do.  The church is meant to help people taste and see the grace of God, and when someone tastes and sees that only God can give the hope and strength and mercy and love and power and purpose that they need, it changes everything.  And we should expect the church, we should expect ourselves to be nothing less than God’s dispenser of grace, and only God’s grace can change the world.

See, the church is the hope of the world.  And the church is the hope of the world because God’s grace is the hope of the world and the church is meant to be the primary dispenser of His grace.  We’re not the Pez, look at this verse from 2 Corinthians 4:7, “We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.”  But we are meant to be the Pez Dispensers.

The best example I can show you of a church that understood this is found in Acts 2:42-47.  This a description of the church in its earliest days.  The book of Acts is a historical book detailing the inception of the church of Jesus.  I’m going to read this from the New Living Translation so it may read a little differently from your translation.  I’ve put the words on the screen to help you follow along. It says:

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

The early church understood what being “ONE BODY” was all about, didn’t they?  They devoted themselves to Bible teaching.  They devoted themselves to the church community, they loved one another and shared meals together, they took Communion together, they shared everything they had.  They even sold stuff they owned and gave the money to people in the community who were in need.  And as a result of this ONE BODY what happened?  “Each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”  People who were on the outside looking in saw this community of Christ-followers and said, “I’ve never seen people love each other like these guys.  I want in!  I want to know this Jesus guy.”  

And if we go back again and look at the prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden before his death, isn’t that what he asked for?  Read it again with me.  He prayed: 

Father...may they [the church] be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Earlier this week I saw Nike’s new ad promoting the World Cup and I wanted to show it to you today. It features several of soccer’s biggest stars from nations like the Ivory Coast, England, Portugal, Brazil and the ad is telling us that during the World Cup every kick, every touch, every tackle has the potential to lift a nation up or bring it to its knees. That there is no such thing as small actions.  Every action has huge ramifications.  (Show Video)

Write the future.  I like that slogan.  I think it is a great reminder for us that our actions are helping write the church’s future.  We may think when we gossip, or lie, or criticize, that we aren’t really hurting anyone but in reality we are destroying the “oneness” that Christ calls us to.  But at the same time every action of love, patience, self-control, kindness, peace, faithfulness and generosity ... when we display these actions we become the presence of Christ to people in this world.  

May we rally around this core belief of being ONE BODY as we make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

 

 

 

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