Brotherhood Relationships

I greet you in Jesus' name this morning as well. Good to be here, Faymo Dongchang for sharing with us today. What a blessing that is.

Praise God for what he's doing in the lives of our hearts and around the world. So we were grateful for that today. What a blessing, truly a blessing.

Okay, the story is told of two men, one man from Rome and the other man from Syria. And one day the man from Rome wanted to visit Syria. He wanted to do some business there.

And when he was there, he was caught and accused of being a spy. And he was taken to the Syrian Emperor. And the Emperor decided that the evidence was overwhelming that this man was guilty.

And because of his espionage that he was committing, he would be executed. The Emperor would execute him. And this poor fella, he was like, really, I'm innocent, but I can't prove it.

I have family back in Rome, I have a business in Rome, and I have things to take care of. So at this point, is there some way that I can set my affairs in order, and I will travel to Rome, I will set my affairs in order, and then I will come back and then you can deal with me however you see fit. The Emperor laughed at him and said, the Are you crazy? I mean, how will I send you to Rome? And I mean, if I let you go, you'll never come back.

And he says, Oh, wait, wait, wait, I have a guarantor here in Syria, that will stand in for me while I'm away. And then you will hold him and while when I'm back, then you can let him go and you can deal with me according to what you want. This intrigued the Emperor.

And so he listened some more. The man from Rome then said that he called his friend from Syria. And he, the Emperor called him and he said to him, is it true that you would stay in jail? While this your friend here travels to to Rome? And then when he comes back, then we will deal with him accordingly.

And this man from Syria said, Yes, yeah, that's, that's what I will do. He is my friend. He is close.

Of course, I will sit in in place for him. So they put the man in Syria, from Syria, they put him in jail, and this guy from Rome goes back home, gets on a ship. This was back in the days when, when they traveled by ship, and there was before the days of cars and things like that.

And so he travels back to Rome, he sets his affairs in order, he says goodbye to his wife, he says goodbye to his children. And then he gets back on a ship and he travels back to Syria, where he has obligation to meet the time. He had been given 60 days, he had to be back in 60 days, or else if he was not back, then his Syrian friend would be executed.

And since this was in the days when the winds, the ships were powered by the wind, the winds don't always blow when you want them to blow. And hence the journey took longer than they would have wanted it to take than he would have wanted it to take. And so the 60th day came, and it was getting closer and closer, it came, and the people in Syria started saying, wait a minute, here we are, 60 days have gone by, this man from Rome hasn't come back, it's time for the Syrian to be executed, the guarantor.

And so they contacted the Emperor, and he agrees, 60 days have gone by, his time is up, it's time for us to deal with this guarantor. So they take him to the executioner, the executioner takes him up on stage and gets him ready for the execution. And just as they're preparing and getting closer to that, the man from Rome comes running in the crowd and he says, wait, wait, wait, wait, I'm here, I'm here, let the man go, I'm here.

And he gets closer and he gets up on the stage, the friend from Rome, he gets up on the stage and he says, I'm back, let this man go, I'm the man that you want. And then the man from Syria says, no, no, no, no, 60 days have gone by, the law says in 60 days, it would be me, and so here I am, you have to kill me, let this man go. And so now there was this argument between these two men, who should be killed, and the executioner didn't know what to do.

And so the executioner goes to the Emperor, and he says, here are these two men, which one should I kill? And the Emperor listens to the man from Rome's argument, he says, you said I was the spy, I'm the one that you have to execute. The man from Syria says, no, no, no, the 60 days are up, the law says after 60 days, it should be me. And so the conflict was there.

The Emperor turns to these two men, and he sees their love for each other and then willingness to give up their life for each other. And the Emperor says, I will let both of you go. However, only on one condition.

And that is that you make me your third friend. The Bible says in John 15, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And Leviticus 19, verse 18, the last half of the verse says, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, I am the Lord.

May our loyalty to one another be like the, and our loyalty to the Lord, may it be like the story that we just, or I just told to you here. So the subject that I want to talk about here this morning is on the subject of relationships as brotherhood, brotherhood relationships. And as I praying about it, seeking God trying to find out what direction to go, I feel like I have seven things that the Bible says about brotherhood relationships, seven things that the Bible says I, I, as I was pondering, as I was going through these things, I actually joined a couple a little bit that were similar, because I probably could have got way, way more than seven.

But I wanted to keep it condensed and keep it to a reasonable number here. So there's seven things that we want to talk about in our brotherhood relationships. We as people, no matter how we get, no matter, we can't get away from it, we are relational beings.

And that's a wonderful thing. It's a scary thing. But it's also a wonderful, wonderful thing.

We spend time with each other to develop those relationships. First Thessalonians 2.8. Now this is this is Paul, as he's traveling, he's preaching the gospel and teaching. And as he's teaching, people come to faith.

And as people come to faith, notice, look at what this, this is one of the cities that he went to, to preach. First Thessalonians 2.8, he says, so being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. Notice the heart of Paul, and his longing for these people from the city of Thessalonica.

So it's one thing to, you know, share the gospel with somebody. And that's a wonderful thing to share with them. But as we do, relationships are developed, and hearts are knit together, and binds are, strings are bound together, hearts are bound together.

And that's a wonderful, wonderful thing. So this relationship that we see here from Paul to the Thessalonians. This wasn't just a ministry project that Paul, you know, wanted to share the gospel.

This was a genuine love and interest in the people that he was ministering to. Very beautiful. And that, that binding or pulling together of hearts and heart strings that that takes place is what a brotherhood should be.

A church where men love God and want to serve God. They're pulled together, and you have a loyalty and appreciation and a love for one another. For a text, turn to Jude, the book of Jude, Jude 1, and we're going to read verses 17 to the end of the chapter.

This is maybe a little bit of a different place to consider a passage on relationships. But I feel like we see something wonderful here. And out of these, out of this passage, I'd like to take my seven points that we're going to talk about today.

So 17, breaking in the middle here of the passage, it says, But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the spirit, but ye beloved, building up yourselves in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, and of some have compassion making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh.

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. So the goal here this morning, as I said, is to pull out seven points on brotherhood relationships from this particular passage.

And we'll reference some other Bible verses, I'll probably quote a few. But the first one that I'd like to draw our attention to when we consider a brotherhood relationship is the aspect that the relationship needs to be in Christ. And maybe this is a given, maybe this is just something that we all kind of take for granted.

But this is, I believe, very, very foundational. In Christ, verse 25 here, just a few phrases that I'll point out here, where I'm pulling this from, it says, to the only wise God our Savior. So the Savior of us as brothers, verse 21, he says, keep yourselves in the love of God.

The idea of our relationship, beginning with our relationship with each other begins with our relationship with Christ, where Christ is the one that has changed our hearts, as the brother testified this morning that Christ did in him. What draws individuals together? What draws people together? We're talking in the context of Christianity. It's the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is what draws us together. First Corinthians says, God is faithful by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. So our friendship is in the fellowship of Jesus Christ.

What draws us together is the work that Christ has done in my heart and the work that Christ has done in your heart. And these two are like magnets that pull us together and build that relationship, are foundational in building that relationship between myself and you, or you amongst each other as Christians. The fellowship of the faithful.

You have individuals who have been enemies. You have men and women who were enemies, and when they were unconverted, they get converted, they experience the grace of God. And all of a sudden, these two individuals that despised one another or hated each other become best friends because of what God did in the heart and life of both of them.

And that is the power of God working in our lives. Something supernatural. See, I'm not saying that we cannot have friendships or other types of relationships with non-believers.

I realize we can be friends with them and there is an element of a connection, there's a burden. But the oneness that is in a brotherhood relationship comes only when the two are brothers and the two are both following Christ. Why is that another reason? I think Jesus is the foundation.

Jesus is the foundation. In 1 Corinthians 3, he says that the last verse that I have in the passage here, that I've typed out here, 1 Corinthians 3 verse 11, it says, That's the foundation where brotherhood relationships begin and that's where they can start to be builded upon. If you have a church network, if you want to call it a church meeting, and you have the flesh involved, you have individuals that are not saved, you have a religious gathering, and there's not Christianity, there's not a relationship with Christ, that the aspect of brotherhood relationship is not there.

This is foundational, where it's the beginning. And then Proverbs 18 verse 24, it says, When the idea of my relationship with you as my brother can be very, very close and very dear, and with many of you it is, but there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother, which is Jesus Christ. And when we have our relationship with him, then our relationship with another brother is all the more sweeter.

I feel like that's the first point and I want to emphasize that. My next point is that brotherhood relationships are built and strengthened by prayer. Here in Jude chapter 1, in verse 20, it says that they're praying in the Holy Ghost.

Praying in the Holy Ghost. Pray together. Praying with one another can deepen spiritual bonds and create a sense of unity.

I feel like we as brothers, yes, we do pray together, and maybe it's just me, but I think we should pray together more. The idea of, you know, I have a need and I come and share it with you, and then we pray right there. Or you have a need and you'd share with another brother, and you pray for each other right there.

Or, I mean, some other way, some other time. I think this is very important. Years ago, I had the privilege of being in a brother's house and also carrying some heavy burdens on my heart.

More so, I think, a sense of not knowing what my next steps should be, where to go from here, what to do. And just having an opportunity to share with another brother, kneeling by his bed, and him praying for me and taking the time to pray there, really touched me. And, I mean, this particular brother is actually not in the congregation here at this time, but I've really appreciated him ever since.

I mean, that bond, that closeness, didn't just start there, but that's a pulling together when we pray one for another. One thing that I'd like to comment here on, on the aspect of during our communion services, and then when we have foot washing, those special times of prayer for one another when we have the foot washing service. Very, very special.

And I think they're heart-binding, and just the aspect of our relationship is built through experiences like that. And so I wonder if we are often so concerned about work and doing things that we miss where this strength comes from. Which the strength comes from Christ, and hence through the power of prayer, seeking God, getting his blessing.

Okay, moving on, number three. For a brotherhood relationship to work, there must be humility. Jude 1.22 here, it's an interesting way that this is written here.

It says, of some have compassion making a difference. And it seems like I don't totally see exactly what he's saying there. So I went to the ESV, and the ESV says, and have mercy on those who doubt.

The idea of having mercy on someone else. And when we extend mercy to them, when we expect mercy from someone else, there's an acknowledgement of a need in our own hearts. And whenever we acknowledge a need, that's humility.

That aspect of me humbling myself, the opposite of that is when I can do it myself. I have the answers, I have what I need, I can do it. That's the opposite of humility.

And the aspect of dependence requires us to be humble, and we humble ourselves before one another. So a very, very important point here that we have. The idea of being humble and being compassionate one with another.

In order to be humble, or carrying on the idea of humility a little bit further, we have to be open and vulnerable to one another. This idea of openness and vulnerability, honestly, is a scary thing. When I am vulnerable to you, I open my heart to maybe some of the dark things that are there, or the things that I would like God to work on, some of my weak points.

Maybe you see them already. And so when I open my heart and I'm vulnerable to you, that puts me, in a sense, in a very scary place. Because now the temptation or the reality is, you can reject me, or you can judge me, or you can mock me for my weakness.

And so that humility is something that, in order to build a relationship, needs to be there. And I think even the vulnerability. The problem with vulnerability, the idea of love, the brotherhood, loving one another.

The problem with love is that we become vulnerable to one another. And when we love someone and they hurt us, then we have opened our hearts and they hurt us. And that's incredibly, incredibly painful.

Very, very painful. And the challenge of the idea of loving or being hurt by somebody that you love is much, much more painful than being hurt by someone that is more distant from you. We kind of expect the world outside, the unbelievers, to do us wrong sometimes.

They do. They make fun of us. They laugh at us.

Maybe even take advantage of us. And we kind of, we don't like it, and it is painful, but we kind of expect it from them because they're heathen. I mean, they don't know God.

But then you have a close relationship with a brother or a sister, and they do something painful. That is when our hearts nearly break. And here, the aspect of humility is required.

So I want to move on to the, not another point, but just continue this thought of humility and exactly what we've been talking about. The idea of brotherhood offenses. What I just described.

The idea of brotherhood offenses. When we are offended one to another. Proverbs 18, 19 says, A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city.

You know, and you consider the military approach, the strategic approach to taking over a city that's walled. And that's the picture that it was given. And he's saying that it is easier to militarily surround that city, break in there, and take it over for your land, than it is to win back a brother that has been offended.

Now, some hope here. It doesn't say that it's impossible. It just says this aspect is easier.

And so when the offenses come, the work will be harder. But he does say it is possible. 1 Corinthians 8, 13 says, Now, this is Paul's response to people who could potentially be offended in some of the things that he does.

Notice what Paul says. He says, Now, notice Paul's concern for his brother. If this or this that I do will offend my brother, I will refrain from that, and I will not do that anymore.

I feel like, maybe, I feel like it's perfectly fine. However, it's a stumbling block to him. Therefore, I will pull back, and I will not do that.

And there you see the heart of a relationship, a relational brotherhood, where he knows how to encourage his brother, and he knows that he can pull back and say, I'll rather discipline myself, and say no to the things that I think are okay, so that he will not be offended, so that his relationship with God will continue. So, what does the Bible say when we have offenses? The Bible says that when you take the approach that it addresses, it says that thou hast gained a brother. Isn't that the goal when some individual, some person, has done something wrong? That the goal is that we would gain that brother back? So, Matthew 18, verse 15 through 20, it says, Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone, is what it says.

That's the first thing that Jesus says there. Between me and him. Why would he say that? Why would he say that it should be me alone before I go make a prayer request before the church, or before I tell everybody else what's happening, or before I take ten people with me and go talk to them? I think it's a matter of honor and a matter of respect.

If you have, if I have done something wrong to you, and, or maybe more so, if you see me doing something wrong, okay, and maybe I don't even know I did it, maybe it's a false accusation, maybe I didn't even do it, and so now you thought, or either you thought or you saw either one, and so in your mind you're convinced I did this, so you'll go and tell all the other people what I did, and then all of you, five or six or people, however many people, will come and talk to me. Well now you've tainted my reputation in front of all the people that you've talked to. You've negatively, you've put a negative seed in their mind about me.

And I mean, looking at it from a charitable position, is that a charitable position to take? Is that, would that be charitable of me to talk to five or six people when you did something wrong, and tell them first all the things that I think you did wrong, and then all five of us go to you and I found out it's not even true? Is that charitable? So that is why I think he says do it alone first. Do it alone so that the facts are there, so that everything is taken care of, so that there's a respect level that happens between, to the other individual. You're not tarnishing their reputation, you're not speaking ill of them, any of those things, and you are being charitable.

Then it says, we're going to continue on here, Matthew 18, he says, if he shall hear thee, so the assumption here that this trespass is there, if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained a brother, the quote that I already said. Thou hast gained a brother, isn't that the end goal? To gain that brother back. Then verse 16, but if he shall not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two or three every word may be established.

If he shall neglect to hear those individuals, then tell it to the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee a heathen and a publican. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on the earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. What I see here is the power of God upon the church that approaches, trespasses this way. That's what I see here.

When you have a church following this pattern, and then the last of it there said, when they neglect to hear the church, the church disciplines, and then the power of God, the authority of the church, the authority of God is behind the decision of what the church there has said and done. Now, what exactly all that means and how that works out in the spiritual realm, that I don't know, but I do see that the power of God is directed and affected in a powerful way here. So I feel like I want to encourage us to approach our trespasses against one another this way.

The aspect of humility is what we're considering. Alright, so how should, if somebody has a trespass or a concern about me, how should I receive a concern or a, like somebody addresses me, a rebuke or a concern? How should I receive that? I have just some outline here. First thing, I think the good way, you know, years ago or at different times, I've called people and said, hey, can I come over and talk with you a little bit? Or are you home? I want to chat a little bit.

And the first thing usually they think of is, oh, I did something wrong. What's he going to do? Oh, no, what did I do wrong? And then what's he going to say to me? And I love it when the one time we had a basket for a family, and I called him up and I said, are you home? I want to stop by a little bit. And he right away, like, uh-oh, what did I do? And then to bring them a basket of love of some sort, that's fun to do.

It's much, much harder when you have something that you, a concern that you have. That's much, much harder. However, when you get that phone call or a brother says to you, hey, can we chat a little bit? I have something that I need to share with you.

This is, I believe, a good, healthy approach to taking in what that person is going to say. The first thing is listen. And maybe that goes without saying, but listen to hear and to understand, not just to defend yourself.

Listen to what he has to say. Then don't point out his needs. Sometimes the temptation is you address something and they say, oh, but look at you in this area, or oh, but look at you in this area.

Don't do that. Listen to what he has to say. Keep your, bite your tongue if you need to.

Don't say anything. Put down your guard. Often when that phone call comes or that person mentions something, first thing is you put on a guard, a shield.

Protect yourself. Put that down. Then ask God what he wants to show or teach you through what this person is going to say.

God, what do you want to show me through what this person has said to me? Very important. And then as you've contemplated this thing before God, brought it before him, opened your heart before God, then disregard the things that are not true and embrace what is true. And so sometimes what happens when someone approaches someone, you know, maybe 80 or maybe 90% of what that person says is not true.

Or maybe they were a bit too harsh in their approach. And maybe the things that they said was misunderstood or was represented incorrectly. And the temptation is throw the whole thing away.

It's not true. However, rather consider, disregard what he said that is not true. Embrace what is true.

Remember, you ask God what he wanted to teach you. And then learn from what God wants to teach you there. And I believe if we follow this approach, we can grow.

We can grow spiritually in our faith with God and we can grow in our relationship with our brother and our sister. Now, I'll be the first one to say this is not easy. It's not easy.

The natural thing when somebody has a concern, you can list 101 things why your position was correct. And maybe there's a time for some defensive comments or maybe that's not the right way to say it. Some explanation of why you did it or why you take that position.

Maybe there's a time for that. However, do it prayerfully and carefully. And this is an opportunity to learn versus an opportunity to just defend yourself.

Now, how about the other side? How about the idea of giving an admonition? I think it's just as important. There are a couple of pointers that I'd like to just point out to us here. The first thing, if you see something and you feel like an admonition needs to be given, it says, I feel like you should pray about it.

Number one. Pray about it. And then the second thing you should do is pray some more about it.

And I was tempted here to go on for quite a while about that, but I left it at two. So pray about it and then pray about it some more. And then, remember, practice the golden rule.

Be kind. Approach them as you'd like them to approach you when it was your turn. So approach in a kind, the golden rule, the way that I would want them to speak to me.

Be kind. Give affirmation. Express and share your love.

However, I think we should not just express and share our love whenever we're gearing up towards a rebuke. I think that is a misrepresentation of our brotherhood. Just like with our children.

Every time we tell our children they're doing a good job, and they know that a rebuke's coming right after that, we've done something wrong. I think the compliments should be there before more often than the rebukes. However, we should be giving affirmation.

Things that we do appreciate them. And then, in the midst of that, remember that you too can be tempted and can fall. You are not exempt from falling.

And then share your concerns and your admonition in a humble way. There's a few pointers there. I think in a practical way, how we can admonish one another.

The scripture says that, it talks about the ability of a church that it is able to admonish one another. And that's an interesting statement. I did write it down.

I wonder if I put it on a different point. Yeah, somewhere. I did write it down, maybe on a different point.

But the idea of, that Paul would say, ye are able to admonish one another. Now, why is that important? The idea of us being able to build each other up. That's probably the point.

I have a point like that. So it's probably there. So I'm getting ahead a little bit.

But very important. That we are able to admonish one another. And when we admonish one another, we grow thereby.

Some of our admonitions are through sermons. Just like this. Sometimes they're more general.

And you are, just like the idea of hearing a sermon. It is your responsibility to ask God, God, what are you trying to tell me through what the brother or the song service or the lesson that is being taught. What are you trying to teach me? And we are admonished through that.

Sometimes maybe we don't look at it that way. Because it's not as personal. But when it's a one-on-one, and somebody talks to you and takes you aside, it feels a little bit more threatening.

However, I think that's still an important part of a brotherhood relationship. This requires humility. Right along with humility, the idea of forbearing.

Paul says in Colossians chapter 3, he says that we should put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, telling about others, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and long-suffering. All very much to do with our relationship with one another. Verse 13 then goes on and says, Forbearing one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Very important. Forgiveness is a trap where we are putting ourselves in a cage, much more than we are the other person. Verse 14.

And above all things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. The idea of brotherly love. I think there'd be another point.

There's two or three points that I just, reading this passage. Forbearing, brotherly love, and forgiving would all be more points that I could add. But I kind of summed up in this one point of humility here.

But very, very important. Which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you, richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Ephesians 4. Could look at 1 through 6, but just kind of break it in the middle here.

Verse 3 says, Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. So the idea of humility in the bond of peace. This unity of the Spirit that God wants us to pull together requires humility.

Romans 12, 3 through 5, For I say, through the grace given unto me, that every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another. The idea here of not to think of yourselves more highly than you ought.

I think sometimes people, they have this idea, and I'll say it in German, but this mentality that they convince themselves of, Mit mir ist nichts. It's nothing with me. And I believe that's wrong.

I don't think that's God's heart, that we would develop such an attitude. And the idea of in humility, accepting that what God has, the person that God has made us in Christ, and then accept the work that God wants us to do, I think is a comforting and a liberating place that we can be. If we take the approach of, I can't offer anything, I have nothing to give, I have, mit mir ist nichts, that mentality, we are depriving the church of a blessing, and I believe that's a false humility that God does not want us to experience.

God wants us to be humble in the sense of that we are dependent on Him and on God, the aspect of humility, but then believing God and what His word truly says, not looking at it from such a way that we don't even believe that God has brought us to a place of oneness with Him. So believe what God says in His word. Such a mentality, as I said there, is not what the scriptures teach.

So to conclude this section here, on this point, I'd just like to read Romans 12, 21. It says, Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. The idea of brotherhood offenses, I'm offended at somebody else, or things like that, but if we're not careful with that, that will consume us, and it will take away our joy and our peace with God.

And so here the scripture tells us, don't be overcome with evil. As we observe evil in our world, and we see needs in other people's lives, we're tempted to become overcome with that. It says, Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Instead, have a heart of service and giving to the other person. All right, moving on here. My next point, number four, is brotherhood relationships are about building yourself up.

Here, verse 20, it says, But ye, beloved, building up yourselves in the most holy faith. So is this me building myself up personally, or is this all of us building each other up in a corporate setting? And I think either one would apply, but he is addressing a church. He is addressing a group of believers, and so it's us building each other up together.

The idea of building ourselves up, I think part of it is where we express gratitude and appreciation for one another. The giving and the serving of a church, to keep a church going, to have services regularly, is much, much more than just one person standing behind a pulpit or behind a podium and addressing a congregation. There is so much that goes in the background to make that happen, and sometimes, often, we overlook these types of things.

One person that I thought of is the maintenance person in church. We only notice, as long as everything is working well, the doors open and close and the lights turn on and off, and everybody is happy, but as soon as one thing doesn't work, well, now we know, okay, something is wrong here. But if he fixes it before we even notice, we didn't even think about it.

It was broken, I didn't know, and it's been taken care of. So that maintenance person is in the background that nobody seems to see often, and yet they keep so much of the practical side functioning. And that's just one example.

The idea of expressing gratitude, appreciation, loving for what we do for one another. Here, then, in turn, we focus on things that encourage each other versus things that tear each other down. And by that, I mean the idea of gossiping or speaking ill will.

Again, we talked about the previous point. If you have an issue, we talk to them. We don't gossip.

We speak kindly of other people. We encourage and uplift to strengthen our relationship versus our interactions being about speaking negatively about someone else or some other church group or some other person. Those things are not encouraging and not building up.

We become very, very heavy. I've been at places for an evening to visit and just had a wonderful time of testifying, speaking of what God's Word is teaching us, different things like that, and come away from there encouraged and inspired to move forward. Then I've been at other places where it seemed like the person had a grudge and needed somebody to unload on, and not in a helpful way, what should I do with this, but almost like a desire to nitpick and a desire to put down.

And you go away from there feeling heavy and almost discouraged. These two scenarios is one example of how we can build one another up or really weigh the other person down. I realize there's times where hard things need to be said and talked about, and there's a place for that.

This should just not be, or it should be done carefully so that we are still building one another up and building the brotherhood. Okay, a few verses here, 1 Thessalonians 5.11. Comfort yourselves together and edify one another even as ye do. The Thessalonian church there.

Paul, when you read his love for the people there at Thessalonica, it's just amazing. And here he sees, he tells them what to do, and he sees that they are fulfilling that part. What a blessing.

Titus 2, 3 and 4. The passage talks about the older women teaching the younger women. And there again, building one another up. How does a younger woman love her husband? Well, the older women are teaching by example and showing them how that should be done.

I think it says teaching them to love their husbands and their children. I think something like that. Hebrews 10 talks about provoking each other to love and good works.

We gather together to provoke one another, and that builds one another up. And then Romans 15, verse 14, is the verse that I referenced earlier, where it says, ye are able to admonish one another. So it's interesting to me that Paul saw that as a necessity within the body of Christ, within a local church.

Alright, number five. The brotherhood relationships are about togetherness and unity. Another very important point.

Verse 19, it says, These be they who separate themselves, is what the verse there says, and who are they? They are the sensual, having not the spirit. And so from that you see that the faithful, those that love God, assemble together, and those that turn away from God, that are sensual, that do not have the spirit, start separating themselves and refusing to join with the faithful. So that's the picture that I want to just put in there.

The aspect of togetherness and assembly is God's heart. We need to embrace the idea and remind ourselves that we do need one another. Sometimes we feel like we can do it on our own, and I don't need other people's input, and yet we need their input.

We need their direction. We need them to speak into our lives. And then as we are together and walk together, that input gets put there.

Philippians 1.8 says, So again, the desire to be together with fellow believers was Paul's heart. We also see that the idea of believers being, when one believer is persecuted, and even if we are not, if we just identify with them, it brings that persecution upon us as well. Hebrews 10.33 says, So they're companions, they're friends, they're together with other individuals who have been mocked for their faith.

And now since you're associating with them, you are labeled by the world, by the heathen, as, you know, in a negative way as well. And so this idea of togetherness and unity, here very much we need love, which Christ produces within our hearts for fellow believers. Philippians 2 tells us that we should be like-minded.

The idea of togetherness and unity. Philippians 2 says, Let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. And then it goes on and it talks about Jesus coming down from heaven to the earth. So this like-mindedness, togetherness, this unity is very, very important.

You have the idea of a similar vision where a brotherhood needs to be heading in a similar direction, in a similar path. If you have individuals in a congregation and their vision, their views, even their applications in many ways, if they are so different, that like-mindedness isn't there and it will eventually come to a head. There will be things that will need to be discussed and talked about so that the vision is the same and the direction is the same.

So this is very important as well. Here you get into some of the practical things that we can get into that sometimes are controversial and difficult to talk about and yet important that we submit to one another, apply and walk in a way that is pleasing and right in how we address and walk in the faith. Yeah, very important.

This is, I think, where at times churches split because you have this group says, no, this is okay, and this group says, no, that is, and you have some type of a split that takes place and those become very, very ugly. And I pray that we don't have to go through that. Our heart is that we can direct the church in togetherness and unity in the things that we've talked about in our relationship with Christ, but then also in the practical side of modesty, of plainness, and of walking in the things that God has for us.

That's the heart there. We see an expression of Christianity today all over that is difficult for us to know exactly what to do with because you don't want to call the ones in the evangelical circle as heathen or as unbelievers. And yet, when you look at the lifestyle and the direction that they're going, the applications that they're making, the freedoms that they're taking that just are not, I believe, are not what God is teaching, how much time will go by until they will find themselves in a place where they never thought they would be? And, you know, again, it's not our place to judge those, but the idea of a similar vision and direction where we do have a plainness application, a way to apply it in a simple, plain way of what the Scripture says and is teaching is the heart, I believe, that God is showing for us to live.

All right, moving on here, two more. We need to, the brotherhood relationships are a mission to serve together, a mission where we work together. Verse 23, it says, and others save with fear.

So Jude 1.23 is where I pulled that together. We should work together. The idea of serving together, and this is what we do as a church quite a bit, and I'm blessed by you see a work project, and people pitch in and serve in that way.

We have other events at church. We have ministries like the homeless. People pitch in and serve Christ together.

And we need to continue to do this, continue to apply this, and even seek new ways that we can serve together. And as we serve together, and as we get involved, then our relationships come closer because we're pulling the plow together. Both of us are in the dirt there pulling together, getting dirty, and applying and teaching and serving God in that way.

When we have an object or a goal in this aspect of service, then I think sometimes some of the more trivial aspects of things that come up at times in brotherhood relationships kind of go away. Certain things, some trivial things come up, and in some cases some of these are kind of immature. And when we have a focus of where something that's of eternal value, it kind of resets our focus and said, look, if this thing that is trivial, I'm willing to lay it aside and move forward in the way that God can bless it.

Just an example of that, years ago we as a church talked about sitting men and women separate and having the brothers on one side, the sisters on the other. And we talked about it at a brothers meeting, and I felt like I think it would be a good idea. Some of the others felt like it wouldn't be necessary.

A majority did, and so we decided to abandon it. Now I could have taken the approach and said, no, I feel like this is the best thing to do. We should do this.

And at that time for me to just lay it down and say, okay, the brothers decided this. I'm going to move forward and bless and serve God that way. And I'm blessed today to be able to sit with my family during a worship service.

But there's one example of what I mean, some of these trivial things that can come up. If we're willing to lay our lives down for one another and focus in on the things that are of eternal consequence and direction, I think it refocuses on what's important and what's not. Let's see here.

I recently listened to a testimony of a man, an Anglican man from England, and he was stationed for a year, I think it was, at a Mennonite church in north of Toronto. It was a First Mennonite church, so I think it was more of your conference-style type Mennonite churches. And so he was stationed there to learn for a year, and he noticed the aspect of the serving attitude that the Mennonite people had.

And here I think something that we want to very much, that we can continue to grow in this. The example that he said is there was a man that died in their church community, and so now you had a widow, and he was a farmer. And so all the church people came in and harvested this widow's crop for her, because the father, the man, the farmer, had passed away.

But the church community jumped in and served each other in that way. And so this just immensely spoke to him, because he grew up Anglican, and they said, we never see anything like that in our church. And I feel like that is the testimony of Christ, when we are willing to serve one another in these various ways, and serve together.

I'm going to leave that one. My time is quickly expiring here. We'll leave that one there.

And number seven, the last one, is brotherhood relationships are kept by God in the keeping power of God. So Jude 1.24 here, it says, Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless. So the keeping power of God, I think, is another thing that we should never underestimate.

The grace of God in our lives to build us together as a brotherhood, where God is working. I see that God allows tests in our lives at times, where things come up, and God tests us to see, is our relationship strong? Is our dependence upon God strong? Are we relying on him? And I think he allows these things to prove us, to see where we're at. However, at the same time, I think God also has, and does, that keeping power of keeping us as an individual, and us as a congregation.

I think of the story of Job, as referenced yesterday, where you have the devil trying to destroy Job, and you have, you know, God gives them permission. And so, I think the devil says, well, you've put a hedge around him. And that's wonderful.

I believe we have a hedge around us. And if we turn away from God, we open up that hedge to places, and allow things in our lives that God doesn't want. And so we have that hedge, and as we walk faithfully with him, I think that hedge stays in place.

Occasionally, God seems to pull that hedge back a little bit, and maybe allows some animal to dig underneath, and get in there, and wreck a little havoc, and then it's up to us now. How will we respond to this? Will we seek God, deal with what needs to be done, and continue to be faithful? Or will we conform and comply, and then more and more damage will be done? So, the keeping power of God, I think, is very, very important. As we rely on him, I believe God does keep us, and help us in areas, probably, the way that I see it, more than I even recognize.

More than I recognize. So, Romans 8.31 says, What shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? If God is on our side, as a brotherhood, to be in one, in unity, in good working relationships, then who can be against us? Ephesians 3.20 says, Now unto him that is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

So, far more abundantly. So, in conclusion here, the seven points. Number one, our relationships are in Christ.

Our relationships are kept by prayer. Our humility is a very important aspect of our brotherhood relationships. We are told to build one another up.

Our brotherhood is to work together. Our brotherhood is where we serve God together and where we are kept by God's grace in our work here for Him. May God add His blessing.