We Are Better Together Than Apart

Preached on November 17, 2024

God has sent us a message and we must receive His message and move accordingly. In this week’s message, Pastor McCrary shares a powerful word on fellowship and being better together. We are going to need each other in the days ahead so watch this week’s message to see how we can come closer together.

Introduction

As a community with a history of being marginalized, the last thing we should let happen is for us to be separated and divided.  Regardless of what may lie ahead, there is a word of wisdom taught in the word of God which we must heed.  The word of wisdom is that we are better together than we are apart.

Faith and Fellowship Is Needed

We are a week or so away from Thanksgiving and for the past couple of weeks, the Thanksgiving meal has not been on my mind.  The two things that have been on my mind have been:  1.  Being thankful for God’s grace and mercy.  2.  Family— unity in fellowship.  Faith and fellowship needs to be at the forefront of all of our minds this season moving forward.  

Why do I say that?  Because God has spoken.  In Hebrews 12:25-26, scripture states, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks … whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”

At first He spoke through the prophets but the people didn’t listen.  Then He spoke through His only begotten, and only a few listened.  Today, He speaks through His stewards and nothing has changed in man’s heart.  In fact, God’s been trying to get our attention quite a bit recently, as He has permitted this world to be rocked to do so. 

God Has Spoken

It began when kids started carrying guns to school to kill other kids.  It continued when unarmed people were killed by those who are supposed to protect and serve.  Men began walking through streets carrying torches shouting the hateful phrases of years gone by.  Even the weather began to change with hurricanes quickly growing in strength rarely ever seen and moving in directions rarely ever seen.

Today we see liars, bigots, racists, misogynists, false teachers and leaders out in the open, loud and proud, and supported.  I was told that slavery, oppression, Jim Crow, and unequal rights were a thing of the past.  God is speaking today and it’s not the still small voice – there is trouble in this land!  So, we must not refuse Him who speaks, but rather, we must receive His message and move accordingly.  

The message that’s been sent:  It’s time for us to remember how we were raised and trained to go in the way of God, together.  The message that’s been sent:  we are a community that needs to return to our old ways of faith and fellowship.  The message that’s been sent:  we need to embrace each other even more today and draw even closer together.

If you don’t have a church home today, I tell you that you need to find a church home that is based on the principles of Christ’s teachings of love and grace.  If you have stopped attending church regularly, you need to return in person, as often as you can, to worship and fellowship together.  If you have lost contact with family and loved ones, now is the time to start re-establishing those connections.  

Fall of the Prideful

The reason I’m sharing this message with you today is because in Hebrews 12:27, we are told that the shaking once more indicates the “removal of those things that are being shaken.”  Then, in Hebrews 12:28, it is stated, “since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”   

We must move together by faith and fellowship rooted in Christ to withstand the shaking of the world today.  We must move together by faith and fellowship to withstand the evil spirit of division that is at work today.  The reason for this call of fellowship is because Jesus taught, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand (Matt. 12:25).”  

There has been no kingdom, no city, no house that’s been divided amongst itself that did not fall.  Let’s not be so proud to think that we can buck that trend!  The proverb tells us that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (Prov. 16:18).  

Better Together Than Apart

We must come together and work together as there is a great reward in doing so.  As we are told in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion, But woe to him who is alone when he falls.” 

In Hebrews 10:24-25, the writer called on us to, “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.”  

The word of God makes it clear— we are better together than apart!  Together, there is uplifting.  I can’t build a house by myself but together, with others, we can build many houses!  When we stand together there is teaching, help, support, growth, and uplifting to new heights!  This is what we are missing in our community today and this is what we need to get back too!

Together, we are able to keep each other encouraged through our trials and tribulation.  Together, we can help to lead wandering souls to the path of life and righteousness (Jas. 5:20; 1 Pet. 4:8).  Together, there is victory rather than desolation!

How to Move Better Together

So, what does it take for us, as a community, to draw closer together in faith and then move together?

Strive to be selfless

In order for us to move together, Paul wrote, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit (Phil. 2:3).”  I believe that selfish ambition and conceit is where many of us have strayed and it’s killing our community – our fellowship.

At one point in time, we recognized that we were all that we had.  Over time, we learned the way of evil men and out of a desire to be like them we bought into his teachings of greed and covetousness rather than God’s teaching of love.  When we began to move out of evil man’s greed and covetousness, contempt for those in our community began to grow.  I want you to understand that this is exactly what the wicked man desired.

Where we used to work together, we began to and still do compete against each other!  What good has come from competing against one another in a manner where only one succeeds rather than a community?  It’s ok to compete to build up but not good if it tears down!

We will overcharge each other and rob each other because all we see are dollar signs.  We will move against each other over some dead presidents on green paper!   Why are we fighting each other over pieces of paper?  For the wealth and power that evil men are never going to let you obtain?

What’s even worse is that in our contempt for each other, we don’t respect each other as we should.  Something as simple as respecting each other’s time, we don’t respect and we will joke about that!  We don’t respect what each other has gone through or presently goes through.  We don’t respect each other’s gifts and skills— instead of giving to one what they deserve, we try to cheat each other!

I don’t say these things to be mean-spirited but to point out that we can’t move together if selfishness lies within.  So, as Paul stated, in order for us to move together, we need to turn away from selfishness.  In order for us to move together, we must become selfless – loving and respecting each other again!

Strive to love in its purest form

On the notion of becoming more selfless, in Philippians 2:3-4, we’ll see that Paul wrote, “in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”  This is a statement that speaks about love in its purest and true form.  Love, in its purest and true form, does not seek its own as it will put others before itself (1 Cor. 13:5).  

The mindset of love is that of lowliness, humility, and service of one another.  Jesus showed the disciples this mindset when He washed their feet.  Jesus said to the disciples, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet (John 13:14).”

The washing of feet was a service of hospitality.  In those times, when guests visited your home, the courteous thing to do was to wash their feet.  Are we washing each other’s feet today?  Are we serving each other?  Many of us desire to be served but won’t ever lower ourselves to the level of serving another.  Some of us won’t even help our own blood nonetheless help an entire community and that’s truly a shame!

It’s really a shame that God has to remind us to love each other over and over again.  We must get into the mindset today that true love is a lowly service that we are all supposed to share in this community effort.  You see, it is impossible to move together if we think ourselves higher and better than others.  Let’s remember that love is not puffed up (1 Cor. 13:4)!  So, we must all learn to be humble in order to move together in faith and in unity.

Be swift to listen and understand

On the thought of being high-minded, I am reminded of a testimony that I shared about my dad recently.  My dad was a man that loved the Lord and he loved his family.  While he was a pastor and could be both serious and strict, he was a man that would talk to anybody.  My dad was a man of understanding and wouldn’t judge others.

I am still trying to grow to get to that level and I believe that all of us need to reach this mindset if we are to succeed together in the days ahead.  Paul would certainly agree that such a mindset must be learned in a community trying to flourish together.

In Philippians 2:14, Paul wrote, “Do all things without complaining and disputing.”  You see, it’s hard to work with those that love to fuss and fight – argue and complain.  Fussing, fighting, arguing, and complaining comes from a place where we struggle to understand each other along with one truly thinking their way is better.  As I mentioned earlier, strife can destroy all unity.  

So, how do we remove all the fussing, fighting, arguing, and complaining?  I’ll reference James 1:19-20 to answer this question.  James wrote, “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  

Nothing can be accomplished when we talk over each other.  At home, if I dared tried to talk back or talk over my parents, that was met with a “you better shut up while I’m talking to you” or something else.  If we’re talking and not listening, we can’t learn which means we can’t grow.  If we’re talking and not listening, that means we’ll miss directions and get off path.

We must come to understand that everybody doesn’t think nor move the same way that we do.  So, we must become more understanding and less conceited and judgmental.  Misjudging others and misjudging situations, history shows, leads to strife and a lack of trust.  The reason why there hasn’t been much growth in our community today is because of that self-righteous and conceited mindset. 

All On One Accord 

Listening and understanding each other will get us on one accord.  Being on one accord is the goal of the Spirit.  In Philippians 2:1-2, we’ll see that Paul wrote, “If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, have the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

In Romans 12:9-10 when he wrote, “Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil.  Cling to what is good.”  Again, I repeat, the selfish, greedy, and conceited mindset is against true love and should not be in us.  To abhor evil means to loathe and to detest sin and any unrighteousness.  Let’s keep in mind that true love thinks no evil nor does it rejoice in iniquity (1 Cor. 13:5-6).  

We can’t be on one accord if the way you move opposes community growth.  We can’t be on one accord if you support the wicked and evil.  To be crystal clear, if you’re supporting racism, bigotry, misogyny – all manner of hate – you have no part in God and you certainly can’t be a part of this community of faith walking.

We are encouraged to cling to what is good, not what is wicked!  To cling:  to hold together; to adhere as if glued firmly; to hold or hold on tightly or tenaciously.

The wicked and the evil don’t want us to cling together because they know what comes when we’re together on one accord!  History shows that this community is undefeated when we work together.  WE have withstood and succeeded in spite of bigots, racists, dividers, and the ignorant fools and we will again. 

A Goal to Flourish Together

To those of you who are disappointed, lost, hurting, and dealing with depression, there is hope and that hope is found in fellowship.  So, in the days ahead, it is incredibly important that we come together so that we don’t fall apart!  Let’s be of one mind with a goal in sight.  

Our goal should be to succeed in what God created us to do – to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28)— to flourish together.  I want to make it clear that when I say to flourish, my sight isn’t on earthly wealth!  The goal is His kingdom, His wealth, and to be favored by Him.  God’s favor is truly a wonderful blessing.

We must support each other.  Turn away from supporting evil people of selfish ambition because they will prosper and you will be left behind.  However, when you support one who loves and supports you, both will prosper.

True prosperity is a group project.  You may have hated doing them in school but we have to work on this project together.  We work on this project together by you loving me and me loving you – we cannot prosper without one another.  So, this Thanksgiving season, I hope you give consideration to these words:  we must commit ourselves to each other as we will be better together than we would be apart.