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GOTTA GET CONNECTED There are over five hundred million people already connected to the Internet and within two years there will be five hundred million people in the world connected to the Internet. If you are not on it now, you will be very soon. Companies are spending hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars – not millions, billions – to lay cable and to put satellites in space in order to connect everybody in the world.

This week I did a little research and discovered that on land, in 1999 and 2000, 28 million miles of fiber optics were laid around the world. Under the ocean, there is enough cable to circle the entire globe five times. In the air there are now over fifteen hundred satellites dedicated to communications.

Today, I want to talk to you about another kind of connection. A relational connection. For the past thirty years there's been a strong emphasis in our society on personal individuality, self-expression, self-esteem, self-fulfillment. Focus on me, the individual. I've got to do what's best for me. As a result of that we've produced a very disconnected society. People don't know each other. You don't know all your neighbors. You don't know all the people you work with. You don't even know all the people in this church. You’re disconnected.

We weren't made to live that way. The Bible says in Genesis 2:18, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." You were made for relationships. You were created for connections. Psychologists call this a universal need to belong. Even Jesus needed friends. The Bible has a very important word about connecting people at the deepest level. That spiritual connection is called fellowship.

We use the word "fellowship" to refer to just hanging out with people (which it is not), having a party (which it is not), being with friends (which it is not).

Fellowship is more than socializing.
Fellowship is more than networking.
Fellowship is more than making contacts with contacts.
It is even more than just spending fun time with people you love.


Fellowship in its truest sense is soul to soul connection. Sadly most people on this earth have never enjoyed the true meaning of genuine fellowship. They have never had a spiritual connection with anybody. You may have had an emotional connection, a sexual connection, an intellectual connection. But almost nobody has ever had a heart-to-heart, soul to soul, fellowship connection unless you know the Lord and have learned to fellowship with other believers.

Why is it essential or vital to connect with others?

There are emotional reasons. There are physical reasons. You will live longer, lots of studies have proven that. There are spiritual benefits. Dr. Edward Hallowell has written a book simply called Connect. He says, "We are a nation of doers. We hurry from place to plate, filling our lives with all kinds of activities, sometimes over scheduling our kids and ourselves. But what really sustains us emotionally, psychologically and physically is connectedness, the feeling that we are part of something that matters, something larger than ourselves that gives life meaning. Just as there is a vitamin deficiency, there is a human contact deficiency and it weakens the body, the mind and the spirit. Its ravages can be severe – depression, physical illness, early death. Or they can be mild – under achievement, fatigue, and loneliness. Just as we need Vitamin C each day, we also need a dose of human contact everyday with other people.

We all know that we need food. We all know that we need vitamins and minerals. We know that we need air. Most of us know that we need sunshine. But most of us don't know that one of the other major factors in your health in life is you need deep human contact.

What does it mean to be spiritually connected?

What's it like? The Bible gives us four word pictures or metaphors that says, "Being spiritually connected is like this..." We're going to look at these this morning because a lot of you have a misunderstanding of what church is all about. Church is not a place to attend. Church is a group to be connected to.

This weekend between five and six hundred people will be here for a service, but only about half of those 500 are really connected spiritually to this church. So I want to explain to you the benefits of why you've got to get connected. If you studied the chart on the front of the bulletin you may have already done some personal inventory as to where you fit in within the context of this church.

You need people to live with.

Why? What is it like to be spiritually connected?

1. IT'S LIKE BEING A BRICK IN A BUILDING.

This is a picture we find in the Bible. The Bible compares the church to a spiritual building.

Notice Ephesians 2:20 & 22 "You believers are like a building that God owns. Jesus is the most important stone in the building and the whole building is joined together in Christ. [Circle "joined together"] You are being built into a place where God lives through the Spirit."

I have a very close friend that is the owner of a major log home manufacturing company. I am very familiar with his business and the things that they offer the customer. One of the benefits they provide is packaging the home or logs in such a way that when they are unloaded the pieces are in the order that you will need as you build the log home. If you were to just scatter these logs and the other lumber and material around you building lot it would be very difficult for most of us to put it all together. To most of us building materials would just look like a bunch of boards, nails, shingles, pipes, and drywall. When the materials are all connected they build a beautiful building. A home or house.

That is a parable of many of you. You come to Newark Church of the Nazarene, you attend here, you're in the Newark Naz. family. But you're not really a part of the Newark Naz. family. It's like you're in the building but you're not a part of the building because you're not connected. You come and you sit and you hear God's word and you sing the songs, you go out and talk to people (maybe) in the foyer and you go home. But you're a spectator, you're not actually a participator. You need to get connected.

Ephesians 2:21 "We who believe are carefully joined together becoming a holy temple for the Lord." God is building a spiritual temple, a living one. And it's going to last forever. To be a part of it, you've got to get connected to it.

Why did God choose a building as an illustration of what it means to be spiritually connected? Why did He choose a building to demonstrate what the church is like?

Because in a building, all the connected parts support each other. Beams support other beams. Walls support other walls and the roof holds the walls together, the walls hold the roof up. They're all connected and they're all supporting.

That is one of your deepest needs in life. You need support. You need emotional support. You need physical support sometimes. You certainly need spiritual support. Where are you going to get it if you're not connected? Who's going to hold you up in the tough times? You need the support, like being a brick in a building. You weren't meant to go through life disconnected and unsupported.

2. IT’S LIKE BEING A PART OF A BODY.

The Bible not only compares being a part of the church with being a brick in a building, but it also compares it to being a part of a body. That's an image of being spiritually connected because the Bible calls the church the body of Christ over and over again. It compares the church to a physical body.

Romans 12 says this "Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of it and it takes every one of us to make it complete for we all have a different work to do. So we belong to each other [circle "we belong to each other"] and each needs all the others."

This verse is literally packed with spiritual truths. I want to point out five things just from this one verse.

    1. First, notice that in a church we're all different. We're all unique. God doesn't want you to be like anybody else. He made you uniquely you. He wants you to be you. He doesn't want you copying anybody else. You don't have to be like them. You are unique.

    2. We all have different roles to play, different work to do, different niches to fill. In a body not everything does the same thing. Can you imagine if all the parts of your body did the same thing? Like, every part of your body did the digestion. That would be redundant and uncomfortable because you have a lot of other things to do besides just digest food. It would be unnecessary too. We have different roles to play in the body of Christ.

    3. We are all needed to make the body complete. The hand can't say to the foot, "I don't need you," and the ear can't say to the nose, "I don't need you." We're all needed in the body of Christ. Some parts of your body are very small but they're still needed. You may think that “In this large body of Christ called Newark Church of the Nazarene, I'm just a toenail on the body." Have you ever lost a toenail? Do you notice it when it's gone? I can assure you it's pretty uncomfortable. Even when the littlest part of your body gets hurt, you notice it. If your little finger gets smashed, the rest of your body hurts. There are no little people in the body of Christ.

It's like in your home, the most important light in my home is not the big light in the kitchen. It’s that little tiny light you turn on at night that keeps you from stubbing your toe when you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. That's the most important light in your house.

Sometimes the most important light is the one that comes on when I open the refrigerator door. That may be true but the point is, size and significance have nothing in common. And if you're at this church, you are needed here in the body of Christ. You're not here by accident. God brought you here because you have a role to play in this body of the body of Christ called Newark Naz.

“In Christ’s Body we’re all conneted to each other.” Eph. 4:25b

    4. We all belong to each other. The Christian life is not just a matter of believing. It's a matter of belonging. You say, "I believe in Jesus." Great! You're halfway there. But you need to belong to His body. You need to be a brick in the building and a part of the body. What good is a body part that's detached from the body? We all belong to each other. You make a commitment to Jesus Christ and you make a commitment to other Christians and say, "That's going to be the body I'll be a part of."

    5. We all need to be connected to each other. When you're disconnected you're not very effective. What good is an eyeball detached from the body? None. An eyeball cannot see at all unless it is attached to a body. What good is a hand if it's detached from a body? None. A hand cannot do anything unless it's connected to a body. Here's the parallel: God wants you to be connected to His body because you can't be effective as a Christian, as a believer, to grow spiritually without being connected.

Why did God choose the body as an illustration of what the church is to be? Because in a body, all the parts grow together. They grow in harmony. If your leg gets detached from your body, can it grow? No. If your arm gets detached from your body can it grow? No. I don't know how to say it any clearer than this: You cannot be all God wants you to be and you cannot grow to be what God wants you to be without being attached to a body, a church, a church home. This is the second most important connection in life. The most important connection is your connection to God, Jesus Christ. Once you've got that one down the second most important connection in your life is get connected to God's body, the body of Christ, so that you can grow.

Colossians 2:19 "We are joined together in His body by His strong sinews, and we grow as we get our nourishment and strength from God."

What is a sinew? The sinew is the muscle part of your body. It's the part that holds everything together. Notice it says we grow as we get our nourishment and strength from God. If you are serious about spiritual growth, you have to get connected to a body. You have to get connected to a church body and say, "That's where I'm going to grow." You cannot grow all the way you're supposed to grow on your own.

The Bible also called the church a flock. This is Jesus' favorite term. He calls the church, "My little flock." So the third image of what it means to be spiritually connected is: It’s Like Being a Sheep in a Flock.

3. IT'S LIKE BEING A SHEEP IN A FLOCK

Psalm 100:3 says "God made us and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture."

That probably doesn't sound too appealing to you. A sheep in a flock! Wow! That sounds really kind of smelly! In suburbia you have no idea how well sheep are cared for. But if you remember in Psalm 23 it says "Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need." When you get in God's flock, the great shepherd, Jesus Christ, takes care of the needs in your life.

Jesus said this in John 10 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." That's how much you matter to God. Jesus Christ laid down His life for you. "A hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep, so when the wolf comes he abandons the sheep and runs away and then the wolves attack the flock and scatter it. A hired hand runs away because he cares nothing for the sheep. But I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me and I lay down My life for My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish and no one can ever snatch them out of My hand."

Why did God choose the flock as an image of what it means to be spiritually connected? Because in a flock the sheep are protected and cared for. That's one of the functions of a church. You need that in your life. When you're getting beat up in the business world, when your marriage and family are being strained to the limit, when you're facing a personal overwhelming crisis, you need people who will step up to bat for you. You need people that when everybody else walks out of your life, they walk into it. They go to bat. They assume responsibility and they protect you and they care for you. Like a shepherd does sheep.

The Bible tells us that in every church God gives certain people, a number of these people who are good at what we're talking about here. They're good at caring for other people. They're good at loving. They're people-people. They're good at leading or encouraging discussion or teaching or supporting and helping the people in the church for need.

They're called many different things. In the Bible, they're called pastors, they're called shepherds. Some contemporary terms you hear are care-givers or group leaders. It really doesn't matter what you call these caring individuals of the church that help care for the flock. But you need them. Every sheep needs a shepherd.

Every person deserves individualized, personalized care. Regardless of what you call them, the job description for these people in the church is in 1 Peter 5:2 "Take care of God's flock, His people that you are responsible for. Watch over them because you want to not because you're forced to do it." This is a voluntary position. You want to do it not because somebody's forcing you to do it.

You may not realize this but right now at Newark Church of the Nazarene, the flock called Newark Naz, we are constantly looking for these people in our church – people who will be shepherd-leaders, group leaders, small group leaders, people that will take the lead in shepherding the flock. For those of you who are in a small group you may have already felt this dynamic. This church has staff such as myself and others but your first line of pastoral care and attention is going to come from your small group leader. As churches grow they take on a whole new dynamic.

The early believers found this out in the book of Acts when the church multiplied and grew at such a tremendous rate. Read Acts 6 and you will find out more of how they handled these kind of problems.

The truth is, some of you could be that. You could do that. You are wired for it. You have a heart for people. You are a people person. You like helping others. You don't want to go hide off by yourself with a computer in a little room. You want to get out with people and help them and share with them and talk with them. You say, "Don't you have to be a theologian?" No, you don't have to be a PhD in theology. You don't have to have been a Christian for fifty years. You don't have to know all the answers to everything. Just, one, love God and two, love people. If you love God and you love people you probably qualify to be a group leader. If you'd say, "I'm interested in that. I might be interested in being a group leader,” I invite you to come. You may be thinking, "I don't have time to do this. I'm too busy." Then let me say something: You’re missing one of the great blessings of life. The blessing of helping other people grow spiritually, encouraging others. You actually get blessed more yourself than you give out.

The last image of being spiritually connected is one you're all familiar with. We talk about it all the time around here. It's my favorite image.

4. IT'S LIKE BEING A MEMBER OF A FAMILY.

The Bible calls the church "the family of God." We're a spiritual family. We're God's family.

1 Timothy 3:15 says, "I want you to know how people who are members of God's family must live. God's family is the church."

Some of you live a long distance from family members and extended relatives. Some of you are single adults. And many of you have a marriage or family that is not supportive of your spiritual development or growth. We are your family. We will help you. We love you. We want to care for you. We want to help you be all that God wants you to be.

How are we to act as members of the family of God?

Romans 12:10 "Love each other like brothers and sisters." Why? Because we’re a family. In past generations in churches the members would call each other Brother "So and So" and Sister "So and So". They still do this in some rural churches and some churches in the south. It's not a bad idea. We really are related to each other in the family of God. The phrase "one another" is used 58 times in the New Testament.

The Bible says we are to love one another, care for one another, encourage one another, support one another, give to one another, help one another, on and on. It is the mutual ministry that we have in the family of God. That's what it means to be a member of a family. You're not just a spectator in a church. You're a participator in a church. You're not on the outside looking at the family. You're on the inside as a family member.

Remember the words of the theme song of "Cheers". "Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came. You want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same. You want to be where everybody knows your name."

That is a description of what a church should be not a bar. When you go to a bar everybody doesn't want to know your name. But you get involved in a small group even in a big family like this and in that small group everybody wants to know your name. You figure out pretty soon that all our troubles are the same.

Most recently, Toby Keith has recorded a song that builds on this same idea. With his current hit, “I Love this Bar,” he is promoting the idea that here is a place that you can get connected.

We got winners; we got losers;
Chain smokers and boozers.
An' we got yuppies; we got bikers;
An' we got, thirsty hitchhikers.
And the girls next door dress up like movie stars:
Mm, mm, mmm, mmm, mmm, I love this bar.
We got cowboys; we got truckers;
Broken hearted fools and suckers.
An' we got husslers; we got fighters;
Early birds and all nighters.

Within the context of this church you will find all kind of people with all kinds of needs.

If you are a perfect person, you've got it all together, you're perfect, you better find another church. We don't need you here. No perfect people need apply at this church. On the other hand, if you are a person that is struggling with life, come on down! This is the place. If you've got some hang-ups, you're a few screws loose, a few eggs short of a full omelet, your elevator doesn't go all the way to the top, maybe you've got some bad habits, a few hang-ups from your past, a little shady thing you wish nobody would know about and you're trying to get rid of it, you've got some areas in your life that just aren't all together, this is the place for you.

This is the place for people who have blown it and want to change, who want to grow, who want to make a difference, who admit that they don't have it all together. If you're that way, welcome here.

Why did God choose the family as an illustration of what it's like to be spiritually connected at a church? Because in a family, the members love each other. Part of the Membership Covenant which we explain in Class 101 is, "I promise to love everybody in this church who is a member." You don't have to like them all but you've got to love them. If you're not going to love the other members, don't join here. Go find another church.

One of the reasons why God has His hand of blessing on this church is because the members here really do love each other. It makes all the difference in the world. That's why sometimes you walk into a service it feels like electricity, because the people who are here are here because they want to be here. Nobody is forced to be here. Nobody is here out of guilt, out of habit. They're here because they love to be here, to be with God and to be with other members of this church.

I want to close with just one question. Why should you stay disconnected? Give me one good reason. When a church like this has so much to offer you, why should you stay disconnected? Why should you remain a spectator instead of a participator? God has designed the church to meet all of your basic needs through this spiritual connection.

How do I get connected? "First they gave themselves to the Lord and then by God's will they gave themselves to us as well." We call these the first base commitments.

First you commit your life to Christ, you become a part of God's family. And then you commit yourself to this local family and say, this is going to be my church home, my family.

You were handed a piece of paper and a pencil when you came in today. It is very simple. If you want to be connected in the way that we have described the last two Sundays then fill it out and give to the people who will be standing at the back to collect them when you leave today. We will contact you and you will be on your way.

Earl C. Willer tells the story of two men who grew up best friends:
Though Jim was just a little older than Phillip and often assumed the role of leader, they did everything together. They even went to high school and college together.
After college they decided to join the Marines. By a unique series of circumstances they were sent to Germany together where they fought side by side in one of history's ugliest wars.
One sweltering day during a fierce battle, amid heavy gunfire, bombing, and close-quarters combat, they were given the command to retreat. As the men were running back, Jim noticed that Phillip had not returned with the others. Panic gripped his heart. Jim knew if Phillip was not back in another minute or two, then he wouldn't make it.
Jim begged his commanding officer to let him go after his friend, but the officer forbade the request, saying it would be suicide.
Risking his own life, Jim disobeyed and went after Phillip. His heart pounding, he ran into the gunfire, calling out for Phillip. A short time later, his platoon saw him hobbling across the field carrying a limp body in his arms.
Jim's commanding officer upbraided him, shouting that it was a foolish waste of time and an outrageous risk. "Your friend is dead," he added, "and there was nothing you could do."
"No sir, you're wrong," Jim replied. "I got there just in time. Before he died, his last words were 'I knew you would come.'"

Citation: John C. Maxwell and Dan Reiland, The Treasure of a Friend (J. Countryman Books, 1999), pp. 27–28

Prayer:

Father, next to salvation and forgiveness the greatest gift You've ever given us is the opportunity to be connected to Your body, Your flock, Your family. Thank You that we don't have to go through life disconnected, isolated. Thank You for creating this Newark Naz. family for all of us. May we never take it for granted. In Your name I pray, Jesus. Amen.

This sermon was adapted from a series of sermons preached by Rick Warren. It was used by permission.

2004/01/18