Teamwork
April 25, 2004
Ecclesiastes 4:12
3rd Sunday of Easter
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
back to our church home page
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands
is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12
INTRODUCTION
I want to talk to you about “teamwork”.
I know it’s a buzzword.
They say that three of the most popular terms
in the business world today are:
downsize, out-source, and teamwork.
Teamwork is a wonderful concept.
It is NOT a Bible word.
But teamwork isn’t absent from the Bible. Far from it.
Teamwork is a basic concept for Christians.
It is a strategy given to us by God
to help us succeed.
In Ecclesiastes 4:12 the Bible says,
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
Have you ever heard a friend say,
“I’ve got your back”?
That’s a military metaphor.
When two warriors stand
back to back
they have a 360 degree defendable field of view.
When your friend is “at your back”
you are less vulnerable.
But defense is just part of the payoff.
The real value of teamwork is
how it multiplies effectiveness
and makes truly great things possible.
One person can only do so much.
Two people, working together,
can accomplish far more.
God made us this way. We were designed to work in teams.
A NETWORK OF TEAMS
Mt Olivet / Olivet Church
is a network of teams.
We constantly use the teamwork concept
to get things done.
What are some of the teams in this church?
(Wait for answers)
I did a little research into team sports,
and most of you know how little I know about sports.
I wondered, how many participants does a team have to have
in order to play?
In Volleyball it’s 6.
In Basketball it’s 5.
In Baseball it’s 9.
In Football it’s 11.
In Ice Hockey it’s 6.
In Waterpolo it’s 7.
In Soccer it’s minimum of 7, maximum of 11.
In the Christian Church, it’s 2 or more, no maximum!
Whenever two or more Christians come together,
you have a team.
JESUS SUPPORTS TEAMWORK
In Matthew 18:20 our Lord said,
where two or three come together in my name,
there I am with them.
Jesus is a member of every team in the church!
We most often talk about
Jesus being in our midst
when we fellowship or worship,
but that’s not all we do.
HOW DO WE DO IT?
What are the steps
that Christians take to form a team?
I put five steps in the unison prayer
printed in our bulletins.
When something needs to be done,
this is what we do:
1) we come together,
2) listen for a word from God,
3) make plans,
4) pool our resources, and
5) step out in faith.
We come together.
That might be Youth Group,
or Bible Study,
or a fellowship group,
or a worship service,
or Sunday School,
or prayer meeting,
or a retreat,
or just about any reason you can think of.
As Christians we LOVE to get together,
because when we do,
Jesus is there and great things happen.
We listen for a Word from God.
The word might come from Scripture.
The word might come from a burden on someone’s heart.
The word might come after extensive conversations.
As Christians we seek to know what God wants us to do.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism,
actually had a term for this.
He called it “Holy Conferencing”.
He considered “Holy Conferencing” to be
one of the most common ways
that God reveals his thoughts and plans to us.
So, we listen,
to each other, and
to what the Spirit of the Lord would say.
I recently found a great quote about listening:
God gave us two ears but only one mouth.
Some people say that’s because
He wanted us to spend twice as much time listening
as talking.
Others claim it’s because
He knew that listening was twice as hard.
God will reveal his will to us
if we listen.
I love this verse from 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
9 No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him –
10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
You see, God does reveal his will.
It takes patience, and it also takes a willingness to listen,
but when we do that
God reveals his will!
Make plans
Once we have a sense of what thing that God wants us to do,
we start to try and figure out
how to do it.
God gives us lots of freedom in this area.
I like this quote from General George S. Patton.
“Never tell people
how to do things.
Tell them what to do
and they will surprise you
with their ingenuity.”
God gave us creative minds and spirits.
God wants us to plan together.
As long as we stay humble,
and remain open to changes
that God may require,
plans are good!
In Psalm 20:4 the Bible says,
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
God wants us to plan.
This is something I have experienced all my life.
Whenever I plan ahead,
it always seems
that what I am thinking about,
and planning for, seems so far away.
But then I blink my eyes,
and suddenly the plans are fulfilled.
When God is behind you,
your plans have a way
of accelerating into reality.
Pool resources
Once we a plan,
it’s time to pool our resources.
We count the cost.
We see how much we have,
and figure out how much we need.
I will never forget
when Mt Olivet Church
decided to trust God for a parking lot.
We went through all the other steps,
and the day came
when we sent out a letter asking our people to be generous.
Wow! Did they surprise me!
The people of our two churches
dug down deep
and in two months
we had every penny we needed to buy a parking lot.
I learned a lot from that experience.
I learned that you cannot out give God.
I learned that Jesus was right on target when he said,
Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running over,
will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38
If something really important brings us together,
and if, to the best of our ability
we have sought after the will of God,
and if we do all we can to plan a response to the need
and if we start giving, with hearts of gratitude and faith
THEN God steps in
and enables us to do the impossible.
Resources are not always money.
Sometimes its talent.
Sometimes its lots of people praying.
Raise your hand if
you are here today because
more than a few Christians prayed for you.
Prayer is a resource that can be pooled.
So is skill.
So are possessions.
In Acts 4:32 the Bible says
All the believers were one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they shared everything they had.
With great power the apostles continued
to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and much grace was upon them all.
There were no needy persons among them.
For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the
money from the sales
and put it at the apostles' feet,
and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Gathering
Listening
Planning
Pooling
THEN
step out in faith
When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water,
he had a decision to make.
He could stay in the boat
or
step out.
That’s what teamwork enables us to do.
We can all step out together.
William Shedd said,
“A ship is a harbor is safe,
but that is not what a ship is built for.”
Dear ones,
we were built by God
for the purpose of stepping out by faith.
The good news is
that we never have to do this alone.
God has given us
the ability to form teams
so we will always have someone at our back.
I like that about God.
I like the way
he gives us what we need
and how
he nudges us out a little farther
than we thought we could go.
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands
is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
Thanks be to God!
PRAYER
Praise to you, Lord Jesus, for Christian teamwork!
This church really shines when we have something practical to do.
We come together, listen for your Word, make plans,
pool our resources, then step out by faith.
Like gears in a watch, you designed us to work together.
You made each person in this church important.
There isn’t any distinction between us, not even a little bit!
When one of us is injured, we all hurt.
When one of us is honored, we are all built up.
Only you could make the church this way.
Our interdependence is evidence of your sovereignty.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus, for Christian teamwork! Amen