The Common People

Q: What does the Bible say about loving one another?

The Bible emphasizes that Christians are commanded to love one another as a reflection of Christ's love for us. In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives His disciples a new commandment to love one another as He has loved them. This commandment is foundational for the unity and testimony of believers. Love among Christians is not merely an emotional sentiment but a commitment to act in ways that reflect Christ's sacrificial love. It demonstrates our identity as His disciples to the world, showing that we are distinct and called by His name.

Q: How do we know that we are true disciples of Christ?

True disciples of Christ are identified by their love for one another. According to John 13:35, Jesus explicitly states that the defining characteristic of His disciples is their love for one another. This love is not based on personal interest or commonality but is rooted in the shared experience of being recipients of God’s grace. This unifying love among believers signifies their status as true followers of Christ, indicating that they have been transformed by His love and are living out that transformation in their relationships with others.

Q: Why is Christian unity important for believers?

Christian unity is vital because it reflects the nature of God and enhances our witness to the world. Christian unity is essential for several reasons. First, Psalm 133:1 states how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity, reflecting God's own relational nature. Unity among believers serves to glorify God and illustrates the power of the Gospel to reconcile diverse individuals into one body. Moreover, Acts 2:44-46 highlights how early Christians shared everything in common, demonstrating that unity promotes love and support within the community. Thus, when believers walk in unity, it not only strengthens the church but also provides a powerful testimony to the world of Christ’s redemptive work.

Q: What does it mean to have things in common as Christians?

Having things in common as Christians means sharing a common faith, purpose, and love rooted in God's grace. Things in common among Christians extend beyond mere social connections; they encompass a profound spiritual unity. In Titus 1:4, Paul refers to the common faith shared by believers, emphasizing a shared standing before God. This unity is reflected in shared doctrines, mutual support, and collective purpose in glorifying God. Additionally, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 reminds us that our struggles are common, and we can bear one another's burdens as we navigate trials together. Hence, as members of the body of Christ, we must actively nurture this commonality to maintain a thriving and supportive community.

I want you to open your Bibles,
first of all, to Psalm 133. I'm going to speak to you this
morning on the subject, the common people. The common people. Now, we can't solve all the world's
ills and troubles and problems with one sermon. But God is pleased and powerful enough to meet the
need of someone through one sermon
and right a wrong or a smooth troubled sea, or
bring people together for whatever his purpose is, both to salvation
or condemnation. But it says here in Psalm 133,
verse 1, Behold how good, it is good and pleasant. How good
and pleasant it is. for brethren, not only believers in a church, not only brethren and believers
around the country, not only professing children
of God around the world, but husband and wife, and children and parents. and brothers and sisters in a
household, and men and women who work together,
how good it is, how good it is and how pleasant it is when they
dwell together in unity, in love, in the bond of perfectness. Well, it's like verse 2, the
precious ointment upon the head, and that ran down the beard,
even Aaron's beard, the high priest. That's how sweet it is. That one who went into the very
presence of God, and that precious ointment that flowed down his
beard, went down even to the skirts of his garment. It's as
good and pleasant as the dew of Hermon. And as the dew that
descendeth upon the mountains of Zion, for there where men
and women dwell together in unity and love and harmony, for there
the Lord commanded the blessings, even life forevermore. Turn to John chapter 13. John
13. I'm not going to yell at you,
I'm going to just talk to you this morning on this subject. John 13, verse 31, Therefore, when he was gone out, that is,
Judas, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God's
glorified in him. And if God be glorified in him,
God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway
glorify him. Little children, yet a little
while I am with you, and you shall seek me. And as I said
to you, to the Jews, whether I go you cannot come, so now
I say to you, a new commandment I give unto you. that you love
one another. A new commandment I give unto
you, that you love one another. How? As I have loved you, that
you also love one another. Now that's the first point. The second point is this, and
by this, and by this unity and union and attitude and character
shall all know that you are my disciples if you have love one
to another. A friend recently told me about
something that happened not too long ago to him. He said recently, a dear friend,
a man who's been his friend for many years, they're both believers,
they're both professing believers. But this friend got into some
serious trouble, something we all know something about, trouble,
trial, difficulty, problems. And he called him,
he called his friend. and offered to be of help. He
said, I want to help. He said, you've got problems
and troubles and sorrows, and I want to help you. I want to
be of help if I can. And the man said, nothing you
can do. He said, well, maybe not, but why don't you come over
to the house? Why don't you come over to see
me? And let's just visit like we used to. And let's talk like
we used to. Let's share our heartache like
we used to. And to his amazement and astonishment,
this friend of many, many years, carrying such a heavy burden,
said to him, no, it wouldn't do any good. There's no use for me to come
and talk to you. I'd be uncomfortable, and you'd
be uncomfortable, and besides that, I want you to listen to this. We don't have anything in common
anymore. Here are two men, doesn't matter
the problem, doesn't matter the difficulty, doesn't matter the
trial, but here's a man saying to another believer, you and
I don't have anything in common anymore. I want you to consider
the seriousness of that attitude, of that statement. And maybe
someone here needs this message, especially. But consider the
seriousness of such a statement made by a believer to another
one, especially men who have been companions for years. We don't have anything in common
anymore. Well, he may be correct. I don't
know. He may be correct. Perhaps they
have nothing in common, but I can tell you this. If they have nothing
in common now, they never did have anything in common. If they have nothing in common
now, they never did have anything in common. If that becomes my
attitude and my spirit, Then, as John said, didn't John say
this? I reveal that we never did have
anything in common. Let me show you that. Turn to
John, 1 John, the epistle. 1 John chapter 2. And listen to what John says
about this, about this spirit and attitude. 1 John 2. 1 John
2, 19. some people who departed from
the fellowship, departed from this union, this fellowship of
believers. And he said in 1 John 2, 19,
they went out from us with this attitude. We have nothing in
common anymore. They leave. But they were not
of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued
with us. But they went out. that they might be made manifest
that they were not all of us. You see, if we're children of
God, if I'm a child of God and you're a child of God, it doesn't
matter your age or your status in life, that has no bearing
upon it. If we're both children of God,
then we have everything in common that's worth anything. Isn't that true? Everything that's
worth anything, we do have in common, if it's worth anything. You know, we may not have age
in common. I may be, I'm 66 and you're 25. We don't have that in common,
but that'll all be taken care of one day. You're going to be
66. And then we're both going to
be dead. And we may not be on the same plane in riches. But that will be taken care of
too. Heaven and earth will pass away and these things won't be
anymore. We may not have anything in common as far as education
is concerned. We may not have anything in common
as far as hobbies, fishing, hunting, things like that. But that will
all be taken care of too. But everything that is worth
anything, If we're in the same family, the family of God, we're
in the family of God. We're born of the same Father. We're called by the same name,
Christians. We're members of the same body.
Over here in the book of Romans it talks about one is the hand
and one is the foot, one is the ear and one is the eye, and one
is this, that, and the other. We're in the same body. You can't
have nothing. This hand is going to have to
be dead not to have anything to do with this one. In fact,
when I hurt this one, this one hurts too. No matter what part of my body
is wounded, my eyes cry in sympathy. And my mind responds. And I reach
out and this is cold and my mind tells it to come back. And this
shoulder and everything operates to bring it back, doesn't it?
We're the same body. How can you say we have nothing
in common? You see how ridiculous this is?
You can't separate yourself from me or I from you, children, husbands
and wives. Brethren, preacher brethren,
we have nothing in common. Well, we're redeemed by the same
Savior. He intercedes for you and me
both. He calls our name in the same
birth. We love the same gospel, don't
we? Tom, He could be right, you know,
for Him, but not for us. He could be right. Maybe they
don't have anything in common. But I'm saying if they don't,
they never did. They never did. We speak the same language. It's
the language of grace. We're headed for the same heaven.
We're going to the same home. We're going to live together
throughout eternity. We desire the same motive. We
have the same motive. We have the same desire. We desire
to glorify God, don't we? We have the same desire. We're
going to be like Christ. I'm here to tell you, and I know
religion does not put a great deal of emphasis on this. It's
sort of like It's sort of a selfish thing, me and mine. But I'm here
to tell you, according to the Scripture, that which is the
very proof and evidence of a man's salvation is what he has in common
with other believers. That's the very essence, that's
the very proof, that's the very substance, that's the very sum,
that's the very evidence that that person is a child of God.
Our Lord said that. He gathered these disciples about
Him, and Judas had gone out the door to betray Him. Judas was
not one of them. He never was one of them. Christ
said, He's the son of perdition from the beginning. I can't do
anything about that. The Lord didn't do anything about
that. He's the son of perdition from the beginning, and He's
gone out. And He says to these eleven, And they're different. There's the Sons of Thunder,
John and James. There's Peter, the impulsive
fisherman. There's Luke, Dr. Luke, the beloved
physician. There's Nathaniel. They're just different men from
different walks of life and ages and personalities and everything
else. And he gathers them together
there and he says, now listen to me. This is my law. This is the royal law of King
Jesus. This is my commandment to you,
that you love one another like I love you. How did he love me? He loved me when I was a sinner.
He loved me when I was a failure, and I am now. He loved me in
spite of what I did, and what I said, and where I went, and
he loved me. He loved me with an everlasting
love. He loved me with an unchanging love. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me. And that's just
it. Now you love each other that way. You love each other that
way. You all get together. Bridge
the river. And don't wait for somebody else
to build a bridge. You build it. You build it. The older build it for the younger. Here's a parent mad at a child.
That's ridiculous. That's utterly ridiculous. You're
too old for that foolishness. You build that bridge. Don't
wait for the child to build it. You build it. Isn't that right? The stronger build the bridge
for the weaker. The elder build the bridge for
the new one. Get back together now. Get back together. I command
you, you love one another. Because He said, this is the
way everybody's going to know you're my disciples, if you love
each other. That's where they're going to
know it. That's where they're going to recognize it. That's where
they're going to recognize it. Turn to 1 John 4. If you have
love one for another, that's how people know you're my disciples. For God so loved the world, He
gave His only begotten Son. Christ, in love, gave Himself. In love, He came and quickened
us. In love, He receives us. And that's how they know that
you've been with me, because you're like me, He said. You
love each other. 1 John 4, verse 6. Listen to this. We are of God. We are of God. You know, that's
a big claim, isn't it? I'm of God. Boy. I'm of God. Boy. A lot of folks say that. And a lot of them have this attitude,
I'm of God and you ain't. And I'm kind of glad of it. Because that gives me a corner
on God. I'm of God. Now watch this. The disciples, the apostles,
were sent of God. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. Us apostles. He that is not of
God, heareth not us. They won't listen to the Word.
The apostles wrote the Word. Hereby know we the Spirit of
God and the Spirit of Aaron. That's how you know the Spirit
of God and the Spirit of Aaron. Beloved, let us love one another.
Love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born
of God and knoweth God, and he that loveth not knoweth not God.
He just doesn't know God. For God is love. And what I'm
saying is this. Listen carefully to me. I know
it's the grace of God that saves. That I know. For by grace are
you saved. Nothing I did before God redeemed
me or after He redeemed me has anything to do with how He redeemed
me. I know that. It's the grace of God. Is it
not? It's the Spirit of God that regenerated
me. I'm not born of the will of the
flesh or the will of man. I'm born of God. God quickened
the sinner. God has mercy on whom He will
have mercy. He said, that's my glory. And
it's the Word of God that convicted me. and you. It's the Word of
God that reveals Christ to us. I know these things. I know them
because God's Word tells me these things and by experience. It's
the blood of Christ that cleanseth us. It's not Christ's blood plus
our works. It's His blood. It's grace that
saves. It's the Spirit that regenerates.
It's Christ that redeems. It's the righteousness of Christ
that makes us holy and sanctified. And it's the faith of God. He
gave it that receives Christ. But I tell you, all of this can
never be experienced. It can be known in the head.
All of this, the grace of God, the Spirit of God, the Word of
God, the blood of Christ, the righteousness of God, the love
of God, the faith of God, cannot be experienced without a true
and traumatic change. And I'm not talking about in
24 hours, I'm talking about as God is pleased to work in us
to will and to do His good pleasure. I'm just a little weary of modern
day religions' ideas about instantaneous conversion. I know there's a
time a man doesn't believe in a time he does believe, but I
just know It's God that worketh in us both to will and to do
His good pleasure. I have been saved. I am being
saved. My salvation is nearer than when
I believed. I have repented. I am repenting by God's grace.
I will. I have believed. I am believing.
I will believe. And a man doesn't, when our children
are born into our homes, we give them a little room to grow. We don't expect when they're
two days old, to have all of the qualities and powers and
abilities and knowledge of a full-grown person. We give them space. Well, let's give each other space,
okay? For God to be formed in me. Now,
if the child never grows, and it never speaks, and it never
embraces me, and it never welcomes my embrace, And it has no response. It's dead. Isn't it? It's dead. It's not living. But a living child and a living,
and that's what John is saying, they never were hapless. Like
Judas, they went out. They keep going out. They keep
going out. They keep going out because we
keep bringing them in. They keep going out. But this
cannot be experienced. It's like Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians. He said, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. And he matures, and God strengthens
him, and establishes him, and settles him, and perfects him.
And he grows. He grows in grace. He grows in
the knowledge of Christ. He grows in love. He grows. That's what I try to tell young
pastors when they go into congregation and become pastor, don't change
everything there the first day. Get to be the pastor. Get to
know the people. Win their confidence. Wait on
your growth. Be patient while they grow. After
you've been there a few years, some of you ought to know something. And you ought to be able to help
one another. I tell you, two people may have
religion and have nothing in common. That's understandable.
That is, nothing of any consequence and nothing of any value, for
religion is only an outward form, is it not? Today's religion is
only an outward form. And two people may have religion
and not have anything in common, but I tell you, salvation is
a redemptive work that has to do with the heart and the soul
and the spirit and the mind. And that way we have something
in common. That's right. Have a whole lot
in common. Have everything in common. We
have everything in common. Because it's an experience. Inward
work. I think it's like this. I think
religion is like a zoo. We were down in Chiapas, Mexico
and we visited a big zoo. And it wasn't one of these things
that's downtown, you know, in little cages. We walked for miles. It was all over the mountain,
a zoo. They had tigers and, was that
Puma, P-U-M-A? They had cages for these huge
birds that were two or three times the size of this building,
just for a certain type of bird. two or three times higher than
this building. Wild, and they flew around in there, built their
nest, and it was a huge zoo, and it was all these animals
everywhere, different kinds, and they had to keep them away
from each other. They had to keep fences around them. Tigers
couldn't be in there with polar bears, or whatever, you know.
They didn't have any polar bears up there, down in the shop of
Mexico. But they couldn't be together.
They were different animals. They were in the same zoo. They
were in the same zoo. But they weren't together, and
they grounded each other. And that reminds me of churches
and religion. That's right, denomination, all
these people grounded each other. But salvation is a what? A sheepfold. Everybody in his kingdom is a
sheep. Now don't tell me I'm wrong,
because if not, I'm right. You're not goats and you're not
tigers. You're sheep. You're sheep. And you're everyone
in His fold. That's right. You're all sheep. Got the same sheep is nearsighted. I know that. The sheep gets all,
you know, dumb, wanders away, follows the black sheep and all
that. Yes, that's what I've always
read. But nevertheless, they're all sheep. Let's see what Christ
says about them in John 10. They're sheep. their sheep. In John chapter 10, in verse
11, John chapter 10, 11, I'm the good shepherd. Good shepherd
gives his life for the sheep. Now he that's a hireling and
not the shepherd who's on the sheep or not, he sees the wolf
coming and he leaves the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth
them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he
is a hireling. He doesn't care for the sheep,
but I'm the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and have known
of mine. And as the Father knoweth me,
even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, talking
about those Jewish believers there, them I must bring also. They shall hear my voice, and
they shall be what? One fold. One body. One faith. One Lord. One baptism. one God and Father,
one hope of His calling. All right, one for hope. And
what? One shepherd. They're common. They have all
these things in common. Let me give you this, and I'll
quit. But I hope it's been a blessing. I hope it's been helpful. It
has driven into me. It has been a blessing. And we'll strive not only here,
and I see no problem here, and among other believers in other
places, but in our homes, and among ourselves, our children,
and our parents, and husbands and wives, and if we profess
the name of Christ, let's walk worthy of the calling wherewith
we're called. Let's walk worthy. But what do these people have
in common? Let me just quote this to you.
You write these scriptures down. Matthew 12, 37 says, The lawyers
and the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees disputed with
him and tried to trap him in his words, but the common people
heard him gladly. The common people heard him gladly. Ordinary folks like you and me.
Sons of Adam, fallen sons of Adam. We understand each other
because we understand ourselves. We have that in common. The common
folks, we have this in common. We hear Him gladly. Acts 2.44-46
says this, that these people were together in doctrine, spirit,
purpose, and love, and they had all things common. And no one
considered what he had as his own. And when one had need, they
all came to his assistance. They had everything common. Not
mine, it's ours. They shared with one another
what God had given them. They had all things common. And
then one day, one day the Apostle Peter, the Lord took him up on
the top of the building where he was residing, and he went
to sleep. And the Lord let a sheet down,
and on that sheet was all kinds of animals. And he told Peter,
he said, rise and eat. And Peter said, not so, Lord,
not so. I've never eaten anything common
or unclean. He said, Peter, what I've cleansed
don't you ever call common or unclean. Peter's talking about those Gentiles.
That's what the Lord was dealing with. He had an idea that he
was just a jump above Gentiles. And our Lord said to him, when
I've cleansed someone, don't you ever call him common and
ordinary. He's a child of God. That's right. We're common folks. We have all
things common. But don't you call me common.
Because I'm special. I'm one of his. See what he's
saying? Don't you call what I've cleansed common. Tell you something
else about these people. They have a common faith. In
Titus 1-4, Paul wrote to Titus, and he said, I'm an apostle,
and you're my son. I'm the teacher, and you're the
pupil. But he says we have this in common. Faith. Faith. Yet they stood before God in
Christ, on common ground with common grace and common standing
and common salvation and common faith. We're one. We don't lord it over one another.
We're one. And then he said in 1 Corinthians
10, verse 12 and 13, you won't suffer any trial or affliction
that's not common to all your brethren in the world. Wherever you are, one of them's
been. And wherever you are, one of them will be. It's common. We're common folks. And we hear His Word. We have
all things common. You need anything, if I got it,
you're welcome to it. Ought to be. You're my brother.
I like what that little boy said to the man. He's walking across
the field one day carrying his Little brother on his back, you
know, and a man came up and said, is he heavy? He said, no, he's
not heavy, he's my brother. Real brothers don't get heavy.
They really don't. They don't get heavy, do they?
Common people. Hear him, common faith. Common
salvation. Common afflictions. And we have all things common.
But we ain't common. We're special. Special is our
Lord. And we're special to each other.
You're special. You're just special. Let's keep it that. Don't ever,
oh, we have nothing in common. Isn't that, when that puts you
in a grave. We have nothing in common. Hope that day never comes
for either one of us. In fact, what I desire, I desire
that this might be a refuge, a place where people come and
find that affection and warmth and unity of spirit that our
Lord commanded of us, don't you? With the true gospel. Well, where
the true gospel is, that'll be. All right. We'll sing that hymn
number 103.

The Common People

What does the Bible say about loving one another?

How do we know that we are true disciples of Christ?

Why is Christian unity important for believers?

What does it mean to have things in common as Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Common People

What does the Bible say about loving one another?

How do we know that we are true disciples of Christ?

Why is Christian unity important for believers?

What does it mean to have things in common as Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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