Discovering the Handprint of God, Part 3: Grouped

Pastor Bill Wolfe (8/10/03)

(Exodus 18:1-27; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Mark 3:13-15; John 1:35-51; 13:34-35; Acts 2:42-47; 4:31-35; Romans 12:10)

In my hand is a grain of salt. It’s so small you can’t even see it. It’s so small that its effectiveness is pretty minimal. It doesn’t amount to much. That’s why we use the term “Anything he says, I take with a grain of salt.” It means “I give little credence to it.” But when you group grains of salt together, they bring flavor and transformation to things. Back in high school, the coaches would give us salt tablets to help us replenish lost body fluids quicker. Jesus described his followers as “the salt of the earth”.

Salt is an example of what happens to the effectiveness of something when it’s grouped together. When God created us He knew of the power of one, but also the limits of one. Jesus was the only One who could go to the Cross and take the weight of sin upon Him, but it took a group of people to keep the movement going.

So part of God’s handprint upon our lives is that, like salt, He groups us together. Now this is a tough one for us to come to grips with, because we’re all individuals. It’s especially tough for men because we have “the lone ranger” mentality. We don’t need any help. Just try to get a man to stop and ask for directions.

The hand of God groups us for four reasons. First of all, He groups us for support. Moses learned the value of support from his father-in-law. Turn with me to Exodus 18:13-23.

“That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.” (Exodus 18:22) What an appropriate summary of why God groups us. You see, Moses’ style of leadership was not working properly. He was encountering some major problems. He was experiencing burnout; dissatisfaction of the people; stress on his family; and an unhealthy dependence of everyone upon him.

A few years ago, an airplane carrying several top American business executives on a trade mission to the Balkans crashed. Immediately, several top corporations were brought to the brink of imminent collapse. In the same way, churches could collapse simply by the death or retirement of the pastor. That’s not healthy! And more than that, it’s not biblical!

Now the interesting thing for me is that what little we learned about styles of pastoring in seminary back in the 70’s, always hinted at the lone ranger pastor. We weren’t taught in seminary about being a part of a team, or the need for others to help you. Our models for pastoring were lone rangers. And so if the church grew, the credit went to the pastor, and if the church died, the blame went to the pastor. The pastor either got the idea that he was all that, or that he was nothing.

That’s not the picture that the Bible paints of a pastor, or a church, or the will of God. Listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”   (Ecc. 4:9-12)

God groups us for support.

God also groups us for love. After Jesus and washed his disciples feet, He said this:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34-35)

God created each one of us with the need to love and to be loved. It’s who we are. Quite often that basic need gets perverted in some way, like the seeking after temporary love over and over again. Maybe you saw the story in yesterday’s paper about the Ellicott woman who was sentenced to 64 years for abusing her child. The story told of many of the things that she did. But it also said that she was abused as she was growing up. And so now we have two generations of people who don’t understand what being loved and loving means. In fact, in the newspaper article after the mom was sentenced she told the reporter that she wanted her children to know that she loved them. We live in a perverted world that is trying to write a lot of new definitions for what love is. Love is not a one-night stand. Love isn’t chatting with someone on the internet as you’re watching her -- at $3.00 a minute -- undress. I was online yesterday, and I got one of those IM’s (Instant Message). So I clicked it, and lo and behold, I get immediately taken to Ruthie’s webcam site where I can pay $3.00 to watch Ruthie. It’s no wonder Internet pornography is so rampant, and so profitable. And it goes back to the fact that in times like these people are trying to write new definitions of what love is.

Scott Peck defines genuine love as “the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.” Now, listen to a couple of passages from the book of Acts, and you tell me if that definition of genuine love describes the early church?

      Acts 2:42-47

      Acts 4:31-35

The early church, by necessity had to meet in small groups. They didn’t have a building, except for the temple courts. That definition -- “the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth” -- is exactly what they were about.

Paul wrote these words in Romans 12. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”   (Romans 12:10)  God grouped us together so we could do exactly that -- love and be loved.

When I was back in Ohio on vacation, the church I grew up in had a “Homecoming Sunday”, where everyone is invited back. I had the chance to speak a few minutes in the morning service, and then they served a lunch afterwards that I didn’t get a chance to eat because I kept having people come up to me and talk to me. After the fellowship hall cleared out a little bit, I noticed that I was in one of three small groups of people huddled around one another. Each of the groups consisted of people, now grown-up, who had been in the youth group together. There were about 8 in my group, many of us not having seen each other in years. But there was still a longing to be together. We sat there and talked for a good hour after everyone else had gone.

As I was planning for this message, it hit me. That’s the effect of God grouping people together. You’re linked together for life even though you’re thousands of miles apart. That group of young people nurtured me in my faith.

The third reason God groups us is to grow us. Listen to what Mark 3 tells us.

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” (Mark 3:13-15)

Now here’s the difference between worship and being a part of a smaller group. The disciples spent time with Jesus, to the point…where they couldn’t hide who they really were. I mean, Jesus knew that Peter was spontaneous and tempermental. He knew that Judas Iscariot was a weasel. He knew that Thomas was naturally skeptical. He knew that several of the disciples were prone to be stuck on themselves. You don’t find out those things in worship. You find them out when you get small. I mean, just look at the picture here. Jesus has less than three years to transform a bunch of uneducated, smelly, lower middle class men into world changers. And He did it! Their growth -- their transformation -- came because He intentionally grouped them together.

I’m telling you right now. Worship is for God. Small groups are for your growth. God knows how you’re wired. He knows your limitations. He knows your tendencies. You will grow through one-on-one times with Him, but you will grow even more as you grow with a group of people.

We currently have between 80-85 adults involved in small groups for spiritual growth. That number needs to double. Small groups will be an important part of the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign in October and November. I want to do more than just challenge you to be involved in one. I want you to ask yourself “what good reason is there to not be in a small group?”

If Jesus’ strategy for growing His disciples evolved around a small group, what makes you think you can come up with a better solution?

Finally, God groups us in order to advance the kingdom.

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

This group that Jesus grew spiritually, went out and advanced the kingdom. You see, God groups us not to create a holy huddle. A huddle only sees as far as the other side of the huddle. God groups us for support and nurture, and to know that we are loved, and to grow us spiritually, ultimately in order for us to advance the kingdom.

If the goal of small groups is to stay together and not be concerned about anyone else -- to be self-centered and inward-focused -- then it’s a pretty good indication that we view the kingdom of God as a fortress with high walls instead of an army gaining ground.               

But you see, that’s what a lot of churches, and a lot of small groups do think. They become so concerned and focused on themselves that they become blind to the fact that people living around them are going to a devil’s hell. You cannot be healthy spiritually without the help of a small group, but you cannot change the world by being in a small group that operates as a holy huddle. God grouped us to advance the kingdom. He groups us for support, for love, for growth, and for kingdom advancement.

Jesus said to his disciples. “You are the salt of the earth.” He wasn’t talking a grain. He was talking about the effect of several grains together.