This morning, we’re continuing our series entitled, “Unexpected” where we are going to recall the truly unexpected ways in which God worked in the past and some of the unexpected places and times where He showed up. 

These reminders of God’s faithfulness and miraculous power and authority will serve to encourage us in our present and give us hope toward our future.

Last week, we were challenged with the reality that bad things happen to good people most often because others have not yet surrendered God’s gift of free will back to Him.  God’s will is accomplished through us as we surrender our will to God’s.  Even Jesus struggled with this in the garden the night that He was betrayed praying three times, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

The struggle for us to surrender our will becomes very real and obvious when we choose to work together with others.  Anyone know what I mean?  If you’re not sure about this, I’ve heard that you should try to work together with me in an escape room…    It wasn’t exactly God’s will be shouted and demanded.

Now we were created with the need for relationships.  In fact, we were made in the image of God and God exists in relationship.  He is three-in-one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We need each other and we are stronger together!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

9 Two are better than one,

    because they have a good return for their labor:

10 If either of them falls down,

    one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

    and has no one to help them up.

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

    But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,

    two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

You, me, and God – an unbreakable and unstoppable bond!

God created this unexpected thing that we call church.  It’s described in God’s word as the body of Christ.  Each of us has a unique role to fulfill from each other, but only together can we fully function and fulfill our purpose.  We’re not going to go into details this morning, but this is what the church looked like at its beginning shortly after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:42-47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

God’s plan for church was togetherness, unity, and growth.

Our unity comes not from conformity to some man-made mold, but by maintaining our God-created diversity unified by the Holy Spirit within us.  We are all uniquely created by God on purpose and for a purpose.  God doesn’t take that uniqueness away from us when we are saved, but rather uses it for its intended purpose.

A heart can beat on its own, but what good is that all by itself?  It needs veins running to and from it, blood flowing through them, and other organs connected to them for it to fulfill its purpose.  The heart needs the rest of the body just as much as the rest of the body needs it.

My weaknesses hurt your feelings and your weaknesses annoy me, but your strengths are my weaknesses and my strengths are your weaknesses.  When we intentionally join together, covering and complimenting each other’s weaknesses with our own strengths, we become stronger together!

It’s an unexpected way in which God works, but He intentionally created me incomplete and also you incomplete so that only when we join together pursuing after Him do we become whole.  Only together ca