Brotherhood more than friendship. Gods Army.
Proverbs 17:17 - A friend loves at all times, and a brother
is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 18:24 - One who has unreliable friends soon comes
to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person
sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:9 - Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.
Proverbs 27:5-6 - Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because
love covers over a multitude of sins.
Psalm 133:1 - How good and pleasant it is when God’s people
live together in unity!
Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can
defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Romans 12:10 - Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one
another above yourselves.
Hebrews 3:13 - But encourage one another daily, as long as
it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s
deceitfulness.
1 John 1:3 - We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,
so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the
Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from all sin.
James 5:16 - Therefore confess your sins to each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person
is powerful and effective.
Galatians 6:1-5 - Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught
in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But
watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and
in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are
something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test
their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without
comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.
Unity in the Brotherhood
"Now all of you together are Christ’s body, and each
one of you is a separate
and necessary part of it.... But no part is important on its
own." (1 Cor. 12,
Msg.)
"We know what real love is because Christ gave up his
life for us. And so we
also ought to give up our lives for our Christian
brothers..." (1 John 3:16)
"A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated,
but two can stand backto-back
and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided
cord is not
easily broken." (Eccl. 4:12)
"As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a
friend." (Prov. 27:17)
"If another brother is overcome by some sin, you who
are godly should gently
and humbly help that person back onto the right path....
Share each other's
troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of
Christ." (Gal. 6:1-2)
"Don't speak evil against each other, my dear
brothers.... God alone, who made
the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power
to save or to
destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your
brother?" (James 4:11-
12)
"Frodo wouldn't have gone far without Sam."
(Frodo, Lord of the Rings)
Jesus said, "My prayer for all of them is that they
will be one,
just as you and I are one."
(John 17:21)
"The Lord now chose ... other disciples and sent them
on ahead in pairs...."
(Luke 10:1)
Banding Together. Before we fully engage in our mission in
this War, it is
essential that we band together with trusted companions. In
the great epic
battle against evil in The Lord of the Rings, the leaders
from all of middle earth
met at Rivendale to discuss how to destroy “the Ring,” and
thus prevent it from
getting into the hands of the evil leader Sauron. The cause
of good in the world 2
depended on the successful mission of the Ring being
destroyed by throwing it
into the fires of Mount Doom.
The wise Elf Lord Elrond, who understood the dangerous quest
that faced
them, first challenged the men, “You will unite or you will
fall.” But the men of
middle earth, the elves, and the dwarfs all argued at the
council of Elrond about
which one of them should take the Ring. Finally, Frodo
Baggins, the simple and
humble hobbit was compelled by fate to submit to his
calling, “I will take it! I
will take it!” But even more importantly, Frodo had the
humility and wisdom to
admit his shortcomings: “But I do not know the way!”
Gandalf, the mentor figure and wizard in the story, is
immediately drawn by
Frodo's humility to offer his assistance: “I will help you
bear this burden, as
long as it is yours to bear.” Aragorn then joins in by
offering his gifts to the
mission, “By my life or death, if I can protect you, I will!
You have my sword.”
Then immediately Legolas and Gimli are inspired to offer
their unique and
different strengths: “And you have my bow!” responded
Legolas. “And my ax!”
followed Gimli. And Sam, Frodo's wonderful and loyal hobbit
friend asserts,
“Mr. Frodo is not going anywhere without me!” So a total of
nine companions
of the "Fellowship of the Ring" each offer
themselves to the dangerous mission
to destroy evil in the world. This Fellowship offers a
wonderful illustration of a
group of men uniting to accomplish something truly great and
noble that could
never have been achieved alone.
God has given all his children unique and powerful gifts
that can be used to
accomplish great things, but only if they are united. Like
in Lord of the Rings,
each of the companions has different strengths. Frodo is
humble. Sam is a
loyal and brave protector of Frodo and a great encourager.
Aragorn is a strong
leader and experienced fighter. Legolas can sense danger and
trouble from
afar. Gimli is fearless in spite of his physical shortcomings.
And Gandalf is a
wise and powerful wizard. All are very different, but all
become essential to the
awe-inspiring cause to save middle earth. The message from
scripture about
our Great War is the same: “God’s various expressions of
power are in action
everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is
given something to
do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone
benefits. All kinds
of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of
people!” But using
these gifts alone would be worthless. What makes the body of
believers
powerful is how they work together: “A body isn’t just a
single part blown up
into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar
parts arranged and
functioning together…. No part is important on its own.” (1
Cor. 12, Msg.)
Unity in the
Brotherhood: The power of Christ has been bestowed on the full
body of believers. We were never designed to fight this War
alone. We need
each other! The great causes for Christ will be accomplished
by banding
together. Paul always traveled with a companion. David
needed Jonathan. In
one of the great battles described in the Scriptures, Joshua
was down leading
the troops, while Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses.
Christ modeled 3
brotherhood by surrounding himself with 12 other men. And
"the Lord now
chose ... other disciples and sent them on ahead in
pairs...." (Luke 10:1)
In this Great War, there will be no "Lone
Rangers." (Heck, even the "Lone
Ranger" in this American Old West classic story, needed
his Indian friend
Tonto!). God is looking for the men who realize that in this
War we will not go
far without surrounding ourselves with other real and
authentic
Jonathan/David friendships. The prayer of Jesus to his
Father God just before
His crusade to the cross shows the critical importance of
banding together:
Jesus said, "My prayer for all of them is that they
will be one, just as you and I
are one." (John 17:21)
We are not alone.
Satan wants us to believe that we are alone in our foxholes,
and that our struggles and addictions are unique and
isolated to us. Evil wants
us to think that if we were open and honest about our
battles that no one could
ever truly understand or, better yet - love us. That is a
lie! Our internal and
hidden battles and our feelings of loneliness are common to
all. And when our
sins and dark places are exposed to the light by walking in
authentic friendship
and brotherhood with other true followers of Christ - we
will experience love,
power, and freedom.
I will seek out a Band of Brothers, for whose lives and
legacies I will fight, so
that we may be lights in a dark world.
Covering our
Brothers' backs. We need a few other men in our foxholes - a
Band of Brothers - for whose lives and legacies we will fight,
so that together
we may be lights in a dark world. We need friendships where
we will
cover each others backs in the battles of life - and
"share each other’s troubles
and problems." These are men for whom we covenant to
fight for their true
identities in Christ and to fight against their perverted
and sinful natures.
These friends encourage us and speak the truth about our
rightful heritage as
"brothers of Christ" when we get lies from the
enemy about who we are. And
they are there to remind us of the truth when our sinful
natures are evident.
They are men for whom God has given you a lens for who they
are - filtered
through the love of Christ.
Friendships without
Judgment. "If another brother is overcome by some sin,
you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person
back onto the
right path." (Gal. 6:1) We are asked to love and fight
for our brothers without
judging them. When we confront another brother about his
sin, we must ask
ourselves, "What is our primary motivation - love or
condemnation?" For
scripture states that God alone, a being of perfect love, is
the only righteous
judge among us. Too often, we disciples try to elevate
ourselves by believing
the lie that our "lesser" or "different"
sins make us more worthy than our
brothers' sins. It is easy to make ourselves feel better
when we may not
struggle with a particular sin that gets more press. Do we
somehow think we
are more worthy of God's grace when we may not have fallen
to the sins of 4
adultery, homosexuality, or abortion? This is a trap from
the pit of hell, which
will lead us to serving out of pride rather than humility.
Judgment is the greatest weapon of the enemy. All sin
separates us from God
and from the call of our King. And God warns us that pride
is the most
destructive sin. Yet unconditional love for our brothers is
the greatest weapon
we can wield on behalf of our King. And it is the key to
victory.
Love for a brother without condition or condemnation is how
the Saints will be
asked to "lay down their lives" in this War. And
it will be the key to overcoming
Evil's dominion over this world. So we want to
"encourage each other and
build each other up," for we are in this fight
together. (1 Thes. 5:11) And we
must allow our Band of Brothers to be there to challenge us,
correct us with
"humility and gentleness," and to pick us up when
we fall. For "wounds from a
friend are better than many kisses from an enemy."
(Prov. 27:6)
Relationships with no
Secrets and no Condemnation. We need relationships of
no secrets - where in the sacred bond of grace, with no
condemnation, we tell
our complete stories. Our stories include our failures,
struggles, and
temptations. Our deepest desire is to be truly known - with
all our faults - yet
still be accepted, loved, forgiven, and believed in - this
is what Christ offers all of
us. The need for unconditional love is part of our DNA - it
is what we were
created to receive. As brothers of Christ, we want to offer
this type of love to
others. If we are not truly known, it is impossible for us
to feel truly loved. It is
important to be loved not for what we have done, but for who
we are under
the covering of Christ's blood. When our true identity in
Christ is called out,
believed in, and fought for by another man of God, then Evil
loses its grip.
It's hard to know how to fight for each other if we do not
share how Satan
attempts to take us out. By sharing our most shameful
stories with our close
brothers and telling about the lies that confront us, we arm
our brothers with
the information they will need to know how to pray and fight
for us. We also
will be encouraged by sharing our battle stories, because as
we compare our
stories we will see that we all are being attacked with lies
from the Enemy. But
we also will recognize that God is clearly by our sides -
that He will never
abandon us - for He is "with us always!" The
Rescuer always comes! Often,
God uses our brothers as instruments of His rescue.
Satan wants to Divide
and Conquer. Evil wants to discredit our noble purpose,
turn us against each other through our pride, and thereby
divide and conquer.
And if divided, we would be defeated, for "Any kingdom
at war with itself is
doomed. A divided home is also doomed." (Luke 11:17)
Satan will use
jealousy, envy, and a judgmental attitude to separate us.
Evil knows that if we
unite, we will be overcomers and defeat the enemy with the
power of Christ.
The Bible teaches that in the end, the Saints overcome and
defeat the enemy
by "the blood of the lamb, the word of their
testimonies, and they were not
afraid to die." (Rev. 12:11) We want to share our
testimonies in the bond of
sacred brotherhood; with the humility that we all need the
redemption and 5
grace that comes through the cross of Christ. The war
against the world, flesh,
and Satan is relentless. But together we will be overcomers
- living in purity,
truth, obedience, and unity so that we can be victorious
warriors and Saints
of our Living God.
Do you have a friend who fights for your life and legacy?
Do you have a friend who has a God-given lens for your
rightful heritage in
Christ?
Do you have a friend who believes in you, regardless of the
sins you have
committed?
Do you have a friend who fights for your eternal legacy more
than even his
own?
Do you have a friend who encourages you and builds you up?
Do you have a friend who fights against your sinful nature
with "humility and
gentleness?"
Do you have a friend who picks you up when you fall?
WHY NOT BE SUCH A FRIEND FIRST? ...
AND THEN YOU LIKELY WILL GET SUCH A FRIEND!
"... because of their Testimony ..." (Rev. 12:11)
In His Grip,
Jakoby/Jacobo
Col.3:3
