"Spirit Works: Three B's In Your Bonnet"
(Sermon #7)

2 Corinthians 13:11-14  "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. [12]  Greet one another with an holy kiss. [13] All the saints salute you. [14]  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."

When the Lord gave me this message, "Three B's In Your Bonnet", I had to ask Mrs. Alice Butler if there was such a thing as getting a "Bee in your Bonnet". You see, sometimes God speaks to me, but sometimes I fail to pay attention. Mrs. Alice assured me that there is such a saying, and that getting a "Bee in Your Bonnet" is an old expression meaning to get upset. Well, once I heard that, it certainly made sense to me. A bonnet is an old fashioned head covering that women used to wear while they were outside, particularly out in the field. When they came inside they often pushed the bonnet back so that it hung by its straps off behind their heads. A "bonnet" could also be a man's cap, but usually the word referred to the woman's hat. While hanging back of the neck it was possible for a bee to get in the bonnet, then when the woman pulled the hat back up on her head the bee would be trapped. You can guess the rest. OUCH! Neither the woman with the bee trapped under her hat, nor the bee itself, would be very happy in these circumstances. Both would be mad - out of control mad - until the situation was relieved.

As Christians sometimes we get off track of what Jesus wants us to do and get a "bee in our bonnet". We let anger literally take control of our lives, and we lose touch with Biblical reality. Imagine getting a bee in your bonnet. Imagine the shock of minding your own business, pulling your hat on, then getting unexpectedly stung. You, in fright and anger, cease to function logically and begin to swat at your head as you run around like a lunatic.

Proverbs 16:32  "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

Proverbs 25:28  "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."

I remember a similar incident that happened to me at U.S. Press. I was operating the hydraulic cutter, shearing great big stacks of paper in two in order to prepare them for printing. The hydraulic cutter has a large foot operated brake on it that, when you press a pedal with your foot, comes down with over a ton of pressure to clamp down on the paper before you cut it. I was in a hurry one day, minding my own business, when suddenly I dropped the brake down on my left thumb. OUCH, the pain! I began to tug and tug to get my thumb out, working in a panic without thought, when suddenly it occurred to me - if I lifted my foot I'd release the brake. I was, quite literally, breaking my own thumb with my own foot. I released the pedal, the brake rose up, and I got away from the incident with just a sore thumb. But Oh, how horrible to let the spirit of fear control you! Oh, how horrible to forget and allow anger to draw you away from the power of God!

Rather than get a "bee in our bonnets" and become negative emotionally driven, there are three B's that God wants you to put in your bonnet. These B's are very important, especially as we come to the communion of our Lord Jesus Christ. These B's are found in our context:

When these "Be"s are in our bonnets, then and only then will we be the people that our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be. Let's look at each Be, in turn, and see what they mean to us.

2 Corinthians 13:11  "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect (katartizo, to be perfectly joined, to fit together right, to adjust oneself to match another) ...  live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

The first "be" that the Triune God wants us to get in our bonnet is the "be" of unity as a Church. The word "perfect" in our King James text is (katartizo), which literally means "to fit together in union like the pieces of a puzzle". I want you to look at this puzzle I have here (hold up puzzle) in my hand. Each piece of this puzzle is designed to fit in its proper place. I cannot, for instance, ram a piece designed for one area into another. Oh, I may be able to make it fit, but in so doing I destroy or damage one or both pieces.

How did these pieces come to be fit so perfectly together. Well, the pieces were designed to fit together by the loving hands of Jesus. Each one of you who are believers in this Body are saved by the very same Jesus. This same Master is forming you with His own hands. Yea, the Scripture has said:

Ephesians 2:8-11 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9]  Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10]  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. [11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands"

Jesus is carving this puzzle, He is carving and forming this Body. Yes, beloved, "we are his workmanship", and the Communion that we are going to partake of shortly reminds us of this fact. In this day and age there are two terrible excesses in the Church, the excesses of apathy and the excess of condemnation. We are called to neither. When we see members in our flock falling away from (katartizo), falling away from the Christ formed body, then we are called to exhort and encourage and lead them back into Christ's Way. We are a fellowship, a communion of believers in Jesus Christ, being formed by the nail scarred hands of our Savior. We cannot afford to be apathetic to the suffering of others in this Body, nor can we afford to condemn those who are weaker than we are.

1 Peter 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, (katartizo)stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Remember, too, that each piece of this puzzle we call the Body of Christ, the Church, that is to say, each believer in this flock - each one of us are formed to the Body by suffering. Jesus Christ our Lord left us the Communion to remind us that it was His blood that was poured out in terrible suffering in order to secure our salvation. It was His body that was shattered and torn on that cursed Tree. Jesus, the foundation of this puzzle, had to suffer to form this Body. We who believe in Him have to suffer, to undergo trials and tribulation so, as the Master wields the saw to the soul, we slowly come into a state of Communion with Jesus and with each other.

We as fellow believers are to Be Perfectly Joined to one another. When one member suffers then we of the Body, rather than gloating or saying "I'm glad it's not me", we do as our Lord Jesus did. When the leper cries we do not turn our backs, but we reach out and love. When the blinded cry out we do not stop our ears, but we reach out a hand to guide them to peace. When one of the Body undergoes the cutting of Christ we hold their trembling hand, assuring them that the cutting will pass, the puzzle will be completed. We must live in peace with one another, for the God we serve is the God of love and peace - and we are reminded of the great peace He bought for us at His Communion Table. When we have the "Be" of unity in our bonnets, we will be less inclined to Church hop, to gossip, and to hate in word or deed.
 

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:24-35 (RSV)  In a broadcast address in London, T. S. Eliot talked about "spiritual awareness." He observed that many persons aspire to become Christians and believe, presumably, in the efficacy of the Christian faith, but never reach the stage of actually experiencing it. Aspiring towards real belief, i.e., becoming truly Christian, is one thing, whereas complete awareness of it is another. Aspiring can easily become an end in itself. And, as Charles H. Duthie of Edinburgh remarked: "It is a matter of living forever in the preface and never becoming involved in the story."  (DONALD MACLEOD, Know The Way, Keep The Truth, Win The Life, , C.S.S. Publishing Company, 1987)

2 Corinthians 13:11-12  "Finally, brethren ... be of good comfort (parakaleo, to call alongside so as to nurture or encourage) .... [12]  Greet one another with an holy kiss.

The next "Be" God wants us to have in our bonnet is (parakaleo), to encourage one another in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is very important: (parakaleo) does not mean to condone sin in the lives of others in the Body of Christ. Sin is always destructive, so very destructive. As a matter of fact, I can think of no good reason for sin other than to destroy, to kill, to tear down. Sin is an invention of Satan, the antithesis of Love for Christ, and though you might think its fun, in time it destroys.

James 1:14-16 "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. [15] Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. [16]  Do not err, my beloved brethren."

Last week I was chaplain at the Brook County Hospital, and one of the rooms I visited had a man in it that was dying of cirrhosis of the liver. You see, dear believer, you cannot live without your liver, and this fellow was a lifelong professional drinker. He drank so much alcohol that, eventually, it caused cirrhosis of the liver to set in - and now he's dying. You may think you're getting away with sin but, let me tell you, sin has a terrible return. It kills! So (parakaleo) doesn't mean to condone sinful behavior in the Body of Christ - but it does mean to stop looking for the bad, and start encouraging the good.

Too often as believers we fall into the trap of self righteousness. We begin to think that we are better than our fellow believers, that we are just the manifestation of perfection on this planet earth. But, dear believer, we are, in reality, all equally sinners saved by the Grace of Christ. The Communion Table reminds us of this. Each believer takes an equal portion of the Bread, symbolic of the broken Body of Christ. We each put it in our mouths, chew it, swallow it. We all equally had to have Jesus beaten, whipped, tormented in our place. We next each take an equal portion of the Blood, the juice symbolic of the Blood of our precious Lord Jesus, put it in our mouths and swallow it. We all equally had to have the Blood of Jesus poured out for us, so we could receive our undeserved salvation. We are all in the same boat. We are all paid for sinners.

Being in the same boat we must establish the habit of (parakaleo), encouraging one another in the Lord. I want the left side of the auditorium to look at the right side, and vice versa. Now, I want you to tell those you're facing, "I love you. I'm proud of you, and happy to be in the Body with you." Today when you take Communion, be mindful of the fact that you are taking this Communion together, and as such you are saying by your actions that you are one Body in Jesus. Don't let the Communion be the one time you work together as the Body of Christ. Just as the early Church member offered up a kiss in Christian love, we must be willing to carry this sense of unity out from the Table to the aisles of this Church, united, encourage one another in the Lord. Let this "Be" be in your bonnet!

2 Corinthians 13:11, 14  "Finally, brethren ... be of one mind (phroneo, to set the affections and mind in one place) ... [14]  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."

The last "Be" that God wants us to put in our bonnets is unity of mind, (phroneo). At the very end of the text Paul gives us an outstanding example to follow in the Trinity of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is God, The Father is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Each Member of the Trinity is equally and positively God. Yet these Three, though distinct and separate Persons, work together as One Being in absolute perfect harmony. How do they do this? Because they are all on the same page, following the same Plan.

If the Triune God acted like many Churches today we would all still be damned to eternal suffering. What if the Father had told Jesus, "Son, I need You to go to the Cross and pay for man's sins. And Holy Spirit, I need you to go to earth and assist the Son while He is in human form. Jesus will need to refuse to use His divine power, and you'll have to do the work for Him". If the Trinity behaved like most Churches then Jesus would have said, "Forget You! I'm not leaving Heaven to suffer for man. Wipe man out and make more - that's far easier". The Spirit would have said, "What do You mean, I've got to do all the work? Jesus is certainly capable - after all, He's God just as I'm God. Besides which, Who died and put You in charge?". No, if the Trinity worked like most Churches, then we'd still be under the penalty of sin. But what really happened?

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ secured that Grace for us, that free gift. The Father said, "Son, You need to go and pay the penalty for man" and Jesus said "I know, Father, for the love of God decrees this. Yes, I will go." The Father told the Spirit, "You must go, for Jesus must live His ministry as a perfect Man so He can pay the penalty". The Spirit said, "I know, Father, for the love of God decrees this. Yes, I will go and make communion possible." Then each went according to the Plan of the Father. Each Member of the Godhead, in perfect unity of mind, followed the Plan the Father set out - a Plan that culminated in our salvation. How do I know this? Because the Bible tells me so:

Isaiah 48:12-16  "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. [13]  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. [14]  All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. [15]  I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. [16] Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me."

Creator God, Jesus Christ, was speaking through Isaiah when He said "now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me". There is no struggle here, no disharmony, but a perfect unity of mind, a perfect movement toward the same goal.

We fall into disarray and disharmony when we, as believers, forget the principles of unity shown to us by the Triune God. We fall out of the Plan of God when we forget the truths that Jesus taught us in the Communion Table. He who is equal with God lowered Himself to follow the will of the Father. He merged His Will with Father's Will for the greater good of His Body. In the same way we must, each one of us, merge our wills with the Will of God as revealed in His Scriptures. We cannot get off track from the Truth of Scripture. We cannot say, "Well, I think", or "My opinion is". No, dear ones, we must be of one mind, and the mind we must possess, we must possess and apply is the Word of God.

Cain, the first murderer of humanity, killed his brother Abel because he thought to modify God's Word and God's requirements to satisfy himself. We cannot modify God's Word to meet our needs. The Communion reminds us that the Father required the Body and Blood of Christ our Lord. In the same way God requires your obedience to and application of His Word. Or, as He told Cain:

Genesis 4:6-7  " ... Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [7]  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."

or, (Contemporary English Version) "If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.  But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion."

Before you take Communion today, get all the "bees" out of your bonnet except for these three: Be perfectly joined together like pieces of a puzzle, Be an encourager to others in the Body, and Be of one mind toward one another and toward God. Prepare your hearts to take the Lord's Table, and repent of your worldly ways. Be the children of your Father in Heaven.
 

In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.  Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."  To truly see Jesus and his truth means more than observing what he did or said, it means a change of identity.  (Terry Seufferlein Norman, Oklahoma)

- As Christians, we are expected by God our Father to rule our emotions and reactions. Why? (Proverbs 16.32; 25.28)  - What does it mean to (katartizo), to be united together at Okapilco Baptist Church like the pieces of a puzzle?  - Who has formed and made us? (Ephesians 2.8-11) Is He done yet? - What are the two terrible excesses that destroy a Church, will destroy our Church? _______________ How can I combat these excesses? - What does Christ use to form the Body (1 Peter 5.10)? - Is there ever a good reason to sin? (James 1.14-16) What does sin ultimately lead to?  - (parakaleo), calling one another alongside to comfort, exhortation, is learned behavior, just as a defeatest attitude is learned behavior. How can I bring (parakaleo) to Okapilco Baptist? - We take the Communion together. How does this relate to (parakaleo)? - How does the Trinity of God stand as a perfect example of unity? - What is the focus of the Trinity? (Isaiah 48.12-16) What should the focus of our Church be?  Forty Things True of the Christian  1. A child of God (Romans 8:16) 2. Redeemed from the Hand of the Enemy (Psalms 107:2) 3. Forgiven (Colossians 1: 13, 14) 4. Saved by Grace through Faith (Ephesians 2:8) 5. Justified (Romans 5:1) 6. Sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11) 7. A New Creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) 8. A Partaker of His Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) 9. Redeemed from the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13) 10. Delivered from the Powers of Darkness (Colossians 1:13) 11. Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14) 12. A Son of God (Romans 8:14) 13. Kept in Safety Wherever I Go (Psalm 91:11) 14. Getting All My Needs Met by Jesus (Philippians 4:19) 15. Casting All My Cares on Jesus (1 Peter 5:7) 16. Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might (Ephesians 6:10) 17. Doing All Things through Christ Who Strengthens Me (Philippians 4:13) 18. An Heir of God and a Joint Heir With Jesus (Romans 8:17) 19. Heir to the Blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:13, 14) 20. Observing and Doing the Lord's Commandments (Deuteronomy 28:12) 21. Blessed Coming in and Blessed Going out (Deuteronomy 28:6) 22. An Heir of Eternal Life (1 John 5:11, 12) 23. Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings (Ephesians 1:3) 24. Healed by His Stripes (1 Peter 2:24) 25. Exercising My Authority over the Enemy (Luke 10:19) 26. Above Only and Not Beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13) 27. More than a Conqueror (Romans 8:37) 28. Establishing God's Word Here On Earth (Matthew 16:19) 29. An Overcomer By The Blood of the Lamb and The Word of My Testimony (Revelation 12:11) 30. Daily Overcoming the Devil (1 John 4:4) 31. Not Moved By What I See (2 Corinthians 4:18) 32. Walking By Faith and Not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) 33. Casting Down Vain Imaginations (2 Corinthians 1:4, 5) 34. Bringing Every Thought into Captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5) 35. Being Transformed By the Renewing of My Mind (Romans 12:1, 2) 36. A Laborer Together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9) 37. The Righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) 38. An Imitator of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1) 39. The Light of the World (Matthew 5:14) 40. Blessing the Lord at All Times and Continually Praising the Lord with My Mouth (Psalm 34:1)