“Close Encounters”
Pt. 4 - Together
Review – Do a test. What is the process? And so to fulfill that process we must begin by having a close encounter. We started this whole thing off by declaring that we want to be a 2 Chronicles 5 church where the glory of the Lord fills this place and our lives until we can’t stand it and those around us can’t stand not to have it. Then we said that in order for this to happen we had to meet God on His terms. Do you remember what those terms are? Hungry. Honest. Holy. God will not back down or negotiate on these conditions. He will not give in or bend. We meet Him on His terms or not at all. Then last week we said that in order for us to have a Close Encounter we must take time. We must prepare so that we don’t miss kairos moments or divine appointments with God. We cannot afford to save chronos time if it costs us kairos time. We will be required to slow down a little in order to get in touch with God. As we wait on Him we become wound up in Him and we renew our strength. What we wait on we wind up with.
That brings us up to speed and positions us for the final message in this series. There is one final element that we must deal with in order to experience a close encounter with God.
I want to draw your attention back to 2 Chronicles 5 for just a moment. I am not going to read the entire passage, but I want to direct your attention to one statement and then I want to jump to the New Testament and read the account of what is perhaps the most profound close encounter that our world has ever seen or known.
2 Chronicles 5:13 – “13The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God—orchestra and choir in perfect harmony singing and playing praise to God: Yes! God is good! His loyal love goes on forever! Then a billowing cloud filled The Temple of God.
Maybe you didn’t catch the key ingredient in this passage. However, now as we jump forward into the New Testament maybe it will become clear. If not, I will explain in a moment.
Turn to Acts 2:1-4 – again this is perhaps the most profound and powerful close encounter ever described in Scripture. Don’t just listen to what happens. Listen to find out how it happens.
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Any Pentecostal worth their salt can tell you what happened. We just aren’t very good at figuring out why it happened. Notice that verses 2-4 tell us what happened. Verse 1 gives the key to why it happened.
So let’s try to tie the two passages together for you. 2 Chronicles 5:13 - 13The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God—orchestra and choir in perfect harmony. Acts 2:1 “and when the Day of Pentecost was fully come (which, by the way, deals with the time issue) they were all with one accord in one place.
The key in both passages for encountering the power and presence of God was being together or being in unity.
The challenge is that we all want the power and the presence. However, we are very seldom in total unity. They made one voice. Perfect harmony. In one accord. When was the last time you went to church and found it a place where there was perfect harmony? Everyone was in one voice? In one mind set? All marching towards the same goal and the same purpose?
And yet, I have just shown you from Scripture that if you want profound presence you must have profound unity! We have forgotten this truth even though we learned it in children’s church. You learned it there didn’t you? Come on get a partner and sing it with me. “When we all pull together, together. When we all pull together how happy we will be.” Even as children we stumbled on what may be the most important element to having a close encounter with God. Unity. Togetherness.
We long to have an Acts 2 Church, but we want it without having an Acts 2 togetherness. I am here to tell you that it cannot and will not happen if you take the ingredient of unity out of the mix.
Why? Because God set a principle in place long before Acts 2 that continues to be a law of the kingdom to this day. If we can ever grasp this principle we will consistently have a close encounter with God. It is provided for us in Psalms 133:1-3. Listen carefully. 1How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along (in KJV it is dwell together in unity)! 2It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. 3It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where GOD commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.”
We think we can be on the outs with one another, not talk to each other, gossip about each other, avoid each other, give each other the holy evil eye and as long as the music is good we will have presence and as long as the preaching is good we will have presence.
While the reality is that if we are going against the principle and we will not find Him. Because according to Psalms 133 His commanded blessing doesn’t come on good music or even great music. His commanded blessing doesn’t come on good preaching. The anointing is produced by unity and unity alone.
We need to do the Dew. Unity produces the dew of His presence. If we will get in harmony, get in unity there will be a commanded blessing in this place that will cause the anointing flow and lives will be changed, marriages will be restored, hurts will be healed, and people will be saved.
No unity, no blessing! No unity, no presence.
Our unity produces anointing. The anointing comes when brothers dwell in unity. Not singular when a brother is there. No plural, meaning all of us. God promises us a close encounter where two or three of us are gathered how? Together. Being together isn’t just about location. It is about condition! We think together means in the same room (location). However, what He is really promising is that when we agree on the same things, ask the same things, long for the same things and build the same things, He shows up (condition). Greek word there for together references the concept of completeness. He shows up when we are complete.
In Luke 9:1, the same Greek word is used when Jesus calls the disciples together and then he filled them with the power and authority. We like that passage of Scripture because we focus on the power and the authority that we are given over demons, sickness, snakes, etc. While we are focusing on the power we look past the togetherness. We become candidates for power and authority when we are together!
In fact, Paul said it like this in Ephesians 14:16, when he discusses how we are supposed to function, “the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth.” Every joint supplies. The body is incomplete if a joint is missing. I don’t have what I need if you aren’t a part of my life, supplying what I lack. I need you. We are connected. Look at your neighbor and say, “I need you bad. I need what you supply!”
That is why in Hebrews Paul reminds us that we need to be together when he says in Hebrews 10:24-25, “24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” And from the Message Bible, “24Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, 25not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.”
We can’t forsake assembling together. Notice I said assembling not just gathering. We are putting things together while we are in one place! The body has to assembled.
These times are special. They are crucial because it is beautiful it is for brethren to dwell in unity. It is like the oil. When we get together it produces anointing.
All my differences. All my uniqueness. All my peculiarities mix with your differences and your uniqueness and your peculiarities and they produce an anointing. My anointing mixes with your anointing and there is a blessing commanded there! Anointing oil used in the Old Testament was made up 5 spices not just one. It took a variety of spices. It takes a variety of people to produce the unity to bring the anointing. Not enough for me to get by blessing – not enough for you to get your blessing – we need the unity that brings about a corporate blessing.
If you want a close encounter the key is to be together. Look past each other’s faults. Look past that personality quirk that drives you nuts. Swallow your condescending attitude and realize that we need each other.
We are to operate on Kingdome principles. This is not a democracy – we can’t demand our own rights. We have to understand that this isn’t about me, it isn’t about you, it is about us, it is about them, and it is about Him. We must willingly lay down our wants, our own demands, our agendas, our convenience, our own comfort zone, and our own preferences and understand that it is when we walk, worship, and work in lock step a close encounter takes place. We must throw away the American idea that I am looking out for #1 and learn to rejoice when our brothers rejoice. Learn to weep when my brothers weep. Learn that when you are blessed I am blessed. We are supposed to be in this thing together.
I am convinced that we don’t have close encounters with God because we don’t have close encounters with each other.
Prayer – forgive us for our spirit of independence. It works great for government but terrible for anointing. Knit our hearts together. Make us complete. We long for the commanded blessing to overtake us and overtake this place and we realize that it only happens when we are in unity. So tear down walls, destroy division, remove strain in relationships. Let us walk in grace and walk in love with one another. Let us strive for unity. Let us discover our connectedness. Command a blessing in this place. Heal rifts. Heal hurts. Heal hate. Replace those things with joints that are fitted perfectly together. Bring all of our differences into the mix and produce a powerful, life-changing anointing in this place and our lives.
Communion- One of the supreme reminders that God’s Kingdom is built on unity is the ordinance that we call Communion. Jesus was very clear that it is when we take part in this meal that we re-member him. Did you catch that? When we do this we re-member Him. We are drawn together as a body. We are drawn together by the sacrifice that Jesus made. As we do this, we suddenly realize that not only do we need Him we need each other. In fact, during Communion we have the right to expect something from each member of the Body of Christ. We know this because after Paul gives instructions to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 11 on how to take Communion, he immediately begins dealing with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in I Corinthians 12. The two are connected. Paul is teaching us that as we come together as the Body of Christ in Communion services, we can expect each member to have the gift or operation of the Spirit that ministers to and edifies the whole Body. In our England churches, most of the gifts and operations of the Holy Spirit occur around the Communion Table, as the church "expected" to receive from each other what gifts each member had Spiritual need of.
I am telling you that during communion, during this symbolic act of unity healing can take place. Answers can be found. Breakthrough can occur. Because there is commanded blessing here! This meal gives us the chance to serve one another. It signifies that I need you. You are part of me. I am not complete without you. You are important to the body.
Have 10 come. Read verses. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. 24Having given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.25After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
I serve you His body and His blood signifying that we are one! I need you. Give instructions will serve you and then hand you tray and they will sit down. You find someone you don’t know or who you are led to. Serve them. Pray for them if led. Then return to your seat and sit down. Repeat process until finished.
