Unity ~ What exactly is it?
We
did this a few Sundays ago, but let’s do it again just to humor me, and to get it through to us all! When I count to 3, I want all of us to shout out what church we attend.
Now, when I count to 3, I want you to shout with a loud voice, who are you here to worship tonight!
U
nity defined, is oneness. A coming together of a person, or persons to a like-mindedness, a common goal, a common strategy, or an agreement to arrive at the same goal by similar means.
Unity in the world is simply not here. It won’t happen. It cannot happen. It never has, and it never will.
The last time it even got close was at the tower of Babel, and that was when people decided to come together and build a tower that would reach to the heavens, so they would not be scattered abroad.
We all know what transpired there. God scattered them all over the earth, giving them all different languages, and confounding them to the point of disrupting the unity that they had obtained.
Genesis 11:4-8 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. (KJV)
Notice there that the text says ‘let us make us a name’
ü This wasn’t what God wanted at all.
ü These men were seeking glory for themselves, and were not seeking God almighty.
‘lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’
ü The men were going against God’s plan. They were devising their own plan, and laying aside God’s.
ü Remember too, these same people were the men of the lineage of Noah, the ones that God had told to replenish the earth in Genesis 9:1
Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (KJV)
Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
ü Check it out! Even though the people were not listed as ‘Children of God’, but as ‘Children of men’, verse 5, God said, (paraphrased), Let’s go check this out, these folks are getting together in unity. They are unstoppable with the things that they are imagining, unless I stop them!
If there’s that much power in the unity of people that are not Children of God, then. . . . “CHILD OF GOD. . . . . .what say we of unity?”
I think it’s wayyyyyyy, wayyyyyyyy, past time for us to get it right,
ü and get it all together, (someone say ‘get it together’)
ü and start working as sons and daughters of God,
ü trying to win the lost,
ü deliver the opressed,
ü set the sinful captive free,
ü and get busy building His Kingdom instead of us vainly laboring at the ridiculous task of swapping sheep, while we try and build our own kingdoms!
So now, what are we to do? (GET IT TOGETHER)
Would you all please stand for the reading of God’s Word tonight. Please turn to : Ephesians 2:14-22
Let us break down this passage of scripture together for the next few minutes. May God add His rich blessing to the reading of His Word!
Ephesians 2:14-17 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
ü Who hath made both one ~ Jew and Gentile are now one. There is no difference since Jesus paid the price for all, (somebody say ALL!)
ü Now, the middle wall of partition – the Jews kept a 6 foot wall of petition, or even a body of water at all times between themselves and the Gentiles. There were also the laws and commands and creeds that were instituted that separated the two from interaction.
ü But Jesus shattered that wall when He died for all sin and for an extra added feature, just to put an exclamation point on it all, the veil to the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom to show that God was accessible to all, (somebody shout “all”) who would believe and call upon the name of Jesus!
ü The thing is, is that we now are all on the same page per say, although we tend to read that self-same page a little differently, at times.
F
olks, we are in this Christian experience together! By all means we should be able to work hand-in-hand toward a common goal of reaching souls for Jesus Christ!
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
When we speak of unity, we have to realize that this is exactly what Jesus wanted. Why can’t we fulfill John chapter 17, where Christ prayed 5 times, “that they may be one.” ?
For also in Ephesians 6:1-6, Paul writes: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all. (KJV)
What needs to happen is that our focus needs to be adjusted. There isn’t a Church of God God, or an Assemblies of God God, or even a Baptist God, or a Methodist God, or any other God! We are all His sheep, the children of His pasture!
In Exodus 20:3 ~ The first commandment is “Thou Shalt have NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME! He is the same God! Could we all just look around at each other in this place right now! We are all God’s Children! It’s all about Him, and advancing His Kingdom, and not about advancing ours!
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Now that we know each other, and know that we are to be working together, let’s all get to work with the building! Let’s build His kingdom up, and see just what could happen!
Ephesians 2:20-21 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner [stone]; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
‘fitly framed together’ – there is no possible way that this can ever occur unless there is unity. Do you think that anyone in their right mind would ever set a round brick between two square bricks and hope that they would snugly hold fast? Absolutely not! Men and women of God, we are the bricks that God needs to use to build His Kingdom, and when we allow His Word to be as the mortar that joins us as a solid wall, we then become the fitly framed building that He is looking for.
We’ve got to stop looking at the differences that we have, and start concentrating on the similarities that we have. I’ll venture to say that there are many more similarities existing between us than there are the differences that we have made with our own laws and ordinances over the years.
Folks, the church started out in the singular, and it needs to get back to being that way in a big hurry!
In Ecclesiastes 4:12, God’s Word states that a multi-braided cord is much harder to break than that of a single cord. We need to learn how to knit ourselves together, and do it for the Glory of God!
For Unity to occur, His Will Needs to defeat ours!
The Will of God is subject to the Will of man.
David wrote in Psalm 78:61 that “He delivered His strength into captivity.”
If we refuse to obey the Will of God, He will not impose Himself or His Will on us.
“Our Father, Who Art In Heaven, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, In Earth As It Is In Heaven.”
“For We Have This Treasure Which Is In Earthen Vessels, , ,” We are His Vessels of Earth. Is His Will being done in our lives? Or is our Will outmatching His?
What then should we choose to do?
Live in the emptiness of our Will,
Or live in the Abundant Victory of God’s Will?
God’s Will is that we would be one with Him, and truly, that only comes through Unity in the body and in the Spirit.
What happens when we become a unified example of Believers?
What happens when an army of 5,000 joins an army of 5,000? The strength is greatly increased!
It’s much easier to work when there are a lot of workers to help in the cause.
But where does this lead?
Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (KJV)
I believe that if we all would pull together, put our differences aside, and pursue the Lord God Almighty, then we would become that mighty fortress that Jesus prayed for as He prayed to his Father for unity of the Brethren, and we would become that Ephesians 2:22 building that God Himself would come and inhabit. I’m not looking for a visit from God, I’m looking for God to kick off His shoes and plan to inhabit our houses of Worship!
Habitation – dwelling place.
A manifestation of God’s presence through multiple outlets.
This is what we need. We can be the multiple outlets that He uses to reflect His attributes through.
God only dwells in men as they live in UNION with Him! One in mind, one in purpose, and One in Spirit!
There is but one Body The church!
One Spirit, The Holy Spirit!
One Hope, The Christian calling!
One Lord, The Lord Jesus Christ!
One Faith, The Gospel of Jesus Christ!
One Baptism, The baptism unto salvation in Christ Jesus!
One God, who is the Father of All!
ü We need the signs wonders and miracles to come again, and we need to be the ones that are seeing them take place regularly. After all, The Word of God states that ‘signs, wonders and miracles shall follow the believers!’
ü The only way that we’ll see them is if we come together!
Are we believers or not? . . . . . It’s time folks.
It’s time to make a change.
It’s time to redefine the paradigm of church as we know it.
It’s time to fix that which needs fixed, to prepare ye the way of the Lord!
It’s time to get it right, and We are His people and we can do this!
Let’s come together!
