The Power of Agreement Part 1
Scriptures: Genesis 11:1-9; Amos 3:3; Matthew 18:19-20
Introduction
There is a law in place within the universe that cannot be changed. It is the Law of Cause and Effect. The Law of Cause and Effect says; "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law." What this law says that everything that happens has a cause. I want you to keep this in mind as we go through this series on the Power of Agreement.
Have you ever considered what can be done when people come into agreement? There are several areas where there should be agreement: agreement with ourselves (meaning I know who I am and am settled with that); agreement with God; agreement with our family and friends; employers; and agreement with our Church. In this series, I want to focus only on coming into agreement with God leading to our agreement with each other (New Light). I want to start with a very familiar story found in Genesis the eleventh chapter.
I. The Tower of Babel
“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. And it came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they used brick for stone and they used tar for mortar. And they said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:1-9 (NASB)
The first example we will examine is the story of the Tower of Babel. At this time, Noah’s family had “repopulated” the earth after everything was killed by the flood. All of mankind had come from Noah’s family and they all spoke the same language and could understand each other. This event (building of the Tower of Babel) happened approximately 175 years after Noah came out of the Ark. Noah was still alive (he lived 350 years after exiting the Ark) when this event happened and was recorded.
The record opens by stating that the whole earth used the same language and words. Everyone understood what the other person was saying, there was agreement. As the people continue to increase in number, they began to spread out, moving east. They came upon a land where they decided to settle down and make a name for themselves. In their decision making process, they decided that they would build a tower to reach heaven and would use brick and tar to do it. Verse 4 says that they wanted to build the tower to “reach into heaven and let us make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” There are a couple of key points in this verse that we need to understand. The first point is they had a goal. They wanted to build a tower to reach heaven and they laid out a plan in which to do it. All of the brick layers knew what they were supposed to do, as did the carpenters, mortar workers and designers. Everyone was working together with one goal and one mind. They were in total agreement. The next part of the verse speaks to the why, they wanted to make a name for themselves so that they would not be scattered all over the earth.
What is in a name? What does a name give you? Why do you think it was important for them to establish a name for themselves? Let me answer all three questions with this example. Every city and town has a history, a beginning. Every person has a birthplace and a family name. When you think about their situation, the name that they shared was the common name of their ancestor Noah. So there was not much differentiation between them. Those that decided to build this tower desired to set themselves apart while establishing a new family connection. Establishing a name would give them a place of reference, a place to call home. For example, my name is Rodney Johnson and I am from Columbia, Tennessee. This tells you who I am by birth (my name) and it gives you the place to start your search on my background (my hometown). This is what it gives you, but let me tell you what it gives me. It gives me a family (not only in name, but in physical connection, as well as a childhood hometown. It gives me a place where I had a beginning, a place to belong. This is what they were seeking; the establishment of a place where they could be known (separately from the other family members) and it would also be a home for them. To accomplish this goal, they had to be in agreement which they were.
Now it starts to get interesting because God took notice of what they were doing. Verse five says that God actually came down from heaven to see the city and the tower that the people were building. What was it about this tower that got God’s attention? It was not the building of the tower that got God’s attention, but the agreement the people were in to even start such a project. Verse six says “And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” What got God’s attention was that the people were one and they had started to build this tower as one unit, operating together. Look at the process here; first, the people were one, all speaking the same language. Next, because they were one, they began to imagine what they could accomplish if they all worked together. Finally they agreed on what they wanted to do and they started doing it. Based on them being in agreement and speaking the same language, God said that “nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” God’s concern was that if He allowed this to continue (their advancement because they were on one accord), what would be next. He stated that because they were on one accord, there was nothing that they would not be able to accomplish if they decided to do it. Are you seeing where this is going? The first key to accomplishing anything is you must be in agreement. To reach any type of agreement you must be speaking the same language.
God said that because they were speaking the same language using the same words, whatever they decided they wanted to do, they could accomplish. At the rate they were going, the potential existed for a lot of inventions that came many years later to have been developed sooner accelerating man’s overall development. God decided to slow down man’s intellectual development by confusing the language. When God did this, all work on the tower stopped because the people could not understand one another. Although the people knew what they were supposed to be doing, they could not coordinate their activities any longer. The brick layers could not tell the mortar guys when to deliver more mortar. The carpenters could not understand when they needed to start placing the wood. The supervisors could not tell the men when to take breaks or when to start or stop a task. The architects could not tell the builders the specifics of the plans because they could no longer communicate. Everything immediately went into disarray and stopped. The people ended up scattering all over the world teaming up with people who spoke the language that they spoke and understood. I do not speak any other language outside of English, and I struggle with it sometimes. I have visited outside of the United States twice to places where English was not the predominant language and both times I felt lost. There was no way I would have been able to come into agreement with anyone for anything if they did not speak English. The tower was called Babel because it was there that the language was confused. This is also the word we use when someone is talking in a voice that we cannot hear or understand (like when someone is mumbling). In this story we are given a clear picture of what can happen when people come into agreement. When there is genuine agreement, anything is possible. Likewise, when there is no agreement very little gets done.
(This is a side note, totally unrelated to this sermon. Consider the miracle that took place at the tower of Babel. We know the origin of all of the languages of the earth – they all came into being at this moment. All of sudden, people could no speak in the language they knew. They could no longer understand the writings that the formerly could read. All of a sudden they had a new language that they could read and speak as if they had been doing it all of their lives. Also, all of the families (husband, wives and kids) spoke the same language. How do we know this? Because God would not separate families and the results of family members not being able to talk to each other would have resulted in this happening. Just thought I would point this out. Also consider this. On the day of Pentecost, God delivered His message to “all” of the languages bringing back together those that were scattered. It came full circle.)
II. When Two Come Into Agreement
In my first example, we saw a whole community come together with one mind and goal and set in motion an act that caused God to take notice. This is also true with smaller groups, but with a more positive outcome. One of the things that I have learned on my secular job is that I need to be in agreement with my representatives who work for me if we are going to move business forward. When I sit down and talk over business with my team, we establish goals that both of us agree to. If I give them the goal and they never agree with it, yes they will attempt to do it because I am their manager, but their hearts will not be in it and I retain ownership of the goal. However, when we are in agreement, their hearts are in it; they take ownership of the goal and we share the responsibility and implementation. I found this to be true also in my position as Pastor of this great congregation. We get a lot more done when we come into agreement versus me standing before you and saying what needs to be done without ever asking for your input and agreement. Coming into agreement is the primary key to moving things forward with God. The prophet Amos asked this question:
“Ðo two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?” Amos 3:3
Amos was asking this question as proof of what he was talking about in the whole chapter. The New American Standard bible uses the word “appointment” which is translated “agreement” in other bibles. The prophet Amos was referring to the companionship that existed between the Lord and Israel which was currently at risk because of Israel’s behavior. They are together in covenant, but this fellowship could not last if they continued to be at odds. Remember the law of cause and effect? Based on this law, they could not continue in fellowship and be at odds because the law would operate to separate them. Now turn to Matthew 18:18-20 and lets examine what Jesus said about two coming into agreement.
“Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered in My name, there I am in their midst.” Matthew 18:18-20 (NASB)
In these verses Jesus speaks to the power of agreement. In the eighteenth verse He says that what we bind or loose on earth will likewise be done in heaven. He is speaking to the authority that we have as Christians especially when we come into agreement. He is saying that we as a Church body have the right to make the decisions that will be honored by heaven. As you read further into verse nineteen, He begins to speak directly to the power of agreement. Jesus said when we come into agreement about anything God will hear and honor it. But there is one condition. For this principle to operate in our lives, we must first be in agreement with Christ. You see, the condition for this to operate in our lives rests on us coming into agreement with those things that Christ Himself would do and ask for. It does not matter how many people you have agreeing with you, if you are praying and agreeing outside of the will of God, your prayers will go unanswered. But, when we come into agreement about things we know based on the word of God is the right thing to ask and do, we have a guarantee that God is listening and will honor our request. Jesus said that when two or three of us come together in agreement He would be in our midst.
Now consider the opposite. Two or three of you are gathered together at a business meeting and there is no agreement. Instead of agreement, there is arguing, strife, fighting and complaining. Do you think Jesus is really coming in the midst of all of that when He expects more of us? No, He will not be a part of that. But when we get our acts together and we walk in with a purpose and we come into harmony and agreement, Jesus will be in our midst. Do not fool yourselves; Jesus is not in every Church meeting or Church service. Too many times we bring the devil in and then expect Jesus to join the group. Jesus would like to be part of everything we do, but there are times when He cannot be because of what we are doing. If we want Jesus to be in our midst, we must invite Him in. We do that when we come into agreement in His will.
When we come into agreement with God the impossible becomes possible. In the Gospels, when the lepers came into agreement with Jesus, they were healed. When the demon possessed came into agreement with Jesus, the demons had to leave. When the sick came into agreement with Jesus, they were healed. When the hungry 5000 came into agreement with Jesus, their stomachs were filled. When Peter came into agreement with Jesus, he walked on the water, even if it was temporary, while he was in agreement, he walked. When the disciples came into agreement with Jesus, they believed that they could do what he did and they went forth and did it. When the lame beggar came into agreement with Peter and John, he rose to his feet and walked. When Paul came into agreement with Jesus on Damascus he carried forth the message of Christ writing most of the New Testament. All of these things happened because there was agreement. Remember the story recorded in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew? Jesus went home to Nazareth for a visit. While He was there He began teaching in their synagogue. Because the people knew Him, they questioned His power and His knowledge. Matthew 13:58 records these words: And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” Although Jesus was willing, many of the people would not come into agreement with Him. When we come into agreement with God, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. When we come into agreement with each other, with Jesus dwelling in our midst, we are more than conquerors and there is nothing we cannot do. Are you getting this? What are you missing out on if you are in not agreement with God? Are you sick? Are you hungry? Are you troubled? What are you needing that seems to be impossible? When you come into agreement with God, nothing is impossible. Next week I will continue by focusing on how we come into agreement with God. May God bless you.
