The Power of Together
John 17:20-26
This morning I want to speak with you on "The Power of Together." It seems to me, the older I get the greater appreciation I have for the power of doing things together with others. God never intended us to travel this journey we call life alone. As a matter of fact, some of the greatest expressions of God love for us are seen in the incredible people He has surrounded us with - parents, brothers, sisters, spouses, children, friends and associates. The Power of Together is found wherever healthy relationships exists - and is God incredible gift given to you and me to save us from ourselves.
This principle of togetherness is recorded on page after page and illustrated in story after story in the Bible - because here is the point I would like us to understand this morning - God’s provision in your life in almost every sphere is found in the context of the Power of Together.
From eternity past where God dwelt in Holy Togetherness, to the dawn of human history in Adam and Eve, Togetherness has been the organizing principle of a meaningful and fulfilling life.
May I suggest to you that there is not much the devil fears more than Christians standing together in unity - because He knows that if we discover the Power of Together there is almost nothing we cannot do. Which is why the greatest pain the devil can bring into your life is to bring the Pain of Separation instead of the Power of Together. Did you know that my Bible tells me that the greatest power that allows the unsaved to make a decision for Jesus Christ isn’t prayer, though this is important. It isn’t good deeds, though deeds indicate a fruitful relationship with God. It isn’t good behavior, though Christ commands us to be obedient as sons. The greatest power God’s children have over darkness is unity.
So this morning I want to take a moment to talk with you about this incredible principle - The Power of Together.
1. Standing Together - The Power of Intentional Unity
Psalm 133:1,3 "A Song of Ascents, of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever."
It is my contention that the proof of your Christianity is not the prayers you pray, the money you give or the good works you do - it is the love you have in your heart.
Did you know that of all the things that Jesus could pray about and talk about on His final night here on earth, the thing that dominated His thinking and praying was our unity? Why? Because Jesus understood that the church would never make the impact on the world it needed to if it was a divided church. I do not know that the church understands how tor receive this unity.
J. Gordon Melton is a Methodist minister with an unusual hobby. His hobby is denomination hunting. He literally scours the country trying to count the number of major denominations in the United States. As of a few years ago he had counted over 1,200 denominations in this country.
Some of them are very interesting.
1. One of them is "The Church of the Kennedy Worshippers." It is a church which actually believes that it can pray to the late President John F. Kennedy, and can be cured both of congenital defects as well as of terminal diseases.
2. Then there’s "The Church of the Ministry of Universal Wisdom." They look for flying saucers to come.
3. And then there’s "The Church of What’s Happening Now." It’s obviously a more contemporary church.
But of more interest to us is the fact that in that list of over 1,200 denominations he found more than 70 different denominations calling themselves Baptist: Seventh-Day Baptist, Two Seed in the Spirit Predestinarian Baptist, General Baptist, Regular Baptist, and the list goes on and on.
Precious believer - these things should not be - my Bible tells me that the church is one - and that in that oneness lies our strength. The Power of Intentional Unity is the Salvation of the World.
1. Standing Together - The Power of Intentional Unity
I have learnt that it is very, very difficult indeed for individuals to be intelligent on their own - but together it is not that hard to do.
Prov. 15:22 "Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed."
Precious believer - do you understand that God put us here to make each other stronger, and to find in each other the strength we need? None of us are clever enough to do this think called life on our own.
There is incredible power in collective thinking, planning, committing and endeavoring.
That is why in your relation ships it is essential that you do four things:-
We must Submit.
We must Love
We must Honor
We must Encourage
1. Standing Together - The Power of Intentional Unity
2. Thinking Together - The Power of Deliberative Dialogue
Matthew 18:19 "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."
Did you know that when you agree in prayer the father releases blessing on what you pray, and He commissions angels do the bidding of your prayers?
The power of prayer is not the result of the person praying. Rather, the power resides in the God who is being prayed to. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."
We cannot access powerful prayer by using "magic formulas." Our prayers being answered is not based on the eloquence of our prayers. We don’t have to use certain words or phrases to get God to answer our prayers.
Five Answers to Prayer - Palau
"No, I love you too much."
"Yes, but you will have to wait."
"Yes, but not what you expected."
"Yes, and here’s more!"
"Yes, I thought you’d never ask."
1. Standing Together - The Power of Intentional Unity
2. Thinking Together - The Power of Deliberative Dialogue
3. Praying Together - The Power of Essential Agreement
4. Ministering Together - The Power of Spiritual Synergy
Eph. 4:15-16 "but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
Nowhere on earth should the world catch glimpses of heaven more clearly than in the church. Unfortunately, the church has often become distracted by self-interest at the expense of the very keen sense of mission that sets her apart from all other groups.
God is calling apostolic and prophetic ministries to challenge the church to look beyond the preservation of personal comfort and taste and to confess our sin. For too long we have overemphasized the ministry of the pastor or gatherer and teacher or imparter of information with the result of developing consumers who choose their church home in response to the question, "What’s in it for me?"
Mark 6:7 "And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority . . ."
There is an incredible biblical principle here - one will but a thousand to flight, and two will put ten thousand to flight. (Deut. 32:30)
Solomon tells us that two are better than one (Ecc. 4:9) and that when two lie down together they can keep warm (Ecc. 4:11)
1. Standing Together - The Power of Intentional Unity
2. Thinking Together - The Power of Deliberative Dialogue
3. Praying Together - The Power of Essential Agreement
4. Ministering Together - The Power of Spiritual Synergy
5. Worshiping Together - The Power of Corporate Praise
Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
The most incredible expression of the Power of Together is when Christ is with you.
As a child of God, He is with you all the time, no matter where you go and no matter what you do. That is why it is going to be all right.
The purpose of Christ in our midst is simple - it is to transform us and to transform the world.
Because of Christ in us our contact with Him, with His Church and with His word should be changing us. And if it isn’t, then there is something terribly wrong with the way we are going about it. And then in turn, because of Christ in us our contact with the Church and the world should be changing them - and if it isn’t, again, there is something terribly wrong with the way we are going about it.
It seems that one of the great challenges these days is how to present Christ credibly and "rehabilitate" the term ‘Christian’ to mean ‘like Christ’ and the term ’evangelical’ to mean ’good news’ again.
Together, we have Christ in us, the hope of glory. The word ‘you’ in Col. 1:27 is plural.
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