First Church of God in Harvey
Sunday Morning – January 22nd, 2012
Let us pray
Welcome………
‘This is the day which the Lord hath made;” this 22nd day of January 2012; so “we will rejoice and be glad in it.” “O give thanks unto the Lord,” why should we give thanks? because he is good, and his mercy endureth for ever. Some people give thanks when they feel like it. Some people give thanks when they are feeling good, but we are called upon to give thanks because the Lord has been good. As we listen to the news, as we read the paper, the news can be discouraging, but we do not have to be discouraged, because the Lord has been good. You might say, pastor you sound like a broken record, but it does not change the fact, that the Lord has been good.
Has God been good to you? Can you still praise God despite how things might appear to be.? Jesus took the time to pray for you and for me. In fact he took the time to die for you and for me. While we were still in our sins, while we were wretched and undone, while we were without God or His Son, God demonstrates his love for us, He proves His love for us by the fact that Christ died for us. So often we spend time worrying about things that really does not matter, instead of taking the time to praise the Lord. The psalmist writes in psalm 107 verse 8, and he is talking about you, and talking about me, “O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” If we are planning to make heaven our home, we better start learning how to praise God while we are here on earth.
I can hear somebody saying, pastor it does not take all that, but when you get home, I would like you to read Revelation 7 verses 9 through 17. Verses 9 and 10 reads like this, After this I beheld, and lo a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people , and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. That sounds to me like praising the Lord….
Our scripture reading for today will be taken from St. John 17 verses 20 through 26. Let’s all stand, and read from the screen. Please tell somebody, Jesus loves me too.
Our to-pic for today is, The Oneness of God’s People. Number 1…Jesus prayed that believers may be one; Number 2…Jesus prayed that believers may be perfected in unity and Number 3…Jesus prayed that believers may be with Him in glory.
As we look at our text for today, that word “oneness’ means, the quality of state of being one; singleness; the condition of being undivided; wholeness. Here we find Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, taking the time to pray for you and for me. It is said that he prayed for the weakest as well as for the strongest; for the diseased as well as for the healthy; for the orphan as well as for the children of the family; for the prisoner as well as for the free; for the believer in the darkest jungle as well as for the believer in the limelight. Jesus prayed for all of us, every one of us who believe today.
Jesus prayed that the believers may be one. He prayed that we all may be one. This is the central theme of our Lord’s prayer, the oneness of God’s people, The standard for unity is not what the United Brethren are doing, it is not what the other united churches are doing, but “the standard for unity is the oneness between Jesus and His Father. Believers are to be one just as the Father and Jesus are one.” That very same kind of unity that exist between the Father and the Son, should be the same kind of unity existing among believers. The purpose for this unity is that the world may believe that the Father sent Jesus.
So often we find in churches a lacking of unity, where those who profess being saved, profess being transformed, profess that a change has taken place, but there is no unity existing. There is a war going on. Jesus prayed that believers may be one. Jesus is saying that believers must be one; be unified, of one spirit and mind in proclaiming the central message of the gospel. How can we expect to reach a lost world if we are fighting among ourselves? How can we expect to see sinners changed if we are not united? How can we expect to see lives changed if we cannot get along with our brothers and sisters.
There is only one central message, not two, not three, and the message is “that God sent Jesus out of heaven into the world.” There is only one request of men, not two, not three, “to believe that God sent Jesus into the world.” There is only one mission, not two, not three, “that men be one (unified) in proclaiming the message of the glorious gospel.” I believe the Church of God Reformation Movement has the truth, but I want somebody to know that God is looking for a church, he is looking for a glorious church, “not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5: 27b) It is good to have the name Church of God; it is good to be called a child of God, but God wants each of us to start walking as children of God, living as children of God, united as children of God so that the world may believe that God sent Jesus
“The source of unity is God’s glory, the very glory which Jesus Himself possessed.” It is this glory God has given to believers that unites believers and makes them one with Jesus and His Father and one with each other. Charles W. Naylor penned these lines of an old song we used to sing entitles, “The Church’s Jubilee.” The third verse of that song goes like this, The day of sects and creeds for us for ever more is past, Our brotherhood are all the saints (black saints, white saints, red saints, you name it, all the saints) upon the world so vast; We reach our hands in fellowship to every blood washed one, while love entwines about each heart in which God’s will be done. O church of God ( and we are talking about saved folks) the day of Jubilee, Has dawned so bright and glorious for thee, rejoice be glad! Thy Shepherd has begun. His long divided flock again to gather into one. We are talking about oneness with God’s people.
When believers, people like you and like me who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior, “experience the glory of God they become one in being, character, and purpose. Their lives are given to each other to help one another.” What a wonderful thought. God gave glory to His Son Jesus Christ, and Jesus gave the same glory to you and me as believers, in order to proclaim the glorious message that God has sent his son into the world. I challenge everyone here today who have trusted Christ as Savior and Lord to let’s stop fighting and start proclaiming, let’s stop worrying and start living, let’s stop pretending and start doing, The world is watching you and watching me to see if we are really what we say we are.
Jesus prayed that believers may be one, and he also prayed that believers may be perfected in unity. It has been said that, “the world has not been reached for Christ-millions have been lost-because believers have not been unified enough to penetrate the world with the gospel.” You might say, Is he talking about me? Well, I have been doing the best I can. How can I say I am a child of God, if I find it difficult worshiping with you, because I don’t look like you, I don’t speak like you; I don’t believe everything exactly like you, but I am going to heaven any how.
This problem of lack of unity among believers; this problem of the oneness of God’s people is not with God, but the problem is with the believers. The provision is made by God for believers to reach the world for Christ, but there is a problem with our love for each other. How much do we love each other? How much do we really care? The source of source of unity for the believer is the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ within his life, this means that God dwells in the believer. In our text it says, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfected in one…” Listen to what it says in Galatians 2 verses 20, I am crucified with Christ or I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;” “The purpose for a perfected unity is that the world may know that God sent Jesus into the world to save it.”
It is said that what the world needs more than anything is love, a great demonstration of love from a massive multitude of people.” Think of the enormous impact we as believers could make upon the world if we really were unified in love. This love among believers that I am talking about “is a different love from the so-called love of the world.” This love I am talking about “is a sacrificial love that will give all to minister to a world that is reeling under the weight of a starving, diseased, and dying masses of people.” It seems to me, that there are so many believers who are not willing to make a sacrifice. Not willing to go that extra mile., but in 1 John 3 verse 16 we read, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” In St. John 13 verses 34 & 35 we read, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
In order to have the oneness of God’s people, there must be love. This love I am talking about suffers long; it is kind, it does not envy, it does not show off, it does not get puffed up, does not behave unseemly, seeketh not her own, does not get easily provoked, does not think evil: this love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; this love bears all things, believes all things, hopeth all things , and endureth all things. Let’s ask God today to give us a heart of love. It is not about you, it is not about me, but it is all about Jesus, the one who loves us and gave himself for us.
Jesus prayed that believers may be perfected in unity. This idea of perfection is a perfection of purpose. It has to do with an aim, a goal, a purpose. “It means fit, mature, fully grown at a particular stage of growth.” As believers we are still growing, as believers we should be more and more like Christ each day. This mature believer, this believer who is endeavoring to be more and more like Christ, should “do good and show kindness to all men, both good and bad men.”
Jesus prayed that believers may be one. Jesus prayed that believers may be perfected in unity; and Jesus prayed that believers may be with Him in glory. Let’s look at verse 24 of our text (read) As a believer, as a child of God, are you looking for that day to be with the Lord in glory? In St. John 14 verses 1 through 3 Jesus says, Let not you heart be troubled (set your troubled hearts at rest) ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions, or there are many rooms in my Fathers house; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you. (that if does not mean doubt or uncertainty) I am going to prepare a place you, and I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Heaven is a real place, prepared for real people to be with Jesus forever.
This wonderful place call heaven, a place where believers are promised to be, is a place where we will be “free from all earthly sorrow and pain.” It is a place where we “shall no longer be tempted by sin, nor troubled by sinful surroundings.” It is a place “where the wicked shall cease from troubling; and the weary shall be at rest; and all of the saints of the ages, are going to sit at his feet and be blessed.” All of us who are planning to go to this place call heaven, there is a promise made to us in Revelation 21 verse 4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” Heaven that is the place to be. One songwriter caught the vision and says, “Why should I long for the world and its sorrows, When in that home o’er the sea, Millions are singing the wonderful story? Heaven holds all to me.” So many, even Christians are getting caught up with all these material things, it is good to have material things, but we should not be controlled by what we have.. Our aim should be to please God, to be a witness for our Lord, and be looking for that day when we shall be with our Lord. So the songwriter writes, Heaven holds all to me, Brighter its glory will be, Joy without measure, will be my reassure, Heaven holds all to me.”
In the last two verses of our text, Jesus concluded his prayer with a testimony. (read verses 25 & 26) “There is the testimony of the world.” The world has not know God; Jesus was the revelation of God, as a result, all who saw Jesus saw God. “Yet the world rejected Him, refusing to know Him.. In Romans 10 verse 3 we read, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
There was the testimony of Jesus. He knew God. “He was eternal and had always existed with God.’ He was God’s Son, our Lord and Savior. In St. John 8 verse 55 we find Jesus declaring His Divinity, “Yet ye have not known him; but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.”
“There is the testimony of believers down through the centuries. Believers know that God sent Christ.” In St. John 7 verse 29 we read, “But I know him; for I am from him. And he hath sent me.”
As we close, Jesus prayed that believers may be one. He prayed that believers may be perfected in unity. He prayed that believers may be with him in glory. Jesus took the time to pray for you and for me. Have you taken the time to pray for anyone? Aren’t you glad that somebody prayed for you; somebody had you on their mind, and took the time and prayed for you. Will you take the time today, and pray for someone?
Let us stand
Call to discipleship
Closing song & prayer
