The Israelites are about to enter the land of Canaan, the promised land. Eventually, each tribe will be given a portion of the land for their home. The day is coming when they will no longer travel as a nation with the very presence of God on display in the cloud by day and the fire by night. They will be dispersed throughout the land.
Thus, the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is all about remembering.
Remembering where they came from
Remembering their God
Remember their identity
[Deuteronomy 6:4-7] Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.
What are these commandments?
5-11 Repeating the Ten Commandments, living as separate people, obedient to God
12-26 The code of laws to be observed in Canaan
Chapter after chapter of laws and regulations. We saw these in Numbers in the Book of the Covenant and they are reaffirmed to this new generation who are about to enter the Promised Land. All these laws, rules, regulations, principles…why?
Everything in Deuteronomy serves as a reminder to the Israelites that God called them to be holy, set apart. They were chosen by God to be His people. One nation, loving and serving one God, obeying one set of commandments. Holy and united. Two characteristics of God, which should be two characteristics of God’s people. Throughout Footsteps, we’ve covered God’s holiness; this morning I would like to focus on unity.
Just as the Godhead is one – three Persons, one God – the Lord wants His people to be one. Just as a holy nation is a reflection of a holy God, so a united nation is a reflection of a united God.
Jesus prayed for this in His High Priestly prayer in John 17…
[John 17:20-23] My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Unity. This is not just wishful thinking, this has been God’s plan all along: to transform a group of individuals, with a variety of opinions and ideas and goals, into one nation, into one body submitting to one Head, Jesus Christ.
I fear we don’t take unity very seriously. I’m sure we would all agree that unity within the body of Christ is a nice concept, but how many of us see it as an essential component of our fellowship with each other and our witness to the world?
We would drop what we are doing to provide a meal for someone who is hurting or dying.
We would drop what we are doing to encourage someone who is discouraged or hopeless.
But would we drop what we are doing to seek reconciliation with someone we’re at odds with?
[Matthew 5:23] Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there if front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.
According to this verse, reconciliation seems pretty vital to me. Don’t bother giving an offering or singing praises to God, or taking communion if you are not reconciled with a brother or sister in Christ. We think we’re doing God and the body of Christ a favor when we simply move to another church. “I don’t want to make a big deal about this.”
How do we move beyond this attitude? How would this attitude work in your family or in your marriage? At the first sign of conflict, you just pack your bags and move on? When will we realize that we are stuck with each other in the body of Christ – there’s nowhere to hide, we can’t escape other, so we need to work this out!
According to Scripture, there is a bond between us.
[Ezekiel 20:37-38] I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
[Ephesians 4:3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
In this life, what creates a BOND between two people?
1. Birth/birthplace: meeting someone from your hometown or home country
2. Blood: Being in the same family
3. Beliefs: Similar views on issues
4. Burden: Similar passion for social concerns
5. Battle: Fighting for the same cause
For believers, we’ve been baptized into one body and we have a bond in not just one or two of these areas, but all of them!
1. We have a common birth – we’ve all been born again by the Spirit
2. We have a common blood – the blood of the new covenant
3. We have a common belief – as found in God’s word
4. We have a common burden – a burden for the lost, a burden to make disciples
5. We have a common battle – not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The reason we see a great deal of disunity in the church is because we forget these things are add to them, or take away from them.
Rebirth doesn’t matter, we’re all God’s children!
The blood of Christ is an abomination to a civilized world!
You believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I want!
We have more of a burden for social media than social concerns
Our battles consist of fighting for what I want, not what Christ wants
Just as the Israelites were united under one God and one covenant, so we Christians are united under one Head, Jesus, and one covenant.
[Ephesians 4:1-6 ] As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
[Ephesians 4:11-13] It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
God raises up people to pass on His teachings, so unity can be realized. Parents, impress these things on your children. Pastors and teachers, impress these things on your congregation so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith!
Many married couples happily say they are stuck with each other. Separation is not an option, so they must stay and work it out. Let’s have this same mentality in the church. We are happily stuck with each other. Separation is not an option, so let’s stay together and work it out.
In Ephesians, Paul describes the church as a building and as a body.
There is unity in a building
[Ephesians 2:19-22] Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
There is unity in a body
[Ephesians 4:15-16] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
[United vs. Untied]
Same letters in each word. Difference? The “i” and the “t” are switched around. Here’s some insights the Lord gave me several years ago:
1. When UNI (you and I) stand together, we are united!
We’ve been baptized into one body and we have a common birth, covered by common blood, a common belief, a common burden and a common battle. This means we have a common bond.
2. When UNI (you and I) stand before the cross (t), we are united!
3. Bottom line: I need to stand before the cross!
How about you? As you stand before the cross, is there anything you need to confess? Have you been harboring bitterness or resentment toward someone. Are you upset with me or an elder or a ministry leader because of a decision made? Are you offended because of a comment someone made?
The enemy wants you to think, “No big deal!” “I don’t want to blow this out of proportion.” God wants reconciliation. This is the ministry he’s given and He is glorified when a relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ is restored.
Reconciliation is hard work, but worth it. Don’t leave without working things out or at least setting up a time to get together. If we need a mediator, ask someone.
Unity is not just a nice concept. It reflects the character of God and his desire to draw people into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
