(Uncommon Unity) Is a term we have used in our church for a few years.
I am asked fairly often, “What is your vision for the Church?” and my answer is usually, “A church that is healthy and unified.” “The real thing!”
Now I realize that that may not be earth shattering, at the same time it’s not all that common either!
• If something is healthy it grows
• If it is united, much can be accomplished
If I were to pick a passage that I want this church to be known for, today’s text would be among the top runners for that first place slot.
Look at the world today and I think we would all agree that the church as a whole has not fulfilled its mission.
The biggest culprit of all is disunity! There is one Jesus but more divisions of His body than we can count. Imagine what the church or a church that is truly unified could accomplish
(Tower of Babel) So what could a unified, blood bought, sold out church, full of the Holy Spirit accomplish?
Genesis 11:6 (NLT)
“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!
(Unify)- We can actually win our community/ world
No wonder Satan works so hard to bring division! What if we could have perfect unity? Is that even possible?
There is one passage however that gives instruction for not only unity, but perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-14(NIV)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
These things in perfected in a church will bring about unity!
Unity is more that Conformity. It is putting the highest priority on the common goal, overlooking and forgiving each other of our differences and failures while seeing every circumstance through the eyes of love.
Unify! Under Covenant, Forgiveness over Blame, Clothed in Love
Covenant Relationship:
as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved
We were chosen by the father, bought and washed clean through the blood of Jesus and are supposed to be in covenant relationship with Him.
• It says holy, not wholly
• Wholly- would mean completely loved
• Holy- means to be set apart for a noble purpose
Covenants are hard for us to understand the way our society is structured.
• They were seen as a forever binding blood contract that heaven itself watched over, with sure judgment if someone dared to break it!
o We would call that superstitious today
o They called that a fact as it was made before God
o These were not letter of the law contracts but heart of the matter covenants
o A contract is drawn up on paper
o A covenant goes beyond this world into the next!
• Today lawyers make millions both writing out long worded contracts and trying to find loopholes to exploit.
Let’s take a few moments and examine one such covenant in action…
David and Jonathan:
1 Samuel 18:3-4(NIV)
And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
(Describe Covenant rituals of the day)
Not only were they now bound by a covenant- there are several other interesting points
• Jonathan was the firstborn of the King and was the rightful heir
• He gives David every symbol he had with him of his position and took the cloak of a shepherd boy!
• Yet in this act he seems to be willing to put that aside to both fulfill the covenant and for the betterment of the Kingdom!
• We have no record of Jonathan ever having a problem with God’s plan
You might say there was “uncommon unity” between David, Jonathan and God’s plan
• Not that Satan didn’t try to bring division
o Jonathan’s father tries to kill David out of jealousy
o It would have been easy for this Prince to turn
o Jonathan has to choose between the covenant he made and his own father
• Yet their unity was unshakable
• Because of this God’s man eventually sat on the Throne and the kingdom advanced to a level of glory it had never known
When we are saved we enter into a covenant relationship
• His will and the advancement of the Kingdom are top priority
• That means we may have to give up some things/positions that we think are rightfully ours
o Satan will bring those things to mind
• We will watch other people prosper in blessings and opportunities as God moves His pieces on this galactic chess board
o Satan will try and bring division through jealousies (they don’t deserve that, they’re just…)
• God is concerned with our development as well
o He has a habit of qualifying on the Job (Jonathan went to King school, David didn’t)
• Uncommon Unity comes when we can look beyond these things, understanding that the Kingdom of God advancing is what is most important
• We will be rewarded based on how we handle the assignments given us and how faithfully we respond to our part of this covenant
The next part deals with our covenant clothing…
Covenant Clothing:
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Here we are reminded of the covenant clothing we are given to wear when we enter that relationship with Jesus!
• He took our filthy rags and handed us the most beautiful garments to be clothed in
• The more we put them on the better we look and the more attractive we are
• We are now dressed in His clothes- so we ought to act more like him!
• Have you ever seen someone that is all dressed up but just doesn’t look like they belong in those clothes?
Let’s take a look at these for a moment and compare clothing
• Compassion vs Coldness and indifference
• Kindness vs Cruelty and Harshness
• Humility vs Pride and Entitlement
• Gentleness vs Roughness and Aggression
• Patience vs Hastiness and Impetuousness
If you take a long look at these you can see where Satan wants us to put on the old clothes if at all possible.
• The sad thing is sometimes we put back on the old stuff thinking we are justified in doing so (bringing division)
• Even in dealing with genuine wrongs- it needs to be done wearing our covenant clothing not the old clothes of this world!
o New brings unity
o Old brings division
There is no debate here; If we want unity then we have to make sure we put on our covenant clothing as we walk through life! (As we deal with other believers)
There is a wonderful side benefit to wearing the covenant clothing…
Covenant Authority:
There is a wonderful level of authority that comes with wearing His clothes and being under covenant with Him
Can you imagine the talk as a lowly shepherd walks by dressed in the clothes of the heir to the throne?
• Don’t you know who’s robe that is?
• When someone walked by wearing familiar clothes that did not belong to them, then everyone knew what it meant
• They now had new authority, new backing
We may be servants, but we are servants of The King, walking in covenant with Him and when we walk about there is a level of authority that comes with it
• Everyone is put on notice, “I am in covenant with someone much higher than you”
• I may not be much on my own, but I’ve got a whole other level of backing that has sworn by a binding covenant to “never leave me nor forsake me!”
This thing however was not just a one sided deal…
• With those clothes came responsibility to wear them rightly
• People would watch to see how the person in covenant would wear them
o Would they soil them? Thereby tarnishing the name they were now under?
o Would they rise up and become what those clothes now said they were?
It is our responsibility to remember whose clothes we are wearing at all times
• Once the world around us learns of our covenant they are watching to see how we wear them
o They have seen far too many treat it as more of a contract with loopholes to be exploited (God’s grace is not a loophole to sin)
o Putting on the clothes, yet living a life that soils His name
• We must wear his clothes and His name rightly in everything we do
• It is our job to be sure that this covenant life is as attractive to the world around us as possible
Uncommon Unity comes when a group of people truly, clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Covenant Reminder:
The clothes are one thing but the scars and blood of the covenant are another. Blood is something the Bible takes very seriously (that is a message or ten on its own)
And the scars are there to serve as a reminder of the covenant made.
I picture David sitting alone one day… He looks down at his hand (scripture doesn’t say this)
2 Samuel 9:3-4(NIV)
The king asked, “Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.” “Where is he?” the king asked.
Tell the story…
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father bearing the scars of a blood covenant and all of heaven remembers.
• He remembers us
• He longs for others who have not taken the extended hand of covenant
• How much do we remember Him? (the scars of our sin should be reminders)
• Does His scars remind us (Jesus on the Cross)
• How can we not remind ourselves of the scares He saved us from and how He healed the ones we already had?
• How can we even think of allowing Satan talk us into putting on our old clothes and break covenant with Him?
• We should be willing to fight for Uncommon Unity among those of us under the same covenant, forgive, be the humble one, do everything we can to remain unified as a body!
If we do, winning this community is very possible!
