Resolution 2022, “Unity in the Community”
Ephesians 4:1-5 NKJ
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Paul said, I beseech you, to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, This was not a general letter to be posted for unbelievers to read. In this passage of scripture, Paul is speaking directly to those who called themselves, Christians
Illus
A little 5-year-old boy one day was playing with his 2-year-old brother when the 2 year old reached up and yanked his older brother’s hair.
He screamed in pain, and his mother came rushing in. He cried and said that his younger brother had pulled his hair. His mom said, “Well, he’s only 2 years old and he doesn’t know what its like to have his hair pulled.”
The mom left and seconds later she heard a scream from the bedroom, but this time it was the 2 year old screaming in pain.
She rushed in and asked what had happened, to which the 5 year old explained, “You said he didn’t know what it felt like, well now he does.”
How many of you realize, you didn't choose God? How many of you are aware, God has chosen you? Before you ever came into existence, God chose to be part of your life! God not only chose you, He has also called you!
The Holy Spirit, gently called you to salvation and to a life long walk with the One who created you.
If you never realized that you were called before, now you do! And I want you to realize how special you are and how much God loves you today!
I also want you to know and realize, we haven't been called for a solo career, to be glory stealers, we have been called to work together (as community) in the Lords army of believers, for the Glory of God!
For one day we will receive our reward, when we lay our crowns and trophies at the Jesus feet! It may not seem like all that big a deal right now, but believe me, it will mean much more then any of us realize when it happens!
We have an incredible opportunity before us as a body of believers.
This morning I want to talk about the power of unity and the opportunity that stands wide open before us.
Many have asked, many have believed, we have prayed, we have questioned ourselves about the harvest of souls, we would all like to see come into all churches! I mean after all, aren’t we are all on the same team?
I believe up until this point, we the church have done all those things on an individual basis, but not collectively and as a body of unified believers!
Unity defined:
1. The state or quality of being one; singleness.
2. The state or quality of being in accord; harmony.
3. The combination or arrangement of parts into a whole; unification.
4. Singleness or constancy of purpose or action; continuity: "In an army you need unity of purpose"
In Gods army, you need the same thing, there is strength in unity!
Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJ
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Just how much strength, TBS. enough to where, nothing would be impossible to achieve! This is what can happen when there is unity as a common thread.
Have you ever heard of the Tower of Babel?
Genesis 11:4-7 NASB
4 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, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6 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.
7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech
Everything that has ever been achieved and considered great through out all of history, has had unity involved and as one of the main ingredients, through the process!
Acts 2:1-4 NKJ
1. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Notice, they were all, everyone of them in one accord, and they had been there for quite some time! 7 entire days, 168 hours unified together with the same purpose in mind, they were all seeking, striving and praying!
Everybody had the same purpose, they all wanted the same thing! They were all in unity, seeking the same promise, unified in their objective and when the Holy Ghost fell that day, how many did He fall on?
All! All of them, Praise God! Not some of them, but ALL of them! The Holy Spirit, fell on every single one of them and the results sent shock waves around the world, that are still reverberating today!
TBS God is not a respecter of persons! And if God gave to ALL of them, those there on the day of Pentecost the power of the Holy Spirit. Which allowed them to take the message of the gospel to the world, don’t you suppose God is willing do the same for you and I here in our town!
God will reward us in the same way! God is willing to pour out His Blessing on all of our efforts and will not hold anything back from us, not only in our lifetimes, but the reward will be for all of eternity. Amen?
Psalms 84:11 NKJ
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
And just in case you have forgotten the definition of Grace, I thought I would remind you today,
Google defines Grace as for a Christian;
the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
If we are willing to do what God asks us to do, we can not only expect there to be a harvest, but a harvest we cant even begin to imagine!
Right now, I want you to imagine the greatest harvest you can imagine! Double it, triple it! Can you see it?
I want you to know, your imagination could be a 1,000x’s greater and in comparison as to what God wants, longs and is willing to do for the unity of expectation. It would be a drop of water in the ocean, of Gods ability!
Acts 2:46,47 MSG
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
They were all, unified and the cause and the effects were amazing! Praise God!
Should we expect less, we'll should we, if we are willing to do the same? The answer is NO, a thousand, no a million times NO!!
To come together unified in prayer and praise and be willing to commit and expect, not our limited self effort version of delivered results!
But the above and beyond uncommon results, only God is able to deliver, until we see them all come to fruition!
If we are, His Word and His Promises Declare, He stands ready to deliver! Maybe you’ve never heard a word like this before? TBS. (the Bible says) To him who has ears, let him hear!
This sermon is for such a time as this!
This is not a word that somebody else, or so and so ought to hear! This is not a time to be thinking about whats for lunch, or the pain in your back, or about whats going to happen tomorrow! Tomorrow will take care of itself!
This is a word for those who are here today, you are not here by accident, this is a divine appointment in the making!
This is a word, if the church is ever going to grow and grow the way I believe God wants us to grow and impact the way we say we want to see our communities impacted, that we need to apply to all our lives today.
Mediocrity and Status quo, should be words and a frame of mind, that are never accepted or settled for in life, or in the church!
We like to read and to hear about, all the great outpourings of the Holy Spirit! Especially what happened at the Azusa street Revival!
The common thread of all of them, just like on the day of Pentecost, was and still is unity!
They were tired of the way things were, they came together in unity and sought more of God and God honored their requests!
Historical accounts read, they all prayed and fasted for as long as it took and the windows of Heaven opened and the power of God fell and reverberated around the world.
Illus. In Bartleman’s words, ‘What really happened at Azusa Street’ he states, “ Suddenly the Spirit would fall upon the congregation. God himself would give the altar call. Men would fall all over the house, like the slain in battle, or rush for the altar en masse to seek God. The scene often resembled a forest of fallen trees…. Some claim to have seen the (shekinah) glory by night over the building.”
Azusa street happened in April of 1906, over 115 years ago and people are still talking about today, still wanting to experience it!
God is not, nor has He ever been a respecter of persons,
Do you suppose all those people who were part of Azusa street were of affluent means, no....they just wanted more of God!
Illus. Two men were riding a bicycle built for two when they came to a big steep hill. It took a great deal of struggle for the men to complete what proved to be a very stiff climb. When they got to the top the man in front turned to the other and said, "Boy, that sure was a hard climb." The fellow in back replied, "Yes, and if I hadn’t kept the brakes on all the way we would certainly have rolled down backwards."
What God has done down through the ages for others, He will do not just for some of us, but for all of us, if we humble ourselves, pray and call on His name unified together, until the Power falls!
Ephesians 1:19-20 NKJ
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
If we will come together in unity, the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the grave, we can all experience and have working in our lives
And the best part is, it's transferable and shareable power and it's our job to help transfer it and share it with a lost and dying world!
We have an awesome opportunity ahead of us and unified together, with the resurrection power that God has already, not one day He might make available, but has already made available to us. Praise God!
There is nothing, I repeat nothing, that we (and this includes every church in America) can't accomplish, for His Kingdom!
Look around you, those aren't empty seats you see this morning, those are overflow seating for what God is about ready to do and is doing right now in our midst!
Won't you stand with me, stand united together an make a vow to stand unified together, to pray and praise God for what's getting ready happen in this place, until it comes to fruition!
It's time to quit wishing we had more people in the church and trust God together for the breakthrough He wants and longs to pour out in His church!
If that's you this morning, then I want you to stand united and agree to fervently seek the face of God,
With all your heart, mind and soul.... until the impossible becomes possible and be a part of something miraculous!
