A Unity Community
Psalm 133
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 133
INTRODUCTION:
A few years back I took an introductory class to learn Hebrew. My most impressive accomplishment is that I can now quote Psalm 133:1 in Hebrew. I think the reason I remember it is that we learned it as a song: (demonstrate) How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
I think we can all agree that unity is GOOD and PLEASANT.
I think we can also agree that it is RARE!
1. Unity is Good, Pleasant, --- and Rare
I heard a story about a visitor to a mental hospital for the criminally insane. The visitor was shocked to see that only 3 guards were supervising more than 100 dangerous inmates. He asked the guide, “Don’t you fear these people will plot an escape and overpower the guards?”
“Don’t worry about that,” The guard assured him. “Lunatics never unite.”
If you know much about Church History, you might conclude that the Church is full of Lunatics. In fact, you don’t really need to be a Historian to see that the church has a hard time with UNITY. Just scan the San Antonio Yellow Pages under the heading of “Churches.” You will find literally hundreds of “brand names.”
o You’ll see Eastern this-and-that and Western this-and-that.
o Northern and Southern;
o Reformed, Orthodox, and Evangelical;
o Four-Square and Full Gospel;
o Universalists, Adventist, and Spiritualists;
o Unitarian, Sabitarian, Trinitarian, … and Regurgi-tarian.
(Well, okay, I made that last one up --- but the rest were straight out of the Yellow Pages.)
Add to that the fact that even within their own little sub-groups, many Christians can’t get along. In Congregations all across the World, people are bickering and backbiting --- and quarrelling and quibbling. It seems impossible for Church folk to learn how to live together in unity.
But scripture makes it clear that the church is called to UNITY. Look at what Acts 4:32 says about the early church: All the believers were one in heart and mind. What a powerful description of the Church as a UNITY COMMUNITY.
So why do we have such a hard time getting it together? Perhaps one answer is found in our TEXT: How good and pleasant it is … when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
If you come from a big family, you may well think that brothers and unity don’t belong in the same sentence. Brothers fight. Sisters fight. Sibling rivalry is alive and well in most families. Take a look at the first account of two brothers living together. It’s a story of murder. And significantly, Cain killed Able for “religious” reasons. It was a religious fight over which of them God loved best.
Much of world history shows that “living together like brothers” is made up of power-struggles and wars. So if we ever hope to sing, How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity --- we obviously need Supernatural help!
Psalm 133 gives us two word-pictures to show what true Unity is like. Verse 2 says It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. Psalm 133:2
2. Unity is Like Oil
o Unity Blends All
This verse gives a snapshot of the day when Aaron was first anointed as High Priest over the new nation of Israel. The Oil that was poured over his head probably contained several strong spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. These spices were blended together in a base of Olive Oil.
In Scripture, Olive Oil is used as a symbol of God’s Holy Spirit. The Olive Oil blends these spices together in the way that God can blend us together. In other words: Humans tend to be what you could call … spicy. Our various strong flavors can clash with each other. Only the Oil of God’s Spirit can blend us together.
And notice that when Aaron was anointed with Oil, it was no little droplet of oil. He was drenched with it. It was running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. The Oil covered everything!
o Unity Covers All
If we are going to maintain UNITY in the Church, we don’t need just a little droplet of the Spirit. We need a good drenching. We need God’s Spirit to pour down over us and cover us completely.
I Peter 4:8 says Above all love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins. In the same way, God’s Spirit can pour over us and cover those rough edges of sin that make us rub each other wrong. Only God’s Spirit can give us the Grace to overlook each other’s faults so that we can live together in good and pleasant Unity. And when that happens, the whole world will take notice.
o Unity Fills All
When Aaron stood there with the Anointing Oil running off his head and flowing down his garments, the whole temple was filled with the scent of sacred perfume. The aroma was inescapable. Everyone noticed it.
When we come together as a church, the sweet smell of unity should fill the building. If it does, that aroma will not be contained here. It will flow out and fill the Community around us. And people will be drawn to Christ by sweet aroma of Unity.
The second word picture in Psalm 133 is that Unity is like DEW.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. Psalm 133:3
3. Unity is Like Dew
Mt. Hermon is an impressive landmark that stand out against the dry plains North of Jerusalem. Its lofty heights provide cooling winds and --- sometimes ---refreshing summer mists. The Dew of Mount Hermon comes only after a still, quiet night. Tranquility is needed for this Dew to form.
o Unity Falls while we Rest
This gives us another picture of the work of the Holy Spirit. Unity descends --- like Dew --- as a gift from God. Our part is to ask and receive this gift. But too often we think we can somehow MAKE it happen by our own human efforts.
Which reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon. In one cartoon strip, Linus is watching TV when Lucy comes in and demands that Linus change the channel.
Linus asks, “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?”
“These five fingers,” Lucy responds. “Individually they’re nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”
Linus looks at her fist, walks over to the TV, and says, “What channel do you want?”
Then he turns away, looks at his own fingers, and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”
Most people try to get organized for that same reason --- they want Power. Sadly, sometimes the Church can act the same way. Too often you hear about power-struggles between Christians. But POWER is not our goal. Our goal --- and our calling from God --- is UNITY. It is UNITY that pleases God --- not power, not success, not size, not clever programs, … UNITY. That’s why the early church rejected all the normal ways of “getting organized.”
o They rejected Totalitarianism: absolute authority in the hands of a Dictator.
o They rejected Anarchy: complete individualism where it’s “every man for himself.”
o And they even rejected Democracy - majority rule (which we are so familiar with in the USA)
Instead of these models, the early church practiced what could be best called “Spirit-directed Unity.” Richard Foster does a good job of describing “Spirit-directed Unity” in the book, Celebration of Discipline. He writes, “Unity --- rather than majority --- is the principle of corporate guidance. More than mere agreement, it is the perception that we have heard the voice of God. … We do not seek compromise, but God-given consensus.”
That’s how we try to make decisions here at Castle Hills Christian Church. We ask God to guide us, and we look for God-given consensus so that we can go forward in UNITY. God wants our Church to be a true UNITY COMMUNITY.
Then we can enjoy the promise given at the end of Psalm 133: For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
o Unity Results in Life
People are not going to look for Salvation in a Church that is filled with squabbling, quarrelling, complaining people. People are drawn to the Lord when they enter a Church and smell the sweet aroma of Unity.
One Pastor of a growing church put it this way, “The secret of church growth rests on three things: love God, love each other, and love the lost.”
CONCLUSION:
Just hours before he would be arrested, Jesus made this request for all those who would believe in Him. He prayed, 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.” John 17:23
Our congregation can be part of the answer to that prayer. We can be a UNITY COMMUNITY.
But let’s remember that we can’t do it on our own. You can’t force unity. You can’t create unity. So what CAN you do? You can PRAY for unity!
Pray first that God will work in your heart. Then pray that he will work in the hearts of others to bring about the kind of super-natural Unity that will show the world the LOVE of God.
In order to enjoy the good and pleasant unity that God offers, every one of us needs to be covered --- even drenched --- with the OIL of God’s Spirit.
Then the Unity of the Spirit can fall on our church like DEW from Heaven.
