The Power Of Agreement Part 2 Series

The Power of Agreement Part 2

Scriptures: 1 John 2:19; 5:1-12;

Introduction

Last week I shared the first message on the Power of Agreement. In that message I discussed the situation with the Tower of Babel; what the prophet Amos said and concluded with what Jesus said about what he would do when two or three of us came together. Last week I shared with you the Law of Cause and Effect. As a reminder, the Law of Cause and Effect says; "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law." Again, I want you to keep this in mind as we go through the message today. Last week I shared with you that I would focus on our need to be in agreement in two areas, agreement with God and with each other. Remember, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish when we come into agreement with God and each other.

I. Coming Into Agreement With God

A couple of weeks ago I preached a message about our need to stop rebelling against God. Whether we have been saved for years or just a few months, at some point in our lives we decided to start walking with God. That decision started us on a road that influenced our decision to be here at Church today. Although we made the decision to follow Christ, there may still be areas in our lives as we discussed Wednesday evening during Bible Study where we may not have yielded to God yet. In the message I preached on rebellion, I shared with you that we must make the decision to stop fighting against God and turn over every aspect our lives to Him. When we can accomplish this, we will begin to walk in full agreement with Him. You may be in agreement with Him on some things, but not everything. This morning I want to go to the foundation of what we must be in agreement with Him. I will start with words from the apostle John who walked with Jesus. The situation the apostle John was addressing in this letter was the false teachings which denied the incarnation (God taking on human form in Jesus). This teaching was evidently held by some of the people who “had been” in the Church but had left the Church as John speaks of them “going out” in the second chapter verse nineteen. He says “They went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.” 1 John 2:19 This teaching was very dangerous because if Christ did not really become a man and did not really die for us, then no atonement has been made for our sins. Because of this, John emphasized the incarnation. This is the first thing we must come into agreement with God on, that Jesus Christ was His Son and part of the Trinity. Turn to 1 John 5:1-12. The fifth chapter starts by saying the following:

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith.” 1 John 5:1-4

The first thing we see when reading the first four verses is that everyone who believes that Jesus Christ is God’s Son is actually born of God. And when we are born of God, we love God and those begotten by Him, especially Jesus. But all of this starts with us believing. In order to get into God’s family we must believe. In order for us to come into agreement with God we must believe. There can be no agreement if there is no belief. If we believe then we can agree. If we do not believe then we cannot agree. What is it that we must believe? That Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Once we believe this, we come into agreement with God and enter His family. Have you ever been in a situation where you were asked to agree to something that in your heart you did not believe in? When this happened, was there not a conflict in what your beliefs were versus what you were being asked to do? If we do not fundamentally believe in what we are being asked to do, it is nearly impossible for us to do it with a clear conscience. The law of cause and effect is at work here. If you cannot agree with something it is impossible to believe in it. Therefore if you can agree with something it becomes possible to believe in it. John is saying that we who believe in Jesus Christ are son and daughters of God because the fact that we believe means that we have come into agreement with God.