The Power Of Agreement Part 3 Series

The Power of Agreement Part 3A

Scriptures: Philippians 2:1-5; 13-15

Introduction

A long time ago in a land not too far from here, there was this group of people who decided to leave their land in search of a place where they could have religious freedom. They packed up all of their belongings, loaded it on a ship and set sail. They sailed for many days until they came to a place where they could start all over again and practice their religion the way they wanted to. You see, they were Protestants and the country they had left was primarily Catholic. Well, in their new country things were progressing nicely until their old King decided that he still need to have some contact with them by way of charging taxes on goods they received from his country. This really offended these people because taxes are used to support a government’s spending habits. Since they had left that country, they were no longer a part of his kingdom and did not feel the need to continue to support his government when they had their own issues to contend with in the new land. As you can imagine, this made the king very angry and he told them to pay up or prepare for war. So the people had to make a choice and they decided to fight for their right to have religious freedom without being penalized with taxes. When the fight started, it appeared the king would win, but at last we find that the king’s army could not kill the human spirit seeking freedom. When things finally settled down, these words were written in a document:

"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle…..We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

From the Constitution of the United States of America

In this document, we find that a group of people came together in agreement, focused on one common goal. When you read this document there is a reference to the unity for which they were taking their stand. The writers of the document used the word "people." This was not an individual taking a stand against the King, but a whole group of people. The term "we the people" demonstrates unity; a coming together of a group of separate individuals who are united with one goal. When these people decided that enough was enough and they wanted to separate themselves totally from the King, they came into agreement and chose their course of action. When I think of the starting of our country, I wonder sometimes where we would be today if these individuals did not come into agreement. What would have happened if half of them wanted to remain loyal to England? What would have happened if when the fighting started, they held up their hands and surrendered never to take this type of stance again? What would have happened is this – we would still be ruled by England today. We should all give God the praise that they did not walk away from their unity or their dream for freedom.

This morning, while your minds are reflecting on that little bit of history, I want to talk with you about the second agreement that we need to have. In my previous two messages, I told you about what could happen when we come into agreement with one another. I also shared with you that I would focus on two key areas of agreement that we need to come into. The first was agreement with God which I shared with you last week and this week I want to focus on the second agreement, our coming into agreement with each other.

I. One Plus One Equals One

If I were to stand here today and tell you that one plus one equals one, would you believe me? I consider myself to be great at basic math, you know the math where you can add, subtract, divide and multiply. I am not talking about geometry, calculus or the "new" math, but the old fashion math. In the old fashion math, one plus one always equals two; but not this morning. This morning one plus one equals one. When you look up the word agree you will find this definition: "to be in accord; to be of the same opinion; to arrive at an understanding." The definition of agreement is "an agreement between people." As it pertains to us coming into agreement, one plus one equals one. Let me use the example of marriage. When two individuals decide to get married, before they say "I do", in the eyes of God and man, they are still two separate individuals. However, once they marry, (come into agreement with each other), they cease to be two, but one. Now whatever they do carries double impact because two people are now operating as one. When God looked at the people building the Tower of Babel He said they are "one people." When agreement takes place, where once two were separated, they are now joined. Consider what Paul says in Philippians 2:1-2.