~UNITY KEEP IT ALIVE ,KEEP IT SAFE,MAINTAIN,!!!~
Col. 1:20 "through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross;"
Eph. 2:13-14 "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one."MUST BE PRESERVED
In seeing what the Scriptures have to say about unity, I was impressed to see that it is something that we have already been given.
Of course this passage refers to the barrier between Jews and Gentiles. But if God brought these two diverse and hostile groups together, is He not also able to achieve it among us? We are one in Christ. Unity is ours, bought for us with a great price.
The Lord Jesus Christ prayed for unity on His last night before His death..
John 17:21 "that they may all be one,…that they also may be in Us." He desired a oneness for us that would be just as He and the Father are one. Those who have believed in Him are in Him. If we are IN Christ & the Father, we must already have unity.
The truth of unity that we already have is that we all make up one body, that is the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12
"Now you are Christ's body and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27.
1 Cor. 12:18 "But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." 1 Cor. 12:12, "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ."
By placing us in the body as He desires we automatically have unity.
But that unity must be preserved.
Ephesians 4:3 "Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
What does preserve mean?. The Webster's dictionary defines preserve as
1. to keep alive or in existence.
2. to keep safe from harm or injury.
3. to keep up, maintain.
. Christ bought us unity, He desired it for us and God designed it.
But who is keeping unity alive? Is unity safe in your church?
We recently took a tour of Kartchner caverns in Arizona, just south of Tucson. Before entering we were shown a short film on how the caves were discovered and why they were so zealous to preserve them. How zealous, though, wouldn't sink in till we started the tour. The tour guide filled us in on all the regulations. They seemed a bit extreme to tell the truth. He coached us on how not to touch the curb, with neither foot nor knee. This, he explained, would leave germs. All infected areas are marked with a red flag and at night these spots are cleaned with a bleach solution for 3 feet in each direction. "how can you tell when someone touches it?" Don't worry, he said, I'm watching your every move. Further instructions were that sun glasses could not be placed on the head nor hooked to your shirt.(they might fall off when you are leaning over the railing) They must be placed in a pocket., Jackets when removed cannot be tied around the waist. You must roll it in a ball holding it in front of you, being sure not to let any sleeves flow loose. When we heard how moist it was inside (100% humidity), we thought that this would be trouble for Sarah who is allergic to mold. In fact, the cave was probably the easiest place for her to breath. Why? Because the enemy for this cave is mold, all the protective measures to preserve the natural environment meant eradicating all presence of mold. It was probably the most mold free place Sarah has ever been. The other enemy is for it to become dry. A dry cave is a dead cave. We actually entered two separate chambers where the door behind was closed before the one in front. In one chamber, we walked through a fine mist that helped to kill harmful substances. At first, this all seemed uncomfortably inconvenient and exaggerated. But that was only because we hadn't appreciated the results of all this hard work. When I walked through that cave knowing that it was essentially untouched and unchanged, that I was seeing something pristine, just as God had created it, I was moved by the awesomeness of it all. Curiously, almost everyone working there had been involved in the early stages of the development. They had invested their lives in this one common goal and they were thrilled to be a part of it. Suddenly, I found myself grateful to them for what I had considered unnecessary restrictions on my comfort.
That's our problem isn't it? We don't like being inconvenienced. We resist restrictions placed on our personal freedoms. "If it feels good let me do it. Who are you to tell me not to?" So it happens that though we have already been given unity in Christ, we don't show it. We haven't learned to appreciate the sacrifice and beauty of it, so it doesn't thrill us. We've got to see the value of the goal in order to invest all our effort.
Ephesians 4:3 makes it very clear that we have a responsibility to preserve what already exists.
Is unity alive in your church, is it safe?
The rules at Kartchner caverns seemed extreme, but letting down their guard could spell destruction. Unity in the church seems just as vulnerable, susceptible to destructive forces. Why is that?
Well, one reason is that we can't identify unity.
We accept a distorted version. Two common distortions are equality and uniformity. When we fail to truly understand unity, we are side-tracked in preserving the wrong thing. Recently I came to realize that what I had been protecting was equality, not unity. By preserving equality, we are in fact wanting blessing to be spread out evenly among all the members. Being a twin, I was a big proponent of this since childhood. Accepting this distortion destroys unity. It leads to constant comparison and jealousy and division.
1 Cor.12:24-25. "But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another."
Another distortion is uniformity.
How much effort do we spend trying to preserve a "uniformity" in our churches instead of unity? Is there room for disagreement about secondary issues, or is there a "no tolerance" policy on differing views? Do you surround yourself with people who act and think like you and just politely choose to now work with the "difficult ones"? We merely produce a false sense of unity by creating a church of uniform people, or avoiding the challenge of working with people we don't like. Romans 15:1 clearly shows that there were two groups of people in the church, the weak and the strong. Precisely because the opinions of these two groups were so different, effort at preserving unity was needed.
"Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions." Romans 14:1.
Is unity alive in your church or are you side-tracked into preserving the wrong thing? To preserve unity we must keep it safe.
But often we are found attacking it. Why?
Because we confuse the enemy.
Have you ever sat in a group of sisters in Christ and seen one fight against another as if she were her enemy? Have you ever attacked another with your own words? Have you plotted revenge? Have you spread your version of the misunderstanding in order to gain sympathizers? Does the thought of that person cause a burning inside you? If it has happened to you (as it has to me), you have confused the enemy.
Think about it. Christ is in that person, He is NOT your enemy. My true enemy is the sin in my own life, my own flesh. What a difference it would make if we would apply the same energy in attacking the sin in our own lives that we use to attack others who might oppose us.
Rom. 12:17-18 "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge."
Is unity alive in your church, is it safe?
v We fail to preserve it when we don't identify it properly.
v We put it in danger when we confuse the enemy and attack our brother or sister in Christ.
But perhaps the biggest force destroying unity is ME (self love.)
Our society has grown to be so self-absorbed, so preoccupied with ME, that a proper biblical self-perception is becoming replaced by the world's norm.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss wrote in her book "Lies Women believe and the Truth that sets them Free",
`We are constantly looking out for ourselves, deeply sensitive to our own feelings and needs, always conscious of how things and people affect us. The reason some of us get hurt so easily is not because we hate ourselves but because we love ourselves! We want to be accepted, cherished, and treated well. If we did not care so much about ourselves, we would not be so concerned about being rejected, neglected, or mistreated.'[1]
Here are some verses that can give us a biblical view.
Rom. 12:16 "Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation."
Rom 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor"
Rom 15:2-3 "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself;"
Phil. 2:2-3 "make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself."
Have you ever memorized any of these verses? Choose one now and set yourself to do it. The antidote for self-love is humility. True humility like that of Jesus as described in this litany of humility.
O Jesus! Meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being falsely accused,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred before me in everything,
That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
(A litany of Humility)
v Identify unity correctly,
v identify the true enemy and
v identify yourself biblically.
Be diligent to preserve unity. Up to now we have looked at what can destroy unity in the church. Now we are going to look at how we can preserve it.
For that we will return to 2 key passages, Ephesians 4:1-3 and Colossians 3:12-14. They will show us four things that we should do.
Eph. 4:2 "Showing forbearance to one another in love".
Col. 3:13 "bearing with one another"
The first is "forbearance" or "bearing" with one another. The idea is of putting up with each other.
Bill MacDonald in his commentary of the NT defines it this way,
"making allowance for the faults and failures of others, differing personalities, quirks, habits and idiosyncracies"[2]. He says that forbearance is about not taking offense.
"to bear with one another" is to swallow the insult, ignore it, suffer it, whatever it takes.
Can you imagine how many problems would go away by simply practicing this one thing? But we refuse to accept being offended because it hurts our pride.
RC Chapman a 19th century pastor, teacher and evangelist in England gives us another perspective on being offended.
"If I have been injured by another, let me think to myself – How much better to be the sufferer than the wrongdoer!"[3]
v What are you doing to keep unity alive?
v Do you need to be more forbearing?
Now the second thing you can do. Colossians 3:12 gives us a list of virtues that we should "put on". Some commentaries use the word "graces" instead of virtues. I like this word because it reminds me that only God in His grace can produce these attitudes in my life. They are:
Ø compassion, (tenderheartedness, a heart ready to be stirred)
Ø kindness,: benevolence in action
Ø humility,: "A genuine humility that comes from associating with the Lord Jesus" "makes us conscience of how small we are and makes us able to view others as more important."[4] Bill MacDonald.
Ø gentleness "the attitude that submits to God's dealings without rebellion, and to man's unkindness without retaliation."[5] Bill MacDonald
Ø patience: Self-restraint, steady response in the face of provocation. To endure suffering wrongfully in silence"
What are you doing to keep unity alive in your church?
When you get dressed on a Sunday morning, are you checking to make sure that you've put on these graces?
The third thing God asks us to do is found in Col. 3:13
"Forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
Does anyone suddenly feel like we just got to the base of half dome?
Whoever has a complaint against anyone. Does that mean that I am never justified in holding a grudge?. So I guess if I wasn't able to show forbearance, and became offended anyway, here is the second check point. Are you struggling with resentment towards someone? Is there someone that you know you should forgive, but you just can't let it go? That phrase "just as the Lord forgave you" pretty much rules out anything you could say to justify holding a grudge, doesn't it? "But" you might say, "Amy, you have no idea how much that person hurt me." You're right, I may never understand. But I know Someone who does.
If you are struggling in this area, I would recommend reading a good book on forgiveness, perhaps invest in one a year.
In my opinion forgiving someone else is the hardest thing to do. And yet it costs me relatively nothing to free another from their debt. On the other hand, it costs our Lord a great deal.
v What are you doing to keep unity alive?
v Do you need to forgive someone?
This one is far too important to put off. Take that person every day to the cross of Christ until you can see "paid in full" stamped on his sins.
To preserve unity we need to
1st show forbearance,2nd put on the graces, and3rd be forgiving.
The fourth way is in the next verse.
Colossians 3:14 "And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity."
Love is the final touch, the cement that joins it all together.
What is the standard for loving enough? I may think that I am pretty loving of others most of the time, how about you? What was the most loving thing you did this week?
Amy Carmichael wrote a book with the simple title "IF", and in that book she uses the phrase `Calvary love'. I would like to read just a few of her writings.
"If I can easily discuss the shortcomings and sins of any; if I can speak even in a casual way of a child's misdoings then I know nothing of Calvary love."
"If I cast up a confessed, repented and forsaken sin against another, and allow my remembrance of that sin to color my thinking and feed my suspicion, then I know nothing of Calvary love."
"If I do not give a friend the `benefit of the doubt', but put the worst construction instead of the best on what is said or done, then I know nothing of Calvary love."
"If I feel injured when another lays to my charge things that I know not, forgetting that my Sinless Savior trod this path to the end, then I know nothing of Calvary love".[6]
v What are you doing to keep unity alive?
Do you take offense easily? Are you missing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness or patience from your wardrobe? Are you refusing to forgive someone? Do you know anything of Calvary love?
We are called to be diligent to preserve unity. Is unity safe in your church? What are you doing to keep it alive?
What happens when we keep unity alive in the church?
Earlier I said that we needed to see the value of the goal, or we won't give the effort needed. There are two positive outcomes of unity.
John 17:23 "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me."
The world takes notice. Unity is a precious witnessing tool, one we forget to use. The world sees who Christ is and how much God loves them.
Rom 15:6
"grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Imagine the beauty of working together for His glory. Can we get excited about this, enough to put it into to practice?
Ephesians 4:3 "being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Is unity alive in your church, is it safe?
What are you doing to keep it alive?
Pray fervently for unity.
And the next time it depends on you, choose to keep it alive.
[1] DeMoss, Nancy Leigh, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free, p. 70
[2] MacDonald, William, Believer's Bible Commentary, p. 749
[3] Peterson, Robert L. and Alexander Strauch, Agape Leadership, p.41
[4] MacDonald, William, Believer's Bible Commentary, p.748
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