HOLY UNITY

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven.

There is only one place where the Kingdom of God has actually come and the will of God is done on earth as it is in Heaven: where followers of Jesus are in unity.

In the days of old Israel before the Messiah appeared, there were lonely prophets who did mighty things. Jeremiah was a lonely man. So was Ezekiel. So was Amos. So was John the Baptist had followers, but he was still a solitary prophet. But when Jesus of Nazareth hung on that Cross alone and forsaken, the age of the lonely prophet came to an end.

By His death Jesus brought Heaven down to this earth and there are no lone rangers in Heaven. Men and women of God began to walk together. The followers of Jesus began to experience holy unity with each other. And in that Unity they ministered with power the old prophets never dreamed of: the power of Jesus’ resurrection.

From that time down to this, whenever followers of Jesus let go of their ego pursuits and enter into unity with each other around Jesus Himself, the Kingdom of God is present with holy power. Heaven touches the earth. You can see it, and feel it, breathe its life.

And whenever followers of Jesus pull back into their egos, withdraw from this unity, divine life ebbs away, their vision becomes dark, and they degenerate into another dead, religious institution.

Heaven only touches this earth where disciples are .one – reflecting the unity of heaven, where the magnificent beings that surround the throne are in holy unity with each other.

When they sing, they sing together.

When they bow down before the throne they bow down together.

When they wage war against the dragon and his angels they work as one.

Each being of God fits into the whole glorious thing that God i s doing and seeks no glory for itself. Their joy is to give glory to God and do His will.

When you have disciples who do not live in Unity, the glory of God departs.

If they're divided into factions,

If they're competing with each other for the top seat,

If they' become secretive,

they can quote the Bible and talk about “spiritual things”, but they're 'like a cup full of holes. The living water runs out as fast as it runs in. Who can drink from such a cup?

We are one not because we have the same background, or belong to the same group, or have the same color skin, or the same taste in music. We are one in the blood of the Lamb. We are one in the Spirit of God. And we have to practice that unity in our living. We have to walk in love.

Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in their midst.

Unity in Jesus. Not endless talk about the name of Jesus. But the mind of Jesus, the Cross of Jesus, holding disciples together under its shadow.

If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask it will be done for them by my Father in Heaven.

Two hearts have joined together in Jesus about this thing they are praying for.

A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another. Even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Laying aside grudges and resentments because Jesus commands us to love one another in the same self-emptying way He loves us.

The glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them that they may be one even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me: that they may become perfectly one.....

When believers have this kind of Unity, heavenly things start happening on this earth,

- lives are changed, minds are healed,

- broken homes come back together,

- blind eyes open,

because God has come to dwell in the midst of His people as He always does when they are one.

But it has to be Holy Unity. Sometimes people are drawn together in an unholy unity. The kind of unity that belongs to the Kingdom of Satan.

Satan's house is not divided against itself.

Satan's Kingdom is a masterpiece of organization.

There are groups of people whose minds are identical on all things, because they have been seared by the same branding iron. If the revered leader of the group insists the moon is purple you know that everyone will insist that the moon is indeed purple. If the chief guru wears socks to bed you know that they all wear socks to bed. If the leader says, "Stand on your head!" every head goes, down and all feet point toward the sky. These people have turned their wills over to a power which is not God. For God never takes over a man's will, keeping their minds in chains.

There's another kind of unity to watch out for: Synthetic Unity - where everybody pretends a unity that just isn't there. There are families that wear this mark of unity. Everything is under control. No one dares to raise a question or disagree. Beneath the surface they're living in a hell. There is no love. They just conform. Then one day someone refuses to play the game and the family falls apart.

There are fellowships like this. The believers give the appearance of being one, but their hearts are far from each other. They go through the motions of love, say the words, do those little token things that are supposed to show concern.... but their hearts are miles from the Kingdom of God and from each other.

Holy Unity that enables God to dwell in the midst of his people is something only God can bring about.

And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Then the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said, "Let there be light and there was light".

In the same way God brings us together by His Spirit.... Calls us out of the chaos and darkness of this world, into unity around His Son.

Even nowGod is gathering His Church.... bringing the saints together .... making them to know that they are one.

You are one body.

You are members one of another.

But now it's up to us to decide whether we're going to fit into this beautiful thing which God i s doing. Will we be one with each other in our living?

I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you were called.

1. With all lowliness and meekness.

2. With patience.

3. Forbearing one another in love.

4. Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

For there is one Body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord.

One faith. One baptism.

One God and Father of us all who is above all and through all and in all.

1. To walk in unity means to walk in lowliness and meekness.

Give up that obsession to be somebody special, and give up the delusion that you are above those other saints. People who carry such vanity in their hearts cannot be in unity with brothers and sisters. They can pretend to be in unity, but inwardly they are dividers of the Body.

Walk in lowliness and meekness. Don't just go through an act. Keep learning from the Master..

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest for your soul."

"Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek."

You cannot fit into the program of Heaven until you accept the low road..

2. To walk in unity means patience.

The school teacher who keeps writing on the blackboard while the little rascals kill each other is not patient....she's indifferent. And the wimp who eats vegetable soup garnished with roaches because he's afraid to say something, is not patient....he's spineless.

Patience is to really care and still hold on when things go wrong. Still keep going when nobody responds. To keep loving when no love comes back.

God will give you practice at patience. People will try your patience. Circumstances will try your patience. Long seasons will come when your faithfulness is completely unrewarded---no encouraging-signs --- yet you keep going.

The impatient person will always break unity with the Body and go off on a tangent of self.

"I can't stand it anymore. I'm tired of fitting in. I'm going to do my own thing."

3. To walk in unity means forbearing one another in love.

Not just putting up, with one another. Not just tolerating those far-out brothers and whimpering sisters, but to love them as they are.

There are people in our fellowships that we put up with. They're boring. They're tiresome. They're hard to take. But we're "Christian" about it. We put up with them. But do we love them? Do we love them as we love ourselves?

You're just waiting for sister Sue to finish going through her complaint about her aches and pains so you can get over and have some real fellowship with brother Jack.

"Brother Jack really washes my feet!"

But sister Sue needs to have her feet washed and she's talking to you: listen to her with your heart. Forbear her in love. God has been forbearing you in love for a long time.

4. To walk in unity is to do everything you can to maintain the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We are called to say those things and do those things that will make for peace between believers right where we are. We don't have to run around trying to hold the Body together. The Spirit of God will do that. We just make peace where we are.

The self-appointed neighborhood "peace maker" is usually the neighborhood trouble maker. And the ones who run around trying to unify the Body are often tearing i t up. Just be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

- In your household.

- In your fellowship among the believes where God has put you.

…and that unity and peace will spread like the aroma of incense to lives far beyond.

When we break bread together, may God help to get all the ugly things out of our hearts that separate us from our brothers and sisters. And when our worship ends, may God help us begin with the first person we talk to, to walk in meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity in the bond of peace.

God help us to walk in unity with each other day by day until Jesus brings the Unity of Heaven to this earth in unspeakable splendor.