Unity in a Divided World

Transcript

Rob McFarlane: 0:58

The title of my sermon today is Unity in a Divided World. Please would you turn with me to Psalm 133 and we're going to read two verses from this Psalm. Psalm 133, verse 1 and verse 3 from the English Standard Version of the Bible. It says, Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. And then the second half of verse 3 says, For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life, forevermore. It's a good and pleasant thing when we as brothers and sisters in Christ dwell in unity. And there are obvious blessings. We see in Psalm 133, verse 3, that where there is unity, God commands the blessing. How many of us would like to see God command his blessing over our lives? Now this principle works for us in our marriages, in our families, and in our local church. When we are walking in unity with one another, it's good and it's pleasant. But more than that, God commands his blessing, life, forevermore. The opposite is also true that if we are walking in division and disunity, we will not see God's blessing in our lives, and life won't be good and pleasant. Disunity cuts off or hinders the blessing of God flowing in our marriages, in our families, and in our local church. Now you and I live in a divided world. It's divided on political lines and it's divided over so many social issues. But God wants us as his children, as his church, to live in unity in a divided world. We need to recognize we have so much more in common than we have that sets us apart from one another. There really only are a few things that define what true Christianity is or how we should live as Christians. For example, the great commandment is to love God and love your neighbor. We all agree on that. And the great commission is for us to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. And we all agree on that. We live in a time where as Christians we need to gather together and we need to work in unity rather than focus on that which separates us or that which is different in our churches. And the gospel is the most important thing for us to share and to collaborate for the purpose of the king and his kingdom. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 3, we read this phrase Be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Let's do that in our marriages, in our families, and in our local churches, and local churches working together to see Jesus glorified and his gospel proclaimed in our communities. Now let's define unity. First of all, what unity is not? Unity is not uniformity, it's not us all becoming the same. Unity is a celebration of love in our diversity, in the various ways that the body of Christ has its expression. Some of us worship from a hymn book, others worship with a screen with the words on the screen. Others worship with smoke machines and lights. It's all worship. Some clap our hands and raise our hands and worship, others are more staid in their expression of worship. But we need to remember that we are all worshiping the same King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we need to work together recognizing our diversity and celebrating our diversity, not all being squeezed into the same mold, trying to become uniform rather than walking in unity. So today I would like to share three things that we see in the New Testament about unity and Jesus. The first two we see in John chapter 17, and this is the high priestly prayer of Jesus Christ. It's Jesus praying for his disciples and for those who would believe in him as a result of the words and writings of his disciples. Now before we look at these three points, I just want to remind you, friends, that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and the Bible says he is making intercession for us. In other words, he's praying for us. And we'll see through this high priestly prayer what Jesus is praying for. So three things about unity and Jesus. Number one, Jesus prayed for unity among his followers, and he is praying for unity among his followers today. Let's look at John chapter 17, and we're going to look at parts of verse 20 to verse 23. John 17, verse 20, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us. Now let's look at John 17, verse 22 and 23a. The glory that you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one. Now we see that this is close to God's heart. Jesus is praying for unity. He wants us as his followers to be in unity. And Paul picks up this as we saw earlier in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 3, where he says, be eager to maintain the unity and live in peace with one another. You and I need to become an answer to the prayer of Jesus. We need to look for ways that we can celebrate and we can honor and we can walk in peace with one another. Now the second thing I'd like you to see is the purpose of unity. So number two, the purpose of unity is so that people will encounter Jesus. Let's look at John 17 verse 21 and 23. We see in John 17 verse 21 it says, so that the world may believe that you sent me. And then Jesus prayed in John 17, verse 23, so that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them even as you loved me. Now unity is not an end in itself. Unity is a wonderful thing, it's good and it's pleasant, but that's where God commands his blessing, and through our unity, people will see that we are followers of Jesus and that God is among us. When I was 15 years old, I was exposed to the gospel for the first time. And what opened my ears and eyes and heart to become receptive to the gospel was seeing young people who were walking in a wholesome, healthy love one for another, inspired by God's love for them. You see, the distinguishing mark of a Christian is love for one another. Jesus said, The world will know that he was sent and that he is among us if we love one another. And because of what I saw in a group of young people, I knew they had something that I needed, and that something was Jesus Christ. Our unity is for a purpose, so that the world around us would see that Jesus Christ is among us. Now the reverse is also true. If churches are walking in division and lack of peace, then we damn up or we stop the blessing of God in our lives. God wants us as his followers to walk in unity. And my final point today, number three, is that unity comes as we focus on Jesus Christ as the main thing. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 4, and we're going to read from verse 13 through to verse 16 in the English Standard Version of the Bible. It says, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body is joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. When each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Now we see from these amazing verses that God wants us to grow up into Christ and to walk in unity with one another. Listen to some of the phrases we read in those verses. That we should speak the truth in love and grow up into Him. Now it's important for us to speak the truth, but we need to speak the truth in love. God's love needs to saturate the words that we speak to one another. Many people feel that they should just say the truth and we should just stomach it and get on with it. But we need to recognize that Jesus Christ was full of truth and grace, and we need both in equal measure in our lives. We also see that if we are joined together and we provide encouragement for one another, we will grow up together in Him. And anything that doesn't contribute to the body of Christ growing together and growing up into Christ, but rather divides us is something that we should reject and we shouldn't be involved in. We need to commit ourselves to be involved in that which brings the body of Christ together, promotes our unity, and causes us to grow up into Christ that He may be glorified in and through our lives. God wants us as His followers to be in unity with one another. So in summary, we've seen today, number one, that Jesus Christ is praying that we as his followers would walk in unity and love towards one another. Secondly, we saw that there's a purpose behind this unity so that the world will see Jesus Christ in us. And finally, we saw that unity is the result of us focusing on Jesus Christ as our common hero, as our Lord and Savior, and the one that we follow. And when we do that, we will grow up into Him, encourage one another, speak the truth and love towards one another, and provide a body where we can all grow and demonstrate His love and goodness to a world that so desperately needs to hear it. Let's bow our heads and let's pray together. Father God, thank you that Jesus Christ is at your right hand, praying today for unity among his followers. We thank you that the purpose of that unity is so that people in this world would encounter Jesus Christ in and through us. Help us to focus on Jesus as the main thing and grow together, encouraging one another in the faith. Lord, we ask you to forgive us for things that we have said and done that do not promote unity, but rather promote division. We want to walk in the blessing and goodness of God. We thank you that it's good and pleasant when brothers dwell together in unity. And that's where you command your blessing. And we ask, Lord, that you would command your blessing in marriages, in families, in local churches, and as local churches collaborate together for the purposes of the kingdom. And we thank you that you have who have begun a good work in us will bring it to completion. In Jesus' name. Amen.