Jesus said the world would know we were His disciples NOT by our fancy buildings, tags and bumper stickers, cross jewelry or Christian t-shirts.  He said they would know we were His by the love we demonstrated for each other.

Maintaining a unity among a body of believers in Jesus Christ is work – hard work, but worthy work.  Today’s message takes a look at both the threats to unity and the attitudes necessary to maintain unity.

Unity and Unanimity are not the same thing.  We don’t always have to agree, but we have to always come to agreement.

The unity Jesus is looking for is not centered around a person or group of persons in the church – not a preacher, leader, or even the majority of the congregation itself.  Unity is established only in discerning and obeying the Holy Spirit.

Church Members have BOTH A PASSIVE and ACTIVE RESPONSIBILITY for unity.

Passive – don’t be a source of division
Active – be “eager to maintain”

Threats to Unity:

1. GOSSIP – (whisperer) – Romans 1:29-31 – Gossip is saying anything about person that they would not want publicly declared.

2. NEGATIVITY – Philippians 2:14

3. LYING – Ephesians 4:25 – misrepresenting the truth or manipulating facts to achieve one’s own agenda. We can also lie when share something that we have decided is true when we have not carefully validated it.

4. CRITICISM – Ephesians 4:29 – words that tear down and not build up “corrupting words”

5. ARGUING – Ephesians 4:31–combative words, tones, and gestures; stirring up strife,
   discord, and dissension.

Maintaining Unity: – Ephesians 4:2

1. Humility

2. Gentleness

3. Patience

4. Bearing With One Another

Articles and Blogs

12 Benefits of Getting Up an Hour Earlier on Monday-Friday – Chuck Lawless

Phubbing ruining relationships – study says. – FoxNew

How Do I Live the Authentic Christian Life – John Piper

Worth Repeating

“The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His presence.” – A.W. Tozer  Tweeted by @VancePitman

“We harvest only what has been planted.”  – James MacDonald

“Early Christians didn’t attend church. They were the church.” – Carey Nieuhof

Another Look

For several years now, at least once a year, I spend one of the months with 31 days reading through Proverbs one chapter a day. So I have read the verse several times, I am sure. Last week, however, the Lord applied the weight of Biblical authority to this work He was doing in my heart to more efficiently order my life. No longer could I weasel out of this longing by claiming it was flesh. God’s Word had now spoken. And it wasn’t even in a month with 31 days nor was it on the 21^st day. Here is the verse and my challenge to you through it.

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. – Proverbs 21:5

Funny how mathematical the verse seems. Plans + Diligence = Abundance. I want my life to be an abundant, overflowing life – not necessarily financially, but in joy, influence, and especially spiritual fruit. A joyful, influential, fruitful life, however, does not happen accidentally. It happens intentionally. Plans. Diligence.

If I want the various roles of my life to yield joy, influence, and fruit, I have to be intentional. If I want a great attitude, well-managed finances, or growing spiritual walk, I have to be intentional. I will never drift into that kind of life, I must pursue it by design. Things that truly matter in life require intention.

Here is my challenge. Choose ONE area of your life that you would like to be more fruitful. Honestly assess where you are, then where God would want you to be in that area. Work diligently in that area until you feel you are where you need to be, and then choose another area to do the same. Step by step you will find yourself closer to the life of joy, influence, and fruitfulness.

What specific, intentional steps will you take to get from where you are to where God wants you to be?

 I press on toward the goal
                for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14

 

Articles and Blogs

Love the Life You Never Wanted – Marshall Segal at Desiring God

Death, Taxes, and Armageddon – Andy Cook, Experience Israel Now

Worth Repeating

“God will move you into every assignment He knows you are ready to take on. Let God orient you to Himself. #ExperiencingGod” – Blackaby Ministries @ExperiencingGod

“Sometimes hard times don’t mean that you’re messing up, but that you’re growing up.” – Clayton King from @AllenDBrown

“If your life does not worship God, your lips do not worship God either.” – AW Tozer from his book Reclaiming Christianity

“While you will often have no control over your circumstances, you will always have control over the way you choose to respond.” – Dr Steve Parr @steverparr 

“Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required.” – Winston Churchill from @FolksofHistory

Another Look

Sometimes the devil’s greatest tactic is to get us so busy doing good things that we fail to do the best things.  Here is a story from Operation Desert Storm sure to challenge us to set our priorities and stick to them.  Today, will you chase the jelly or fulfill the mission?

I still remember the wreck. I was a Saturday morning when I was 12 years old that my dad and I were on our way to watch a rec league football game. Not very far from our house, the road we were traveling yielded right of way as it merged with another road. Our truck was the second vehicle in line, and my dad looked back to see if traffic was clear before moving on to merge with the other road.

My dad naturally expected that the car in front of us, which had already begun moving forward onto the other road, had cleared and that it was our time to go. The problem was that since my dad was looking back checking traffic, he didn’t see what had happened in front of us. The car in front decided not to go and suddenly stopped. About the time my dad turned back around to the front he saw the stopped car and gasped just before crashing into the rear end of the car.

I heard my dad gasp, and I turned back to the front to see what was going on. I never saw the impact. I heard the crash, I felt the windshield, I got up off of the floor of the truck with a bloody nose. Yes, this was before we were smart enough to wear seat belts. Although we didn’t go to the doctor to check it out, I think the impact with the window broke my nose. My nose left an impressive web of cracked glass on the windshield.

Ever since that day, I have loathed looking back – literally and figuratively. Even today when I park, I try to pull through so that I can pull straight out when I leave. Unfortunately, I know too many people who spend too much time figuratively looking back at the past in their lives as well. They spend so much time looking back, they miss what is going on right in front of them.

Churches, as a group, can be guilty of living in the past as well. We can spend so much time reliving the “glory days” of the past that we miss what is happening in the contemporary culture around us. Past hurts and failures can cripple us with fear, and past victories and joys can paralyze us with nostalgia. Either way, we live paralyzed by memories of the past and miss out on a new, exciting future God wants to give us.

The lesson of the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-12), when Jesus turned water into wine, is that with Jesus the BEST IS ALWAYS YET TO COME. The good ol’ days of the past can pale in comparison to the glory days Jesus wants to make of our future.

Learn from your past, but do not live in it. Celebrate your past, but do not worship it. Neither the failures nor successes of your past define you. Long for new and fresh adventures of faith as God’s Spirit works in you and through you. Like Apostle Paul, forget the things that are behind and press on for the things that lie ahead of you (Philippians 3:13-14).

Always expect God to outdo Himself.