Striving for Unity

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There is no time for strife, contention, anger, or disunity in the church. We are fighting a well-organized enemy whose main goal is to disrupt the church’s mission and to cause dissension among the fellowship.
Discord among the fellowship does not come from God.
James 3:16–18 “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
When there is strife in the church, it is there because the Devil has gone to work.
Listen. You and I are entitled to different opinions, but we are not entitled to let those differences of opinions to rip apart the church.
Unity in the church is needed. Do you know what Jesus prayed just before being arrested?
John 17:22And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”
Jesus prayed that brothers and sisters in Christ be as one as He and the Father are One.
Can I ask you a question?
DO you think Jesus and God ever argued over the thermostat? Do you think Jesus and God ever argued over whether or not the worship team in heaven sung contemporary music or traditional hymns?
Some Baptists think that if you don’t sing songs written in 1770 then you are not worshipping. I wonder what they sung before 1770.
I don’t know what Baptists are going to do in heaven. I doubt very seriously that God will speak to us in 1611 English, and believe this or not, we are going to sing new songs in Heaven. Baptists will want to split off and form a traditional house of worship in Heaven. They will not be able to handle that contemporary atmosphere.
Dear friend, it is time for the church to start looking for our glorious future instead of dwelling in the past. The past is where our sin lies. The future is where my hope lies.
Unity in the church is about coming together to form something bigger and stronger. It is about increasing the Kingdom of God one lost soul at a time.
Unity in a church is recognizing that we are stronger together than we are individually. Our unity comes from God. The unity of God unifies us. The Church on earth is the visible picture of God’s glory on earth. Let me ask you a question.
Are you and I showing God’s glory if we pout over not getting our way about whatever inconsequential issue that arises?
Don’t get me wrong. There are certain things in which we are to be in rock-solid agreement. Namely, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in the flesh who died for our sins and was resurrected the third day, and if I am going to heaven, it is because of God’s grace and my faith in Jesus Christ. Whether we sing Waymaker or Rock of Ages is not one of those things in which we have to be in 100% agreement. Along those lines, no one has the freedom to pout because we sing one over the other.
Jude 3 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
We are to contend earnestly and diligently for the faith that was once and for all delivered unto the saints. If you are the last one standing, you are to defend Biblical truth, but many times in the church, issues other than doctrine and truth disrupt and destroy the unity. Yes, I am to defend the faith, but the thermostat is not something I should defend, and neither should I be the last soldier standing defending Come Thou Fount of Blessing from an attack by Let Me Tell You About My Jesus.
Can I ask you a question? Can I worship by singing Come Thou Fount of Blessing? Can I worship by singing Let Me Tell You About My Jesus? Why should I let the argument over contemporary or traditional music get under my skin?
As we close out this church year and prepare for a new one, I want us to look at unity in the church.

1. The Importance of Unity.

Unity and oneness in the fellowship of the church is stressed and underscored in the Bible.
How many passages do you want me to share to prove my point of the importance of unity?
Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”
1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Philippians 2:2–3 “Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
Ephesians 4:1–3 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
I could read many more passages about unity, but I believe I have made my point. Unity is extremely important in the church.
Now, many of us say we believe every word of the Bible, yet when it comes to sharing our opinion, we want our voices heard above all others. As a matter of fact, we dismiss what someone else thinks because we know what’s best. Is that striving for unity, or is that striving to put I on the throne?
We want our voices heard above all others, and if it is not, we get angry, “sull” up, and pout about it for months just waiting to say those magic words. What magic words? “I TOLD YOU SO!”
Seriously, is that a spirit of unity? Can I use the thermostat as an example?
The thermostat has no eternal value whatsoever. Some in the church want the thermostat on 70, and some want it on 75. The church votes to set the temp at 70. That should be it. You should not pout about it. You should not get mad about it, and you definitely should not be bringing it up 6 months later. If you get upset over something like a thermostat, are you interested in unity or in your way?
Did you know that issues that silly have destroyed churches? I promise you this. If you get upset over something like a thermostat, I can guarantee you absolutely that attitude of dissension did not come from God, and most people who get upset over stuff like that never recognize it as sin, and they never repent, and they never ask forgiveness, and they give the Devil a fort in their hearts from which Satan can attack the entire body.
We are the body of Christ. Whether it is 70 degrees or 75 degrees, you are not going to freeze to death or melt. Whether we sing The Goodness of God or The Rock of Ages should not disrupt the unity in the slightest.
Can you believe that people get mad in the church over styles of music? Do you think that attitude comes from God?
Psalm 98:4 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”
If I am singing Waymaker or When We All Get to Heaven, I am to make a joyful noise before the Lord, but some people will bite their tongues off to keep from singing a contemporary song, and some young people refuse to sing traditional hymns, and we wonder why the church has lost its power to reach lost souls. The Church has lost power because it is going 1,000 different directions instead of following the Lord Jesus Christ in unity.
Jesus’s plan for His church is for His people to be unified in the faith, and listen to this very carefully. Outside of doctrinal truth, I do not have the right to let my opinion disrupt the unity of the body. It is sin. It is a like a bacteria attacking the body.

2. Achieving Unity.

The secret to unity begins with how we view ourselves within the body and how we view others.
Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
Most disunity in the church rises from selfishness.
A selfishness that says what I think or what I want is more important than what Marty Richardson wants or thinks. Notice what else Paul says.
Philippians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
Disunity comes from people looking to satisfy their own needs, to express their own opinions, over the needs and opinions of others.
Have you noticed in some meetings that some people just have to be heard over everyone else? Why? Did you know it even happens in business meetings at churches?
That kind of behavior is worldly behavior. It is characteristic of the behavior of unbelievers. It is not evidence of having the mind of Christ.
Philippians 2:5–7 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Can I ask you a question?
Did Christ get His way on Calvary? NO!
Did He pout about it? NO!
Did He hold a grudge about it? NO! Instead of a grudge He made it possible for me to go to Heaven, and that is the same kind of attitude Christians are to have if we are going to remain in unity.
I promise you that disunity does not come from God.
1 Corinthians 3:3 “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
Achieving unity is only possible when we consider the needs of others before our own.
Ephesians 4:2 “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;”
Can I ask you a question?
For Ali-Kate’s sake, would it hurt this congregation to sing The Goodness of God one Sunday morning instead of Heavenly Sunlight? It might show Ali-Kate that Beech Grove is interested in serving the needs of all its members instead of just a few.
I am telling you that we are at a crossroads at Beech Grove. Today’s Beech Grove is not the same Beech Grove of 5 years ago when Bro. Jerrell resigned. We had 9 here that night. Last Sunday morning, we had 91. That is a 911% increase in attendance. Our demographics have changed greatly as the Lord has added to and blessed us greatly with many coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
A younger person has different approaches as to how to do certain things. There is a difference between a 30-year-old and a 70-year old. That 30-year-old and that 70-year-old are to strive for church harmony and unity, and neither has the right to disrupt the church unity by demanding his or her own way.
I am not talking about compromising on doctrine and truth. I talking about coming to agreement on those minor things that tear apart many churches, and when the church comes to an agreement on the thermostat, then that is it. You nor I have the right to pout about it for 6 months.
We can do many great things. We can share the gospel. We can stand on God’s Word, but the first thing a visitor will notice is the strife in the congregation. To achieve and maintain unity, all of us need to see our imperfections in light of the perfection of Christ.
Conclusion:
The task before us is great, and we cannot complete that task by quarrelling or by demanding our way, but we can accomplish any task when we reflect His grace and love to those who are His by His mercy.
A church full of people enjoying their common salvation will be unified. It will be a church that honestly and earnestly contends for the faith, and it will be a church where members will sacrifice their way for the betterment and sanctification of others.
As we close out this year and begin the next, my desire is that we increase by another 911%, but it will not happen if we are not unified in purpose and spirit.
Is there some sin in your life toward a brother or sister that’s disrupting the unity? If there is, you need to take care of that this morning. It might mean swallowing your pride and asking someone’s forgiveness.
There are souls to be saved that deserve our unified effort. What say you?
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