Part 2: When Unity Becomes Worship

Psalm 133:1–3 KJV 1900

A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: That went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: For there the Lord commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore.

John 17:20–23 KJV 1900

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Last Sunday, we stood in the holy place of Psalm 133, and we began to hear David call the people of God to behold something that heaven calls good and pleasant. We heard David say, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” We did not get through the whole matter, and I believe that was not an accident. Sometimes the Lord will let a word rest on us before He lets us move deeper into it. Sometimes He will allow a truth to sit in the sanctuary, settle in the heart, and work on the house before we pick it back up again. So today, we are not starting over. We are stepping further in.

We stopped around the place where Jesus prayed for His church in John 17:20-23, and that is where I want us to feel the weight of this second part. Before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed for those who would believe in Him. He prayed that they all may be one. Not just present, but one. Not just gathered, but one. Not just in the same room, but in the same love, under the same Lord, and moving by the same Spirit. Jesus knew that the power of the church’s witness would be connected to the unity of the church’s life. He said that the world would believe when the people of God became one in Him.

That means unity is not just a church theme. Unity is not just a leadership concern. Unity is not just something we talk about when people are fussing. Unity is part of the evangelistic witness of the body of Christ. A divided church can still sing, but the sound gets weakened. A divided church can still gather, but the oil does not flow right. A divided church can still have gifts, but gifts without love become noise. But when the saints come together in one heart, when we lay down pride, when we lay down bitterness, when we lay down private wars and come before the Lord as one people, worship shifts the room.

There is a sound in worship that is not just music. There is a sound that rises when hearts have been reconciled. There is a sound that comes when saints stop performing and start yielding. There is a sound that heaven recognizes when the people of God come together and say, “Lord, You are higher than our feelings. You are greater than our wounds. You are stronger than our divisions. You are worthy of more than our arguments.” When the saints go to worship, the atmosphere changes because worship puts the King back in His rightful place.

And this is where Psalm 133 opens up even more. David says unity is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. This is not common oil. This is not casual oil. This is priestly oil. This is oil connected to consecration. This is oil connected to the service of God. It tells us that unity is not just social peace. Unity is spiritual order. Unity is worship in motion. Unity is what happens when the body comes under the Head.

The oil starts at the head. That matters. In the church, the Head is not a personality. The Head is not a board. The Head is not public opinion. The Head is Christ. Colossians 1:18, says that He is the head of the body, the church. If Christ is not honored as Head, then the body will keep fighting with itself. If Christ is not central, then every person will try to lead from their own wound, their own preference, their own fear, or their own ambition. But when Jesus is honored as Head, the oil begins to flow.

The oil does not flow up. It flows down. That means unity comes from surrender. We do not climb into unity by pride. We bow into it. We do not argue our way into unity. We humble ourselves into it. We do not force the oil to flow. We get under the Head, and the oil finds us. When Christ is lifted, when Christ is obeyed, when Christ is loved, when Christ is worshiped, the body begins to receive what the Head releases.

That is why worship is so important in the life of the church. Worship is not the warm up for preaching. Worship is not a religious habit. Worship is the moment when the saints come together and place God above every other voice. Worship says, “The Lord is in charge here.” Worship says, “Our pain will not be our god.” Worship says, “Our preference will not be our ruler.” Worship says, “Our past will not sit on the throne.” Worship calls the house back into order.

Psalm 24:7-10, says, “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.” That is the kind of movement we need in the house of God. When the saints go to worship, gates have to lift. Old doors have to open. Heavy places have to make room. The King of glory does not come to take a seat behind our issues. He comes to reign. He comes to fill the house. He comes to restore divine order. He comes to remind the church that we are not gathered around our pain. We are gathered around His glory.

In 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, the singers and musicians were as one, making one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord. The Bible says that when they lifted their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying that He is good and His mercy endures forever, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud. The priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. Notice this. They were as one. One sound. One worship. One focus. Then the glory filled the house.

There are some things God will not release into confusion. There are some weights of glory that require the house to come into agreement. Not agreement with everybody’s opinion, but agreement with heaven. Not agreement with flesh, but agreement with the will of God. When the saints go to worship as one, the cloud can come. When the saints go to worship as one, the glory can rest. When the saints go to worship as one, the minister cannot even keep control of the moment because God Himself fills the house.

This is what David is showing us with the oil. Unity creates an atmosphere where the presence of God rests. The oil touches the head, then the beard, then the garment, then the edge of the garment. The whole man is marked by what God poured. In a unified house, the blessing does not stay in one place. It reaches the edges. It reaches the children. It reaches the elders. It reaches the weary mother. It reaches the young man fighting temptation. It reaches the person who has been sitting in the back trying to decide if they still belong. It reaches the person who feels unseen. When unity is in the house, the edges get blessed too.

That means nobody in the house is unimportant. The oil that begins at the head reaches the hem. The person on the edge still matters. The quiet saint still matters. The intercessor who never touches a microphone still matters. The usher at the door still matters. The child watching how adults treat one another still matters. The new believer trying to learn the ways of God still matters. Unity protects the edges. Division wounds the edges first. When a house is divided, the young are confused, the weak are discouraged, and the wounded become more guarded. But when the house walks in unity, even the edges feel the oil.

Then David says unity is like the dew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion. Dew is quiet, but it works. Dew does not announce itself like a storm, but it refreshes the ground. Dew touches dry places while people are sleeping. Dew comes when the land cannot water itself. That is what unity does. Unity brings quiet refreshment. Unity brings strength back to weary places. Unity lets tired people breathe again.

Some of us have been asking God for fire, and we do need fire. But some places in us need dew. Some wounds do not need another shout first. They need the gentle refreshing of the Spirit. Some families need the dew of forgiveness. Some friendships need the dew of mercy. Some ministries need the dew of humility. Some leaders need the dew of encouragement. Some servants need the dew of being seen and strengthened. When brethren dwell together in unity, dew starts falling where dryness had been winning.

And David says, “For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” There is a there. That is the word we cannot ignore. The blessing is commanded there. Where brethren dwell together in unity. Where the oil flows. Where the dew falls. Where worship has lifted the saints above selfishness. Where covenant is stronger than convenience. Where forgiveness is stronger than offense. Where Christ is honored as Head. There the Lord commands the blessing.

We cannot shout our way around disobedience. We cannot sing our way around bitterness. We cannot dance our way around pride. God loves worship, but He also looks at the heart of the worshiper. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus said if you bring your gift to the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Jesus tied worship to reconciliation. He did not say, “Ignore it and sing louder.” He said, “Go be reconciled.”

This is why unity is worship. When we forgive, we worship. When we repent, we worship. When we refuse gossip, we worship. When we cover instead of expose, we worship. When we honor one another, we worship. When we choose the table over the wall, we worship. When the saints go to worship, it is not only what comes out of our mouths. It is what has happened in our hearts before we lifted our hands.

David knew this kind of covenant life through Jonathan. In 1 Samuel 18:1-4, Jonathan’s soul was knit to David’s soul, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Jonathan was not a small man. He was a prince. He had position. He had access. He had a future in the eyes of men. But when he saw the hand of God on David, he did not fight it. He honored it. He gave David his robe, his armor, his sword, his bow, and his belt. In other words, he took what marked him publicly and laid it before the one God had chosen.

That is not weakness. That is worship. When Jonathan honored the grace on David’s life, he was honoring the God who placed it there. He refused to let jealousy become his altar. He refused to let ambition become his god. He refused to let his father’s insecurity define his own heart. He saw what God was doing, and he made covenant with it.

There is a word for the church right there. We must learn how to celebrate what God is doing in somebody else without feeling smaller. We must learn how to bless another person’s assignment without thinking it cancels ours. We must learn how to say, “If God is raising you, I will not fight you. If God is using you, I will not envy you. If God has placed His hand on you, I will not secretly hope you fail.” That kind of heart makes room for oil.

Some people never experience the blessing of unity because they cannot survive another person being blessed. But the house of God must not be like Saul’s house. Saul heard women singing, and he became angry because David received honor. His insecurity opened the door to torment. Jonathan saw the same David and made covenant. Two people can see the same anointing and respond in two different spirits. Saul saw a threat. Jonathan saw God. The church must choose Jonathan’s heart.

And David did not forget covenant. In 2 Samuel 9:1, David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Jonathan was gone, but covenant still had a voice. Mephibosheth was lame in his feet, living far from the palace, but David brought him to the table. That is what covenant unity does. It makes room for the broken because of love. It does not ask, “What can you do for me?” It says, “There is still a seat for you because covenant remembers.”

That is what Jesus has done for us. We were not able to walk ourselves into the King’s house. Sin had crippled us. Shame had hidden us. Fear had named us unworthy. But mercy came looking. Grace sent for us. The King said, “Bring them to the table.” We sit in the house not because our feet are perfect, but because the covenant is strong. We are covered by the table of the King.

Then we see this same flow of unity in Elijah and Elisha. In 1 Kings 19:19-21, Elijah cast his mantle on Elisha. Elisha understood that the mantle was not decoration. It was a call. He left the oxen, burned the tools of his former season, honored his father and mother, and followed Elijah. The Bible says he became his servant. Before he carried the mantle, he served. Before he stood as prophet, he walked as a son. Before he parted waters, he poured water on the hands of Elijah.

That is a needed word. We have a generation that wants mantles without formation. We have people who want platforms without process. But the Kingdom still honors servanthood. Jesus said in Mark 10:43-45, whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever desires to be first shall be slave of all. Then He said the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. The path to Kingdom authority still runs through humility.

Elisha did not just admire Elijah from a distance. He walked with him. He stayed close. And in 2 Kings 2:1-14, when Elijah was about to be taken up, he told Elisha to stay behind. But Elisha kept saying, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” At Gilgal, he stayed. At Bethel, he stayed. At Jericho, he stayed. At Jordan, he stayed. That is unity under testing. That is loyalty when transition is uncomfortable. That is the heart that says, “I am not here only for ease. I am here for covenant.”

When they crossed the Jordan, Elijah asked what Elisha wanted. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. He was not asking for fame. He was asking for inheritance. He was asking to carry the work forward. He was asking for the portion of a firstborn son. And when Elijah was taken up, the mantle fell. Elisha picked it up, went back to the Jordan, struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” The waters parted, and the ministry continued.

That is what unity does. It keeps the work moving. It allows one generation to pour into the next. It lets the mantle fall without the mission dying. It keeps sons and daughters from despising fathers and mothers. It keeps fathers and mothers from fearing sons and daughters. It lets the house say, “The work is bigger than one person, and the God who called us is faithful to continue what He started.”

The church needs this kind of unity. Not a unity that avoids truth. Not a unity that excuses sin. Not a unity built on silence, fear, or control. We need the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-6, tells us to walk worthy of the calling with lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul says one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

That means our unity is already rooted in what God has done. We are not trying to invent unity. We are called to keep what the Spirit has given. We keep it with humility. We keep it with patience. We keep it by bearing with one another in love. That phrase matters because sometimes people must be borne. Sometimes we must carry one another through weakness. Sometimes we must love people while they are growing. Sometimes we must be patient while God is working on them, just as others had to be patient while God was working on us.

Acts 2:42-47, shows us a church where worship, teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer, generosity, and witness were tied together. They continued steadfastly. They did not treat fellowship as optional. They broke bread from house to house. They ate with gladness and simplicity of heart. They praised God. They had favor with the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. When fellowship is healthy, witness becomes strong.

That is why the enemy attacks fellowship. He knows that if he can break the fellowship, he can weaken the witness. If he can get saints suspicious of one another, prayer becomes heavy. If he can get leaders and servants divided, the work slows down. If he can get families offended, worship becomes strained. If he can get people carrying private conversations that they will not bring into the light, the oil is hindered. But when the saints go to worship with clean hands and open hearts, the enemy loses ground.

1 John 1:7, says if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Fellowship grows in the light. Darkness may create alliances, but it cannot create holy fellowship. Gossip is not fellowship. Complaining is not fellowship. Shared offense is not fellowship. True fellowship is born in the light, where the blood cleanses and love becomes clean.

Philippians 2:1-11, takes us to the mind of Christ. Paul says to be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Then he shows us Jesus. Christ humbled Himself. Christ took the form of a servant. Christ became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. That is the moral shape of unity. Unity looks like Jesus stooping. Unity looks like Jesus serving. Unity looks like Jesus obeying the Father when flesh would rather avoid the cross.

If we want Psalm 133 oil, we need Philippians 2 humility. If we want the dew of Hermon, we need the mind of Christ. If we want the commanded blessing, we must let Jesus teach us how to come down from our high places. Somebody must be willing to say, “I do not have to win every argument.” Somebody must be willing to say, “I can apologize first.” Somebody must be willing to say, “I will not let my hurt become a weapon.” Somebody must be willing to say, “The mission is bigger than my mood. The Kingdom is greater than my preference. The cross is heavier than my complaint.”

Colossians 3:12-14, tells us to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. Then Paul says, “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” Love is the garment that holds the house together. Love does not mean we never correct. Love means correction carries the heart of Christ. Love does not mean we never confront. Love means confrontation is not cruelty. Love does not mean we ignore wrong. Love means we seek restoration, not destruction.

This is where the message must come home to us. Are we protecting unity, or are we poisoning it with quiet words? Are we carrying oil, or are we carrying offense? Are we behaving like Jonathan, honoring what God is doing in another, or are we allowing jealousy to dress itself up as discernment? Are we walking like Elisha, faithful in service, or are we asking for a mantle while refusing the towel? Are we preparing a place for the blessing, or are we giving division a room in the house?

Hear the encouragement of the Lord today. Unity is possible because Jesus is alive. We are not trying to do this in human strength. The same Christ who prayed for our oneness still intercedes for His church. The same Spirit who filled the believers in Acts still fills the people of God. The same blood that reconciled us to God can reconcile us to one another. We do not have to live dry. We do not have to live fractured. We do not have to be a house full of separate agendas. We can be one body, under one Lord, filled with one Spirit, moving toward one hope.

When the saints go to worship, the room changes. When the saints go to worship, pride has to bow. When the saints go to worship, offense has to lose its grip. When the saints go to worship, the King is welcomed into the center again. When the saints go to worship, the oil flows from the Head to the body. When the saints go to worship, the dew begins to fall on dry ground. When the saints go to worship, the Lord commands the blessing.

Today, the call is not just to admire unity. The call is to practice it. Go make the phone call. Go ask forgiveness. Go release the grudge. Go honor the gift in your brother. Go cover your sister in prayer. Go serve without needing applause. Go submit to godly order. Go refuse gossip. Go speak life over the house. Go back to the table. Go back to fellowship. Go back to the place where Christ is Lord and we are family.

For the one who does not know Jesus, this unity begins at the cross. Sin separated us from God, but Jesus came to reconcile us. He died, He was buried, and He rose again with all power. Today, He calls you out of isolation, out of shame, out of rebellion, and into the family of God. You do not have to stand outside the house looking in. The King has made room at the table.

For the wounded believer, come back to the table. For the offended servant, come back to the altar. For the tired leader, receive the dew of the Lord. For the family that has been strained, let forgiveness begin again. For the church, let us lift our hearts before the Lord and ask Him to make us one. Not silent, but one. Not artificial, but one. Not afraid of truth, but one in love.

Father, in the name of Jesus, make us one. Break the spirit of division. Heal the wounds that have made us guarded. Remove jealousy, pride, suspicion, and selfish ambition. Give us the heart of Jonathan, that we may honor Your hand on another. Give us the spirit of Elisha, that we may serve faithfully and carry the mantle with humility. Give us the mind of Christ, that we may stoop, forgive, love, and obey. Let Your commanded blessing rest upon this house. Let life forevermore be seen among us even now. Let our unity preach Jesus to the world. Let our fellowship carry fragrance. Let our worship rise from clean hearts. Let our homes, our church, and our relationships be covered in the oil of Your presence.

And now may the Lord who commands the blessing cause His oil to flow and His dew to fall upon us. May He bind us together in Christ, strengthen us in love, keep us in peace, and make our fellowship a living witness of His grace. May we dwell together in unity, and may the world see Jesus through the way we love one another. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What does Psalm 133 describe as good and pleasant?

In John 17:20-23, what specific prayer does Jesus offer for His followers?

What metaphor does David use to describe unity in Psalm 133?

According to the sermon, what must be present for true worship to occur?

What example from 1 Samuel illustrates covenant unity between David and Jonathan?

How can the concept of unity as described in the sermon be applied to your personal relationships?

What steps can you take to foster unity in your church community based on the sermon?

In what ways can you practice forgiveness to enhance the unity discussed in the sermon?

How might recognizing Jesus as the Head change the way you view church leadership?

What personal actions can help ensure that you are contributing to the unity of your church?

Can you identify an area in your life where pride has hindered your relationships? How can you address this?

Reflect on a time when you experienced the 'dew of Hermon' in your life; how can you seek that refreshing spirit again?

What practical methods can you adopt to avoid gossip and promote true fellowship?

How can being a 'quiet encourager' impact the unity in your family or community?

What can you do this week to demonstrate the love and humility that fosters unity?