An Unlikely Unity

Well, tonight is a very important night, as it is an evening of corporate prayer with different churches from around our county. I have told some of you that have asked, I have no clue as to the what the turnout is going to be like tonight. There could be 15 people, or there could 300 people show up tonight! Either way, I am so hoping that this is the beginning of prayer vigils like this within the Body of Christ in Cumberland County!

In saying this, I would like to petition those of you from our local church body at Cumberland Worship Center, about something very important that deals with our prayer time tonight with our brothers and sisters from the other parts of the Body. And I mentioned this very same thing, this past Wednesday evening to those who were here at the Bible study.

This is what I am wanting to ask of you. There will be mixed denominations there tonight at the prayer meeting. There could potentially be 6 different denominations represented there tonight and all for the common purpose of praying over our city and county and our nation!

So, with that thought in mind, let me ask something of you, as your pastor and your brother in Christ. When it comes time for praying together tonight, please regard those around you and consider where they are in their walk with Jesus and Holy Spirit.

What I mean is this. Many of us have a prayer language, that we exercise and use regularly in our time spent with the Lord, correct?

Well, many of those potentially coming tonight, do not have, or do not believe in, or do not understand this and so, someone breaking out in a “shandilikai” right in the middle of prayer would most likely be a distraction and a hindrance, more than a blessing!

I can pray in my prayer language at all times, without ever even making a sound. And so for tonight, I would like to ask the same of you. My heart for tonight, is to begin a process of unifying and drawing the body of Jesus Christ together, not placing a wedge within it!

Something similar has happened here in the past, where one denomination spoke out about the others and why they were not right, and it when this happened, the end result was that the enemy recieved the glory that night and division became the norm!

I embrace the gifts of Holy Spirit completely and I desire all of them that He wants to give to me, to be used for the glory of God! It is never to be about me and how people perceive me.

Amen? Does everyone understand what I am saying and asking for tonight?

Thank you all and thank you for your hearts in agreeing with me and others in your praying and fasting for the past couple of weeks!

Trust me when I say that I know that the fasting is NOT easy! In fact, it should be called SLOWING, not FASTING, because once you decide to engage it, time seems to slow down to a crawl.

That 12 hours, or 24 hours between meals, quickly feels like 40 days, when you are not used to it!

That being said, I would like to ask those of you, who feel so led and who are willing and able to do so, to consider continuing to fast for the next little bit. Even if it is just one day a week of praying and fasting, I feel like this is needed.

And the main objective is to humble ourselves and seek the presence of almighty God and bring His favor and His Spirit upon this city and this county, for a revival that is SO DESPERATELY needed right now, both here, as well as across America. A revival that breaks out within the Body of Christ and then moves like a wildfire across the entire Cumberland Plateau!

So, as many of you may have noticed this morning, there are several people not here with us in today’s service, because the youth group is gone on their Fall retreat to Pigeon Forge, TN this weekend.

I was here Friday afternoon, helping to load them up onto the van and then pray with them and then send them off.

My wife, Desirae, who is the youth pastor, sent me a text message last night and said that she is TIRED!

Please pray for them as, they should be on their way home, as we speak.

That being said, our children’s pastor, Tabitha Webb, had a lock-in at the church Friday night and she informed me that their were 18 kids here for that. So, I feel reasonably sure that both, Tabitha, as well as Desirae will sleep good tonight!

So, I sat at home last night, a bachelor for the past 2 nights, and I partook of a healthy and nutritious and an invigorating meal of: freshly cut deli thick sliced spicy salami, sliced spicy chicken breast, whole dill pickles, garlic stuffed jumbo olives and thick fresh cut chunks of mozzarella cheese.

And as an appetizer, I partook of a bag of Blackberry Habanero Pork skins, for greater nutritional content!

So one word of caution......after that meal that I ate last night, no one startle me, or grab and hug me real hard after the service today, please!

Anyway, moving on, I am briefly going to talk to you this morning about something that deals with and ties in with the prayer service that we are going to be a part of tonight at the Community Complex tonight. That something is the UNITY that is needed within the Body of Christ. Unity that is seemingly impossible when looked at through the lens of denominational barriers and socioeconomic barriers and etc.! (I know, you guys have never heard me mention UNITY before, right?!)

Now, real quickly, let me ask you a question.

To those of you who are at least 30 years of age or older, what is one thing that you would say, or one word that you would use to describe the condition of this nation right now?

The word that I am thinking of, is mentioned quite frequently on the news and it is at an all time high in this nation, especially going into the midterm elections this week!

DIVISION...............have any of you noticed the division that is showing up in this nation right now on every form of media that we have?!

I mean, we are not talking about, just the church of America, or the families in America, or the socioeconomic classes of America.

We are talking about DIVISION across the board and on a broad spectrum in this nation!

Politically, most definitely and probably this is the most fueled place of DIVISION and contention and strife that we see right now!

So, with that thought in mind, I wanted to mention something to you that I felt was relevant for the time and the season that we are in, as well as the one that we are heading into!

When you look at and watch the news and read the captions and the headlines in the papers these days, you see DIVISION that is growing and that I have never witnessed, personally before the likes of in my lifetime.

Yes, I am aware of the fact that this nation has endured a Civil War which was fueled by slavery and bigotry issues and that claimed some 600,000 lives, I am aware that this nation has endured conflicts like the Vietnam War that pitted many people in this nation against our military and the government because of its involvement in the war.

I am very much aware that the sexual revolution that began in the 1960’ and 70’s is not new and that the movement for the liberation of women as equal within the workplace and in this nation is not new.

I am very much aware that racial tension in this nation is not new!

BUT...........here is my point. These were all, to a certain degree, separate issues that took place and spanned different times within this nation’s history. NOT GOING ON ALL AT ONCE!

Along with the newer and more impacting player on the field, the whole LGBT community who are demanding more and more rights!

We have plethora of things now within this nation, that are spurring and spawning DIVISION at many levels!

And the thing that I find unfortunate about it all , is that the Body of Christ has somehow been caught up into all of this!

So, in talking about DIVISION and DISUNITY, who do you think instigates and initiates all of the different areas that are breeding hate and DIVISION? I mean, there is only light and dark, good and evil, God and the Devil; so considering the two sides, who do you think is fueling all of the animosity and bitterness that we find today?

Right....... the devil is behind strife and hate and bitterness and DIVISION!

I have never seen the likes of the HATE and bitterness that people are expressing towards one another now.

And the thing is, many times this hate and bitterness is being expressed over the most trivial things!

I was shown something that was posted on one of the more prominent social media forums here in the last week or two. Something that was one person’s opinion that they posted about a political issue.

And I mean, instantly, backlash and bitterness reared up against that person and their post, as one person, after another person began giving their rebuttal and their opinion as to why the person was right or why they were wrong! And all of the sudden, the GREAT WALL OF CHINA (a.k.a. DIVISION) went up and caused segregation and division amongst the people!

The sad thing about this was that these were “Christians” who were engaging in this tension and rivalry!

This is why I have said before, in different ways and for different reasons, that SOCIAL MEDIA was man’s desire and plan, not God’s plan for us.

I sat last night and read news story after news story and psychology studies on how and why SOCIAL MEDIA is FUELING hate in this nation......across the board!

And, again, I am NOT saying that all social media usage is wrong, OK?!

But, God intended for people to have personal relationships with one another and engage in actual conversations with one another. Not to depend upon and hide behind the anonymity of the social media tag, and then land blast individuals and groups, so as to satisfy your own personal narcissistic view point.

And God intended for the night to be a time of rest and renewing for our bodies. Well, guess what is being attributed to loss of sleep in people and also keeping stress and strife at high levels in people’s hearts and minds?

DING, DING, DING! You got it.......social media.

In fact, let me share with you a few of newest facts about this blight in our midst:

95% of Americans own a cell phone.

One survey identified intimate moments when people could not go without their phones. • 69 percent admit to checking their phones while at the toilet/urinal. (Among those who use their phones at the toilet/urinal, 59 percent do it on a daily basis.) • 22 percent have looked at their phones while in the shower. • 10 percent have even checked their phones during intimacy with their spouse!

27 percent of those surveyed admit to some level of fear/anxiety when they are caught without their phones. (However, they are more likely (30%) to say that they feel a level of anxiety or fear without cell service. And so now people will move and relocate for better cell service.)

Almost three-quarters of respondents sleep with their phone on or near the bed. (Those who sleep with their phone on or near their bed are twice as likely to say that they experience fear or anxiety without their phones. Those who sleep with their phones on or near their beds are twice as likely to say they are somewhat dissatisfied with their lives and that they are sad.)

We’re so obsessed that there’s now a word to describe a fear of being without your phone: “Nomophobia.”

The long term heavy use of these devices comes at a price. Studies link it to hand, neck, and back issues, anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep, diminished attention span, antisocial behavior, decreased empathy — and the list goes on.

Here’s another disturbing stat: This tally seems to increase daily, but by one study’s count, the typical smartphone user interacts with their phone around 85 times per day. And this often includes middle-of-the-night checks for work emails and new “likes.”

God intended for us to find fulfillment in and through Him, with a personal relationship with Him, FIRST and foremost and then through other family members and friends and relationships like that.

He never intended for us to seek gratification and fulfillment through how many “likes” and “dislikes” on your Face Book and Instagram and Twitter pages you could amass!

When your sense of fulfillment and personal satisfaction is being met by how many complete strangers you have that have “liked: your posts, or subscribed to your page, I mean, if that is how you find satisfaction and fulfillment in your life, then you are in DEEP, DEEP trouble!

All I am saying is that far too many people have become reliant and dependent upon social media to provide them with some sense of satisfaction and fulfillment within their lives!

It is their idol that they worship all day and all night; like a slave to the grindstone. They cannot walk away from it. Even when it keeps strife and DIVISION stirred up in their life, they will return to it over and over again!

This is why says,

Proverbs 26:11 NLT

11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

If something is in your life that you CLING to and can’t walk away from, even when it is producing strife and conflict and division and you return to it over and over again.........

Anyway, enough about that. We just said that all of this DIVISION and DISUNITY and DISCORD that exists around us today, comes from the enemy, basically, right?

The Bible warned us there is spirit at work at all times around us, in this world, that manifests as good and correct and even godly and yet it serves only to deceive and bring division!

If you turn in your Bibles to and read with me please,

1 John 4:1–6 NLT

1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. 4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

So, what John is saying, is that there is an antichrist spirit that has been at work throughout the ages, who comes to deceive and derail Christians from their faith and belief and thus dismantle their walk with the Lord and bring DIVISION within the church body!

Jesus warned us of this in , where he said, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

There are so many things that we are constantly being exposed to in the news and the media these days about hate and bigotry and sexual exploitation and political scams and religious scams and hate crimes and etc., and these things serve only to keep our thoughts and our minds weighed down and distracted.

And this antichrist spirit that comes against us and wars against us, it serves to keep division and strife going in the Body of Christ at all times!

And so, with all of this stuff that I just mentioned that is going on around us all of the time, 24/7, 365, the things that serve the purpose of its master in keeping strife and division going in not only the secular world, but within the Body of Christ as well, how do we UNITE?

Let me be specific here with this question. How can the Body of Christ come together and be what He said it was to be, when we can’t even agree upon basic tenants of our faith, without having heated discussions and church splits and even broken families and hurt marriages over this stuff?

Are denominational barriers the thing that prevents UNITY in the Body of Christ? Is this the great chasm that we must bridge?

It is definitely, in a lot of ways something that has dealt much damage and caused much disunity to the body!

But, there are also deeper reason for DIVISION in the church. OFFENSES are at the top of this list.

We get mad at someone, our feelings get hurt, our pride takes a hit and we are OFFENDED and we are leaving this church and finding another.

Paul said that we are all a part of the Body of Christ. Note that he didn’t say the “bodies of Christ”. IT IS SINGULAR.

We have turned the Body of Christ into a Baskin Robbins chain - 31 flavors to suit your individual preferences.

And when someone leaves the church offended and goes to another, they carry this sickness and disease to the next church.

These people are, many times over, likely to murmur and spread gossip about the problems of their previous church and thus produce more DIVISION!

So, how do we do it? How can it be done? How can you take such diversity and disunity and bring it together as one functioning organism?

Allow me to quickly take you back to how it was originally done.

By human standards, the Twelve that Jesus selected as His disciples, had very little in common with one another.

They were from different socio-economic backgrounds. You had uneducated fishermen to upper class tax collectors.

You had disciples like Peter, who was a loose canon and unpredictable with his impulsive actions and statements!

You had James and John, the “sons of thunder”, with explosive tempers.

You had Simon the zealot. The zealots were insurrectionists. They were a group of nationalistic Jews (sometimes bordered on fanatical) who actively sought independence from Roman rule.

You also had Matthew, the tax collector, who would have been despised and hated by many, if not most of these men, because the tax collectors had allegiance under the Roman Empire and the Jews despised them and looked at them as lowly sinners! (Now picture Simon the zealot who looks to rebel against Rome being placed in a tight knit group with a man who had lived his adult life working with the Roman government! Tell me Jesus didn’t know how to have some fun!)

You have a skeptic and doubter in the group!

You have a lier and a thief who was a betrayer in the group!

Do you see what I am saying? It’s not like Jesus could just go to Disciples-R-Us and pick out 12 closely knit and unified men to work with.

He could’t go to Amazon.com and pick out the top of the list under “unified disciples” and choose the ones that were listed under “prime” and have them in Galilee with two day shipping!

But here’s the thing guys, Jesus wasn’t trying to get them close in their theologies and backgrounds! When He and His Father picked them, they picked the most unlikely bunch to bring underneath Jesus so that He could train them and then send them out to replicate and grow His Body after He was ascended!

If you read in the gospels, you will see the frustration of Jesus at times with these 12 men:

In we see Peter asking Jesus to explain a parable and Jesus says, “Don’t you understand yet?” (“Are you still so dull?”) I mean Peter, is is like the leader of the group and yet he wasn’t getting it!

It was Peter that had the great revelation of Jesus being the Christ in and Jesus speaking over Peter and declaring his role with soon coming ecclesia. And then, literally, 6 verses later, we see Jesus calling Peter “satan” and rebuking him for trying to hinder what Jesus was there to do.

, Jesus said, “How long must I put up with you guys?”

says, “Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.”

In we also find Jesus questioning the disciples about what they were arguing about on the road while walking and they wouldn’t answer Him because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

Kind of like when a parent asks their children what they are arguing or fighting about and the kids will not say, because they know it is wrong and they don’t want to scolded!

In , we see the “sons of thunder”, James and John blasting out in anger over a situation, where the Samaritan village had rejected Jesus coming to them and they asked Jesus, “‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”

The Bible says that Jesus turned and again, rebuked them!

Do you see what I am saying? I mean these are some of the recorded accounts showing Jesus having to deal with and put up with the disunity of these guys! There were probably more that were never recorded!

So, why did God the Father have Jesus pick these unlikely candidates and train them to be the builders of the future Body of Christ?

tells us,

1 Corinthians 1:27–28 ESV

27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

In other words, God didn’t go by the logic of man to build this vessel that we call the church.

And for good reason. If Jesus used the most unlikely of people so start it, it only served to prove that it would use the most unlikely of people to run it throughout the ages!

The question then that remains, is HOW DID HE DO IT?

The disciples were not united throughout His time with them; all the way up to the cross their was division!

The disciples were not united after Jesus arose from the tomb. They were disbanding at one point.

Nothing was any different about their position and their abilities to lead and teach and grow the future body of Christ. They were still operating out of their own understanding and trying to do things their way, not His way!

How did they fix the problem? What new self help groups did they join in order to get beyond their disunity?

How many new committee meetings did they start up to research and study their issue and then have the board vote upon it so that they could unify for Jesus and His ecclesia?

No, the answer to what happened to them as well as the other 108 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, was that the Holy Spirit of God fell upon them and empowered them and did exactly as Jesus had tried to tell them about.

All of the teachings of Jesus, all of the parables He gave them, all of the authority and power He had given them, all of the love that He displayed to them, came together and worked in UNITY, instantly, with that one gift of God!

They had what they needed to be able to accomplish the task, they just needed the catalyst to ignite the fire and get it going!

That is what the church in America needs today. A Pentecost moment, again, to reignite and set afire those who are truly His and UNIFY His Body!