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Unity is defined as the state of being undivided or unbroken completeness. We are unified by the fact we are Americans, we are unified by the fact we are human, but we also should be unified by something much greater. We should be unified by our love for Christ. This unity is so much more than patriotism or similarity. This love for Christ should unite us like nothing else can. Unity is important in music. It’s very important when several instruments are being played for them to be in the same key. It’s very important for them to be on the same rhythm. Clarksburg Baptist Church needs to be unified or it will sound disjointed or out of tune. We need to be unified and have the same purpose and the same love for Christ. We need to agree on priorities and the mission.
If I had a room full of pianos, how would I tune them? Would I start at the first piano and tune it, then tune the next piano by the first and so on? No, I would have a tuning fork and tune every piano to that perfect pitch of the tuning fork. Unity is not all of us trying to be like each other and do our best to love each other. We don’t tune ourselves to each other. WE tune ourselves to Jesus Christ. IF we can accomplish that we would all be in harmony.
We remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane, the night before he went to the Cross, just a few hours before he was about to be taken away by Judas and the Roman guard. Well, Jesus prayed a prayer right before He crossed over the brook Cedron into the Garden.
We know what Jesus prayed for that night. Turn to John 17.
- In verses 1-5, Jesus prays for strength and power.
- In verses 6-19, He prays for the disciples that were sleeping in the garden.
- In verses 20-26, He prays for all the believers that were to come in the future – He prays for us.
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, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 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, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. – John 17:20-23
When Jesus thought about the disciples, he could see all the great things they would do for God. When he looked at Peter he saw those that believed at Pentecost, he saw the thousands of people Peter reached through his ministry. When he looked at John he saw the church at Ephesus and the churches in Asia he started. Perhaps he thought of Paul and the great ministry that he would have in spreading the gospel to Gentiles all over the world. Perhaps he thought of the great missionaries of the future, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot, David Livingstone, Robert Moffat, William Carey, and the thousands of believers that they would reach. Perhaps Jesus thought forward as he prayed for the great preachers to come, D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Sunday, George Whitfield. Perhaps he looked all the way to this century to see the great preachers like Billy Graham, Adrian Rodgers, AW Tozer. Perhaps Jesus even thought all the way to the people who would affect my life, like Dr. Fred Schindler (who led me to Christ) to Dr. Eric Capaci who I surrendered to preach under and has mentored me over the years. Perhaps Jesus looked all the way through the passages of time and looked at your face, and saw the great things you could do for Him. The people who could get saved through you, the lives that could be changed through you.
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word – John 17:20
One thing Jesus knew we would need is unity. Your Church will never make an impact on this world without unity. When we come in contact with a member of the community that is not yet a believer, they look at us, they look at how we treat each other to see if we are unified. The disciples, before Jesus’s death, were not unified. They were constantly bickering and fighting, over the dumbest stuff like who would be the greatest Christian. There were many other instances where they fought. Jesus prayed for them to be unified. But Jesus moved way beyond just the disciples all the way to us, He knew this church would need to be united in order to do anything for Christ. We can not fabricate the unity that we need, this unity only comes from Christ. We all have something in common if we are saved. We have Jesus inside of us. No matter if we like the same things or look the same we are unified by Christ being in us. The Church should be the most diverse group of people around. People of all social statuses, cultures, backgrounds, and races all coming together in the name of Jesus. We also need to be the closest friends around. We should not be ignoring each other or hurting each other’s feelings, we shouldn’t be fighting and bickering or holding bitterness.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:35
We are supposed to love each other. God commands us to love one another and be in unity. Christians are like snowflakes, alone we may be fragile and seemingly insignificant, but if we can get together, we can stop traffic.
In Christ,
Pastor Phil