Title: Unless Each Follower Of Christ Abides In Him The Oneness Of Unity Will Never Become A Reality In Our Church 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. (John 17:23) Abide In Me - https://youtube/watch?v=-q8-cBojUB0 Once again the Lord is reminding us that Unity in the church will result when each member of the church develops an intimate relationship with the only one who can glue the church members together. We are reminded again that the source of unity is not the effort that we make to foster close bonds among each other in the church. I continue to be amazed at the power of the word of God. He is calling us this morning to have closer walk with Him. He is the only one who can synchronize and harmonize the diversity which exits among his people. Take a moment to examine the efforts that you have made to create unity among the members in your church. How many of the strategies have worked that you have implemented? You see my friend; the psychologist of this world cannot provide the information necessary to foster unity within the diversity that exists in each congregation. The theories about group dynamics will not help leaders of our church to create the environment that will foster unity in the church. This morning the Lord is reminding our church leaders to shift their focus away from creating unity and to shift to their focus into helping members to develop a closer walk with the Lord. The writer of the lesson made this very profound statement. He said, “The presence of Jesus in our hearts produces unity.” WOW!!! Lord have mercy on us. If we do not see unity among the members of our congregation instead of pointing our finger at someone else, we should ask the Lord to do what the Psalmist David asked in Ps. 139:23, 24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” My friend, the lack of unity within our congregation doesn’t start with the other person, it starts with us. If each of us would focus on working out our own salvation with fear and trembling then God would pull each of us closer to Him and then closer to each other. I pray that we will continue to surrender to the total control of the Holy Spirit so that God can recreate His image in us and thereby draw us closer to each other in the UNITY of the FAITH. The writer of the lesson reminds us that “Unity in Jesus means unity in the Word of God. In order to have unity we need to agree on the content of the truth as presented in the Word of God. Any attempt to attain unity without adherence to a body of biblical beliefs is destined to failure.”I pray that we will continue to ask the Lord to change our heart and not the heart of the other persons in church. Once each individual focuses on their personal relationship with God, unity in the word and with each other will become a reality in our congregation. There will not be strife and divisions. There will not be stubbornness in anyone who is bound up with Christ. Not one will act out the stubborn independence of the wayward, impulsive child who drops the hand that is leading him and chooses to stumble on alone. . . . A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34, 35). Satan understands the power of such a testimony as a witness to the world of what grace can do in transforming character. He is not pleased that such a light shall shine forth from those who claim to believe in Jesus Christ, and he will work every conceivable device to break this golden chain which links heart to heart of those who believe the truth and binds them up in close connection with the Father and the Son. . . . We believe in Jesus Christ. We unite our souls to Christ. He says, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit. . . . These things I command you, that ye love one another. (John 15:16, 17). (That I May Know Him, pg. 173 – Ellen G. White) The love of Christ is a golden chain that binds finite, human beings who believe in Jesus Christ to the Infinite God. The love that the Lord has for His children passeth knowledge. No science can define or explain it. No human wisdom can fathom it. Selfishness and pride hinder the pure love that unites us in spirit with Jesus Christ. If this love is truly cultivated, finite will blend with finite, and all will center in the Infinite. Humanity will unite with humanity, and all will be bound up with the heart of Infinite Love. Sanctified love for one another is sacred. In this great work Christian love for one another--far higher, more constant, more courteous, more unselfish, than has been seen--preserves Christian tenderness, Christian benevolence, and politeness, and enfolds the human brotherhood in the embrace of God, acknowledging the dignity with which God has invested the rights of man. The golden chain of love, binding the hearts of the believers in unity, in bonds of fellowship and love, and in oneness with Christ and the Father, makes the connection perfect and bears to the world a testimony of the power of Christianity that cannot be controverted. . . . Then will selfishness be uprooted and unfaithfulness will not exist. There will not be strife and divisions. There will not be stubbornness in anyone who is bound up with Christ. Not one will act out the stubborn independence of the wayward, impulsive child who drops the hand that is leading him and chooses to stumble on alone and walk in his own ways. Love is a tender plant, and it must be cultivated and cherished, and the roots of bitterness all have to be plucked up around it in order for it to have room to circulate, and then it will bring in under its influence all the powers of the mind, all the heart, so that we shall love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. (Our High Calling, pg. 173 – Ellen G. White) Christians are to be united, not in faultfinding and criticism, but in fellowship, in dependence one upon the other, bound by the golden links of the chain of love. If they will unite in partaking of the divine nature, they will be bound to the throne of God. This must be the case if we are ever to meet the Lord Jesus. There must be a receiving of the attributes of pure, holy, sanctified characters, such characters as man would ever have possessed had he remained loyal and true to God. By an intelligent understanding of the word of truth, we may understand the character of Christ. (Manuscript Releases, pg. 373 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 11:19:36 +0000