Lately, Unity is getting some new wings in my heart. I am seeing it somehow with slightly different eyes and understanding. I am hoping to penetrate some of those ideas in the following testimony from the National Day of Prayer in my small town, Redmond OR.
Jesus is the center of what I am learning about unity.
The National Day of Prayer in my town was awesome and a great witness to unity in my new understanding. I attended a prayer breakfast with well over 400 people. In a town of 25,000 that appears to be an achievement. Believers from all walks of life, denominations, professions and persuasion gathered together with a singular focus. City officials and servants attended as well as ministry leaders and believers serving in education, business and all walks of the cities day to day life.
We were there because of our mutual desire to seek the Lord for our nation and honor the Lord in worship and prayer.
The simple and singular focus was evident and filled up the atmosphere with the presence of God, good will, love and honor. Every age group was present and the sense was clear that anyone who approached the mic for prayer or to address the crowd had a heart felt love and hope welling up within them for the purpose of God in our City and for our Nation. This glorified the Lord both in word and deed and set a clear atmosphere in the room.
#1 - Unity begins with - Christ at the Center and the Trinity God as our focus (John 17:20)
Honor of the many expressions of God's heart in his people is hard to defeat when it is rooted in worship and praise of the Lord Jesus. Relationship with Jesus carries a common devotion, expression or encouragement. It is more than American nice. It carries the Holy Spirit's heart between us. It is not about agreement in our understanding of each other (though I believe this is when unity really ushers in the Kingdom with power) rather it is a shared understanding of the love of God known and experienced in relationship and worship of Jesus.
Jesus is the one who "breaks the dividing wall of hostility"(Eph 2:14) between all men and women, nations and people. At this gathering the Lord was truly lifted up in worship and prayer from members of His Body who uniquely expressed a heartfelt desire to see the Kingdom of God prosper and advance. Their prayers carried a love and encouragement for the Body of Christ. The passion and truth of the words spoken and sung in worship simply and clearly expressed Christ our Savior and King. Head of the Church and ruler of the Nations. Hearts and minds were aligned in a Spirit and Truth confession of the Lord Jesus. Awesome. Deeply penetrating. The tangible love of God gets moving in atmosphere's like this.
#2 Unity is expressed in the natural relationships and connections we already share.
It was a fun atmosphere to be in. Seeing people I had not seen in a while being caught up in the honor and goodwill of encouragement and blessing. The whole atmosphere was speaking the truth in love. The truth that Jesus is all the Word of God says he is. That his Church truly reflects his glory and the story is told over and over in the lives of each of his beloved.
For some reason familiarity can cause us to only see people in the natural. The day in and day out causes us to see all the shortcomings and not the divine destiny. This happened to Jesus in his home town. It is a common problem especially in small towns and small settings. The apostles said they learned to see Jesus in all his spiritual glory and it changed everything. The reality of divine unity is it embraces people in both their natural real life and in their divine destiny and glory. The two realities are always present in those who follow Christ.
What I loved about this National Day of Prayer gathering is that people were embraced from all walks of life as Christ followers and called into prayer and worship. Religious leaders prayed, which is typical and honoring, but so did people from every walk of life. That spoke something to the whole environment. We all have a much more powerful destiny and calling than possibly our day to day life witnesses to. Who is going to call it out? Unity set a perfect stage to witness to this reality. And Jesus was glorified in it as it spoke to something so much greater than our natural and familiar roles we know each other in and by.
#3 Unity causes the release of many much more powerful things in the Kingdom of God
We all long for God to touch our families, neighbors, friends, work associates, city, and nation. Deep down Christ followers are people who care and who love. They reflect the heart of the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we loose sight of our deeper longings and hopes both for ourselves and those around us. Unity, when we are caught up in it as an environment, speak life to divine destiny and dormant dreams. It calls out the deeper things of God and according to Jesus is the tool for proving to the world that he is who he says he is. Unity multiplies all the incredible blessings of the Lord and creates an environment where the Holy Spirit is free to encourage deeply. According to Jesus unity is or oneness with the Father is what brings a credible witness to the world "that you have sent me"(John 17:21).
#4 Unity is not uniformity or the domination of one Christian group on another.
Jesus was clear about leadership in his Kingdom. It is not like the gentiles who Lord it over people. Possibly our American culture and the just do it and get it done mentality has moved us out from serving one another in love. Or the churches have become places to tout our accomplishments verses the House of Prayer for All Nations lifting up Jesus and healing broken hearts. Jesus pointed to the reality of great love. Great love lays down its life for its friends. Often projects and great directives are carried out without the heart felt focus on Jesus and the powerful unity that creates more as an environment of love and grace. We have adopted projects and events as the Kingdom coming and have lost the resting place of the holy.
The National Day of Prayer in my town was awesome. Jesus was clearly evident in all things. The unity and love expressed were wonderful.
What about your town?
Possibly the ways of God are different from our ways. That in weakness and love a powerful and overcoming Kingdom advances in unity, grace and peace.
What do you think?
With love from brother Jeff
www.jeffreynoldsministries.com
jreynolds@mycapstone.org
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