"That They May Be One..."

I recently listened to a sermon regarding unity in the body of Christ.  It was preached in accordance with the prayer that Jesus Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He was taken away by the Roman guards to face the accusations which led to His crucifixion.

"I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me."

(John 17:21, New Living Translation)

What a precious prayer, and what a blessed thought.  If we could only set aside our differences in the faith and begin to embrace that which we agree upon-- the virgin birth, the blessed life, the perfect sacrifice, and the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ-- what marvelous things we could do!  No longer would our time be wasted worrying over non-consequential matters.  No more bickering and division among the brethren.  Only unity in our desire to reach a lost and hurting world for the glory of Christ and God the Father.  

This past Sunday I was asked to join with a special group of singers in the Missionary Baptist Church which worships in the building just behind my home church.  It is a mainly African-American church with a glorious style of worship very different from the reserved style of my own congregation.  They needed the voice of a soprano to complete their opening worship song and sought me out to fill that void.  What an honor and privilege it was to join my voice with those precious brothers and sisters in the faith for the purpose of praising our God and King.  The Spirit of Holiness moved through that group of people as we sang, and those of us who were lifting our voices in praise were not left wanting.  It's been a long time since I felt such a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in a worship meeting.  We sang without shame, we sang without fear, we sang out from our hearts... and God was pleased with our praises.  He smiled upon that gathering of His children and was quick to answer the prayers of His Son on our behalf.  We were "...one in the bond of love" and it was magnificent.

When God's children join their hearts in worship and praise, it unleashes a mighty power into this world that can never be equaled or defeated.  With that thought in mind, I am beginning work on putting together a community-wide revival for the small town where I live.  It will be a 5-night event where denominations will be set aside and our only focus will be on the unity of the body of believers and the power of Almighty God to refresh this world through our praises.  I believe that Sunday was a small taste of the blessings to be known by such a gathering, and I thank my Lord for this glimpse into what He desires to accomplish through our revival services.  I pray that each of you reading this blog will join with me in prayer for the hand of God in everything that is done in those meetings.  May we agree that our goal is to show Jesus to our world, beginning with our small South Carolina community.  

"The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.  [No one} for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.  The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].  For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved."

(Romans 10:11-13, Amplified Bible)