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Handley WORLD SERVICES™
Foundation
a National Heritage Foundation
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realmiraclessm Handley WORLD SERVICES™
Foundation
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UNITY
Dew is soft and fresh every morning. It cleanses and makes things pleasant. It aids growth and beauty! "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." [Ephesians 4:3] Unity is good and pleasant! [] [] [] [] [] [] [] To make sure that God's blessings flow freely, that the gifts of the Spirit operate in a pure fashion, and that church growth is at a maximum, we must do our best to promote and maintain UNITY among believers: internally and externally. Internally, among the members of our own fellowship; and, externally, among all believers (Christians from other churches and fellowships). It takes work (endeavoring) to promote and maintain unity. There are several principles involved in promoting and maintaining unity.
The Abrahamic Principle
Abram's nephew, Lot, had been blessed greatly just because he was in Abraham's family and under the blessing of Abraham. [Genesis 12:1-3] Lot's herds of cattle had grown in number to the extent that the land was too small for both Lot's and Abram's herds. Their herdsmen were fighting. Abram had every right to ask ... or even demand ... that Lot and his herdsmen depart to another place; however, Abram let Lot choose which land he wanted. "If you depart to the right hand, then I will depart to the left." [Genesis 13:9] After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said unto Abram, "For all the land which you see, to thee will I give it, and to thy descendents forever." [Genesis 13:15] If the Lord doesn't tell you to maintain control of a position then there's nothing wrong with backing up in the spirit of Christ and releasing a position to maintain unity. [Matthew 5:38-48] I personally know of a situation that happened several years ago in a church where two ministers were co-pastoring. The older pastor was well-known around the world as a Christian speaker and author. The younger pastor was seemingly mature for his age. The older people in the church sided with the younger pastor while the younger people sided with the older pastor. Things became so bad to where one day the police were called to the church to stop quarreling and arguing. One of the two groups had actually locked the other group of people out. This was a shame, as well as a reproach on the Body of Christ, and resulted in a lengthy article (with photos) appearing in the newspaper. Previously, this church had been at the forefront of a move of God's Spirit in this area and community. Now ... it had become a reproach. People had come from distances to be healed, saved, and baptized in the Holy Spirit. It was previously a holy by-word in a large area surrounded by three cities. New people were ashamed to go there. I had attended this church a few times before. There had always been a sweet presence of God's Spirit; however, I attended once before the incident described above. I left during the service because the anointing of God was not there. I knew nothing of the problem(s) they were having. All that would have had to happen to preserve the testimony of God in this church ... and to make sure God's blessings continued to flow freely ... was for one of the co-pastors to back-up (as Abraham did with Lot) and relinquish / release the pastorship to the other. Even if one of the pastors would have left willingly and permanently for the sake of Christ (to maintain unity), God would have blessed him greatly. The way it was, both pastors left in shame and the move of the Spirit was quenched. Note: Personally, I do not think it is a good idea to have co-pastors. There needs to be an order in the church, and somebody needs to be in charge. This does NOT mean there cannot be several pastors under one senior pastor. The Bridge Principle Paul and Barnabas made many disciples in several cities and ordained elders. They "returned again ..." [Acts 14:21] There is an old saying, "Build bridges ... don't burn them!" Some people break off relationships permanently without allowing time for God to bring healing ... or without "forgiving". Any wise military leader knows that sometimes you have to destroy bridges so the enemy cannot cross over them (or use them); however, whenever feasible it is best to leave the bridges for your ground troops to utilize ... or you will have to build new ones. As in football, basketball, baseball, rugby, or any sport ... your best defense is a good offense! Build relationships with other people and ministries ... don't burn them! Paul was constantly building good, permanent relationships by leading people to Christ and by training them to be disciples and followers of Christ. Previously we studied Lesson Plan Sixteen, Keys To Foundational Relationships. As we learned, sometimes it is God's will for us to break off relationships, but that is surely NOT the case all the time! If you, or a Christian brother or sister, have a problem constantly breaking off relationships with people, then ask God for healing. Usually such problems arise out of insecurity or out of "fear of failure" to handle situations: insecurity that is usually imbedded from childhood; or, "fear of failure" resulting from repeated past negative performance. Also, the problems may occur sometimes because of a bad spirit (a demon) and must be dealt with by prayer, confession of the Word of God, and sometimes counseling with exorcism. Remember, with Jesus Christ you have a new start everyday. Learn to cultivate good friendships with people in other churches and ministries. Show them ... and yourself ... that the Holy Spirit lives in you. A very wise man in God's service, and one of my best friends, told me one time, "Show Christians that Jesus Christ can live in someone else, too! That He doesn't just live in them!!" King Saul was a classic case of a "bridge-burner". King David was a classic case of a "bridge builder". [1 Samuel Chapters 10 through 31] "Bridge-burning" usually results from insecurity, fear, or jealousy ... or a combination of them; and often manifests with the OLD order trying to "spear" the NEW order to the wall. King Saul was jealous of the anointing from God upon David! He was mad at David and afraid of him because God was with him. [1 Samuel 18:5-12] Be aware of something: The "new order" does not necessarily mean young in age or seniority ... or inexperienced. The "new order" can be older people ... seasoned, experienced people ... breaking away from established religious form: form that was once fresh with the Spirit. If we find ourselves in the "old order", we need to build bridges with the "new order" to establish UNITY for the Lord's sake. This will accomplish two things: 1) It will assure that we are open to what the Spirit is doing; and, 2) It will place us in a position of blessing (to receive a new anointing and to receive God's best as a "peace-maker" for unity's sake [Matthew 5:9]). When we pray the suggested guidelines for prayer daily as the Lord suggested (the disciple's prayer [Luke 11:1-4]), we are asking for God's will ... and if we mean what we pray ... we will be open to what God wants and what God does. God wants unity among his people; and God honors "bridge-building". [Ephesians 4:3] To fulfill your ministry you must build bridges! The Servant Principle As we learned in Lesson Plan One, true spirituality is seeing a need and meeting it. To minister is to serve! It is not always easy to promote and maintain unity among believers; however, the rewards are fantastic. There are at least three reasons for promoting and maintaining unity among believers:
The Scripture tells us to " ... serve one another in love." [Galatians 5:13] We are commanded in Ephesians 4:3 to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the binding power of peace." This is one of the jobs, or tasks, that God assigned us. And, the Holy Bible says, "Whatever your job [task], work at it heartily as something done for the Lord and not for men." There is a NEED for unity and we are to meet that need! You must have the consciousness or the "mentality" to know that God always wants you to bring unity into situations. Pray for an anointing of unity. Let God use you as an instrument of unity! [Next go to DCC #20 for "UNITY - Part B".]
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