Sabbath 1/14/17 Seventh Day Baptist Daytona Pastor Wray sermon “The Miracle of Unity” I Cor. 4:9
We all believe in miracles…yes I hope you do. There have often been great upsets, miracles in sports. In the movie “Simple Miracle”, the story is told of a sports win. It was a miracle because the win was against a team that had always won. But…they were beaten by a team of new rookie players. They were all rookies from different schools and different styles of playing. The coach had to get them all unified into playing together for a win for the USA. They were unified for the greater cause. To be a church with a powerful purpose, we have to believe in miracles.
Unity: The death of Christ makes all believers one with God. It is atonement. At-one- ment. The miracle of salvation is a Holy God and a sinful man united. God wants the church to be unified. Eternity and lives depend on it. In the last days of Jesus’ life, He wanted unity. John 17:21 He prayed for us to be unified like God and Jesus. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are completely one. They are inseparable. Jesus is the unifier….the unity is in Jesus Christ. Unity reflects God’s character and gets the attention of the world. Jesus said people will know that we are His disciples by the love we have for one another. Jesus wants the church to be one, like God and Jesus are one.
Attitude: Unity is an attitude we choose. It is an action that we take-being unified. Paul said for the church to be unified so there were no divisions or quarrels in the church. Paul said to be unified and follow Jesus, not Apollo, Paul or Peter. Paul said to have an attitude of unity and to put it in action by sharing the gospel of Jesus. The world is not attracted to divisions or quarrels. We need to be unified and respect each other and look to Jesus. We must go by what God’s Word dictates and not the world.
James 2:1-13: There is nothing that causes division more than showing favoritism in church. The people need to follow the scriptures in the Bible and not use flattery and favoritism for getting what they want. Don’t let the church be dragged down by the divisions, quarrels and favoritism. This is why everyone in church should not teach. There are those who expect to receive favoritism because of who they are or who they know. Christian need to become more like Jesus and understand what He went through. Division in church is like being separated in two-divided. We need to get rid of the clutter and congestion of division. If there are two visions in one church, we need to become united and agree to do what God says to do! Let there be no division among us and let us be united under God.
There are many people “in” the church but the church is not “in” them. Be united with the same mind and the same purpose. The purpose of the church is to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. And…to help people grow to be like Jesus! Being unified in Christ Jesus is what God wants us to be. We should ALL fix our eyes on Jesus and strive to be like Him. A Miracle will happen!
AMEN
We all believe in miracles…yes I hope you do. There have often been great upsets, miracles in sports. In the movie “Simple Miracle”, the story is told of a sports win. It was a miracle because the win was against a team that had always won. But…they were beaten by a team of new rookie players. They were all rookies from different schools and different styles of playing. The coach had to get them all unified into playing together for a win for the USA. They were unified for the greater cause. To be a church with a powerful purpose, we have to believe in miracles.
Unity: The death of Christ makes all believers one with God. It is atonement. At-one- ment. The miracle of salvation is a Holy God and a sinful man united. God wants the church to be unified. Eternity and lives depend on it. In the last days of Jesus’ life, He wanted unity. John 17:21 He prayed for us to be unified like God and Jesus. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are completely one. They are inseparable. Jesus is the unifier….the unity is in Jesus Christ. Unity reflects God’s character and gets the attention of the world. Jesus said people will know that we are His disciples by the love we have for one another. Jesus wants the church to be one, like God and Jesus are one.
Attitude: Unity is an attitude we choose. It is an action that we take-being unified. Paul said for the church to be unified so there were no divisions or quarrels in the church. Paul said to be unified and follow Jesus, not Apollo, Paul or Peter. Paul said to have an attitude of unity and to put it in action by sharing the gospel of Jesus. The world is not attracted to divisions or quarrels. We need to be unified and respect each other and look to Jesus. We must go by what God’s Word dictates and not the world.
James 2:1-13: There is nothing that causes division more than showing favoritism in church. The people need to follow the scriptures in the Bible and not use flattery and favoritism for getting what they want. Don’t let the church be dragged down by the divisions, quarrels and favoritism. This is why everyone in church should not teach. There are those who expect to receive favoritism because of who they are or who they know. Christian need to become more like Jesus and understand what He went through. Division in church is like being separated in two-divided. We need to get rid of the clutter and congestion of division. If there are two visions in one church, we need to become united and agree to do what God says to do! Let there be no division among us and let us be united under God.
There are many people “in” the church but the church is not “in” them. Be united with the same mind and the same purpose. The purpose of the church is to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. And…to help people grow to be like Jesus! Being unified in Christ Jesus is what God wants us to be. We should ALL fix our eyes on Jesus and strive to be like Him. A Miracle will happen!
AMEN