The prophet Isaiah proclaims the Words of God and tells of a time when Jesus comes and makes all things right. In this proclamation, he speaks of a time that is coming when all will be one, and in that oneness, there will be no jealousies and only Godly encouragement. In Isaiah 11: 13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who harass Judah will be eliminated; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
We know there may be divisions in the church and the oneness we are supposed to have as we are connected by the Holy Spirit can fall into shambles. But God's plan is for us to be ONE. One in heart, one in mind, one. The following scripture drives home this point.
1 Corinthians 8:6 Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. Our oneness together only exists in knowing that because of Jesus we are one and there is unity in that realization. 1 Peter 3:8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble. Peter summed it all up. And it comes down to the following attitude. All we do is to be for the Glory of God. Here is the problem. When God exalts a person by working and doing great things in their life, if there are those who are not one with them will become jealous and it will cause an UnGodly Division.
When that division is not dealt with through prayer and open discussion by brothers and sisters then the division spreads throughout the family of God and the end result is not what God wants from His people. G. I. Joe says "Knowing is half the battle!" Knowing that there is a possibility for jealousy and dissension to enter into the fellowship of believers causes us to be on alert and always do the Barney Fife thing. "Nip it in the bud!" Paul explains the overall attitude that should be ours in Philippians 2: Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and[h]being born in the likeness of men.8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.
Remember, there are many numerators, but only one denominator. We are various people with various gifts and talents, God is the one who makes it all work for His glory. He gets ALL the praise, but we should be willing and ready for Him to do great work in us and in others, but jealousies that cause UnGodlly Divisions should not be the end result of Him working in a mighty way in others. We serve hand in hand and heart in heart for the King of Glory!! I am listening to some Red Rocks Worship as I write this blog and they really lift up the name of Jesus it reminds me that sometimes we have the appearance of really worshipping and lifting up Jesus, but that attitude is not seen as we see God come alive in others. Barnabas was an intricate part of Paul's ministry because he was perfectly willing to serve with Paul and also encourage him to greatness and Paul's ministry flourished because of that encouragement.
Our unity in the Spirit is real and God wants that to be seen in His church so His church will also flourish and grow. We can be a compliment to that happening when our attitude about the kingdom work is Spirit-led. Then the words of Peter in the above scripture will make total sense to us. 1 Peter 3:1 Peter 3:8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble. As you see, all of this begins with "true" humility.
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren
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