Unity and Division

The world seems to get crazier and crazier every day. People are arguing and fighting everywhere. The entire population of the world is taking sides. Join us as we talk about unity and division.

Links and Downloads

Watch the video of this message at https://www.celllifechurch.tv/unity-and-division/

Message

I don’t know about you, but the world is not very civil anymore. 30 or 40 years ago you could disagree with a neighbor or friend and still be civil to one another and socialize together. It is no longer like that. This isn’t happening just here in America. It is happening around the world.

Currently, much of society has been polarized. That is to say, people have been divided into two or three groups based on support of a particular issue or political or religious belief. The bad part of this is people are not allowed to cross these lines that are being drawn. Also, people are taking on the attitude that if you don’t completely agree with someone, they cannot be your friend, and in many cases, are to be treated as an enemy.

We see this most in the political arena. Conservatives and liberals; right and left; capitalists and socialists. The list goes on. If you are one, you are looked down upon if you associate with the other. There is no room for discussion or respect. Common civility is gone. People automatically put labels on others just by the political or social stand they take.

This doesn’t only happen in politics or society. It also happens in the Church. People in the Church are quick to label one another just by the church group or denomination they belong to. We automatically think we know exactly what a person believes, thinks, and does just by the church group or denomination they belong to. This was never what Jesus intended for the Church.

When we say yes to Jesus and ask him to be our Lord and Savior, something amazing happens. We become members of the family of God and co-heirs with Christ. Look at what the Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians in Galatians 3:26-29

Galatians 3:26-29

(26) So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, (27) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

There is not supposed to be any division between us. So if there is not supposed to be any division, where does it come from? It comes from the devil, Satan.

The first rule of the devil’s plan is to divide people. Look at how he has succeeded already. We divide ourselves nationally, politically, by gender or sex, and skin color. We just read Paul’s teaching. None of that matters, yet we do it. It is in the carnal nature to divide. It is Satan’s number one weapon. He knows that if he can divide us, we are easier to distract and destroy.

When we are divided or separated, we cannot communicate. We cannot learn from each other. We cannot understand that we are all human beings created by God for a plan and a purpose. When we cannot speak the same language, it is difficult to communicate. When we are separated by political or national boundaries, it is difficult to understand each other because we have a different language or customs.

Jesus is recorded in John 10:10 saying:

John 10:10

(10) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Satan comes to kill steal and destroy. He wants to take as much of God’s creation away from God as he can. That includes you and me. He uses this division more often than anything else to trip us up and draw us away from God. But we must band together. We must not allow the devil to drive wedges between us.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

(9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: (10) If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. (11) Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (12) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

It is important for us to remember that we are stronger when we are together with someone else. We are stronger yet when there are even more of us together. This is why Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs to prepare the way for his ministry. Yes, they could have covered more ground if they all went out alone, but by going in pairs of two, they were able to help one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, and so on.

Friends, this is what we have been called to. There is no room in the Church for discord or disunity. We must band together, even when we do not agree on a piece of doctrine. We can all agree that Jesus is the Son of God. He came to the Earth to pay the price for our sin once and for all. After God raised him from the dead, he ascended to Heaven and sits at the right hand of God interceding for all those who have asked him to be their Lord and Savior. That is what matters.

It takes many different kinds of people doing many different things all together to accomplish the mission of God. It takes us all loving one another and seeking out the lost and leading them to Christ.

Jesus is recorded speaking to the disciples in John 13:34-35 saying:

John 13:34-35

(34) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (35) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

When we bind ourselves together in the unity of Jesus, we cannot be defeated. We are also an incredible witness for the love of Christ to the world. We must, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, be an example to the world. We must not allow the devil to divide us. We must band together, and show the world what a life, an abundant life, in Christ is all about. We must use our unity in Christ to drive out division from the world.