“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You long for us that we as Your church will be one. We ought to have the same heart and mind, and one voice, in honouring and glorifying You. Father, forgive us, heal us, and cause us to be people who are one, before You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. We are focussing on this matter of the church being one. As the Lord sees us, He sees us as His church which is fractured and splintered, on various lines. We are not even troubled about our lack of oneness. Our concerns, that we present to God, are all so very selfish. Friends, this must change. Our priority cannot be for ourselves. We must see the church with the eyes of God. He longs for us to bond with one another as we worship Him. We will see an expression of this oneness in the OT. As there was oneness amongst the people of God, the glory of God descended on them. If we long to see the power of God to be manifested in His church, then the church must be one.
II Chronicles 5:11-14 And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), (12) and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets- (13) indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, (14) so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. If the Lord had made this happen years ago, He is able to make this take place even today. The Lord longs to be with His people, in His glory. We are the ones who are hindering God from being present with us, by creating all the divisions amongst us.
Psalms 133:1-3 “A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! (2) It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. (3) It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore”. When we as brethren, have oneness, God commands a blessing on us. The blessing is Life forevermore. This is life in all its fullness. It is God who watches over us and we are blessed by being in the habitat of God.
John 17:21-23 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (22) And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: (23) I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. The Lord loves us and longs that we will be one and come within the oneness that exists between the Father and the Son. This is the secret of His glory. The church too must have the same desire to be one, and be one with the Father and the Son. It is there that the glory of the Lord will descend. It is also then that we become those through whom, others, will come to faith in Jesus. This is our aim, as His church. We are striving together to bring people to faith in Jesus.
We see this expression of oneness in the NT church and the glory of God being manifested. Acts 4:23-24 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. (24) So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them”. The church worshipped God in one accord. Their prayer was for the nations. Their prayer to God was not for their protection, as they were being threatened by the leaders. They prayed for boldness that they will continue to be His witnesses despite the threats and bring many to faith in Jesus.
What was the result of this kind of oneness displayed by His church? Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
“This is what the Lord longs to do again and again so that His church will be His witnesses to bring many to faith in Him.”