Be One As God the Father and Christ Are One

As we heard in the announcements and also in the sermonette, there are many brethren going through serious trials and difficulties. Some are health trials, some are financial trials, some are job-related trials, and some are just interpersonal relationship-type trials. There could also be cases of some accidents that have happened. We know a number of them that have happened, that we prayed for a number of people that have had accidents recently. In this very congregation we are aware of some. And then combined with that, there's a lot of evil in the society. There's a lot of murders, there's a lot of shootings, there's a lot of anger on the roads. The news media seems to like to stir it up as well. At an international level, now we just heard that they're going to have cluster bombs in the Ukraine to fight Russia, which is a terrible problem. It's just an escalation of what we see in the society. Wars are emerging, nations are threatening one another, and things are just getting worse and worse. On the other side, we won't even talk about politics, because there's only corruption upon corruption and corruption. Whichever side we look at it, it's corrupt. And what we see as an outcome of all this is there's a lot of anxiety, a lot of depression, and even a lot of mental health issues. What we see, brethren, is iniquity abounding. As we read in Matthew 24, let's just look at Matthew 24, verse 12. Matthew 24, verse 12.

We read, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. And, brethren, this is what's happening. This is what's happening. There are a lot of troubles in the world, a lot of difficulties in every area from accidents to health, to financial, to jobs, to nations that war, corruption in politics. And because there's so much sin, people are just going at one another for every little thing.

Love of many is waxing cold. You see, brethren, it's easy to blow up, to explode, to lose our temper in society like the one we encounter ourselves in. And what happens is a further outcome of that. Lack of unity, separation, division. That's the outcome of this. This is nothing else that, as we read in Matthew 24, is for cost to happen at the end time. But also talking about the end time in Luke 21, in Luke chapter 21, it gives us a warning for us as Christians. In verse 36, it says, watch therefore. Now, what do we need to watch? Okay, great. We can watch prophecy. We can watch what's happening around us. But is that really the context? Because if you read in verse 34, which is just two verses before, it says, take heed to yourselves, which means watch yourselves. And so who are we really to watch? Not that we don't watch the others, but we got to watch ourselves. And then it continues, lest your hearts be weighed down with different problems of this society, that we allow this wickedness, this lawliness to affect us, and the problems and the cares of this life pull us down, and then we are not taking care of how we conduct ourselves. And then it says, if we don't watch ourselves, we might not be counted worthy to escape and to stand, in other words, be resurrected, be amongst those that will be of Christ at his return. And so it is incumbent upon us to be watching ourselves, and as we watch ourselves, we need to really be changing so that we may be counted worthy. Now, I've puzzled many times about what is it that you and I need to do to be counted worthy, because in the end, it's not me saying, oh, well, I'm going to Petra or whatever it is, you know, or I will be in the first resurrection. It's God that's going to make that decision. It's God that is going to count us worthy. And so the question is, what is God looking for in you and I at the time of the end, so that you and I, in front of these problems that we encounter, health, finances, jobs, wars, nations fighting, decay of morality in society, corruption in politics, what is it that you and I need to be doing so that God counts you and I worthy? Yes, to escape, but I think more important is to actually be with Christ in the kingdom, to stand with Him. What is it that we must do to be counted worthy? Because it does say, in verse 35, because it'll come as a snare, it'll come as a trap, because it'll come suddenly. Suddenly it says sudden destruction. So brethren, what is it that you and I must be doing to be counted worthy? Have you ever thought about that?

I would say it's an important subject. What is it that God is going to look at as something that you and I are counted worthy to be in the first resurrection, or to be changed if we're still alive at Christ's coming? Let's look at one scripture that may give us a clue, and then I'll give you a different, additional scripture. 1 John 3, verse 22. 1 John 3, verse 22. 1 John 3, verse 22. And whatsoever we ask, we receive from Him. Well, if whatever you ask you're going to receive from God, then it means that you are worthy to God to be listened to and is paying attention to what you're saying. It's not saying that you'll get everything you ask. You know, like a child, sometimes a child may ask for something and dad and mom may say, not now, a little later. It's not that the parents want to deny it, but sometimes there's a right time for it. But the parents want to give the best for the children. And likewise, our father wants to give the best and wants to listen to us, and he wants to listen to us. He says, why? Because we keep his commandments. Full stop. No, no, there's no full stop. There's no full stop. You see, keeping the commandments is important, but it's not everything. And he says, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And so the question we have is, what are the things that are pleasing in his sight? What are the things that are pleasing in God's sight?

And the clue he goes in into the very next verse. And this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ. And yes, believe means trust, means do what God tells us to do. And that means we obey the commandments, correct? And love one another as he gave us commandment. He, Christ, gave us commandment to love one another. How? How he loved us. Now, the law says, you know, love your brother as you love yourself. And Christ said, I give you a new commandment. Love your brother as I have loved you. It is a higher standard. It's a higher requirement. And so we need to have an outgoing concern for one another, like God and Christ. Yes, and have, and will have for us.

God and Christ, God gave his only beloved son. Christ gave his life for us while we were yet sinners, while we were yet unrighteous. He did everything. He sacrificed his life for us. Do we sacrifice of ourselves for others?

And I'm talking to everybody. I'm not just talking to say, well, to man. I'm not just talking to women. I'm talking to everybody. We all have to sacrifice ourselves to one another. Isn't that something that is pleasing to God? Because that's what he did to us. Let's look at another scripture, and that's in John 17. As you know, John 17 was Christ's lost public prayer in front of the apostles because it was recorded and we know what it was on the night that he was betrayed after the foot washing and apostle ceremony in John 17.

And when we read towards the end of that prayer, he says to the Father, I do not pray for these alone, which means the apostles there, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Brethren, you and I believe in Christ, in what is done, and what God is doing through Christ, through the word of the apostles, which is described right here in our New Testament, in the epistles of Paul and the letters of Peter and John and Jude and others. And so we have recorded here for us as we read what they have told us about Christ, and then Christ is praying not only for those apostles, but for us that believe because of what they wrote down in the Bible for us. And what is Christ's request? Pray. Now think about it. Think about it. If you have a family member that is on the deathbed, and you go to that family member on the deathbed, and that family member says, I want to ask you something. It's like, in a sense, it's the lost wish, and you want to fulfill it. And in a sense, this is like Christ's lost wish. And he is saying, Father, I pray that they may be one. Christ is asking that you and I may be united may be one. And that, in a sense, is part of love for your brethren. That's what he did. He died for us. That's what he wants us to love one another, that he loved us, so that we may be one. As you, Father, are in me, and I knew that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me, and the glory which you gave me, I've given them, that they may be one, that they may be united, just like we are one, just like we are united. And then, in verse 23, I in them, you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that we may be perfect in unity. So, as we're looking at a society where everything is falling apart, where the love of many is waxing cold, Christ's prayer is that our love would get stronger for one another, and we would be united in love towards one another, just the opposite. And so, that to me is one very possible indicator of something that is well pleasing to God, and it's something that God will count as worthy, because we are striving to be one, we are striving to be at peace, we are striving to be united, and we are putting on the same characteristic of love for one another as He has for us. And so, today, brethren, I want to briefly mention three points towards a good, healthy relationship, and three points that we can work on to build our love for one another. Now, these are not easy points. No, it's not easy. Nobody said it's easy. Now, I'm talking about a deep, loving relationship. I am not talking about physical attraction, or yeah, physical attraction may be there initially, for instance, in a couple, but as time goes along, the other deeper, more profound love, which has a deliberate effort, a deliberate effort that must grow and surpass any other love of physical attraction. And so, I'm talking about an outgoing concern which requires hard work. It's hard.

Now, often, a person may say, well, I am loving. And often may say, well, it's not my fault. It's the other person's fault, because I'm loving. And yeah, it is the problem. Yeah, it is the problem, because quite often we are blind-sighted to our own problems and errors. And it's easy for us to point a finger, and when you point a finger, there are three pointing backwards, another one pointing to God. So let's be careful not to point a finger and say, well, it's the other person's fault, because it might be ours and we don't see it.

Let's take it from the point of unity with God. All right, let's look at it from that angle.

There is, from the world's perspective, looking at the world in general, the world has separated themselves from God because of their sins. Isaiah 59, verse 1, your sins have separated you from me. And verse 2, 59, 1, and 2. And mankind could easily say, well, it's God's fault because God separated himself from us.

But God did the first step to heal that separation by sending His beloved Son and Him coming to us and dying for us while we were still sinners. In fact, before you and I were born.

So God did. God took the initiative to heal, to heal this separation. And He did nothing wrong.

I think we all can see it, but nothing wrong. But He took the initiative to heal the separation. So if you and I are in a position that we say, well, it's the other person's fault, then we need to look at it like God did. He says, yeah, God can easily say it was mankind's fault, but God took the initiative, the first step, to heal. So if you, one of us, feels it's somebody else's fault, we need to take the initiative like God did. If we are going to be like God, if we're going to imitate Christ, we need to take the initiative. Even though in our mind it may be what is the other person's fault, we need to take the initiative to heal the rapture. The division, the separation.

And then, if we're still looking at from the relationship between us and God, when we see what God has done for us, and as God opens our mind to see it, we need to do our part. We need to do our part. We need to be willing to do our part. That's why it says many are called, but few respond. Few are chosen, because few respond. So, we need to have a desire to reconcile ourselves with God and with fellow men. You see, God has taken the first step. We need to have a desire to reconcile with God. God has done all that He can, in a sense, and He's doing all He can, by having Christ as our High Priest and intervening for us, and saying to the Father, please forgive them. But He's doing all He can to make you and I to be the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is Drupal. You have to make you and I to be in the Kingdom. But we have to have a desire to reconcile to make it work. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And we're going to read verse 18 and 19. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. God has opened up the doors of reconciliation. He is given, is made the first step. And we as ministers of Jesus Christ, we have to preach that we ourselves as human beings need to have the desire to reconcile with God and, by extension, with fellow men.

We gotta have that desire. We all have sinned. We all have disappointed God one way or another. You could say, we all insulted God. We all, one way or another, turned against God. We all have become, by our deeds and thoughts and actions and maybe words, become enemies of God.

And we have become our own worst enemies and of each other because of our actions and of our words. But God has entrusted the ministry, that's what it says here, with the ministry of reconciliation. My job as a minister of Jesus Christ is to encourage you to reconcile whatever trials, whatever difficulties, whatever challenges you have with other people outside of the church or in the church. Christ died for us. He did His part to restore a relationship with God, for us to build a relationship with God. And for it to be real healing, we have to do something. You see, the problem quite often is our pride gets in the way. Our pride gets in the way. You see, somebody hurt my pride, and that person must heal me because they hurt my pride. Imagine if God was that way.

But no, God has done that first step and died for us, sent His only beloved Son. And so, continuing our reading in verse 19, it says, Christ has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ, or through Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. And that's what God is doing through Christ, and the whole world will be reconciled to God, ultimately, in its own time, not imputing the trespasses to them and as committed to us the world of reconciliation. We have to preach to you, brethren, encourage you to work on reconciliation. That is our job. My job is not to say, hey, don't reconcile. We have to reconcile. But as I said, the problem is pride gets in the way. Somebody else must heal me.

In Romans chapter 5, verse 8, Romans chapter 5, verse 8, But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's what we're going to imitate towards those that hurt us. That's why it says, love your enemies.

Turn with two Romans, I beg your pardon, to Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6, verse 35. Luke chapter 6, verse 35. But love your enemies. Do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return. And your reward will be great, and you'll be the sons of the Most High, for His kind, and thankful, and evil. You know what? We need to imitate God and imitate Christ. That's what we've got to do. Is that easy? No. Reconciliation is not easy. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. That's what we've got to do. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. In other words, don't condemn, and you'll not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Can we forgive and let it go? Given, it'll be given. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Easy? No, not easy.

Let's go now back to Romans 2. Romans 2. We're going to read verse 4. Romans 2. Verse 4.

Well, do you despise the reaches of God's goodness, forbearance, and long suffering? You know, His goodness, His capability of forbearance, and His long-time patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance.

We must have a desire to repent, to change, to make peace, to be a peacemaker, to reconcile. Verse 5. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, are you unforgiving? Are you holding a grudge? Is therefore your heart, as it says, heart? Is your heart impenitent? Is it my heart? Heart is my heart impenitent? I need to analyze myself, brethren. I'm not just talking about you. I'm talking about me. It really affects our salvation.

Are we treasuring up for ourselves? Wrath! In the day of wrath. And revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

If we are intolerant and unforgiving and not being prepared to forgive and let it go, are we building up judgment against ourselves?

Because verse 6 will render to each one according to his deeds. God will render eternal life to those who by patient, continuous in doing good. Patient, patient takes patience and patience and patience continuing, continuing, doing good. When is it going to stop? Well, it doesn't stop! Because thank God, God doesn't stop with us. Because it says the goodness of God leads us to repentance. Yes, there will be a day of judgment, but God will give us plenty time. God will give us plenty time that you and I will not have excuse. And therefore, if we are to imitate God, we must do the same thing. And those that seek glory, honor, and immortality. It was life eternal. You see, brethren, are we seeking glory, honor, and eternal life? Are we obeying God? Brethren, we all have sinned. We all need this mercy from God. The question is, are we prepared to do it? And so, my first point that I want to leave with you today is that we need to reconcile. We need to have an inner deep desire to do that. An inner deep self-motivation to do it. And the second point is that we've got to use God's only Spirit to help us do it. You and I need to ask every day for God's Spirit. We really need to ask for God's Spirit. We need to have the mind of Christ. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15.

He says, But he who is spiritual judges all things, let he himself, yet he himself is rightfully judged by no one. In other words, if we are doing what is right, and we're discerning the right things with God's Spirit, we're not going to be judged, because we're doing what God's Spirit is leading us to do. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. You and I have God's Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit that proceeds from the Father, but there's only one Spirit. It's the Spirit of the Father. It's the Spirit of Christ.

It's that mindset. It's that feeling. It's that desire. It's that power. It's that essence that comes from God. That is the mind of Christ. And we need to be receptive to the prequings of God's mind in us. You and I can read Romans 7, towards the end of Romans 7, where Paul says, I'm struggling with this war in my mind.

You can read that from verse 15 onwards. I'm struggling with God's, with the struggle in my mind, because God's Spirit is working in my mind, but in my body I have this law in my members, and I'm struggling with it. There's a war, but in his mind he's got a world, a desire to overcome, but on his flesh he's got other desires, and he's fighting that. And then in Romans 8 verse 14 he says, we need to be led by God's Holy Spirit. And then in Romans 8 verse 26 he says, God's Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. Brethren, we have weaknesses.

You have weaknesses. I have weaknesses. We all have weaknesses. But we have to ask God for his Spirit daily, like it says, ask daily for your daily bread, and our spiritual bread is God's Holy Spirit, and we need to ask daily for God's Holy Spirit to help us fight our weaknesses, overcome our desires. You see, that's why there are contentions and fights amongst us, because we're allowing our desires and our lasts and our envies to rule our hearts instead of being led by God's Holy Spirit and putting that away.

That's what James in chapter 4 verse 1 says, because in James it's talking to the church, to the brethren. It's a letter to the brethren, to the church, and it says, where do wars and fights come from among you, brethren? Where do these little fights and these little arguments and these contentions and divisions, where do they come from?

Because we allow our selfish motives, our internal envy and desires to rule over us. We have to overcome our desires and use God's Holy Spirit, otherwise there's no real reconciliation. That's why it says, you know, the spirit that is in us, that dwells in us, lasts to envy. In other words, our human carnal mind, the spirit of man in man, has envy, has desires for the self. We have to put those things away. And really it's all about an internal struggle than you and I have.

We need to be putting on God's divine nature. I strongly recommend you to study carefully 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 2 through 11. Take that as homework. You want some homework? Then write down 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 2 through 11. When it says that through God's power, you know, it was God's Holy Spirit, God's Holy Spirit gives us all the things that you and I need to overcome and to put on the divine nature. And it shows and gives you steps to develop till you get through brotherly love and into godly love.

And it says if you do that, you will never fail. In other words, you will never leave God's church. If you do that, it says you will never leave God's church. In other words, that is a spiritual life policy. See, think about it. You buy a life policy? You know, when you die, you've got a life policy. Well, the eyes of spiritual life policy described in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 2 through 11. And it says, and if you do this, it will be supplied to you an abundant entrance into the kingdom of God.

And so we are talking about things that are pleasing to God, things that God wants us to have to be accounted worthy to be with the Son, to stand with Christ. And so for us to grow through these phases using God's Holy Spirit so that we can actually grow to that godly love, which is described in 2 Peter chapter 1, following those steps are clearly amongst the things that we need to have to grow to become like God. And so through unity, through unity between brethren, between two people, in a couple, whatever it may be, true unity must be based using God's Holy Spirit and must be based in a willingness to reconcile and to look at myself. And those are the first two points that I'm leaving with you. And the third point that I want to leave with you, I'm going to leave it with a simple statement. Okay, I'm going to expound more on it, but I'm going to leave it with a simple statement that will help you to remember. And the statement is, it takes two to tangle. It takes two to tangle. Oh yeah, today you can have the modern dances out on the floor, and you only need one person. But tangle, you need two. You need two people. It takes two to reconcile. It takes two to reconcile. You see, most problems or situations where there are conflicts, both are guilty. Oh no, I'm not guilty. It's the other one that's guilty. Until both can see that we all have contributed our little bit towards it, there can't be a resolution. We both have to admit our mistakes, and we both have to change and repent. We both have to humble ourselves if we really are trying to be one. Like Christ said, my prayer is that they may be one, like you, the Father, and I. Like you, the Father, and I, Christ, are one, that they may be perfect in unity. That is Christ's lost wish. And brethren, and brethren, if both are in the church, now listen to this carefully, if both are in the church, you do not have another option. If both are in the church, there's no option.

You both have to make an effort and tangle together. In other words, work in reconciliation and humble yourselves. Oh, if one is in the church and the other one is not, okay, that might be a different situation. We can look at 1 Corinthians 7 and address that. But if both are in the church, there's no other option.

If we are dealing with brethren and there's a conflict between brethren, we have to resolve it, and we both have to address it. Maybe sometimes we can't resolve it today. Maybe we need to allow the situation to calm down and give it time to heal.

But you know, how can two people in the church, they come to church and one sits there and the other one sits on the other side, and during the fellowship era they don't, they kind of avoid one another. How can they be in the kingdom and live like that for eternity? I don't think so. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. If both, if there's two lay members in the church, there are at conflict. It's a matter of humbling yourself and forgiving. Look at Matthew 18. Oh, you're thinking, oh well, Matthew 18. Well, I'm going to turn to a scripture in Matthew 18 that you're probably not thinking of. And that's in verse 21. Matthew 18 verse 21.

And here we have, Matthew 18 verse 21, Peter came to Christ and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him seven times? And you know what Christ's answer was? 70 times seven. That's 490 times if you're going to calculate. I don't know if that's a day. Imagine if it is 490 times a day. But whatever it is, it means you just have to keep forgiving. That's what it is. I don't say it's easy. And then he gives the parable about the man that was forgiven a lot, a big amount of money, and then others after he was forgiven, he didn't want to forgive somebody, owed him a little bit. Now put that in our case. You and I have been forgiven a lot by God, by God the Father, haven't we? And if we don't forgive one another, which a little bit, what will God the Father say to us?

You see, and then it says, you know, then his master says in verse 32, after he had called him and says, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you also not have had compassion for your fellow servant, just as I put you on you? And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers. You know, if you go through a situation of unforgiveness, you are going to be unhappy and miserable. It's like God has delivered you to the torturers. You are going to be unhappy and miserable, unhappy and miserable. It's like you and I live in a dark room in anxiety and depression. Not saying that's all the causes of anxiety and depression. There might be chemical and other issues, but we have to forgive from the heart. That's what it says in verse 35. We have to forgive from the heart. You see, brethren, for there to be true unity, there has to be a desire to reconcile. There has to be you having a willingness to submit to the guidance of God's Holy Spirit to change. And we both have to tango. We both have to play—not play—act, live our commitment that we made at baptism. That's it. There is no other way out if both are in the Church. If it is too brethren in the Church having a problem, you've got to resolve it. And that's when we are making our love instead of waxing cold. We are making it hotter for one another. And that is pleasing to God. And that, I believe, is clearly a way that you and I will be counted worthy by God, worthy to have a sure entrance into His everlasting kingdom of glory.