UNITY - Together We Stand - Part 3

Jeffrey Burkhardt

Oasis Bethany Church

Unity - Together We Stand • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

Psalm 133:1–3

Ephesians 4:1–32

Unity

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The Word Unity in The Bible

Psalm 133:1–3 NKJV

1 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.

Eph 4 is the UNITY Chapter

Ephesians 4:3 NKJV

3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:10–13 NKJV

10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

While the word unity is only in Scripture 3 times, the concept of unity is throughout the Scripture:

In the Lord’s Prayer (not our prayer taught by the Lord, but His actual prayer that he prayed to the Father for us before he went to the cross, Jesus Christ prays for unity among those who follow God:

John 17:20–21 NKJV

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 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.

1) As a born again, new creature in Christ, you are a trichotomous being comprised of Body, Soul and Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2) The Body is where the carnal (fleshly) nature lives. It is the root of selfish desire.

3) The Soul comprises the mind, the will, and the emotions and directs the actions.

John 4:24 NKJV

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

4) The Spirit is the part of us that communes with God and reflects His nature.

Galatians 5:17 NKJV

17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

I Feel

In today’s world, feelings have been elevated above all else as the determinant for life.

An article in the Guardian: “How feelings took over the world” On a late Friday afternoon in November last year, police were called to London’s Oxford Circus for reasons described as “terror-related”. Oxford Circus underground station was evacuated, producing a crush of people as they made for the exits. Reports circulated of shots being fired, and photos and video appeared online of crowds fleeing the area, with heavily armed police officers heading in the opposite direction. Amid the panic, it was unclear where exactly the threat was emanating from, or whether there might be a number of attacks going on simultaneously, as had occurred in Paris two years earlier. Armed police stormed Selfridges department store, while shoppers were instructed to evacuate the building. Inside the shop at the time was the pop star Olly Murs, who tweeted to nearly 8 million followers: “Fuck everyone get out of Selfridge now gun shots!!” As shoppers in the store made for the exits, others were rushing in at the same time, producing a stampede. Smartphones and social media meant that this whole event was recorded, shared and discussed in real time. The police attempted to quell the panic using their own Twitter feed, but this was more than offset by the sense of alarm that was engulfing other observers. Far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson tweeted that this “looks like another jihad attack in London”. The Daily Mail unearthed an innocent tweet from 10 days earlier, which had described a “lorry stopped on a pavement in Oxford Street”, and used this as a basis on which to tweet “Gunshots fired” as armed police officers surrounded Oxford Circus station after “lorry ploughs into pedestrians”. The media were not so much reporting facts, as serving to synchronise attention and emotion across a watching public. Around an hour after the initial evacuation of Oxford Circus, the police put out a statement that “to date police have not located any trace of any suspects, evidence of shots fired or casualties”. It subsequently emerged that nine people required treatment in hospital for injuries sustained in the panic, but nothing more serious had yet been discovered. A few minutes later, the London Underground authority tweeted that stations had reopened and trains were running normally. There were no guns and no terrorists. What had caused this event? The police had received numerous calls from members of the public reporting gunshots on the underground and at street level, and had arrived within six minutes ready to respond. But the only violence that anyone had witnessed with their eyes was a scuffle on an overcrowded rush-hour platform, as two men bumped into each other, and a punch or two was thrown. While it remained unclear what had caused the impression of shots being fired, the scuffle had been enough to lead the surrounding crowd to retreat suddenly in fear, producing a wave of rapid movement that was then amplified as it spread along the busy platform and through the station. Given that there had been terrorist attacks in London earlier in the year and others reportedly foiled by the police, it is not hard to understand how panic might have spread in such confined spaces. Nobody would expect people to act in accordance with the facts in the heat of the moment, as a mass of bodies are hurtling and screaming around them. Where rapid response is essential, bodily instinct takes hold.

Feelings are real even when they are not based in reality.

The heart has long been used to describe the seat of emotion - where feelings originate.

Contrasted by the the head or the mind - where thoughts originate.

Search of “Follow your heart” yielded 11,300,000 results in half a second and included “How-to” guides.

Article in Psychology Today: “Should You Follow Your Heart or Your Head?”

Research may now have an answer to this timeless question.

KEY POINTS

Under time pressure, people are more likely to make risky decisions when they were feeling happy, and less likely to when they feel sad.

With unlimited time to ponder risk, emotion makes no difference in risk-taking judgments.

While taking a risk may ultimately be to one's benefit, it's best not to rush the decision.

What does scripture say about the heart:

Scripture declares that the heart (feeling) is not a wise decision maker:

Proverbs 28:26 NKJV

26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

The heart is easily influenced by evil.

Genesis 6:5 NKJV

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Ecclesiastes 9:3 (NKJV)

3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

madness = foolishness, blindness, to be infatuated, to make look foolish, to make a mockery of, to act like a mad man

infatuated

adjective

possessed with an intense but short-lived passion or admiration

Mark 7:21–23 NKJV

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

According to Jesus: Feelings are internal rather than external and defiling.

Proverbs 14:12 NKJV

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 16:25 NKJV

25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

The desires of the heart are temporary and fleeting.

Hebrews 11:24–26 ESV

24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Feeling (the heart) is influenced by immediate gratification: What is going to give me the best short-term result?

Marshmallow test:

Key Takeaways: The Marshmallow Test

The marshmallow test was created by Walter Mischel. He and his colleagues used it to test young children’s ability to delay gratification.

In the test, a child is presented with the opportunity to receive an immediate reward or to wait to receive a better reward.

A relationship was found between children’s ability to delay gratification during the marshmallow test and their academic achievement as adolescents.

Our feelings, rather than the Word of God, too often influence our confession.

Matthew 15:16–18 NKJV

16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Psalm 119:11 NKJV

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Romans 10:17 NKJV

17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Proverbs 3:5–7 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

Proverbs 9:10 NKJV

10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

How can we learn to walk in wisdom? It starts by not giving voice to feelings.

Psalm 34:8–14 NKJV

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

Rather than pursuing immediate gratification, wait on the Lord.

Psalm 27 NKJV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me. 11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!