Sabbath: Unity: The Bond of Revival
Read for This Week’s Study: John 17:9-11, 20-24; 1 Cor. 12:12-18; Acts 4:32-33, 1:8, 15:1-31; Matt. 18:16-20.
Memory Text: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3, NKJV).
Unity is an essential ingredient of revival. Conflict, division, and strife do not create an environment for nurturing revival. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on a church that had united in Christ’s mission to the world. Their petty differences were subordinate to the call of Christ’s larger mission. Striving for supremacy ceased in the light of Christ’s commission to reach the lost with the gospel. If the early followers of Christ were busy vying for power, the work would have been stymied from the start. Instead, convicted by the Holy Spirit to die to self, they were united in purpose and mission.
In short, where there is no unity, there can be no revival. Where jealousy, envy, and jostling for supremacy reign, the Holy Spirit’s power is withheld. How crucial, then, that we learn how to break down the barriers that sometimes separate us so that we can enter into the unity that Christ seeks for His church.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 17.
(25)
Praise the Lord. Just like the body has many members and works together so should the members of the church or if a part of the body becomes diseased the whole body is affected so it is with the members of the church when there is no unity and we are out for ourselves and not doing the work the Lord has given us to do.
Yes. In unity, strength is possible.may we use this strength in spreading the Good news. All of us, from children to adult. In prayer, we can be together and this will leads unity not only in body but in our minds. Gos bless us all. happy Sabbath!
Unity, that Ȋ̝̊̅§ togetherness in one mind, one spirit, one faith, one hope and one purpose draw the spirit of God closer to us to enable us move mountains and do great things that glorify the name of the Lord. Unity aids the church of God to move forward and to bear one another's burden. My prayer Ȋ̝̊̅§ that we remain as one body till Christ second return. IJN ♡☀Å♏ΈN☀♡
This unity thing can be a wicked two edged sword. While it is good when everyone is united under Christ other associations can be just plain evil. In the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus said, "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn'" (Matt. 13:30 NKJV). So, at the end the tares that are in the church are unified meaning that unity can lead to hell as much as it can to Heaven.
This is consistent with God's counsel, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Cor. 6:14 NKJV) where Paul is talking about relationships in general, not just marriage. That doesn't mean that we can't have friends and acquaintances outside of the church but it does mean that we are not to be bonded up with them in purpose and character.
For me that eliminates any associations that has the potential to obligate me to violate any of the principles of God's government. Because of that I have stayed away from business partnerships, unions, clubs, and organizations that do not adhere to the standards of real Christianity.
Since I was Baptized, about 40 years ago, I have endeavored to make my intentions known to any organization that I had to be associated with (before the association) such as employment especially where there could be a Sabbath issue. However, everyone belongs to something if nothing more than living in a country and one has to abide by the laws of the land (1 Pet 2:13-16) except when they violate the commandments of God (Act 5:29). In some of these relationships we have no control but where we do we need to beware of the pitfalls and keep ourselves clear of possible problems.
"Where there is no unity there can be no revival." When I read this statement, I asked myself-Can I experience unity or contribute to unity if I do not first experience a personal revival and awakening? I think not! As I see it, unity, like obedience and witnessing and service-is also the 'fruit' of revival. Is it not? If I do not allow the Holy Spirit to 'revive' me, I will continue to be the cause of disharmony, disunity, and strife in the body of Christ. A revived people will be a united people. The experience in the Upper Room teaches us this quite clearly. The grumbling disciples were awakened to their true condition by the Holy Spirit, confession of faults was made one to the other, and a closeness was the result. What do you think? Maybe I have missed something.
Unity is not the fruit of revival nor witnessing,we have it backward.Revival is the fruit of witnessing,only those who are engage in witnessing and having the desire to see men be save at any cast will be filled with the holy spirit.Acts 1:8 and Acts 5:32
Leroy, I really wish all of us would stop trying to prioritize everything into a hierarchy where we must do this first then that in order to get an end result. I, more than anyone else can argue endlessly over such things but I don't think that is very profitable in the long run (Titus 3:9). To me the whole issue is like one of Christ's parables, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how" (Mk. 4:26-27 NKJV) for, "without controversy great is the mystery of godliness" (1 Tim. 3:16 NKJV). So deep and complex is this whole subject that for the redeemed, "much of their time will be employed in searching out the mysteries of redemption. And throughout the whole stretch of eternity, this subject will be continually opening to their minds" (Review and Herald, March 9, 1886 par. 24; Ref. https://egwwritings.org/?ref=en_RH.March.9.1886.par.24).
Whether it is confession, repentance or any other thing that we need to do God is always in there doing the works just as it was with Jesus (Jn 14:10). We need to understand that everything starts with Jesus who is, "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2 NKJV), "who became for us wisdom from God-- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30 NKJV). He is everything and is in everything we do. Therefore, I think we should simply determine that we need to do all these things and let God do what He does and not be so concerned about what comes first.
Unity is such a vital component in our walk with Christ, our families, our jobs, our communities and etc., without it we cannot be the ambassadors for Christ that we are commissioned to be. I'm a firm believer that we learn unity in the home. In the family, the goal is to love, respect, support and forgive one another. Without these, no family will survive the trying and difficult times that will come. So it is with the family of God. Until unity is established, we as Christians are just going through the motions, never achieving the intended goal-to be disciples of Christ, seeking and saving the lost from a dying world. In fact, if we are not in unity, we are part of those who need to be found and saved.
Father, please help us as time goes nearer to your soon return to be committed to unify because we love you. We must get to the point where nothing else matters. Where unity is lived and not just spoken, there will be true love, respect, support, forgiveness, charity and all the other wonderful attributes of being a child of God.
Where there's no unity, God's diveine Angels dont abound. Many times we have fallen into the devil's prey because of disunity. The Angels of God cannot help us overcome the devil since we are divided. The apostles withstood persecution because of unity.
food of thought,' if we're divided, which heaven a we going?'
to be united may not necessarily mean, lack of disagreements! disagreements will arise but by the guidence of the Holy spirit, they will be settled and we move in one accord.
lets guard against pride and strive for power.
May God bless us as we propagate unity in our congregations.
In John 17, above all things Jesus prays that we may be united as He is with the Father. which made me realize how vital unity is in our Christian life... may Christ help us to understand His word and to be doers of His word as well, In Christ name Amen*
unity is strength.Just like the wirld beasts need to be together in order to keep away the lions so are the Christians expected to be. Together in prayers, singing, reading the word and in sorrow and party so as to avoid the enemy and keep him away from the flock. Let us make a small heaven on earth so that we can attract many to our fold through our deeds.
An old adage says,”united we stand and divided we fall..” The church of God must move forward as a unified force tofight and win the battle against the devil. The moment we lose focus on oneness,that's when the devil divides us into break aways with conflicting opinions. May God help us stay together until we see him discend from heaven.Amen!