Walk In Unity

(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Devi Susanto, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry, and edited by Brigitta Tedja) 

Watch full sermon here

James Sudarsono concludes the series of the month of September, “Position Yourself for Wonders” with a sermon entitled, “Walk in Unity.” James started with the story of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Queen Elizabeth came on the throne in 1952 and was the longest reigning British monarch in the history of the nation. She ruled for 70 years. All nations and peoples all over the world, world leaders, the military from different nations, all came to pay tribute to the Queen united in grief. We watched the families and soldiers march behind the casket for about 0.9 miles in cadence and in step with one another. 

Question: What is it that made them all walk in unity like this? Every single person was unified, rallying to the call of the crown, to the one who was sitting on the throne. We, as a body of Christ, are called to walk in unity to the One who sits on the throne. 

As we position ourselves for wonders, we first have to know what the word “wonders” mean. The word wonder is pālā' and it means: 

• to be marvelous, be wonderful, be surpassing, be extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action

• to separate (an offering)

• to be (causatively, make) great (again?), difficult, wonderful to do extraordinary or hard or difficult thing

Psalms 139:14 NKJV “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?”

God is preparing to do wonders among us. He is ready to do the difficult, most impossible thing that only He can do. The things that distinguish the natural from the supernatural, the undeniable power of Almighty God.

We have been talking about a succession of things to prepare ourselves, to position ourselves, for wonders through the succession of holiness, humility, and unity. We walk in unity with Jesus and with one another.

1. United with Christ

What does it look like to walk in unity with Christ?
When it comes to unity, Jesus sets the template for us:

John 23-17:20 NKJV “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 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. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 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.”

He calls us to be one with their union. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, one in Us. He sets the example for us in being unified with the Father. The same level of unbroken communication and fellowship. Oneness.

John 5:19 “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do.”

John 15:5 NIV “I am the vine; you are the branches.” We must abide in Him.

The kicker is, to be one with Christ is to be at odds with the flesh. To be in unity with Jesus Christ is to be in disunity with your sinful nature.

Romans 8:6-8 NIV “The mind governed by the flesh [NLT: sinful nature, NKJV: carnal mind, AMPC: sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”

There is a separation and sanctification that results from the pursuit of Jesus Christ in your life.

• There is no room for mixture; He has called us to be holy, for He is holy

• The flesh is hostile to God and cannot submit to God’s law

Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

What is it that is leading you? Is it your carnal mind? Is it your sinful nature? Is it that sense and reason without the Holy Spirit? Or are you led by the Spirit of God that gives life, liberty, and freedom to pursue the holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ that He has given to us and paid for on the cross?

He became the propitiation of our sins. He has taken our place and given His righteousness and put it on us. Our filthy rags have been traded in and He has given us robes of righteousness. What is it in your life that you are still struggling behind closed doors? Are you struggling with sin: getting high, lust, pornography, drinking, anger, what comes out of your mouth, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.

Galatians 2:20 KNJV “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Here is what we need to catch: My “yes” to Jesus precludes a “yes” to the world. I cannot say “yes” to Jesus without saying “no” to my flesh, to the world, to the lusts, and desires of my sinful nature. Whatever it is, step out and say “no” to your flesh.

Walk in unity with Jesus Christ and be in disunity with your sinful nature.

2. United with One Another

Ephesians 4:1-5 NKJV “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to 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. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”.

We are called to be: ONE. There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, called in ONE hope of our calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all. ONE! Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Do you know what is the single greatest source of division in the Church is? The Church. Ourselves. How many of you have ever been offended, hurt, or insulted by someone in general or in the Church? We are called to forgive one another.

The word offense in Greek is “skandalizo,” which means “stumbling block”. A stumbling block causes one to stumble or trip. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul stated that Jesus was a stumbling block and an offense to the Jews who could not believe that He was the Messiah and it caused them to trip in their faith.

For there to be a stumbling block, it is created between two parties. If person A offends person B, that means person A sets up a stumbling block for person B. Person A is the offender and person B is the offended. Therefore, person B is the offended one who stumbles over the block. Person B is the one who stops walking. We, as a member of the body of Christ, cannot afford to let ourselves keep stumbling over the blocks that other people may place in our way. No matter what somebody says, no matter what they do, it is you who is going to stumble if you continue to dwell on it. We need to learn to step over the stumbling block and continue your walk, continue to walk in that same rhythm, the same cadence. We have been called to walk in unity with our brother and our sister in Christ.

1 John 2:9-11 NKJV “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

1 John 2:6 NKJV “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

We are called to walk as Jesus walked. We are called to walk in unity with one another. We are called to forgive and love one another.

Amos 3:3 “How can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”

Advancing the Gospel Through Unity

Why is unity important? Why did Jesus pray for and command this thing?

John 17:20-23 NKJV “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 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. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 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.”

Example: Rowing Tug of War

• Paddling with all their might and strength

• Lots of splashing and muscle and athleticism

• Where are they going? ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE.

It is the same thing in the body of Christ. If we are set up against our brother and sister and we are pulling as hard as we can and they are pulling as hard as they can the other way, when it is all said and done, we will go absolutely nowhere. If you just turn one section of the boat to the other direction and continue to paddle with the same tenacity, the canoe can go pretty far, probably an entire distance that could win them the race.

Why is unity so important? Why did Jesus pray for all the believers to be one the way that He and the Father are one? Why bother with all of this? What is this thing for?

Back to John 23-17:20 NKJV “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 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. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 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.”

Unity is a medium for the Gospel. Jesus prayed for us to be in unity, so “that the world may believe that You sent Me.” You and I are called to walk in unity with one another, with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. The purpose is that the world would believe that God sent Jesus Christ into the earth to die for them. We are called to be able to sit down together and still be one as the Church in spite of the different opinions we may have. The world is more polarized than ever in the past few years but the Church is meant to be the exception. The unity of the Church is meant to cause people to believe that God did send Jesus Christ into the world to die for our sins—unity is the medium for the Gospel.

Position yourself for wonders. Get right with God in your life. He is not preparing to do wonders and begin a mighty move of God with only a few people meant to experience it! Rise up! Be Radiant! Shine with the glory of God in your life as a part of the body of Christ and in unity with your brothers and sisters.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for forgiveness towards one another.

  • Search our hearts, any root of bitterness, disappointment, unforgiveness to be removed from our hearts.

• Pray for unity in the family, Church, and our nation.

• Pray for repentance from any form of compromise and sins behind closed doors.

  • Pray for repentance that leads to reformation, transformation, and breakthroughs.

• Pray for the leading of Holy Spirit, not walking by sight but by faith.

• Pray for being able to step over and continue our walk with Jesus Christ from stumbling blocks in our lives and to accomplish the calling that God has in store for us.

• Pray for the Church to be able to position ourselves correctly for wonders to occur by walking and living in sanctification, holiness, humility, and UNITY empowered by the Spirit of truth and love.