Isn't that so true? I love that
song too, and it is so true. I need the every hour. Turn with me, if you would, to
Psalm 133. Last Sunday night was a very
special service to me. And I just want to go ahead and
tell you that I only want to talk to you tonight. I don't
really want to preach at anybody. I just want to talk to us tonight. Last Sunday night, I felt especially
blessed personally by the presence of the Lord. I don't mean to
sound anything other than honest at this moment. But I felt very
personally blessed by the presence of our Lord. Our Lord has promised
that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is in the midst
of them. But I want you to think about
this, OK? And again, this is just me talking
to us. Think about this. Our Lord was in the midst of
those two on the road to Emmaus for quite a while before He revealed to them that
He was in the midst of them. You ever thought about that?
He was there. He was in the midst of them.
But they didn't know He was in the midst of them. They were
torn all to pieces. They were saying, He said, what are you
talking about? And they said, what do you mean?
You don't know what's going on? We're all up in turmoil here.
Our Savior, they crucified Him. We thought He was going to redeem
us, but they hung Him on a cross. Just torn all to pieces. They
didn't know that he was with them and they didn't feel that
he was with them. But once he started opening up
the scripture to them, and once he revealed his presence to them,
they said, Didn't our heart burn within us? They were all torn
to pieces until that moment. And then they said, didn't our
heart burn within us? Because he was the one right
there talking to us. He was the one with us. And they
knew. And they felt the presence of
their Lord. Well, last Sunday night, my heart
burned within me. And that's my, I'm sitting there
singing, I need thee. I need thee. Bless me, my savior. I'm not a huge fan of my preaching.
I don't bless me very often. And so, really, you like hearing
yourself talk on the answering machine? You like hearing your
own voice? Help me, please let me be a part
of it too. Let me worship too. Well, I believe
the Lord let me worship Him last Sunday night. And I believe it
was the same for some of you because I had the same conversation
with many of you as I was afterwards, you know, talking and this and
that. We were talking about how thankful
we are for those moments when we really believe the Lord has
allowed us to worship Him. And we can all witness the fact
that when we believe the Lord has truly allowed us to worship
Him and truly caused us to enter into a spirit of worship, that
worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, it causes us, it produces in
us a loving bond with each other. And we know what I'm talking
about. I walked out of this building
last Sunday night feeling a true bond of love with you. Our brother confessed the Lord
in baptism. And I had about 20 people come
up to me after the service saying, I wish I could confess the Lord
in baptism again. I know, me too. I want to confess
him again and again and again. But I believe his presence brought
great love into this place. And I pray that his presence
will do that again and again and again. And this is for all
believers. Tonight's message is for all
believers everywhere, but I'm speaking to Kingsport tonight.
I'm talking to us tonight specifically. I pray that the presence of the
Lord will bring the blessing of love and that bond of unity
again and again and again to this place. Because here's the
reason why. It is so good for brethren to
dwell together in unity. It is so good. Look at Psalm
133 verse 1. It says, Behold how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
That word unity means one. Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in one. What is one? Who is one? Christ is one. Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in Christ. If brethren are dwelling together
in one and dwelling together in unity and dwelling together
in love, they are dwelling together in Christ. Dwelling in Christ. When we realize those moments
that I'm talking about, we get a little foretaste of what glory
with and in Christ is going to be like. It is going to be love. It is going to be unity. It is going to be oneness. I pray that God might bring that
foretaste to us here in this place. because it is so good
and it is so pleasant. It is the greatest thing that
a believer can experience in this lifetime. Unity with God's sheep in Christ. Verse one, he said, behold, how
good and how pleasant it is. How good and how pleasant, it's good and
it's pleasant. I was listening to a message
by a brother, Bruce Crabtree. And this is, this gets the point
across, okay? He said that when he was a kid,
his family never went to the doctor. He said it didn't matter what
the ailment was, his family just never went to the doctor. He
said, I almost died once because my family just didn't go to the
doctor. And he said, the reason we didn't go to the doctor is
because my mother believed that the cure for everything was cod
liver oil. He said, you didn't dare cough
around her. You didn't dare act sick around
her. She'd say, I've got something for that. And she would go mix
cod liver oil with orange juice and make him drink it on down. He said, to this day, orange
juice makes me sick at my stomach. But he said, here's the thing.
He said, here's the thing. I now acknowledge that cod liver
oil is good. It's just not very pleasant. There are things that can be
good that are not very pleasant. Brethren, dwelling together in
the unity of Christ is both good and pleasant. Oh, it's so pleasant. It is. It is so pleasant. experiencing the embrace and
the oneness, the togetherness, the loving bond that God's people
share, it is so pleasant, so good, so pleasant. See if this
doesn't prove to us how good and pleasant it is. Our Lord prayed for unity. Our Lord prayed to His Father
for our unity. He prayed to the Father for our
unity. Look with me, if you would, at
John 17. John 17, verse 19, our Lord said, And for their
sakes, speaking of His people, all that the Father gave to Him,
for their sakes I sanctify Myself, I set Myself apart, that they
also might be sanctified through the truth, set apart through
the truth. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word,
that they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me. and the glory which thou gavest
me, I have given them." The glory you gave me, that is such an
amazing statement. Just think about what our Lord
said. He said, Father, the glory that you gave to me, I've given
to them. That they may be one, even as
we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that
they may be made perfect in one, in Christ. And that the world
may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou
hast loved me." Is that amazing? He said, this is my prayer for
them, Father. Verse 24, I will that they also whom thou hast
given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory
which Thou hast given me. For Thou lovest me before the
foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world
hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee, and these have known
that Thou hast sent me, and I have declared unto them Thy name,
and will declare it. that the love wherewith thou
hast loved me may be in them and I in them." Unity is of God. It's of God. Unity is a gift
from God. And unity is something that we
should be begging the Lord to keep with us. Now, reflecting
on how greatly the Lord blessed me Sunday night. Reflecting on the that love and
unity that I believe he allowed us to know and experience. It causes me to realize our need
to guard it. And to protect it. We have it. And we need to protect it. Does that make sense? We have
it. And we need to protect it. If
two do not agree, if two do not agree on the sovereignty
of God, if two do not agree on salvation
being completely of the Lord, you talk to somebody and two
cannot agree that salvation is totally in the hands of the Lord.
If two cannot agree that it is the blood of Jesus Christ alone
that redeems sinners to God. If two do not agree that it is
Christ alone. You know, a lot of people say
Christ, but it has to be alone. It has to be grace alone. It
has to be faith alone. It has to be scriptures alone. It has to be the glory of God
alone. And if there is no spiritual
agreement, then there cannot be any unity. There's not going
to be any unity between two who are in that case. But here's the thing that I want
us to really understand tonight as brethren. Because we live in sinful flesh,
I live in a body of sinful flesh and so do you. And because we
live in sinful flesh, even when there is spiritual agreement,
our sinful flesh sometimes has a way of ruining our unity. And none of us want that. We
don't want it. We just do not want it. You know
that Abraham and Lot did not want to be at odds with each
other. You know they didn't. Their men who kept their cattle
couldn't get along. And then so Abraham and Lot started
arguing about it. And Abraham said, Lot, you take
the way you want to go, and I'll go the other way. You know they
didn't want to be at odds. You know that Paul and Barnabas
didn't want to be at odds with each other. You know they didn't.
So Paul exhorted us from his own experience. He exhorted us,
strive to protect the unity that God has given to you. I take
it to heart. I pray that we all might really
take it to heart. Strive to protect it. Turn with
me, if you would, to Ephesians 4. Our brother just read this
to us. Ephesians 4, verse 1. I therefore,
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness,
with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. Low, meek,
patient, upholding each other, supporting each other. Verse
three, he said, endeavoring, that means working, laboring,
striving to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He said that unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace is so good and so pleasant. It is so pleasant. Endeavor to keep it. How do we
do that? We do that in lowliness. We do
that in meekness. We do that in patience. We do
that by forbearing one another. How do we do this? How do we
endeavor to keep this brotherly and sisterly love that has been
given to us? Turn over to Revelation 7. Revelation 7 verse 9 says, After
this I beheld and lo a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations and kindreds and people, and tongues stood
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes and palms in their hands. That's our brethren who are already
there. John said, I saw the kingdom
of God. And all the brethren who have
gone with us now have seen this kingdom of God, all the brethren
who are physically there with Christ. And verse 10, he said,
they all cried with a loud voice, all of them. This is a number
no man can number. And they're all in unity. And what is their unity up there? This is our unity down here. What is their oneness of heart
up there? This is our oneness of heart
down here. Verse 10, they cried with a loud voice saying, salvation
to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. They all in oneness and unity
cried, all salvation belongs to the Lamb. the Lamb who sits on the throne,
the Lamb who was slain for the sin of His people. That is the
unified cry of all of God's people. Salvation unto the Lord. Salvation
is in His hands. Verse 11, and all the angels
stood round about the throne and about the elders and the
four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped
God. What are all of our brethren
do and in unity up there right now. They are all falling down before
the throne on their faces, worshiping God. I want to do that. In this heart,
I want to do that. If we will do that in this heart,
we'll be in unity. If we will all fall, fall and
bow to Him, not unto me, not unto us, unto Thy Name. Give
all the glory. In humbleness, in lowliness,
in meekness, all the saints in glory right now. And that's the
thing that is just lovely to me. They're all so humble. They're
all so meek. They're all so patient with each
other. They have nothing to be impatient
about. They're all falling on their
faces before the throne. If that will be our focus and
our desire down here, we'll be in the same unity that they're
in up there. Verse 12, they're all saying, this is what they
all say, Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving
and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Don't you want to stand in that
congregation and cry that to him? We can do that right down
here in unity. We can do that right down here.
Amen. If that is the cry of your heart,
I want to be in unity with you, because that's the cry of my
heart. Look at Revelation 5 verse 9. Revelation 5 verse 9 says, And
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation. You're the worthy one. You're
the worthy one. That's what every saint in glory
is focused on, singled in on. You're the worthy one. Look at
Revelation 4, verse 11. It says, thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created
all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created. You created everything and you
did it for your own pleasure. For your own pleasure they are
and were created, all for you. Is that the cry of your heart?
If the answer is yes, then I want to be at unity with you. Lord,
don't let me ruin unity with a brother who cries that. Please,
please don't. Tell me if this strikes a chord
with you. Tell me if this makes sense to
you. Once the Lord calls us home to glory, all the sin of our
flesh is going to be stripped away. We know that. Sin's going
to be gone. Everything hard to get along
with about me is going to be ripped away. And we will only possess the
holy nature of Christ himself. Everybody there is going to be
just like Christ. Will you talk about love, everybody? Everything about us will be lovable. I think about the saints in glory,
and in my mind, they are lovable. They are precious. In my mind,
they're so precious. That's how we think of our brethren
who are already there. We think of them in their sinless
state, okay? When we think of brethren already
there. I cannot wait to have conversations with David. I can't wait to have a conversation
with Moses, Abraham, Solomon, Rahab the harlot. I'm looking forward to spending
time with them. I'm looking forward to fellowshipping
with them around the salvation that Christ accomplished for
us. Us just being together, dwelling
together in the unity of worshipping our Lord and Savior. If we desire
and look forward to being with our brethren up there, Let's
desire and look forward to being with our brethren down here. Lord, put that in me. Put that
in us. Our brother who was just called
home from California. Again, I can't stop thinking
about him. Every time somebody goes, I just cannot help but
just the glory. That precious, precious man endured
such hardship. He had cancer in his tongue and
they had to cut his tongue out. And he had to eat through a tube
for two years. Had to go to rehab to learn how
to chew and swallow again. And he had pain after pain and
hardship after hardship. And now all that's gone. And
he looks just like Jesus Christ. And he can speak with the tongues
of angels. And I'm looking forward to having
fellowship with that brother again up there. But here's the
thing about it. I had wonderful fellowship with
him down here. Same man. Just not carrying the taint of
sin anymore. As we think of our brethren there,
let's think of our brethren here. I know this is asking a lot.
I know this is virtually an impossible task. But we're gonna be together worshiping
Christ for all eternity. I think about that so much. We're
gonna be, and I'm so happy, we're gonna be together forever. The thing about it is, is I really
do love you. I love God's saints, but I love
you. And I want to be with you forever. Not just God's people, you. And we're going to be together
worshiping Christ for all eternity. Let's strive to be together and
strive to come together worshiping Christ down here. As all sin
is gone up there, all sin is gone. I mean, it's gone. It's removed as far as the east
is to the west. Let's strive to remember each
other's sins no more. I know that's not possible, but we can strive to. We can try. Let's recognize that this is
the will of God concerning us. By this shall all men know that
we are Christ's disciples, that we have love. in unity with each
other. Don't turn back, but David said
in Psalm 133, he said, the love and the unity that has been given
to us with Christ our Savior, the goodness of it, the pleasantness
of it, he said, it's like the oil that Moses poured on Aaron's
head and wouldn't stop pouring it. Moses didn't pour a drop
on his scalp and say, okay, rub that in. He started, he said,
it's the goodness and the pleasantness, that dwelling together in unity,
the goodness. He said, this is what it's like.
It's like the oil that was poured on Aaron's head and Moses kept
pouring it and kept pouring it and kept pouring it to the point
that it ran down his face and his beard. And he kept pouring
it so that it ran down his clothes all the way down to his feet. That's the goodness of God on
Christ our head that flows all the way down to us, His body,
all the way down to where I am, down at the feet, down at that
lowest part. As He has poured His good and
pleasant, loving unity, just as we read John 17, we enter
into the good and pleasant, loving unity that has been poured on
us. flowed down to us from Christ
our Savior, Christ our head. Let's pour it on each other.
Let's recognize the need to strive for it. Let's work for it. Let's
contend for it, Paul said, because it is honestly so good and so
pleasant. It makes worship so good and
so pleasant. It makes for a happy gathering.
It makes for a loving house. It makes for a loving family
in Christ. All right, I want to end the
message. by going back to Psalm 133, but I wanna stop in Acts
chapter two along the way. So you can grab both places if
you want to. Acts chapter two. Acts 2 verse 36, Peter said, Therefore let all
the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same
Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ, Now when
they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what
shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and
to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did
He testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward
generation. Then they that gladly received
His word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto
them about 3,000 souls." Watch verse 42. And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, and
in breaking of bread, and in prayers, and fear came upon every
soul. And many wonders and signs were
done by the apostles. And all that believed were together
and had all things common. and sold their possessions and
goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And
they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking
bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness
and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all
the people. And the Lord added to the church
daily, such as should be saved." Doesn't that sound good and pleasant?
And that sounds so good and so pleasant. May the Lord increase
our unity. And may he do it by way of increasing
our focus on Christ. All focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, look at Psalm 133.
Verse one says, Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious
ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's
beard that went down to the skirts of his garments, as the dew of
Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion. For
there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore."
Eternal life in and with Christ our Savior. That's our unity.
That is our unity. Lord, bring us together in you. Bring us together in you. Eternal
life with you. Let's keep our eyes on eternal
life with Christ and we'll have unity. All right.