Endeavoring To Keep The Unity

Q: What does the Bible say about unity in the church?

The Bible emphasizes the importance of unity among believers, encouraging them to 'endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit' (Ephesians 4:3). Unity in the church is a central theme in Scripture, highlighted in Ephesians 4:3 where believers are urged to 'endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' This unity is essential for the body of Christ as it reflects the oneness of the church. Believers are called to act in humility and love, forgoing personal grievances for the sake of fostering a loving and supportive community. The call to unity signifies a commitment to love and serve one another selflessly, as shown in the interactions of the early church (Acts 2:44-47).

Q: How do we know the importance of unity is true?

Unity is emphasized throughout Scripture, showing God's desire for harmony among His people for the advancement of the gospel. The importance of unity is established through multiple scriptural references that demonstrate God's design for His church. In John 17:21, Jesus prays for believers to be one, just as He and the Father are one, underscoring that unity among Christians is reflective of their relationship with God. Additionally, in 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul admonishes believers to speak the same thing and have no divisions among them, highlighting that disunity hinders the effectiveness of the gospel. The pursuit of unity is not merely a suggestion but a command rooted in the nature of God Himself, who is unity in essence.

Q: Why is keeping unity in the church important for Christians?

Keeping unity is vital for Christians as it allows for effective ministry and testimony in a divided world. Maintaining unity is critical for Christians as it reflects the heart of the gospel and the nature of the God they serve. In Philippians 2:2-4, Paul encourages believers to be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, and of one mind. This unity cultivates an environment where the gospel can thrive and flourish, enabling believers to effectively witness to the world around them. Disunity, on the other hand, breeds conflict and confusion, hindering the church's mission. Therefore, Christians are called to strive for peace and unity, being active participants in the work of building one another up in faith.

Q: What causes divisions in the church?

Divisions in the church are often caused by individuals who offend others, particularly through gossip and discord. Scripture points towards various factors that contribute to divisions within the church. Primarily, the misuse of speech, as highlighted by James in James 3:2-10, shows that the tongue, despite being small, can cause significant damage. Slander, gossip, and personal grievances can trivialize the unity that believers are commanded to pursue. Proverbs 16:28 further illustrates that a whisperer separates close friends, emphasizing the corrosive impact of gossip on relationships. Therefore, the call is not just to avoid causing divisions but to actively work towards building one another up in love and truth.

to believers, to this Church. If you were not here, I urge
you to get the messages. They will give you great comfort
and encouragement. I want to do the same thing tonight,
but tonight's message will be a little more along the lines
of correction, and we need it. It's my job to comfort It's also
my job to, as Paul said to young Titus, to prove and rebuke with
all authority. Let no man spies you. I'd a whole
lot rather preach for amens, but it behooves me to give the whole counsel of God,
does it not? As a faithful minister of the
gospel. It is my job to preach the gospel.
As a faithful watchman and undershepherd pastor, if I am, it is my job
to watch, to look, and to listen, and to watch out for those things
which threaten the welfare of the flock. It's a strange way to introduce
a message on unity. Look at the text again, and this
is why I began in that fashion. Paul says, Therefore the prisoner
of the Lord beseech you, Ephesians 4, verse 1, I beseech you that
you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. What
is the vocation that we are called to? We are called saints. children of the Most High God.
We are called to be servants of Christ, servants to one another.
We are called to be disciples of Christ, followers of Christ. It's a vocation, it's a life.
Christ is our life, about the Father's business, about the
things of the Church. Isn't that the Father's business?
The Church. We are worthy of that. And we're with your call. We're
called to be members, to be a member of Christ's body. Verse 2 says
we're to do it with all loneliness and meekness. There's nobody
here any more special than anybody else. Nobody here of any more importance
than anybody else, right? We're all one in Christ. There's
nobody who has a more important part in the body than anybody
else, right? Because the foot says, I'm not
an eye. He says, I'm not useful. No. You need a foot as well as
an eye. You need little toes as well
as a foot, and so on. So we're to do this, we're to
walk one of them, we're to do what we do in a worthy and a
diligent manner, with all loneliness and meekness. Christ, who said,
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me. I am meek and lowly, and
do it like me. I am meek and lowly, with longsuffering."
Would it be longsuffering? Forbearing one another in love.
Do you see that? Forbearing one another in love. Forbearing means carrying. To forbear, to bear up, means
to literally carry. To carry one another. You ever
work with a fella and you tell him later on, you say, I carried
you today, huh? Well, that's what we're told
to do for one another, literally, to seek to carry one another, forbear one another in love.
That's what you long to do to your children, isn't it? That's what we long, to do all
that we can for them, expecting nothing in return. Why? We love
them. And we'll carry him. He ain't
heavy. No, he's my brother. Verse 3 says, Endeavoring to
keep the unity of the Spirit. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit. Is it warm in here to you? Very
warm in there, Mr. Bowman. Okay, and the reason I began
this in such a solemn manner, talking about it being my particular
vocation or job to warn as well as comfort, when it says to endeavor
to keep the unity of the spirits, the first thing I thought of
was, if we're to endeavor to keep unity, what is the opposite
of unity? What is the opposite of unity?
It's division, right? You're united together, you're
bonded together, you're joined together. The opposite of that
is division. You're divided. Division. Well, then I naturally thought,
well, what causes divisions? We can get to the bottom of that
and get to the heart of what causes divisions, and maybe I
can endeavor or do what I can to keep from it. He said, maybe
we. what disrupts unity. Many things,
many things do, some of which we're all guilty of. Everybody
in here we're guilty of. And if you, if I, really value
the gospel, if we really value the gospel and what we have this
church, if we really value that, then we will be watching for
these things in ourselves. Right? You understand what I'm
saying? If we really value what we have
here, which is a rare thing, Christian unity, a church, an
undivided body of believers, with no divisions and strikes
and so forth, that's rare, isn't it? It is rare, isn't it? You've
been to a lot of places. If we really value that, then
we'll be on guard, we'll be watchful for these things in our share.
All right? The Lord said, Woe unto the world
because of offenses. In Matthew 18, 7, he said, Woe
is unto the world because of offenses. But he said it must
need to be that offenses come. It must be. but woe unto that man by whom
the offense cometh." Do you remember another place where it was said,
our Lord said, it would be better if you would offend one of these
little ones, it would be better than a millstone tied about your
neck? Mind you, I was down walking
around Booker T. Washington Park the other day,
and we sat on one of those millstones, and those stones weigh hundreds
of pounds, don't they? Our Lord said to offend one of
these One of these, my little children, better to have one
of those tied around your neck and thrown into the sea." Well,
he said, they must come, but woe unto the man, woe unto the
man, he said. Now, divisions, divisions are
the opposite of unity. Divisions are people being separated. Divisions are—anything that's
a division is something that comes between people. Something
that tears apart relationships. A division is like a wall that's
built up between two people. It divides them, right? What
causes divisions? What causes divisions? People do. People do. Our Lord said that. I just read it to you. He said, by whom the offense cometh. Offenses
must come, woe unto the man. People cause divisions, and we're
warned and admonished, and that's what I'm doing tonight, to myself
as well as you. We're warned and admonished not
to cause divisions, and we're warned and admonished as well
as exhorted and commanded as responsible believers to endeavor
to work hard at to unite, unite, not divide. All right, turn to
the book of James with me now. The book of James, James chapter 2, the book of
James. So, people cause divisions. Persons, individuals,
we, me, you, we cause divisions. It's not things. People cause division. People
offend others and cause divisions. The chief way that we offend,
and you may have guessed where I was going, the great offender, the great
object of division which James deals with here, he calls it
a little thing. But it causes great trouble and division. Do you know what
I'm talking about? The tongue. The tongue. Using a play on words,
that old saying, little strokes fell
big oaks. Well, that may have been taken
from James here, but little comments. If any man among you seem to
be religious, or that is, seemingly religious, has an outward appearance
and gives some evidence that he is,
you know, he just seems to be religious. And bridleth not his
tongue, though, he cannot control his tongue, keep his tongue from
causing trouble. Then his religion, it says, he
deceives his own heart. This man's religion is vain. All right, chapter 3, verse 2. In many things we offend all. In many things we offend all,
don't we? Our personalities are such that
we are offensive at times. In many things we offend, all
of us offend, at some point, somebody. But if any man, verse
2, offends not in word, if he can bridle and control that little
member in his mouth, if he offends not in word, the same is a mature
man, and he's able also to bridle the whole body. Boy, that's a
powerful He talks about it being a perfect
man, a mature man, maturity being not offending in word, or being
able to hold your tongue, not offending in word. That's maturity. Read on. Read on verses 3 through
6. Behold, we put bits in the horse's
mouth that they may obey us. We turn about their whole body. Though they be great, they are
driven of fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very
small helm, whithersoever the grubbler or the captain listeth. Even so the tongue is a little
member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a
little fire can look! And the tongue is a fire, a world
of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members. It defiled the whole body, and
setteth on fire the course of nature. It set on fire of hell,
that's where it came from. It sets on fire the course of nature,
meaning that the tongue starts natural depravity
and wickedness. In other words, it brings out
the natural depravity and wickedness around us and others. Little
insinuations. Little innuendoes, subtle remarks,
offhand comments will set the nature of a man and a woman on
fire. You see what he's saying there? Little comments will set our
nature to going. Our mind begins to imagine evil
thoughts and envies and wrath and so forth. They're all perceived
from evil thoughts. and ultimately from a word, all
started by a word unfitly spoken. Now, the Scripture says this,
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. In other words, the tongue speaks
what's in the heart. There's a proverb that says,
As a man thinketh, so is he. As a man or a woman is prone
to do and talk, that's the way he is. As a man or a woman is
most quickly to say, yes, that's how he is. As a man or a woman
says about others, that's the way really he is. They may not
be that way, but that's the way he is. Look at verses 12 through 14.
He says, Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries,
either of iron figs? So can no fountain, both ye of
salt water and fresh. Verse 10, out of the same mouth
proceed blessing and cursing, brethren, these things ought
not so to be. Verse 13, read on. This is necessary. Who is
a wise man? Who has learned something? Who
has really learned something, and indeed with knowledge among
you? Who out there? Including myself. Well, let's
do this. Let him show out of a good conversation
or life his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter
envy and strife in your hearts, we absolutely have nothing in
glory of. Nothing. We're lying against the truth.
We're lying against the truth. I said this wisdom, James said,
descended, it didn't come from God, it's earthly, it's sensual,
it's devilish, it's selfish. Paul said, whereas there's envying
and strife and divisions, he said, are you not carnal and
walk as men? Look at verse 16. He says, where
envying and strife is, there is confusion. There's no working
together, it's confusion, it's chaos, where envying and strife
is. There's confusion in every evil
work, not the work of God, not good works, but confusion in
evil works. Verse 17, the wisdom that's from
above is first pure, pure as pure thoughts. And you could
read 1 Corinthians 13, couldn't you? Thinketh no evil, and so
forth. beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, has a pure
motive and attitude, then peaceable, peaceable, gentle, a gentle person,
not a brawler and easy to be intrigued with, easy to be spoken
with and dealt with, full of mercy and good fruits, not a
grudging person or a vengeful person, but full of mercy. He
said the man's merciful will obtain mercy. And good fruits,
good things come out of his mouth and his life without partiality.
He's not a respecter of persons. He doesn't play favorites. She
doesn't play favorites. Christ didn't play favorites,
did he? And without hypocrisy. He doesn't love in word only. And verse 18 says, the fruit
of righteousness is sown, or the fruits of the gospel, the
fruit of righteousness, the fruit of a loving body of believers,
the kingdom of God, is sown in peace of them that make peace. It's sown in peace of them that
make peace. True believers make peace. They
sow peace. They don't sow discord, they
sow peace. Christ said, blessed are the
peacemakers, they'll be called the children of God, didn't he? Peacemakers, they're the children
of God, those that strive for peace, not strive against people,
but strive for peace. And the Lord said those that
sow discord among the brethren, he said, remember what he said
there in Proverbs 16? He said, he hates them. And Paul said to mark those which
cause division and offense as contrary to the doctrine that
you have heard, and it's what you're hearing tonight, the doctrine
of love and fellowship and unity which you've heard, he says,
avoid them. Avoid them. Now, I'm glad that, you know,
I don't see these things in abundance in us right now. I'm thankful for that. I've been
saying that for some time now, that I'm so thankful for the
unity that we have here, and we don't—there's been scarcely
a ripple. There's been attempts, there's
been things that could, but no, we don't have any real problems
here. We don't. We have, I believe,
a loving group of people that love one another. to some degree,
endeavoring to keep the unity, striving together in love, provoking
one another to love. And I'm glad, I'm glad about
that. But this is a dire warning, just like the early morning message
or Bible study was, a dire warning, because Christ said they must
come, they must come. This is the same meaning The
very same meaning when Christ said, there must be heresies
among you. That means heresies, that means those things,
those people that divide. There must be offenses, there
must be heresies. Same thing among you, that they
which are approved might be made manifest. Now, this certainly speaks, and
I hope I hope you're still with me here because I'm going to
get down to where we live here in a moment, OK? I'm going to
get right down to everyday things here. This certainly speaks of
when it says there in Romans 16 that we are to mark them that
cause divisions and contrary to the doctrine to avoid them.
This certainly speaks of an unbelieving world which no true believer
and lover of Christ and the brethren could tolerate being around. I couldn't do it. I just, for
the life of me, I don't understand how people could stand to be
around people that hate the gospel, and obviously hate God's people,
and do things that are contrary to it, and divide, and say things
to divide you from God's peace. I don't think it's possible. But this is talking about professing
believers. I turn over to Proverbs 16. Like I said, this is not an easy message
to bring, but a very needful one. The chief offenders in this thing,
in word and causing divisions, in many things we all offend,
but there are some chief And like I said, we need to watch
and be careful that we are not one of those, one of these. Are
you with me? Proverbs 16, look at verse 28. Proverbs 16, verse 28, says this,
A forward man soweth strife, a woman, man, woman, soweth strife. A whisperer separateth chief
friends. Whisperer, another word for a
gossiper. Turn over to Proverbs 26. or someone who speaks behind
someone else's back. Proverbs 26, verse 20. Look at
this. Let us not be guilty of doing
that, but here it seems to say to us that if we hear someone
doing it, don't let them. Because if you don't give them
an ear, they won't be talking, really. Verse 20, where there
is no wood, where no wood is, the fire goes out. Verse 21, where there is no tailbearer,
the strife ceases, and no repeating of a matter. Verse 22, the words
of a tailbearer are as wounds that go down the innermost parts
of the belly. They are grievous wounds. I remember a pastor one
time saying, If you hear Somebody's talking about another person.
Talking about gossip now. He said, if you hear somebody
talking about somebody else, say, before they begin, before
they get into it, you say, hold it right there. Hold it. Wait
a minute. Let's call them up. Let's call so-and-so up and bring
them over here so that, you know, they can hear this too. There's two sides to something,
isn't there? Always. You're never going to hear the whole truth,
hearing it from one side. No way. All men are liars. They're
liars. He said we need to examine what
we say by this rule, threefold rule. Before we say something,
we need to examine it by this threefold rule. First, is it
true? Is it beyond a shadow of a doubt?
You know, as a matter of fact, it's absolutely—I mean, not so-and-so
told you that so-and-so told him that so-and-so told him.
And this is—no. Is it true? What? Secondly, it may be true, but
is it kind? Does it benefit? Is it profitable? Is the glory of God going to
be furthered? Is the unity of the Spirit going
to be furthered? Is that person going to be edified?
Are you going to be edified? Am I going to be edified? Is
this thing going to do us good? Is it kind? Thirdly, is it necessary? Can we do it without it? Can
we do it without telling it? Isn't that a good rule? Isn't
that a good rule? Now, we're all offenders, but women don't get mad at men. If you do, so be it. Women are the chief offenders
in this day and gospel. Paul said it in 1 Timothy, you
don't have to turn there unless you want to prove me. He said,
talked about women being idle, wandering about from house to
house, not only idle but tattlers, busybodies, speaking things which
they ought not. In another place he called them
silly women. How do they wander about from
house to house now? You can easily wander into a
hundred homes in a half an hour. It's not funny. Paul called them silly women,
and I'm not calling you silly women. But I'm telling you, don't
be a silly woman. You can split this church wide
open. Two women on a telephone. Did you hear what happened in
the nursery? Did you hear so-and-so? Well, I heard this and that and
the other. You can split churches wide open. Divisions. And I'm not saying men aren't
guilty of this, they're just not as guilty. And I'm telling
you men that if you hear it, nip it in the bud. Don't allow
it. Charles, is that good advice? I've got a wife. And I say those
men are guilty, but I'm telling you from the scriptures. This
is something that I hear it. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk,
talk, talk, talk. I hear it. I hear it everywhere
in the nursery. I hear it there. I hear the complaints.
I hear this and that and the other talking, talking, talking.
It's got to quit. It causes divisions. It doesn't
do a bit of good. It doesn't do a bit of good. Women have no business commenting
on the things and matters of this church. And like I said,
I'm not hearing this per se, I'm not seeing this going on,
I'm warning you. They have no business commenting on the church
and on the pastor, and all such comments should be prohibited
unless they are positive comments. Is that good advice? And like I said, us men, we should
check it if we hear it. And men are guilty as well. But I tell you what, here's another
thing, the way we offend, a chief offense. Anyone, male or female,
anyone, male or female, who gripes or complains of someone else, they're the one to blame. Anyone, or male or female, who
writes or complains about somebody else, that person is the one
to blame, not the other person. They're the one to blame. Here's
another thought. Anyone, or man or woman, who
makes constant additions to messages is not endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit. Wasn't that a good message? Yeah,
but, you know, this is, I just don't hardly see it. Interjecting thoughts and doubtful
descriptions and doubtful disputations about the preaching is a discord
sower. And our Lord said, He that gathers
not with us scattereth abroad. OK, now back to the text. This
is hard language, isn't it? Paul said, can I speak boldly? I'm supposed to. Do I fear men's
faces? Do I fear my wife? Am I supposed to tell it like
it is, from God's Word? This is what God's Word says. This is what it says. I've got
one, I can honestly say this from the bottom of my heart,
my chief and main concern is for this church as a whole,
as a body of belief. That God may be glorified and
honored in everything we do, that's what I endeavor. That's
the reason we do everything we do as we do it. That's why I
endeavor. That's why I try to do things in the manner that
we do them here, every way. Whatever it may be, it's not
just my little hang-up. It's because I think it is that
way which gives God the most glory, which honors his word,
which is true to his word, which is true to his gospel, which
is edifying to the body, which is profitable for our spiritual
benefit, and which will Do everybody some good, not just one person.
You understand? I can't terribly be a respecter
of persons. You know, I've got to do what
is best for the body. What is best for the body. Now
here in the text it says we would endeavor to keep the unity of
the spirit. Endeavoring. What does endeavoring
mean? Have you ever done, attempted
an endeavor or something? The heart fervently. What does
that mean? Actively. That he shall see that
you love. I quoted it while ago. Christ
said, this is how all men shall know you're my disciples, if
you have loved one to another. Not say you love one another,
but actually do something to prove that you love one another.
Right? Fervent love. Active love. Endeavoring
is something you try harder, it's something you actively try
to do. And he says that you endeavor
to keep the unity of the Spirit. Now, we don't have to try to
offend, do we? There's no effort in that at
all. We just be ourselves, and we'll
offend somebody more. That's natural. But unity is
something that has to be worked at. Unity of the Spirit. James said, in many things we
offend all our personalities. Most of us, our personalities
are offensive. Our habits, our speech, a lot
of things are offensive. In many things we offend all.
But we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, and here's the
thing that unites us all. Look at this. He says, the unity
of the Spirit. All right? What is that? That's
right. That's what unites us, Terry.
He loves it. It's the gospel. This is what
the Holy Spirit brings and unites people's hearts around, Christ. One of the carcasses that people
are gathered, eagles are gathered. Right? The preaching of the gospel
is what unites God's people together. unites them in holy matrimony
to Christ and to one another. Blessed be the tie that binds. This is the gospel. The gospel
is the unity of the Spirit. It's the tie that binds us. It's
the true fellowship. John said, he said, truly our
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son. I'm telling
you, no offense, Charlie Hudson, but if it weren't for the gospel,
buddy, we wouldn't be friends, probably, would we? We come from
totally different backgrounds. We have somewhat totally different likes and interests and so forth,
except you like John Deere tractors, and I do too. But that's not
what unites us, buddy. It's the gospel. Right? We wouldn't even know each other,
for that matter, would we, if we weren't for this gospel. And
we wouldn't be hanging out. Mindy made that comment the other
night. She said, you know, when Charles
and Nancy came over to our house the other night and she made
a comment to this effect that, you know, the gospel unites people
of all different personalities and likes and dislikes, and it's
amazing. She said, I'd absolutely love
to be around those people. And we're different. It's daylight
and dark, aren't we? Huh? We really are. But I just love
to be around those people. It's the gospel. It's the gospel. Right? Take away the gospel,
we don't have anything. We don't have anything coming.
Right? You know, I made a passing comment
this morning. I said, we're going to have a
cookout Saturday night, but don't come unless you're coming on
Sunday morning. Remember that? I didn't completely
mean that. You know, I'm all for anybody
getting a free meal. And maybe, you know, I'm all
for everybody having a good old time, you know. If a stranger
wandered off the street, we'd feed him some hot dog. I'm telling
you, that's not what unites us. It's the gospel. It's the gospel. Cookouts are fine, you know,
and they're profitable for relationships between believers. I said that,
didn't I, Stan, the other night. I said, I wouldn't take anything
for those times together. take anything for them, they're
profitable. Sometimes you don't have to get
around to talking about the gospel, you just enjoy being with your
brethren, don't you? It sure is a lot more edifying
and profitable if you do have edifying conversation, and if
the conversation does eventually get around to the gospel, it
was a more profitable evening, wasn't it? But between believers
now, it is possible that we get to know one another more, and
get to know and appreciate one another more, and have more compassion
for one another, and understand one another, and our love is
increased for one another. That's just good, isn't it? The
more we can get together, the closer we'll be. And if that isn't an admonition.
I'm telling you, it's good. But that doesn't do a thing for
unbelief. A cookout isn't going to do a
thing for unbelief. I was chosen by the foolishness
of cookouts to save them which believe. You say you're being blasphemous,
sacrilegious. No, I'm not. I'm trying to tell
you it's the gospel. The gospel is the only thing
that does that. You know, we're constantly talking
about our children here. We're all concerned about our
children, aren't we? Sure we are. There are many young children
in here. I'm thankful for them. Thankful
for them. We have some lovely children.
My heart's desire and prayer to God for you, Luke, is that you be saved, buddy. I want you to know Jesus Christ
more than anything else for you. I desire that more than anything
else for you. Not that you be a doctor, a lawyer, prosperous
in this world, but that you know Christ, that you know the great
physician, that you have an advocate, a lawyer. You need one. Andrew, I love you, buddy. Sweet
little fellow, as far as I know. I love you, buddy. And because
I do, the thing I want for you more than anything is to win
Christ and be found in him, to know him. So what am I doing
for our children? What are we doing for our children? We're preaching the gospel to
them. I invite all of you ladies, I
invite everyone to go down in those classrooms down there and
see what we're doing for our children. And if need be, sit in on one
classroom. I invite you. You know, we can
entertain our children. We can entertain them, and that's
all well and good. But they won't be a step closer
to knowing Jesus Christ. Will they? I'll tell you what we do, though.
Every week, faithfully, we preach the gospel to them. Our teachers
teach them the scriptures which are able to make them wise and
solid, faithfully. You know, children of the world,
children out there in various other different churches, so
to speak, churches, they're going to grow up remembering church
camp. Our kids are going to grow up.
remembering about Christ. There's a saving difference. The world's children are going
to grow up remembering church camp. Our kids are going to grow
up being able to give you the types of Christ through the Old
Testament. The kids in the older class can
give you, can quote you, a verse of scripture and a type of Christ
from every book of the Old Testament. You show me a church in the United
States, or the world, where the kids can do that. I don't think
you'll find one, Stan. Our seven, six, seven, eight,
nine-year-olds knowing something about Jehovah's the Lord our
righteousness, knowing the difference between our righteousness and
Christ our righteousness. Seven years old! There are some
seventy-seven-year-old people who don't know that. What are we doing for our children?
We're doing the best thing that can possibly be done. Now, if
you feel so led to do more for our youth. And someone may have
a burden along those lines, and I encourage, I would like to.
I would like to. And I've heard the comments,
offhand remarks. I've heard, we need to do more
for our children. We need to do, we ought to do more. And
you know, Stan, we generally means me. Just to be honest with
you. It generally means me, Rick. But if you feel so led to have
all the kids in your home, we'll set it up for Friday night. How's
that? In the meantime, we're going to preach the gospel
to them. That one thing deeply. We're not trying, like Barney
said, to entertain people on their road to hell. I want you
to—I'm not trying for you kids to have fun here. That's not
the object here, to have fun. We're not trying to make fun
out of religion, either, huh? Uh-uh. We want you to experience someday
inner joy, true joy, which no man taketh away. Fun comes and
fun goes. But inner joy, which no man can
take from you, only Christ can give, and that's what we want
you to have. No, there's nothing wrong with having fun. Andrew,
I enjoy playing ball as much as you do. I bet I can beat you,
too. And we might do something like
that. We have, we've had a couple, but I'm trying to tell you folks,
trying to tell people, if anybody feels so led in that direction,
I encourage it by all means, by all means. But we're doing
something for our kids. We are. Steve, old Joseph Aaron,
and Lauren, sitting under Vicki's stitching. Oh, my. They've got a Dorcas
stitching them. They've got a Mary Magdalene.
They've got the finest. And they do endeavor to make
it interesting, because children's their little minds and so forth
are so shallow. But the scripture says, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit, working hard at it, working hard at unity of
the Spirit. It's my job, my job, to preach
the gospel, to keep us looking to Christ and him only. not looking
to ourselves, but looking to Christ and Christ alone, thereby
uniting you to him by faith, uniting you to him by faith,
to preach the blessed promises that are found in Christ, the
unsearchable riches of Christ, to comfort the brethren, to feed
the brethren and water the sheep. Feed my lamb. Christ said, if
you love me, feed my lamb, my little one. Do it carefully.
Don't beat them, feed them. Lambs, little tender ones, have
compassion, and so forth. And feed my sheep. The older
ones, they need fed, and they all need the same diet, pretty
much. They get bread and water, some need milk, some need meat.
All need meat, but some can only take milk. It's my job to endeavor in that
way. keep the unity of the Spirit by preaching the gospel and so
forth, it's also my job to endeavor to warn, admonish, prove and
rebuke and tell you to do what you may to keep the unity of
the Spirit. And that unity of the Spirit,
as I've been saying, is to keep from offending and dividing,
to be in offense, to want toward one another and dividing with
our tongues and If we can do that, it would go a long way
toward unity, wouldn't it? If everyone in here could, by
God's grace, say this, by God's grace, Lord, if you will enable
me to endeavor, by your grace, to endeavor not to be in a fence
in word, with my tongue, not to divide in any way, but to
build up, edify with what I do and what I say. Lord, if you'll
enable me to do it." Oh, it would go a long way toward building
this church up, wouldn't it? I used to think it can't get
any better than this. Well, it can. It can. It can sure get
a lot worse. But it can if we all endeavor
to keep the unity of the Spirit. That's what Paul is telling us,
that endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. Turn over
to Colossians 3 in closing. I want to read this to you in
closing. It's remarkable how similar this is, Colossians 3. Unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace. Did you notice that there in
the text? Ephesians 4, verse 3 says, Endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The bond
of peace. What do we want here? What do we want? We want to say
our peace, and we want to have it. He can't have both. You know what? He can't have
both. We're here in Colossians 3. Colossians
3, it says here in verses, let's just read, well, verses 12 through,
let's read it all, OK? The first 15 verses, and we'll
quit with this, all right? 1 through 15, and we'll just close
with this. If you're going to be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits
on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. You're dead. You're dead. Your life is hid with Christ
in God. When Christ, our life, shall appear, then shall you
also appear with him in glory. I love that verse. Don't you?
With him in glory. Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, covetousness which is idolatry, which things
sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience,
into which you also walked one time when you lived in them,
but now. Also, put off all these, anger, wrath, Malice, blasphemy,
filthy communication out of your mouth. Lying out one to another,
seeing that you put off the old man with his deed. You put on
the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of Christ that created him, of God that created him. Whether
he's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian,
sickian, bond or free. In other words, everybody's equal
and they're all nobodies. Everybody's equal, they're nothings,
because Christ is all, and in all. Put all, therefore, as the
elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, innermost feelings of mercy,
kindness, humility, humbleness of mind. meekness, long-suffering,
forbearing one another, forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against any, a complaint, well, as Christ forgave you,
so also do you. Above all these things, he says,
put on charity, which is the bond of this perfectness or maturity. And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts to the which you're called, called to peace. In one body, one body, one church. And be thankful for it. Be thankful
for it. Endeavoring to keep that unity. endeavoring to keep that unit. Oh, my. Lord, help us. Help us to do
that by His grace. He's going to take His grace,
isn't He? He's going to take His grace. OK, let's stand and be dismissed
in prayer. Brother Terry Kinsley, would
you dismiss us in prayer? I pray, Lord God, I pray to the
Father, through the man of the world, through the church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through the Lord Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, through Jesus. So I'm going to be very impartial
in design, in the value of the woman, the love of the man. So let me
be clear. Love of the man, heart of the
woman, faith of the man. So it's going to be important
to always be on top. That's a big thing. And that's why I was passionate about it, because
we knew it was important to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's
important to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good
stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important
to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important to
have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's
important to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's
important to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important
to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important
to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important
to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff. It's important to have the good stuff.
It

Endeavoring To Keep The Unity

What does the Bible say about unity in the church?

How do we know the importance of unity is true?

Why is keeping unity in the church important for Christians?

What causes divisions in the church?

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Endeavoring To Keep The Unity

What does the Bible say about unity in the church?

How do we know the importance of unity is true?

Why is keeping unity in the church important for Christians?

What causes divisions in the church?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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