WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.120 God's given us an amazing day of worship already, hasn't he? 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:08.000 I had a chance to sneak over at nine, nine o'clock and and uh be in the courts for a little while. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:13.439 Incredible music in there and singing, and then here our orchestra and choir led us so well. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:16.640 Thank you, Scotty, and for the team bringing that together. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:23.039 You know, if you ever go to uh a symphony, it it sounds sort of chaotic when the orchestra is getting ready to go. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:28.960 Everybody's practicing on their, you know, just checking everything out, but then they all come together in tune and it's beautiful. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:33.359 Do you know that everybody tunes an orchestra to the same one instrument? 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.320 It's to the oboe in the key of A. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.960 They play an A note and everybody comes together. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:42.719 It's not, and orchestras aren't together because everybody plays the same note. 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:48.880 No, it's because they tune to the same instrument and because they look to the same conductor. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:53.840 And in a similar fashion, that's the way the church is supposed to operate. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:01:00.320 We're supposed to be in tune, in unison, in unity, rather. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:02.719 And do you know that Jesus prayed for that? 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:04.400 I want to talk about that today. 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.879 It's a part of the high priestly prayer in John chapter 17. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:11.439 Would you turn in John 17 if you have a Bible? 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:16.480 If not, they're available all around the room as we look at this prayer together. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:17.760 And so looking forward to that. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:26.799 Speaking of unity, uh, thank you for preserving the unity, even though you had to, some of you had to climb mountains in order to get here with the crowds and the hallways and all these things. 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:28.239 I'm so glad that you're here. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:34.480 And you can help preserve that unity by parking across the street at the Taylor High School parking garage, right in the shuttle. 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:35.359 I'm grateful for that. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:38.959 And some of you can help with unity by joining me at either 8 a.m. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:40.719 or 11:45 a.m. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:41.680 for worship. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:49.200 We have wonderful times of worship that allow for those uh key times at 9 and 10.30 to have more seats for our neighbors and friends. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.879 And I'm so grateful to the many who've who've joined us already at those times. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:54.480 God has been good to us. 00:01:54.640 --> 00:02:01.519 Uh, incidentally, uh, this is the second to last sermon in our John series. 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:04.319 Yes, we're almost done with our series in John. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:06.079 Please do not applaud. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:09.840 You may say, well, Pastor, this is chapter 17. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:10.960 There's four more chapters. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:14.000 Well, much of the coming chapters we already covered this year. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:17.680 We covered all of them through uh a lot of times around the Easter season. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:22.240 And so we'll wrap up next week in the 21st chapter of John, and then we'll move on. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:27.360 After that, we'll kick off a series that I'm really fired up about called Shaped at Home. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:35.599 We're going to be looking uh at most of September and October at uh at the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:36.960 I'm fired up about that. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:46.240 We'll not only uh preach on it, but our community groups will be studying those passages, and our men specifically will have an opportunity to gather on Wednesdays. 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:47.520 We'll have a big men's rally. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.439 I hope you'll all make time for um on the September the 9th. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:58.319 And then following those Wednesdays, we'll have options for men in the evening on Wednesday and the morning on Wednesday. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:03.280 So you have two different opportunities on both campuses every week for six weeks. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.560 And I'm praying that God does a work in our midst. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:09.759 So, John chapter 17, a prayer for unity. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.159 Incidentally, I'm grateful that we're a unified church. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:16.159 I want you to know I'm not preaching toward some particular incident that I know about. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:24.159 Uh, there's an unwritten rule among pastors that you don't preach on money when you're broke, and you don't preach on unity when you're fighting. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:26.879 And I'm glad that uh we're not we're not fighting. 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.520 As far as I know, there's no big skirmish going on. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:37.759 So I'm I'm preaching to something that is close to the heart of God and is God's is in God's word, and so we celebrate together our uh unity. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.039 John chapter 17, we're going to look down at verses 20 through 23. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:45.680 You look on as I read from God's Word. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:52.400 Jesus says, I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:58.479 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you. 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:04.319 May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:10.960 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:24.160 I am in them, and you are in me, so they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:25.839 What a passage. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:29.120 Jesus is saying that we should be one. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:30.319 He's praying for our oneness. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:32.879 And he's not only praying for the disciples, did you notice that? 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.160 He's praying for all those who come after them and believe. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:41.279 So he's praying for you and for me, that we would be one. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.759 God is calling us to oneness. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:50.959 Incidentally, even if you're not a Christian, if you're new to the church, you're just checking things out today, we inherently know this is true, don't we? 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.040 That it's important to have unity. 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:58.399 Uh, you need teamwork and on any team or or any business, any school. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:03.279 If you lose that uh on any group that's not working together, uh it's no fun. 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:10.000 So we it we know that this is true, uh, but it we also inherently know that we can't just operate without anybody. 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.000 You can't just fly solo through life. 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:13.519 It's a dangerous place to be. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.439 Uh, the Surgeon General actually declared loneliness an epidemic. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:22.079 Uh he said that there's a comparable health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:28.240 And I think we all kind of see that there's a loneliness crisis and there's a division in the world right now. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:32.639 We need loving relationships of other people who are moving in the same direction. 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:35.680 In fact, Solomon talked about this in the Proverbs. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:43.120 Proverbs 15, 17 says, Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred. 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:50.160 And I especially love that verse because it's a reminder, Pastor Scotty, that beef is greater than vegetables. 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.399 We share this bond together, brother. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:57.439 What is that verse saying? 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:08.959 It's saying, listen, uh, there's something so precious uh about unity that even sometimes we have to take a step back from things that we love just in order to experience that. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.040 And we need unity. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:12.720 We don't just want it, we need it. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:14.319 And Jesus tells us how to have it. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:20.240 Before we dive into how he tells us how to have it, though, we need to talk about what unity doesn't mean. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:21.680 There's a lot of misconceptions. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:31.680 First of all, unity is not union, it's not the same thing as forcing connections with people who have no common bond. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:37.120 Um, you might be organized, but that doesn't make you unified. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:39.360 Uh, it takes more than organization. 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:41.120 It takes trust, right? 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:46.959 Some of you have been a part of a business or an organization where nobody really trusted each other, but they were they were organized. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.759 That's not unity, that's that's union. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:59.839 Um if you're visiting today, uh, surely you understand that in in part any part of life that you cannot have intimacy or connection, but you can just move in the same direction. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:07.680 Uh the late Adrian Rogers put it this way: he used to say, you could take two cats, tie their tails together, and hang them over a clothesline. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.600 There would be union, but there would not be unity. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.160 I'm not recommending you do that. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.079 I'm just saying that's what he said. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:23.439 Second, unity is not uniformity where everybody looks alike and thinks alike and does the same. 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:24.000 No. 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:33.680 We see in the scripture in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 specifically, that each person in the church, believers are given unique gifts in the body. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:35.839 They're differing gifts, and that's beautiful. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.040 Our differences are beautiful. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:41.279 Football teams need unity to win, but not everybody plays the same position. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:46.000 Uniformity, if you think about it, is something we impose from the outside. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.199 Unity is produced on the inside. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:58.319 Unity is not uniformity, and finally, unity is not unanimity, where everybody always agrees. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.000 Obviously, that's not true. 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.439 You can have unity without always having absolute agreement. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:07.279 Uh, Lana and I have been married for almost 35 years. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.199 We live in unity, but we aren't always unanimous. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:18.800 I will say I've I've found the more I agree with her, the more unified we become, which is interesting, just an observation. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:25.759 But unity is not agreement on every preference, it's agreement on what matters most, do you see? 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:32.159 So by unity we mean oneness of heart, a similarity of purpose, and an agreement on truth. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.720 So, how do we gain true unity? 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:46.240 Well, Jesus, as we eavesdrop in on this prayer, in my opinion, the most beautiful prayer ever prayed, we see three ingredients to biblical unity. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:47.840 I'd love to share those with you. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:49.600 Here's the first ingredient. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:55.919 A part of cultivating unity is a common relationship. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:08:57.679 Relationship. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.919 You might consider this the bond of unity. 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:05.360 Our connection to one another arises out of our relationships. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:11.120 We're related to one another and we care for one another and we walk in community because of what Christ has done for us. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:12.799 Look at verse 21. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:18.960 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:22.799 May they also be in us so that the world may believe you sent me. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:23.679 Do you catch that? 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:34.720 Jesus uses the unity of the triune God as the example, as the breathtaking picture of the unity that Christ desires for us. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:36.879 That's a deep bond, isn't it? 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:39.279 The Trinity is not three gods. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.360 The triune God is one God in three persons. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.000 God is perfect unity. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:51.360 Unity is in the very nature of God, and He's saying, that's the holy standard. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:55.840 God, that's what I want them to get a glimpse of in their relationships. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.519 That kind of unity cannot exist at a distance. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.600 In order for that to take place, we have to know one another. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:11.600 One of my favorite things about traveling around the world is running into somebody far from home that has a connection to home. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:12.080 You know? 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.519 Maybe you hear an accent and say, wait, are they from Texas? 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:17.759 Or you hear somebody, and where are you from? 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:19.440 Well, I'm from Katie or I'm from Houston. 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:20.559 Uh it's wonderful. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.000 You can connect two Texans uh in another nation. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:25.120 They immediately have a bond. 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:36.879 You can be in England, you can be in New York, you can be in lots of other countries, and you can still have this sense of commonality, like we are one. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:38.399 Suddenly we're family. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:44.399 Shared identity uh creates this immediate connection that then we can cultivate. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.480 And you know, in order to be brothers and sisters, you have to be a part of the same family. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:52.480 And what's true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual realm. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:11:02.559 John 1, verse 12 reminds us, but to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.519 That means if you're a Christian, we have the same Father. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:07.279 We have the same Heavenly Father. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:12.480 Incidentally, that also means it begins with your relationship with Christ. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:19.200 So if you want to have unity with others, you want to have a relationship deeper than you've ever experienced, come to faith in Jesus Christ. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:27.600 You trust him, you receive the blessing of salvation and forgiveness that God offers to everyone who calls on his name and believes in him. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.240 What happens is now you enter into a family. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.919 You have the greatest relationship you can imagine with God, the one you were made for. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:40.080 And then you have these key relationships that God grants you in the body of Christ in his church. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.240 And I love those relationships. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:47.679 You know, when I arrive on Sunday, uh it's it's usually before everybody gets here. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:55.519 There's just a few people setting up, and um, it's really quiet, and it's precious just to walk halls a little bit and pray. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:59.440 But then slowly, one of my favorite things on Sunday starts to happen. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:05.200 There's sort of a buzz, a glorious, chaotic sound that fills the hallways. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:11.200 And even before worship, you see people greeting one another, laughing, children talking to one another. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.639 It's the coolest thing just to watch all the excitement. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:22.720 And every now and then somebody will say to me, Pastor, I wish you'd address this because it's just not very reverent before we begin worship. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:25.039 Everybody's talking, it needs to be quieter. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:26.639 And listen, I get what you're saying. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.360 I know that maybe you want to get your heart right at that moment, but but I'll tell you what I like even better than that. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:33.279 I think it's a taste of heaven. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:42.799 I love the noise, I love the kids because I think we have an example there of the love that we have for one another lived out. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:44.159 That's the church. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:53.519 It's the reason why Paul says so often in his letter, I give thanks to you for you, because I hear of your love for one another. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:59.919 On that note, you can't be unified if you're never together. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.200 I don't mean just sitting by one another in worship. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:08.320 I'm talking about investing in others through community. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:10.879 You don't have to know everybody in the church. 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:14.159 That doesn't happen at Kingsland, it doesn't happen at a church of 50. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.679 It's not, that's not the way it works, but you can know a few who know you. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:19.279 That's the way it's supposed to work. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:27.279 At Kingsland, we talk often about small groups where we study God's word and connect with one another in what we call community groups. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:32.399 You'll hear that phrase here, and you'll hear me say, community groups are the lifeblood of our church. 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:32.960 Why? 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:37.840 We don't just gather in those small groups in order to study God's word to get smarter. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:41.519 We we do study God's word, but we're investing in one another. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:50.879 We're seeking the Lord together, and there is a bond that is created there that you can't manufacture just by uh coming together in here. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.320 You have to invest in one another and do life together. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:59.279 Community groups are not just a fun idea, they are the heart of growth for a believer. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:01.120 It takes an investment. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.799 You have to pour into other people, let them pour into you. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.000 It takes time. 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:11.759 So the first ingredient of biblical unity is common relationship. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.000 Here's the second ingredient. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.279 We must have a common spirit. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:20.720 And by spirit, I don't mean we have kind of school spirit together. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:24.799 I'm talking about the person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:25.519 You see? 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.080 That unites us, that works in us. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:35.440 If relationship is the bond of unity, then common spirit is the source of our unity. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:40.639 Go back to verse 21, and I want to show you a phrase that we just passed over a moment ago. 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:45.200 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:50.399 May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:52.720 Jesus praised the Trinity as a model for us. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:53.440 We saw that. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.120 But he actually said more than that. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:56.639 He said, You see that? 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.039 May they also be in us. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:01.120 What is that about? 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:05.519 He's praying for more than our having a relationship or a kinship. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:12.399 He's praying we would be of the same nature, mind, and purpose because God is in us. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:16.000 Remember, we talked about abiding uh a few weeks ago? 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.960 This idea that we are in Christ and He is in us. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.240 We're so closely related to one another that we're intermingled. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.840 Like the Spirit of God indwells the heart of a believer. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:29.039 Think about that. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:33.279 And when that happens, do you see what that does for our unity? 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:36.320 This is reserved for those who've trusted Jesus. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:40.080 There is a deeper bond because we are connected to God. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:45.679 And that cannot be faked or manufactured, it can only be received. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:53.679 We are one because of God's presence in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. 00:15:55.039 --> 00:16:01.519 Do you know that aspen groves where trees or aspen trees grow are really one giant organism? 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:05.440 Biologists say that it's actually the largest organism in the world are aspen groves. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:23.039 In Utah, there's a massive aspen grove called Pando, where there are 47,000 trunks spread across more than 100 acres, but scientists tell us they're really not 47,000 separate trees because underground they are connected to one enormous root system. 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:28.240 And so what looks like many above ground is actually one life underneath. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:31.919 Above ground, many, below ground, one. 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:34.080 And that's the picture of the church. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:37.360 We are many, but the same spirit gives us life. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:38.159 Do you see? 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.240 That's more than just getting along. 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:43.519 That's why Paul encouraged us in Ephesians 4. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.440 Listen to what Paul said in light of how the Spirit of God works in us. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:52.799 It's really interesting because it empowers us for more than just organization. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:59.360 He says, Therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received. 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:04.640 Watch, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:11.839 And then he says, making every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:17.680 It's not just any union, the unity of the spirit, but do you see that phrase, making every effort? 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:22.720 Some translations say, be diligent to preserve the unity. 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:26.319 That means it's not just something that you just let happen. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:39.119 It means you are proactively pursuing unity and you are guarding against disunity, because disharmony and disunity inevitably hinder the Spirit's working among us. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:47.519 And there are times in order for us to be unified, because the Holy Spirit is working in each of us, that we work to pursue that unity. 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:50.319 And that means we need to take action to do it. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:52.160 But notice how you take action. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:56.160 It doesn't mean you become a bulldog for Jesus and like tell everybody what they're doing wrong. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.079 That's not what it says, because it says, with all humility and gentleness. 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:00.799 Do you see that? 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:10.319 So there's a lowliness recognizing that I am broken, I am a sinner, and I've been saved by grace, and God is still working on me. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:20.079 And then when I have that attitude, I look to someone that I know deeply because of the common relationship we already talked about, and I say, I'm worried about my brother or my sister. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.680 And so we need to have a talk. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:22.880 Because I'm worried about it. 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:32.799 It means sometimes when when gossip starts or or or somebody is being run down that's not in the room, we stop one another and say, Hey, hey, hey, have you talked to so and so? 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:34.720 Man, I love you, but let's let's not do that. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.160 We we want to preserve the unity that God has given us. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:42.160 And so we take an active role to guard against disunity. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.640 And sometimes we have to seek to repair unity. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:47.359 Sometimes that means speaking the truth in love. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.240 Sometimes it means confessing sin to one another. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:56.160 Sometimes it means forgiving your brother or sister. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:59.279 We don't do those things because they're easy. 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:05.759 We do them because we need one another and because the Holy Spirit has empowered us to do it. 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:11.599 At Kingsland, uh, several years ago, we wrote this down as one of our five core values. 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:14.319 We call it spirit-led community. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:29.119 And the reason we chose those words is we found if you look at the life of a believer at Kingsland, that the greatest, deepest relationships we have are those when we are seeking the Lord together. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:34.559 So it's not as though we have prayer ministry over here and we have fellowship ministry over here. 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:34.960 No. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:45.680 You want to connect deeply with somebody, you study God's word with them, and you seek the Lord with them, you get desperate for God side by side with others, and watch the Lord connect hearts in a whole new way. 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:46.480 Why? 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.440 Because the Holy Spirit is doing the work. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:53.279 A few weeks ago, it was raining outside. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:56.720 I went out to my truck and I saw there was a young man trying to get his car going. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:58.640 He's clearly the car was stalled out. 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:02.000 And so I went over and said, Hey man, can I grab my jumper cables and help you? 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:03.279 And he had a different idea. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:06.480 He said, No, what I normally do is just push-start the car. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:07.440 Can you help me do that? 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.680 Man, I haven't heard that term in so long. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:10.799 Push-start a car. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.839 I don't think I push-started a car since it had a cassette player. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:15.039 I mean, it's been a while. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:17.359 And so I was like, Yeah, dude, I'd love to do that. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:23.839 So I get behind it, he gets behind it, we get the car moving forward, and then actually he wasn't behind it too, because he had to steer. 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:26.799 He's like, if you had the picture, that would be really bad if we're just pushing. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:29.279 So he he's he's pushing on the door, you know. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:30.640 Some of you have done this before. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:35.359 And then he jumps in and he pops the clutch and it starts right up. 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.519 It's kind of a cool experience to watch it. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:40.480 It feels more like a man when you push-start a car. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:45.039 It was kind of cool to watch that happen. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:49.279 But do you see what Jesus is praying for and what Paul was warning against? 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:52.480 He's saying, you can't push-start unity. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:56.319 Like you're not going to be able to pull off true biblical unity on your own. 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:01.920 The Spirit of God is going to have to do the heavy lifting for you in order for you to really do that. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:03.920 Only the Holy Spirit can make us one. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:10.480 You can put people in the same room, you can schedule events, you can have programs, but the Spirit of God does the work. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:19.519 The unity to which we're called requires fellowship, relationship, and the Holy Spirit is a supernatural thing. 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:26.000 When God calls us to unity, he calls us to a common relationship. 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.160 There is a common spirit. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:33.440 And finally, to cultivate community, we must have a common mission. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:38.079 You could consider this the purpose of unity. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:42.319 We want to do more than just get along for the sake of getting along. 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.279 We want to be in on what God is doing. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:47.519 Look back at verse 23. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:59.680 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.319 We are sent into the world to share the love of Jesus. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:07.680 There's a reason that we're being unified in Jesus' prayer. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:11.440 We're designed to be together for a mission. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:16.400 An observation that breaks my heart. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:18.240 And I know you guys have seen it too. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:22.079 You go back the last few years, really starting about 2020, COVID. 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:24.640 It's been so much division in churches. 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.920 I'm friends with pastors in the area and around the country. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:42.480 And it's heartbreaking to hear some of the stories of how people have been divided since that time over COVID or masks or race or politics, all sorts of things. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:51.759 Praise God for that. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:58.079 We just really haven't, it doesn't mean we haven't had like some disagreements at times, but God's been so good to us. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:22:59.920 And I think I know why. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:04.160 I think there's two primary reasons that we have escaped that division. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.000 Number one, it's the hand of God. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.200 It's not as though we can just puff our chest out and say, look how good we've done. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:10.880 You know, there's praying people. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:16.079 God has answered our prayers, and the Spirit of God has quenched that mess. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:21.119 But there's another reason, I think, and we've largely avoided all the disunity. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:29.359 It's because we have a mission that's so big we don't have time to mess around and bicker. 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:36.319 God has called us this unique vision of seeing a million seven homes transformed by the power of the gospel. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:39.519 You can't do that and get distracted. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:42.559 So many of you are plugged into what God is doing. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:46.160 I pinch myself sometimes that I get to be in on what's happening here. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:53.920 That right now, through the Empowered Homes Ministry, thousands of churches have used the resources that you have put in place. 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:56.480 For free, they've got to do that and continue to do that. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:03.839 Thousands of churches, hundreds of thousands of families have taken advantage of the resources that started at Little Old Kingsland. 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:04.960 Think about that. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:06.720 Only God. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:15.680 We have over a hundred local and international missions partners going to some of the hardest places on earth to share the hope of Jesus Christ. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:20.160 Some of you have been there, all of you have participated through your generosity. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:25.599 And when you have that kind of vision, you don't have time for all the stuff. 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:30.400 In fact, we have to say no to a lot of things in order to say yes to that kind of vision. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:37.599 But what happens is we're moving together forward toward that which God has called us. 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:43.519 And when that happens, God brings us together and we become a team. 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:47.279 And it's the coolest thing to watch, isn't it? 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:50.480 Unity because of mission. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:54.000 You, church, have made the sacrifices to make that happen. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:59.440 On a basketball team, how many of you know that the best team isn't always the one with the best player? 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:06.880 In fact, sometimes you can have the best player and it can hurt you because that person becomes all about their stats. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:14.240 The best team is the one who has the players willing to sacrifice because winning matters more than getting credit. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.240 And the same is true with the church. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:20.240 The moment getting credit matters more than winning, the team begins to fracture. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:26.000 And the moment my preferences matter more than our mission, unity begins to fracture. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:39.039 It's why Paul said in Philippians 1.27, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the sake of the gospel. 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:39.920 We're in one accord. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.240 Why? 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:42.000 Because we're moving towards something. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:44.400 Because we don't have time for all that. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:48.400 Because we have something for which eternity is at stake. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:53.440 We have people all around us who are longing to know the hope of Jesus. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.000 And we get to be in on that miracle. 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:01.839 Our connection is deeper than our preferences or our tastes or our racial backgrounds. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:06.720 It comes from our common passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:15.839 Before we close, let me just say a word to some of you who are here and you're just checking out church for the first time or the first time in a long time. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:23.039 I want to say, first of all, that some of you have been away from church for a while because a church has deeply hurt you. 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:30.960 Maybe because of some disunity, because some work the enemy was doing, and you haven't been back. 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:34.960 First of all, I want you to know I'm sorry that you got hurt. 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:39.119 That's not Jesus. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.720 And that's my plea to you. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:49.039 Don't look at the actions of what Christians have done and equate those with what Christ has done. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:54.079 In fact, please don't even do that at Kingsland because we're gonna have issues too. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:55.519 We got baggage. 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:58.319 You do not have a perfect pastor, that's for sure. 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:03.279 There was a dude in the eight o'clock service that called me afterwards and said, Pastor, I wanted to amen after you said that so bad. 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.640 And I said, You should have. 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:05.519 You should have. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:06.640 It's true. 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:07.839 It's true. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.839 I'm gonna disappoint you. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:13.920 See, that's not what it is, it's what Christ has done, do you see? 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:18.000 And then there's some in the room that you haven't come to faith in Christ yet. 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:21.519 You've missed out on that glorious relationship for which you were made. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:26.480 Do you know that this prayer Jesus prayed was literally for you? 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:34.960 Look at the verses that I read, and you see over and over again, verse 21 and 23 literally say, verbatim, so the world may believe. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.680 Our unity should exist so the world may believe. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:46.000 He's praying that our unity would be so supernatural that people would see us and say, that's not normal. 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:48.319 I want to be in on that. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:56.960 Our unity together is one of our greatest witnessing tools. 00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:57.599 You see? 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.160 And so I'd encourage you, if you're new to the church, you're checking things out. 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:06.720 I pray that you see Christ in us, but hang around long enough and you're gonna see something that's not natural. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:10.799 It is supernatural because we get to live the answer to this prayer. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:15.119 So, how do we apply this? 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:30.000 Let's covenant together, church, that we stay on mission, that we remain diligent to preserve the unity, we love one another well enough to have the hard conversations when we need to, so that we're not just faking unity. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:37.119 We've all been to family reunions or Thanksgiving dinners and stuff where people just said, just behave for three hours, get through it so we can get home. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:41.359 That's not family unity, and that's not what the church has in mind. 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:42.880 Well, let's just fake like we love each other. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:44.400 No, let's really love each other. 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:51.599 Some of you need to just bring those hurts to the Lord and say, God, there's been pain. 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:57.039 I just want to bring it to the altar in my heart and say, God, would you take it and heal it? 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:07.440 And some of you need to come to Jesus and you're going to experience relationships in a whole new way when you understand the love that He's shown. 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.039 Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:10.960 Let's bow together, Church. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:12.559 Father, thank you for your word. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:16.640 I pray now, Holy Spirit, that you would speak to our hearts. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:24.880 You would show each of us the steps we need to take to be diligent to preserve unity, biblical unity. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:28.079