Revival and Unity

The Church is the Body of Christ

Christ is the Head of the Body

There is only one Body of Christ although it has many parts

Everybody who believes and has been Baptized by the Holy Spirit is part of the Body of Christ

Not everybody is called to be the Hand

Not everybody is called to be the Tongue

Not everybody is called to be the Feet

Not everybody is called to be the eyes or the ears

If we were all called to be the eye, where would the sense of hearing be?

The hand cannot say to the foot "I do not need you" and the eye cannot say to the tongue "I do not need you"

If the hand cannot do what the tongue does, it does not cease to be part of the body

Some parts of the body are not meant to be seen and should be treated with special modesty

The parts that seem weak are indispensable

The parts that seem less honorable deserve special honor

No group of Christians can exclusively claim to be "The Church"

The Universal Church is made up of all believers

No individual or Group of Christians has a complete understanding of God and no person or group can fully manifest God by themselves

We are naturally attracted to Christians who are like minded but if the Spirit of God is living in us we should enjoy fellowshipping with anybody who loves Jesus

If we were all hands, where would the rest of the Body be?

God has arranged the body just as he sees fit

Now, each of us is part of the Body of Christ (if we are born again)

We all come to God from different backgrounds and therefore approach God from different perspectives

Each person should stand for what he or she believes but he should also be open to receive more revelation

We must be faithful to what has been revealed to us

Nobody has seen the full picture

We all have strengths and weaknesses

We need each other and we have been put together for a reason

When Christians Fellowship Together, they enlarge their view of God

We come to know the depth and breadth and the height and width of God's Love by fellowshipping together

If we only fellowship with people who are like minded we will not enlarge our view of God as much as if we fellowship with people from diverse backgrounds

We must not reject somebody who loves God (somebody for whom Christ died) on the basis of their doctrine

If you reject your brother, be careful that God does not reject you

We are born again when we receive the Holy Spirit

We do not need to have a complete understanding of what Christ achieved on the Cross in order to be saved

Very few Christians would claim to have a complete understanding

Even the apostle Paul did not claim to have finished the race

The Bible says that if we know in part, we should prophesy in part

We should function according to the measure that has been given to us

To whom much is revealed, much is expected

As we grow in Christ, we become more certain about what we believe

When we are secure in what we believe, we are not threatened by people who express different beliefs and theologies

We need to be open to what God is saying to us, whether it is through his word or though fellowship with others

When we are not sure about something or simply do not know the answer, we need to seek the answer in God's word

Other Christians may teach us, but what we believe ultimately needs to be based on God's Word

We should always check what people are saying is in God's Word

When people invite us to speak or ask us a question they are usually open to what we have to say

When we speak, it is to edify others who are open to what we have to say

If we are truly trying to help them, we will not be offended if they won't listen

Maturity

When we are mature in Christ, we are not intimidated by people who won't listen to us

When we are mature in Christ, we can embrace and listen to all who love the Lord

When we are mature in Christ, we humble ourselves and value what others have to say

When we are mature in Christ we do not deny anybody who loves Christ is part of the Church

When we listen to others speak, we are showing them love and acceptance

We may not agree with everything they say; we hold on to what is good and let go of what is bad

We do not assimilate anything that is not supported by God's word and confirmed by the Holy Spirit

In this way, we remain open to hear from God and we do not reject or despise our brother

Humble Yourselves

When we think we know everything, we become proud

When we think we know everything, we stop listening to others

When we think we know everything, we become closed to what others have to say

When we think we know everything, we become exclusive and controlling

When we think we know everything, we become judgmental and condemning

When we think we know everything we start to impose our will

When we think we know everything we become intolerant and unloving

When we think we know everything we start to restrict the freedom of others to speak

The Bible says "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and liberty"

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there will be Revival and Unity

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

If they were all one part, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,

while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,

so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Ezekiel 37:1-28

Revival

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.

He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.

He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.

I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'"

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'

Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"

Unity

The word of the LORD came to me:

"Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.'

Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.

"When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?'

say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph--which is in Ephraim's hand--and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.'

Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on

and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.

I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.

They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

"'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.

They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.

I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.

My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.'"