Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division Through Prayer
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I believe that parents, when they pray for us, parents ask God for what they are convinced is most important for their child's welfare. And that thing that's most important for them may change depending on the different season. It's based on whatever season of life that you're in. So at first, at the beginning of our lives, our parents pray for health. They pray for safety and protection, that we would grow up big and strong. And then as we get into school, they start praying for our grades, that we would pass our classes. [00:02:52] (26 seconds)
And that word is Ekklesia. And you know what that word is and what it means now, because this is a word that Jesus used. And he used it to describe, and by the way, when he used it, it was a common Greek word. It was not like a word that he made up or a fancy word. It was a common Greek word. And that word meant assembly or movement or gathering of people on purpose. [00:04:39] (22 seconds)
But it doesn't necessarily mean church as you and I know the word because we think of it as a building or a place that we go or something that we do. But when Jesus used the word ekklesia, he was specifically referencing a movement or an assembly or a gathering of people that had a purpose. And that common purpose was to gather around the name of Jesus and go out with the name of Jesus to change the world. [00:05:09] (21 seconds)
And we've been doing that by looking back at his first century followers, the first century church, the people that were actually with Jesus, that got to sit at his feet and actually learn directly from him. And we've been learning along the way, what is essential for the church? What is essential for the ecclesia? Because there are a lot of different, we've talked about this throughout the last few, several weeks. There are a lot of different expressions of our faith. [00:06:40] (24 seconds)
And so we've just been trying to ensure as we talk throughout the series that we don't drift from Jesus's original intent for the church, not only in our generation, but also for the generation that's coming up behind us. We want to make sure that we are guarding, to just say it another way, that we are guarding against the greatest threat to the church, the greatest threat to the movement of Jesus, both then, as well as the greatest threat to his movement now. [00:08:10] (26 seconds)
And here's what I mean by that. And every single one of us in this room are guilty of this to some degree, every one of us, right? Like, let's just be honest. Here's what I mean, that there are special interest groups that are around us. There are special interest groups around the church that are constantly attempting to use us. They're trying to use the church and they have conspired to convince us that the greatest threat to the ecclesia, the movement of Jesus, is outside of us. [00:10:23] (32 seconds)
And a Christian, a Christian who is convinced, and again, you might be here and you might be exploring faith. Maybe that's not you today. But if you're here today and you're like, I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of Jesus. A Christian who is convinced or a group of Christians or a church, a specific church of Christians or a Christian leader, a church leader who is convinced that an ideology or a political party is the primary threat to the ecclesia of Jesus is a threat to the ecclesia of Jesus. [00:15:45] (33 seconds)
And why do I say that? Because when you are convinced and when I am convinced that the greatest threat to the movement of Jesus is out there, I lose focus and you lose focus on what's in here, on what's going on in here. Do you guys know the thing that is most likely to blow up the church? It's our inadequacies. It's our shortcomings. To use a church word, it's our sin, the stuff that separates us from God. [00:16:19] (47 seconds)
And much like our parents pray prayers for you and for me about what the things that concern them the most, that's exactly what Jesus does as well. Now this is a long prayer. We're just going to look at part of it today. And so we're just going to jump right in. This is what Jesus prays. He says, Holy Father. He's speaking to Father God. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name that you gave me. [00:18:22] (26 seconds)
That they would be one, that they would be unified. What does it mean that they would be one? Jesus means that they would be one in purpose. And what is that purpose, Jesus, that you want us to be unified around? That purpose is that we, you and I, if you're following Jesus, we have been sent into this world. That's what he says. He says, as you, as God has sent Jesus into the world, Jesus has sent them. [00:20:39] (25 seconds)
And he doubles down on this, by the way. He says, I in them. He just repeats it. I in them and you in me so that they may be brought, here it is again, to complete unity. The people outside of the church would look at us and go, man, you guys are so different. And as I look around this room, we are very different people. There's a wide variety of people in this room that they would look at us and go, man, you got different backgrounds. [00:23:36] (24 seconds)
And it did not happen. Think about this. It did not happen because Christians gathered together an army and marched against Rome or marched against the temple. It did not happen because Christians decided to protest their government or protest whatever it was that was going on and the rights that they were losing. It was not because Christians gathered together and demanded that they have rights. They didn't have rights in this empire. They had none. [00:25:12] (29 seconds)
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And that word is Ekklesia. And you know what that word is and what it means now, because this is a word that Jesus used. And he used it to describe, and by the way, when he used it, it was a common Greek word. It was not like a word that he made up or a fancy word. It was a common Greek word. And that word meant assembly or movement or gathering of people on purpose. [00:04:39] (22 seconds)
But it doesn't necessarily mean church as you and I know the word because we think of it as a building or a place that we go or something that we do. But when Jesus used the word ekklesia, he was specifically referencing a movement or an assembly or a gathering of people that had a purpose. And that common purpose was to gather around the name of Jesus and go out with the name of Jesus to change the world. [00:05:09] (21 seconds)
And we've been doing that by looking back at his first century followers, the first century church, the people that were actually with Jesus, that got to sit at his feet and actually learn directly from him. And we've been learning along the way, what is essential for the church? What is essential for the ecclesia? Because there are a lot of different, we've talked about this throughout the last few, several weeks. There are a lot of different expressions of our faith. [00:06:40] (24 seconds)
And so we've just been trying to ensure as we talk throughout the series that we don't drift from Jesus's original intent for the church, not only in our generation, but also for the generation that's coming up behind us. We want to make sure that we are guarding, to just say it another way, that we are guarding against the greatest threat to the church, the greatest threat to the movement of Jesus, both then, as well as the greatest threat to his movement now. [00:08:10] (26 seconds)
And here's what I mean by that. And every single one of us in this room are guilty of this to some degree, every one of us, right? Like, let's just be honest. Here's what I mean, that there are special interest groups that are around us. There are special interest groups around the church that are constantly attempting to use us. They're trying to use the church and they have conspired to convince us that the greatest threat to the ecclesia, the movement of Jesus, is outside of us. [00:10:23] (32 seconds)
And a Christian, a Christian who is convinced, and again, you might be here and you might be exploring faith. Maybe that's not you today. But if you're here today and you're like, I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of Jesus. A Christian who is convinced or a group of Christians or a church, a specific church of Christians or a Christian leader, a church leader who is convinced that an ideology or a political party is the primary threat to the ecclesia of Jesus is a threat to the ecclesia of Jesus. [00:15:45] (33 seconds)
And why do I say that? Because when you are convinced and when I am convinced that the greatest threat to the movement of Jesus is out there, I lose focus and you lose focus on what's in here, on what's going on in here. Do you guys know the thing that is most likely to blow up the church? It's our inadequacies. It's our shortcomings. To use a church word, it's our sin, the stuff that separates us from God. [00:16:19] (47 seconds)
And much like our parents pray prayers for you and for me about what the things that concern them the most, that's exactly what Jesus does as well. Now this is a long prayer. We're just going to look at part of it today. And so we're just going to jump right in. This is what Jesus prays. He says, Holy Father. He's speaking to Father God. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name that you gave me. [00:18:22] (26 seconds)
That they would be one, that they would be unified. What does it mean that they would be one? Jesus means that they would be one in purpose. And what is that purpose, Jesus, that you want us to be unified around? That purpose is that we, you and I, if you're following Jesus, we have been sent into this world. That's what he says. He says, as you, as God has sent Jesus into the world, Jesus has sent them. [00:20:39] (25 seconds)
And he doubles down on this, by the way. He says, I in them. He just repeats it. I in them and you in me so that they may be brought, here it is again, to complete unity. The people outside of the church would look at us and go, man, you guys are so different. And as I look around this room, we are very different people. There's a wide variety of people in this room that they would look at us and go, man, you got different backgrounds. [00:23:36] (24 seconds)
And it did not happen. Think about this. It did not happen because Christians gathered together an army and marched against Rome or marched against the temple. It did not happen because Christians decided to protest their government or protest whatever it was that was going on and the rights that they were losing. It was not because Christians gathered together and demanded that they have rights. They didn't have rights in this empire. They had none. [00:25:12] (29 seconds)
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