The Secret to Success | Lesson 8 of Strong | Lisa Bevere

see right now the world looks at our

division it looks at our divisive

Behavior it looks how we curse each

other how we blame one another how we

point fingers at one another how we

denounce one another and it says I don’t

see any evidence

of the love of God

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okay so today I’m going to talk about

strong in unity and I’m going to just go

to a very short portion of Charles

Dickens this is one of the most iconic

openings to any book it starts with it

was the best of times and it was the

worst of times I hope that this iconic

opening for The Tale of Two Cities can

be a tale of our time I want to make

this worst of times the best of times

for the body of Christ I believe that

God is doing something new in and among

his people he is disrupting

recalibrating everything that we have

known and I believe it is so that we can

become one okay so often the worst times

bring out the best in us and I want to

talk about this prayer of Jesus you know

there’s been some prayers that Jesus has

prayed that have not yet been answered

so in John 16 verses 32 and 33 we find

Jesus he’s sitting at the table with his

disciples he’s sitting with 11 of them

and he’s having a conversation he says

behold the hour is coming indeed it has

come when you will be scattered each to

his own home okay here we are we are

scattered each to our own home and it

says and you will leave me alone we’re

not going to do that yet I am not alone

for the father is with me I have said

these things to you he’s talking to his

disciples that in me you may have peace

alone we don’t have peace but in him we

have peace and then he says in the world

you will have tribulation that’s trouble

that’s hardship that’s challenges he

says but take heart I have overcome the

world see there is a greater victory for

us than we can even imagine or

experience in this realm it’s never

going to be found on this Earth we we’re

going to go from glory to glory there

will be Triumph but there that Eternal

place is where we are going to find our

ultimate Victory so John 17 gives us

this window into a conversation with the

son of man Jesus is getting ready to

move into a completely different role he

is going to be our sacrificial lamb and

in John 17 verse 11 he again is having

this kind of conversation of prayer with

his father in front of his disciples and

he says I am no longer in the world but

they are in the world so what is he

saying he’s saying I’m no longer in this

world what is he saying he said I’m

walking the Earth

but I’ve already transferred my heart to

heaven but they are in the world and I

am coming to you meaning Jesus is saying

I’m coming to you father Holy Father

keep them in your name which you have

given me that they may be one even as We

Are One

when we look around

we have a very quick realization that

this prayer has not been answered but

sometimes I think it’s because we don’t

understand what one looks like see one

does not mean same John and I are one

but we are different so God is okay with

different expressions of worship

different expressions of Doctrine but

what he wants us to be is one faith

one heart one Spirit worshiping one God

so we are never going to look the same

we’re never going to worship the same

we’re never going to interpret the Bible

the same but if we want to see his glory

evident in this Earth as it was in the

day of Jesus then we need to act like we

are the answer to Jesus’s prayer he goes

on in verse 20 he says I do not ask for

these only who is he talking about these

only he’s talking about the 11 at the

table he’s saying I’m not I’m not

praying this just for these people in my

immediate room

but also for those

who will believe in me through their

word

that they may all be one

do you hear that

because see I find this fascinating

when Jesus was at the table with the

eleven

he was praying for you and me

because we are those who believe because

of them and he says father

are you are in me I in you that they

also may be in us so that the world may

believe that you have sent me the glory

that you have given me I have given to

them that they may be one even as We Are

One

i in them and you and me that they may

become perfectly one so that the world

may know that you sent me and loved them

even as you loved me do you hear that

even as the father loved Jesus when we

have a Oneness the world’s going to know

that we are loved by the father

even as Jesus was loved by the father he

was praying for us and this prayer that

we would become one heart one mind that

the Earth would once again see the glory

of the father and the son by the spirit

and the bride see God loves the

uniqueness of each and every one of us

and the uniqueness of each and every one

of us is actually an attribute of

strength so it’s not about you becoming

a non-person it’s about you setting your

heart on Unity setting your heart on

Oneness I’m not asking you to compromise

I’m asking you to set your heart on what

is important see I do believe that even

though there’s many different factions

of the body of Christ you’ve got Baptist

you’ve got non-denominational you’ve got

charismatic you’ve got Pentecostal

you’ve got Catholic you’ve got

Episcopalian there’s so many I can’t

even think of all Church of Christ you

know don’t think I left it off because I

don’t think you’re a Christian I can’t

even think of all of these different

fragments

but God is saying all the fragments have

to become whole again in him we are only

one in him in him that’s where we become

one the message Maps out John 17 23 in a

beautiful way it says i in them you and

me then they’ll be mature in the Oneness

and give the Godless World evidence I

love that give the Godless World

evidence that you sent me and loved them

in the same way you’ve loved me see

right now the world looks at our

division it looks at our divisive

Behavior it looks how we curse each

other how we blame one another how we

point fingers at one another how we

denounce one another and it says I don’t

see any evidence

of the love of God I don’t see any

evidence that Jesus has a church that is

one they look at us and say we we don’t

we don’t see any glory on that we just

we don’t want your guilt we don’t want

your shame

they don’t see Oneness and they don’t

see love

and that is on us

we need to change that so I am committed

to being a person who fights for Unity

you know my husband and I we are first

married all we did was just fight but

everything changed when we stopped

fighting with each other and fighting

for one another we need to be people who

fight to be one which means I need to

have strong convictions and gentle

opinions do you know so many people

right now are so careless with their

words so many Christians feel so much

freedom to denounce other parts of the

body of Christ to make themselves look

more holy they pounce on other people’s

flaws and mistakes

can’t be doing that we can’t be doing

that if you really care about somebody

we have we have protocol we’re supposed

to go to them we’re supposed to go to

them and we’re supposed to entreat them

so that we can have a conversation and

there can be a connection and there can

be a Oneness but if you don’t have that

place in their life then I would charge

you not to attack them openly in front

of everybody because all it’s doing is

showing the Godless world that we do not

walk in the love of God

John 17 24 and the message says father I

want those you gave me that would be you

and me we’re his we’re his gift see you

are God’s gift

to the sun I I don’t want you to think

about that he’s saying father the one

you gave me this beautiful daughter that

you gave me I want all of these strong

daughters to be one I want those ones

you to give me to be with me right where

I am where is Jesus he is seated in a

place of authority not accusation he is

seated in a place of love he is ever

living to make intercession for us he’s

not looking for reasons to accuse us

he’s looking for redemption in our life

he doesn’t want guilt he wants growth in

his body right now so they can see my

glory see my glory the Splendor you gave

me having loved me long before there

ever was a world before there is ever a

World the father loved the son and

before there was ever a problem he was

our answer do you know that God has

always loved you do you know that Jesus

was the lamb slain before the

foundations of the earth before you ever

fell he caught you and so why would we

be the people that have experienced that

kind of love be so quick to point out

when our brothers and our sisters fought

this is not a position of strength I am

desperate to seem the same Glory the

glory of Oneness to see the power of God

evident in our life to see the authority

of God’s word be on our life that we

don’t just speak it but we live it that

we are transformed in front of a world

that is watching and waiting for us to

be all the things that Jesus died for us

to be I believe that will happen in his

oneship Ephesians 1 verse 7 through 11

says in him in him in Jesus we have

Redemption through his blood the

Forgiveness of our trespasses according

to the riches of his grace which he

lavished on us in all wisdom and in

Insight making known to us the mystery

of his will according to his purpose

which he set forth in Christ as a plan

for the fullness of time to unite all

things in him things in heaven and

things on earth

listen

we have to work for Unity we have to

work for peace

dissension division it it happens

without any labor on our part I’m going

to challenge you to be a woman who is

strong in unity to be those people that

would choose to use their words wisely

to to Foster unity and not division to

Foster strength and not wound other

members of the body of Christ let’s take

this time to lean in to the strength of

unity so that Jesus will be glorified

and we will begin to manifest the answer

of his prayer that the same Glory that

was on him would be in the body of

Christ corporately we will never come

into the unity of Doctrine but it is

time that we come into the unity of

faith in Jesus let’s be strong in unity

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