I preached this sermon today and, as is now my habit, am sharing it in the hope that it may edify someone.
Good morning.
For the past two weeks we have been looking at the early church in Acts with the overarching theme of unity. The topic given to me is “The Blessing of Unity”, looking at Psalm 133, forming a trilogy of sermons around unity.
Two years ago we had a series of sermons based on Acts 2:42-47 and I had the privilege of preaching on the last of that series, entitled “Love and Unity”. In that sermon I focused on 1 Corinthians 12 that looks at the church as the body of Christ emphasising the fact that even if someone says I don’t belong or another person says you are not important it does not change the reality that we all have a part. I remember sharing about Fiona in that sermon. During the anniversary, Chong Wah spoke on “Togetherness”.
Last year I preached on Ephesians 5 and ended with the focus on Paul’s injunction to Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ and I shared with you the song “Brother let me be your servant”.
A few weeks ago I preached on Hebrews 10 concluding with the 3 “let us” on how we are to respond to what God’s will had accomplished for us. The third “let us”, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” calls on us to encourage one another to take care of the church that is born out of God’s will.
Over the last 2 years, and now this year also, the unity of the church has been preached from this pulpit. To me it reflects strongly on the concern of God for us on this matter. So let me begin on that note.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”
I love John 17 because it gives me a peek into what Jesus prays for me but at this point he makes it clear that his prayer is not for me as an individual but for us as a church. It is possible to read this as intended for the Universal Church but it is illogical because only a local body can demonstrate unity and, when we look at what Jesus says further down, we will see that only a local body can be seen by the world to be united.
I don’t know what it means to you but if we truly believe that Christ is the head of the church and leaders are his servants and the rest of us as representing his body in the midst of the world around us, then unity must be a key priority in our understanding of what it means to be a church.
What is this unity that Jesus prays for? The only clue he gives is the unity between him and the Father, “you are in me and I am in you”. The simplest understanding of this is that as a church I love you as you love me: I am you and you are me. I don’t allow other distinctions—I am father, you are son, I am elder, you are member, I am (you fill in the blanks) and you are (you fill in the blanks)—I don’t allow other distinctions to detract from this fundamental truth.
“May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Jesus’ prayer moves a step further and expressed his desire that this united church be also united with the united God.
Once again, the clue that Jesus gave us is this description “I in them and you in me”. “You in me” is a given, “I in them” in the simplest sense is that the church must embody Christ and must venerate him as they must venerate God. At the same time it tells us that such unity is not possible except that Christ be at the centre of the church both as its inspiration as well as its source of power and encouragement.
What is the blessing of unity here? It is simply this: Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
There is a very strong emphasis in churches these days that the Gospel depends on individual Christians carrying the message of the Gospel to those who are outside the church. There is a strong emphasis in getting across the Gospel formula. If only it is that simple.
If we were to understand properly what Christ’s prayer means it would be that the church and the state of the church is what Christ offers to the world as ultimate proof of who Christ is.
Sharing the Gospel message is important to help a person understand but at the end of the day, they only know about Jesus and what he has done. What Christ tells us is that the church as the individual who is in contact with the person, or the church as the community that the person experiences is ultimately that which convinces the person. When the church does not measure up to the Gospel the world will remain ignorant.
Our Lord’s prayer tells us that the power of the Gospel rests not on individuals but on the church and we do well to ensure that the light of the church is not the light of technology, nor the light of entertainment, nor the light of wealth, but the light of our united love for one another, the light of Christ.
I think that it is very significant that at the end of the description of the first church, a description that we consistently identify as unity, Dr Luke goes on to say “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The continuous tense “being saved” is instructive, I think. It tells me that people were on the way to a saving faith in Jesus. Clearly at some point they would need to hear a Gospel sermon but the way for the Gospel to reach their hearts was paved by the testimony of the church. God was able to use this church to usher people into faith in Jesus.
The second thing that I noticed from Jesus’ prayer here is this:
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
Jesus prays that the church will be one just as he and the Father are one. Unity cannot be commanded; that would be dictatorship. Unity must be demonstrated and exemplified. Sermons on unity are well and good, calls for unity are well and good, but at the end of the day those who desire unity must practise it consistently. At its most basic, we can say that if we want the church to be united then we must be in unity and be agents of unity.
And this is where the leaders of the church have the vital role. A united leadership that knows and obeys the voice of God, a leadership that walks closely with each other and with the Lord, a leadership that is humble in spirit and generous in heart—such is what will draw the church together.
However, unity at the top is easy to envision but difficult to achieve. This is because leaders are often people with deep convictions and people with strong personalities.
One of the saddest passages in the bible, for me, is in Acts 15,
“They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.”
We saw Barnabas in Acts 4, the person who sold a field and shared the proceeds with the church. When Paul was still shunned by the church it was Barnabas who took him under his wing and integrated him into the church. It was Barnabas and Paul who were called by the Holy Spirit to be missionaries and they had a successful campaign. It was Barnabas and Paul who were chosen by the church at Antioch to represent them when the Christian leaders met to discuss the issue of circumcision and Gentiles. It was Barnabas and Paul (along with some others) who were chosen to represent the leaders to report the decisions of the Jerusalem Council.
These two were prominent leaders of the church. Yet we read in Acts 15 that there was such a sharp disagreement that they parted company despite the fact that originally they were both called by the Holy Spirit. I can only think that they both think that since the mission trip was completed the call no longer holds. What was worse was that the believers, meaning, I would think, members of the church at Antioch, took sides and commended Paul and Silas. You don’t read of Barnabas in the rest of Acts.
Thank God the split was not as disastrous as in some more recent churches where the disagreement of leaders led to the church splitting and one leader setting up a new church with members who followed him.
The point I wish to make is simply this: Just as leaders can split a church, leaders can unite the church by being united among themselves. It is rare (I think) for unity (or disunity) to travel from bottom up. When I tried to think of an example I could only think of the French Revolution where a revolt of the peasants resulted in the overthrow of the royalty.
As Jesus prays for the unity of the church to emulate the unity of God, so too, I think, leaders, and I think in our case, the Elders, must earnestly desire the unity of the church that will emulate the unity that they themselves exemplify.
This is why, I think, when confronted with the issue of the distribution of food in Acts 6, the Apostles clearly laid down their priority to focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word that impacts the spiritual life of the church and sought for others to handle matters of organisation and planning.
The second passage I would like us to consider is John 13:1-17.
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
The thing I want us to notice is the word “so”. Jesus knew who he is so he got up and took off his outer clothing. It is his awareness of who he is that caused him to take off his outer garment and begin to wash his disciples feet.
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
Jesus clearly identifies himself as Lord and Teacher and as Lord and Teacher he washed his disciples’ feet in order that they realise that they have no basis to refuse to wash one another’s feet.
Once again I wish to point out that it flows from the greater to the lower; from the leaders to the members. It is precisely that you are in a greater position that you should be able to put away that greatness that may divide (The mind of Christ that did not count equality with God something to be grasped) in order to honour and bless the lesser. Paul in Romans 15 tells us, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.”
“Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
What is the blessing of reaching out to one another to bless one another regardless of station? Jesus did not elaborate but tells us that we will be blessed when we follow his example. To me the hint is in the previous sentence: no servant is greater than his master. I would be very sad every time I am made aware that I am overstepping my position and my regard of my Lord and to hear him say to me, “Have you no faith? Do you think you know better than me? Do you think your ideas are better than mine that you would disregard what I teach you?”
Washing the feet lowers yourself. You have to bend and kneel down. How do leaders wash the feet of the congregation?
I happened to come across the video of Bangsar Gospel Centre’s worship for the last week of 2024 and if I’m not mistaken they had a sharing session where many leaders shared their vision and concerns—I did not really listen but fast forwarded ahead—at the end Min Fook stood up to share. Again I did not pay attention to the details but basically he was summarising the concerns that the leaders raised and looking forward to the year ahead. At some point he started apologising to the congregation for his shortcomings and confessed his failings and that was when I paid attention. The church is not in a good state and he took responsibility and apologised and sought the cooperation of the church that together the church may do better. “I have failed; we have not done well; let us do better.”
Min Fook was in the youth fellowship when I was in Bangsar Gospel Centre and I rejoice to see that he has developed into a fine leader of the church.
At the same time washing the feet elevates the other. I was thinking about what Paul could have done in that disagreement with Barnabas even granting that he could not compromise his position. What could a leader do if another insists on leaving the church and even starting another church? I thought that Paul could have done something to elevate the situation, for example hold a prayer meeting to bless Barnabas and his ministry.
Maybe it is a little idealistic but I thought even if a leader insists on setting up another church to express his convictions of what a church should be, as long as we are not talking about leading people astray, we should do our best to make sure that the divorce happens in the best of circumstances for the sake of Christ.
“You in me and I in you” means that although I disagree I respect that you too are committed to follow and serve Jesus, it means acknowledging that I too have my own faults and shortcomings and these failures hurt the body of Christ. Often we fail to appreciate that people are messy and we are too focused on the purity of our theology, our understanding of Scripture and our standards.
Being an example to others means that I cannot keep these matters private all the time. Many people just maintain that they are right and others are wrong and so the onus is on the other. Others sweep these matters under the carpet and maintain an air or a pretense of unity and humility; such actions reveal that they have little regard for their Lord and Teacher.
The third passage I would like us to consider in relation to unity is in Matthew 5:21-16.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
The text does not say what provoked the anger but I think it is alright to assume that we are not talking about righteous anger. Again the text does not say whether the anger is justifiable or not but I think it is possible to read into the text that whatever it may be this is anger that severs the relationship between brother or sister in which case beyond white hot anger that may die down after a while, we are also thinking of anger that is nurtured and nourished causing divisions that fester traps a person or a community to the past.
The point to note is that this person is in danger of judgement.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
The interesting thing to note is that we are not talking about the angry person but the person whom you angered. You remember that your brother or sister has something against you. You may not be angry or hold a grudge but they do. They are in danger of judgement. But Jesus says that you have a responsibility to seek reconciliation and save them from danger.
Again we are talking about the strong reaching out to the weak.
Perhaps we can say, well, we don’t know; we don’t remember. However, if we are mindful of the unity of the church then we should notice. This person is no longer readily helping and serving. This person is distant and is not as warm as before. This person goes off immediately after worship. This person is frequently absent. This person has left the church.
We should not take the text literally and think that we cannot worship until matters are settled but firstly it tells us of the urgency that we should treat the matter and secondly we should not take lightly how God regards us in this context. And so Jesus goes on to say:
“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
We may think the angry person is the one in danger of judgement but when you come before God all will be revealed and his judgement is more to be feared than what you need to do to reconcile. Basically the price of reconciliation will be far, far less than the price of judgement.
What is the blessing of taking the initiative to reach out to others in order to reconcile? Christ says that you may be saving yourself from a whole lot of grief.
The final passage that I would like us to consider is the passage given to me for today: Psalm 133.
The Psalm is marked as “A song of ascent” and is seen as a collection of 15 psalms from Psalm 120 to I34 used by pilgrims as they journey towards the Temple in Jerusalem.
This is the penultimate song of ascent with Psalm 134 sounding out “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord” as they reach the Temple. And so just before the pilgrims enter the Temple is this little meditation on unity:
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
The way I see it is that the unity of the brethren is the fragrance of the worshippers as they enter the Temple to make their offering.
How good and pleasant it is when the brethren dwell in unity.
Aaron represents the priesthood and so the precious oil flowing down his head is a picture of abundant blessing flowing down from God. The priesthood mediates between God and man and the implication is that unity lubricates our relationship with God himself. Disunity thus would obstruct and impede.
If the church wishes to grow and mature spiritually, unity is essential.
The second picture is that of the dew of Hermon. Dew is important to the land because rainfall is scarce and so the dew is a vital source of water and it seems that the dew of Hermon is especially heavy. Once again the idea of abundance but in this case it is about life and growth.
What is the blessing of unity? The psalm reminds the pilgrim as they enter the Temple that unity brings about God’s abundant blessing both spiritually as well as humanly for the community.
This year the Elders have signalled to us as a church that unity is something we must seek and earnestly pray for. The word of God, as I have understood in this sermon, places much of the onus on them. This psalm however reminds us that unity is everybody’s concern because it affects all of us and the vitality of our spiritual and human life is blessed when we preserve and prosper unity in our community.
My call to all of us then is to stand by our Elders and help them in their efforts to grow this church in unity. Let us pray:
Father, thank you that after all the time that you have spoken to us of your concerns you continue to speak to us, to teach and guide us. Indeed your goodness chases after us and yet we can be so stubborn and insensitive to you. Please forgive us, Father, and help us this time to take heed of what you have said to us all today.
Father, thank you for our Lord and Teacher who prayed that we may be one, set the example for us to follow and taught us that you desire the sweet fragrance of unity. Father it is a joy and privilege to have the responsibility to show to the world that indeed you have sent our Lord and Teacher, that indeed you love him and because of him, you love us as well. May those who know us and who know our community here, know that your hand is upon us to protect, to sanctify and to unite us. May they know the truth and may they be set free by that truth.
Father, we confess that we have failed you in many ways: people have said that we are not a warm church; young people are not drawn to our fellowship; and even our own children have preferred other churches. Others who had been in fellowship with us have decided not to return and others still have left. Father, whatever the other reasons may be, we confess our failure and seek both your forgiveness and your help. Where there is unforgiveness and bitterness, help us to reconcile. Where we have been eager to fault others, help us to be humble and search our hearts. Where we have let our own plans, ambitions and ideas get in the way of our love and unity, help us to know that it is Jesus who is Lord and Teacher, and none of us should act otherwise.
Father, we pray for our Elders because the weight of responsibility on them is heavy. Help us not to be people who only point out mistakes and forward ideas as to what needs to be done without any sense of fellowship and partnership. Help us not to be quick to blame but be quick to encourage, quick to appreciate, and quick to praise. Help us to constantly pray for them and support them in their efforts and endeavours. Grant them your grace and strength to do what is good and right for your church.
Father, most of all, help us to see that what we need is your abundant blessing upon us as a church and therefore help us to spend our energies, prayers and desire to be right with you, to please you and to walk in the ways of our Lord so that he may be in us even as you are in him. Help us not to put our faith in buildings and locations and be distracted by these matters but help us to put our faith in you, and spend ourselves to please you, so that the fragrance of our church may be pleasant to you and you will be pleased to add to our number those who are being saved.
We look to you, Father, and pray in the name of Jesus, who is our Lord and Teacher, amen.