Unity

Greetings,
I must share a letter Phyllis and I received from a good friend. I believe the message is very timely and true to the heart of Father God. May each of us take to heart this word and let Father move us into the place of perfect obedience. All Heaven stands ready...

Pastor Jan

Here's the letter:

This weekend, I had opportunity to hear from 4 voices that speak a true word of the Lord. Each echoed the other, until I knew I was hearing God's heart.

The call of Christ to His flock is to abide in Him, to live a life that is grafted in the vine, Jesus Christ (John 15). We live this life by seeking God's face, be desiring His presence above all else (Psalm 27). For those who stand in public positions of ministry, there must be a conscious realization that the call to pursue intimacy with God must exceed and be held in higher esteem than ministering to people. This is the first commandment: loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This must always come first.

This position of whole-being'ed devotion to God will produce individual unity with God. When the day comes that we are each walking in unity with God, then we will discover---to our delight!---that we are walking in unity with one another. We are in this hour in the earth: the hour of God's call to unity between His heart and the hearts of His people. How do we know this? Look to Iraq, ancient Babylon. It was when man was unified, possessing one tongue/language and were of one mind that the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, .... now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them" (Genesis 11:6 NKJV).

But these people were intent upon wicked things that deified man. So God loosed confusion upon men, so the language was no longer unified. The people had different tongues and were scattered upon the earth (Genesis 11:8-9).

The next time scripture speaks of unity coming among the language of men, i.e. meaning that men of different tongues understood one another, is at the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:5-12). The Holy Spirit gave utterance to men so that they could understand one another, so that it was like they were speaking the same language.

In like manner, as each of us presses into God, seeking intimacy with Him above all else, we will be baptized in the Holy Spirit, die deeper to self, and receive more and more of the Lord's mind. As the thoughts of Christ invade our minds, we will begin to walk as those who have the mind of God and the power of His Spirit. Those who walk in this way will find themselves in unity with others who walk in like manner. This is true unity in the Spirit.

It is not mental agreement that produces unity. It is not agreeing to disagree. No, the unity of the Spirit is a supernatural work of the Spirit in our spirit man that produces in us the renewing of the mind by the Word of God, so that we each possess the mind of Christ (the Living Word). As the Living Word comes to life in us, overtaking our thought lives as we pursue intimacy with God, we will discover others who are like-minded.

I pray that each of you have experienced koinonia, that sweet fellowship that comes from being with like-minded Christ-followers. This is true unity. It has nothing to do with denominational boundaries, doctrinal systems, statements of belief, etc. It has to do with walking in unity with the Triune God.

As we walk in such unity with God individually, we will come into unity corporately. This will not be the work of one group endeavoring to draw believers together. This will be the work of the Holy Spirit.

I felt the Lord stirring this in me for speaking as a preface to this article because some will read these words and say, "We must call a meeting! We must ACT!" The book entitled the ACTS of the Apostles begins with prayerful waiting upon the Lord. That is how the Lord births unity. That is how the Lord births His order. That is how the Lord births His government. It is not by the will or power of a man, it is by the Spirit of God.

As you read these words, resist the temptation to act before you pray. God's first order of business as He seeks to establish true unity in this season is for His people to seek His face individually. If you're not with Him individually, I'll be honest: I don't want to walk with you corporately, because we won't have unity.

Seek God first. Establish unity with the Lord and then begin to pray in His unity in the spheres He calls you to pray over. God treasures the day of small beginnings (Zech. 4:10). We would do well to do likewise. Rejoice over the "small beginning" of unity in the earth as it unfolds in your own heart....and know that God rejoices, as well!

As your intimacy with God grows, He will give you words to speak. Speak them first in prayer to Him, and then, as your faith permits, speak them forth to others as God leads. If, in days past, you have had words to speak but you remained silent, repent for your lack of faith (Romans 12:6), and ask for grace to speak in days to come as the Spirit gives utterance. God will not refuse your humble heart.

There is a warning in the midst of this call to the intimacy (or renewed intimacy, as the case may be) that precedes unity: Beware that you do not harbor or give entrance to a spirit of stupor (see Romans 11:8, Deut. 29:4, Isaiah 29:10). If you read these verses, you will discern the modus operandi of such a spirit, as well as the point of entrance: disobedience. When we forsake God's commands, i.e. loving Him totally, we give ground to a stuporous spirit. Our eyes become blind, our ears become dull, and we become spiritually sleepy. Remember: In the parable of the 10 virgins, ALL fell asleep as they waited for the bridegroom (Matthew 25:5).

Last night, I heard a godly word that contended that because the church in America has been trained to be entertained, whether by tv preaching shows or the entertainment some churches offer as worship and teaching, we are lulled to sleep under the impression that we are being fed. We must guard our hearts against such slumber! It is deceptive and, I suspect, the slumber that typifies the foolish virgins, those without oil.

If you are solid with the Lord in intimacy, if you are living the abiding life in unity with the Lord, then you are perfectly positioned to pray for God's order and the fivefold ministry to emerge in your region/area/sphere of influence. Prayer is needed to bring this forth. And it's believers who are walking in unity with the Lord who are best positioned to pray unity into being. When you are one with the Lord, you'll understand your place in the body of Christ, and you'll grasp the vital importance of your prayers in these hours. Above all, we're each called to pray....and those prayers will fuel our individual unity with the Lord.

Some of you who read this are presently out of fellowship with a local body. You're not out of fellowship with Christ Jesus; you're just not settled in a local body. That's in this word I've attached, too. I suspect it is from the truth seekers who are responding to God's voice to walk in the way they do not know (like Abraham) that we will see a true faith (relevant to this hour) emerging. Let God give you the words He has for you in this season in the wilderness. Jesus Christ Himself spent 40 days in the desert prior to being anointed with power (Luke 4:14). If God has placed you in a similar place, rejoice and continue to seek Him. He will give you visitations of Himself in your wilderness wanderings (Genesis 18:1-8), He will utter promises to your heart (Genesis 15), and He will endue you with power (Luke 4:14).

God's blessings on you as you read His word......julie (p.s. below)

P.S. As our nation has invaded Iraq (ancient Babylon), this has loosed a spirit of confusion upon our nation (Genesis 11:9). This is a prayer point, fyi. You can bind those spirits of confusion in your sphere of influence as God has revealed it to you in prayer. We will see an increase of confusion in days to come in the world around us. It is beginning to unfold in our government now. These are prayer points......as God leads!


Julie Martens
juliem119@mchsi.com