The Incredible Power of Unity

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City as believers in Jesus Christ, we choose the path of unity one with another, because it's the way God says we should live. And we know that is the pathway to both receiving and releasing the power of God.

That's Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City with a preview of a message titled the incredible power of unity.

Glad you're with us today on a call to the nation in the book of Revelation, the apostle John saw in the future, worship service, filled with a multitude of people that no one could number all nations will try all peoples and tongues brought their unity by God hears Carter to tell us more about this a laboratory event want to share some thoughts on faith and prayer. You wouldn't mind is praying with me at this moment. Father, thank you God for the anointing of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the strength and the power that only comes from your hand. Thank you Lord for one more time taking this frail vessel and letting your grace in your word be spoken through me.

God Almighty. May I always do justice to your word and never violence to it. I pray God that you would empower me to speak on your behalf that you would speak through me, Lord, that you would unlock prisons and give sight and strength and hope and heart and do things Lord among your people and those that are listing to can only be done by the spirit of God. Father, thank you that you've not brought us into a kingdom that has to go forward by human effort. We moved by faith in your victory. Help us to lay hold of that again.

Help us to desire Lord to do things your way and to live the way that you want us to live with.

Thank you for it. In Jesus name, amen. I want to build on the theme. The pastor tend to lean our senior pastor Times Square Church spoke on last Sunday morning about this incredible reconciliation that is achievable through Jesus Christ and and will culminate one day at the throne of God in this most incredible and explosive worship service were people of all cultures and races and backgrounds are gathered together completely reconciled in the sight of Almighty God, not not just reconciled their but they are the expression of that reconciliation is finally realized that the throne of God because they made the choice to be reconciled on this side of eternity by the power of God.

They chose to believe that God could bring together what men would try to divide in the Lord and his strength took down the walls took down all of the bitterness is the unforgiveness everything that gets all of the human heart that causes division among races among cultures among plans among friends are at the against one another. Even because of the difficulties were experiencing and maybe some personal things.

They have gone through as well but want to bring you into the future. The apostle John, the book of Revelation, which is the last book of the New Testament Bible and he saw in the future. A worship service that hasn't happened yet is amazing is going to happen, but he sought in advance. God gave him the vision of it and in Revelation chapter 7 verse nine is that after these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, so let's stop right there, he saw a literal sea of people before him. These are a lot of people no one can number them to think about this for moment is nobody there capable of actually counting the numbers of people who are now gathered at the throne of God. These people are from all nations. All tribes all peoples, and tongues, and languages so that from all over the world as we prayed this people from Warsaw Poland there this people from Nairobi, Kenya.

That is, people from the Congo there this people from France there is people from all over the world of all tribes peoples tongue standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God died for our sins are clothed with white robes and palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, saying, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. In other words, we didn't save ourselves. They know that when they get there.

So God this salvation that we have now.

We now understand the fullness of it. We've experienced it on earth but now we stand at the throne of God and we recognize what you did on the cross we recognize that we couldn't save ourselves.

No amount of human effort could've broken down the walls between us. No amount of human effort could've ever brought all kindreds, tribes, tongues, and peoples of the world together in one place only you could have done that. So the celebration we experience belongs to you.

God that's with her crying out for sits on the throne and onto the lab it's as reasonable worship service.

It's it's a type of people inserts today who can say God I didn't get to answer my own strength I didn't become the person that I'm I have become and I am becoming through my own strength I have believed in your victory and I believe in your promises and you have taken me from where I used to be, and you have you brought me to where I am today under leading me to what you going to make me into tomorrow because this salvation belongs to you. It's yours and it was your choice by grace to give it to me to give it to us and he broke down that wall of partition that was between you and I when you died on the cross, Lord Jesus Christ to forgive my sin and I found myself in a place where I was back in relationship with God and automatically once I'm in relationship with God. I am now by the power of God inside of my life able to reconcile with every one of my brothers and sisters of every race and every culture and every tribe and every language in every country in every place we become one body in Christ.

These middle walls of partition are suddenly broken down and there is a love that comes into our heart, one for another that supernatural.

Only God could put it there. Jesus Christ himself said it's by this all men will know that you are my disciples, and others that you belong to me. All men will know what is the sign that you have love one for another. This love is not something the world can produce is not just a mutual tolerance, it was way beyond that, you'll see that in just a moment when we get in to other parts in the New Testament now in this worship service in the future.

Suddenly all the Angels all the Angels now we have a number of people that no one can number it's it's an absolute ocean of people might put it that way. Now, all of a sudden all the Angels I don't know how many, that is, but I suspect it's quite a lot stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, amen, amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever knew the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament, said this love that God has for humankind, created in his image is a mystery that the angels desire to look into this is the way I read it. Maybe it's just my mind. But in heaven there's this perfection. They see the glory of God and a look at that this incredible despicable really fallen condition of humankind, and they wonder why is the focus in the heart of God towards men and women created in his image and they too suddenly will one day understand this salvation understand this grace and understand this mercy and suddenly from their innermost being. They begin to shout all God the blessing that you gave these unmerited favor that you gave to your own fallen creation men and women created in your image and glory and all wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever know the one thing about this worship service that really strikes me as nobody is asking for anything.

Everything has been completed.

Everyone is just giving thanks everyone is making this incredible declaration of how good how wonderful, how kind how wise, how merciful, how incredible cost is on. Looking forward to being there and if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior and are willing to walk in the truth as it shines on your path. You will be there to is well with you and I'll be there and will be in this in this multitude at the throne of God that are just worshiping him in a way that maybe we can only touch the edges of it here in this side of eternity. This is the most racially and culturally inclusive place that ever will be, every tongue, every tribe, every culture, every language, every country every place nothing is left to be done and all we can do is thank Jesus for all he has done for us and it is true that unity both brings this about, and is the result of this apprehended power of God, the power of God may put it this way is manifested through unity. That's where the devil fight so hard to break us apart. That's why there's every power of hell that exists would try to divide every language and every tongue and every race and every culture even inside of the house of God for the devil himself knows that there's no power when disunity is at the core of humankind or he's able to separate those created in the image of God from the way in the life of God when there's a disunity there, even you know it yourself. When children don't honor their parents there disunity and is a breakup in the home on husbands on otherwise. Wives don't honor their husbands or respect their husbands.

Then there's an automatic disunity and and what's supposed to give strength everyone around it suddenly becomes a conduit may put it that way of weakness in the Old Testament the book of Psalms Psalm 133 speaking about unity.

David, the king said, behold him good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity by you and I if you're looking at the news you see how unpleasant and not good it is when brethren refuse or won't dwell together in unity, but when we choose unity and I've often said it over the years as I stood in pulpits in many places that unity is a choice. It's not a feeling it becomes a feeling I guess eventually but initially it's a choice we choose to be unified because God said we should because it's the right thing to do as believers in Jesus Christ, we choose the path of unity one with another, because it's the way God says we should live.

And we know that is the pathway to both receiving and releasing the power of God. David said it's like the precious oil upon the head, running down to the beard, the beard of Aaron running down to the edge of his garments that there's an anointing the comes with unity as a power that's released community. There's the something of God that is in found anywhere else. Not it's it's not found extensively in doctrine is not found in in how wonderful our worship might be, even if it is what wonderful it is not found in the eloquence of the preacher. It's found in the unity of the people that we made the choice we come to the cross, togetherness, a God I is you chose to love me when I hated due you chose to love me and open my heart, your lips will not make the choice to love my my brother, my sister, I make a choice to love people. It may be culturally have nothing in common with but I do know because where the cross together and when they were going to be at the throne together one day were going to be shouting out all God. Salvation belongs to you one day were going to be worshiping with the Angels and created beings in heaven and God. None of us want to be there at having lived a deficient walk with you and so much was available to us. We want to live on the outer edges are outside of what a relationship with you and your charge should be like.

There's an anointing and not just on the head, but it comes right down to the bottom of the garments and others.

Everywhere we we go everything we do everything we tax including our own homes, our own marriages. You know you wonder sometimes is it is the turmoil in the home because we've refused to reconcile with one another in the church, you can't be in unity in one place and disunity in the other. It just doesn't work that way it's like to do harm and it's descending upon the mountains of Zion. It's in their the Lord commanded the blessing life forevermore. There is a there's a watering there's a unity brings about a presence of God that allows people around it to grow as a blessing of life that is commanded. Now, if you're wondering if there's an illustration of this course, the most classic of all illustrations is the upper room in acts chapter 2 were people hundred and 20 different people just decided to get together. The Bible says they were in one accord in one place. There had to be a forgiveness.

There Peter the fisherman was there. For example, in Matthew the tax collector was there. Matthew would have been considered a betrayer of the Jewish culture somebody who kinda shifted off into the Gentile world and started extorting intoxicants Jewish brothers for the sake of building an empire that's outside of the kingdom of God doesn't get any worse than that, there would've been a limited hatred between these two men aboard the good it could have gotten violent even when dead in Christ, we see that these men are in that room and there in one accord and there in one place they had chosen. They made a choice to walk together in unity. Each had seen his own folly on shore Peter and see this in Matthew had seen his and I think the Raven sung in the hearts of these minutes of God.

If you forgiven me, Peter.

Of course you don't cursed with an oath and denied that he ever knew Christ. Matthew would've realized how much he betrayed his own culture by the things that he had done and the allegiances it made with an invading power really is what it was that what one wants. And so every man knowing the plague of his own heart might put it that way would say God you chose to forgive me. So how can I bear a grievance against somebody else that's a question I think that many people in the house of God need to ask themselves right now in the light of what's going on in our culture all around us, having forgiven me so graded that Lord, do I really have the right to hold a grievance against my brother or sister in Christ, are we not commanded to love one another as you've loved us and are we willing to live outside of the power of God and just be relegated to just a religious argument. That's all we become is really no power in us but in the place of unity and being in one accord.

The Scripture says, suddenly there came the sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Suddenly God says I have found a people through whom my power can be made known to this generation because they made the choice to be together in one accord in one place. What a great opportunity. God has given the church in this generation. What you think it through. My brother, my sister, these people are no different than we are. They just made choices that maybe we haven't fully made yet this and were going to forgive. Were going to walk together in unity were going to get together were going to begin to pray and will to trust God for the manifestation of his power because the salvation is his that the kingdom belongs to him the way forward is his way forward. We got the right to dictate to God is given as the pathway that were called to walk in and when God finds it, people like that which he needs to find again in this generation.

You understand that and so do I.

This generation is falling apart.

This generation is fragmenting at the seams were what were seeing is Matthew chapter 24 one when the Bible says nation shall rise against nation, the word in the Greek is ethnocentrism ethnic culture will rise against ethnic culture. It will be the sign of the last days. The only real unity only true unity. The only unity that can transcend or get through this gauntlet of division and anger is that which is found in Christ in his church. We have this incredible opportunity given to us now to be the body of Christ and to be an example to the world of what God is able to do we need another baptism of the Holy Spirit.

We do we do the whole church world needs this I needed you needed. We needed corporately. We need to get we need these walls to come down. We did the grievances to melt into into the earth as it is, we need to become one in Christ again. We need to actually have a foretaste of what is going to be like it when we end up at the throne of God one day would multitudes that are too great to even number of all kindreds, tongs, tribes and nations. There appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues of his other languages as a spirit did the motor and so here's there's something that I love the moment they are together in unity. The Holy Spirit comes upon them in the very first food of God's presence is the ability to speak to people of other languages and cultures in a manner that you couldn't before.

It's truly amazing now to think this through with me just for a moment in the Old Testament there was a season were men and women decided they were going to try to be God in their own strength.

There will rise above one another.

There were going to try to do since dictate to God and get to be godly by themselves, so they built a tower, it was and they don't list as they were building the tower. The Scripture says God came down and confounded their languages and we have the beginning of like a confusion where one culture can't speak to another culture we have.

We have an instant division came into the world. One man tried to be God in his own strength but on the day of Pentecost men had women cease to try to be God in their own strength they came back to God in the very first result of that is the ability now to communicate with each other once again is it we can have a civil discussion in our generation. Without the spirit of God. I don't believe it's possible I think the divisions are now getting to be too deep.

The anger is profound when we might be able to put a Band-Aid on the wound for a little while but the real healing can only come to the spirit of God in the spirit of God can only come through the church of Jesus Christ. So we have a mandate from God to get together in one accord in one place again and begin to pray. It's that critical to the hour were now living in 120 people stepped out of the upper room gripped by God with an ability to speak to people of other cultures in a way they never learned is that amazing over the years I've been in Africa in different countries in Africa speaking to sophisticated to the people at war with one another at committed genocide. Realistically, it was God gave me the ability to speak to them and we saw healing with sought reconciliation with some miracles happen in these places.

Not that I thought that I took a five-year course on how to communicate with people of other parts of the world and other cultures and languages. Though it was this God was the Holy Spirit gives you the ability number-one time after the war and not and co-civil I was speaking to a group of Muslim soldiers in the village and watch the tears start to come on their faces were to the power come from to technically speak their language not put it that way.

This is using a translator, but I'm still able to speak to them and to reach the heart by the power of God's Holy Spirit.

This is what the world needs today a church that is able to transcend its own experience its own cultural limitations and has a love and compassion in her heart for other people of other places.

A church that is willing to let the Holy Spirit make them benevolent one to another. That's that was another hallmark of being in one accord in one place there. There is immediate benevolence one to another, it didn't have to be worked out. It was given by God into the human heart OS. We still at the throne of God. When they trust me, the no frogs there. Understand that the throne of God was a lord it's it was your salvation.

I didn't try to dictate to you how this should be done I let you wash away my sin in the let you wash away my old thoughts and God I let you become the new source of the life that you are willing to give into my heart and through me reconciliation that you desired to have with all men began to be an ambassador of this is the cry of my heart all God, would you help us in the body of Christ not to be divided anymore. Would you give us more the power one more time to be a living example of the victory of the cross, would you make us into your body on this earth.

Jamaica's ambassadors of reconciliation, not arguers bring up old grievances of God, Lord, what would you help us to lead others to reconciliation that we ourselves are willing to embrace Lord, thank you, thank you for another baptism of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for another Pentecost in our generation. You promised that the glory of the letter house would be greater than the former, and it showed us in Scripture that the wine at the end of the banquet feast is better than at the beginning so Lord were asking for another Pentecost in our generation.

We recognize her weakness we recognize Lord that were not yet what we should be. But Lord were gonna put away things that need to be put away and move forward to this mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our pre-Lord that we would be able to say to every brother, every sister of every race and tongue and tribe and coloring. Would you help us Lord not to try to hold on to anything of the past would bring division into your church and diminish the testimony of your cross and let's believe that the Lord is going to give us this great grace that we need in this generation. God bless you. Now let's close with Gardner as he sings in the quiet time is seems to say my prayer rushing along the way to show his is not. Thank you for joining us this week for a call to the nation with Carter come from Times Square Church in New York City.

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