There is strength in numbers. In this lesson, I discuss how more can be accomplished together than can be achieved alone and how the worst of times can become the best of times when we band together. Watch my full Strong Course on MessengerX: https://go.MessengerX.com/Strong
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#lisabevere #lisabeverestudy #lisabeverecourse #lisabevere #strong #strongdevotional #lisabeverestrong #christianstudy #strongwomen #strong #onlinecourses #summerofstrong ______________ Chapters: 0:00 – Lesson Teaser 0:24 – Strong in Unity 1:14 – The Worst Times Bring Out the Best in Us 6:30 – Your Uniqueness Is Strength 8:33 – Fight for Unity ______________ Make a one-time donation to help fund our livestreams, content, events, and more: https://messengerinternational.org/
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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
[Music]
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
[Music]