Hey, everyone. Pastor Sean here, and I wanna thank you for subscribing to our podcast. I'm excited to get into today's message. And remember this, God is a good God. He loves you, and he wants to bless you.

One of the most powerful prayers, if not the most powerful we can prayer we can pray outside of receiving salvation and repenting and and coming before the Lord and confessing Christ, one of the most powerful prayers that we have is what is called the prayer of agreement.

The prayer of agreement. I want you to do me a favor this morning. Turn to Matthew 18.

Now, we're not gonna hang out there too long, but I wanna just read a couple of verses there, and then we're gonna go to Ephesians chapter four, and that's where we'll spend majority of our our time today.

But as you're turning to Matthew 18,

I wanna encourage that if we're gonna go to the next level, it's not about one individual getting to their next level. It's not about one individual saying I got my blessing.

It's about the body of Christ.

It is about the bride of Christ that is constantly being renewed, being perfected, that we're all going to another level giving glory to Jesus in every area of our life. And so, there is this prayer of agreement that is not about me praying about you.

I'm praying for you. I'm praying with you. I'm praying always. I'm praying in everything because we want to advance in God's will together. Somebody say together. Together. Are you at Matthew 18 now? Okay.

Matthew 18, the Bible says this, starting I'm gonna start in verse 18. So, Matthew 18, verse 18.

Jesus speaking says, assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose in earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you that if two of you look at this, if two of you, if how many? If two of you agree on earth concerning some things, a few things, anything.

If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them.

Jesus says, I'm in the midst. I'm in the space between when two or three come together.

If two agree, when we come together, something powerful happens.

See, even in the world in the secular, people understand in organizations that there is something about a coming together.

There is something about being unified.

There is something about this agreement.

In fact, when we begin to even look in Old Testament, there is this story in Genesis that talks about this Tower Of Babel, which was not God ordained, which was not permitted by God, which was not granted green light by God. But when the people got the mind to work and start building this tower, God said, is there anything that's not possible?

Is there anything that is impossible for when people put their mind together? We understand in the book of Nehemiah that Nehemiah had favor on his life to go back and repair the walls. And the Bible says as he got the brothers and the sisters and the families and everybody together that they built the wall half its height because the Bible says they had a mind to work. There is something when we come together that something powerful is released.

There is something that and and hear me. I I because I'm gonna talk about unity today.

I'm gonna talk about unity today. But unity is not uniformity.

Hello. Look around this morning. Come on. Look at the person to the left and to the right of you. Look look behind you. Look in front of you. Look all around you.

I don't see uniformity today. We didn't all show up wearing the same thing.

We didn't all show up having the same hairdo.

I got no hairdo.

For some reason, whenever I start talking about being bald headed, find myself on this side of the room.

I

Unity coming into agreement, it's not about uniformity.

Let me go a little a little further.

Unity is not conformity.

That's religion.

Religion wants you to conform to a to a to a mindset and ideology, a a a man made theory, but that but that is conformity which is religion.

Conformity, uniformity is what you see in an organization.

And news flash for you, the church is not an organization.

The church is a living organism where people come together as one lifting up the name of Jesus and advancing in what God has purposed for His people.

So, we've got to understand what the word is, what the word unity means if we're gonna come into a place of agreement. Because Jesus says, if two or three are gathered together, if we come to a place of agreement, He is in the midst. Does anybody want to see Jesus show up?

Just because you're sitting in this room right now doesn't mean that Jesus is in the room.

Unity is not how many buts are in chairs in a room.

There is levels to unity.

And I shared this last week, kinda left you on a cliffhanger, but there are three levels to unity, and I'm gonna share with you just one today and over the next several weeks as we're kind of rounding to this last part of of prayer, these next several weeks as I'm teaching on prayer, it's all gonna be with this subject matter in mind. How do we come together in agreement in true Biblical spiritual unity so that we can see God move and do exceedingly and abundantly and above all that we could ask or think. But if we don't get this right here, see these last several weeks was to get us right to this point.

How to teach you how to advance in the will of God by having faith.

How to advance in God's purpose by rejoicing in thanksgiving and petitions.

But now, if we don't know how to come together as the body of Christ, if we don't know how to come into a place of true agreement, we're gonna limit ourselves of how God can respond.

Now, I do believe Jesus is in the room today.

So, don't no one take me out of context.

But, what I'm simply saying is this.

Crowds do not determine whether or not Jesus is in the midst.

You can be saying all the right things but your heart's in the wrong place and and and that is all that is needed for God to say hold on. I I can't I can't be there.

So we gotta really dive into this understanding of the prayer of agreement. If you like a title, I just simply put this down, how to prosper in prayer.

How to prosper in prayer. I wanna take these next couple weeks, and I wanna teach and talk from from this title, how how to prosper in prayer.

See, I grabbed something when I was reading through the story of Nehemiah because the statement was made that the God of heaven will prosper you, therefore arise and build. But, it wasn't just Nehemiah that built walls.

He had to get into a place of agreement with others, and the result was that they were able to prosper. But, what does that look like in our prayer life? I'm so glad you asked. Turn with me to Ephesians four this morning. I wanna take a few moments today, and I just wanna walk through a few verses. I'll read it, and then we'll we'll go well, our our intent will be to go line upon line today.

I find that that's what helps keep me focused.

Ephesians four, and we'll start in verse one.

And again, as we're talking about the prayer of agreement, what we're really highlighting or what we're really putting our attention on is what does it mean to come together in unity?

And again, if you're taking notes, I'm gonna be unpacking three levels of unity.

The Lord showed me this as I was praying and spending time that there are three levels to unity.

Three levels to unity. So starting in Ephesians chapter four, the Bible says this. This is Paul writing. And he says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you are called.

With all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

There's one body. There's one spirit.

Just as you were called and one hope of your calling.

Verse five says, there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all, through all, and in you all.

What Paul is The Apostle Paul is speaking here is he is he is saying that there that there is one God who is in all, through all, over all. And He's the reason why we are all in this room together today.

But he opens it up and he says this.

As he says, I therefore,

a prisoner of the Lord, beg you. The word beseech is to beg. I petition.

I I I encourage. I strongly encourage that you lead and live a life worthy of the call. See, before you ever step into a place of unity, you have to recognize that there's a call upon, a call of God upon your life first.

Because when we're talking about unity, before we look at each other, we got to look at are we unified with Christ Jesus?

Because unity starts in the heart. Unity starts with you coming before the Lord and being connected to Christ.

But I wanna look at this for a second because he says that you have been called. Does anybody know what it is to be called? Anybody ever have your phone in it and you're getting a phone call?

To be called means that someone is calling you, but they expect you to pick up an answer.

Paul is saying, there is a call. God is knocking on the door of your heart. God is dialing in on on His spiritual cell phone. He is calling you with the intent that you are going to answer.

But the word call means vocation.

Vocation.

Vocation is is the is the understanding that I have been called to a particular purpose, or I've been called to a particular thing. There is a difference between

A vocation is a career, an occupation is a job. And Paul is saying that your career is in Christ Jesus in which he has called you to something greater.

He has called you to become something greater.

And so what he is saying is that there is a call that is upon your life. I'm He says, I'm begging you. I'm telling you, you are called. Now, this is important because the Bible tells us this. The Bible tells us when it comes to our calling that it's not just called to anything, but you're called to truth. Somebody say truth. In first Peter chapter two, the Bible says this, that you are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood, a holy nation, set apart to proclaim the praises of our God in which He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Now, let me teach something for you. Let me teach you something real quick.

Darkness is not the absence of the light bulb in the room.

In the scripture when you read darkness, it talks about ignorance.

To be unaware of something.

When you read the word light, again, we're not talking about the sun in the sky. We're not talking about the light bulbs and the and the lights that are on in the room. It's talking about truth.

So what is being said is that in first Peter two is that you've been called out of ignorance.

Now you've been brought into truth.

So when Paul says that you have been called, he is saying you have been called to truth.

To truth.

To truth. I want you to say truth. Say it one more time. Truth. Truth. Now, this word truth is important because this is gonna be the sticking point when we're talking about anything when it comes to unity.

Because when we look at the call and we're talking about truth, it's that God has called you to a greater truth, a truth beyond what you have settled for. Let me put it like this. When I was a young boy, and I was playing baseball, I played for for almost fifteen years. And there was a season where I got really really good.

And I went through a time where I sustained an injury, and I had broken my thumb. And so, I went to when my when I got out of the cast, I went to go into the next rec league season, and I didn't have the time to practice in the off season like the other players. And so, the coach on my team looked at me and he said, you're not a good player. I can't I can't start you in the game. I got very discouraged. I was 11 years old. I got very discouraged. And he went on and he said, you should just quit. Don't play. I'm like, man, what kind of grown man adult is telling an 11 year old like, what is You need Jesus, sir. And so, pray for you, not about you. And so, he so he almost to the point where I just gave up completely on the sport. And I had already been playing at this point six, seven years. My my parents, they started me real young. I started at four or five years old playing ball.

And at 11, because I had broken my hand, I didn't get to practice, and I in the off season, when the new season came, now I was not as advanced as the other players.

As a result, while the coach was speaking, I allowed his truth to become my truth to the point where I said, I'm gonna give up on this thing and I shouldn't even play.

However, what I did not realize is that a buddy of mine, his father was a baseball coach as well. Not for my team that year, but in the And when we were playing games, he would be watching from the side and he would see me in practice. And he said, man, I remember that kid used to be so good. He knew something about me that I forgot.

So when I was ready to quit in the summertime, I got a phone call at my house and this coach said, hey, I heard that you didn't wanna play rec league this year. I said, yes sir, that's correct. Why don't you wanna play? Well, I'm not good enough. Who told you that you weren't good enough? Well, was on this team and this coach and I didn't start. And he said, no, I want you to come play for me. I went on after that and I played the next five years for this coach because this coach saw the truth before I fell into a place where I was discouraged. See, here's why this is important. This is why I'm saying this. It's because you might be in a place of discouragement.

You might be in a place of adversity.

And if you allow that to be your truth, then you'll stay there. But long before you ever stepped into that pothole of life, God already saw what was, God already saw what is, and God already knew what could be. And so God is saying, I'm calling you out of calamity.

God is saying, I'm calling you of obscurity.

God is saying, Moses, I'm calling you from a burning bush. David, I'm calling you from the backside of a mountain.

Peter, I'm calling you out of a fishing boat because my call and my truth is what's gonna lead you to purpose and destiny.

Feel the preach on me right now.

Man, we still filling up the car with gas.

Not ready not ready to run yet. Don't look at my legs.

Got them slippery hips. They unhinged.

I'm ready to rock.

You know why?

Because many of you have allowed a word to define your season.

And you need to allow the living Word of God, the absolute truth to be the thing that defines what God has spoken about you. You are not who others say that you are. You are who God says that you are.

God says that you're called. God says that you're chosen. God says that I have created you for great and mighty things.

So Paul says, I beg you to live your life worthy of this truth. So when you hear the word call, He called you out of ignorance into light, which is truth.

He's saying now live a life worthy of my truth. Yeah. Of God's truth and what God has spoken over your life.

But he goes on. Look at this now. And he says this.

With all lowliness, which is humility, gentleness, which is meekness, and long suffering, which is patience, bearing up with one another in love.

Now, he begins to unravel this thing saying, you're all called. We're all called. Tell somebody next to you, you're called. But we're called together.

And one of the things that I shared last week was that often times the reason why we don't pray for people is because we don't have patience for one another.

And because we don't have patience for one another, what I don't know about you frustrates me that I want nothing to do with you. And so, creates a divide.

But when I understand more about you, and maybe some things that's happened in your life, Maybe some things that was not of God that was spoken over your life. It doesn't mean that I'm just gonna sit there in the hole with you, but I'm gonna encourage you. We're gonna minister to one another, and we're gonna see our way out of this thing because there's a grace that's upon our life. There's a grace that's upon your life.

But he says in order to do that, in order to do that, it's it's going to require humility, which means you don't know everything.

I'm just jumping right to the point. Humility is trusting and resting that God's hands upon my life.

I'm not the best one in the game.

I know that I'm called, but I'm not the only. I'm walking with a heart of humility. Humility is not demonstrating weakness or that you're inferior.

Humility is that I am resting and trusting fully in the Lord.

Okay?

So humility, meekness, meekness is my strength is under control.

Meekness, I've heard people say is, you know, meekness is not weakness. And because it sounds and it rhymes nice. Meekness is your strength under control.

It means before you get so motivated emotionally to retaliate out of your aggravation, out of your frustration, out of your lack of impatience, is that I'm willing to just dial it down for a second. Yesterday, I was going for a a bike ride with my kids.

And, the other night, and I haven't bicycled in years.

And so, we're getting family bikes now, we're doing a whole whole thing. I don't know. We're trying we're trying something. We'll see how far it goes. So anyways, my daughter says, daddy.

She was like, you're 39. Have you rode have you ridden a bike since you've been 39? I was like, no, say I. I was like, haven't ridden a bike since I was like nine.

She was like, because you don't turn very well and I've been riding my bikes now on two wheels for three weeks.

And I was like, girlfriend you better have some patience for your father or this bike tour is gonna end real soon.

She's a she's she's a chatty one.

That's what she said to me. She sent me a lot last night.

See, you gotta be easy, man. Like, you know, I don't I don't have the like, I don't have those bike moves anymore.

So be patient with me. She was like, dad, hurry up. Come on. I can beat you in a race. I'm like, I'm sure that you could. I have got nothing to prove, girlfriend.

Meekness.

It's that I'm I'm willing to come to this this place to be meek, to be gentle.

It's that I'm not giving over into my emotions. If you remember, I was sharing with you last week is that when anger builds up, it turns to wrath. Wrath is anger in action. Action. Wrath Wrath is is me me now retaliating, reacting to a situation.

Whereas, when we're talking about meekness, it's me taking a moment, renewing my mind in the Lord, breathe, and allowing my strength to come under control. It's it's to be gentle. We gotta learn how to be gentle with one another.

If I could just encourage you as the body of Christ, sometimes certain people's seasons might seem like they're moving further along than others. And we can get on one or two sides of that. We can either get frustrated because everybody else is not on our speed or we can get so far behind the pack that we'll feel like we'll never make it forward.

Gentleness is that we're willing to give room for each other to grow. You gotta give room to grow. The New Living Translation of the scripture says this, making allowance for each other's faults.

Because ain't nobody perfect in this space.

But what we're doing is we're making allowance for each other to grow because we've all been called to truth.

Okay?

And so, Paul says that you make allowance or you're humble, you're gentle, you're meek, you're patient with each other endeavoring in love.

Now, the word endeavor.

The word endeavor means to actually take action. That I am seeking to take action and remain in a place where there's love.

Love.

It comes from a Greek word. If you're taking notes, write this down. The word love, it means agape.

Agape love is not this emotional feeling that I have for somebody.

Agape love means that I am devoted to God's call and purpose on your life, and I will make sure that nothing gets in the way of that.

So true, biblical, godly love, agape love, is that I am making every effort endeavoring that we are all pushing into God's purpose, into the will of God, into the heart of God, making room for each other's faults, allowing ourselves to to to be patient, to have humility.

This is how we're all growing into as one, which by the way, this is the first level of unity. We still got two other levels to go to. And we can't get to these two other levels till we learn this.

I mean, is this right here is is is grade school unity right here.

We just got to simply learn how to be patient, how to love one another. You're not the only one in the room.

The Bible talks about that in the New Testament.

That we have a responsibility to exhort one another.

Building each other up in love.

Okay? So, Paul's laying laying this foundation.

He's laying this foundation because he's saying this is the prerequisite to get to this line of text right here. That when I'm bearing with one another in love, verse three, look at this, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

And he's saying this. He's saying that I want to keep that you would keep the unity.

Keep the unity.

Keep the unity.

Keep the unity.

I'm just gonna say it again. Keep the unity.

So,

I wanna take a few moments and I wanna I wanna talk to you about what the word unity actually means.

What the word unity actually means. The word unity by definition is oneness.

If you're taking notes, this down. Unity is a spiritual word.

It's not a man made word.

It's not something that was fabricated for our organizations and businesses.

It is a word that is ordained from the mouth of God. The word unity is oneness.

You could put this down. Oneness of what? Oneness of purpose.

So, unity is oneness of purpose. Oneness of God's purpose.

But now let's break down what this oneness means.

There there is a word that we have adapted in English language called symbiotic.

Symbiotic.

The word symbiotic means two living organisms that come together and are fused or adhesed as one.

Two living organisms that come together and are fused and adhesed as one.

And so what unity is, is we as living organisms, as living breathing people come together as one. Let me let me break it down from the very core or from the from the very foundation.

God Himself is unified as one.

The bible says in first John five eight that in heaven there is the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.

In the three are one. We know that as the trinity.

It is one. There is the Father. There is the Word. There is the Spirit. And the three are one.

How can there be three that is in one?

I, Shawn Thomas, am a father.

I am a son. And I am a pastor.

Three distinct personalities, but yet I'm still one individual.

You have the Father, you have the Son or the Word, and you have the Holy Spirit. But the three operate together as one. It is a holy union, a unity.

Okay?

When God created you, what did it say in Genesis one twenty six?

He said, us out of our place of unity create man.

So God is in a unified state.

He created you from a unified state. When He said let us, He's saying that the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit got together in heaven's kitchen and they cooked up something awesome, which is you and me.

And out of them coming together, we were now established and created from unity in unity.

You yourself are in a unified state because you are a body, you have a soul, and you have a spirit.

And the three function together unified as one.

So before we get to unity with others, you gotta see that unity is in yourself. And so what we tend to find is this, is that why there's a lot of disunity amongst especially the church or around people and in families and in different situations is because if I'm not one with God, then I'm not one with myself. And if I'm not one with myself, then I can't be one with you.

And so, I'm more likely to hurt you, to harm you, to offend you because I've already hurt, harmed, and offended myself because I'm not one with myself.

You are a body, you are a spirit, you are a soul. If you pull one of those elements out, you are no longer unified anymore. And

so, you were created from unity, in unity.

Listen to this.

For unity, because the Bible says in Genesis chapter two, after God created Adamus, he said, it is not good that man should be alone.

And so, He pulled Eve from his side and He said, the two now become one flesh.

Wait, that's two. Where's the third? It was Adam. It was Eve, and God is the center point.

Now listen to this. Truth is the binder of all things that are called to come together.

I thought this was fascinating.

That word symbiotic two organizations, or or two organisms, excuse me, that come together, they are fused together from what we would call proteins.

It's like this. When you go to the gym and you work out, what are you doing? You're tearing your muscles apart.

What do you do to repair the muscles? You drink a protein shake. You have a high protein diet. And what does it do? It fuses the muscles back together.

So, when we're talking about being unified, truth is the protein that pulls everything back together.

And if I pull the truth out, I'm gonna be uneven.

And so, when we look at this word unity, it is a coming together, a three as one. You were created from unity, in unity, for unity.

Can I go a little bit further? I know I'm pretty teach heavy right now. I gotta get this foundation to get to where we're going here.

The Bible says that unity is of the spirit.

True unity.

True unity. Listen to me. True unity, it's spiritual.

It must have the spirit in it.

First Corinthians six seventeen says this, is that those who are joined to the Lord are one in spirit.

And if I'm not joined to the Lord and I'm joined in flesh, as if one who has given themselves to a harlot, then the two become one flesh.

What does that mean? When God is not in the center of my life, when God is not in the center of my marriage, when God is not in the center of my relationships, when God is not the center of his church, then that means we have just come together in a space, but we're not truly unified in the spirit.

When you take the spirit out, you're no longer in unity. You are just ready for this soul tied. And this is why many businesses can flourish outside of the gospel because if you've got a mind to work, a desire and a passion like the Tower Of Babel, the people then.

Organizations can be tied together in their soul emotionally and they can build something successful.

However, without the spirit, it does not sustain.

Oh yeah, pastor, then why are there certain businesses that are still around? The name might be around, but the person is not around. The name might be around, but the way that they function as a business still doesn't function the same. Because what happens, but it's like every ten years they implement a new, a a program or plan to develop your business. There's a new CEO.

Something changes because it's not actually bound in the spirit.

So when I take the spirit out, I'm just soul tied.

Now this is good, because I believe that this is gonna help free somebody up right now.

There are good soul ties, and there are bad soul ties. A good soul tie is where we read in the bible. It says it's in first Samuel 18 where David and Jonathan, they found themselves tied together as one.

They were passionate, they cared for Thank one for listening to to Jonathan for recognized that David was to be the anointed king.

Blessed your life.

To emotionally Mentally. Abundant life They had a heart as one. And remember, we are better than A bad soul tie is, well, you know, she was pretty good looking.

I like the way that she treated me. We got together. So, you know, we're just we're we're living in our apartment together, and we're just playing married life.

And so you've tied your soul to somebody without having the spirit of God in the center.

Because if you know that God's called you to that person, you'll enter into what is called a marriage covenant.

And a marriage covenant is that there is a husband, there is a wife, God has bound you by truth because this is who you're called to in the middle. Now, you're in unity.

You take the spirit out. You're just tied.

Here's the problem. The spirit pulls you together, but a soul tie can pull you apart.

And so, I can be connected with the wrong person thinking that I'm supposed to be with them, but we're moving in two different directions Because the spirit of God will only lead you in the same direction together.

And so oftentimes, the reason why your marriages are strained is because you've removed the very net the very thing that's important, which is the spirit of God.

Will God just do something with them? No. God do something with you. Make every effort to endeavor in love. You get up and you get into the spirit right now.

What did the disciples do? They came to Jesus and they said, Jesus, the Samaritans, they don't like us. Shall we call down fire from heaven? He said, you don't know what spirit you are because you're in the flesh.

The spirit will only lead you into truth and the truth is not divided.

The truth is united. The truth is one.

The truth will lead you into a place that is gonna guide you into peace and to guide you into in in into what God has spoken and ordained.

But when the moment you take the spirit out, it is just a tie.

And now what happens is this, I'm tied moving in two different directions, and when I'm moving in two different directions, I begin to become strained to that individual, and we're both stressed out, we're both frustrated, we're both angry, because we are unequally yoked. Two oxen trying to go in two different directions.

Unity is not about how much I like you. And I wanna like you. I don't know you. You seem likable.

You have a nice smile. Welcome. I haven't met you. What's your name? Deja. Deja, pleasure to meet you. Is this your first time? No. So been hanging you've just been slowly getting closer to the front?

Yeah. Yeah. Are you ready for me to move on? Because you're like, I don't like being grilled in the middle of all these people in a service on a live stream right now.

Unity is not about being liked.

Although, we should want to have a pleasant spirit that we like each other.

Unity is the spirit of God. It's truth that pulls together as one.

Pulls together as one.

Now look at this, because this is important.

The Bible says that we are to keep the unity.

So unity, again, the word unity, two organisms, two living beings, we're coming together with the truth in the center.

We have to come together and the truth, the spirit of truth is the binder that pulls us together.

Pull the truth out and what happens? We get frustrated with each other. We get offended with one another and we can no longer pray for one another and with one another limiting how God's gonna respond to us because truth is not there. Okay?

But Paul goes on and he says this, is he says, keep the unity, But then he talks about the fact that what's gonna help keep it is the bond of peace.

Is the bond of peace.

The word bond actually means belt.

It's that the belt of peace is wrapped around all parties keeping us lined up as one. It's the belt of peace that keeps us all lined up lined up as that we're all together.

When I loosen that belt, we lose the unity.

When I tighten that belt, I keep the unity.

But he says the bond of peace.

Can I lay something down for you? The Bible says in Ephesians chapter six, when Paul's talking about putting on the full armor of God, he actually makes mention that you are to gird your loins with truth. Putting on the belt of truth.

So peace actually is truth. What do you mean by that?

We are not meant to keep peace.

You're meant to make peace.

The Bible says when Jesus is teaching about the beatitudes, blessed are those who make peace for they are called sons of God. It's the only beatitude that speaks to relationship by making peace.

How would one make peace?

It's when I bring the truth to you. How does one not make peace? By keeping the truth from you. I'm afraid how you're gonna react about this right now, so I'm not gonna say truth in the matter for the sake of us still being unified. But what you don't realize is that you're not keeping unity anymore because you've removed the spirit of truth, so it's a matter of time until there's a break that is revealed and everything falls apart.

Making peace is not easy because it is bringing the truth into the situation.

And sometimes people can't receive the truth.

Sometimes the truth might offend, and that's why Jesus says that everyone's more offended with me than any other because he is always bringing truth.

He's bringing truth.

And so when I bring truth, I'm making peace.

The word peace means that everything is evened out.

It's not uneven.

Truth is what levels everything out.

So when I make peace, I'm bringing truth into the situation.

So, the Bible says that it is the bond of peace that allows us now to keep the unity. It's the bond of truth, but I have to make peace by bringing truth into that situation.

But there are moments where people just don't want to hear it.

So then how do I make peace if that person doesn't want to hear it?

And like I told you, before I'm unified with you, I've gotta be unified with me. So I gotta make peace with me. And the way that I make peace with me is I gotta remember what God's truth has been spoken over my life.

So the Bible tells us in Ephesians six to gird your loins with truth.

So this phrase, gird your loins, when when people would go to battle in ancient times, in those days, the men had and the women had flowing garments.

And so, would When they would go into battle, they would put on belts to tighten up the garments around their waist and around their legs. So, that when they went to fight, they could be limber, they could be agile, they could move, They could be able to actually, enter into combat fighting and flowing the way that they needed to.

And so those belts, it was it would gird, it would tighten it up so that they could move.

Okay?

Peter says this in first Peter chapter one verse 13.

He says that you would gird up the loins of your mind.

That you would gird up the loins of your mind so that you could know the hope and the revelation that comes in Christ Jesus which is truth.

Okay. Here we go. So, what's happening?

How am I going to maintain and keep the unity?

I've got to make peace. How do I make peace? I've got to make sure that the truth is bound around my life first.

That I'm one with what God has said, so that now I can be one with God what God has spoken over us.

But he says gird up the loins of your mind, which means this, you better tighten up the belts of your thoughts so that you can be careful as to what you're going to speak.

Keep your mind tight so your words are right. Keep your mind tight so your words are right. If my mind's not tight, then I'm not in truth. I'll fall into deception and I'll speak something that will create division.

But if I can make peace in the way that I'm supposed to think because the Bible says to renew myself in the spirit of my mind, then I'm tightening up my thoughts so that when I speak words, I'm speaking words of truth, words of life, even if they don't receive it and even if they don't understand it, even if they don't like it, I'm speaking words of truth because I'm keeping the purpose and the unity as one.

And

this is why when you go to God in prayer, don't think that as you're praying for your children that have gone wayward, that it's falling on deaf ears, that it's falling to the ground. They might not hear it. They might not like it. They might start saying, stop, you know, preaching the gospel at me. But you speak truth. Keep your mind tight. Keep your words right. And as you pray the prayers, God will respond.

Why? Because my words are seeds.

And when I'm praying and I'm speaking truth, I'm sowing seeds that eventually will produce a harvest.

We have to guard our minds because it's from your mind to your mouth. The Bible says as you think into your heart, so are you and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

So if I'm going to make peace and keep unity, it's gonna start by me having the right mindset, reminding myself of what God has said, letting that be retained in my heart, that when I step into a situation that doesn't feel right, doesn't look right, looks disunified, I'm not moved by what I'm seeing. I'm moved by what's in my spirit because I'm walking by faith and not by sight. And so I'm gonna speak in accordance to my faith, and I'm gonna call the things that be not as though they are. So when I'm praying, I'm praying by speaking truth.

Truth is the binder that allows unity to take place.

I'm gonna wrap it up with this right here.

I was studying this this past week, and I saw something that began to really just, you know, in a in a sense, just blow me away. The Lord was showing me something.

The word intercession.

Inter means to go.

Session means between.

So when I pray in the spirit, I'm praying in the spirit of truth, and truth is the go between where I am and where God is.

Our Bible tells us that Jesus was the mediator between God and man.

He was the interceder.

He's the one that made intercession.

He was the truth that now allowed us to be unified from where we were in a sinful state through His blood making us whole, making us clean, making us new, so that now we can come back unified to the Father.

So the spirit so if you ever wonder what intercessory prayer is, it's that you are going in the space between praying in the spirit unifying wherever the situation is to what God has said.

Your kingdom come, your will be done can only happen when I speak truth as the spirit that is pulling the space between.

Does that does that make does that make sense?

I'm sorry if I'm not better articulated around this right now because it's something the Lord's teaching me in real time. I promise you, in like a month or two, I'll preach this thing seamlessly.

But I just I gotta get this out right now. So, thank you for allowing me to do so.

Is this alright? We good? Okay.

So, you Holy Spirit.

Okay.

So, when I intercede, when I go between, what I'm doing is I'm pulling God's truth into the equation or into the situation. It's now I'm binding your kingdom come for your will to be done.

And I'm praying in the spirit, when I'm speaking truth. Okay? It's it's called intercession.

Okay?

When truth has not been interceded, it creates a divide, which we know as division.

And so now I find myself in a place where I'm not seeing God's kingdom come and his will be done. And when I don't see that, because I'm not anchored in truth, I'm going about it my way. So now I'm moving in what we would call disobedience or in sin.

Okay?

Let me just give you a visual really quick.

What most of you might not know is that at some point in your life, and at some point maybe to come, and I'm not declaring anything negative. I'm just giving you scientific facts.

Cancer cells will come up in your body.

You've got blood cells that are flowing in one direction.

But cancerous cells are cells that decide not to go into the direction that everybody else is going. And we're gonna go and do our own thing.

Now, when you're younger, and your organs, and your body, and your blood, and your And everything is stronger, what you don't realize is when those cancer cells pop up, all the other blood cells say, hey, you don't belong in this party. And you get the boot, and you kick it out.

But what can happen over time is that those cancerous cells, if they are not overtaken by the unified party, they'll try to park itself somewhere in your body.

Then they'll start trying to tell everybody else don't go in that direction, and they'll start pulling other cells into another direction.

When those cells now move into another direction, they eventually, if you get enough of themselves, they become a tumor.

And when that tumor gets big enough, it begins to masticize, and it begins to spread throughout the whole body, eventually causing the body to break down and eventually leading it to death.

Why? Because there was a division of cells.

This is so important because when it, when we're talking about being unified in the spirit, we cannot afford as the body to allow cells to go into the opposite direction.

Truth is what pulls everything moving into the right direction.

Truth is what says there's not gonna be division and there's not gonna be death and there's not gonna be decay. That it's gonna be allowed to take place in the body.

The interesting thing though, and I just found about out about this recently as I was kinda looking through this stuff, is the more protein intake that I have in my body, the stronger my body can fight those cancerous cells.

Okay?

The more truth that I have in my body, the better my chances and opportunity are is to overthrow every agenda. I need the truth. The truth, it's the sticking point that keeps everything unified and flowing in the right direction that God wants me to go in.

So truth is what intercedes into a situation bringing about true unity as one. Alright. So, let me push this out a little bit further. We still good? Okay.

So, when I make intercession, I'm bringing truth in between.

And this is why when I choose or when I chose to get married to my wife, God's truth was this is the woman that he had for me, and I was the man that he had for her. Truth brought us together as one.

Boom.

Okay?

There was an intercession.

Now, I need you to put on your adult ears for me real quick.

Put on your adult ears for me.

There is a word that in late English got reinterpreted and the word is called intercourse.

But intercourse was not originally a word that was sexual in nature.

The word intercourse actually dealt as a business term when a given party would intercede on two different individuals, bringing them together. And the word intercourse means so that there could be an exchange of goods. It was a business term.

Now, later on in the nineteen hundreds, that was redefined as a sexual term in which there is still an exchange of goods.

Just different.

I'm sorry. I can't say that word and not let you be fifth grade and have the giggles.

Everyone's a fifth grader in this room when we're about that subject.

But but hear me because this is important. This is important. This is important. Okay?

So the word inter means to go.

Course means contact.

Okay?

So contact and intercourse is an exchange of it's really what it's talking about. It's the exchange of life.

But you can't have intercourse without intercession.

Now, this is why this is important.

Give me three more minutes and we'll pray. You're gonna leave and at lunch you're gonna talk about the fact that pastor closed the service talking about intercourse.

Okay?

But I got your attention, don't I? Yes, I do. Alright. So I thank you, Holy Spirit for helping me on this. We

we know the middleman in business to be either an agent or a broker. It's an individual that brings two parties together in a place of agreement.

Truth is the agent that brings two parties into a place of agreement, intercession.

Intercourse now is the exchange of what we've agreed upon.

Okay?

Psalm one thirty three says, how good and pleasant it is when believers dwell together in unity.

And it goes on and it says that it is like the oil that flows from the head of of Aaron down to his beard to the skirts of his garment. It's like the dew of Hermon that flows down to Zion, and it closes with, and the blessing and life commanded forever more.

Now, when we hear the word intercourse according to modern language, when two individuals come together, ultimately, it's to bring forth life. When a man and a woman and a marriage covenant come together, it's to bring forth life.

So when we're talking spiritually, when the spirit of truth binds us together and we're willing to give of ourselves to one another, it is to bring forth life.

So blessing and life is contingent upon the body of Christ coming together in truth and exchanging life with one another in the spirit, relationally, having fellowship.

It's not just, well, you know I chose to do life just me and God. How foolish you could be. How foolish you could be to think that your walk with the Lord is just you and God.

The Bible says that the disciples, they came to the temple and they also sat around the table.

They knew what it was to get one with God, but they knew what it was to be connected with each other. What do you think the cross is?

It is a vertical beam and a horizontal beam. It means that I am unified with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and it means that I'm unified with one another. Unity, it's the coming together of one purpose so that we can see blessing and life commanded forevermore.

In your marriage, you need to get back to the place where the spirit of the living God, that the Jesus is the center point of your marriage.

When it comes to your relationships, you need to get to the place that God is first and foremost. That he when it comes to your life, it's gotta be that Jesus is the center point of your life. Because if you pull truth out, everything unravels.

But when you put the spirit of truth back into it, the blessing and life and everything that God has ordained shall come to pass. And why Jesus says when two or three are gathered together, when we are in unity, anything that we pray, anything, what would it look like if the church came to that place as one?

I know what it looks like.

Blessing and life forevermore.

And what God's doing in Margate, and what God's doing in the surrounding cities, and what God's doing in your homes and in your families, and what God is doing in your life and your relationships wherever you're blessing and life forever more. Father, I thank you, Lord. Thanks again for listening to today's podcast. We trust that it has touched your heart and blessed your life. Listen to support the ministry. You can go to our website, abundantlife.tv.

And remember, we are better together.