DAY NINE
Prayer for our Churches Potential – John 17:20-21 20Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
I believe Jesus was declaring His desire for the church to rise up and be the church! For that to happen, we must adhere to these six principles.
1. Walk collectively.
- There is power in numbers. One reason the church has lost it’s effectiveness is because it’s become fragmented through differences of opinion and methods.
- Division can destroy vision.
- Our enemy is not our brothers and sisters in Christ – nor other denominational fellowships. Our enemy is Satan.
- We must walk together to see ultimate victory.
- Leviticus 26:8 8And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
2. Worship collectively.
- Psalms 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
- “Us” is the key word.
- Worship is wonderful when it’s an individual time of intimacy with God. But it is absolutely powerful when everyone worships together at the same time!
3. Work collectively.
- The law of synergy in enacted when we commit to work together.
- Together we can accomplish anything!
- When we work together, we are in one accord.
- We know who we are – Children of God…who care more about loving than arguing.
- We know what we are – Believers…who are free from religion and tradition.
- We know what we are to do – Reach people…by loving them and setting them free.
4. Fellowship collectively.
- Spending time with one another in settings outside of worship/preaching is vital for our church health as well.
- Dinners, fellowship events, picnics, cookouts, etc.
- Luke 15:6 6And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
5. Move collectively.
- Philippians 1:27 27Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
- We have been called to move together not just sit together.
- Striving means moving towards something.
- I say, we should strive together and produce excellence for the Kingdom of God.
- If we refuse to move forward we will not change and if we do not change we will not grow.
- Don’t sit down…keep moving forward!
6. Love collectively.
- Colossians 2:2 2That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
- What a joy it is to encourage one another. A smile can go a long way.
- It’s also encouraging when we can laugh & cry together.
- Love constrains us. It keeps us together.
- In order to have horizontal love with other another, we must have vertical love with God.
Prayer
“Lord, thank You for believing in me. Thank You for loving me so much that You would put some awesome people in my life as a reflection of Your goodness. I’m so thankful to be part of Your church. I purpose in my heart today to love Your people more affectionately. I will attempt to model a close knit relationship with my brothers and sisters so that You are revealed. Lord, I surrender to Your will.”
