Keep the Unity

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

The ministry of the Word which we heard yesterday was wonderful. That's the only way to describe it and the impact it had on my heart. I've heard many sermons over the years on the importance of unity in the church, but the two sermons preached yesterday on the above passage were outstanding. I can only thank the Lord for them. We were visited by a young man who has preached at our church many times before and how thankful I am to have had him come once again to preach to us. God has recently given him a church to pastor and he shared with us some delightful food that I'm sure his congregation has enjoyed.

What stood out for me from this two part sermon on this passage, was what Pastor X. emphasized about the diversity that is found in the body of Christ, believers from different ethnic groups, ages, genders, etc. all coming together as one. We're not being told in this passage to do something outside of what is true from chapters 1 through 3 of Ephesians, but to KEEP what we already have. I love that. We already have unity because of what we are in Christ. As he said, "you're a bird, so fly." Get it? We are in Christ and are one in Him. The apostle Paul is telling us to continue in what we already have. I like it that he said he didn't want to bring down the law heavy on us, telling is "DO, DO, DO," but was reminding us that we HAVE peace, so live it. That really blessed me so much.

I cannot do these sermons justice, but I hope you get the picture.