How wonderful, how beautiful,
when brothers and sisters get along!
It’s like costly anointing oil
flowing down head and beard,
Flowing down Aaron’s beard,
flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon
flowing down the slopes of Zion.
Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing,
ordains eternal life. Psalm 133:13 Msg
John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield grew up together in England and members of the Anglican Church. They also experienced a move of the Holy Spirit as young men while at Oxford and established “The Holy Club”. They were led to preach the Word of God with great passion which was far different from most Anglican churches at the time. Revival was breaking out and lighting a fire that would soon leave Britain and come to America. The influence for the Gospel of Jesus Christ these three men along with Jonathan Edwards had on both sides of the Atlantic was supernatural. Hearing the Word presented with the anointing of Holy Spirit not only transformed hundreds of thousands of individuals, but spilled out and changed entire communities.
However, like the enemy always does, he brought division between these three men and although their message was still powerful and transforming, the flow began to slow. And all of them recognized their influence was hindered. Their doctrinal differences on minor issues caused John to write this to Charles “Do not hinder me if you will not help. . . Perhaps, if you had kept close to me, I might have done better. However, with or without help, I creep on.” And for Charles to write to George Whitefield, ” we loved more, when we knew less.” How sad these statements are and how they must have saddened the heart of God and slowed the flow of Holy Spirit’s anointing.
My dear friends, the lesson learned from these true accounts is that unity in the body of Christ isn’t broken because of differences, but because the differences in our own visions, giftings, ideas and rights become more important than unity. We forget that unity is a supernatural gift of the Father that is so valuable and costly that Jesus willingly endured everything He went through and laid down His life so that we could experience the same unity the Father, the Son and the Spirit have. Instead of focusing on the foundational beliefs that Jesus came to earth born of a virgin, lived a sinless life yet experienced what it was like to be human, was tortured and crucified, died, placed in a tomb and rose again on the third day in victory over hell, death and the grave. That after 40 days He ascended into heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father ever interceding for us and waiting for the direction from Abba to come in the clouds and take us to Him. We would rather hole fast to our personal often man made beliefs and interpretations stand against one another, than become united in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and stand against the enemy.
I truly believe this next revival and awakening is to call us back to unity again so that “the Church” will stand together shoulder to shoulder in love for one another so great, the world can’t help see the heart of God. That the enemy will see us as the mighty army God always intended us to be and he and all his henchmen will cowardly retreat knowing they are outnumbered! Let us read, embrace and pray for the unity of John 17 that Jesus prayed for us to experience. Oh Lord, may it be!
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