Acts 1:14;2:10 - August 27, 2009

Acts 1:14: “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Acts 2:1: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”

Pentecost – Part IV

In looking at ways of preparing for a continual Pentecost, we’ve considered two keys thus far: Repentance and Obedience. Today, we look at the third non-negotiable key: Unity. Oh Unity! – That elusive state of communion that God created humanity to live in – with God and with one another. And it is this that will let the world know that God has truly sent Jesus (Jn 17:21).
Unity is so important to God that it was the heavy burden that was upon Jesus’ heart and lips as he prayed to the Father before he went to the cross. Talk about selfless love – praying and thinking about our welfare as he went to the cross! “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you have me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Jn 17:11,20-23). What an incredible and challenging prayer from Jesus – that we, the church, would be one, just as Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one. Jesus’ desire and earnest prayer is that we would come to know this in our experience in an ever-increasing manner that we “may be brought to complete unity…”
Unity has many dynamics but it all revolves around the shared belief and trust in Christ, the Word of God, which brings us into the fellowship of God (Jn 17:20-21). The early Pentecost-al church lived in this. Before the Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, they joined together constantly in prayer and were all together in one accord (Acts 1:14;2:1). The church already had a measure of God’s Spirit even before the day of Pentecost, as Jesus had breathed on them after the resurrection (Jn 20:22-23). Yet it should be no surprise that there was more to come as they lived in unity eagerly crying out to God. Psalm 133:1-3 delights in the prospect of brothers living together in unity and declares that it is like an overflow of anointing oil. It is in this place, the psalmist tells us, that God commands his blessing. Anointed blessing is not just a consequence from unity, but actually of command from God! Hallelujah! Would that we live in such unity! And as that early church continued in unity, God’s blessing was upon them (Acts 2:42-47) and they were “of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32) and the world saw that Jesus was sent from God.
If the church is full of division, gossip, pettiness, and self-centeredness – how can we possibly live in an experiential unity with God and one another? What kind of message does this send to those who visit us, our neighbors, and our communities? But if we as individuals would each do our part, living in a determined way to strive for unity, seeking the good of others practically (1 Co 10:24), being “devoted to one another in brotherly love” and “honoring one another above yourself” (Ro 12:10-11), even when it hurts, then like the early church God will command his Pentecost-al blessing, and the world will truly see what we see about Jesus. “Lord, help us to walk in real unity so that your prayer may be fulfilled in us.”