Unity BEFORE Catastrophe

What If The Church Was In Unity BEFORE The Catastrophe?

As I shared in a previous post, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me – and to many others – about the central importance of brothers dwelling in unity. Our Father’s desire is to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, and He wants that process to intensify now, even as we await the culmination at the return of Jesus.

This week, through the tragedy of Harvey hitting Houston, we have read accounts of the Body of Christ coming together to serve the community, and those stories are powerful and encouraging. However, my question is – what could have been prevented, or at least re-directed, if the commanded blessing of God was over a city and region because the fragrant aroma of brotherly unity was fresh in the Lord’s nostrils? Would this be the way to stop the hurricane in Houston, or the tornado in Kansas, or the earthquake in California, or the volcanic eruption in Washington?

As hurricane Harvey was developing and beginning to engulf the Houston area, I was meditating on John 17, where the focus of Jesus’ prayer – just before His ultimate self-sacrifice on the cross – was that His disciples would know the same love and unity that is between Jesus and Father, SO THAT the world might recognize and acknowledge who Jesus is as the sent Son of God.

Beloved, get this: the focus of Jesus’ prayer just before the cross was unity among His followers, with the end in mind that the whole world would comprehend who Jesus is! In other words, the power that will make the outreach efforts of our local congregations successful is released through unity among the followers of Jesus.

Where do we begin? It all goes back to Psalm 133, where the oil of blessing flows from the Father onto Aaron’s head. Aaron’s ministry is vertical ministry – the service of worship. Yes, there must come and will come a time when we have all knowledge and agreement on theology and practice, but we must begin by worshipping together. We are called to lay down our tribal priorities – not permanently, but just for a moment – and come together to minister to the Lord and to speak blessings in His Name. That fragrant aroma pleases Him, brings the promise of commanded blessing, and who knows – maybe the result is the authority to divert the storm that otherwise would devastate.

It begins with worship. We must find a way to come together.
Gary Wiens

The Mind of God: Unity unto Reformation

Over the past months, the Holy Spirit has impressed on me again and again the central importance of unity of Spirit among God’s people in order for the full blessing of His purposes to be fulfilled. The prayer Jesus taught us – “on earth as it is in Heaven” – can only be fully answered when God’s commanded blessing is released over a city, a region, and a nation.

This blessing is promised in Psalm 133, and is contingent upon the brothers dwelling in unity. A few days ago, a brother shared a prophetic word given to him in March of 2015, declaring that God’s purpose is not merely for revival, but for a new reformation in the Church. That reformation can only be received by those who have cooperated with our Father’s agenda for unity of the Spirit.

Psalm 133 declares that the pleasure in the heart of God over unity is like oil running down from Mt. Hermon onto Aaron’s head, filling the atmosphere with the pleasant fragrance of Heaven’s anointing. Aaron’s head speaks of the priestly ministry of worship, and it is in the context of worship – loving and exalting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together –  that the unity of the Spirit will be established.

I am convinced that unity will not come initially in the arenas of doctrine, of joint activity, or of common purpose. Like the tribes of Israel, each “tribe” in the Body of Christ focuses on different purpose, different assignments to fulfill, different emphases to implement. But in worship, we all come together, we lay down our banners and our ball caps with the names that declare our tribal identities, and we become the people of God, ministering to Him, carrying His presence, and declaring His blessings over one another, our cities, regions, and nations.

It is time for the leaders of the Body of Christ to come together – not primarily to agree on fine points of doctrine, or to strategize on how to evangelize the city or serve the poor – these things are good, but they are functions of the “tribes” more than of the whole people. The place to come together is the place of worship, laying down every other agenda, coming as every tribe, tongue and nation among the people of God, and lifting up praise and worship to the One Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy to receive it all. From that foundational place, the commanded blessing of God will flow, and we will receive grace to participate in the new reformation that our Father has in mind for His Church in these last days.

Gary Wiens