Of One Accord: Or Gorillas in our Midst

Why is the church dying? It may have something to do with dissension. There are factions within the church with such factions in disagreement on various aspects. Some, but not all are:

• Doctrine, of course.
• Music genre.
• Who sings what.
• Characteristics of the preacher.
• Sermon topics.
• Who substitutes for the preacher.
• Personal animosities.
• Personal preferences.
• Power struggles.
• Cliques.
• The church environment: decoration, parking, temperature, etc.
• Even where people sit!

You get the idea! Any topic Satan can use, he will use so as to divide! Let's look at one from scripture:

 Mark 10:35 "And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 39b Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John."

Here we have two of the apostles in dissension, causing more dissension among them all. Each of the two wanted to be favored! They wanted recognition, reward, favoritism, or something which would magnify their own status. Rather than worshiping Jesus, they were still there to serve their own self! The other ten apostles were upset with James and John. "How dare them want to be leaders!" Was it because that they understood that all were to be servants, as Jesus challenged them to be? Or was it that they desired positions of favoritism? We don't know! All that we know is  that even apostles sometimes were in dissension.

There was one thing amiss in their lack of unity: they had not yet received the Holy Ghost. This is the "baptism of Jesus". Jesus, baptized by John, had the Holy Ghost come upon him and STAY. This implies that John's Baptism was only for "the remission of sins", not for the filling of the Holy Ghost!

John 1:32 "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him (Jesus). 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending (Jesus), and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."

Jesus received the Holy Ghost at his baptism! At that point Jesus manifested the entire godhead. He was Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The apostles had not yet tasted of the Spirit. They were arguing about things of which they hadn't a clue.  They were in dissension because they were not guided by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit unifies, but without unity, the Spirit is hampered!

Acts 1:5 "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."

Luke explains here that "You don't have it yet, but you will get it when the time comes!" They had yet to experience the same baptism that Jesus experienced. They had not yet received the Holy Ghost. It is to be noted that if they had still been in dissension, that the Holy Ghost would not come upon them. It took preparation for the receiving of the Holy Ghost. They all "continued in one accord in prayer and supplication".

They sought unity in preparation for the reception of the Holy Ghost. They put aside differences, factions, jealousies, arguments, and other evil influences, and became of one accord!  They did so through prayer (seeking God's will through communion with him) and by supplication (they begged for unity). They relied on God to be with them and to remove dissension!

Why aren't modern churches more "spirit-filled"? It's because Christians aren't spirit-filled. Yes, they are anointed by the Spirit, but they're not filled with him. And why are they not filled with the Spirit? It's because of dissensions. They are not of one accord!

Just look at people in the church, What is it which interests them: camaraderie, where to eat after church, whom to socialize with, what they're going to eat, which team won, who slept in church, who deserves gossip, who is still a sinner, what to wear next Sunday, and the obvious list of dissensions from above. You know, Christians sit in church with each other and are not even friends! They hug, but they don't love. They hang on to anger and never let it go. They have jealousies they don't resolve. They are puppets of the devil's angels and can't even see the strings!

People don't get filled with the Spirit because it's already filled with evil. There is dissension housed in the soul which must be vacated before the Holy Spirit has a vacancy to fill!

Before our church is spirit-filled, church members must be! As I sit in church I detect those who are in disobedience. I don't judge them, but they indict themselves. You can see them be unfriendly, seclusive, and even sad. They don't welcome visitors nor comfort those less popular. They're not there for others. Sure they believe, they just don't truly love. Church becomes a scorecard. If a person gets a good attendance score and DO THINGS, then they DESERVE to be a Christian.  Jesus wrapped up the dissension argument in his little group by saying:

Mark 10:43"But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all."

How do Christians prepare for holiness? They serve. To serve is to love, forgive, befriend, advise, and be there for people without regard for their own welfare! We are amiss in why we are Christians. Because we fill the house of God; the community of us who miss the mark with out service: unity, accord and love; hold the Holy Spirit at arms length. The church isn't spirit-filled because we're not! The Holy Spirit fails to be there in his fullness because we're not of one accord. There are "gorillas in our midst"; big monkeys on our backs which burdens us down!

If you're at odds with someone or something in your church, you've got a gorilla on your back. Those gorillas can be dethroned if we all work together for the glory of Jesus and put all this petty stuff aside! And then he came:

Acts 2:1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."

Into the room came the Holy Spirit. He came because they were of one accord!