Oneness has to do with unity of purpose. Oneness has to do with differences headed toward the same goal line, being on the same page spiritually. Dr. Tony Evans explains that oneness is also the evidence that backs up our witness. Jesus said, until oneness shows up, the world will not see how real I am.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Unity among believers was one of Jesus' final prayer requests before his death on the cross. Today, Dr. Evans explains how we can see that prayer answered in our lifetime.
Let's join him as he takes a look at what it means to really embrace oneness. The scripture of 2 Chronicles chapter 5. is a worship service. Everything is leading up. To Solomon's celebration of the dedication of the temple.
The temple is the Old Testament house of worship. It was where The centerpiece of the nation existed. It was the divine hangout, if you will. When they were preparing to gather to worship And to celebrate. There with a careful reading you will notice something.
What you will notice is the emphasis. On unity. in their worship. He says, even though there were a lot of people gathered together. All the priests, verse 11.
They gathered without regard to divisions. The priesthood was divided into 24 divisions.
So depending upon what group you are a part of, you are assigned a time to perform your priestly duties, and you would be one of 24. You would be in a group. that was made up of other priests. And the total number of groups were 24.
So you could argue, I'm part of this group, or this group, or this group, or this group, or this group. This is my time to serve, my time to serve, my time to serve, my time to serve. But it says on this day. When they came together to worship God, they did so without regard to which group they were a part of. In other words, whichever silo you were a part of became irrelevant on this day.
Because they gathered together. without regard for their divisions. If you'll notice closely, you will see in verse 13. In unison when the trumpeters And the singers were to make themselves heard, and notice again with one voice. There was harmony.
They were all on the same page. They were as one, one voice. God's people for a long time had lived outside of covenant. In other words, they were running things their own way, living their own lives, making their own decisions independently of God. And whenever they strayed from the covenantal agreement, Chaos would set in.
Whenever they return to the covenant agreement, God's blessing would flow. One of God's blessings was that his presence would be made manifest in their midst. when they were as one. In other words, unity would affect God's presence. Disunity would create God's absence.
Let me say that again because this is the key point I want you to know, and I want to show you something that's staggering. If you are unified. I will show up. If you are disunified, I will disappear. Don't miss that.
If you are as one that is on the same page with me and each other, vertical and horizontal, then you will see me manifested. But if you allow illegitimate division. Between you, you will not see my manifestation. I'll be there, you just won't see it. It won't be evident that I am there.
It says they came together and worshiped. They had the instruments, they had the choir, they had the priest. And let's look at what they did in verse 13. In unison, When the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice. To praise and glorify the Lord.
And when they lifted up their voice, accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music. And when they praised the Lord, saying, He indeed is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. Then the house, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud.
Now, let's look at What's going on here? They've all gathered for worship. Their own individual ministries did not matter. The only thing that mattered was giving glory to God. And they did it with one voice.
As a unified congregation, they made a big deal about God. To glorify God means to make a big deal about him. To advertise him, to put him on display, to brag on him, to glorify something means to show it off. To embellish it. The psalmist put it this way.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt his name together. To magnify something isn't actually making it bigger, it just makes it look bigger. When you put a magnifying glass over something, you don't make the thing you're magnifying bigger, you just make it look bigger. You can't make God bigger.
He is encompasses the universe. We call it in theology his immensity. His infinity. God is greater than the sum total of his creation. When they made a big deal about God, They said He indeed is good.
And his loving kindness is everlasting.
Okay? They didn't make a big deal that things were good. They made a big deal that he is good.
Okay? Please make the difference. When you come to this house. To worship God. Things may be bad.
Circumstances may not be in your favor. In fact, you may not be particularly happy right now. But they didn't come. To make a big deal about their circumstances, because everybody's circumstances aren't good all the time. Everybody's circumstances aren't happy-go-lucky all the time.
But the text says that when they came together without regard for divisions, without regard for their differences, because they came in unison with one voice. They came and they made a big deal about God. And the big deal glorify that they made about God was God is good. One of the most important things you can do Particularly if things are bad. is to be reminded that God is good.
That's very critical.
Now, it's easy when things are good because then you feel like God is good. But sometimes you need to be reminded God is good when things are bad. Because that takes your eyes further than you can see Because of your circumstances. The worship Of God is to let you be reminded about how big God is and about how good God is and that His loving kindness. Goes on forever.
Praising God is the verbalization of worship. See, because praise must be expressed. That's why the author says, and bless the Lord, oh my soul. He's calling for you to tell. Yeah.
Speak it. Say it. Declare it. Let it be known. See?
If your worship never becomes your praise. That means you holding up back on God. See, We give you a time for private worship. It's called communion. You see, the lights are turned down low, and you get to bow your head, and it's not a lot of talking, and you get to meditate.
That's worship. But that's not the same as praise. Praise is when you open your mouth and you declare the goodness of God in the land of the living. If twenty thousand people can take three hours. To praise a sports program, you can't tell me you can't open up your mouth and give God some glory.
Because I'm talking about praise. And praise has to be expressed. in order to be legitimate. You don't come to church just to worship, yes, but you come to church to express the worship. That's called praise.
See, it's one thing for the choir to sing. And you just to agree with the song. It's another thing for you to lift up your voice and praise the Lord because you want to express. Praise. But watch this, because I ain't got to the point yet.
Here's the point. Here's the point. He says, and when they praise the Lord, saying, He indeed is good, and his loving kindness is everlasting, then, somebody say then. And let me put it this way, not until then. See didn't happen till then In unison with one voice, then.
It says, then the house. The house of the Lord was filled with a cloud. Uh-oh, the atmosphere changed. There's a change in the app.
Something that was not there is currently there. There was no cloud. Until the praise rang out in unison. When the praise rang out in unison, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud.
So that The priest could not stand to minister. Because of the cloud. In other words, God took over the worship service. And the glory of the Lord. Fill the house.
No women. Verse 14 says, the glory of the Lord filled the house. But not until verse 13 happened when it says, with one voice they came to praise and glorify the Lord. In other words, When they glorified God. In unison, God responded to their glory with his glory.
His glory did not come till their glory was expressed.
So you literally can be holding back. The glory of the Lord. if he's not being glorified or you are trying to glorify him in division. If there's not one voice, and the one voice isn't glorifying God, you could be keeping the cloud outside the house. Dr.
Evans will tell us more about that two-way glory connection when he continues our message in just a moment. First, though, today's teaching is part of Tony's current series, The Spiritual Toolkit. This 10-message collection will help you recognize your God-given purpose and equip you with the tools you need to live it out successfully. If you feel that your Christian life has been cruising along in neutral for far too long, this is the resource you need to kick it into gear. Right now, you can get the Spiritual Toolkit as our gift when you come alongside Tony's ministry and make a contribution to help keep these messages coming.
And for a limited time, you can also receive a special bonus resource, Dr. Evans' book Free at Last, designed to help you break free from spiritual strongholds and live in the liberty Christ has secured for you. Request both resources today at tonyevans.org. You'll find all the information right on our homepage. Or call 1-800-800-3222.
That's tonyvans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.
Well right now, let's get back to Dr. Evans for more of today's message. See, we got a problem with God. Here's the problem with God. He's invisible.
God is a spirit.
So we can't see him. Until he makes himself seen. Until he manifests his glory or shows his glory up or lets you see his attributes in action. How do we know God showed up? Because the preacher couldn't preach.
Isn't that what the text says? It says the ministers couldn't get up to minister.
Now you know something strange is going on. When the preacher can't get up to preach. And the minister can't get up to minister because God's presence is so thick, nobody can go anywhere. Yeah. Here's the point.
You say, well. Boy, I wish something like that. Could happen today. Turn your Bibles to John 17. 'Cause now we're in the New Testament.
Because somebody may think, well, that's just for that Old Testament stuff where weird stuff like that happened. But look at John chapter 17 in Jesus' high priestly prayer when he's talking to his disciples about how things are going to work when he He leaves. He says in verse 17 of John 17, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. Remember, the ark contained the word of the covenant, your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
So we're in the secular world environment in which we live. For their sakes, I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Remember, the priests sanctified themselves in 2 Chronicles chapter 5. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for all those also who believe in me through their words.
So that's you and me, not just for the disciples, but everybody who would come after, who would respond to God's word, that they may all be one.
Okay, wait a minute. It was one voice in unison without regard for division. I pray, Jesus said, that they might be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us.
So I want their oneness to mimic ours. Yeah. How can our oneness mimic his oneness?
Well, God is a triune being. One God composed of three co-equal persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, who are one in essence yet distinct in personality. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, but all of them together make up the one Godhead. He says, I want them to be one.
So oneness does not mean sameness. Oneness does not mean you're the same because the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Spirit, yet all three are one. Oneness has to do with unity of purpose. Oneness has to do with differences headed toward the same goal line. Oneness has to be being on the same page spiritually.
He says, make them one like we are one. But watch this, watch this. He says, so that the world may believe that you sent me. He says, The reason I want them to become one is so that the rest of the world will take me seriously. That they will believe that you sent me.
In other words, they're not going to believe just because of the sermons that the preachers preach or the singing that the choir sings or the building that the church meets in. They're going to know that I'm for real when they are one. You see, we've emphasized the wrong thing. We've emphasized coming to services, coming to ceremonies, and having religious experiences without necessarily being one. Jesus said, until oneness shows up, the world will not see how real I am.
But he's not finished yet. Look at what he says. He says, that the world may believe you sent me. Verse 22, the glory which you have given me. I have given to them that they may be one, just as we are one.
I in them, you in me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them, even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given to me be with me where I am so that they may see my glory, which you have given to me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Now he introduces the word glory. Remember 2 Chronicles chapter 5? When they were one giving glory to God, God showed up and manifested his glory in their midst. The New Testament says, God, Father, make them one, unified, so that the world will know I'm for real and so that I can manifest my glory in their midst. You know what we've been missing today?
Glory. We're missing God showing up. See, we hear a sermon, but God hadn't shown up. We have a great service that wasn't service good today, but did God show up? Because whatever glory shows up, God takes over.
He controls stuff that folks can't do, what they normally could do. Because it says the ministers couldn't get up to minister. Their normal program ceased. The Bible says if a husband and wife are disunified, 1 Peter 3, 7, tell the husband don't pray because God's not listening. God will not work in disunity.
But that explains a lot. That explains why the devil's main purpose is to cause conflict. No. The devil wants to cause conflict because conflict creates disunity. If it creates this unity, God's glory won't show up.
If God's glory doesn't show up, nothing changes.
So, what we need is God's glory back, and God's glory comes back when there is unified praise and glorification of Him. Whatever you are facing in your life and your circumstances, get the glory of God. And the glory of God comes with the recognition of his goodness, the praise of his loving kindness, in spite of your circumstances, the spiritual agreement to be unified so that you build a runway for his glory to land on. See God's glory is circling because he can't find a place to land. He can't find a place to rest.
And the reason he can't find a place to rest is he can't find a group of people who are going to be on his agenda and not their agenda. Who's going to be on his kingdom, not their kingdom? Who's going to be building his cause, not their cause? See, we got this wrong. We want God to bless us prior to us blessing him.
Everybody wants to bless me, bless me, bless me. God bless America.
Okay, America, how about us blessing God? Then, then maybe we'll see the glory of God fall. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1, there are divisions among you. You know, some of Apollo, some of Paul, some of Cephas, some of you, you've got divisions among you. Paul writes to the Philippians, he says, those ladies who are in conflict.
He says address that because that is a division that hinders unity.
So I'm seeing everywhere in scripture. He says in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, there's one body and one spirit. And he keeps saying one, one, one, and one hope of your calling. He says in Ephesians chapter 4, preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond, the belt of peace. He says, because we want the glory to fall.
The problem you're facing is not just the problem you're facing. It is the enemy causing division to keep the glory up there and keep it from landing down here. You say, but Pastor, you don't understand all the stuff I've been going through, okay? But let's put it like this. Put your good days.
Next to your bad things. I know you got bad days, and I know that list be long. But the reason the bad days seem so bad. Is because they've disrupted all the good days. that you have that you forget about.
Put your good days next to your bed. God is good. Things are bad. But God is good. And I want to remind somebody today: yes, that's bad.
God is good. Every perfect gift. Cometh from above, the Bible says in James 1 is good because it comes from God. God is good. I want you to rehearse all week long.
God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good. Now your stuff may be bad, but I know who is good.
And the church should remind you to give him glory. Dr. Tony Evans will return in just a moment to share with us a final appeal for unity. But first, if you'd like to have a full-length copy of today's message to hear again or pass along to a friend, just contact us for details on the title Oneness Embraced. It also comes as a part of Tony's current series, The Spiritual Toolkit, available right now, along with a bonus resource of Dr.
Evans' practical, uplifting book, Free at Last. They're both available to you when you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. All the details are waiting at tonyevans.org. You can also call us at 1-800-800-3222, where members of our resource team are available day and night to help you. That's 1-800-800-3222, or go online to tonyevans.org.
One quick note before we get back to Dr. Evans: the final episode of Stories from the Storyteller Season 2 is almost here. In Walking on Chaos, fear tries to sink J2's faith, but Jonathan and Kanika help the kids see how Jesus calmed the storm for his disciples and how he can do the same for us. Find out more about this faith-filled kids series at tonyevanstv.com. That's tonyevanstv.com.
You know, people who plant vegetable gardens usually expect to wind up with vegetables. But plenty of things can go wrong between the seed and the salad. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans will explain why some of those same problems can hinder our spiritual growth. Right now, he's back with these final words for today.
May God bring us together. in a way we have never been together before. That doesn't mean we're the same. with different backgrounds, different races, different genders, different personalities, all those are legitimate. But may the cause May the purpose be Be one.
and may we not be ashamed to give God glory.
Okay. May we not be ashamed to give God glory. through the praise of his name. and the recognition of his faithfulness, because he has been faithful.
