Community Living: T.E.A.M.

T. ogether  E. veryone  A. chieves  M. ore

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious anointing oil upon the head, running down on the beard, 

the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion;

for there the Lord commanded the blessing - Life forevermore" Psalm 133:1-3

In this scripture “brethren dwelling together in unity” “is compared to the precious oil of Aarons’ anointing”

What does this mean?

What does it mean to “dwell together in unity”?

What does it mean to “be anointed”?

To be anointed by the Lord is to:

1.     Be set aside for the Lords service and purpose (consecrated, sanctified, dedicated)

2.     To then be smeared with His power, might and ability to accomplish that calling/purpose/service

Is 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To… (fulfill His calling/purpose, which is found in the remainder of vs 1, down to verse 3)

And the ultimate purpose of Jesus and for any of us is found in verse 3c “that He (our Heavenly Father) may be glorified”

Apart from the supernatural empowerment of the Spirit of God upon our lives, there is no way that we could bring Glory to God or fulfill our calling and purpose!

We see in Ephesians that it is actually possible to repel, or work against that POWER

Ephesians 4:30 says: “and grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed (marked) unto the day of redemption”

To grieve literally means to cause to sorrow, to make sad; heaviness

John 14:16 speaking of the Holy Spirit of God upon ones’ life says “I will send you another comforter- meaning helper or an aide”

IF JESUS NEEDED THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD UPON HIS LIFE, WHO ARE WE TO SAY THAT WE CAN DO IT APART FROM THAT SAME POWER OR ANOINTING OF GOD?

In the Old Testament in the book of Exodus Moses was given explicit instructions by God as to the ingredients needed to make this literal ointment for a Holy Anointing Oil, found in:

Exodus 30:22-25 “Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²³ “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon, two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴ five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. ²⁵ And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.”

In this Holy concoction – the mixture of spices contained:

Myrrh- which is a medicinal purifying agent representing the need of Purification and Healing in our lives before we are of any use.

Cinnamon- which represents the need for a lifestyle of Obedience to the Lord

Calamus – which represents the necessary place of Brokenness (of our own will – wants, desires and ways)

Cassia- which represents the necessity of Humility

Olive Oil- the oil that is squeezed out of our lives as a result of personal times of Trials & Testing

There are layers of our heart that God has got to go through before He can draw out the awesome gifts and anointing from our lives. But He is a gentleman and will not force us.

As we said, to anoint literally means to smear or rub, so Moses was to smear or rub this holy anointing oil over the tabernacle and everything in it that was to be sanctified and consecrated as unto the Lord for His service and use.

In the New Testament it is not a literal oil, but literally the Spirit of God in and upon the life of the believer.

John 16:7 in the Amplified reads: “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the ^[a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].”

We all know this familiar scripture:

Acts 1:8 “But YOU shall receive power (and ability), after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”.

What does receive power to be a witness mean?

First of all the word POWER here means dunamis or dynamite ability. It also means strength, miracle power; moral power and excellence of the soul. Also, power that rests’ upon armies, forces and hosts. And finally the power to inhere in godliness and operate upon souls

Notice this power must be RECEIVED: Meaning - to not refuse or reject. To receive a person; give him access to oneself

This received power has a purpose and that is to be a WITNESS: Gotta love this definition of witness – besides the ‘normal’ use of this word which is (a legal witness – to what he himself has seen or heard or experienced).

It also literally means a martyr: nobody wants to talk about this one. It means that you are so converted to a belief in Christ that if given the circumstances – you would choose death over denying Him. In this day and age and amazing USA that we live in we more than likely, at least in this lifetime won’t have to literally die for our belief, but there is most certainly a death that will be required to take place in order to walk in and not reject this POWER. The POWER that precedes a transformation from flesh to spiritual. A voluntary death of THE FLESH in order to adhere to your faith and what you profess to believe.

            So if your life doesn’t reflect a continual death to flesh and life according the power of the Holy Spirit. It really doesn’t matter how much you speak in tongues. You’ve missed the whole point – making the outward more important than the inward, instead of the other way around.

Back to the precious oil spoken of in Psalm 133……

Psalm 133 says that when brethren dwell together in unity it is the same as have the power of the anointing of God upon. Upon your marriage, for example, or upon your church or upon your ministry.

           

WHAT CAN WE ACCOMPLISH FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD TOGETHER?

The power of agreement is limitless. When we come into agreement, when we operate in unity, when we are all one, there is nothing that will be restrained from us which we can imagine to do!

We are Many Players but One Team!

I Corinthians 1:10 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Power of Agreement

Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say^[a] to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The Power of All

Genesis 11:1-6 “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. ² And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ³ Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. ⁴ And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”

10,000 Times More Powerful, Together

Deuteronomy 32:30 “How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had surrendered them?”

When believers are of one heart, one soul and we are all speaking the same thing there will be power and provision. Acts 4:21-34, Psalm 133:1-3

On the other hand

CAN WE HINDER THE KINGDOM OF GOD by NOT WORKING TOGETHER?

DIVISION stops the POWER and PROVISION!

Matthew 12:25 “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand (firm, fixed or established)”.

CEV: “Any town or family that fights will soon destroy itself”.

James 3:16 “For where envy/jealousy and (strife, contention) self-seeking exist, confusion (disorder, instability, rebellion) and every evil thing are there.”

HOW TO ELIMINATE DIVISION! Work it out in Love!

Matthew 18:15-17 Amplified: “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.”

Luke 17:1-4 NKJV: “Then He (Jesus) said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. ³ Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

To walk in Love is to: Respond to insult injury and injustice with positive aggressive acts of good that are designed to bring redemption to the offender!

LOVE: The unconditional acceptance of other people and the active seeking of their highest good.

Ministry:  Literally means “To meet a need”. Our purpose as believers, ministers and missionaries is a calling to meet the needs of people. In order to successfully carry out any vision, purpose or plan of God, we must decide to stand together as ONE!