United Action - Orientation 6 — George Verwer

The subject action united let us pray. As the time of the crusade draws near as the time in which we will be launching out into unreached territory for christ draws closer we're aware of our weakness.

We're aware of how when it comes to living the life of love and faith. But we know that god in unity there is strength. You would unite us for battle. That you would unite us for the offensive against the enemy.

So we ask it in jesus name amen. We are properly motivated by love once we are compelled by love. Once we are moved with compassion something is going to happen. It's called jesus to go into the villages.

Faith, Love, and Spiritual Warfare Produce Action

And as each of us realize that we're in a warfare and then we realize that we have weapons and we learn to use these weapons. And then finally we're motivated by the love of christ. Action is going to take place.

It always will produces action. A man who's sitting in his home and his wife comes out and says there's a fire in the kitchen is not going to remain sitting there. If he really believes that there's a fire in the kitchen he's going to move.

He's going to mobilize. There's going to be some action. Faith produces action. And when you and i begin to believe the word of god when you and i begin to believe the teachings of christ when you and i really begin to believe that our situation is a warfare and that our weapons are the word of prayer and that we're motivated by love there's going to be action.

It's stupid and ridiculous to have action before that the national governments of the world decides that it's going to go to war. It doesn't just say well the situation's a war. Let's go running off to fight.

No they have strategy. And as we read the new testament we see that jesus had a strategy. Jesus had a plan. Jesus had a purpose a foreordained god-ordained purpose in everything he did. He wasn't a scatterbrain.

He was never late for a meeting. He was never in a hurry. There was no disorder or confusion about the life of the lord jesus christ constantly walking in the will of the father which was his meat according to john.

Strategic Planning for a United Missionary Offensive

As we consider this task we realize that it's a warfare prayer the word of our weapons motivated by love which is also at the same time a weapon. This is going to bring action. But this action must be strategic.

There must be strategy. There must be a plan to it can't just be a scatterfire scatterfire but it must be a planned action. The next tape will be discussing the kind of action we need this week. The first and the groundwork of the kind of action the kind of offensive we need is unity.

It must be a united offensive. It must be a united action. Darrell tom will speak to us on the subject of reproduction that our action and our offenses must be reproductive. He'll bring us a message on this subject of reproducing for jesus christ.

Then the week after that we'll be hearing a message on discipline. Our action must be disciplined. Our defensive our offensive must be a discipline. Hold on to the subject of unity in the scriptures to start the subject of unity that in the 17th chapter of john where jesus is praying the great prayer in which he prays for unity in which he prays that we would be united with him and that we would be one john chapter 17.

Jesus’ Prayer for Unity in John 17

But we never seem to have enough time to bring forth all that is on our hearts. The 20th verse. Neither pray i for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their words. That they all may be one in me and i of thee.

That they also may be one in us. That the world may believe that thou hath sent me and the glory which thou gavest me i have given them. That they may be one even as we are one i in them as thou and me.

That they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou has sent me and hath loved them and thou hath loved me. The world today is looking with utter confusion upon the outward church which group could possibly have the truth.

And even when they look into the evangelical church even when they look into the fundamental church the bible-believing church they find at times so many divisions and so confusion and so much disunity that they hardly know where to go.

The church has been torn and stripped by disunity. It's hard to find a church in america that has not had a major contention or a major disunity problem within the past five or ten years. Disunity is probably one of the greatest fruits of an unloving life.

It's love that brings unity. In fact if we came to grips with the message we received in our last session there'd hardly be any reason to go forward in this message on unity. But i want us again to look into the word of god to go from book after book in the new testament and see what god says about unity.

Just have that you and i as the other team members be united as we go forward to battle. Just how important is it that we have unity there on our school campus or in our home church or wherever we are.

Just how important is this unity. Well it was important enough for jesus christ to pour out his heart over. And when we realize the essence of unity we realize that it's in the atonement unity was wrought for us in the atonement of the lord jesus christ from god we were strangers.

We in our awaited were brought back to god. We were reconciled to god through the cross the and when we reconciled to god we're reconciled to god's people. The cross has two great pieces of one. One goes vertical which to me stands for our relationship our vertical relationship with god unless there's that great cross beam that represents our horizontal relationship with one another.

The Cross, Reconciliation, and Love for the Church

And the bible very clearly says. If you love not those whom you have seen how can you who you have not seen to me. This is brought clearly into my thinking when i think of the words of jesus who said.

And whatsoever you do unto the least of these my brethren you do it unto me. What would happen to us if moment by moment day by day hour by hour we realize whatsoever we do unto the least of these into the weak convert unto the man who seems to be proud to the teacher who we don't appreciate.

To this person who doesn't agree with our theology. To that person who doesn't agree with our evangelistic effort. Whatsoever we do unto these we do unto the lord jesus christ. And christ gets even more specific he says.

Even a glass or a cup of cold water given in my name will not go unrewarded. Here again we are to some teachings that are so revolutionary so dynamic. So the american way out of the british way that it's hard for us even to grasp them like we do with most of the basic teachings of the lord jesus christ.

We managed to theorize them we managed to rationalize them. And away we go eating away caught on little secondary matters arguing over little bits of prophecy and missing the main brunt of a document.

The famous agnostic who wrote one of the most famous histories of all of civilization said in his book that shortly after jesus christ left the earth his followers twisted his revolutionary teachings.

He used the word revolutionary known to say that shortly after a few centuries went by the church began to substitute secondary matters doctoral arguments rituals and all these other things for the basic revolutionary teachings of the lord jesus christ which were too hard for them to accept.

That's what an agnostic said. Now we in the modern church are screaming at a nap and swallowing a couple. Good is that we have eyes but see not hear but hear not. As the devils of the old testament says in the third chapter of revelation.

Spiritual Deadness Beneath a Christian Reputation

We've got the eighth student of your class. You let us overdrive last week. And you're in charge of the social club. And you do this and you do that. And you're the chaplain. And you've given devotions or let devotional messages.

And your church thinks you're quite keen. They're helping pay your way through bible school. We've got names. We've got reputation. We're evangelical. We're fundamental. We're bible believing we're the christians.

We're the lovers of the word of god. We've got days that we're alive. Oh yeah names. Oh so many names there are these days to give to those people who claim to follow jesus christ. Name that you live but you're dead.

Could that be true about some of us who are listening to this tape. It was true in my life and at times passage of breath i realized it's even true today. I've got a name george bower director of om director of seven the life.

He's a live wire. He preaches all these messages on discipleship. He preaches these messages on total dedication and on living all up for christ. He's got a name that he lives. But many a time god has had to come to me in prayer says yes george.

You've got a name that you live but you're dead. You're dead because there's no compassion. You're dead because there's no unity for life and for love for reality. Could it be that some who are listening to my voice right now have a name that they live.

Maybe you're an evangelist. Maybe you're a pastor. Maybe you're a teacher. Maybe you're a bible speaker. You've got all the theology right down the line. You know the doctrine. You've got a name that you live.

Maybe you're a deacon or an elder in the church. You're a leader of young people. You've got a name that you live. But when you go to prayer when you try to take an hour out to prayer when you set aside some time to go to prayer you realize yes.

You've got a name that you live but you're dead. God says in the same chapter be a heart of gold. Or i'll spill you out of my mouth. Those words caused me to tremble. Oh might we realize what it is to be in the hands of an angry god who hates him.

How we play with god. And we make god a little midget instead of allowing god to conform us to his image. We're trying to conform god to our image. And in america we want to make god an american. We want to put god in a new car in a new home.

We want to put him in an air-conditioned pew in an air-conditioned church. And we want to put a cigarette in his mouth. And we want to conform god. And we want to make him like man. And this is the greatest sin.

Might we realize that god wants us to be conformed to him the subject of unity. And we see the lord jesus christ praying this prayer. We have to admit that we utterly fail so often in this thing of being united to god and united to our fellow men come together.

Jesus prayed the prayer. They all may be father art in me. May they also be one in us. That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. In last week's message we showed how the world is going to know that we're christian because we love one another.

And here it clearly teaches and repeats it over again that the world is going to know that jesus christ was the son of god. They're going to know that in this is reality when they see unity which is nothing more than an expression of love.

When two people love one another they become united. And when you and i begin to love one another we become united. Not really in any way because of our love. Because we've learned how to win friends and influence people no bear witness in both of our lives that we are sons of god.

Now we are blood brothers for the re the atonement on the cross of jesus christ. This isn't something that you are going to do. You are going to become united to a brother. You have been united. And what we need to do is simply by faith appropriate that which god has already done off of christ.

The barriers were broken down at the cross of christ the wall was broken down. So there has been ready. Now we can live together in love and unity. We see that in the book of acts we haven't got time to even begin to look at it.

But as we look through the book of acts over and over again we see that they were of one mind. We see that they were of one accord. We see that they had all things come. We see a group of people who move through the power of the holy spirit as one body.

False Ecumenical Unity and the Necessity of Regeneration

And i believe god is desiring to answer that prayer in a new way in our name. As we see around us false unity coming to pass. The greatest of all the false duties is the so-called ecumenical movement.

There's not many things that i outwardly attack and outwardly against. But this is one of them this ugly false monster this ugly fake unity. How can any outside of the realm of love and outside of the realm of truth how we can think there's unity by all signing on the same dotted line is beyond my understanding.

How do we think there can be unity all by going through a little motion is beyond my understanding. But the devil is doing it. And people even some good evangelical people are clinging to the false unity of our day as expressed in the ecumenical movement which is a stench in the sight of god.

There's no unity in the realm of organizationalism. There's no unity in the realm of committees. All through history men have tried it. Hitler tried it muslim tried it alexander the great tried it all the empires tried it.

The united nations is trying it and every one one after another has utterly failed. There is no unity among sinful men. There is no unity outside of having a new nature god nature. The old message of john 3 3 echoes clear he must be born again before there's going to be any unity before.

There's going to be any standing together united in this great cause of christianity. There must be the newer. There must be regeneration. Except the man be born again he cannot enter him to the kingdom of god.

He's a natural man. And the bible says the natural man understandeth not the things of the spirit of god. Neither can he know them for they are spiritually discernible. Oh how heartbreaking. In the future a human unity absolutely valueless jesus christ talks about here is something that has already been wrought something that has already been paid for something that has already taken place.

It's the unity that was brought to pass when jesus christ slew the enemy on calvary's cross. And now we have been reconciled to god and reconciled to one another through the blood of behold the lamb of god of the world pray for unity.

And we see how jesus laid down in his teachings certain principles that would enable us to maintain this unity. And if we go back to the book of matthew the 18th chapter we see one of jesus's most basic teachings concerning the maintaining of the unity as we work together as a team as we go forward to mexico see things as they are living together in unity different countries.

Matthew 18 and the Practice of Direct Reconciliation

I've looked for groups of people that were really moving together in unity and in love over a period of time and i found few these things have managed to make us a very disunited work. This can be one of those heartbreaking things in christian work.

And it's better to learn now back in school than go out to the field and learn the hard way and be like many who never live it now. If you think you're going to go out into christian work and have all christians agreeing with you or uniting with you or even loving with loving you you're really disillusioned.

You will find that we have found and all christian organizations have found that the biggest enemies can be those of their own household. It isn't just operation mobilization that's receiving criticisms in these days every organization and every group i've ever heard about i've heard strong criticism against just happens to be that in some places o-n is the thing they're talking about today and so o-n is the thing they're taking.

Watch that through criticism so many good organizations and i've been impressed with them. And then later i've talked to someone about this group and they gave me a whole line of gossip on their work.

I saw some people working diligently for the lord. I've been united to them. And then somebody comes along a little later and gives me a little backbiting a little gossip how true the problems are when they say he had repeated the matter separates the very best of friends.

I've almost lost some of my best friends because people have repeated the matter. The wisdom of learning what it is to allow love to cover a multitude of things. But we can't just go out covering things.

God doesn't want us just to push things into the dark just to hide things. He wants things to come out into the light. As the book calvary road tells us we need to walk in the light as god teaches us we need to walk in the light.

And here in the 18th chapter of matthew it shows what we're to do. When there comes up a little stub of disunity there comes up a sin in our brother that causes us not to be able to have fellowship with us.

We're not to go to all our friends in the beginning talk about it. We're not to write granddaddy. We're not to write sam over in the other college and tell how joe is getting away from the lord. But we're to do as it tells us in matthew the 18th chapter starting 15th verse.

But over if thy brother shall trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy brother. This same spiritual principle is brought forth of the servant of the bell.

The same spiritual principle is brought out in the book of galatians and in other parts of the new testament. If your brother sins against you if he's done something that you know is wrong. Whether it be on your team or in your college or wherever you are you are to go to him and him alone.

That's god's principle. And if we don't practice that in this crusade we might as well quit before we begin. If you think your leader is going to be perfect you're really out for disillusionment. If you think the directors of this work are a bunch of sharp men are a bunch of keen christians are sort of spiritual supermen.

You're really out for disillusionment. The basis of unity is not perfection. The basis of unity is the cross forgiveness. And if you're going to have unity with any brother it can't be based on the fact that you think he's keen.

It can't be based on the fact that you think he agrees with you on everything. It can't be based on the fact that you think he's dedicated or you think he's spiritual. It has to be on the basis of your thoughts being broken at the cross of christ.

And this is why our unity doesn't last. Because we've based it on our own appearance. We've based it on even anything from the way a man looks to the way a man talks to the way he prays instead of basing it on the fact that we have been united in the beloved we have been accepted together in the beloved says john.

Things do arise when problems do come up when there is sin god's provision is life. Absolutely. Don't just hide but go to your brother. Now we want to put this into practice. We're not talking about a nice theory.

We're not asking you to do this so you can pass an exam on the subject of unity or be able to tell someone else how to do it. But we want this to be practiced on om and on these crusades. And if you're not willing to put this into practice don't come falling into order with god's way of doing.

It means if you're in mexico and you see some brother maybe he loses his temper with some team member. You don't go to another team everything you don't. There's something wrong with me. He keeps losing his temper.

He must be walking in the flesh. Or he doesn't seem to be abiding in the lord. And i guess he's missing his morning devotion. No god name. No. You go to that fellow and you sit down with him alone and you say well i want to tell you it's hard for me to say this and i realize that there's so much i need to learn.

And i realize this is one of my faults too. And i'm i'm weak in this point. But i thought you might want me to mention the fact that the other day or this morning you really seem to lose your temper at one of the other fellows and i really think it was it was wrong against the lord.

Maybe we can have a word of prayer about it. And if you do it in meekness and gentleness and love you'll find that 99 times out of 100 the brother will say you know you're right. I'm sorry i've already actually asked the lord to forgive me.

But let's ask forgiveness again. I appreciate it. And you bow down the two of you and your hearts are hit together in love. This is where we're going to slaughter satan. We've got it together in brokenness over again.

Restoring Fellowship Through Humility and Confession

Who was working in one of our offices and in terms of administration and in terms of business affairs he had some very different ideas than i had. And i was very strong about certain things that had to be done this way.

And he was very strong about certain things being done that way. I said something that and he mulled it over in his mind for a few hours and it bothered him and bothered him with john. He came to have what was on his heart.

He told me three or four things he felt that that i was doing wrong and i was just wrong in my life there and then every inch of flesh in me called to defend myself every inch of flesh in me called to stand up for my rights.

And i just i felt a few points that he was confused on but on at least one or two points he certainly was right. Don't argue over the points you think the person is mistaken about but surrender on the points you know he's right about.

So by god's grace and because of the word of god and because i'm convinced this book knows what it's talking about i confessed to him that it was my fault and i said i'm sorry. We went to prayer and i prayed that god would forgive me.

And as i prayed the prayer that god would forgive me god broke through that fellow's life and he began to weep. And pretty soon he was confessing sins that he had in his heart. I was confessing sin in my heart.

And the two of us who had been way apart from each other two of us who had been going on separate roads even though we were in the same office in the same administrative setup where he ignited together in brokenness before calvary's cross in love with each other because jesus christ loved us.

If you have anything against your brother if your brother has trespassed against you go to him alone and in meekness and humility brokenness present that which is on your heart now don't go running. Every time you see somebody do something wrong you'll be busy all day just correcting people.

Somebody does something wrong somebody sins. You need to go to the lord first in prayer. Secondly i suggest sleeping on it and then in the morning if it's still on your heart that this brother has sinned and you think he probably hasn't repented of it you think he hasn't gotten it right with god.

Then you need to go to him. That's god's principle. But god goes further because sometimes the dear brother will repent until god goes further and he says this. But if we will not hear thee then take with me one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church. But if you neglect to hear the church let it be unto thee as a heathen man or a publican. If you know that this person is sinning against god he refuses to repent.

Then you take two or three witnesses and you present the facts again. And if he still refuses to repent then it's taken to the whole group or to the church. And if he still refuses to repent then it's taken to the whole group or to the church.

And if he refuses to repent then he's to be dismissed and be treated as an outsider. That's god's principle. And it works. We've seen it work for seven years. There was one time when a young fellow who we thought was a good leader we put him in charge of one of the teams in mexico and he sued against that team day after day he sued against that team.

He did wrong and laziness and and the way he commanded them and other things. But the silly team members never approached him on a scriptural basis. They backbited they argued they got him bitter too wrong never did make a right.

Pretty soon the team was one man. I went to this fellow. He'd already been approached singly. So he went three of us and we presented to his face the things that we believed. He had sinned against god in serious things and right.

There was spot. He repented and confessed his sin. That was four and a half years ago. And he has gone on to be one of our best leaders is god's way to have unity. But remember when you go you must go in the spirit.

When you go to correct a brother when you go to present a brother with a fault or a problem you must go in the spirit. And that means that there'll be constantly evident love joy peace long-suffering generous goodness faithfulness and all of these other fruit of the holy spirit.

And if that isn't evident probably all you'll do is stir the water and churn up more hard trouble and more disunity. Oh my god show us that there's a way to unity through calvary's cross and through the principles of the teachings of the lord jesus christ.

What a wonderful thing there is unity in jesus christ. A wonderful wonderful unity. Now i want you to turn to mark the third chapter. Mark chapter 3 the 24th verse. We read this. The kingdom be divided against itself.

A Divided House Cannot Stand: Unity and Prayer for Provision

That kingdom cannot stand as if a house be divided against itself. Satan rise up against himself and be divided. He cannot stand. What's happening. There is tremendous spiritual principle that's expressed in other places in the word of god.

It's expressed in basically this whole idea that a house divided against itself will fall as we said in our opening prayer. Most of us as we hear these challenges as we see the task ahead of us as we see the money we need to pray in or how we need to get desperate concerning the financial situation how we need to believe god how we need to take by faith that which we need.

And i'll tell you the reason we aren't sometimes getting places in the realm of praying in fun is we aren't united. I tell you it's in these crummies when our hearts become united in jesus christ and when we lay down all of our little petty differences and we become one in christ as they will in the new testament that we can unite concerning the funds we need.

And in this tremendous battle to reach men for christ we need to see money. Money is manpower. If we were living maybe a few thousand years ago we wouldn't need money. Because if you wanted to have a shoe put on your horse while you maybe you're working in a garden you bring me some some tomatoes and i'll put a shoe on your horse.

But now we use this this thing this exchange rate this currency. And so money represents talent time energy man effort all converted into currency. That's why we pray for funds. We're not praying for money.

We're praying for manpower. Money represents manpower. My father back in new jersey worked hard there in new jersey but he invested money in europe for the salvation of souls. And it's just as if he were working in europe.

And i believe on the basis of matthew nine praying for labors into the harvest. We pray for money. We pray for labor power into the harvest. And we need to get desperate concerning this. And we need to realize how close this is hinged with our unity one toward another and our unity together in prayer that we might see real answers.

And if your group there on your college is all divided by paid differences and status seeking and desire who's going to be leader. And this fellow's leader he's really not capable and maybe i should be the leader and all this nonsense.

You're never going to claim what you need. You're never going to claim that transportation. You're never going to claim the money. A house divided against itself will fall. And if your little group there on your campus your prayer group your orientation group is divided against itself and it's not united.

It's not going to see great things for god. And i look back over the history of this work and see the fantastic things that god has done. And i've seen this world grow from just three fellows going into mexico with one truck until two thousand young young people last summer with 150 vehicles moved over a million miles of highway to reach tens of thousands of villages for christ i can go back to the word of god.

And i can see that one of the basic reasons that god has blessed over the years and has poured out his spirit upon us and has supplied these tremendous financial means it becomes a spiritual unity the unity that god has given us.

They are over there in turkey and greg over there in india dick dry over there in iran and maynard down in iraq and jonathan over there in switzerland and federico down spain and bollymar and dick griffin and and a heart to just link together and many other people.

We just love one another because god has done an impossible work. I don't understand how i can love some of those fellows. I also understand how i can love some of the italians in our work. I don't understand how i can love some of the fellows in our work who i don't agree with completely inducted.

But god has done a work in our hearts and we've been knit together in love. That's why each year we take a whole month and we meet here in great britain that our unity might again be strengthened. And here as we wait upon god and days of fasting and prayer as we wait upon god and permeating through the night we find our hearts united exploded at moody bible institute a few years ago that made the impact as god united us in prayer as we met together and realized we had no rights.

And that all of our little differences had to go. We had to be united in jesus christ. And unless that happens on your school campus and let that happens in your group you're not going to be a sharp instrument for god.

For disunity makes the instrument blunt. Disunity makes the instrument. Disunity wipes out the power of the effectiveness. You know an angelistic team. And as you go into mexico you'll see that satan will fight you on this point.

Spiritual Gifts, the Body of Christ, and Humble Service

He'll do everything in the world to bring disunity into your team. He'll do everything in the world to make you jealous of your leader. He'll bring everything in the world into your life. To cause you to envy.

To cause you to strive. To cause you to think you're better than the others. To cause you to think the other man's always making mistakes. To cause you to think you know more than they do. The subtle attacks coming through the pride of life false that i tell all things are dumb.

But i might know jesus christ. And we might be one. And the holy spirit are one. It can happen. And when it happens when mechanics and stenographers and types and directors and literature men and radio men and evangelists and teachers become united in jesus christ laying down their secondary matters laying down their little differences their little controversial matters.

And become united in jesus christ realizing that the blood of christ cleanses from all sin. And there will be reconciled to god. I'll tell you when this happens wherever it is there will be spiritual explosion.

There will be spiritual dynamite set off that will eventually shake the whole world for god. This is why this movement i desire is the third of the church those two churches as they're here and they're scattered about those bible believing groups that love the lord jesus christ.

Oh we can criticize them. We can sit back and say they're dead. We can sit back and say well they're not evangelizing. But god hasn't called us to criticize the church. God hasn't called us to judge the church.

God hasn't called us to sell to the church and pass judgment upon it. God called us to love it to love it. And this is the basic heartbeat of this work is to become slaves to one another. Slaves to the existing missionary work.