Handling Disunity on the Sidewalk (Part 2)

0:00 I Am Yours, I am yours, I am yours and me, Lord, I am your. Welcome to the Gospel Center, Pray Life podcast. This week's episode is taking up where we left off on last week's episode. So this is part two of dealing with disunity on the sidewalk. Stay tuned, Lord, I felt show passish touch your heart. Use Me, Lord, in this next section. What we did was we kind of make a summary Statement and then talk about the verse that supports that statement and maybe you might have some stuff to add. Sure, with each of those. So the first one participate fully in the same spirit. You have the same spirit in the verse. That, I think, exemplifies that, or one of them is Philippians two, one, twenty three. Therefore, if there's any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind, letting nothing be done in selfish ambition or through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself. Yeah, one of the points with this passage and with the passes that we read in Ephesians. Is Humility? Yeah, not thinking ourselves to be more important because,

1:33 after all, we've got it all figured out theologically. Yeah, that's a point of pride. A lot of a lot of times our theology can really get ahead of our heart, like it's our head in front of our heart rather than being led by the Holy Spirit. Now I don't mean to say that we just be led by our feelings, our emotions. We need to be led by the word of God. But if you imagine that, or if you're deceived enough to believe that you've got it all figured out theologically, then relationally you ain't got it all figured out. In this life currently, with our fallen minds and our incomplete understanding of certain theological truths, we have to be willing to say in humility, I ain't got it all figured out. I got some stuff figured out, I got some plain truths in God's word. But even Paul says in First Corinthians, believe chapter thirteen, it says now we see in a glass or in a mirror dimly like we don't have the full picture. We've got what God has given us in his word and it's sufficient. God's Word is sufficient for us to live and too and to do the things that God has called us to do. But we don't have all these things figured out. There's still some stuff that's yet to be figured out. We have to leave allowance for that with other brothers and sisters in the Lord so that we don't just in pride, disunify with people because, after all, or not of our same theological or as cutological or so teological stripe or whatever they they can't possibly know as much as I do.

2:59 My mom always taught us to to say, you might be right, yeah, you might be right. She said those were important words to learn to express to another human being instead of just saying you're wrong, I'm right. Yeah, you might be right, and then a discussion can follow that. Yeah, so, okay, aim for restoration, peace, comfort and agreement. And and the verse that specifically says that is Second Corinthians Thirteen, verse eleven. Okay, it say it's finally, brethren, Farewell, become complete, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. HMM.

3:40 BE OF ONE MIND, agree with one another. Mind says yeah, and also says in verse twelve, Greek one another with a holy kiss, right. So, yeah, you to do that too. You need yeah, no, I'm just not in the covid days. And Not in the covid days you can greet one another with the air kiss, right, you're with your mask bump. All Right, okay. So Romans fifteen, five to six. Okay. Points out another main point which we started touched on. What is the goal? And the goal is to glorify God. Yeah, absolutely so, you got that right. Should be always five the goal. That should always be the goal. Now, may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may, with one mind and one mouth, glorify God and the father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Yeah, so, I mean I think we're giving you guys enough scripture to know that unity is important, that this is important to God, and it's not something that even in the early years of Christianity they didn't have to do with and an address. They had to address it constantly, Paul. That's why I mentioned so many times.

4:51 If it's such a pervasive issue, then there's going to be a lot of scripture yeah, talking about how to guide, do it that, and you've got this done amic going on that I mentioned when we first started. The Devil knows how to divide and conquer. Yeah, you know, and so he's sadly very good at it. He is very good at it and more often than I think we would cared to admit, we fall prey to some of those some of those tactics. Yeah, we got to fight that, we got to fight this unity, because it's it we're we're green with Satan if we allow it to continue. Yeah, so, especially if we're the cause of it. Yeah. But so the next two are kind of the I'm going to combine them. Don't be haughty, shoot for harmony and don't be arrogant. They kind of hear the same thing. Yeah, and a good one. Romans twelve. Two verses in Romans twelve actually addressed that.

5:36 Romans twelve three maybe might be the best one. Okay, for I say, through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Yeah, thanking soberly, thinking rightly viewing ourselves rightly that yeah, I'm not perfect. Ain't got it all figured out. I'm doing my best to try to figure out and with the guidance of the Scripture and the Holy Spirit and the accountability of my local church, I'm trying to do the best I can to figure these things out before the Lord. But I ain't got it all figured out. Yeah, be humble, yeah, and don't be arrogant. Next, love lavishly. Collect Colossians three fourteen. There's plenty of verses, yeah, in the Bible that talk about the power of love, but Colossians three and fourteen is is a is a really good one. Okay, but above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

6:31 Love is the bond of perfection. Yeah, mind sets, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and harmony is what we're seeking. Yeah, but to be bound together and perfect. You know, I'll say pect harmony. The word perfection actually can mean maturity as well, and it is a mark of maturity for the believer to be able to seek unity, to be able to unify, even in spite of certain flaws and in whatever these things might be, to be able to seek unity to be able to overlook other people's flaws, or at least apparent flaws to you, because some people's flaws to us, or actually flaws in the way that we see right, they're not like us and therefore we see flaws. Yeah, but a mark of Christian maturity is to be able to unify even in spite of those things and meet people where they are, you know, and so we need to see unity by meeting people where they are and you never know where you might bring them. If you can recognize that, hey, maybe you're not as far long as you should be, but but you recognize with the spirit of unity, you can disciple and possibly, and I think we're going to get there with Paul and Barnabas. That's one of the issues that happens as a result of how that issue of disunity was dealt with. Pursue peace and mutual understanding in Romans Fourteen nineteen is a good verse for looking at that goal, to pursue peace and mutual I'm sorry, up building, not not understanding. Okay, yeah, so, therefore, let us pursue the things which make for

8:03 peace and the things by which one may edify another, Edifi for an and mind set up building, but I like edify, yeah, that you're edifying. You're building them up for the work so that they can continue in the work. So recognize in Romans Twelve, four twenty five, this is an important one. Recognize the differences may have a God ordained purpose. Differences may not necessarily be a bad thing. They may be something God has specifically planned. Yeah, in bringing you together. I know that I've personally experienced growth in my life and my walk with the Lord by being around people that maybe necessarily aren't of the same denomination as me. I mean, you can learn a like to be eclectic in the things that I listened to as far as preachers and teachers like. I listened to people that I don't necessarily align with.

9:03 So triologically, their doctrine of salvations maybe not the same as mine, but I listened to them because I can learn stuff from them. Right, and we're always going to have people that don't exactly align with everything that we agree with or the we believe theologically. Again, I'm talking about peripheral issues, things that are not necessarily the central tenets of the faith. Yeah, and this scripture speaks to that. Who are you to judge another man's servant to his own master? He stands or falls. Indeed, he will stand, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another and another esteems every day alike.

9:43 Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. And so again this is kind of this issue of these peripheral things, and maybe we could apply it directly to people who think that you should worship on Sunday or you should worship on Saturday. There are people who would think that maybe we should the Lord's Day is actually the Sabbath is actually on Saturday. There's Ay. Well know, the Lord's Day actually is on Sunday, and so he's maybe talking particularly about that, and that is a sense. That is a point of disunity sometimes, but it's not a gospel issue. Now, of course, if people are saying unless you worship on the Sabbath, unless you worship on Saturday, you're not saved, will Paul directly addresses that? He's talking about that actually here and he talks about that in other places, and that will be an issue of contention. Yeah, but if just is an issue of preference, that should not be something that disunifies us right, right, and and sometimes even differences can can point out something that God really wants us to know about you. So how about this one? Stir one another two good works and encourage and so encouraging each other is very important when you're in a very difficult ministry like abortion, sidelock ministry is so this is he brews ten, twenty three and twenty five. But we all need encouragement and one of the horrible parts of disunity is it causes great discouragement, and we know that from talking to our many missionaries have told us this is an issue. So did you have that one? He Brews? Hebrews ten, twenty three to

11:16 twenty five. Yeah, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised his faithful. Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. MMM Yeah, can unity does that helps us encourage one another, to stir each other up in love and good works? Yeah, yeah, okay, see, can speak truth. He can speak truth. Is is definitely important in learning how to help us all to UNIFIGH. So Effesians for hundred and twenty five. Okay, speak to that issue. Therefore putting away lying, that each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, if we are members of one another, if they're out there lying, yeah, we need to we need to to address it.

12:03 It does need to be addressed, that's for sure. That's a point of I won't say contention, but that's the point that we need to address. Yeah, but there's a way to address that in such a way that that honors the Lord and doesn't lend itself to this that just disunified spirit that's out there. One of the things that we teach, because there are times when people need to be addressed, even people who are volunteers with us. We were under our charge, but still addressing those things in a matthew eighteen spirit where you know, Jesus is saying, if you find fault in your brother, between you and him, go and deal with it and then, if he doesn't repent, then you bring another brother and then if he doesn't repent, then you bring it before the church. Right. And so if you find a false of some money's out there on the sidewalk lying or whatever they might be doing, this dishonoring the Lord. A unifying way to deal with that is the take them to the side and talk to them just between you and them. Now this is somebody who maybe is volunteered under you, but maybe it's someone who's not, who's just out there on the side of what they're doing, their thing. I have seen these situations play out and it's not where someone lied, but someone was saying something that was not theologically in line and maybe they didn't know. It's possible they didn't know and they didn't know. Okay, and in a situation where they were addressed out loud publicly and it just added to the confusion, it offended the person even more, rather than just addressing it. Now I've seen it done in the way I'm talking about, to where it's been addressed to the side. That person was not embarrassed because they whatever they were doing that was wrong was not called

13:35 out in front of everybody, and the situation turned out far better in that scenario than the one where, Hey, your mother Blahah but you know, yeah, there's a matthew eighteen progression of the way to deal with these things. God's words always the best. Yeah, and and I believe that's the way to do with it. When you when you finding fault and someone's Heather's lying, and something that I thought of when I as I was just reading it, is that sometimes we're lying, not purposely. I honestly never tell, as far as I know, a purposeful lie out on the sideback, but sometimes even a pro abortion person will tell me, well, you just said, it's not true. Most of the time they're wrong. Yeah, what I've said is true, but I had been saying something that I actually was all off. I went home and checked it and and I was off by a few weeks and what I was saying and I and I corrected it.

14:26 Yeah, so never discount the possibility that you could be yourself. Make sure that what you are speaking is truth. Be Aware of that. This is similar to that. Be Wary of those who spread false doctrine, and Romans six seventeen deals with that, because when, when you when there are people spreading false doctrine, because false doctrine is not of God, and so that's going to be that's going to be a source of disunity. Yeah, absolutely, and you know, there's a sense in which it needs to be a source of disuse. Exactly. People are spreading false doctrine. We should not unify with that. That's right, but those issues again, can be addressed in such a way that honors Lord, rather than just pointed out and just in front of everybody or whatever. These can be dealt with in a one on one basis and I believe that lends itself more to actually a restorative yeah, situation where things turn out better than just calling people out. Yeah, and so it's important again that our motives ultimately are not just to correct people but to bring glory to the name of Jesus. And course, correcting false doctrine does bring glory to the name of Jesus, but there's a way to do it. One man said, you can be practically right and relationally wrong, and we want to make sure that we're relationally right and practically you with well, theologically biblically right in the way that we deal with these things.

15:50 And so Paul says in this passage is the Romans sixteen, verse seventeen. I urge you, brethren, note those who are who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them. So there is an avoidance, and I'll say one of the reasons why, personally, I am so strong and so heavy on this idea that you've got to be a part of a local church to volunteer with us to be one of our sidewalk missionaries and come and train here at our boot camp here in Charlotte, you've got to be a part of a local church. I want to talk to your pastor. That's one of the references when people fill out our application to become a sidewalk missionary, for for us to consider to take them on as a sidewalk missionary, they've got to give us their pastoral reference. I've got to call their pastor. I'm going to have a conversation with him. That's important to me so that if they slip into this, I can hold them accountable. I can go to their pastor and I can talk with their pastor about holding them accountable. And so that's a that's a point that to me, is very important because I've seen people with this sort of spirit who come out there and they cause disunity and cause division, do some real damage and if they can't be dealt with in a church context, it's really hard to deal with those people. Right now, that suits I say the all that to say that there is a point where we need to disunify and say that person's not with us, but yet still to have that as our constant mantra.

17:17 Like I wouldn't make up a sign that said this person's not with me, with a narrow yeah, with an Arrow. I've been tempted to do that, I have to, but I wouldn't do that because I don't think it would help the scenario. I don't think it would bring more more clarity to the situation. It would bring more confusion. Yeah, but that is a powerful verse. Avoid them. Yeah, those that cause because of false do false doctrine, are creating division on the any wherever you are. Avoid them. Yeah, I guess you've gone through the Matthew eighteen process, you would assume. Yeah, and and if that has been in effective, avoid them. So it's a serious issue. Yeah, so critical in in restoring unity. Always, Collossians three hundred and thirteen talks about this. Yeah, it's forgiveness, to forgive graciously. If someone has wronged you in a spirit of disunity, to forgive them and if you have wrong someone yourself in a spirit of disunity, that you ask for forgiveness. One of the things that I have experienced over the years. I know you have as well that as much as you strive for unity, as much as you want to be unified, and as much as our teams are on the same page, I mean we're we're together, we're connected, we love each other, we care about you each other. There's going to be times where people are going to argue.

18:34 There's going to be times where someone talks over another person and somebody just in a bad mood and they get offended in there like yeah, and and they want to come to you or come to me and say, Hey, this person did that and it's not we're always wanting them to matthew eighteen. Deal with it between you and them. Right, but we have to be aware that these things are going to come up and there's going to be in the midst of the battle, there's going to be maybe some friendly fire, whatever. That's why we have to be understanding, like this passage is talking about. Be Gracious, be patient, be willing to forgive. Yeah, that person might have said something that offended you. Hey, listen, it's life. It's going to happen. Yeah, and and deal with it in a biblical way. Don't just internalize it and stew over it, deal with it and then forgive. Yeah, your wife recommended. I read a book called the Bait of Satan. Yeah, because and that deals with this.

19:25 That that the the problem. If you don't have a forgiving spirit, if you're holding grudges, if you let those things fester, it grows into bitterness and it is, it is one of Satan's greatest tools. Yeah, and so you need to learn to just let that go in the forgiveness. Being able to forgive others is critical. Yeah, and absolutely process. Yeah, so be grounded in truth. That's kind of I hope we have made it clear how important that is. Colosshoms to eight directly deals with that, but to to speak the truth. And the only way you can speak the truth and be grounded in truth as if you know the truth. Yeah, where do we find that, Daniel? We find it in the word of God.

20:06 That's right, always, always, and and that's the only place to find it. And we've already talked about the matthew eighteen approach when all else fails, and I think that is kind of to if you're going to be calling through the whole process of Matthew Eighteen. Hopefully you've tried other ways before you go into calling a pastor or witness or whatever to come against a fellow Christian, but seek wisdom and assistance from the church. Yeah, and when all else fails, absolutely so practical suggestions derived from all of this. Now you've you've gone over the sources of disunity, you've gone over the goals of the people that are out there, you've gone over the biblical rationale for unity.

20:57 What do we do with with all of that? And I think I wrote eight main areas and I don't know. I can read them and if you feel like you want to answer on any of the the first one asked questions of the group to help them clarify their goals. Just don't do and assume that they're evil or assume you know their motivation. Ask Them Questions, sure, find out they're, what their goals are and why they're doing what they're doing. Secondly, to commend any positives in the group that you're conf fronting. Okay, people always respond better when they first of all hear a kind word before you last them pray with and for each other. Sometimes we forget about doing that with with groups that we're not really unified with. Yeah, but praying with them can make a world of difference. Seek compromise, but be careful on this one. Seek compromise, but never a biblical truth.

21:53 Yeah, you can't compromise on Biblical truth, but maybe there are other things you can compromise on. Maybe you can compromise on where they stand, yeah, or or where they hold the sign that you would prefer they not hold it. Maybe you could compromise on a different position up the street or whatever. Yeah, with that sign number five affirmed their purpose, if not their methods. I've heard you do that so many times, Daniel, with some of our our friends out there that are not the same as us. Yeah, we really don't agree with their methods, but I've heard you thank them for for just their faithfulness and being there, for their zeal. Yeah, if not how they bring things about, how they how they do things.

22:37 Rebuke privately, not publicly. We've said that many times. People will always receive it better. Very important discern if it's disunity or diversity and always, always go to scripture. Yes, just support your views. And the other point here that I think hopefully we touched. o't. We thoroughly touched don't. Is that just because you perceive this unity doesn't mean that it's actually this unity. We have to check our own hearts, right, because again, if just because somebody's not doing it like you would do it, doesn't necessarily mean they're doing it wrong, because that can be prideful, right. Just just remember that point, right. And so now we're going to end with talking about what happened, okay, with Barnabass and and Paul, because they I love what one author and I put in the article that we will post. You'll be able to find this article, but he summarized. Paul and Barnabass did have different gifts, different perspectives and even different callings, but they remain to the end, one in the faith and in the bonds of love. Their parting was a division, but not a divorce. I love that line. Yeah, it was a division, not a divorce. So, but they still spoke with one one voice and one love, which was Jesus Christ. But so, what happened? What happened to these two?

23:56 They separated. Yeah, they went in their different ways. And what was the result of that? Was that good? Bad? In different yeah, I mean I think it was a good thing. It seems that well, I mean in one sense they were able to get more work done. Yeah, so Barnabas is able to go with John Mark in one direction, Paul and Silas go in another direction, and seems, all things said and all things done, that at the end then, toward the end of Paul's life, he actually wants John Mark to come and in commends him. Yeah, so that a wonderful example of God's redemptive power through yeah, unifying and in love and a voys absolutely, it's awesome. You know, it's an awesome it's that awesome reality that if we'll seek with pure motives to honor the Lord, to do what's right in his side, to seek unity, to strive, to endeavor to keep the unity the spirit in the bond of peace, got all onto that and there will be unity. Yeah, even though there's going to be diversity, there can be unity in the midst of that diversity.

25:00 So here's a great quote I love. I love this quote from it. I think it was a quote. I don't have it in quotes. Maybe I came up with this. Wow, it's really good yourself. So, yeah, in the division of Pallen Barnabass, just as you said, the result was positive and in fact mark was restored to become a leader in the early church and to successful ministry ventures were accomplished through that. But listen to this. Disunity divides, but diversity multiplies. So diversity multiplied the effects of the ministry so that more people were reached for the Lord when those diverse gifts, rather than just being shut down, were were encouraged. Yeah, and we went, they did go in different directions. Yeah, but the the fine no, result was God was further glorified. Yeah, and that is ultimately the goal, that Jesus Christ is glorified and what we do.

25:59 Yeah. So, guys, we appreciate Y'all just tuning in and sharing this podcast and we appreciate if you guys would shoot us over an email let us know what you think of the podcastle let us let us know some ideas that you have, some guests that maybe we should have on to interview. Let us know maybe some of the questions that you have that you'd like for us to try to tackle from a Gospel Center perspective. So you can reach out to me, D parks, at cities for lifecom. You can reach her vcassey Org, at cities for Lifecom and until next time. God bless give me our love for love. Give me our love for gratitude. I know it will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious, and some that you