Pentecost 9 July 30, 2006

“Rejoice in the Blessings of Unity”

Psalm 133

1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

Fill in the blank…”A person is happiest when…” When he has plenty of cold, hard cash? No. When he is on a permanent vacation? No. When he has some type of combination of cash and vacation? Those things might bring us some joy but it isn’t that great. It never lasts. A person is happiest when he has unity with God and with others. The root of all peaceful relationships on earth is THE peaceful relationship we cherish with the LORD. What a blessing to be at peace with the Lord! It is truly the most wonderful blessing there is. And other peaceful relationships flow from unity with the LORD. The happiest marriage is husband and wife at peace with one another. The happiest family reunions take place when siblings are not at war with one another but are at peace. You enjoy your job the most when you have good relationships with your coworkers. Let me say this one more time to let it sink in. A person is happiest when he has unity with God and with others.

Let’s play fill in the blank one more time. “The devil is happiest when…” The devil is happiest when your relationships are terrible. The very things that make us unhappy are what make the devil glow with joy. The devil does cartwheels when he watches a wife demean and belittle her husband in frustration. The devil loves it when family reunions are a time of cold shoulders and everyone-walking-on-eggshells instead of warm celebrations. The devil has fun listening to coworkers gossip about one another. And, of course, Satan loves to prevent anyone from getting their hands on the Word and enjoying a peaceful relationship with the Lord. Nothing delights him more than watching someone get angrier and angrier with God. A person is happiest when he has unity with God and others; and the devil is happiest when unity with God and/or others is thrashed and broken.

Unity is a tremendous blessing and it is not to be taken lightly. It’s not the easiest thing to maintain. It is worth remembering that we have an enemy out there prowling around like a roaring lion, waiting to pounce and destroy every shred of unity we might hold close. We need encouragement from the Scriptures to maintain our unity, don’t we? Today’s slice of Scripture will describe the precious unity that is enjoyed by Christians – the unity with others and the unity with God. Listen as I read for you Psalm 133.

Did you catch the two metaphors to which unity is compared? We’re going to spend a little time with them so I can explain them. The first metaphor is that unity is like precious oil running down Aaron’s beard and onto his collar. To understand the metaphor, first you need to know who Aaron was. He was Moses’ brother – the very first high priest and the very first spiritual leader of Israel. You also need to know why Aaron – or anyone for that matter – would enjoy having oil running down his beard and collar. When someone was inaugurated into an important position, like a prophet, priest or king, you were anointed with oil to mark that you were the one set aside for this important task. The anointing of a new leader was a very important and happy occasion for the Israelites. As the fragrant oil flowed down his head, and onto his beard and collar, so also the unity of God flows gently from him and covers us in every way.

The second metaphor was that unity was like the dew of Hermon falling on Mt. Zion. In a climate like ours that normally has an abundance of rain, dew might seem to be more like a nuisance. If you cut your grass at 7am, your socks and shoes are going to get soaked! That is not something to rejoice about. But in Israel, where you could go for months without rainfall, dew was not a nuisance but a refreshing blessing. And here is one other detail for you to know about: Mt. Hermon was a towering mountain rising 10,000 feet above the sea level. Mt. Zion was much smaller, only 3,000 feet above sea level. Which of the two would get more dew? Mt. Hermon would get much more. But notice what the Scripture says – unity is like the dew of HERMON falling on ZION. If the amount of dew of tall Hermon would fall on dry, arid, small Mt. Zion – that would be an amazing and refreshing amount of moisture. In the same way, when a congregation is united in its doctrine and work, a simply amazing amount of abundant blessings showers upon it. We are happiest when we are in unity with God and with one another.

So if it is true that we are happiest when we are enjoying abundant unity with God and others, why do we do things to ruin the precious unity? Why do we say things that are hurtful and not words of forgiveness? Why do we tear one another down rather than build one another up? Why are we so quick to say, “Your fault!” and so slow to ask, “How can I help?” Why do we give each other cold shoulders rather than warm hugs or handshakes? Why do we embrace dis-unity and make the devil happy?

Ripping apart others with your tongue is sinful. Being angry with someone is sinful. Wanting to blame everyone except for yourself is sinful too. We are sinful people living in a sinful world. You have done those things and so have I. We have sinned against others with reckless abandon. Our sins have wrecked our chance for unity with God. Our sins deserve to be smashed and punished by God in eternal hell. If God would treat us as our sins deserve, there would be no such thing as abundant blessings of unity.

But look at what our dear Lord has done. He has forgiven reckless sinners like us. He has punished his own Son for the terrible things we have done and said. He has forgiven us for our lies, for ripping others apart, he has wiped from our record the moments of playing the blame game, he has abolished our sins of wrecking unity. God has forgiven all. God has forgiven me and you. God has brought gentle peace and forgiveness into our lives like the abundant dew of Mount Hermon. God has dripped love and restoration upon us like soothing oil on our foreheads. God has provided abundant unity for us…and this unity will never dry up. It lasts forever! Listen to verse three. (read v.3)

Be empowered now to enjoy blessings of unity all over again. Instead of being an expert in tearing others apart, become an expert in listening. Instead of being quick to say, “This is your fault!” be quick to say, “Let me encourage you in the beautiful Word of God.” We hear this very encouragement at the end of many of our services when the pastor says, “Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve your Lord with gladness.”

Living in unity applies to any congregation at any point, but it especially applies to one that is marching on through a building program. Make it personal goal number one to have a unity mindset throughout the remainder of our project together. Make it personal goal number two to do anything humanly possible to help your Christian brothers and sisters have a unity mindset throughout the remainder of our project together. When something goes right, let’s rejoice together in the deepest joy. And if something should go wrong, let’s not point the finger at one another. Let’s not get into the blame game. Let’s stop being experts in tearing each other down. What a fantastic chance we have to tick the devil off! Not even a major building program can derail our deep, wonderful Christian unity.

The devil is happiest when unity with God and/or others is thrashed and broken. But the Christian is happiest when he has unity with God and with others. So, brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve your Lord with gladness. And the blessings of unity will only become more and more abundant. Amen.