United We Stand

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Psalms 34:3

It is through togetherness that we magnify and exalt the name of the Lord.  Jesus prayed in John 17:21-23, “That all of them (referring to us) may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me.” Jesus is calling us into the same oneness as He has with the Father. This is achieved because He has placed His glory or very nature in us. The result of this unity with Christ and with each other is that the world will see Jesus in us.

This unity was demonstrated in the early church. Acts 2:44 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” The results were signs and wonders, they enjoyed the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47) When Peter and John were threatened by the religious leadership, then released, Acts 4:24 and 31 says, “When they (the church) heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God…. After they prayed, the place they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

The early church’s ability not only to stand but also to prosper in the midst of adversity was born out of their relationship with the Father and each other. With the growing opposition we are facing in the world today, we cannot afford to walk and minister in isolation. We need to take heed to the example of Christ himself and the early church, which grew in the midst of intense persecution. Our ability to penetrate the darkness relies on our relationship with Christ and each other. Together we need to take on the forces of darkness.  When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer, and when one part rejoices, we all rejoice. We need to pray for one another, encourage one another, and work together.

In Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones, the first prophetic word was that the bones were to come together so that flesh could come on to the bones. The second prophetic word was for breath to come into the bodies that they might live and become a vast army. I believe the prophetic word at this hour is that we come together in a greater way, believer with believer, church with church, until we impact our communities with the Gospel of Christ. It is only as a united body that we will stand and the glory of the Lord can be revealed through us to the nations.

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

Andy Clark