Canaan Fellowship

Dr. Bill Teubl - Unity within the Church

Download

Bruce Hempel - Hearing and Acting on Truth

Download

Dr. Bill Teubl - Unity in the Church:

Psalm 133 – the unity of the church is significant and vital to the success of the church. Two similes used in this chapter: oil and Aaron.
If I am at peace with God, then I can be at peace with those around me. We cannot have peace with others until we have peace with God. The cross is our connection with peace.

Ephesians 2:11-22

V12 – This is the normal state of man—separation. We are separated from God and from others. There are three things in this verse: separation from Christ, fellowship, and God. The commonwealth of Israel is God’s blessing.

V13 – If we’re close to God, we can be close to each other. We must also see the closeness of our fellow sisters and brothers and the Lord, in order to see the love of God

V14 - God knows the tangles and complications between Christians in the church. God gives grace for these issues.

V 15 – There is a contrast between the work of the law and the work of the cross being drawn in this verse. Jesus affirms the truth the law, but we should not deal with our brothers and sisters on the basis of the law. We should have hope for others who are living outside the will of God, but if we are operating in a spirit of condemnation then we should reevaluate our expectations. If we view each other with grace, then we will be at peace.

V17 - changes will happen when we access the father together--normally through prayer. Through unity we can accomplish much more in prayer.

V19 - Where God finds unity, He has the freedom to do the things that he wants to do. We must be a blessing to one another before we can find unity and peace.

Bruce Hempel - Hearing and Acting on Truth

1 Peter 2:1-10 - If we're in rebellion to Christ, we will be ground into powder.

V9 - The word tells us that we, as Christians, are a nation.

What is required in order to build a nation? God created a people (nation) in order to bring many blessings to the world. Abraham was the beginning of the nation. Abraham had two sons--Jacob and Esau--one was godly, the other was not. At this point in Genesis we see much chaos. If we look at a formal definition of nation, we might read something concerning common values, heritage, and livelihood.

In order to enter the spiritual Israel, we must each individually accept God's promise. This is not the same as normal ancestry.

We hear truth every Sunday; however, whether we apply what is spoken is another point. The parable of building a house on sand vs. a rock enforces this point. What we DO versus what we HEAR is the difference between a blessing and no blessing. Take truth in and apply it.

When Jesus asked his disciples who he was, Peter replied with what he believed. As Christians we must make the individual decision. If God speaks to us, we must be ready, willing, and able to do it.

A nation is not made great by money or military, but what is in the hearts of the people of the nation. America today is not a great nation, spiritually. We, as Christians, are part of a kingdom that will never pass away. Our point of identification should be with the kingdom of God.

The Lord wants to make us radically different from the world. He wants to do this by changing the way we spend our time, money, and our thoughts.