Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word.... that they may be one, even as we are one: I in
them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the
world may know that thou hast sent me....
– John 17:20-23
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Over the years the Church has
come up with all kinds of elaborate ways to evangelize the world. We get
together and map out plans and strategies and raise money for it. But
through it all, we rarely mention the plan that Jesus gave us.
Most
believers don't even realize that He gave us the key to winning the
world, but He did. He prayed about it right before He went to the Cross.
He asked the Father to bring us into a place of such oneness with each
other and with Him that the world would know that He had been sent from God.
If
you and I and all the rest of the Body of Christ would get together and
start loving each other, we'd evangelize the world so fast it would
make your head swim. It's true. But until recently, we've been too busy
scrapping with one another and getting our feelings hurt to give it much
thought.
But, praise God, it's beginning to dawn on some folks
now that we need to stop that stuff. We need to start treating Jesus'
command that we love one another as a command instead of an alternative. We need to drop our silly arguments and be unified by the Spirit of God.
Do
you want to take a step toward evangelizing the world today? Then start
praying for oneness. Make up your mind that you're going to start
loving your fellow believers instead of criticizing, complaining and
talking ugly about them.
Start confessing that the Church of God
is going to rise up together in faith and love as one glorious Body
driven by the power of Jesus Himself. We are, you know. Jesus prayed
that it would happen, and the Holy Spirit is already bringing it to
pass.
Satan would like to stop it, but he can't. It's far more
powerful than he is—and it's going to blast a hole in his operation
that's big enough to drive a train through. It's going to let the whole
world know that Jesus truly is Lord!
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