ONE: Heart & Purpose

Ever been with people but not really WITH them?  It has happened to me plenty of times. Even though I may be in close proximity, and even share some things in common with them, I’m not really WITH them.  Not on the same page.  Not going the same direction. Not really much in common.  And not a lot of care on my part to do anything about those disconnects.

I think for some of us we have maybe felt that way about church.  We are in proximity to people, but not really WITH them.  We may have some things in common, but not really moving together or on the same page.

The picture of the Church that we see in Acts was different.

“All the believers were united in heart and mind…” Acts 4:32 (nlt)

They were together.  They were unified.  They were ONE.

“Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” Amos 3:3

The answer: NO.

The issue so often comes down to focus.  What are we in agreement on.  The word “agree” in Amos 3:3 in the original Hebrew means to “become one”.  Most of the time we focus on what we CAN’T agree on: the style of music, the social groups, the leadership style, the teaching style, the carpet color…

The Church in Acts was able to expereince what they experienced because they were unified.  They were ONE.  What were they unified in?  Did they all have the exact same ideas?  Probably not.  Did they all dress the same?  Unlikely.  Did they all come from the same social context?  Nope.  So what was it that could take a group of people from different places, different back grounds, different personalities and make them accomplish something great together?  The answer is that they were ONE in heart and purpose: Knowing Jesus and making Him known.

We can walk together and accomplish great things!  How?  Because we can all rally around the main thing: Jesus.  We might not be able to agree about everything, but we can all, as believers, focus and come together on the main thing: knowing Jesus and making Him known!

I love our young people and what God is doing at Eastridge Youth every single week.  As we kicked off our series “ONE” this last week I talked about the fact that only Jesus could take a group of people as diverse in style, music choice, athletic ability, and social groups and unify them.  How do we keep our youth ministries moving forward together?  Get them focused (and re-focused) on the only thing that can take people who otherwise would have no reason to be together and move together: knowing Jesus and making Him known.

ONE HEART: To Know Jesus

ONE PURPOSE: To Make Jesus Known

That is what we are moving forward with as a student ministry.  But it has to become an individual responsibility before it will become a corporate reality.  So as a pastor and leader I must make sure that my heart remains to know Jesus.  And out of that heart flows a passion and purpose: to share that reality by making Jesus known.