Dwell on Christ to Dissolve Division From Non-Essential Differences - Kyle White

There's so many differences.

There's so many differences of thought.

There's so many differences

of convictions among us, aren't there?

Haven't you found that to be the case?

I could go down a list.

I've got a few of them written down here.

I'll tell you, if you don't home school,

I question whether you really
have a relationship with God.

There's that kind of thinking.

How about dress? How about music?

How about observance of days?

How about diets?
How about Bible translations?

This doesn't have to be
confession time, does it?

Nuances of doctrine?

I don't think you've quite got that.

I'm not sure you should
even be in our church.

The application of doctrine?

Do we even think people should be

given a period of time to grow?

Or do they have to walk in
the doors where you are?

Oh, aren't you somebody!

You've gotten somewhere, haven't you!

If everybody was just like you...

That's sometimes the
spirit that we give off

as if we got where we got
by our own power?

By the way, the things
that I just mentioned

are not the basis for unity -

not essential unity.

Christ is the basis.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

How will you ever get along?

How will you ever find a church?

You know, there's people that jump

from church to church to church

trying to find the church that fits them,

which they never will find that.

They're looking for the wrong thing.

How are we going to get along?

How about this:

Dwelling on the depths
of the Father's love?

"That they may know that Thou hast sent Me

and hast loved them as You have loved Me."

The Father's love for His Son is amazing!

It's equated to the Father's love for us!

How about that?

Unworthy, imperfect sinners

like you and me.

He didn't pick the cream of the crop.

I'm so thankful that God's work
in my own heart is such

that I can stand and talk to
50-some-odd men wearing white

and I can look at them at this level -

I'm not looking down at them.

And I can look at them at this level

and though I've never done
what they have done,

I honestly can say I don't have
a feeling of superiority to them.

And I'm not suggesting when I say that,

young people and children,

go do what those guys have
done that are wearing white -

you may not even know
what I'm talking about -

that's okay.

I'm not suggesting that at all.

You shouldn't do those things.

I'm just saying before God,

who are you and who am I?

He set His love upon me

for no reason found in me,

for no reason found in you.

That ought to help us
in our relationships.

You celebrate Christmas?

I don't.

I love you, brother.

I'm not going to chalk you
up as some sort of pagan.

Okay?

I'm going to dwell together with you

in a relationship.

You want to know why I don't?

I'll listen to why you do.

Right?

We can talk. Maybe we
can help one another.

Maybe both of us are off-center.

Maybe we need to grow together.

But being amazed that He loves us

as He has loved His only begotten Son,

that ought to help us deal

with our distinctions.

You see, when redeemed sinners -

I love looking out here today and tonight

and seeing - I don't know

if every ethnicity in
the world is present,

but there's quite a lot
of differences here.

Are there any Asians here?

Asians? Okay.

I love that when I look at our own church

and we have the multiplicity.

I love that.

It kind of looks like -

I don't know exactly what it's
going to be like in Heaven,

but I kind of have a picture -

it's kind of going to look like that.

So why not on earth?

But when redeemed sinners

from every background of life -

not just different ethnicities -

backgrounds - some of you are
educated, some of you are not.

some of you are wealthy...
are you wealthy?

Some of you are wealthy
and some of you are not.

Different classes of people.

Some of you grew up in the hood.

Some of you didn't.

But none of that matters when
you're in Christ, does it?

It really doesn't.

It's like it all evaporates.

All the cultural distinctions.

We come together and we worship

and we serve the Lord together,

demonstrating selfless,
sacrificial relationships.

Brethren, that's an evidence to the world

that the Father's love is real!

It's real. Christ is real!

And it's interesting to me that God

wants the world to know about His love

by way of what they see

in our relationships to one another.

You say, well, I thought the
cross demonstrated His love?

Well, the greatest manifestation
of God's love is at the cross.

But you see, it's our
relationship of unity

because of our union with God in Christ

that validates that story of the cross.

You see?

And God has chosen that it would be

our demonstration of unity

that would speak to the world

about His great love

that we have come to know.

Have you taken the
expression of unity seriously?

As seriously as you ought to

with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

This excerpt was taken from Part 2

of Kyle's series on Christian Unity.