Development is discipleship plus.

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TIME MAGAZINE
The value of + is that it implies more, better, premium, without being specific as to content, scale, or degree of premium-ness. It suggests customers will be getting something extra without making it at all clear what that extra thing might be.”

Development is discipleship plus more.
It is the power of becoming like Christ (which remember, that message never changes)
but with the added benefit of a method that is tailored to you
through opportunities, mentorship, serving, groups (meetups), and outside the four walls daily engagement, like the daily hit, and MORE

Development is a process where you become better in every aspect of your life.

If you are not in a situation where you wake up every day with the intent of getting better,
and if you lay your head down at night knowing you haven’t gotten better
I would loving like to invite you to step into a development process.

That might be the online Empower class as a first step: freedomdl.com/empower
That might be jumping into a meetup: freedomdl.com/meetups
That might be sending in a connect card: in the seat pocket or freedomdl.com/connect
That might be asking for help: freedomdl.com/help
That might mean coming up for prayer after service
That might mean coffee this week with someone here you think could help.
Whatever it is, take the step into development.

No one ever said I wish I weren’t developed.
Most people say I wish I had started sooner.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.
The second best time is now.

Jesus is our Message
People are our priority
Development is our focus
Unity is our pursuit
Team is our structure
Excellence is our standard
Generosity is our privilege

Unity Is Our Pursuit – When unity happens, God commands a blessing. Unity is more than getting along. It is linking arms and moving the Kingdom forward, in our lives and in our city. But unity is not natural. It is something we have to collectively go after, which is why at Freedom, we pursue it. Our pursuit is to build bridges, not walls, and that is done through unity.

Now listen, before you check out here I want you to know that unity is not just a thing at church.

Unity can make or break your life. And every aspect of it.

Let’s talk about 3 key elements to unity and then identify some enemies of unity.

1. Unity requires you love them first.
Colossians 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

If there is no love in your heart for the one with whom you disagree, then all is lost. It is easy to hate an enemy. It is easy to denigrate someone you don’t care about. It is easy to draw up battle lines and begin the assault. It is easy to get into dogmatic mindsets that demand people choose a side. We all know there is one side, the other, and the truth in the middle. The mindset that says “I’m right and they are wrong” is the sweetest aroma to pride. That mindset blinds you to any wrongdoing in your own heart. That mindset creates bitterness in you that breeds hate in your heart towards that person. If you don’t believe me then let someone accuse you of something you didn’t do and watch how your flesh responds to it.
- First is disbelief because logic has been completely ignored.
- Second is frustration because they won’t see the truth.
- Third is anger.
- Fourth is bitterness.
- Fifth is broken relationship.

But did you notice in the verse the phrase “and above all these?”
When you see something like that or like “therefore,” you need to go back and read what the passage is talking about because that will help you understand what the verse is talking about.

Colossians 3:12-13 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

So if we really want unity we have to love each other.
When you do what love does, you feel what love feels. Chuck Warnock.
When you do what love does, you do what love does. Jason Cowart

Huh? When I am in a situation where I feel wronged, I have the choice to do what love does. What does love do? Unifies. How? By doing what love does. What does love do? Goodness. who is on first?

Love takes off the robe of justice and puts on the robe of holiness, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience. Love chooses to bear the person’s burden. Love chooses to forgive.

Unity doesn’t happen until love does.
If you have a problem with someone in your world, you’ll never reconcile with them. What if you don’t want to reconcile? I GET IT! There are some relationships that will never be the same.

Don’t give to dogs what is holy. Don’t cast pearls before swine. Shake the sandals.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
- God is not ok with you purposely putting yourself in toxic relationships.

But you still have to forgive them.
That is a work of the Holy Spirit. That is a result of love in your heart for that person.

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Sometimes you cannot bring yourself to initiate love for a person, be that your flesh, even what they did, whatever. Sometimes you have to love others with the power that comes from love inside of you, the love you get from Jesus. Sometimes the only way you can love others is to tap into the love of God in you. If the love of God is not in you, you cannot love others. Sometimes you have to rely on the love that is in you to see love shine through you. You don’t have to reconcile with them to love and forgive them, but you do have to love and forgive them if you want to keep your reconciliation with God. Remember, love your enemies. Forgive them, too.

So to maintain unity it has to start with love, but unity is not something the enemy is just going to let you have without a fight.

2. Unity is something you have to fight for and pursue.
David and Goliath. Two of the most important verses in 1 Samuel 17:

1 Samuel 17:50
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.

1 Samuel 17:52
And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron

Jesus came to earth to unify us with God.
John 17:21
(I pray) that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
This is David killing Goliath. Without Jesus primary work of unity between God and us, there is no unity elsewhere.

But to maintain unity, we have to fight for it and pursue it. This is the Israelite army chasing and destroying the enemy.

The moment you stop fighting for and pursuing unity is the moment division makes its move.
Problems are going to come. You will have plenty of opportunities to be offended. There will be no shortage of moments to get upset at what someone does. Don’t forget everyone else is just as in need of grace and mercy as you are. But the natural reaction - I should say the fleshly reaction - is to fight the neighbor who offended you.

Can I make a suggestion? Love your neighbor and fight for unity.

Choose to fight division as aggressively as you want to fight your neighbor.
What does that look like?It looks like a conversation instead of an accusation.It looks like a desire for reconciliation more than a desire to gossip.It looks like peace talks instead of ally gathering.

Here’s a hug:
1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Here’s a punch:
Romans 16:17-18 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Your allegiance is revealed by whether or not you pursue unity!

God is looking for a people who are hungrier for unity than they are for their own appetites!
- The wolf you feed is the wolf that grows.
- The more you feed your spirit, the more unity grows.

3. Unity is a part of God’s plan.
This might seem to be a “duh” statement, but sometimes we can forget this.
It is far too easy to let our wants trump God’s will. But unity is interwoven through evert single aspect of the biblical narrative and God’s plan for us.

Psalm 133:1-3 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

You see how big of a deal unity is to God! There is a blessing that comes with unity - and not just any blessing! LIFE forevermore!

Satan knows the power of unity. He saw it in the Trinity in the eternity before this very moment. So he does everything to confound unity. He distorts your view of God so there is no unity there. He directs your attention to matters that divide rather than unify. He stirs doubt in your heart about the people around you to create issues.

For practical application today, not only at Freedom but in your life, too:

5 Enemies of Unity - EntreLeadership
1. Failure to Communicate
If you think you’ve communicated too much, you’ve communicated just enough. You can’t do something about a problem that you don’t know exists. So if you have a problem, communicate. If you notice an issue, communicate. If you get offended, communicate. If you think something isn’t right, communicate.

Genesis 11:6-7 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
- Poor communication has the power to stop unity in its tracks.

2. Lack of Shared Purpose
You can't have unity without a common goal, a common mission, and a common vision.

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint.Our shared purpose is development and discipleship. (Matt 28)

3. Gossip
Gossip is unfair to everyone because it is communication but with no hope for reconciliation. Gossip only attempts to do two things: denigrate the person you’re gossiping about, and win allies to the gossiper.

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

4. Unresolved Disagreements
Hebrews 12:14-15
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

If you have a problem with something someone has done, it is your responsibility to deal with it. If you don’t, the fallout is on you!

Matthew 18:15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
- Pick your pain: a courageous conversation, or the bitterness that comes with unresolved disagreements.

5. Pride
Pride is the opposite of humility. In humility, we put ourselves in the service of others; in pride, we use others to serve our own purpose.

James 4:6 God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
- The quickest way to get on God’s bad side is the same tool the enemy used: pride.
- Either be like satan and walk in pride, or be like Jesus and swallow it.

When unity happens, God commands a blessing. Unity is more than getting along. It is linking arms and moving the Kingdom forward, in our lives and in our city. But unity is not natural. It is something we have to collectively go after, which is why at Freedom, we pursue it. Our pursuit is to build bridges, not walls, and that is done through unity.

I have three questions for you to close today:

Are you fighting for and pursuing unity?
- That means squashing gossip and offense at others.
- That means dealing with issues with others’ in a godly and timely manner

Are you building bridges not walls?
- That means are you planning for division or solving it.
- That means is your attention on what unites you rather than what divides you.
- If it is too big an issue that divides you, you have to COMMUNICATE!

Do you really want the blessing that comes with unity?
- When you do what love does you feel what love feels.
- When you do what unity does, you get what unity gives.

Prayer
Forgive me for not pursuing and fighting for unity
Holy Spirit empower me to build bridges not walls
Help me pursue and fight for unity

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?