Note: The Lord gave this word through me for our local ministerial associatio. But I think the application is for each one of us.

"O"

Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus,
At age 63, I often thank God for my health. As I grow older, it’s value and my stewardship of it has become very important to me. I thank God that all the parts of my body still “work”. They work TOGETHER. My hand is not a part time hand. It is my hand all the time. It is there for the use of the “Body” 24/7. If parts of my body did not work or acted independently of the rest of my body, I would be called a cripple, or disabled. Thank God it all still works…together.
Sadly, we cannot say the same thing for the Body of Christ. And oh the blessings we miss. I want to share with you the 3 verses of Psalm 133. The Lord brought my attention to it of late, and I’ve shared it a couple times on occasion. The verses are as follows:

Psa 133:1 BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psa 133:2 It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body]. [Exod. 30:25, 30.]
Psa 133:3 It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly]. (Amplified Bible)

Oh how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together. We can no more be part time members together, than the parts of my body can be body parts part time. David likens unity of the Body to a precious ointment poured over the body, all over the body. The ointment represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the very empowerment of God to do what He called us to do. Aaron was anointed to be High Priest, to meet with God for the people. When we begin to dwell in unity and work together as one body, the anointing of God will return to the Body. Christ will be seen in us, and through us. The whole body will be set apart. The blessings of God will come upon us as the dew on Mount Hermon. God COMMANDS the blessing to come upon us, even life forevermore. The dew falls upon the whole mountain. The shepherd and the king, the leper and the clean, the weak and the strong, the gifted and limited. Oh God how wonderful unity of the Body is. It’s potential for achievement is almost limitless. If we could only imagine…….

So what is keeping us from it dear ones? “MINE!!!!!”. Ever notice a little child playing on the floor with it’s toys? A brother or sister comes by and reaches for a distant toy and the infant will reach out and snatch up that toy and declare emphatically, “MINE!!!!!”. Saints, we don’t go to school to learn that. We are born fully equipped to be selfish. Our parents rewarded us for accomplishing personal independence. We must admit that behind our independence as a church group is nothing but pure manifested “selfishness”. MINE! My church, my people, my programs, my message, my job, my income, my, my, my. Is it any wonder the ground in Houston County is parched from lack of dew, the dew of the blessings of God? The Body of Christ is so fragmented, that it is of no more use to God than the bone piles in the Catacombs of Rome. Dry bones, that’s all we are. That is all “MINE” is capable of producing, whether we admit it or not.

Dear pastor, dear deacon, dear elder, dear saint. The church is not YOURS! It belongs to Christ. It is not built on your headship but upon His. It is not empowered by your personal talent and charisma, but upon that of the Holy Ghost. We as leaders and saints alike have traded God’s power for our own and oh the price we have paid. Then we sit around and lament because the blessings have slipped through our fingers like sand. God in some cases has written “ICABOD” over the door, which means “the glory of the Lord has departed”. Sad thing is, many are so involved in themselves, they fail to notice that the “glory” is missing. Saints, we simply cannot afford to continue on the way we have been going. It is time for a reformation. It is time for a change…..a change of direction, a change in the way we do ministry. That change is called…REPENTANCE.

The very first sin in the garden was “independence” from God. A selfish act, and oh what it cost us. It still costs us today when we act independently of one another.

If we are going to see the power and blessings of God in Houston County, we must repent, as individuals, and as individual groups, better known as the “local church”. Houston County will never see Christ, until they see Him in us. The whole body working together is easily seen, whereas a bone fragment here and there can easily be overlooked by the lost. Jesus said, “a city set on a hill cannot be hidden”. He didn’t say little houses scattered across the country side. He said “A CITY”. It’s light cannot be overlooked. But wait, there is more. He said, “so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify God”. Hello!!!!! Is anyone there? What is the light that the lost sees? WORKS!!!!! The Body of Christ WORKING together!!!!

“Oh wait now.” "I’m too busy to work with the rest of the Body. I have my own church, my own kingdom, my own job, my own income…oh yes, and my own lambs to worry about." That is where we fall so very short of God’s blessing, His glory, His power and His love. We are so self centered and self oriented, so self sufficient and content with ourselves, that we miss God completely. In Revelation, Jesus calls us poor and destitute while we all the while call ourselves “in need of nothing”. Blessed, or cursed? We need only look at the next generation coming forth to realize that we have failed miserably in our selfish independence.

My brother, my sister. I cannot afford the high cost of having no need of you. I need you in my life working with me as much as you do me. I need all the body parts attached to the body and working together as much as you do. Listen, beloved. There can be a reformation. There can be a transformation, right here in Houston County. It can begin in you and I, right now. Will you join me in repenting? I pray that you do. "O"

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Lahry Sibley