In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of unity between husband and wife in order to resist Satan and drive him out of their home and locality. The Bible teaches that if believers resist Satan, he will flee from them. The speaker also highlights the need for every believer, not just full-time Christian workers, to work towards building the body of Christ in their local community. Jesus set an example of doing the will of the Father for 33 years, and believers are called to do the same. The ultimate work of building the church and making two people one is the greater work that Jesus spoke of.

I want to turn today to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 16. These are familiar words that we read here, where after Simon Peter had got a revelation concerning who Jesus really was, a revelation that was given to him by the Holy Spirit from heaven, the Lord says to Peter, upon this rock, and we know that rock is what Peter had just confessed, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, in verse 16, upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not overpower it. And that was the first time that Jesus spoke about the church. He had never used that word church before, people who are called out, gathered together, to be an assembly. That's what that word means. Unfortunately that the word church has got so many different meanings today compared to what Jesus spoke about. Today we call a building a church. That is one of those traditions of men never found in the word of God. No building was ever called a church in the New Testament. A building made of bricks and stones can never be a church. We call a denomination a church. That's also never found in Scripture. There is no such thing in Scripture as a denominational church. You know, what we see in Christianity today is not only the word of God, it's the word of God plus the accumulated traditions of men for two thousand years that have been mixed with the word of God. It's something like the river which starts in the mountain pure, and after it's flowed down in the plains for many hundreds of miles, it's filthy. It's no longer pure. And what we see in Christianity as we see it today, if you want to get the pure water, the pure truth, you have to go to the word of God and not look at Christendom as it is today. And many of our wrong concepts will change. We may have to change many of our preconceived ideas when we compare what is known as Christendom today with the word of God. And one of those things is the word church, or assembly of people called out from the world, gathered together. When Jesus spoke about such an assembly or church, it was people. He was talking about people whom he was going to call out of the world, gathered together into his name, under his headship. The Bible says that God has given Christ as the head of the church, not the head of a building and certainly not the head of a denomination, but the head of the body of believers that submits to his authority, who acknowledge him as Lord. He is head over that body. And that's what he was telling Peter here. I will build my church, which is called his body. And the next thing he said was that this church would be the object of the hatred and enmity of Satan. And Satan would seek to attack this church that Jesus is building in various ways. But Satan would never be able to overpower this church which Jesus is building. Satan may be able to overpower many churches which men are building, and he has already overpowered many denominations in the world and many church buildings. That doesn't matter. But the church which Jesus is building, Satan will never be able to overpower. We can be sure of that, absolutely certain. And if this is what Jesus is doing, building his church in this day and age, any person who wants to do a worthwhile work, a work that will last for eternity and not something that will pass away with time, must seek to build along with Jesus. Jesus said in another verse, He who does not gather with me, scatters. If you're not gathering along with Jesus, you're actually scattering, even if you do nothing. And so it's very, very important for us to understand what it means to build the body of Christ, the church. All of our work for the Lord must result in building the body of Christ. Otherwise it's a waste of time. Something like in Noah's time, you know, the Lord said, you build an ark and everything else is going to be destroyed. And we see that Noah spent all his energy and all his time building the ark, because he knew this is the only thing that's going to remain after the flood has wiped out the rest of the earth. He was convinced about it. And so he spent all his time, energy, money, all his spare time anyway, building the ark. And anyone who understands that the church is the only thing that's going to remain once this world has been wound up and God's plan and purposes are fulfilled, anyone who knows that will spend all his energy building the church. By that I don't mean that everybody will be in full-time Christian work. There are a lot of people in secular jobs who are building the church. As I said earlier, the Apostle Paul was in a secular job, earning his own living. And nobody built the church like him. So we're not talking only about full-time Christian workers who are supported by others. We're talking about every believer who is under the headship of Jesus Christ, that if you want to do a work that is worthwhile and lasting, it must be directed towards building the body of Christ. And God's desire is that in every locality where he gathers people, he spoke about two or three being gathered together in his name, that should be a local expression of the body of Christ. And the minimum for that is two. That's why he said in Matthew 18, where he spoke about the church for the second time, in verse 17, he also said, where two or three have gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. Why didn't he say where one person has gathered? Where one person comes in my name, there I am present. There is no verse like that in Scripture. Have you noticed that for the Lord to be present in the midst, the minimum required is two? Where two, that's the minimum. Not where one or two, two or three. You don't need two thousand or three thousand, two is enough. But the minimum is two. And not just any two, gathered together by the Spirit, and in the previous verse it says, two who are agreed. And the word there is a word from which we get the English word symphony. You know when two musical instruments are playing on exactly the same scale, and at the same tempo, and the same beat, and the same tune, it's so harmonious. And there's a harmony there, and a symphony, when a number of instruments are playing together in tune with each other. And that's the word he used here, where two people are in symphony, in harmony with each other, in spirit. Where two people are like that, there I am in the midst as their head. There is an expression of the body of Christ. And when there is such an expression of the body of Christ in any place, we can be sure Satan is going to attack that. Because Jesus said, if two people agree like that concerning anything that they may ask, it will be done by my Father in heaven. It's an amazing promise. Now there are many, many promises in scripture for the individual. Ask, and you shall receive. If you ask anything in my name, I will give it to you. But here is something special. If two, minimum two, are agreed about something, agreed on earth, and then they ask. In other words, they are agreed in spirit, not just agreed on that matter which they are praying about. A lot of people misunderstand this. They say, well, we are agreed on this matter we are praying about. Maybe you are agreed on that matter you are praying about, but you and that other person are not one in spirit. Then it doesn't fulfill the condition here. If two of you agree on earth, anything that they may ask, it shall be done by my Father in heaven. There must be that agreement, and then they ask, and it will be done. That's what that word symphony means. And I believe that there are very, very few people who have claimed that promise because it's very difficult to find two people, even among believers, who are agreed. Look at the multitudes of believers who are husbands and wives. One would think that certainly husbands and wives should be agreed. But there is hardly a Christian home where there isn't conflict, where rude words are not spoken. And do you know, when a husband and wife are in conflict, it's not the husband who wins, it's not the wife who wins, it's the devil who wins. And when two brothers are in conflict, neither of them are winning. One may think I won the argument. No, you haven't. It's the devil who wins, always, because he has succeeded in destroying an expression of the body of Christ. And this is what the devil is always seeking to do, to destroy an expression of the body of Christ because of difference of opinion, difference of temperament, different views on some matter. And the devil highlights those differences and separates people in their spirit. They may agree externally about the thing they are asking, but inwardly they are not agreed. And therefore their asking does not have value. But if they are agreed like that, the Lord is in their midst. And then what happens is, in verse 18, whatever they bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Heaven doesn't mean the third heaven where God dwells. You can't bind anything there. Everything is free over there. He's talking about something below the third heaven where Satan and his hosts are, which is referred to as the heavenlies in Ephesians 6.12. We wrestle with evil spirit forces in the heavenlies, his principalities and powers in the heavens. We already saw earlier that Satan is not in hell. He's in the heavenlies. And from the heavenlies he can roam around on the earth. And it's in that heavenlies, the second heaven, where what we bind on earth will be bound in heaven. It's not Satan who is bound. Satan is free. Even those demons can't be bound. One day Jesus will bind Satan in the bottomless pit. But his activity is bound. His work is bound when two people pray together. See, there's such tremendous authority here that Jesus has given to the church. And that is why Satan knows that his activity, his work, will be hindered if even two believers understand this truth and start to live together in unity. He knows that if a husband and wife understand this truth and determine never to allow any gap to come between them, never to allow Satan to come between them in any way, they will have such tremendous authority in prayer that the devil will never be able to do anything in their home. The devil will not be able to attack their children. Many children are attacked by Satan because the husband and wife have provided a gap between themselves through their conflict and strife and misunderstandings, and the devil walks right in. It's like opening the door for the enemy and saying, come in, attack our children. And then when their children are attacked, the husband and wife begin to weep and say, oh Lord, what happened? Please do something for our children. Well, you're the one who opened the door. God united you and your wife so that you might be one, so that together you can be such a force against Satan that not only Satan won't be able to come into your home, but that you will drive him out of your locality. The Bible doesn't say if you resist Satan, somehow or the other he won't be able to get in. No, it says if you resist Satan, James 4.7, he will flee from you. It's not just that he can't get in and keep standing at the door. James 4.7 says, submit to God first and resist the devil, and he won't just stand there. He can't stand there. He will flee from you. That's how it was with Jesus. The devil couldn't stand around when Jesus was there. And there is this amazing verse in 1 John 4, and verse 17, which says in the last part, as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. It's an amazing statement. As the Lord Jesus is, so also are we in this world. Turn to Ephesians in chapter 1, we read that when the Lord raised, when the Father raised Jesus from the dead, and He ascended up into heaven, and He seated, Ephesians 1.20, at the Father's right hand, in the heavenly places far above all rule, authority, over all the forces of Satan in the second heavens, over all authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And the Father put all things in subjection under the feet of Jesus, and then gave Him to be head of the church, which is His body. So it was after everything had been put under Jesus' feet, after everything had been conquered, all forces of darkness, everything, that He's been given as head for us in the church. Not just for me as an individual, but for me as part of the church in fellowship with my wife or another brother, in fellowship together. Jesus becomes the head. There must be a minimum of two. And then, if everything is under His feet, and if we are part of that body, everything is under our feet. That's why the Bible says in Romans 16, 20, that God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The place that God has appointed for Satan is under our feet. There is not a single reason why any child of God should be afraid of Satan. And I'm sorry to say, I've met lots of believers who are afraid of Satan, who are afraid that somebody might do witchcraft on them, and that somebody could harm them in some way through Satanic powers. Now, it's true that Satan has a lot of supernatural power, but none of that can touch a child of God who is cleansed in the blood of Jesus and who is under the Lordship of Christ. Nothing. Every witch doctor in the world can try and put a spell on you. It can't touch you. But if the devil feels that you don't know that, then he will try to scare you. He will try to put fear into your heart. Fear is a great weapon of Satan, and anyone who tries to put fear into your heart is an agent of Satan. Because Jesus never came with a message of fear. God has not given us the spirit of fear, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1.7, but the spirit of power. And wherever Jesus came, He always said, Fear not. Do not fear. And I want to say to all of you, my brothers and sisters, you must never allow fear into your life, just like you must never allow impurity into your life, just like you must never allow anxiety or bitterness or an unforgiving spirit into your life. When I mention all these other things, you all agree. Yes, I don't want bitterness, I don't want impurity, I don't want jealousy, I don't want an unforgiving attitude, I don't want bitterness, I don't want covetousness, all these spirits I don't want. But when I say you shouldn't have fear and that fear is in the same category, many believers don't recognize that fear is in the same category. The same God who said, Do not murder, is the one who also said, Do not fear. What's the difference? Do not murder, do not fear. If you can fear, then you can go ahead and murder too. God has commanded you, Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. And Jesus went around saying, Do not fear. Why? Because Satan's power has been taken away from him. Now this was not true in the Old Testament. We read in Hebrews 2 that this happened only on Calvary. Before Calvary, there were a lot of powers that Satan had. But they were taken away from him when Jesus died. One of Satan's aims is to prevent you from seeing all that was accomplished on Calvary's cross. Most believers, I would say 99% of believers only know that Christ took the guilt of my sin when He died on Calvary. That's true. But that's not all that was accomplished on Calvary. Do you know that your old man, Romans 6.6, was crucified with Christ on Calvary? Don't try to understand it. Believe it. We don't need to understand. I tried for a long time to understand it and I couldn't. I decided to believe it. And that solved the problem. You don't have to understand how Jesus took the guilt of your sin. Leave that with God. You don't need to understand. You believe. Salvation does not come by understanding. Deliverance does not come by understanding. It comes by faith. Jesus took the guilt of my sin because God's Word says it. I believe it. My old man was crucified with Christ, this old person that I was. It is crucified with Christ and therefore I consider myself now to be dead to that. And I put off that old man. That's what we testify to in baptism. Another thing that happened on Calvary's cross was Galatians 3.13 says Christ became a curse for us. There is no curse upon us now. Nobody can put a curse on you because it says Jesus became a curse for me so that the blessing of Abraham through the Holy Spirit may come to us. And do you know what the blessing of Abraham is? The Lord said, I will bless you and you will be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Now if I can believe that all the curse that I deserve, Jesus took and He became a curse for me and because He has become a curse for me, there is no curse upon me. Ten million people can curse me. It doesn't make a difference. It won't sit on my head. It will rebound and go back on their heads. They cannot touch me because I believe that Jesus became a curse for me and what I have today is not a curse but the blessing of the Holy Spirit. What's that? I will bless you and you will be a blessing to every family you meet. I want to live under that blessing all the days of my life that every single family that I come across on the face of the earth, I'll be a blessing to them. Now if you don't believe that, it won't happen. If you think, oh well, there might be a little bit of the curse left for me. It's not true. Jesus became a total curse on the Calvary's cross. In the same way, another thing that happened on Calvary's cross was Satan's armor, his power, was stripped from him and here we read in Hebrews 2, verse 14, Since then the children share in flesh and blood. Jesus himself likewise took part of the same flesh and blood that through death he might render powerless the one who had the power of death that is the devil. That means up till Calvary's cross where Jesus died, Satan had the power of death. That's what this verse says. But when Jesus took our flesh and blood and died, he made this one, Satan, who had the power of death, powerless. Powerless against whom? He still has a lot of power out there in the world among a lot of people, but he doesn't have power over those who have accepted Christ's sacrifice on the cross. He has no power over them. Satan's power over me, over you, has been taken away. He has been rendered powerless. He is still living. God hasn't destroyed him. One day he will be cast into the lake of fire. But even though he is living, he is powerless. Do you know that Satan is powerless against you? That he cannot, if you resist him, if you submit to God and you resist him in the name of Jesus, he cannot touch a hair on your head. He cannot touch your family. He cannot touch your property. He cannot touch anything. God may permit him sometimes to sift us, like he permitted Satan to sift Peter. But if he does sift us, the only thing that will go from us will be the chaff, the rubbish. Not one grain of wheat will be lost. The rubbish, and many of us, particularly when we live in comfort and ease, we have accumulated a lot of rubbish. And God may allow Satan to sift his people so that this rubbish is removed. For example, in countries where Christians are persecuted, that persecution has come from the instigation of Satan. And what has happened? Believers' property is taken away. Their material goods are taken away. Maybe their bank accounts are robbed. But all those things are not things of value. It makes those believers better pilgrims. That's all. He cannot rob them of anything of value. Only the garbage and the rubbish. And if God allows such a time to come into our land, it will be the same. He cannot touch one thing of eternal value in our life. It is impossible. We must have that boldness when we confront Satan. Wherever we confront him, he is powerless. And because he has been made powerless, it says in verse 15, Jesus delivers those who through fear of death were all their lives subject to slavery. You know, fear brings a type of slavery. Fear of man brings a slavery. That's why we should never fear man. If you fear God, you never need fear anything else in the world. You never need fear any man. You never need fear any circumstance. You never need fear the devil if you fear God. That's a beautiful verse. Isaiah 8.13 in the Living Bible. Isaiah 8.13. If you fear God, you need fear nothing else. Now the greatest fear that man has is not the fear of ill health or the fear of thieves breaking into his house or the fear of some harm somebody can do. The greatest fear, number one at the top of the list, is the fear of death. All the other fears are junior fears, smaller fears. And Jesus, it says here, through death destroyed him who had the power of death so that we who lived under the fear of death might never fear death anymore. A child of God should never be afraid of dying because Jesus has conquered death. That's why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so important. We are not afraid to die, not only physically, but in the different situations of life where the Lord asks us to die to ourselves. Consider yourself dead in that situation. Give up your rights and die. We are not afraid. We are ready to do it because we know that this is the way to life. If we die with Him, we shall live with Him. Satan's greatest power is with the fear of death. He frightens a lot of people with that. And here it says there is no need for us to fear that anymore. Satan's power has been taken away from him. And if we don't understand this, if we don't believe it, we will not be able to build the church binding Satan's activity because Satan is constantly attacking. And when two people come together, you have the conflict of two wills, two different personalities, people who are brought up in two different ways and backgrounds trying to become one. And this is one of the most difficult things for God to do. Do you remember that word which Jesus spoke in John 14 where He said to His disciples on the night before He went to the cross, He said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, shall he do also. And then He said, John 14, 12, greater works than these shall he do because I go to the Father. How have you understood that verse? It's a difficult verse. But we should try to understand the difficult verses too. Greater works than Jesus did. He doesn't say one or two people will do it. He says, everyone who believes in Me can do it. What are the greater works? Now generally speaking, when we think of Jesus' works, we think of His raising Lazarus from the dead, who was dead for four days. Does that mean every believer will go around raising those who are dead for seven days? Or Jesus walked on the water. Does that mean every believer will walk on the water? I've never seen anyone who's walked on the water. Or who raised people from the dead, even who's dead for one day. Leave alone seven days. What does it mean, greater works than these shall He do? With five loaves He fed 5,000. Are we going to feed 20,000? No. It's because our mind thinks in terms of these supernatural miracles. Let me tell you, the works that Jesus did was the will of His Father. That's what He did. Don't just think of the three and a half years. For 33 years He did works. And He wasn't always walking on the water. For 33 years He did the will of His Father. And we can do that. And then He said, you can do greater works than I have done. What is the greater work? That is building the church, building the body of Christ, making two people one. Do you know that at the end of three and a half years Jesus had worked with eleven people and even two among those eleven were not one. They were all in conflict with each other. Who is going to be the leader after Jesus died? Not even two people were one. Why? Because Jesus had not gone to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit. That's the reason. He says that here. When I go to the Father and I send the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost He is going to be able to do such a work in you that you will become one. Two people becoming one is the greater work that even Jesus did not do when He was on earth. Show me any two of His disciples who were one. That's what Jesus meant. And once the day of Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit had come then two could become one. We read in Ephesians 3 that Paul says I want to tell you about this mystery that was hidden in Old Testament times. The mystery of Christ. Ephesians 3.4 Which in other generations in Old Testament times was not made known to the sons of men. Verse 5 But now it has been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit. And what is this mystery? You expect to hear some fantastic thing. And he says to be specific. The mystery is this that the Gentiles can become fellow members of the body with the Jews. And you say, oh, that's such a disappointment. You mean that's the great mystery? That's it. And now let me explain to you why it's a mystery. You know in the entire history of the world there are no two greater opposites than the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews hated the Gentiles and we know the Gentiles have hated the Jews through the years. And for these two to become one I mean if you want to have an understanding of it you just go and see the cost system in our country. The high cost Brahmins and the lowest cost people they will never become one. They won't even drink from the same cup. They won't come anywhere near each other. They'll never marry each other. They'll be nothing of the sort. And Jew and Gentile was even greater opposites than that. So you can imagine the distance between Jews and Gentiles. And when Jesus died it says here chapter 2 verse 14 He made both into one. And He broke down this dividing wall the barrier between the two. He abolished in His flesh the enmity. This law of commandment. You see the Jews said unless you keep our laws you can't be one of us. Jesus abolished all that. And reconciled both of these in one body to God through the cross. So what did Jesus do? He took the Jew and said you die with me. And He took the Gentile and said you die with me. And both of you are dead now. And I'll raise you up. And now you're one. This is the secret of unity. And this is the only way any husband and wife can become one. God says you husband come here die with me. You wife come here and die with me. And now I'll raise you up and you are one. But reckon yourself dead now from now on. But if you don't reckon yourself dead then there's conflict. That's how it is. Death brings peace. Have you seen what's written on a coffin? Rest in. That's it. That's the secret of peace. And all conflict is because neither person is willing to die. It's through death that this unity comes. Think if you were living next door to a house where there's a husband and wife who always fight. Every morning at 6.30 in the morning the fight starts. And they call each other all types of names and it's almost like an alarm clock. You wake up and you hear them yelling and shouting calling each other names every day. And you hear it. And one day it's 7 o'clock and there's no sound there. And you wonder what happened. And you go there to the house and you find the wife is dead. At last there is peace. You know that's the secret of peace in a home. One person doesn't have to be the wife. Whoever is more spiritual must die. If I die there'll be peace. But if both don't die there is conflict. That's the secret. That's the reason for all conflict even in the church. One person must die. Who must die first? The one who is more spiritual. When God had a conflict with man and there was a distance between God and man who took the initiative and died? God. Because he was more spiritual. And when there is a conflict between a husband and wife and there's a distance who should take the first step? What's the answer? The one who is more spiritual. And if both people think they are spiritual then they should come close to each other immediately. It's the one who is not spiritual who refuses to die. The one who is spiritual takes up the cross immediately. Ready to apologize. Ready to humble himself or herself. Ready to die. In some cases it may be the wife. In some cases it may be the husband. That's the way of peace through the cross. And when I see Jesus dying for me that's what challenges me also to be willing to die and I get united with Him. And when one partner who is spiritually minded chooses to die that is what challenges the other person also to be willing to die so that they can become one. I'll tell you this. There is absolutely no other way of unity. We spoke about two people agreeing in Matthew 18. But it doesn't tell us in Matthew 18 how this agreement can come. That agreement can come we read in Ephesians 2 only when this dividing wall is broken down only when we die with Jesus on the cross and say Lord I give up my rights. I don't have any rights. I don't have any demand. You know it speaks here in Ephesians 2 about a law of commandment. Verse 15. The Jews had a law of commandments against the Gentiles and the reason for a lot of strife between husband and wife and between brother and brother is because there are certain demands. Laws are like demands. There are certain demands I have on that other person. You must do this. You don't do it and we can't be one. You got to get rid of those demands. That law of commandments has to be abolished. In other words in my relationship with my wife I don't have any demands. In my relationship with my brother I don't have any demands. I don't demand that he should speak to me with respect or treat me with consideration. No. I have no demands. I have no laws. No commandments. I die. And I am at peace and there is peace in our relationship and if he chooses to die as well we can become one. When only one person dies there is peace but not unity. Unity comes when both are willing to die. Can you imagine the tremendous power that will be in a home if both husband and wife are willing to die? The second best is where one is at least willing to die and at least there is peace. But that peace is only second best. Unity is the best. And in a church too. In relationships if one person is willing to die there is peace. But when both are willing to die there is unity. And then there is such tremendous power over satanic forces. I am not talking just about casting out demons because demons can be cast out even by a single believer. If you believe that Satan was defeated on the cross in the name of Jesus any brother, any sister can cast out a demon in the name of Jesus Christ. They are not afraid of you but they are afraid of the name of Jesus. Every demon was conquered on Calvary's cross. We need not be afraid of any of them. There are times when I have seen demon possessed people and you get a bit of a jolt when you see the way they behave but once you ask yourself this question that demon inside that person was that demon conquered on Calvary or not? Or was he one of those demons who somehow escaped? Nobody escaped. Satan and all the demons were conquered. And I say to myself that demon is behaving in a terrible way in that man or woman but he was conquered on Calvary. Then we are not afraid. Last month somebody called me and said can you please come and pray for a demon possessed woman? And when I went there I saw this lady completely possessed with demons and I sat down and I told her ask Jesus to come into your heart. And the demon spoke through her mouth and said tell her to do that, don't tell me. And he glared at me with his eyes through the woman's eyes and I glared back at him and said you were conquered on Calvary you demon. Then she turned her face away. You know if you face the demon without fear it doesn't matter who what demon it is and turn away resist in the name of Jesus. And of course she was delivered and what a difference when the demon was cast out. And I say this is more than that. This is not just casting out demons. Any of you can cast out demons if you believe that Jesus conquered all of them on Calvary. You may go out into the field and there may be nobody there to help you when you confront a demon possessed person. Don't wait. If your heart is clear and your conscience is clear rebuke that demon in Jesus name it will go out of that person. But this is more than that. This is talking about binding the work of Satan in a home or in a church or in your children or in some confusion that the devil is trying to bring in a church. That doesn't go out by just saying in the name of Jesus get out. It doesn't go. It doesn't go out of our children it doesn't go out of our home it doesn't go out of our church. For that it requires two people at least two people who are one. And that's why at least the elders in a church must be one. Their conscience must be clear and they must be perfectly one. We've seen through many years in our own church in Bangalore in 23 years how God has given me a tremendous unity with my fellow elders. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that the brother with whom I have worked together now for 23 years we have never had a conflict for one day in 23 years. We are totally different different communities different temperaments different ministries different backgrounds but we've understood the cross and we've been one and that has kept the devil out of our church. It requires only two people. The gates of hell can never prevail against the body of Christ. We must build that body in different places and people must be brought in into this unity. Very often because we have different temperaments we think we can't be united. You know if God really leads the man and wife together if it is the leading of God the man and wife will be totally different from each other. Different outlook, different temperament common devotion to Christ, yes but different in almost every other way because the wife is meant to be a complement to her husband not exactly like my wife is very different from me and I'm thankful for that because it's like when you look at a situation it's like taking a photograph and I take a photograph from the north side and my wife takes a photograph from the south side and we put the two photographs together they look completely different but it's the same building but because her viewpoint is different from my viewpoint we get a total picture of the building isn't that better? And so we come into a situation I'm using an illustration we come into a situation and I can look at it from one angle and she can look at it from the opposite angle and we get a total view of that situation in our home maybe concerning our children that's why God puts opposites together in marriage and if you are a foolish husband who forces your wife to be exactly like you you know, you're going to be the loser because you hammered her and hammered her and made her come around to the same side where you're standing and you got her photograph also the same as yours what's the result? you got one photograph and she got exactly the same because you forced her to be like you leave her to be herself that's the wise husband it could be a wife who forces her husband to be like her she's just as stupid and when two elders work together think of Paul and Barnabas so different from each other Paul, the fiery person who, if somebody was half-hearted like John Mark said, get rid of him we don't want that fellow again and Barnabas, the gentle type of person who says, yeah Paul but give him another chance, man we are, we're all weak people that one was truth and the other was grace and you see that in Jesus the glory of God was seen with grace and truth combined and God puts us together with people who are different and if we can understand that what I cannot reflect of Christ that brother can and together grace and truth will be seen in us Paul and Barnabas unfortunately did not realize that that's why they fell out with each other and had a fight but today now we have light there is no need for us to get rid of that person who is different from us he is exactly the brother we need to build the body of Christ different from us taking a photograph from the other side so that together we get a total view of the situation and when God can bring this brother who is at this extreme and this brother who is at this extreme and make them one because both are willing to die to themselves for the glory of God what a tremendous power there is Satan can never, never, never get into that work that's why I want to encourage you when you go out with co-workers and they are different let God forge you together and melt you and mold you and make you one husbands and wives do you know how much you have lost through all these years by not becoming one your children have suffered will you start at least today in churches co-workers who can't get along with each other God wants to break down the barriers and make you one maybe one person is not sincere well then you can't do much at least you can die to yourself and walk in sincerity yourself but if God finally brings somebody across your path who is sincere and if two of you can become one there will be far more power than when you are alone this is what Jesus is doing in our day building the body of Christ not gathering members building people together into one and two or three like that is going to be far more effective in a locality than great multitude of people who just come and sing songs and listen to messages and go home so wherever you go seek to build the body of Christ seek to make people one that unity is the most important thing that God requires in the church today that's right unity comes only through the cross and it's important that you recognize that and say Lord if I can't have unity at least let me seek for peace I'm willing to die to myself I'm willing to give up my rights I want peace at any cost and if you and your wife are agreed to go this way there will be such a release of power in your home from today such as you have never known before if you and your co-worker in your church are agreed to go this way from today there will be such a release of power in your church and Satan's activities bound such as you have never known before and the body of Christ will be built Heavenly Father we thank you that Jesus has made a new and living way for us where we can walk in triumph over all the activities of Satan we praise you lead us in that way we pray that your church can be built the body of Christ can be built in this land and in the lands around we pray in Jesus name Amen