The unity of God's assembly

Psalm 133 and we're reading verse 1. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard that went down to the skirts of his garments, as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.

And eventually we're going to read in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 but in a few moments. I'm going to give you just a little indication of my sort of personal assembly history, not very long but just a bit, that will emphasize what I had before me just at the present moment. When I was received into the assembly of God as a young man, if someone had asked me at that time why I was in the assembly, I couldn't have given an answer.

For the first two years of my assembly experience, I did not know why I was in the Fellowship of God's assembly. I think and perhaps that was a lack of teaching in the assembly where I was received into fellowship. So for two years I floated, could have left the assembly.

It's only the grace of God that I'm here at the present moment. I may be speaking to some, perhaps younger people like myself at that time, and if someone was to ask you why you were in the assembly, your answer might be the same as mine would have been. And the little work that we have been doing for the last 15 years, not so much involved in it now, but I have insisted with no exceptions that before anyone was received into the assembly, they would have to sit down for one, two, three, four, maybe five sessions privately on the assembly so that they would at least have some idea in their mind why they are coming into fellowship.

That's why some people leave Brethren, because they're like the speaker, they don't know why they're there. It's only the mercy of God to preserve me. A brother came to the city of Toronto where I'm from, well known, Mr. Hector Owls.

He was having two weeks on the assembly in the Pape Avenue Gospel Hall in Toronto. For some reason, I went for the first night. And as I sat and listened, distinctly in my mind at the present moment, I decided, and I was not in fellowship in that particular assembly, but I decided I've got to get back here.

I've got to listen to this man, because the first night he stirred an interest in me, and I have to credit Mr. Owls' ministry for why I am presently in the assembly. I think his ministry preserved me. I'm going to touch a little bit upon that in a different way, but that will explain perhaps why I'm going to touch upon what I have before me.

I want to touch upon the unity of God's assembly, that it is a very precious place. And what we have read in the book of the Psalms applies today. Oh, how good and how pleasant it is that brethren should dwell together in unity.

I'm not certain as to the moment in David's life when he wrote those words, for he was a writer of Psalm 133. But David experienced in his life times when there was not unity, that is, in his personal life. David had a son, sad thing when a son rises against his father.

But Absalom rose up against David and divided the people of Israel. David experienced what it was to have a family where there was not unity in the family. And then later, of course, Israel was divided.

There was not unity in Israel. When Solomon died, Rehoboam, Solomon's son, took two of the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Judah and the tribe, the two tribes, and settled in the area around Jerusalem. That was the realm of Rehoboam's reign.

Jeroboam took ten of the tribes and he moved to the northern area and settled there. There was the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. Israel was divided.

Of course, that took place after David's life. Israel divided. I have a burden for the area where I live, but I'm not going to present that to you here.

But I have challenged some of my brethren, I would challenge some here, just to get any dictionary. It doesn't matter what dictionary you get. And look up the word unity.

I just get a definition for the word unity, which means simply joined together. It's oneness. It has the idea of an agreement.

And so assembly unity is of vital importance. And that starts at the top. I was exercised as a young man to go to a certain assembly and to try to be a little help.

One of the older brethren that I respect very highly advised me that if the overseers in that assembly were at one, likely you could be a little help. But if they were not, you likely won't be. I discovered sadly that that advice was correct.

And so as the years ran their course, as a, again, a relatively young man, and probably too young, I was asked to help my brethren on the oversight of the assembly that commended me to the Lord's work. And as a young man, perhaps some of the believers in the assembly felt that if they had an issue, they might come to the youngest man and get an answer. They didn't get an answer because I went to my other brethren.

And I was very thankful that it was a good oversight at that time. I had that experience. And when I got back to the person who asked the question, they knew that the answer that I was giving them was the united answer of all of the brethren on the oversight wasn't just mine.

And so that unity commences at the top. And if there's no unity at the top, there's not likely going to be much unity in the assembly. And so here he says, dwell together in unity.

That means in oneness. And so the assembly is a place where, a marvelous place really, where the doctor, who in the process of his professional occupation would meet with other doctors, and I would be out of place in that group. And maybe where teachers would meet with teachers to discuss certain things, and maybe the farmer might be out of place in that group.

But here's an assembly with a doctor, teacher, a farmer, a bricklayer, a carpenter, all in the assembly from different walks of life. Titles are left at the door because they are one and they dwell together. And so the psalmist says, behold how good and how pleasant it is that brethren should dwell together in unity.

You'll remember that when the 70 years of captivity have ended, and had they had been acquainted with the prophecy of Jeremiah, they would have known that they would be in the Babylonian captivity for 70 years, and then they were going to be released, or at least some of them. Under the Persian Emperor Cyrus, he allowed a certain number of Jewish people to return back to the land. They came back to a land that was in ruins, the city of Jerusalem had been burned, temple was destroyed.

And if you were turning your Bible to Nehemiah chapter 8, you would find Ezra standing on a little box, and the people have gathered together at the water gate. Interesting that it's emphasized in that passage, the first few verses of Nehemiah chapter 8, that they were all there. That is, men were there, women were there, and it says they that had understanding, they were there.

And I would take it that that would be younger people who were old enough to understand what Ezra was going to say. And so they were all gathered together as one. Men, women, younger people gathered together as one at the water gate.

It's kind of interesting when you read in that chapter not what Ezra said initially, but what the people said. The people said to Ezra, bring the book, brethren, bring the book. Not your ideas, not my ideas, bring the book.

And if what we think we want to do is not according to the book, then just set it aside. Bring the book. We're living in a day when it's the ideas of men that seem to have prominence.

But bring the book. And so the people in Ezra's day wanted to hear from the book what God had for them to say. For 70 years they had not heard from the book.

And so now there's going to be a little stirring, a revival, as they listen to Ezra and he reads from the book. Now I want to take you for a moment to 1st Corinthians chapter 1. I'm going to refer to the psalm that we have read in a moment, but 1st Corinthians chapter 1, and we're going to read in verse 10. Paul says, Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

You'll notice that there are five statements in that verse. It says that ye all speak the same thing, with conviction based upon the book. Then you'll notice that there be no divisions among you, not divided into little groups of young people, old people, all together, no divisions.

And then he says, perfectly joined together. That expression appears a number of times, I think just from memory, eight times in the Word of God, but translated a little differently. And so you have it when the disciples, before they were disciples, are on the seashore and they are mending their net, perfectly joined together, same word.

You know that fish will escape if there are holes in the net. If the assembly is perfectly joined together, that's where believers will want to be. That'll be a happy place.

This is perfectly joined together of the same mind and of the same judgment. And so the psalmist reminds us that that is good and that is pleasant. If it was carried out, and I'm not sure that it was, but if it was carried out in Deuteronomy chapter 16, the men of Israel were told on three occasions they were to go up to Jerusalem.

The three occasions were the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And if they were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they would be there for two other feasts. For the Passover was the 14th, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the 15th, and the Feast of First Fruits was on the 16th.

And so to go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread would take them there for three feasts. And then they were to be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks, and then they were to make their way to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. And so they were singing the Psalms of Ascent, that is the Psalms of going up.

And so going up to Jerusalem from the north and the south of the land, from the east and the west, they were going up, singing the Psalms of Ascent. And the picture is they were going up united to Jerusalem to remember the feast that they were told to remember. And I would take it that upon their hearts would be the words of Psalm 122 and verse 1, as they made their way up to Jerusalem, I was glad when they said unto us, let us go up to the house of the Lord.

I would take it that in Psalm 133, that's a picture of the unity that was being expressed. And so he says that it's like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard and upon the skirts, the garment of Aaron, and the fragrance of that ointment would be carried as Aaron would move out amongst the children of Israel. That should be true, brethren, of an assembly.

That when we gather together in assembly capacity and there is unity, there's a sense of oneness, there's a fragrance, and when we leave and move out amongst those that we associate with relative to our occupation or going to school, that there should be a sense that we are carrying that with us, that the people around us that we meet day by day will have a sense that we have been someplace, that it hasn't affected upon our life. It's like the dew of Hermon, and then the oil has a sanctifying power, and I love Romans chapter 8, the Spirit of God, and the dew would be the thought of the blessing of God upon the place where there is unity. He says, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Philippians chapter 1, stand fast in one spirit and in one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. I'm not going to have you turn to the verse, but you likely are knowing or familiar with it. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 2, you would read this expression, that your hearts might be knit together.

I went into the home Bethany Lodge back in the city of Toronto, especially to visit an elderly sister, probably known by some here, Mrs. L. K. McElwain. I knew Mr. and Mrs. McElwain quite well. Mr. McElwain had passed away.

I went to see Mrs. McElwain. I kind of wish that I had a camera. In fact, I would think that what I saw would be a beautiful picture to put on the front page of a calendar, because Mrs. McElwain was sitting in a rocking chair, and she had beautiful white hair, and she had her glasses down like that on her nose, and if I put my glasses like she had hers, they would probably fall off.

On each side of that rocking chair was a wicker basket, and in the wicker baskets there were spools of yarn, and Mrs. McElwain is knitting. I don't know what she was knitting, but I sat there for a few moments, and I decided I'm going to keep my eyes on those knitting needles just to see how she's putting that yarn together, but I gave up on that very quickly. I couldn't follow her knitting needles.

They were moving so fast. I'm not certain again what she was knitting, but if I would suggest that maybe she was knitting a scarf, maybe, if you were to take one strand of that yarn, you could pull it apart, you could break it. You might even take two or three strands, maybe four or five strands, and some with a little bit of muscle power could probably break those strands, but if she was knitting a scarf knit together, you couldn't pull it apart.

Brethren, we're living in a day when Satan is doing everything that he can to pull assemblies apart, and the Apostle Paul said to the Colossians, knit together. So knit together means conditions of unity. Knit together.

It cannot be pulled apart. And so when the psalmist says, behold how good and how pleasant it is that brethren should be together in conditions of unity, I'm going to take you now to one more portion of Scripture, and then I'm going to sit down. 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, there are three bodies. One body is being used as an example of two other things. So Paul to the Corinthians, and we have read in chapter 10 where there were divisions at Corinth.

Now Paul is going to emphasize that here in chapter 12. He's going to use a human body as a metaphor. And so in verses 12 and 13, we'll just read the verses.

For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. Now the Apostle Paul has used the human body in verse 12 to illustrate the truth of the body of Christ.

So we are baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit at the moment of salvation. For if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his. But then Paul's going to change that now to something else.

So he's going to use a human body to illustrate the assembly of Corinth. So when you come to verse 14, for the body is not one member but many, and now the foot shall say to the, if the foot shall say because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body. Now you come down to chapter, and he uses various parts of the human head to illustrate members of the assembly of Corinth.

So from verse 14 on, it is the assembly of Corinth that is in view. Paul is addressing the issue of division in the assembly. And so in verse 15 again, if the foot, a member of the Corinthian assembly, shall say because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body.

And so he is saying here's the foot, an essential part of the human body but necessary part of the Corinthian assembly, but kind of grumbling a little because I can't do what the hand can do. And so then Paul says, is the foot not of the body? Both parts of the human body are necessary, and representative here of the Corinthian assembly, both parts are necessary. So he says in verse 16, if the eye shall say because, if the ear shall say because I'm not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body.

Two gifted members of the Corinthian assembly. The human ear is a marvel of God's creation, and as is the human eye. And so you have two members of the assembly that are both highly gifted, but the one member here of the ear, gifted, but is saying because I'm not the eye, I'm not part of the body.

And then he goes on to address the foot and the hand. So he's addressing the members of the Corinthian assembly and emphasizing that all of the members are necessary, and there should be a unity in the assembly as there is a unity in the human body. Now let me just quickly make an application.

The assembly is a body, illustrated here in First Corinthians chapter 12. And I'm certain brethren that you would never have the brethren meet in one part of the building to remember the Lord and the sisters downstairs to remember the Lord and the young people in a little room over here to remember the Lord. No.

It is the unity of the body. It is the Christians all together, meeting together, worshiping, and remembering the Lord, but together. That's being taken apart today.

And I would address myself to younger brethren and sisters here for a moment. I mean, you need the older people in the assembly. Not a group of younger people meeting over here away from the older people.

You need the older brethren and sisters in the assembly. Some of the encouragement that I have received as a younger man after a gospel meeting has been from an older sister who has made a comment on the gospel that was preached that night. God has the assembly working together, all together, not little parts scattered all over the place.

That's emphasized here in First Corinthians chapter 12. And so older believers and younger believers, sisters and brethren, younger people and older people, all together, striving together for the gospel, a place where there is harmony and a place where believers want to be, where they are happy to be. And let me emphasize it again that Satan will and is doing everything he can to tear that apart, to get the younger people away by themselves, to have the sisters meeting someplace over here by themselves.

That's a work of Satan, brethren, tearing apart what God says should be together and should be unitedly together and should all be striving together. Could I suggest, for there the Lord commands us a blessing, even life forevermore, and could it be that the gospel is being hindered today because the assembly is being taken apart and not working together for the gospel? So when I come to Psalm 133, behold how good, that is good to God, but that will be a blessing to us, how good and how pleasant it is that brethren should dwell together in unity. May God preserve that and preserve the assembly.

And to younger believers again, put everything that you can into the assembly of God and be a little help and be a little blessing to the assembly and make that the place where you're going to concentrate your efforts for God in that assembly where God has placed you.