We Are One

[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Etchie. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:14] Be blessed. It is always a joy and a privilege to come your way and for us to have this general assembly. Let me show you something.

[0:25] Hebrews chapter 12, verse 22. It says that, But ye are come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.

[0:45] When we are born again, we are introduced into all kinds of spiritual realities. It might not be physical. So when you read the text, it starts from this, I think this 19 or verse 18.

[1:04] Yeah, verse 18 says that, For ye are not come unto mountain that might be touched, and that burns with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness of tempest.

[1:18] Now, with the Israelites, you see, God has always had a way of dealing with his people. So in the days of Israel, he dealt with them, that's in the Old Testament days, he dealt with them slightly different.

[1:32] And his dealing with them was based on physical norms, material norms. So the presence of God was like, it was in the tabernacle with the ark of the covenant.

[1:48] Even though God is bigger than that, it was symbolic of his presence with them in the days of Israel. And there was a particular place, the temple, that's where they were supposed to go and offer worship.

[2:00] They were all supposed to gather around the tabernacle. There were norms, there were rituals, there were forms, there were postures, there were ceremonial attires, there were attires, there were customs that they had to adhere to in dealing with God.

[2:14] But for those of you who have been following the teachings, I spoke about, Jesus, the woman said, okay, now the contention has been, which particular mountain are we supposed to worship?

[2:24] You Jews say, is this in Jerusalem? But our fathers also said, according to John chapter 4, verse 16 down to us. So the woman asked Jesus, which mountain?

[2:36] Then Jesus said, the time is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For God is a spirit, and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

[2:48] Yes, yes. The point here is that Jesus Christ clearly told them that the worshiping of the Father switched from physical location or from forms and material things, tangible things.

[3:03] So being a true worshiper is not predicated on the tangible things you can see and touch. That is why we do not need images necessarily, images in our places of worship necessarily.

[3:20] The reason why we have crosses in places is because in Christianity, the cross is so symbolic. But even the physical cross is not what we need.

[3:32] But many churches have it. And when we have our own church building, we'll definitely have a cross. Oh, yes. Amen. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes.

[3:42] But when we go to the hotel and we are having our service, there's no cross there. Does that mean our worship gets invalidated? No. It does not invalidate our worship because the point or the center of our worship has not got to do with physical norms.

[3:58] It has not got to do with material settings. The center of our worship has everything to do with, first of all, the condition of our hearts. Yes. And the God we know and who we are for, we focus the worship.

[4:10] So that's why I took time in the lockdown, when the lockdown started, by God's grace, I took time to teach on the true worshiper. Please, I want to encourage everybody.

[4:21] Try and revisit that message again. Listen to it over and over. It will open your eyes into certain depths that you initially did not see. Because remember, as I said this morning, faith comes by hearing and hearing.

[4:36] So the first hearing doesn't really work. Say something. You have to hear again. Hear again and hear again. So as I was teaching the other time, I said, the more you're hearing, the more the faith comes.

[4:53] Yep. So faith has a lot to do with after the first hearing. The first hearing doesn't do it. It's after the first hearing. Romans 10, 17.

[5:03] Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So it's so important to understand. So Jesus came and told them that worship is not based on forms anymore.

[5:16] Worship is based on the spirit and the truth. So according to Hebrews, what I was just reading, in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 18, it says that you have not come to a mountain that can be touched.

[5:32] Our worship is not based on what can be touched. Then he went on to speak a bit more. Then in the verse, verse 22, it said that, so you can connect verse 18 straight to verse 22.

[5:42] It said, but you have come unto Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God. Where is it? It is not physical. The city of the living God. Unto the heavenly Jerusalem.

[5:52] This Jerusalem is not tangible, physically touchable. Yeah. All right. Unto the heavenly Jerusalem. Unto the God, the judge of all. Unto the spirits of just men made perfect.

[6:05] And so you are dealing with people's spirits. This is the intensity of our worship. So even though we can't see each other physically, we can connect with each other spiritually.

[6:16] Hallelujah. So what? That potentially there are several miles that are separating all of us. Some are thousands of miles away. I believe our sister from the Caribbean or Grenada is with her name.

[6:32] Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. It's nice to be around, my darling. And guess what? I know there are people connecting from Africa. We have been separated by thousands of miles.

[6:45] And yet we are still connected. Amen. We have been separated by thousands of miles. And yet we are connected. And so in the modern day New Testament, the New Testament post-resurrection walk with God.

[7:02] It is not based on physical locations and norms. But it is based on spiritual reality. That is why the Holy Spirit had to come. So the Holy Spirit comes and he's in me.

[7:12] He's in you. He's in her. He's in him. He's in us. He's in them. That is what makes us one body. Yes. Now, when it comes to the local church, the local church is the physical and visible, tangible representation of the big Christian body, the universal church.

[7:32] And so right now, I know most of you here. Most of you here know me. You know somebody. And we are all part of the Carys family. That makes us a local church. Amen.

[7:42] And it's important. And when God has a message to the church, he doesn't give it first to the universal church. He sends it into the local church. And then from the local church, it impacts the universal church.

[7:54] So as I quoted this morning, Revelation chapter 2, verse 7. Can I do my normal thing I like? Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2, verse 7. Revelation chapter 2, verse 11.

[8:06] Revelation chapter 2, verse 17. Revelation chapter 2, verse 29. Revelation chapter 3, verse 6. Revelation chapter 3, verse 13. Revelation chapter 3, verse 22. All these things he says.

[8:17] Watch this. He that has an ear, let him hear. What the Spirit says to the churches. He didn't say to the body of Christ. By saying to the churches. Because if it's to the churches.

[8:29] That means individual church. 1, church 2, church 3, church 4, church 5, church 6, church 7, church 8, church 9. That is what makes the churches. Right? That means he's talking to individual churches.

[8:41] Yes, yes. But when he started the letter. He said to the church of Ephesus. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1. The church of Ephesus.

[8:51] So a particular church. He's assigned the letter straight to a particular church. But it's meant for not the body of Christ. But it's meant for the churches. Once we say churches.

[9:02] Watch this. I'm about to say something very important. How do you do? Once you hear the word churches. You are talking about those who are alive. Yes. Once you hear the big word.

[9:13] I will build my church. It's talking about everybody who has been born again from the day Jesus left and on to now. Wow. Including Paul. They are all part of the church.

[9:24] But as soon as you talk about churches. You are talking about the living saints. Those of us who are alive. Wow. Those who are dead and gone. Theologians. Church history. Or church scholars.

[9:35] And church fathers call them. They call them the church triumphants. They have triumphed. They have lived their life. And they have gone. They have passed the pattern over to us. And we are supposed to upheld the purpose of God on earth.

[9:48] And win souls. And call the other people God is calling. Call them back home. Amen. Amen. That's the point. He said you have come to the spirit of just men made perfect.

[9:59] So when we gather like this. Peter is also. His spirit is here. When we gather. Even though we can't see each other. Our spirits are interconnected. Because we are one.

[10:09] We are one. Ephesians chapter 4. From verse 3. He said. Endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit. Through the bond of peace. For there is one God. One baptism. One faith. One father.

[10:21] One hope. We share a lot of things in common. Seven things that will make us one. The oneness we have. It is like. The blood that flows in your toe. Is not different from the blood that is flowing in your ears.

[10:32] Yes. So if it's except blood from your ears. That. The. The. The blood genotype. Will not be different. From the blood that is flowing in your head. Is the same life.

[10:44] So. If poison. God forbid. If poison enters your body through your finger. Hmm. It will affect the whole body. The whole. As much as it enters through your mouth. Or it enters through.

[10:55] So. So. For instance. The HIV virus. If it enters through your finger. It affects. God forbid. Nothing like that will happen to you. Amen. It can happen through the leg.

[11:06] Maybe. Something. Scratch the leg. And cut. And then. Hard contact with the blood. The blood that is flowing through the leg. Is coming from the heart. The heart is popping the blood throughout.

[11:17] It's circulating throughout the body. It's the same blood. So. Anything that can. Poison your blood through your leg. Can poison it through your nose. Through your ears. Through your ears. Yes. And you can. Because. It's one life.

[11:28] Now. This is the point I'm making. It is one life. That is why the body has oneness. It's one body. We also are one body. That means that. The power of God. That is flowing through you. Is the same thing that flows through me.

[11:39] Is the same thing that flows through her. Is the same thing that flows through her. We are one. We are one. We don't have to be at one place to be one. We are one. By virtue of our connection to Jesus.

[11:50] By virtue of. The fact that we are born again. And we are all the sons of God. Hallelujah. Somebody shout hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now. He said. You have. Watch this.

[12:01] He said. Hebrews chapter 12 again. Verse 23. To the general assembly of the church of the firstborn. Now. This is what made me come here. We have come into the general assembly.

[12:11] It is always good not to exempt yourself from the general assembly. Wow. It's nice. It's nice. This is like. What do you call it?

[12:22] All our branches coming together. I don't even know why somebody will exempt themselves. If it's not for critical, necessary, legitimate reasons. Yes. Why?

[12:33] You want to exempt yourself. Whether you are in Chatham, Birmingham, Coventry. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Nottingham. Yes. Yes. Prodigy.

[12:43] Reading. Yes. Bristol. Broughton. I mean. Caribbean. Caribbean. Caribbean. Everywhere. We are all one. We are all one. We are all one. We are all one.

[12:54] We are one. We are one. We know what that means. Amen. You know what that means. That means the blessing of God that is flowing in my life is the same thing that is supposed to flow in your life. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Amen. It's the same.

[13:05] We are sharing the same blessedness of the favor of God. Amen. Amen. I see God doing something new in your life. Amen. Amen. Amen. So shall we be.

[13:16] We thank God for using his servant, Reverend Dr. David Entry, to share this awesome word. If this message has blessed you in any way, please spread the word by sharing it and send us an email to amen at karis.org.

[13:30] Remember to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for regular updates on what God is doing here at Karis Ministries. Stay blessed.