The Blessing of Being Together

The Blessing of Being Together | Psalm 133 August 27, 2023 We are entering our final sermon in our series in the Psalms of Ascent, which we've called "Songs for the Journey." As noted in several of our messages, these psalms are widely believed to have been sung or recited during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the three annual Feasts. These psalms are still applicable to us today because, we too, are on a pilgrimage, a journey as we walk through our lives awaiting the return of Jesus, so we may be gathered together in our final resting place with the Lord God for eternity. But, just as any road trip, our journey in life is not without challenges and hardships. That's what we've seen in the psalms that we've covered in this series, that even though we know where our destination lies, we have to journey through a sometimes difficult life to get there. But, the psalmists never leave us without revealing the hope we have in the Father who cares for us. This morning, as we conclude our series with the 133rd Psalm, we will see one of the marks of God's people that pleases Him. Unity. Togetherness. Brotherhood. Fellowship. We have all seen it or experienced it. A toxic workplace. A horrible landlord. A broken marriage or family. General relationship problems. It's inevitable. I've always said, when you have two (or more) imperfect people trying to make a perfect relationship, it will not result in perfection. But what if I told you that unity - within the body of Christ - pleases the Lord? Would that change how you relate to others? Let's read Psalm 133 and see what David says about unity: 133 A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF DAVID. 1 BEHOLD, HOW GOOD AND PLEASANT IT IS WHEN BROTHERS DWELL IN UNITY! 2 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! 3 IT IS LIKE THE DEW OF HERMON, WHICH FALLS ON THE MOUNTAINS OF ZION! FOR THERE THE LORD HAS COMMANDED THE BLESSING, LIFE FOREVERMORE. Let's jump right in. The main idea from this short psalm is: When the Church is united, the Lord blesses. Once again, David uses some interesting pictures in this Psalm. While they do not make a lot of sense for us today, for the people of God in his time, these pictures would have resonated very well. We're going to answer two questions this morning. First question is: WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE TOGETHER The ESV reads BROTHERS DWELL IN UNITY, but the original text would read more like "brothers dwell together in unity," in fact, it's the same word is used for together and unity. So, maybe even more literal, it would read, "brothers dwell together, together." I'm sure we've all met them. Christians who are not involved in a local church or even associate themselves with other Christians. They believe in God, but not in the church. In fact, many of them don't like church, or church people. John warns about this in his first letter. In 1 John 4:20-21 he writes: 20 IF ANYONE SAYS, "I LOVE GOD," AND HATES HIS BROTHER, HE IS A LIAR; FOR HE WHO DOES NOT LOVE HIS BROTHER WHOM HE HAS SEEN CANNOT LOVE GOD WHOM HE HAS NOT SEEN. 21 AND THIS COMMANDMENT WE HAVE FROM HIM: WHOEVER LOVES GOD MUST ALSO LOVE HIS BROTHER. If you're married, think about your own relationship. If a friend of yours loves you, but hates your spouse, that's problematic. As the bride of Christ, the Church and being a Christian goes hand in hand. So, we see at least two things from our psalm this morning that speaks to why Christians - God's people - should be together, first: * It pleases God (1) o Notice what David says. He reveals to us that it is good and pleasant. o It is good because it reflects the heart of God and His purpose of unity among His people. o Think about what this looks like in the example of the character of the Godhead - all Three Members of the Godhead working in unity from Creation to this very moment, and when Christ returns for His bride. o This is also reflected perfectly in Jesus's prayer in John 17, which we'll look at, in part, a little later. * Think about it, three times a year, God required His people to come together and journey to Jerusalem to worship God together. * At this point in Israel's history, they were a very diverse people. From different regions. Different tribes. Different occupations. But they came together to worship under the same God. * That's what unites us. That's what brings us together. o It's pleasant because it makes life together more enjoyable than those seasons where it is dominated by conflict. * The people of Israel were no strangers to conflict. * This goes all the way back to the first family, doesn't it? * Cain and Abel. Abraham and Lot. Joseph and his brothers. Miriam and Aaron had conflict with Moses. David's kids rebelled against him. * It speaks to those moments in life where conflict has to be put aside for the purpose of unity. o As a manager of people in my previous career, I couldn't tell how many times conflict between two people dominated my time. Several times, it came to - Can you just get along for the 6-8 hours you're working together? Not for me. Not for you. For the customer. For your co-workers. You don't have to be friends, but please be friendly. o Parents. Isn't it great when your kids are getting along? * My brother and I were very different kids. We were very distant when we were younger. I remember one day, when we were moving into a new apartment, he and I were just going back and forth. My dad - getting sick of it - gave us boxing gloves and told us to go at it. Ironically, we hesitated, and really didn't want to. But the older we got, the closer we became. We don't argue and fight anymore - I mean, he still tries to push my buttons, but it's not like it was when we were kids. o But when our kids are getting along with each other, or when they are getting along with others, it pleases us. It gives us joy. o We'll see a bit later how this is done, but for now we can appreciate how the Lord is pleased by the unity of His people. Next we see that ... * The Lord blesses it (2,3) o I mentioned earlier that David uses two interesting pictures to illustrate God's blessings to those who come together under Him. o The first example here is found in verse 2 with the picture of the anointing oil coming down the beard and the robe of Aaron. * No, this isn't one of those shampoo commercials. * This is anointing oil. If you go back to Exodus 29-30 (we won't go there at this time) you'd see this special and expensive oil that was specifically created for the anointing of Aaron, the priests, and the materials used for service in the tabernacle. * Aaron is mentioned here - likely as a representation of the priesthood - as he was the high priest. o The picture of oil in the Bible is interesting. It actually holds many meanings, to include the anointing of the priests, prophets, apostles, as is alluded to here in this psalm. * It also, throughout Scripture, alludes to the Holy Spirit. * So, the idea of anointing is to set aside, to bless, to empower, and maybe just as important, it is a sign of God's presence. o So, the first blessing for those who are united under the Father is anointing. o The next blessing is found in verse 3 and is found in the dew from Hermon. o Depending on your translation, it may or may not include Mt. in front of Hermon. o This mountain was about 100 miles north of Jerusalem and is the largest mountain - about 9,000-10,000 feet above sea level. One commentator noted that this is the only mountain that produced snow in that region. o Scholars disagree on this verse, namely whether it should be taken literally. o Regardless if it is literal or not, the picture of dew is found all throughout the Scriptures and is symbolic several things, but can really be narrowed down to God's favor or blessings for His people. Let me give you an example from Genesis 27:28 when Isaac blessed Jacob: MAY GOD GIVE YOU OF THE DEW OF HEAVEN AND OF THE FATNESS OF THE EARTH AND PLENTY OF GRAIN AND WINE. o There is also a sense of refreshment from this picture of dew. o Two of these three Feasts where the people are traveling are during the warmer months, and during that time there is little to no rain to nourish them. So, this picture provides them with hope and comfort and a sense of refreshment during their journey. o I vividly remember that same type of refreshment in June 2015. Our doctors and our family made the decision to have a feeding tube put in for Gabrielle, so she could consume a complete and nutritious meal, I can recall the anxiety and concern we all had when they rolled her away and we went back out to the waiting room. But I also remember the refreshment and joy we felt when we walked out there and saw Pat and Mary, Carol, and other brothers and sisters that came with us to support us. o That's the kind of unity that should exist in the church. That's the kind of unity that pleases God. * One last thing I want to point out before we move on to the second question. * Notice in verses 2-3 that the oil drips down the beard, then runs down the collar, and in verse 3 the dew is obviously coming down. * This should remind us that God sends down these blessings, it is not something that we work up to or cause, they are blessings from our Heavenly Father. * So, it begs the question: HOW TO BE TOGETHER * To answer this question, since it's not explicitly in the text, I want to look at three New Testament Passages (in order of appearance, not exactly importance) and draw some conclusions from there: * John records Jesus's prayer just before He was arrested in John 17. In what is best known as "the High Priestly Prayer," Jesus prays for His disciples. In verses 20-23 He says: 20 "I DO NOT ASK FOR THESE ONLY, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE WHO WILL BELIEVE IN ME THROUGH THEIR WORD, 21 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. 22 THE GLORY THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME I HAVE GIVEN TO THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE EVEN AS WE ARE ONE, 23 I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BECOME PERFECTLY ONE, SO THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU LOVED ME. * The first principle in being together is that the Church must: * Be unified in Christ. o It's no secret that Christians do not agree on everything. o I think there are two primary things to think about: * Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12 that we are all members of the same body. Meaning every part of the body is important, and necessary. Think about a time when you've had an injury, not having full usage of the injured part makes things a bit more difficult, doesn't it? Next, * If we consider the body as a whole, then we must put our personal preferences aside. The infighting that is caused by personal preferences - those things that do not impact the Kingdom - are unnecessary, and harmful to the body. o What we're talking about here then, in part, is the joy of being around other Christians because we worship the same God. o I met a guy when I worked at the call center. When he found out I was a Christian, anytime I was on site, he stopped by for a chat about the Word or the Lord. We both looked forward to those interactions. o Next, * In the early chapters of Acts we read of the early spread of the Gospel and how the early church was formed. In Acts 2:42-47, Luke writes: 42 AND THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE APOSTLES' TEACHING AND THE FELLOWSHIP, TO THE BREAKING OF BREAD AND THE PRAYERS. 43 AND AWE CAME UPON EVERY SOUL, AND MANY WONDERS AND SIGNS WERE BEING DONE THROUGH THE APOSTLES. 44 AND ALL WHO BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER AND HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON. 45 AND THEY WERE SELLING THEIR POSSESSIONS AND BELONGINGS AND DISTRIBUTING THE PROCEEDS TO ALL, AS ANY HAD NEED. 46 AND DAY BY DAY, ATTENDING THE TEMPLE TOGETHER AND BREAKING BREAD IN THEIR HOMES, THEY RECEIVED THEIR FOOD WITH GLAD AND GENEROUS HEARTS, 47 PRAISING GOD AND HAVING FAVOR WITH ALL THE PEOPLE. AND THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBER DAY BY DAY THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED. * To say it another way: * Engage in fellowship day by day (46) o Notice how this was accomplished in the early church: * Under the teaching of the apostles * Through fellowship and breaking bread together (some believe this alludes to the Lord's Supper - which may very well be the case) * Through prayer * Through coming together in community, serving and providing for one another. o I personally feel that our local church does a great job at this - when we know of a need. o And that's precisely why it's important to do life together - even outside these walls on Sunday mornings. o Part of this idea of fellowship includes that fellowship you have with the Lord in prayer and in bible reading. * Finally, Paul, in writing to the Ephesians reminds them of the importance of Christian unity. In chapter 4, Paul says: 1 I THEREFORE, A PRISONER FOR THE LORD, URGE YOU TO WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE CALLING TO WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED, 2 WITH ALL HUMILITY AND GENTLENESS, WITH PATIENCE, BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE, 3 EAGER TO MAINTAIN THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE. 4 THERE IS ONE BODY AND ONE SPIRIT-JUST AS YOU WERE CALLED TO THE ONE HOPE THAT BELONGS TO YOUR CALL- 5 ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, 6 ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS OVER ALL AND THROUGH ALL AND IN ALL. * Here, I want to focus on verse one, where Paul encourages us to: o Be a good witness for Christ (1) * He says here that we can do that through: * Humility * Gentleness * Patience, and * Love o Is that how others see you? o Think about the impact you can have to those who are not part of the family to act in a way that's worthy of Christ. o Didn't we see in some of the early psalms the blessings of a large family? o When Christians live in unity, and the world sees it, they may want to be adopted into the family of God as well. o It is essential that we are good witnesses to Christ. We've seen this morning: When the Church is united, the Lord blesses. And when this occurs, we can do our part in receiving that blessing through being united in Christ, being in fellowship with the Lord and His people daily, and through being a good witness for Christ. That should be the goal of every church, every family, every member of the Family of God. At the end of verse 3 of our psalm this morning, David writes about another blessing, that of LIFE FOREVERMORE. That's the journey, my friends. And we have fifteen psalms that help us along on this road to that destination. Are you in Christ? If so, Pastor and Author Mike Leake summed up these psalms this way: Some day all those who are "in Christ" will be finally home. Revelation 21 paints a beautiful picture which goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden; namely God with His people. Revelation 21 is the culmination of God's plan to rescue all that which was lost in the fall. Our hearts' desire to be home will finally and fully be fulfilled. But in the meantime, just as those of the post-exilic period who compiled the psalms of ascent, we wait and we journey forward. We trek and we climb to further experience the presence of God. There is no better way to experience this journey to that time where we will be in the presence of God, than doing it with His people. Because if we need to take the road that the Lord has put in on, why not do it with family? Let's pray. 2