Can Two Walk Together Except They Be Agreed?

The Bible asks a good question.

Amos 3:3:
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Unity can only exist where men and women are in agreement. Thirteen of us, faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, moved from different parts of the country to work together as a team in Jefferson City, Missouri. We all agreed to win one “hungry heart” to God and His Word, to live and learn together along with us in our home fellowships.

Agreement

When we first arrived, the minister who supported us shared that it would take all of us together to make that happen. We recognized that the spiritual pressure was on, and our greatest asset was our unity. God brought great increase and today there are more faithful believers than team members. What a great powerful God we have!

The only way this could have happened was for the team to be in agreement on the Word. It was what we never backed down on or out of. Sure we had our disagreements, own opinions, ways of doing things, favorite sports teams, and challenges to believe God’s Word, but we didn’t allow those things to rule our hearts.

Together, our hearts’ motive was founded on the Word, so we loved each other, we loved the God we served, and we agreed together as we moved day by day. This genuine love-based unity made the challenges less formidable and victories more rewarding!

Lowliness and Meekness

If there was one verse to describe how we accomplished our goal, it’s Ephesians 4:2.

Ephesians 4:1-3:
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The riffs in relationships so often caused by self-righteousness and pride cannot tear the threads of humility. Humility allows for others to receive appreciation and credit and shows its love, care and respect for them. This humility is accompanied by meekness—a self-reserved power that is willing to listen and takes delight in doing the will of God over the will of self.

From the beginning of our time together, the entire team grew in humility and meekness to the Word, and others saw our example and believed God’s Word. The only way the “unity of the spirit” can be achieved is to fight for it by standing up for what is right and speaking up for the truth with all of love’s attributes.

Pleasing to God

If we love God more than anything, He is the one we will want to please, and we will not react to the opinions and feelings of people. He is the one we want to receive praise from, not men!

John 12:42,43:
Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

On God’s team, we are all leaders in our own right and the greatest leader is the greatest servant. Many times I have been wrong and I am so thankful someone has taken the time to put me back on the right path while taking care of my heart. They were careful to take me aside, lovingly show me the Word and where I was off, and help me back to the right road. That is fighting for the unity. They wanted to please God and help my life by sticking to the Word whether I liked the truth or not.

Not Fighting One Another

I have learned that we are never fighting one another, we fight evil forces who want to hinder the purposes of our heavenly Father. It is an easy and weak move to mentally or verbally attack the integrity and character of a person who (in our opinion) is not “in fellowship.”

But no matter what our perception or their reputation may be, we need to have a heart to do God’s will and we must look deeper. Who knows, they may be challenged, ignorant, pressured, threatened, and the list can go on. There sometimes seems to be no end to the adversary’s tactics. But when we care for their hearts with God’s love despite any past “history,” love never fails.

One man new to our home Bible fellowship seemed to be particularly troubled, although he already had a good amount of scriptural knowledge. And from a natural perspective it would have been easy to simply write him off. It would have been easy to think he wasn’t meek, he’s just obnoxious, he attacks others, and a case against him could easily have been built.

But that’s not what we are to fight. When God’s people are aware of Satan’s devices, it’s their responsibility to restore the immature in the spirit of meekness, being loooooooooooooooooooong suffering, and ready to help and serve by being strong in God’s Word.

Evidence of God at Work

This point was proven when a team member and I were about to have lunch with this gentleman. We were discussing how we could best help him and if our home Bible fellowship was really what he was ready for. At lunchtime, he came walking up with a cane. He had just had a terrible fall and needed help, so we got the door for him and helped him into his seat.

During the meal, we talked 5 percent of the time and listened 95 percent. I am not exaggerating—it was a three-hour lunch. There were many times we could have reacted according to our human nature. We could have defended our own character or fought with him on an area of God’s Word. But we weren’t giving in to that. We held fast to our character as sons of God, believing He would open the right doors and our understanding of where the attack was coming from. There isn’t anything that love can’t fix. We loved him and saw him as a brother who needed our spiritual help.

At the end of our lunch, he was much more peaceful and much lighter. Outside of the restaurant we asked if we could pray for his healing and he was delighted and ready to receive! We all grabbed shoulders, confident that God would heal his leg and upon praying, this man was immediately healed. The pain disappeared and he was so happy, he just let his cane go, walking around faster and faster. God is so incredible!

Loving God, His Word, His People

It proved to me again that I can’t become emotional or overly “sensitive,” only sensitive to the love of Christ. Why? Because those with a true passion to live God’s Word may not be perfect or fully mature, but that’s why God needs our hearts—hearts ready to uplift, encourage and correct, to fight for the unity and strength in each other. That is when we grow as a team for God.

When we are focused on God’s heart and passion for our lives according to His Word, those who have a heart to do the same will be in one accord with us. Loving and supporting them is worth it to God and worth it to us. We can walk together, agreeing with our heavenly Father and one another!