Unity, Community & Growing Pains

Our All Things Restored community is growing, and with growth always come growing pains. You may have noticed that members of our community have been stepping up to the plate, adding blogs to our web page. Last week’s blog was contributed by a gentleman with a tremendous teaching gift, who, like us all, is in the process of “working out his salvation.” His post was a glimpse into his journey from extreme legalism to grace. 

Some of you had questions or expressed concerns, so we just want to clarify and publicly state that All Things Restored does not endorse a universalist doctrine. We believe that, though all men are created in God’s image, we must be born again in order to be His sons. And we believe that the born again experience is the necessary and personal appropriation of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Salvation is available to all, but we must receive it.

We would like to thank all of you who contacted us and expressed your concern in such a direct, kind and loving way. We were very touched by this display of the Body of Christ operating in maturity, as He has designed it to be. 

Aaron, the author of last week’s blog, will be writing another blog to clarify some of the issues that were problematic, so stay tuned…. 

All Things Restored is pressing into the reality of living, ruling and reigning from heaven into the earth. Establishing the reality of this new yet ancient truth in the context of community has been one of the most challenging assignments I have ever been given, and we have certainly had our ups and downs. But we know that we are becoming an earthly picture of a heavenly reality, demonstrating all what is possible and displaying what a healthy spiritual family can look like.

Several years ago, I was given a picture of the Body of Christ (particularly during times when we gather together) as a seamless garment. 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing–
Life forevermore.
-Psalm 133:1-3, NKJV

We see in Scripture and throughout history that where there is unity, there is the anointing of God, the presence of God and the blessing of God. In this hour, the Lord is calling us to a deeper level of unity than we have even imagined before—far beyond unity between races, sexes or denominations.  He is releasing the anointing of the “seamless garment” and is looking for a people who will simply say “yes.”  

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes,
dividing them into four shares, one for each of them,
with the undergarment remaining. 
This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
-John 19:23, NIV

The Word of God is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12), and so every detail, even the most minute, is not without significance. Jesus was clothed in a seamless garment, a piece of cloth woven together without division of any kind. The Lord desires that His body, the Church, be clothed in such a way today, and He is cultivating a people with such mutual respect for one another and such sensitivity to the orchestration of the Holy Spirit that the gifts blend seamlessly. In the coming days, we will see the remaining walls come down as our Conductor steps forward. Those who find their security in the predictability of man’s agenda will surely be shaken, and to many, it will appear chaotic. But those who yearn to truly be led by the Spirit of God will see that this “Divine disruption” will enable us to soar unfettered in the Spirit, outmaneuvering the schemes of the enemy.

When we gather together, we will keep our eyes locked on the “Maestro” of all the ages. By being completely in sync with Him, we will experience perfect synchronicity with each other, and our beautiful, multi-faceted diversity will be seamlessly woven together. Holy Spirit might lead us to teach in the middle of worship. We will know when it is time to be silent so that a prophetic vessel can release the Word of the Lord, or the evangelist can cast the net of salvation, or the pastor can minister healing and deliverance to the hurting, or a teenager can demonstrate the power of God through signs and wonders. We might even sing in the Spirit for hours at a time, with no “worship leader” but Holy Spirit. Our music, dance, intercession and art will blend in a crescendo of high praise, and our individual time slots will be engulfed in one “seamless garment” as we offer ourselves to Him and His kingdom purposes to see “His kingdom come” and “His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

If you’re like us, you’re learning and growing in this… and mistakes are just part of the process. But today we say “yes” to the unity of His body that will release His “precious oil.”