Many people don't actually seem to realize that when they talk to people, instead of speaking life, they could be speaking death. As you read this article, I hope you can see whether you are truly speaking life to people and bringing them into unity, or instead causing separation and therefore being an agent of death.

Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

NOTE: Death is not possible without life being present. Sin brings death, which is separation from God.

Salvation is designed for life and life is the opposite of death. If death is separation, then life is bringing things together. The Bible tells us that in order for this to happen, there is nothing more powerful than unity.

Psalm 133:1 NKJV

Blessed Unity of the People of God

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

Psalm 133:3 NKJV

It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing - Life forevermore.

Acts 2:1-4, 14-47 NKJV

Coming of the Holy Spirit

¹ "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Peter’s Sermon

¹⁴ "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel;

¹⁷ ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. ²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. ²¹ And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him:

‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. ²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. ²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

A Vital Church Grows

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Rev. Kevin T. Brown in his book, 'Cross-Cultural Ministry' writes: “Unity is the birthing place of life. It was when 120 disciples were with one accord, in one place, where the church was born. The survival of the church is vested in its unity. Jesus said that "a house divided against itself cannot stand.” Pg 29, 30.

Sectarianism Is Sin

¹⁰ "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Corinthians 1:10

On pages 27 and 28 of his book, Rev. Brown states:

“Before we can minister to people, we must first recognize their true value. They are not different from us. Their experiences, and culture may be. Everyone needs to know God. The essence of who God is, is only revealed in Christ.

The basis of cross-cultural ministry is not reaching different people. It is about serving people on behalf of God…It is a place where people of every nation, tribe and tongue can come together, thrive, support, and serve one another.

Our ability and willingness to serve the body of Christ is the test of our identity. The biblical term used in the scripture is ‘love’. Love is not limited to a feeling or emotion, it is the result of a conscious decision to commit to a person or cause more important than our personal comfort or even life.

This is the nature and life of a servant and it is into this grace that we are called. We are called to be a servant one to another. Being a servant doesn’t seem like anything to aspire toward, yet to God it is the highest position of grace. Christ told his disciples that the one that would be the greatest, must become the servant of all. The call to servant hood is the highest calling in the life of a Christian.”

IN CONCLUSION:

In spiritual warfare, the enemy of our soul is always trying to separate family and friends. His goal is the death of relationships with people and ultimately God. Satan is the father of all lies and the agent of death. Demons sow discord, leading to sudden and exaggerated conflicts in families, meetings, or groups. Even minor disagreements can escalate into major disputes.

An agent of life is an agent of love, and therefore an agent of God since God is love. An agent of life is a servant that sees people like Christ does, overlooking their weaknesses and sins and reaching out to love them no matter how unlovely they act or may seem.

ARE YOU AN AGENT OF DEATH OR LIFE?

Dr. Jonathan Hansen