Harmony, Being Spirit Led
Harmony. A word that when spoken in any context gives an immediate response of peace. Who has strife in the midst of harmony? It doesn’t exist. However, all one has to do is turn on the television today or go in a crowded store or drive down the road and instantly, that word strife begins to rear it’s ugly head. Why is it today when we hear of someone doing something nice, it’s surprising? How many times do we hear about something awful and say, “That doesn’t surprise me at all!”? Well why can’t we all just get along? Because there is no harmony, no agreement, no unity. But before we begin to point the finger at others. Let’s look at a verse or two and see if we can find the root of the strife and discord we see all around us today.
Matthew 18:19-20 (AMPC)
Again I tell you if two of you on earth agree (harmonize, make a symphony) about whatever (anything and everything) they may ask, it will come to pass and be done by my Father in heaven. For wherever two or three are gathered (drawn together as my followers) in (into) my name there I am in the midst of them.
Now, lets take a look at synonyms and antonyms for the word harmony:
Synonyms: Balance, coherence, symmetry, unity, consonance
Antonyms: Confusion, disorganization, disproportion, imbalance, violence
This verse in Matthew speaks of agreement. The greek word here is one we can all understand. It comes from the word sumphoneo which is where our word symphony comes from. Agreement must harmonize. Could you imagine listening to a symphony that is in discord? Being in agreement with someone is like making music together. Certain notes just do not flow together, but notes do not have to be the same in order to harmonize, just in agreement. Two completely different notes in the same key harmonize. And the more notes in the same key become a chord. This is how music is made. When someone who plays beautifully sits down to play the piano, it’s peaceful and soothing in your ears. But if someone who knows nothing about music plays, most likely it is going to be in discord. Every single note that is played has to harmonize. The moment it doesn’t it stands out like a sore thumb and can distract you from the entire piece.
Harmony in a beautiful piece of music begins in the smallest detail on the inside, it begins with one note. The body of Christ is the same way. There must be harmony or agreement but before you say, well it’s not my fault, it’s ol so and so’s over there, lets look first at the inside of ourselves. Let’s look at the first note. As humans, God built us in harmony. He made us in His image! What does this mean? It means we are also a three part or triune being. Genesis 1:26-27 says man was made in God’s image. God is three parts: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The three are not exactly the same, they each have purpose in their individuality but they work in unison with each other-in agreement. It wasn’t the Father’s job to walk on the earth as man and die on the cross for us, that was the Son’s job It’s not the Son’s job to be the comforter, that’s the Spirit’s job. Man is made in that image. Spirit, soul and body. In that order for a reason. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says “And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through (separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God) and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete (and found) blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). AMPC.
Paul listed this in this order for a reason. You are a spirit with a soul living in a body. You are not a body with a spirit and a soul. You are a spirit first. Spirits come from the breath of God.
Genesis 2:7 says God breathed the breath of life into man’s nostrils and he became a living being. God breathed, He breaths spirits. This is a part of God Himself. You are created out of God’s breath. So understand you ARE a spirit. This spirit has a soul, this is your mind, your will and your emotions. This is where your personality comes from; your mannerisms, your self and how people know you. This is where people become deceived though and decide this is the center of their being. No. You are a spirit and you have a soul. Everything you have and are should be guided by the spirit. It’s the same as the Father guiding the Son and the Holy Ghost. We are in His image. We also know that when we die, our soul goes with our spirit. How do we know this? Well I’m glad you asked. 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face. Now I know in part but then I shall know just as I also am known” . It’s not by looks, because this body isn’t going. In the parable of the rich man and the beggar, after the rich man is in hell and Lazarus the beggar is at Abraham’s side in heaven, they are aware of what has happened and what their lives were like (Luke 16). There is an awareness that we would not otherwise have if our soul did not go with us.
When these parts are all working in harmony, we have peace. As Paul said, “preserved sound and complete”. Internal peace through the Holy Spirit is the beginning basis of the body of Christ in all her “glory”, the glory of Christ Himself. Mountains can be moved because Mathew 18 said when we are gathered in harmony in His name He is there in the midst. This is where Mark 11:23-24 begins to come alive in someone’s life.
“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
The Holy Spirit communicates with your spirit, your spirit tells your soul what to do. When you’re being is operating in that order, the flesh has to fall into place. This is total agreement throughout your three parts. Total agreement to say to that mountain “Go throw yourself into the sea”! Whether that mountain is sickness, sin, depression, fear or anything satan has put in your life that should not be there. But, what happens when the three do not agree? Well, I’m glad you asked. Let’s say you wake up in the morning and you feel yucky and just achy all over. And as the day goes on you get more and more in a foul mood because you don’t feel good. Or, let’s say you get your feelings hurt because someone said something hurtful to you and you get mad and start acting out. When you allow your soul and your flesh run the show, you have just effectively shut down your communication with God. When your spirit is in communication with the Holy Spirit and is telling your soul how to respond, the flesh falls into line. However, when your soul and your flesh team up (2 against 1) and they are not listening to the spirit, they have just shut down the communication they had, the line straight to the throne room of God. We cannot be Christ minded and flesh controlled at the same time. This is when a body comes under attack. This is when we step out from under that protection Psalm 91 talks about. When a person is not spirit controlled, they will be in discord with the body of Christ. When the body of Christ is in discord, there is no move forward in the church. And it all begins with you. You don’t like the color of the new carpet in the church or the way the pews and seats face in the choir loft or which side the piano is on and the opinions cause you to “flesh out”? Then you are not spirit minded and you are being no good to the body of Christ. The flipside of that coin is, you don’t like the way things look aesthetically but honestly it does not matter because people are growing closer to the Lord. You are still and individual with tastes, that hasn’t changed, but you would rather work in accord with the body of Christ than to complain. God has made us all individuals for a reason. He doesn’t want conformity, He wants harmony. God is waiting on us to move from this physical realm of discord int o the spiritual realm of worship and communion with Him.
Ecclesiastes 4:2 says “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Though one may be overpowered (The body over influencing the soul); Two can defend themselves (Body and soul can stand but they will fall) A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (spirit soul and body working together in peace and harmony)
The spirit and the soul make up the heart of man (Proverbs 4:23) “Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life”. The “heart” is your spirit. This does not say, guard your body, the body has to get in line with what the heart says. This does not say guard your soul. When these parts all get in line it is a binding of three that is not quickly broken.
Why a tripod instead of a bipod? A tripod stands on it’s own as opposed to a bipod requiring someone to hold it up. Agreement or harmony cause stability and peace. This begins with you. Are y ou going to get up in the morning and allow your feelings and aches and pains, physical or mental, to be your driving force or get up praising God filling yourself with the word and allow your spirit to control your responses? Do you want to grow in the Lord? Have a relationship with Him that’s always striving to go deeper? All this begins with you. You can continue to blame the discord in your life on everyone and everything around you or you can begin today allowing the Spirit of God to communicate with who He created you to be, a spirit with a soul inside a body with the mind of Christ. This does not mean that situations and issues will go away. But I guarantee you they will certainly look better. And when you spend your time focusing on your outlook through the eyes of the spirit instead of your flesh, you will have so much more clarity and peace as to how you are needed as part of the body of Christ.
Psalm 133:1-3 AMP Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil [of consecration] poured on the head, Coming down on the beard, Even the beard of Aaron, Coming down upon the edge of his [priestly] robes [consecrating the whole body]. It is like the dew of [Mount] Hermon Coming down on the hills of Zion; For there the LORD has commanded the blessing: life forevermore.
Have you ever had a super hard day working in the hot yard and come in for a shower? Or a terrible day at work and all you wan to do is take a hot shower and go to bed? That peaceful feeling from head to toe? Imagine Aaron in his time. He had been chosen by God himself to be the first high priest. This must have been such a humbling experience for him. This oil was fragrant and in this day it symbolized abundance and joy. It was made up of about 12 1/2 pounds of liquid myrrh and cassia, 6 1/4 pounds of cinnamon and cane and about one gallon of olive oil. Te smell alone could be floating for miles around. What a pleasant common denominator for these people. Not only was the priest covered in it from head to toe, they got to smell it it and see it. This was a scene of peaceful unity for these people.
Today, we have the common denominator of the Holy Spirit himself. We all have the opportunity “to taste and see that He is good” (Psalm 38}. This verse goes on to say that for these who dwell together in unity , the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. This is a peace that no human can obtain on their own. This is the peace that passes all understanding. This is peace in unity, whether personal or in the body of Christ, which does not conform us, but draws us together in harmony. It puts us in peace with the word. We become spirit led, Christ minded people with a common purpose: to represent Jesus in all we do. Being in unity like this internally and externally is such a powerful thing that David equated it with one of the most holy acts he could think of, the consecration of Aaron. The first high priest. To be “covered” in peace from head to toe.
Do you seek peace in your life today? Then there is such an importance in being spirit led, not soul led, not flesh led but spirit led. Allow the Holy Spirit to cover you in the fragrant oil that comes from Him so you have such unity and peace from the inside out that when people look at you they even smell Jesus on you.
