“Unity is the soil in which God will command His blessing and release His life forevermore”: Ps Benny Ho on the importance of banding Together!

“Individually, we may be nothing, but when you put the Church of Jesus Christ together, that’s the power of unity.”

Ps Benny Ho, Senior Pastor of Faith Community Church in Perth, shared this at the recent LoveSingapore Summit (January 13-15) when he urged the 1,700 attendees from some 185 churches and 120 organisations to band “Together!” – the theme of this year’s Summit.

Sharing from Psalm 133, Ps Benny drew out lessons on the importance of unity.

Involved in the unity movement since its inception 30 years ago, Ps Benny talked about how privileged he was to have been “given a front row seat to see how the miracle of unity unfolded over the years”.

“We have had our ups and downs through it all, but I cannot but conclude that the LoveSingapore movement has been a God thing.

“I truly believe that before God does anything great, He first unites the Body because it takes a city-wide Church to fight a city-wide war. We are fighting a city-wide war and that’s why we need to come together.”

A lesson from the Psalms

The importance of being together is underscored in Psalm 133, a Song of Ascents by King David.

The Song of Ascents is a collection of 15 Psalms traditionally sung by Jewish pilgrims as they travelled to Jerusalem to observe the religious festivals. Psalm 133 is one of the last of the Song of Ascents.

“It’s a song that is sung as a corporate celebration, as the people ascend the mountain to go to the temple. That is the sound of their unity just before they enter the presence of God in the temple,” explained Ps Benny.

1. Unity is rare

That King David began the psalm with “Behold” is significant.

“It brings out the feelings that surround this psalm because the word ‘behold’ literally means ‘Quick, look!’  There’s this extraordinary sight that you need to look at. Now this tells us that brothers dwelling together in unity is an unusual sight.

“Unity in the Church is never to be taken for granted. It is a very rare and precious thing. So when we – LoveSingapore and other unity movements across our city – come together, it is nothing short of a miracle of God.”

Unity, even in Christianity, is a rare and precious thing, noted Ps Benny.

The rarity of brothers dwelling together in unity can be seen in the many broken relationships among siblings in the Bible – Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Amnon and Absalom.

“Even Jesus and His brothers were not close in the beginning,” said Ps Benny.

2. Unity is good and pleasant

There was a moment in Israel’s history when there was unity. It was during the reign of King David, a period they called the Golden Age.

“When that happened, he said, ‘It is good and it is pleasant.’ I love that it is ‘good and pleasant’ because when something is good, it’s usually not very pleasant. When something is pleasant, it’s usually not very good.

He gave this example: “We tell our children, ‘Eat your vegetables, it’s good for you.’ Not pleasant but it’s good’.”

3. Unity causes an overflow

Against this motif of unity, the Psalmist brings up a metaphor of two things that do not usually mix – oil and water.

The unity reminded King David of the day when the high priest Aaron was anointed by Moses (Leviticus 8:1-12). At the ceremony, Aaron was drenched with five quarts – the equivalent of four litres – of oil that was made up of a special blend of spices.

“No wonder if you pour that amount of oil onto the high priest, it begins to flow all the way from the head, to the collar, to the robe – everywhere.

“The key word you notice here is the word ‘down’.  Down, down, down. Question is, what was David looking at that made him think of the oil?”

The next metaphor King David used was water in the form of the “dew of Hermon”. Mt Hermon is the highest mountain in the region and because of its great height, the summit is covered in snow all year round. During summer, winds from the top carries across the valley and brings dew that waters the vineyards below.

“The dew of Mt Hermon is, in fact, so heavy that if you sleep in the open desert overnight, you will wake up the next morning with your face drenched with dew.

“And the answer, then, to ‘What was David looking at?’ is that it actually reminded him of sweat. When you perspire, that’s when oil and water come naturally together.

“And I believe David was looking at all these pilgrims making their way up the mountain, coming from long distances, sweat all over their faces.

“But as they were ascending the mountain, they were singing. They were worshiping together as one: One heart, one mind, one purpose which is the glory of God. This was one occasion when Israel was in unity.”

The benefits of unity

Out of that unity came overflow.

“Where there is unity, two things happen. Where there is unity, our people will be blessed. And where there is unity, our people will be fulfilled,” said Ps Benny.

1. Where there is unity, our people will be blessed

“When Christian students from the same school come together, their school will be saved. God invades that school.

“When Christian colleagues come together in the marketplace and we pray for our workplace, it turns our offices, it turns our factories, our restaurants into a dwelling place of God.

“When parents come together and then we pray in agreement for our children, things happen.

“When churches come together like this, as one to serve and love our community together, breakthroughs will come our way. Our nation will be blessed because unity attracts the power of God.”

This, Ps Benny said, can be seen in Acts 2:1-4 when the Holy Spirit came in power as the people were together in prayer. Again, in Acts 4:23-31, the moment Peter and John were released from prison, they gathered with other believers and “went to a prayer meeting”.

“When they prayed in unity, the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

“Where there is united prayer, there is an invasion of the Spirit. Where there is agreement, there is anointing. Where there is unity, the power of God is manifested.”

When we pray together, there is unity and the power of God is manifested.

This is the spiritual law of gravity which King David understood.

“The spiritual law of gravity states that when there is unity, the Lord commands His blessings to come down. He bestows His blessing, even life forevermore (Psalm 133:3),” said Ps Benny.

In practical terms, this unity is expressed in three ways.

1. Appreciate and speak well of one another

If we truly value one another, we would speak well of each other.

“We will brag about each other. Because if we love one another, we value each other, we actually will lovingly correct one another privately, and then we will generously praise one another publicly.”

2. Affirm and support each other’s work

“We can support one another financially, share resources, share best practices, share our relationship connections. We will pray for one another.”

3. Act together to serve and bless the lost

“We will reach our communities together. We go to the nations together, and we collaborate in Kingdom projects.

“Unity is not just a gathering at events like these, but it is an ongoing effort to value the Body of Christ and advance the Kingdom of God together,” said Ps Benny.

2. Where there is unity, our people will be fulfilled

When all this happens, we will have “life forevermore” (Psalm 133:3).

“’Life forevermore’ in Hebrew is an interesting phrase. It is broader than biological life. The word hayyim means covenant life, life in a right relationship with God and others, overflowing life.

“In the New Testament, it is the abundant life that Jesus came to give (John 10:10). It is forever unto eternity.”

Ps Benny explained that, in this idea of the abundant life, Psalm 133 contains “this hidden picture of the Gospel”. Though the concept of eternal life had yet been formed at the time of the psalm, King David was already talking about a life that extends beyond the here and now.

“Where there is unity, evangelism happens,” said Ps Benny.

Where believers are united, the Gospel is shared.

“I believe this is the deepest desire of our Lord Jesus, to see His children walking in oneness and unity. And, as a result, eternal life is released. Nations can be transformed, cities can be taken.

“And this is what our Lord Jesus was praying right before He went to the cross, He prayed for the Church to become one, for the sake of our common cause, which is to see souls saved (John 17:2-23).

“This is what LoveSingapore is about. We are not just relational, we are missional. We have a divine assignment to Turn Singapore Godward, Win the Youths and Bless the Nations.”

As he closed, Ps Benny reminded those present that the key to unity is found in the glory God has given us – “I in them and You in me” (John 17:23). When we let Jesus manifest Himself through us, then we can really love one another.

“Our unity today is based on our shared life in Christ and our collective purpose. Unity is not the goal but the soil in which God will command His blessing and release His life forevermore.”

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