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Living with our �Blinkers Off!�

United we Stand.�Divided we Fall.

Pr Hans Voortman�Macclesfield CRC �24^th April 2022

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The power to Divide or Unite.

Satanic Power…�John 10:10 . �“The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy…”�

The Holy Spirit’s presence… �John 15 5; Jn 16:12; Jn 14:20.� �“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”�“I will take what is mine and make it known to you. I will lead and guide into all truth. “�“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ”

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Jesus’ Injunction…

Mark 3:5�"And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”

John‬ ‭17:20-23�“I’m praying not only for them , but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, So they’ll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness and give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them In the same way you’ve loved me.” ‭‭

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Finding points of Agreement rather than Division!

Tribes, Camps and Concerns.

Macro… Nations. … Anzac Day.�Micro…the human heart.

“The Binary Mind creates quick comfort and false security, but rarely wisdom. It focusses us on the things that divide rather than what we have in common.” �John Anderson, Former Australian Deputy PM.

A healing balm to culture… Bringing Respect and Consideration.

Different viewpoints but a shared heart.

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Our culture is becoming increasingly divided and fractured… �The bringing down of the West!

A narcissistic culture. �Individualism… “my rites, my opinion.”

Basic issue…. Pride and Ego.��“PRIDE lies at the heart of every human failing. Pursue humility with every ounce of your being and know the minute you think you are making progress, know you are not!” CS Lewis.

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A Sacred Symbol …The ‘Mandorla’…

Mandorla… The overlap in a ‘Venn Diagram’. �Italian word for Almond.

A Sacred Symbol… The Almond!��Numbers 17:8�8The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. ��Exodus 25:34�And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.

The Mandorla … �is not a weak spot, but the sweet spot!

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The Mystery Portrayed…

Jesus, the perfect embodiment of the �overlap of Heaven and Earth, squeezed into�human form.

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Come Together!

Christ the ‘Mandorla’…Jesus came to bring people together.

John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Rich and Poor
Jew and Gentile
Male and Female
Old and Young
Educated and Uneducated

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Luke 6: 37�Do not judge, and you will not be judged.�
James 4:11-12�11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

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Rom 14: 1-13�Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.

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6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

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The Challenge to� ‘walking the middle’!

Following Jesus involves walking a line of tension with Ourselves, our World and our Theology…

It means living with Paradox, Mystery, Juxtapositions� and Divine Polarity!

“The Revealer of Mysteries” (Dan2:29).�“Can you fathom the Mysteries of God?” (Job 11:7).�“The mystery hidden… that God destined for our glory.” �(Col 1:26,1Cor2:7).

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The Science of Complexity…

A ‘Murmuration’

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LIVING LIFE IN THE MANDORLA ‘SWEET SPOT’… ‘ United we Stand’!

Take off your blinkers! Seek to be a Peacemaker…��Romans‬ ‭12:18�“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”‭‭��Gal 3:28�“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”��Colossians 3:11�“Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”