Matt 12:25, And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. 
In the past year, we have spent many of our discussions and our prayers centered in what is involved in a truer and a more perfect worship unto God. It is the very least of our service unto Him that we can do. It is what He deserves for the great love with which He has loved us. He has saved us unto Himself through the very death and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 
We have no real concept of the cost of that sacrifice for our sakes. We look at how it affects us, but can not truly conceive of how it affected God the Father to have to turn His back on the dying cries of His most beloved Son. There had never been separation of the Son from the Father, until the crucifixion. This was utterly heart wrenching as the eternal God put Himself to death for such as you and me. He deserves the most glorious of worship and praise and adoration that mankind can offer and that should be the every desire of each one of His people around the world, gathered together in His name. 
Sadly, there are many manners in which we often fail to give Him the reverence and the adulation that He ought to have. There is no excuse for any of them. One of the key blockages to our corporate worship rests within our family units. Unfortunately, this morning, after the holidays, there may be scars and strains and relational issues in many families. Feelings have been hurt and relationships tattered. A time that should have been spent in consideration of the beauty of God’s gift in His Son may have been dampened with personal animosities, dislikes, attitudes of self-protection, and unforgiveness. I am definitely putting myself at the fore-front of this sad situation. It is something that will absolutely divide a home and will utterly prevent all the Body, the Household of the Lord, from entering into worship as it is in the heart of God.
We hear the voice of our Lord Jesus admonishing us in this passage a… house divided against itself shall not stand. This is truly very easy to understand. When a family, a household, a unit of believers is caught up in the tangles of infighting and unforgiveness and self-preservation against those elements perceived as unfairness and threats from other members of that family, there is only strife and turmoil and dissension. There can be no coming together to worship and to praise the Lord in selfless abandonment. There will always be a searching out for ways and means of getting the upper hand, of trying to keep a lid on emotions, as well as the internal strife that is consuming our thoughts and concentration. Rather than being wholly focused on the Lord, we will find ourselves fuming and fussing and scheming and plotting against one another.
This whole aspect of the dissolution of the family in this type of strife is recorded, not just once, not only twice, but three times in the accounting of the Lord’s words. That makes it something that we must take to heart and realize matters immensely before the Lord. Mark 3:24+25, "And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And then in Luke 11:17, But He knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. 
Notice that the Holy Spirit so moved the writers of the Gospels to include this account in these three gospels because of the consequence that is at the very heart of the matter. This is so important because the every fabric of the family is centered in unity, not in dissension. The family of God is to be united together in Christ, and not to be torn apart as the families of this world so often disintegrate. It is the unity of Christ that is at the very core of this whole consideration. Without Him binding our hearts together, there is no real testimony for this world to see. We will fall by the wayside and can never find the true calling of God in our worship if we hold ought against each other, whether in the family unit or in the corporate expression that we are on this earth.
	Before we continue, let it be very clear that this is something that is at the very center of our individual hearts unto the Lord. We cannot point a finger at others and blame them and their attitudes and their ill treatment of us as the reason that we can’t truly worship God. It is not their fault, no matter how much we may try to legitimize and to rationalize how much they have hurt us. In truth, any dissension and ill-will that we harbor is our problem, not theirs. So often we try to find solace in the concept that we have been forced into the position we hold due to the stubbornness and the stupidity of others. We stand, like the Pharisee on the corner and point out the faults of others and promote ourselves as righteous and correct in the situation.    
Luke 18:10-14, "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." 
	The fact of the matter is that it all begins in my heart. It is something that God has to put to death in me. We have no place declaring the guilt of others when we are even more guilty in our own hearts and attitudes and behavior and motivations for self-exaltation. Yes, the issue may have been precipitated by someone else’s actions or comments or thoughtlessness, but how did I respond and react? If I am constantly seeking to bless the Lord in my life, I will not be baited into dissension, but will rather set aside my wants and my feelings and my rights for the sake of unity and agreement and the dispensation of love. 
Regrettably, too often, I come to worship with the attitude as decried by Jesus in Matt 23:23-28. He lays it all out there with no wiggle room and no avenue of being able to lay the blame on other people. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. "Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 
Whenever I come to worship with any sense or attitude of judgment, of unforgiveness, of indignation, and of superiority over any other, I am under this condemnation before God. I may appear to be in right standing with our Lord, but the reality is that I am not in the Lord’s presence to declare His goodness and His wonder and His adoration, but to promote myself as righteous over all others. 
We are further warned about this by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 11:27-29, as he gives instructions as to our participation in the Lord’s Supper. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. 
Honesty before the Lord entails a complete self-examination of what part I am playing in the feud that envelopes my loved ones and those near and dear to me. James describes what is absolutely necessary in my life and in my heart, in our lives and in our hearts, as true believers in the Son of God. James 3:13-18, Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 
This is the measure of the correct role we each play in the family dynamics of which God has made us part. Are we able to set aside our interests for the sake of God establishing His peace in our homes and in our corporate community? Do we seek His peace above everything else, not striving to make ourselves the beneficiary of some temporary and worthless grasp of power or self-indulgence or perceived unfairness? 
	As we read in Gal 5:14-23, the seed of discontentment and familial discord is a cancerous cause for spiritual turmoil and animosity with all its resulting natural, horrible, and debilitating evidences. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 
	As families who have embraced the person of Jesus Christ as the very core of the expression of our lives on this earth, we need to take to heart God’s admonition against discord, arguments, and disharmony. We should be seeking after the fruit of the Spirit to reign in our every family interaction, as husbands and wives, as parents, as brothers and sisters, as members of one another in Christ Jesus. Ever more fully …love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… should be evidenced as the normal course of how we conduct our business with one another in order for the testimony of Christ to be the one shining and visible attribute of who we are.
	I pray that the Lord works in me to cause my heart and life to only seek after the unity of which we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul in Phil 1:25-28, And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents —  which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. …standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel…
	This is the heart and mind of God for us. It is our life in Christ. As we read in Ps 133, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing — life forever. 
	Without this setting aside of factions within our families and our fellowship, we will never be able to fully join our hearts in praise and worship to God as is His inheritance in us. That is why He has made us part of His very family in Jesus Christ. Let us, starting in my heart, go before the Lord and ask Him to do whatever it takes to make us of one heart, one family, one expression of Himself to all those in so much need on this earth. This is absolutely vital so that we can fully and utterly glorify Him with a complete singleness of heart and purpose. So be it!    
As we read again at the end of this morning’s chapter, Matt 12, verse 50, "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." It can be no other way! Amen.

	This morning’s benediction is Isa 44:23. Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For the Lord has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His glory. Amen.