The word “harmony” is broad in meaning. It has to be contextualized so as to be able to bring out its meaning, with regard to the subject that is being discussed. In this manner an appropriate meaning can be applied to each subject matter.
For example, in the world of music, art or even science harmony is very important. Without harmony none of these human endeavors can prosper.
The same thing applies concerning the spiritual things of God. There is harmony in Heaven. The Lord God desires that His people be harmonious also, in their relationship with one another. Wherever there is no harmony within the Body of Christ, there can be no advancement of God’s Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit cannot function in an atmosphere that’s devoid of harmony. Every works of the flesh becomes predominant in the absence of spiritual harmony.
The world of the evil one does not have harmony at all. There can’t be harmony in anything that the devil does. He functions effectively only in an atmosphere of chaos.
This is why as Christians we must be careful not to be allowing disharmony among ourselves. Christians may be different from one another in the ways and manners, that we approach the doctrines of Christ and applies them. But the Lord God expects us to be harmonious in our relationship with one another, because:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Ephesians 4:4-6 NKJV
This is the goal of spiritual harmony within the Body of Christ. There is only One Body of Christ. His Body is not divided and can never be. Every part of His Body may function differently, but they are harmonious in working together as One indivisible unit.
The Apostle Paul once used the anatomy of the human body to illustrate how harmony works within the Body of Christ, when he wrote that:
“Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So, God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.”
1 Corinthians 12:20-21, 24-25 NLT
The human body is complex in nature, but it’s however important to note that every part of the human body does have need for one another. This is what brings harmony into the human body, so that the body don’t have to be falling sick all the time.
If any part of the body doesn’t function as it should be functioning, it will bring chaos into the body system. This can lead to serious issues in the body system, including the cessation of life.
In the local Church there has to be harmony, otherwise there will be chaos in the use of spiritual authority among the individual members. This will ultimately affect the supply of the Spirit into their midst (Philippians 1:19).
There are congregations with harmony of the Spirit of God, where the Holy Spirit often moves with great power and grace for miracles, signs and wonders. The harmony among the believers in Christ Jesus brings the supply of the Holy Spirit into our midst for the supernatural.
That’s why the evil one hates such gatherings of believers in Christ. He will work tirelessly to bring disharmony among them, so as to establish his chaos, if they give him a breathing space.
There are gatherings of believers in Christ Jesus which sometimes encounters certain spiritual breakthroughs; but are however unable to tap into the abundance of the supply of the Spirit in their midst, because of the absence of spiritual harmony.
David said:
“How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.”
Psalms 133:1-3 NLT
Spiritual harmony in the use of the believer’s authority, brings the blessing of the Lord into the midst of His people. The flow of God’s Spirit is spontaneous wherever there is spiritual harmony. It brings a refreshing from God’s presence to His people, so that they can become prosperous and successful in everything that they are doing.
There are Churches and Christian Ministries that can’t advance the Kingdom of God effectively to the end of the earth today, because of the absence of spiritual harmony in their midst.
I do remember a particular congregation that was once suffering due to disharmony within the home cell groups. The Church could not stand in spiritual authority against the devil, because of the disharmony of the Spirit that was in their midst.
The Pastor of the Church had to eventually dissolve and disband all the cell groups. He thereafter started a daily prayer meeting in the Church, which was primarily led by him.
Not only was the devil brought into public shame; but God’s people started aligning themselves with his vision for the Church and the community. Harmony was eventually restored, and the Holy Spirit started moving in their midst in a manner that they had never seen before. All the debts of the Church were supernaturally paid off, and prosperity came to the congregation in every aspect of their lives.
The only thing that was needed was for five of the leaders in the cell groups, to align themselves with the pastoral vision. Sometimes people will say that they are in agreement with a vision; but they are not really in agreement. They go about gossiping about what they know nothing of, instead of praying along with those who are involved, so as to bring the harmony of the Spirit in resolving the situation.
The Pastor of this Church was able to discern what was going on within the cell groups by the Spirit, as they started praying together, instead of going into the boardroom as certain Churches or Ministries normally do.
By praying in the spirit on a daily basis together, the enemy was exposed, and Jesus was glorified. Their issues were presented before the God of Heaven, instead of creating a committee of elders to resolve the issues. The Pastor was eventually able to align himself with the right people, who are really interested in the spiritual growth of the Church.
David said of the Lord God in the middle of trouble that:
“Even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my cup overflows.”
Psalms 23:4-5 TPT
The fragrance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and intercession brought this Pastor, an overflow of the supply of the Spirit, that was needed for him to be able to use his authority to conquer his enemies and bring spiritual harmony into his congregation. Christians who are always praying together are harmonized by the Spirit of God to be doing exploits together.
The right spiritual alignment brings harmony.
The type of Christians that you are aligned with says a lot about the extent of your reach with the vision that you have from God.
Some people don’t even have a standard for the ministry that the Lord has given them. They will settle for anyone and anything that is available to them in the ministry.
And the enemy knows this, and he is always sending to them his own people, so as to hinder the use of their spiritual authority against him and his works. And Church leaders often wonder why things are not working out for them as it should be.
When a congregation is settling down to be a junk of all trades, without a high-quality standard for the vision of the Church; the Church will become compromised in the quality of the supply of the Spirit among them. They may experience certain successes here and there; but they will not be able to reach the height that the Lord God has set for them.
After Peter was released from prison by an angel, the scripture says that he went to his own company of believers in Christ Jesus, who had been praying for his release:
The scripture says:
“So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.”
Acts 12:12 NKJV
The people that Peter turned to in the time of trouble were the Covenant minded believers in Christ Jesus just like him. They were in harmony with him, and as their prayer was being answered concerning him, they shared of the joy of his release with him.
As they were praying for him to be released, the Lord God had moved in a supernatural way by sending an angel to release him. When God’s people are praying in harmony together, the angels are empowered to move and act on their behalf to answer their prayers.
After his release Peter didn’t go to just any company of believers. He went to the company of believers just like him, who were praying for him.
There were numerous groups of believers in the city of Jerusalem at the time; but Peter had chosen to go the home of Mary, the mother of John, whose son had been killed by king Herod (who wanted to kill him also). He went to the home group of the believers in Christ who were sharing in the same suffering with him through persecution.
There are all kinds of believers in Christ Jesus around you. Are you aligning yourself with the right kind of believers in Christ? Or are you just aligning yourself with them because they profess to be Christians? Or because all your friends are mingling with them?
You need to know that it’s not all Christians who will stand by you and pray along with you, when you are confronted with difficulties in life. It’s not everyone who says that they are praying for you, who are really doing the prayer and intercession for you.
You do need Christians who can pray along with you and for you, especially if you want to be effective in the use of your spiritual authority, over every works of the devil.
Everything that we do in the Kingdom of God has to be based on our Covenant relationship with Him. It’s impossible to be in a Covenant relationship with Him, and still be putting your hands in the same plate to dine with the devil.
And that’s exactly what certain people who are bringing disharmony among Christians are doing. They don’t have the mindset of a strong commitment to the Covenant by the blood of Jesus Christ.
This is what twilight Christianity is all about also. A twilight Christian likes his company in the dark world, more than the company of the believers in Christ Jesus.
And oftentimes when such people come among Christians to pray, they come in disharmony, as they can only be harmonized with the people of the world. They are unable to flow in the spirit with the group of believers in Christ Jesus, because of their alignment with the world.
When a Christian cherishes his Covenant relationship with the Lord God more than anything else, there is a shield of protection that is made available to him, against the onslaught of the enemy.
It is however possible to be protected by the Lord, and still have to deal with the devil in the use of your spiritual authority. This is because God’s protection can only work, when there is an appropriate use of the believer’s authority against the devil.
And there are also instances when the Lord God had used such moments, to open my own spiritual eye of understanding into the tactics of the devil. The devil is sneaky in everything that he does. Only the protection of the Lord God can guarantee you victory over him.
God’s supernatural protection is activated through the believer’s use of his authority over the devil and his works.
To be able to put the devil on the run with the exercise of our spiritual authority, we must be completely and totally committed to the Covenant by the blood of Jesus Christ, without compromising our faith.
Jesus lived as the New Adam on the earth, so that we can be able to do what Adam and Eve could not do to Satan in the garden of Eden.
The Bible says:
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
I John 3:8 NKJV
The devil had sinned before the foundation of the earth. But Jesus had destroyed the works of the devil for us. The believer’s use of authority is meant to affirm what Jesus had done for us, by destroying the works of the devil.
The devil had been destroyed, but it is up to the believer in all that Jesus had accomplished for him, to be using his faith to affirm what Jesus had done in his personal life.
The devil is pretending as if he has authority on the earth to do anything, that he wants to do and get away with it. He can only do this, if a believer in Christ Jesus is not using the authority that he has over him, in affirming the victory of Christ Jesus.
Bind and loose with authority in His name.
Jesus commanded us to be using the authority in His name to bind the devil and his works on the earth, while setting loose the will of our Father in Heaven, so as to establish His Kingdom on the earth.
He said:
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth shall have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you lose [permit, declare lawful] on earth shall have [already] been loosed in heaven. “Again, I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:18-20 AMP
Every believer in His Name do have the authority to be binding and loosing. But there has to be spiritual harmony among them, whenever they are using their spiritual authority to stand in agreement with one another.
The prayer of agreement requires that there should be spiritual harmony among those, who are in agreement with one another. Wherever there is no harmony, Satan will exploit this loophole to aggressively go against the believers in Christ Jesus.
It’s absolutely impossible to be in spiritual harmony with Christians, who are not Covenant minded at all. They can violate that agreement with you at any time, without even letting you know about it. They will go behind you and break the agreement, that you have with them before the Father in Heaven. They can’t be trusted to keep their word as their bond.
Spiritual harmony is important for the Body of Christ, to be constantly standing in the victory which we do have in Christ Jesus.
Can we achieve perfect harmony within the Body of Christ on the earth? Obviously, that’s impossible; but we can have some level of harmony which will enable us to be using our spiritual authority, more effectively against the enemy than ever before.
The scriptures spotlighted for us, why the Apostle Paul could not embark on the second missionary journey with John (Mark). It says:
“Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so, Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”
Acts 15:37-41 NKJV
There was a sharp disagreement about who could be trusted to be in harmony with them in the use of their authority in the name of Jesus.
The contention among these Apostles was fine, because they ought to be in harmony with one another, before advancing into the camp of the enemy.
Paul didn’t want to travel with John, because he knew that it would hurt him and his testimony, among those who were hostile to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in the demonstration of the power of God’s Kingdom. He foresaw what the devil would have done to hinder the spread of the gospel, if John would had travelled with him.
There will always be one thing or another in various Church doctrines, which will tend to prevent spiritual harmony among Christians from occurring. However, I do believe that there will be perfect harmony in Heaven, based on what the Lord had revealed personally to me.
But while the Body of Christ is still on the earth, the will of the Father ought to be guiding us in all things, so that we can always please Him. His will is in His written word. It’s not difficult for anyone to find out.
Spiritual harmony among Christians makes the Body of Christ strong. It causes us to be doing exploits for the Lord to the end of the earth, so as to fulfill the Great Commission that the Lord Jesus has given to us. It empowers us to be doing more than we are doing now for the Lord on the earth.
Paul would have been unable to achieve much during his second missionary journey, if he had taken John Mark with him, who was obviously not in spiritual alignment with him.
At Bible Vision International Ministries there are all kinds of denominations and Christian organizations all over the world, that are working with us constantly to spread the good news of salvation, healing and deliverance within their communities and nations.
We see spiritual harmony everywhere, because we don’t look at what separates us, but we are more focused on what binds us together in the will of the Father.
We have often seen the Lord doing great things in those communities around the world, where Christians have been open to harmonize together in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We see the enemy on the run everywhere, as we are strengthening the Body of Christ in these nations of the world.
This is what being spiritually harmonized with the use of the authority in the name of Jesus can do in any nation on the earth.
Those who are Covenant minded are the ones who are forcefully advancing the Kingdom of God to the end of the earth.
The compromised Church and the twilight Christians cannot move beyond their Jerusalem to the end of the earth. We are to be advancing His Kingdom to the end of the earth. The Church is never meant to be static, but on the move to the end of the earth at all times.
That’s what Jesus commanded every believer in His name to be doing. That’s exactly what we are doing at Bible Vision International Ministries.
People who pray together will be harmonized.
The scriptures pointed us to how spiritual harmony is achievable just as it was in the early Church. It says:
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
Acts 1:14 NKJV
Out of the multitude of believers who were following Jesus before His ascension to the Father in Heaven, only one hundred and twenty could be in harmony together with His disciples to take the gospel to the end of the earth, just as they had been commissioned by Jesus to do. The others had been compromised and gone into the twilight.
But those who were in harmony continued steadfastly in prayer, until their prayer was answered. They were waiting on the promise of Jesus to send them the Holy Spirit.
They were never disappointed for doing so, as they eventually received the promise of Jesus. The scriptures say:
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Acts 2:2-4 NKJV
The Church started growing stronger and stronger; but they never stopped doing what they had been doing before they received the promise of the Holy Spirit. They still continued steadfastly in prayer, so as to keep the spiritual harmony that existed among them:
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,”
Acts 2:42-44 NKJV
The use of the authority in the name of Jesus brought about a great move of the Holy Spirit into their midst. They were able to preserve the harmony that existed among them, as they continued steadfastly in prayer.
If it worked for them, it would work for you also. And here at Bible Vision International Ministries we have seen that it works in reaching the end of the earth with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It will work for you also if you are praying steadfastly, until the right spiritual alignment brings you and your vision into spiritual harmony with the right people of God.