Ephesians Part 11
The unity of the church Part 3
Its time to grow up!
Ephesians 4:13–16 (NLT)
13This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
15Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
16He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Let’s recap from part two!
• We are all gifted
• That Jesu is the one who did all the work
• He stepped out of heaven, to serve us with his gifts
• And he ascended back to heaven
• Where he rules and reigns
• Jesus gave gifts to the church, to teach and instruct the church, to guided it
• And we are all supposed to fall under the teaching of the gospel!
Ephesians 4:12–13 (NLT)
12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
13This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
• So, we have a goal as Followers of Jesus! Grow!
• We are to continue to fall under teaching
• Pastors and leaders are to continue to teach at all levels
• And you must continue to stay hungry for knowledge
• Until we all reach, and measure up to, Jesus standard’s that he sets for us all!!
• That’s a big task!! That we are always seeking, always searching for!
Colossians 2:8–10 (NLT)
8Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
9For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
• There is a lot of false teaching out there
• There is a lot of wolves in the world
• And for us to know the difference we all should strive to draw closer to Jesus
o To seek him in it all
• He gave us gifts, he gave us teachers
• But you must seek them out and learn from them
• That’s why the local church is so vital to your growth!
Beware who you listen to!!
Ephesians 4:14 (NLT)
14Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
• With social media
• Youtube
• Twitter
• It is so easy to fall under false teaching!
• So by a show of hands who likes
o Joel Olsten
o Beth Moore
o T.D. Jakes
o Joyce Myers
o John Hagee
• That just a short list of folks who are wolves, false teachers
o Is everything they say false, no
o But their basic concept of the gospel is false in some way
• And unless you get involved and engaged with a local church you will be led a stray
o Tossed around and believe false teaching
• They influence you with their slick talk, and lies
• It all sounds good, but its what you want to hear, not what you need to hear
The bible warns us
2 Timothy 4:2–5 (NLT)
2Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
3For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
4They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
5But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
Hebrews 5:11–14 (NLT)
11There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
12You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
13For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
14Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
We will continue to speak the truth, out of love
Ephesians 4:15 (NLT)
15Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
• We will make this promise to you, to continue to preach Gods word
• To continue to grow to be more like Christ
• To speak the truth
• No matter what size this church gets
• We will never stop
• And if you will make the effort to engage, to get plugged in we will grow this church
o In size
o In maturity of is body
o And we will glorify God doing it
• We might not be popular in the main stream
• We might offend some
• But it will always be to bring the light to a dark world, and exposing sin so we can grow!
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Friday, January 20, 2017
Sermon Notes 1-22-2017
Ephesians Part 10
The unity of the church Part 2
Every part of the body is needed and
wanted!
Ephesians 4:7–12 (NLT)
7However, he has given each one of us a special gift
through the generosity of Christ.
8That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to
the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”
9Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means
that Christ also descended to our lowly world.
10And the same one who descended is the one who ascended
higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with
himself.
11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do
his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Let’s recap from
part one!
·
Paul calls us to walk the walk we talk!
·
To practice things in the body, so the world
will see Jesus through us
o We
are to be humble in spirit
o Gentle
in our words and actions
o We
are to be Patient with each other, showing grace and mercy with each other
o Loving
one another, bearing the faults of one another
·
He tells us we are under one lordship
o Jesus
o Following
his example
·
And this is the beginning of the walk of the
church
o One
body
o One
mission
o One
leader
·
And we are all followers
And everyone got a
gift
Ephesians 4:7–8 (NIV)
7But to each one of us grace has been given as
Christ apportioned it.
8This is why it says: “When he ascended on
high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
·
First and foremost, Jesus showed us grace in the
fact that we have been accepted into his family
·
And he also gave us each gifts, to further the
work he started here on earth
·
And, by no, means are any of our gifts and
talents given lightly
o We
all have a task
o We
all have a mission
o And
we are needed and wanted
·
We should never diminish anyone for what they
bring to the body
o We
should all be thankful we are even chosen to serve
o This
is where that humility comes in
o That
we are all here for one purpose
o For
one mission
o No
matter what task we are given!
So, what this
statement?
Ephesians 4:9–10 (NLT)
9Notice that it says “he ascended.” This
clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.
10And the same one who descended is the one
who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire
universe with himself.
·
Paul clearly wants us to remember that Jesus
Came here on mission
·
That he had a plan when he came
·
That he didn’t just randomly get picked and then
got rewarded for his service
·
That he, Jesus, got down off his thrown
o Descended
to earth
o Humbled
himself, to walk among us
o To
save us
·
He then ascended back to his rightful place at
the right hand
o That
he conquered sin and death
o That
he took them captive
o And
that he set in place a church to bring the good news of his work
o And
that our mission is to fulfill his work to bring his work on the cross and his
presence to the entire world!!
Christ gift to the
church!!
Ephesians 4:11 (NLT)
11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the
church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and
teachers.
·
The Holy Spirit indwells in each of us reviling
the gifts that we all have for ministry
·
But Paul points out the gifts Jesus specifically
gave to the church and their purpose.
So, we need to
understand each position and what their purpose is
The great gift that Christ gave to the church at his
ascension was that of the ministry of peace and reconciliation. The gift of the
ministry is the fruit of Christ’s ascension.
The apostles:
These Christ immediately called, furnished them with
extraordinary gifts and the power of working miracles, and with infallibility
in delivering his truth; and, they having been the witnesses of his miracles
and doctrine, he sent them forth to spread the gospel and to plant and govern
churches.
The prophets:
They expounded the
writings of the Old Testament, and foretold things to come. They are the writers
of the New testament.
The evangelists:
were ordained persons, whom the apostles took for their
companions in travel, and sent them out to settle and establish such churches
as the apostles themselves had planted, and, not being fixed to any particular
place.
The pastors:
Are fixed at the head of a particular churches, with
design to guide, instruct, and feed them in the manner appointed by Christ; whose
work it is to preach the gospel and to instruct the people by way of
exhortation.
The teachers:
They are the people called to help lead the local church
in bring up the congregation in the teaching of the Gospel, leading by example,
and serving in various ways.
·
These people are called to serve to church in
roles to help the church stay on course with Jesus mission
o To
guide and teach the gospel, to counsel and give direction, and to hold the
church accountable.
Hebrews 13:17 (NLT)
17Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what
they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to
God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would
certainly not be for your benefit.
The reason Jesus
gave the church these gifts!
Ephesians 4:12 (NLT)
12Their responsibility is to equip God’s
people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
·
All Christians have spiritual gifts that should
be used in ministering to one another
·
The job of the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the pastors the teachers, is to do one thing! Equip the saints!
o To
care out the mission
o The
great commission
o to
spread the gospel to the ends of the earth
·
to build up the church
o to
add to its numbers
o to
build up the church
o to
grow disciples!
We are all
responsible for the growth of the church!
·
To lead others
·
To hold each other accountable
·
To counsel each other
·
To do life together
·
To proclaim the gospel
·
To be on mission, where God places you
·
And in doing so we grow the church
The gospel, is to
spread the good news about Jesus
·
God gave us apostles, and prophets, and evangelist
to start the church
·
He gives us Pastors and elders and lay pastors
to lead the church
·
He gives us teachers to help educate the church
·
So that we all can be on mission!
·
Are you on mission?
·
Are you discipling others???
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Sermon Notes 1-8-2017
Ephesians Part 9
The unity of the church Part 1
Without the body, we are nothing!
Ephesians 4:1–6 (NLT)
1Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you
to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
2Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each
other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
3Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the
Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
4For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have
been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all,
and living through all.
A few things to
ponder
For the past 3 chapters Paul’s has taught us the Doctrine
of the Gospel, now he gets into the living it out, through our daily lives.
·
Knowledge is great, but, with the practical application
it can’t help you
o Like
anything the pleasure is in the doing
·
God promises us a lot, but if we don’t live out
our lives in the manner he gives us we will just be frustrated
o There
are a lot of people that think they are Christians that simply aren’t
o They
see folks with solid relationships with Jesus and don’t understand why their
life is a mess
o It’s
because you’re not putting it to practice what you have learned
·
And Paul’s is going to give us some things to
work on in our everyday lives
It’s time to put
on your big boy/girl pants!
1Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you
to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Here is a guy in prison
·
He knows he days are numbered
·
He knows death is coming
·
He doesn’t ask for help
·
For things to make him more comfortable
·
He stays the course
o Stays
on mission
o Stays
with the plan laid out for him
And he begs us all to walk the walk we talk!
·
Lead a life worthy of your calling
o You’re
a Christian
o You’re
a follower of Jesus
o And
it’s time for us to act like it!!
·
You have been called by God himself
o To
be a living example
o To
live out the teaching of Jesus
o It’s
time for us all to stop just listening and to start doing
·
It’s time to put on your big boy pants!
o Stop
cherry picking what you want to follow in the bible
o And
start doing what you know is right
Matthew Henry:
That you walk worthily, agreeably, suitably, and congruously to those happy
circumstances into which the grace of God has brought you, whom he has
converted from heathenism to Christianity. Observe, Christians ought to
accommodate themselves to the gospel by which they are called, and to the glory
to which they are called; both are their vocation. We are called Christians; we
must answer that name, and live like Christians. We are called to God’s kingdom
and glory; that kingdom and glory therefore we must mind, and walk as becomes
the heirs of them.
Charles Spurgeon!
walking is a position which also signifies activity. You would suppose,
from the way in which some Christians behave themselves, that their whole life
was spent in meditation. It is a blessed thing to sit— but we walk as
well as sit. We do not merely learn, but we practice what we know.
We are not simply scholars, but, having been taught as
scholars, we go on to show our scholarship by working in the vineyard or
wherever else the Master may be pleased to place us. “We walk.” Some Christians
seem as if they always sit, but, “we walk.” You would
gather, indeed, from what others say that the whole life of a Christian is to
be spent in prayer. Prayer, it is true, is the vitality of the secret parts of
Christian life, but we are not always on our knees, we are not constantly
engaged in seeking blessings from heaven. We do, “continue in prayer,” but we
are also engaged in showing forth to others the blessings which we have
received, and in exhibiting in our daily actions the fruits which we have
gathered on the mountaintop of communion with God. “We walk,” and this implies activity.
Oh, I would that some Christians would pay a little attention to their legs
instead of paying it all to their heads. When children’s heads grow too fast it
is a sign of disease, and they get the rickets, or water on the brain. And
there are some very sound brethren, who seem to me to have got some kind of
disease, and when they try to walk, they straightway make a tumble of it,
because they have paid so much attention to perplexing doctrinal views, instead
of looking as they ought to have done, to the practical part of Christianity! http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols10-12/chs677.pdf
The Christian walk
starts, with unity in the body of Christ!
Ephesians 4:2 (ESV)
2with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in love,
The Christian Walk
starts with humility
Humility (lowliness,
meekness, submissiveness): the quality or condition of being humble; modest
opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.
Proverbs 11:2 (NLT)
2Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility
comes wisdom.
Philippians 2:3 (ESV)
3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Matthew 5:5 (ESV)
5“Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
·
Only by
pride comes contention; only by humility comes love. The more
lowly-mindedness the more like-mindedness
·
We must be humble, and to be humble we must first
be humbled
o Broken
o Tore
down
o And
lifted up again, with a new purpose and new meaning
·
I believe pride is the bases of most sin
o It
drives us
o It
keeps us up at night
§ Am
I better than everyone else
§ What
do others think of me?
§ I
need to get mine attitude
·
The first thing we need to address is our
humility toward others
It takes a strong
person to be gentle
Gentleness and
meekness
·
Sir Thomas Browne: "Meekness takes injuries like pills, not chewing, but swallowing
them down." This indicates that meekness allows a person to overlook or
forgive perceived insults or offenses
·
Gentleness is a strong hand with a soft touch.
It is a tender, compassionate approach toward others' weaknesses and
limitations. A gentle person still speaks truth, sometimes even painful truth,
but in doing so guards his tone so the truth can be well received.
Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
29Take my yoke upon
you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls.
2 Corinthians 10:1 (ESV)
1I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness
and gentleness of Christ—
·
The world see’s these traits as being weak
·
Or timid
·
And nothing can be farther from the truth
·
It takes a strong person to turn the other check
·
To think of others first
·
And to forgive when it’s not deserved
·
And that what we are called to do!
Gary Thomas: When
my daughter was young, she used to love to squeeze my hand as hard as she
could, trying to make it hurt. She could squeeze with all her might, but it
never hurt. She didn't need to be gentle because she lacked the power to cause
me any pain. Then, just for fun, I'd give her hand a tight little squeeze until
she yelped.
It's the strong hand, not the weak one, that must learn
to be gentle.
Patience is a
virtue! That I have not mastered!
Ecclesiastes 7:8–9 (ESV)
8Better is the end of a thing than its
beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
·
This is not one of my strong suites
·
This world is right now
·
Don’t wait
·
And it causes all kinds of problems
·
Instant gratification and lack of Patience kills
o Relationships
o It
gets us in debt
o And
makes us slaves to this world
o So
follow Jesus in being patient in all we do!
Why is this so
important??
Vs 2 making allowance
for each other’s faults because of your love.
·
Because God knew we would be messy
·
That we would mess up often
·
And without this foundation, the church would never
survive!
·
He knew we need to get these things down
o Being
humble
o Gentle
o Patient
o So,
that we could make allowances for each other’s faults!
o And
love one another!
John 13:34–35
(ESV)
34A new commandment I
give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are
to love one another.
35By this all people
will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We must become
united!
3Make every effort to keep yourselves united
in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
4For there is one body and one Spirit, just as
you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
·
There is nothing we can’t do together
·
12 disciples and 120 scared followers changed
the world
o because
they were united in Jesus
o and
we can change a community, the lives of our kids, if we unite!
And we do that
under on headship!
5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6one God and Father of all, who is over all,
in all, and living through all.
·
There is one head of the church
·
And we are to follow his example and his
teaching
·
Not cherry picking what we like out of it
·
But truly following and putting into practice
the teaching of Jesus in to our daily lives!
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