This is the passage to refer to for this week; Biblegateway is a great place to reference Scripture - just for future reference ;) Ephesians 4:1-6, 4:11-13.
The passage we focused on on Tuesday night came from Ephesians 4:1-6 and Ephesians 4:11-13. Why did we skip that middle chunk? It's important, no doubt, but it explains how awesome and powerful Jesus is to have died for us and love us - if you want to sum it all up. And, if you notice, Ephesians 4:1 is our 'vision verse' for Lighthouse - the reason we meet at 7:41 ;D So to kick off the summer - before heading into Jems, I decided to talk about what it means to live out what we are all called to do.
For starters, we briefed on what the book of Ephesians is all about and who Paul is/was. The writer of Ephesians is Paul. Paul wrote letters to most districts and nations back in his day. He wrote most of the New Testament (books including Acts, Romans, the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the Thessalonians, and the Timothy's). The first three chapters of Ephesians has to do with basic Christian doctrine; the last three chapters are practical advice from Paul himself to all Christians (but specifically written for the Ephesians at the time. The fourth chapter presents principles for any believer's conduct in the world. Paul was imprisoned and persecuted ruthlessly for his belief in the Gospel. He began life as the son of a Roman leader and Jew and was, therefore, a Roman Jew. He was a lead official in the Jewish Synagogue (the Sanhedrin) until he headed towards Damascus to persecute Christians. His story of transformation is found in Acts 9. Since his conversion, Paul fought to the death to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ out to the people of the known world. He literally died for it. He sacrificed everything he had - title, position, status, money, wealth, home, food, clothes, his dog - everything for the sake of Christ because that is what he was called to do.
What does this mean in our lives? To what standard are we held to when it comes to living out our faith? The definition of 'calling' (or at least MY definition) is: a strong urge toward a particular way of life; in our case, a strong urge given by God through the Holy Spirit that is in us to live a life that is worthy of Him. What are the ways of the world? Caught up in fashion? Partying and alcohol? Sex? Texting? What is it around you that you notice that is definitely not honoring to God? With this in mind, consider: according to the Bible, what is our calling as Christ-followers? Now think about the purpose Jesus came for: He came to show us how to live lives worth God's time to sacrifice His Son; he came to teach us what REAL love is, not what this one-night-stand crap that we've destroyed ourselves with; he came to show us how to serve and not expect for the world to just bow at our feet; he came to teach us what humility is by placing even the most disgusting people above ourselves. Jesus came as a wonderful and excellent example of the life God had originally designed us for - and he created uproar in doing so because our world is not used to living for God!
In Ephesians 4:2-3, Paul shares with us how we can live this Christ-filled life through four (4) in particular things. After he's done stating basic doctrine statements, he doesn't waste any time jumping on the church of Ephasus to tell them what they need to do and why! He tells us to:
1. Be completely humble and gentle (Matthew 18:1-4; John 13:12-17; Matthew 6:33; Luke 22:42)
Humility and Gentleness:
What is humility? What does it mean to be humble? The biggest description I can think of when it comes to explaining humility is Jesus: He is the LORD of Lords, the King of Kings, the Almighty One, demons fear his very name; why didn't he flaunt this like so many other human rulers would and will do? He worked hard as a carpentar for 30 years before beginning his ministry. And once his ministry began, he was an outcast for teaching about the ways of God in heaven. In Matthew 18:1-4, Jesus tells the disciples that the greatest in heaven is the one who has faith like a child? What does this mean? Children are innocent and don't know the difference between real and imagined most times. A child-like faith is one that believes without questions and finds so much joy and pleasure knowing he or she is surrounded by God everywhere. Children feel terrible every time they disobey their parents, and therefore, we should always feel the same about our sin and guilt that displeases God. Believing freely without question is how wwe should be in our faith. Most scholars would claim somethings like, "Yeah, but we're not children, therefore we must find the most petty things to argue about although salvation can not be defined or justified by anything we can come up with." (That was sarcasm, by the way) Giving up the excuses the world makes to live a life that is completely imbursed by the love of God and filled with the love for Christ is the humble attitude we can have and that is who Jesus said will have the best seat closest to him.
2. Be patient (1 Thessalonians 5:14; James 1:3-4; Matthew 8:26; Romans 8:25)
Patience:
Patience is tough to acquire when we wait so long for something. What is real patience when you're talking about faith? I have witnessed a handful of people find Christ on their own and accept God into their lives to change them. Weeks, even months later, it's as if those people never stepped foot in a church. Does this mean that they didn't mean it when they handed their lives over? No. Not necessarily. God's timing is different from ours, you have heard that copious times, and therefore God will work how HE feels fit, not us. We have a tendancy to think we can control the rate of pace God works, and the thing is - God gave us every moment of time we think we can rush through. A friend once told me, "You can't rush, or go to slow - that is not relying on God and His timing." Well that's true. We think "rushing" or "taking it slow" are our ways of controlling time. Most times, hasn't that lead to a load of trouble or frustration? Let go of YOUR way of doing things because it's not right - doesn't mean it's wrong, just that it's not God's way.
3. Bear with one another in love (John 13:34-35; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:35; Colossians 3:14; John 3:16)
Love Without Regard:
There are people we don't like, or don't know but probably wouldn't like if we met them. Judgement comes quick and opinions are made on the spot with every glance and comment. So I have to ask you, have you ever considered exactly what is wrong with you? Seriously, what is it within yourself that makes you feel like you are such much better than anyone else? What is the problem in your heart that finds error in another person? According to Scripture all throughout the Bible, love is the most important of all the laws. Did you know that in Greek, there are five different words that are similar but distinct that are all translated into the word 'love' in English? Can you count how many times Jesus has said to a person or a crowd to love your neighbor, love God, love your enemies, love - that is the most important of all? The best and most well-known example of love without regard or condition is John 3:16 - God LOVES us so much that he sacrificed His ONLY SON for ALL of us, and Jesus incomplacently did so because HE LOVES US. We are so undeserving of even being paid attention to, and yet, the Creator of all that exists said, "this is how much I love you, even though you hate me, and don't listen to anything I say or have planned for you; I still love you THIS much." THAT is love. Not one-night-stands, not slepping with our girlfriends and boyfriends because you claim to love each other, not choosing who you love because they are most like you; LOVE is sacrificing who you are and everything about you because of the selfless nature you have let God put in you. God himself is the prime example for that one ;)
4. Make every effort to keep unity in the Spirit through peace (John 17; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; Galatians 3:26-28; Matthew 18:15; Acts 20:28; Genesis 2:24; Philippians 2:3; John 3:16; Philippians 3:17; 1 Peter 3:8; Matthew 7:3; Proverbs 27:17,etc.)
Keep the unity:
THE HARDEST OF ALL! Once we learn to master the first three, only then can we master this thing called unity. But all of them work towards the other, and all combined build up the Body of Christ so he can shine through us! What is accountability? Why do we so often focus on what everyone else is doing that makes us better than them? Isn't it a wonder then when you compare someone to a 'good person' the line always falls right below us? As if we are the ideal good person, and they fall below the line of our definition?
Jesus commands in Matthew 7:3 to not worry about the faults and flaws of your neighbor because you have so many of them yourself! Jesus makes sure we understand what it means to live by grace because of his own life meant for us to follow as a template for our own. Think about this: if he didn't love us and didn't want unity among us, John 3:16 would look something like this: "God so loved a few good people in the world that He gave His only beloved Son so that only a handful of people can believe in him and less than that will have eternal life," NO! If Jesus had not set the example of not boasting, of being a servant, and loving everyone and honoring them above himself (even though he knew he was perfect and we could never be) we would not have anything worthy of God to live by.
We are perfect examples of the Pharisees every time we think, and open our mouths, and yet Jesus was like, "I love you ao much that I'll cover each and every one of you equally in my blood so that you are all the same children of God." Jesus prays for us in John 17, and says to God that he has done everything in his human power to get us to understand not to use the word, 'hate' and to live as humble servants of each other so that we know how to love God more. And still, do we get it??? Some settle for the idea that 'because we're human' we can never be like Christ and 'God understands that.' While yes, God understands that He made us less than Him, it doesn't mean that we are supposed to SETTLE for being less than what we were made for - HIS WILL, NOT OURS! Reflect on Luke 22:42.
And now that we've gotten through the first four thins Paul impresses upon us to live by in order to seek a closer walk with our Maker by living a life worthy of Him, he expounds upon the unity we need in order to survive.
4:4-6 -
We were all CALLED to live a life that knows God so well that He lives through us in EVERYTHING we do. What have we been called to according to these verses?
1. One hope
2. One LORD
3. One faith
4. One baptism
5. One God and Father of all
We are called to all of these things and we acquire these when we first hand our lives COMPLETELY over to God and ask Him to refine us from our daily wrongdoings. Consider them as free gifts, or 'party favors'! Living through the bond of peace does NOT mean avoiding conlift, or worse, avoid working through conflict, assuming it will just go away. No, Jesus helped to instruct us through that too; He showed us all throughout the Gospels how to use conflict to enhance His ministry, showing the onlookers what it really means to resolve conflict and live peacefull and humbly. Now that we have talked about our calling of faith and life in Christ, let's see how that's supposed to transfer over to what we do every day here on earth. We have looked within ourselves and spotted things personally that we need God to fix, perfect, get rid of, and nourish; how do these changes flow into ALL aspects of our calling in life?
4:11-13
What is an apostle? What is a prophet? What is an evangelist? Who are pastors and teachers? And what do each of these have to do with any of us? Some of us are going to school for [fill in the blank], so why would being a pastor or being an apostle have something to do with my vocational calling?
To be an apostle:
- Personal calling from Christ to spread His Good News and perform work in His name while you are working with those who are in need of a savior
To be a prophet:
- To pray for people because you can see potential of a person in faith and revelation. God has allowed you to sense the work He is about to do in a person, and you therefore feel called to helping this person along the way
To be an evangelist:
- Embody the love of Christ and share with everyone through your words and actions who your savior is. Devote your life's work to bringing glory to God rather than yourself so that people will know who Christ is, not you. Pray for people and reach out to those you know are broken
To be a pastor or teacher:
- Help people understand to the best of your ability what the Word of God has to say about their lives, and help them understand the work God is doing in their lives. Help them learn how to seek God, how to pray, and point out to them that we are all the same in sin, but we are also all the same in Christ.
Philippians 3:20; Daniel 3; Acts 4:19-20; Acts 5:27-32
Have you ever heard of "the marketplace" when it comes to mission work? It means that you work a job like accounting, flipping burgers, fixing someone's plumbing, or studying creepy crawly things (amongst thousands of other things), but you also share your identity in Christ with the people you work with. Some people (most of the general population) believe that work and faith should stay separate, school and Christ should stay separate because it's 'the law'. This law is the law of man (a good example: Daniel 3). I'm not saying rebel and provoke anarchy in the streets because the law we have was made by humans! God said to honor the government (Romans 13) because that's what we asked for. But He also said that we are to obey God in times where obedience to Him is discouraged amongst humans. Still - this does not mean riot. Overall, our calling in the work place does not keep us restrained, hands tied, to doing only the job we are being paid money for. God knows our hearts and, as long as we let go of ourselves, He will work through us so that we earn so much more than money could ever promise. Remember, our mission is God's Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. THIS is our first task and duty before and above anything else. We are designed to serve God and serve each other, working to help one another to be humble and gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love, and keeping the unity between us as believers so that we will be seen by Him as living lives worthy of what He has called us out to do.
This is the Bible study (my notes and whatnot) from last night. Use it or read it at your own will, and I will work to post these weekly for everyone since a lot of you aren't here/won't be in Hartsville/want to know what's going on :) After the end of our time last night (and I knew this would happen) I realized that cramming a lot of Bible knowledge into a little over an hour will just not due. So instead of doing the WHOLE book of James, we will be going through the more important parts throughout the summer :) fair?
Love you guys!
