Walking Worthy of the Calling

Ephesians 4:1-3
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 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.

Tonight I want to continue in the book of Ephesians and talk about walking in a manner worthy of our calling, what that means and how it is lived out in our daily life.
Paul has just described in the previous part of his letter to the church in Ephesus what Christ has done for them, who they are in Christ, the privileges they now have as his children, the power that is available to them in the Holy Spirit, the wisdom and understanding God will give them and the unfathomable measure of love God has for them.
In spite of all these things Paul finds himself as a prisoner which seems to be in human terms a real let down. It does not seem to match up with all that God has done for him in Christ, we don’t expect these things to happen but Paul did not see his imprisonment through human eyes and understanding. He saw himself as a prisoner of Christ, not a prisoner of Rome. It was because of his faithfulness to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles that Paul was placed in prison. God was with him in the prison just as he was when he was preaching to the crowds. His life was entrusted to God. Paul was not bitter, angry, upset, mad at God and mad at the Roman government or the Jews who had him arrested. He took things in stride and realized that God was in control. Paul’s life was an example to the Ephesians as well as to us today on how to live out what you believe in spite of circumstances that seem to be less than favorable. God had a purpose for Paul being in prison in Rome and Paul was not going to let anyone or anything hinder God from accomplishing His purposes.
Maybe you are here tonight and are facing adversity, things are not going the way you anticipated they would and you wonder if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. If you have submitted your life to Christ and are trusting in him to guide you then you need to look at your present circumstances as part of God’s plan to help you live out your faith in Him. God has placed you where He wants you because He has things he wants to do in you and through you. It would have been easy for Paul to say, “This is not where I should be! I have been called to preach the gospel to the nations and I need to get out of here!” Paul does not state this because he understands that Christ has allowed him to be where he is at for a divine purpose.
Paul was not thinking about being in jail but he was encouraging the Ephesians to remember all that God has done for us in Christ and with all of this in mind Paul makes a request, an appeal, that the Ephesians would walk worthy of the calling in which they were called.
A story is told of a man who was being tailgated by a woman when the traffic light turned yellow just in front of him. When he came to a rather sudden stop, the tailgating woman hit the horn - screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. In mid-rant, she looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, she was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, and using really bad language with the man in front of you. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.”
We all can give examples of Christians who are not walking worthy of their calling and I think all of us can give personal stories of situations in which we were not living out our faith. I had one of those episode last Sunday in the parking lot of Miraflores. The lot was pretty full but I found a space that would work well for the van and just as I turned to go into the spot, another driver came down the lane going the WRONG WAY at a very rapid speed with the intention of taking the parking place. I conceded the space to her as I did not want to cause an accident. But I was mad that she had violated the rules and took my spot. So I reacted, not in a good way, but I have to admit it felt sort of good for a short while as I laid on the horn to let her know that what she did was not a good thing. The security guard came over and talked to me but he was not willing to do anything about the situation. He just said people don’t respect the laws and do things like this. I murmured a few things and Marianne reminded me that I was a missionary and I should respond in the opposite spirit. She was right and I have since repented and received inner healing.
What does it mean to walk worthy of our calling? Paul uses the word “walk” which signifies our daily experience of living out the Christian life. It describes a person’s entire lifestyle. Our entire lifestyle should be one that is worthy of our calling.
The root of the Greek word “worthy", is translated as of equalizing or balancing the scales. Thus, a Christian's lifestyle ought to be equalized with his identity. There ought to be perfect harmony between who you are and how you live. In the case of the woman in the previous story it could be translated that the bumper stickers and other Christian messages on the car should accurately describe the person behind the wheel. Your identity is now in Christ and the life we live should be directed by the Christ in us.
There is a new movie out that I want to see and it is called, “The Blind Side” It is the story of Michael Oher, who as a young black boy who was adopted by Sean and Leigh Ann Touhy, a white Christian family. This family lived out their faith and helped Michael become a very successful football player who now lives for Christ. Sandra Bullock is one of the actresses in the movie and she was very impressed with the Toughys. She made these comments in an article in World Magazine, November 21, 2009.
Also agreeing with this assessment was Sandra Bullock, who, while getting to know the Touhys during the filming process, found her own preconceived notions about Christians challenged. "One of my biggest issues has always been people who use their faith and their religion as a banner but don't do the right things, yet still go, 'I'm a good Christian and I go to church and this is the way you should live your life,'" said Bullock. "And I'm like, you know, do not give me a lecture about how to live my life when you go to church every week but I know you are still sneaking around on your wife. And I told Leigh Anne in a live interview, one of my largest concerns getting involved with this project was that whole banner-waving thing because it scares me, and I've had experiences that haven't been great with people like that. I don't buy a lot of people who use that banner as their shield. But she was so open and honest and forthright with me I thought, wow, I've finally met someone who practices but doesn't preach."
Bullock's next comment suggested that the Touhy's newfound fame has provided them fresh opportunities to impact others with the hope that they have. "I now have faith in those who say they represent a faith," Bullock commented. "I finally met people who walk the walk."
The world is watching us and taking notes. Our motivation in walking worthy of our calling is not so much to please the world but to please the Lord. Our motivation for living out our life worthy of the calling is to give honor and praise to Christ who has made it possible.
The “calling”we all have been called to is living our lives as members of Christ’s body, his church in a way that reflects Christ. We have been called out of the world of sin to be called into a new relationship with Christ as members of his body of believers. We cannot extricate ourselves from the body and be very effective in fact any body part not attached to the body should seem a little weird and a body part that is attached to the body that does its own thing would be considered very unnatural and unproductive. One of the problems I see in the body of believers is that some Christians have compartmentalized their walk. They may get a daily dose of God or maybe a weekly dose but live the rest of the day or week completely detached from the body and do things that are not worthy of their calling. Many of us have lived a compartmentalized Christian life. We attended Church and maybe some other activities of the church but parts of our lives were not lived according to the principles of the Scriptures. We were basically doing our own thing and thinking that we were a Christian. One person I talked to said her life was compartmentalized Christianity. She and her boy friend would go to church and worship the Lord and then spend the night in bed. She eventually realized that this was not walking worthy of the calling and broke off the relationship.
Paul continues by listing several things that should be part of our lives as we walk worthy of our calling. The first thing he mentions is humility. The word humility means to bow ourselves to the ground, to be low. When a King entered the room the natural and required response of the people was to bow before the king as a sign of respect and submission to his authority. The people recognized who they were in relationship to the king. This is the same thing we must do as believers, recognize who we are in our relationship to our King Jesus. Jesus humbled himself in a way that none of us could ever do by becoming a man and giving his life as a sacrifice for our sins. He is the greatest example of humility and this is probably the most important quality that we must have in our lives as we serve our King and serve one another. Humble people spend more time thinking about serving others than they do about serving their own needs. Humble people are willing to do whatever is needed to help meet a need, nothing is too beneath them because they are already as low to the ground as they can get. Humble people do not worry about receiving credit for what they do, they do not need special recognition to reward them, they do what they do because they value others more than themselves. It is not that they have a low opinion of themselves or think of themselves as a lowly worm but rather they choose to deny themselves and give preference and deference to others. If I would have been walking in humility when the lady took the parking spot I would have gladly deferred to her and viewed the situation differently. I was really guarding the spot for her! As she pulled into the spot I should have raised my hand like they do in Guatemala to say please go ahead or thank you. Pride and arrogance are the opposites of humility. Pride demands its way while humility yields its rights to be a blessing to someone else. Pride wants everyone to look at them while humility is content to be unknown and in the background. God will bring the prideful ones down but he promises to lift up those who are humble. It would be good for us to evaluate what we do and why we do it to determine if we are maintaining a humble heart or doing it out of pride.
Gentleness it the next quality that reflects the life of Christ being lived in us as we walk worthy of our calling. A gentle person is one who does not take offense when people attack them or do things against them. A gentle person is a person who has the strength to fight back but chooses to not retaliate. I think of a friend of mine who worked with us for a period of time and how he responded in a situation that truly reflected gentleness. He was riding on the bus, standing in the aisle, with his one arm carrying his backpack and the other grabbing the rail above him. He said that he felt the lower part of his pant leg being lifted up and he looked down to see what was happening. To his surprise he saw that his billfold was at the top of his pocket in the front of his pants and just as he looked it fell to the floor. One of the passengers had pushed his billfold to the top of the pocket and was obviously going to rob him of it. He saw the person who had tried to steal his wallet and as he reached down to pick it up, he looked him in the eye. It was the moment of truth as to whether he would walk worthy of his calling or take offense and retaliate. He is a big man and I am sure could have done a lot of physical damage with one blow but he decided to not take offense and simply look the man in the eye to let him know that he knew what he had done and he was going to extend mercy and not justice. A gentle person responds in the opposite spirit. They bless when they a cursed, the show love toward their enemy, they respond in a different tone of voice than that used against them, their gentleness may be perceived as weakness but it is really them demonstrating strength by controlling a response that seems natural to the flesh.
“Be patient with each other, allowing for each other’s faults because of your love.” LB
The word for patient has with it the idea of someone who is in a contest to see who can stand the longest. A patient person is able to stand a long time waiting for something to change. In Guatemala and other Latin American countries you have ample opportunity to develop patience. Most of us have experienced standing in line for a long period of time waiting to transact business or whatever only to find out when you got to the front and talked with the person you were in the wrong line! In our relationships with each other we have to patient with each other’s faults and weaknesses. This does not mean that the person who has the issues is free to take advantage of your patience and not address their issues but it does mean that we will stand with them and suffer with them as long as it takes to see them get the victory. At times when I find myself being impatient with someone I have to ask myself does it really matter that much if I wait longer, what will I really be losing if I am a little later than I want to be? Other times I have to examine my own heart and ask if my impatience is really me judging the other person without really knowing what is happening to them. We can easily jump to a wrong conclusion when we do not have all the facts. A patient person with holds judgment until all the information is given and there is understanding of what has happened.
“Bearing with one another in love.” When you love someone you are willing to put up with some things that others would tell you to “throw the bum out.” I am not talking about abuse or things of this nature but there are many other things that are very damaging to a relationship that require a lot of forbearing or bearing with the other person. One person I believe has demonstrated bearing in love is the wife of Ted Haggard. He was the pastor who fell into sin while he led a church of 14,000 members. His sin was for many people one that would justify his wife leaving the relationship. I am sure it was humiliating for her to find out what he had been doing and struggling with for years. Yet she knew her husband in a deeper love than anyone else and she saw something in him that was worth fighting for and staying with the marriage. Love sees the potential in others and helps us bear with them and fight with them to see them gain the victory over their weaknesses.
The final aspect of walking worthy of our calling is to make every effort to keep unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are already united in Christ, we are one body, spiritually linked together. Our common ground as believers is Christ, we may have different doctrines but we share the same Christ who is Lord and Savior. Jesus prayed for unity among the believers before he ascended to heaven. When believers are united spiritually great things happen. The Transformation video made in 1995 profiled Almolonga, Guatemala, as one of the 5 cities that God has moved powerfully because the church was united in prayer and worship as they petitioned God to bring changes in the community that was marred by violence, drunkenness, family disintegration and poverty. When the churches came together in spiritual unity changes began to take place and the community was transformed. The church is a tremendous force on the earth but disunity keeps it from achieving its potential. This why Paul stated that we must make every effort, be determined and exert heroic perseverance to keep the unity of the Spirit. Let’s not let petty differences keep us from working together in the Kingdom of God. We need to stand with each other and support each other and offer help to one another as a demonstration of our unity in the body of Christ. Let’s be known as people who bring people together for the common cause rather than people who isolate themselves from others and are unwilling to work toward unity in the body. The church has suffered greatly because of the lack of unity but I believe we can bring about a change if we diligently work to create and maintain unity in the body.
A few years ago there were a group of Mennonite young men studying Spanish in Antigua. They attended one of the Thursday night services and I had opportunity to talk with them. I invited them to come with us to do ministry around Lake Atitlan and Chichi as we were a small group and really needed some more people to go with us. They said they would pray about it and get back with me. When I met with their leader he explained to me that this was really something that they as a group do not do. They pretty much only do things with other Mennonites and this carries over into their businesses as well as spiritual things. It was not an easy decision for them to make but they decided they wanted to go with and we had a great time of ministry together. It was an example of unity in the Spirit and God honored our efforts and gave us a fruitful time of ministry and fellowship. The world needs to see more of a united effort by the churches because it honors Christ who is the head of the church and it sends a powerful message to a lost world.
Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Our daily decisions and actions need to reflect who we are and what Christ has done for us. We are called to be part of his body of believers and if we are walking worthy of this calling it should be demonstrated in our humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with each other and doing all we can to establish and preserve unity in the Spirit. How are we doing tonight, are we walking worthy of the calling?

Believers worth believing

Ephesians 3: 14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul was in awe of God’s plan of salvation that united Jews and Gentiles. God’s wisdom in forming the plan and carrying it out to perfection made Paul stand in awe of God. To think that God would reach out to all of mankind to bring salvation through Christ caused him to rejoice in spite of his imprisonment. God’s plan is now being revealed through his Church. We are now in the age of the church and it is through it that God reveals his wisdom to the world and all of the demonic forces are watching as the church becomes everything God has destined it to be. We are part of God’s plan to bring all things under control under the headship of Christ who is the head of the Church that is destined to be his bride.
Being a part of a church is critical to our fulfilling God’s plan. We live in a time when people substitute being a part of a local body of believers with many different things. You have access to a lot of things on the internet, television, radio and even in parachurch organizations yet none of these can replace being a part of a local body of believers which is part of the church universal. The church is composed of all who have been called out of the world and have joined themselves to Christ. When we speak of the church we have to keep in mind the church universal or Catholic Church and we need to keep in mind the local church. Paul’s letter was to the church, the local church in Ephesus, a specific body of believers that he had spent quite a bit of time with instructing them in the Word of God. I want to encourage you to be an active part of a local body of believers. For some of you it may be difficult with all of the responsibilities you may carry within your mission and work or the temporariness of your status here but it is important to tie in with a local group as much as you can. Your participation in the church is important and vital. You have a place and a role in it because you are a member of it.
People today emphasize being “spiritual” yet do not link it with being part of the church. Perhaps they have bad memories of an abusive leader in the church or have had other experiences that have turned them away. A survey that I read in “Serious Times” newsletter, of young people’s attitude toward Christianity has revealed some information that is not good yet needs to be given attention so that corrections can be made where needed.
How People View the Church
91% anti-homosexual
87% judgmental
85% hypocritical
78% old fashioned
75% too involved in politics
72% out of touch with reality
70% insensitive to others
68% boring
64% not accepting of other faiths
61% confusing
It is a sad day when this is the image of the church in many people’s minds. Paul did not view the church as such. He saw it as a family united in both heaven and earth. He saw it as a dynamic force on the earth reflecting all that Jesus is and filled with God’s love.
The church is a family.
The family is the basic structure that holds society together. God created the family and the church is his family. We may not all have a good image of a healthy family, many people have grown up in dysfunctional families and they do not have a healthy concept of what the family should be like when it is functioning as God intended it. When I think of a healthy family I think of a family that is marked by love for each member, support, forgiveness, kindness, discipline, boundaries that protect and provide guidance, encouragement and grace. You can probably add many more traits of a healthy family to this list but the idea is that the church should be a family that exemplifies everything good in life based in God. Life without God, apart from his family should be viewed as abnormal not optional or unwanted.
Paul prayed for some specific things for the church. Like Paul, we too need to be praying for the church and its individual members. The prayer he prays in these verses can be a model prayer for each of us as we pray for each other.
The first is that it would be strengthened with might through the Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of God’s glory. God has unlimited resources available to us. He give us what we need according to his riches which is different that “out of his riches.” The Believer’s Bible Commentary explains this with the following:
Preachers often point out that there is a difference between the expressions “out of the riches” and according to the riches. A wealthy person might give a trifling amount; it would be out of his riches, but not in proportion to them! Paul asks that God will give strength according to the riches of His perfections. Since the Lord is infinitely rich in glory, let the saints get ready for a deluge! Why should we ask so little of so great a King? When someone asked a tremendous favor of Napoleon it was immediately granted because, said Napoleon, “He honored me by the magnitude of his request.”
Our inner man is the part of us that connects with God, our spiritual nature that has been made alive through the new birth. Our inner man draws strength from God when we feed him the proper spiritual diet. Our inner life or life of devotion is critical to our receiving strength. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that “those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
The word “wait” has a meaning of attending to someone, much like a waiter who takes care of you when you are at a restaurant. When we wait upon the Lord we are attending to him, serving him, listening to what he wants us to do and responding to please him. It is in our service to Him that we gain strength. Sometime the Lord just has us be still, to rest, to come away for a season to be renewed. The analogy of the eagle being renewed is one that has many applications to our lives.
Eagles enjoy the longest life expectancy among bird species They can live up to 70 years In order to survive, they have to make a critical decision at the age of 40 When eagles turn 40, their claws weaken Their beaks are growing long & curved almost touching their chest Their wings are heavier due to thick & long feathers. They have 2 Choices：•Dying•Or undergoing a painful transformation They have to fly to the top Build their home there And REST 150 days of perseverance & steadfastness... They have to hit their beaks against the rock till they fall off. And wait patiently for the new beaks to grow. They will use their new beaks to pull out their nails With their newly grown nails, they will then clean off their old feathers . 5 months later, the eagles will fly again with their new feathers . They renew their strength for another 30 years!
Waiting on the Lord to do his renewal work in us is often very difficult. We want to be in the thick of things, busy doing things for the Lord but he wants us to find time each day and perhaps for some of you this is the season of rest and renewal where you are just soaking in the Lord and allowing him to minister to you. Treasure these seasons that the Lord gives you because they will build the strength you need for the next leg of the journey. When I went through my DTS it was a time of just resting in the Lord, soaking up the teaching, spending personal time each day with him and just receiving from Him. It was an awesome time for me and I enjoyed having this time set apart.
Treasure as well your time with the Lord each day. Make him the priority of your day, set aside time to pray, seek Him in His word, meditate on his word, listen to his voice, quiet your heart before him. He will renew your strength in your inner man and you will be able to carry out the work in his strength.
The second thing Paul prayed for was “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”. Christ wants to invade and take control of every area of our life. There is a little booklet called, “My heart, Christ’s home” by Robert Munger, that takes you on a journey of your home to see if Christ really dwells in every room. It is by faith that we receive Christ into our heart and invite him to take control over every area of our life. Many of us struggle to release certain areas that we like to control because we think that we will miss out on something if we relinquish it to Christ. We are really not in control of that area of our life, it is really controlling us. Anyone other than Christ being in control is a slave driver type master. Our desire to control or be controlled by habits only places us in more bondage. The devil is deceptive and he wants us to think we are in control but the truth is just the opposite. Christ comes to set us free from ourselves, our selfishness, our desire to rule over ourselves and other people. When we finally give up and give over control, he can take charge and bring about a freedom that we have never experienced. Is Christ in control of my thoughts, my use of time, my money, my eating, my recreation, my relationships, my work, my family etc.? It is easy for us to recognize people who are out of control but often difficult for us to see areas in our own lives that are out of control. We look at a drug addict or alcoholic and see that they are being controlled by a chemical. But what about the person who idles away time behind a computer screen or spends excess time talking on the phone, or works too much, or never finds time to be with other people? We could add many more things to this list. These are all choices they have made and reflect that Christ is not the Lord of every area of their life. The problem is that they are really missing out on God’s best for them, they are settling for something less and often times very destructive, instead of giving Christ complete control and allowing him to bring balance and wholeness into their life.
At times we need to ask people to be very honest with us and tell us what areas of our life they perceive that Christ is not in control but we are still maintaining control or being controlled by a habit. Sometimes we need someone to intervene and tell us the truth before we self destruct or bring other people down with us. Most of us are aware of the killings that happened at Ft. Hood recently. The man who did the killing had some major issues going on in his life. Perhaps others noticed some changes taking place but no one intervened and he committed some horrendous shootings. The base commander was interviewed after the shootings and he made a comment that the soldiers needed to refer people who were experiencing stress and anxiety so they could receive help. Intervention is needed to at least give people an opportunity to see that they need help. As believers we need to watch out for one another and when we see things that are not in order or out of the control of Christ we need to intervene in prayer, confrontation and rehabilitation in love. Christ wants to set us free from every controlling influence that is destructive in our lives. He is the Liberator and he uses people to help set people free. He wants to dwell, take up residency and control of every area of our heart.
Love in Action is a ministry that helps people who are struggling with sexual and relational issues. They understand that without Christ and people being Christ to others transformation will not take place. The following is taken from their website and describes how they do ministry which to me is an example for us as well.
“At LIA we want to help men and women experience a safe Christian environment where they can let down the masks they have had to wear in front of the world and even in front of the church; where they can share honestly and openly what is going on inside them without fear of reprisal. In such an environment the trust develops that God uses as the foundation for healing of deep emotional and relational brokenness. It is our privilege to walk alongside these courageous men and woman as they submit their pain and brokenness to the Lord.

What can we do in the face of so much pain? Often, as LIA counselor David Jones says, we must simply “sit beside it.”2 We must be willing to enter into someone’s pain and experience it along with them. If we could only claim human powers, then this exercise would be truly futile. But as Christians we know that God uses us to be “Jesus with skin on” to each other, and Jesus Himself is the ultimate expert in “sitting beside pain.” When He did it 2000 years ago, the results changed the course of history and made salvation possible. When He does it today through his Body on earth, the results continue to transform lives and bring lasting change to hopeless situations.”
 
Paul’s final prayer was that the believers would be rooted and grounded in love and have understanding of the fullness of Christ’s love. When God’s love is in us we are radically changed. The more we understand the height, width, depth and length of God’s love for us the greater is our capacity to love like he loves. We love based on knowledge and the more we know about God and his love the more we are capable of being filled with his love. It is like we are a container that is expandable base on our knowledge. The more knowledge we have of God’s love the greater our container becomes. As we experience God’s love in greater measure we are able to take that love in us and live it out. We love because he first loved us. His love gives us the capacity and ability to love others. John said we cannot say we love God and hate our brother. God’s love does not work that way. “ The life of love is a life of kindness, selflessness, brokenness and meekness. It is Christ finding expression in the believer.” BBC This life of love is lived among other believers who also help us in our understanding of God’s love. We need each other and if we are open we can learn more about God’s love through others. I will always remember Brother John who was Catholic monk who worked at the base I was stationed at in Germany. He was such a gentle and humble person who truly loved people. I had never met anyone like him in my life and his love for God and people made a huge impression on my life. He had a greater capacity to love because he had experienced the love of God in a greater way than I had. He had a more intimate relationship with the Lord and it was evidenced by his love for others. If we try to give meaning to the dimensions of Christ’s love we can think of it in these terms:
Width —The world (John 3:16)
Length —Forever (1 Cor. 13:8)
Depth —Even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8)
Height —Heaven (1 John 3:1–2)
Love for Christ will be reflected in our love for the world and our desire to see people come to Christ to experience his love. I read a story from a book written by E. Stanley Jones who was a missionary to India for over 50 years and preached the gospel in many nations. It is a story of love in action.
“There was a woman in Africa who came to Christ, and she felt that she wanted to do something for Jesus. But she was blind and seventy years of age and therefore her contributions did not seem to be very promising. She was uneducated, but she came to the missionary with her French Bible and said, “Would you mind underscoring John 3:16 in my Bible in red?” The missionary was very intrigued to see what she was going to do. She took the French Bible and sat in front of a boys’ school in the afternoon. When school was dismissed she called these boys and said, “Boys, come here please. Do you know French?” Very proudly they said that they did. Then she said “Please read to me this passage underscored in my Bible.” And they did. The she would ask, “What does this mean to you boys?” They said , “We don’t know.” Then she said, “I’ll tell you what it means to me.” And she told the story of the Gospel. Twenty-four young men became pastors or assistant pastors due to the work of this blind beggar. She was so transformed that people called her “Madame.”
The Love of Christ in it fullness in us brings transformation and produces love for people which is demonstrated in a variety of ways as was exemplified by this blind beggar. Love only becomes meaningful when it is expressed in action. We live in a culture that struggles with understanding what true love is and how it is expressed appropriately. Most of what we see as love is only selfishness and manipulation of someone to get a need met. Christ is our model of love and as we understand his love for us and allow his love to transform us we become the Church that will have a tremendous impact on the world. The church must be a community in which true love is expressed if it is going to make a difference in people’s lives. Jesus said to his disciples before his crucifixion, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
The challenge before us tonight is to be the Church that God wants us to be. To be strengthened with his power by waiting upon him, serving him, spending time with him on a daily basis to allow him to renew us. The church should be full of people who are under the complete control of Christ in every area of our lives and reach out to people who are struggling with areas that are out of control. Finally the church should be noted for its love of Christ that is expressed in actions toward others.
As we close the service tonight, let’s form small groups with the people next to you and pray for one another and any needs that you have whether they come out of what we talked about tonight or anything else that you need prayer.
As we pray let’s believe that God will do what Paul wrote at the close of this chapter.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Sharing the Gospel: The price, privilege, power, pleasure.

Ephesians 3:1-9
I, Paul, the servant of Christ, am here in jail because of you—for preaching that you Gentiles are a part of God’s house. 2-3No doubt you already know that God has given me this special work of showing God’s favor to you Gentiles, as I briefly mentioned before in one of my letters. God himself showed me this secret plan of his, that the Gentiles, too, are included in his kindness. 4I say this to explain to you how I know about these things. 5In olden times God did not share this plan with his people, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his apostles and prophets.
6And this is the secret: that the Gentiles will have their full share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s sons; both are invited to belong to his Church, and all of God’s promises of mighty blessings through Christ apply to them both when they accept the Good News about Christ and what he has done for them. 7God has given me the wonderful privilege of telling everyone about this plan of his; and he has given me his power and special ability to do it well.
8Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the most useless Christian there is, yet I was the one chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles the Glad News of the endless treasures available to them in Christ; 9and to explain to everyone that God is the Savior of the Gentiles too, just as he who made all things had secretly planned from the very beginning. (Living Bible)

The Price of Sharing the Gospel
Paul imprisoned for the faith of the Ephesian Gentile believers
Paul’s life was dedicated as a servant of Christ. He lived for one purpose and that was to fulfill his calling as an Apostle. He was willing to pay the price and in this case it involved imprisonment for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul was in prison in Rome because he had been accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple in Jerusalem, into an area that was forbidden to them. I am constantly inspired and challenged by the life and ministry of Paul. He did not back down from any challenge even if it meant imprisonment, beatings, trials and hardships. He was a true servant of Christ and was willing to accept whatever came his way as he walked in obedience to his calling. As servants of Christ and stewards of the gospel message we have to be willing to pay the price of what God may ask of us and of what the world may do to us. Persecution and suffering are part of the price we must be willing to pay to bring the gospel message to the nations that are in opposition to it. The first missionaries to Africa sent their goods in coffins because they knew they were not coming back. Most of them died within the first year but their deaths only served to inspire others to go. O that there would be more men and women like Paul today who are true servants of Christ willing to sacrifice everything for the Master.
I read a testimony of an Indian believer who came from a village that rejected Christ and killed his messengers. When this man came to understand salvation he left his village to study in a Bible school. When school ended he was determined to go back to his village to share Christ with his people. Others knew that death would probably face him yet he was undaunted, unmoved by what others said to him. He felt compelled to fulfill his calling to return to his village and share the gospel message. He did return to his village but no one ever heard from him again and it was understood that he laid down his life for the opportunity to share the gospel message. We hold to life so tightly at times and often fear going places where we may be persecuted or martyred. The reality is that we have no guarantee that we will return and it does not matter if we are fulfilling what God has called us to do. This was Paul’s attitude and it has been the same with many who have left the comforts of home to have the opportunity to share the gospel with those who have never heard.
The Privilege of Sharing the Gospel
Paul regarded his special ministry as a privilege. It involved revealing the gospel message to the Gentile world and giving them equal status with the Jewish believers. The Jews and Gentiles were now united in one body, joint heirs and recipients of the promises. The early church focused its evangelistic efforts on the Jewish people and did little to reach out to the Gentiles. It took a special revelation from God to open the minds of the Apostles and Prophets to the plan of God to include the Gentiles in his kingdom. He is the God of all people not just the Jews. You and I are the recipients of this plan of inclusion and of his kindness. God is not a respecter of persons and He has always had all people in mind regarding his plan of salvation. God’s heart has not changed; he still wants every ethnic group to come to know Christ as Savior. He has opened heaven to all to be a part of his Church. Paul saw his ministry to the Gentiles as a privilege. It was not a drudgery of duty among dirty people but a privilege to share the life changing gospel message with them. God is looking for people today who will go to the unreached masses. There are still many people groups today who have never heard the gospel message.
The Joshua Project has listed the number of unreached people groups and people.
Total People Groups
# People Groups 16,344
# Unreached People Groups 6,639
% of Unreached People Groups 40.6 %
 
Total Individuals
World Population 6.70 billion Unreached peoples maps and statistics.
Population in Unreached People Groups 2.74 billion
% Population in Unreached People Groups 40.9 %
Top Ten Unreached
People Group Rank
Aimaq, Taimani 94
Comorian, Ndzwani 91
Arab, Najdi Bedouin 90
Pashtun, Southern, Afghan 90
Sanaani, Northern Yemeni 90
Baloch, Eastern 89
Beja, Bedawi 89
Jat, Dagar, Hindu 89
Gypsy, Domari 88
Mazanderani, Tabri 88
The challenge of world missions is before all of us. We are part of the 60% of the people groups that have been reached with the gospel. Are we doing our part and all we can to go, give, and pray for laborers for the harvest of the 40% who have not been reached?
Oswald Smith was the pastor of the People’s church in Toronto Canada for many years. He wanted to be a missionary and was one for a short time among the native Indians of northern Canada. His body could not withstand the harsh conditions and he had to return to regain his health. After a couple of these bouts with sickness, his doctor told him that if he went again he would most likely die. He decided to focus his ministry in a different area but make missions the primary emphasis of the church. He was invited to be the pastor of the People’s church and accepted the call without knowing much about the church. His first Sunday preaching he was told by one of the leaders of the church as he went to the pulpit that the church was in serious financial trouble. Maybe the leader was hoping he would make a special appeal to the people to give generously toward the debt. Oswald Smith did not make a special appeal but instead told the people that he would be hosting special meeting all the next week and the focus of the meetings was going to be world missions. Pastor Smith was still a missionary at heart. He wanted the gospel to be proclaimed to the people who had never had the opportunity to hear the message. He felt it was not right that some nations had the opportunity to hear the gospel many times while some had never heard the message one time. During the week of special meetings he challenged the people to give sacrificially toward world missions as this was the priority of the church, the evangelization of the lost, especially those who have never heard of Jesus. The people responded and began to give generously and sacrificially. It was not long after that the entire debt of the church was eliminated and they began to send missionaries to the unreached people groups. Pastor Smith made a promise that he kept while he was pastor and that was there would never be more money spend on administration than what was going to world missions. God blessed the church as they began to catch a vision for a lost unreached world. Millions of dollars have been given by the members of this church and they have sent hundreds of missionaries out from their church.
Paul saw his ministry as a privilege; Pastor Smith saw his ministry in the church to mobilize missionaries as a privilege to be able to send people out to the unreached. What about the church today? Is evangelism and missions seen as the priority and the privilege that it should be? Is it reflected in how the money is spent or is it given a low priority or no priority in the business of the church? I read where three tenths of 1% of the money given to the church in the USA is dedicated to world missions and much of that never makes it to missionaries serving but is spent on administrative costs. The Christian Post had an article published this week that announced a church in Dallas was going to build a new facility that would cost $134 million. I struggled to find understanding of the amount that would be spent to erect a building. I am not against big churches but I find it hard to justify the expenditure when there seems to be a pressing need to reach the lost. I pray the leaders are being led by the Holy Spirit and have the mind of God in their decision. Lest we be too hard on this church we also have to evaluate how we are using the money God has entrusted to us in regards to missions. As missionaries we need to be supporting other missionaries, sowing seeds into their ministries. Often we are the recipients but God also wants us to sow into other missionaries lives. With the privilege of sharing the gospel also comes the responsibility to carry out the mission and use the resources God has given us to do it.
The Power to share the Gospel
Paul understood that the power to carry out the ministry he was called to was given to him by the Lord. Paul knew the power of the Holy Spirit at work in his life and he depended upon him to be able to do his work well. Christianity is a supernatural experience and it requires supernatural power. God gives us His Holy Spirit to operate in us to do the work he has called us to do. Miracles, signs and wonders were part of Paul’s ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at a few verses that speak to this regarding his ministry.
Romans 15:19 I have won them by my message and by the good way I have lived before them and by the miracles done through me as signs from God—all by the Holy Spirit’s power. In this way I have preached the full Gospel of Christ all the way from Jerusalem clear over into Illyricum
1 Cor. 2:4 4And my preaching was very plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the Holy Spirit’s power was in my words, proving to those who heard them that the message was from God.
1Thes 1.5 5For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true. And you know how our very lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message.
Acts 15.12 12There was no further discussion, and everyone now listened as Barnabas and Paul told about the miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles.
Signs, wonders and miracles have always been a part of the gospel message. Jesus’ ministry was full of miracles. He sent out the disciples and gave them power of demons and over sickness. The early church also continued seeing the miraculous healings of the Holy Spirit. This power has never left the believers and it was never intended to not be a part of preaching the gospel message.
Many people will not respond to simply hearing words, they need to see the miraculous to prove to them that our God has more power than their gods. Miracles always point to the truth and the reality behind them.
We should expect to see the same things as we proclaim the gospel message. Mike Francen is an evangelist who God called as a young man to go to the nations with the message of salvation and healing. I want to challenge all of us tonight with some of his thoughts regarding evangelism taken from his book entitled, “A Miracle Settles the Issue.”
“God still uses signs, wonders and miracles to reach unbelievers today. Why should He change time-tested, proven ways?
Many have become desensitized to the written and spoken word, but miracles break through barriers once thought impenetrable.
Those who do not know God need to experience Him more than they need to understand Him.”
I have seen the reality of this when I was in India. As people were healed they saw the true power of God and gave their lives to him. They did not enter an intellectual debate with us but saw God’s love demonstrated in his healing power and were drawn to him.
Many believers never experience the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in signs, wonders and miracles. If this is God’s normal way of demonstrating His power then why are we not seeing more of it in our ministry?
Let me share with you Mike Francen’s thoughts on this.
“Who is to blame? Are we to attribute the lack of results in our ministries to the people’s hardness of hearts? Does the fault lie there? No, my fellow ministers and coworkers, the fault and blame must rest with us. If we were what and where we should be, the signs and wonders would follow us, as they did our forefathers in the days of old. I would suggest to you that every failure, every sermon that fails to grip and break the hearts of the people, every service where God’s presence and miracles are not prevalent should drive us to our knees! It should cause us, in all humility; to search our hearts….Let each of God’s ministers challenge his own spirituality and ministry. What is the outcome? What are the results?”
Please do not take these words to be words of condemnation but words of challenge. Is our ministry marked by the power of the Holy Spirit? Are we seeing change? Are we experiencing miracles, signs, and healings? If not we need to ask God to show us if there is anything that is hindering us. I believe our greatest hindrances are sin, lack of faith or unbelief, not putting ourselves in places where the Holy Spirit wants us to go because of fear; lack of passion and compassion and unwillingness to pray, fast and seek God wholeheartedly. Paul encouraged the early church to examine themselves to see if they were in the faith and this is still a message we all need to heed.
The Pleasure of Sharing the Gospel
One of the greatest joys as a believer is leading someone to Christ, praying with them to give their lives to Him. Paul experienced this joy and it motivated him to continue to share the gospel. This gospel message changes people radically. Last week we heard just a few testimonies of the radical power of God to change a life. I remember one of the testimonies of a young man who had come forward at the crusade in India to give his life to Christ. He said he had been a very wicked man and did many evil things in his community. When he prayed to invite Jesus to be his Savior he said he literally felt a weight come off his body! His eyes were filled with light and his joy was contagious. He had experienced God’s forgiveness and was made a new creation in Christ. The gospel is good news let us never forget that. It sets people free from bondages, it brings hope, it changes families, it changes nations, it brings physical healing but most important it brings eternal life. When the 70 disciples whom Jesus has sent out to proclaim the Kingdom message returned they were thrilled that the demons were subject to them but Jesus said they should have greater joy knowing that their names were written in heaven (Luke 10). Heaven rejoices when a sinner is saved and we also get to experience the joy of participating in bringing the message and seeing someone come to Christ. We have been entrusted with a message that must be shared; it is the only hope for this world. Let’s share it with great expectation and with great joy.
Charles Wesley on the one year anniversary of becoming a Christian wrote one of his 6,000 songs to commemorate what God had done for him in the song, “Oh for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.”
Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
By: Charles Wesley
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of your name.

The name of Jesus charms our fears
And bids our sorrows cease,
Sings music in the sinner’s ears,
Brings life and health and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin;
He sets the prisoner free.
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood avails for me.
Sharing the gospel message comes with a price but it is also a privilege with responsibilities. We have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish what God has asked us to do and we should expect God to demonstrate his power through us as we share the gospel. Finally we have the pleasure of sharing the message that brings great joy to those who receive it, those who share it and God Himself.

The Power of Personal Testimony

The Power of Personal Testimony
Tonight I want to look at Ephesians 2:1-10 which is one of the greatest testimonies in the Scriptures of what God has done for us to bring us to salvation. In these verses Paul describes what the Ephesians were like before they received the message of salvation. He also points out what God through Christ has done for them and what God is now doing in and through them. Paul lays out a format that we can use to share our personal testimony with other people in a very short amount of time and we will take some time tonight to help each of you write out your testimony that you can share in one minute.
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The Ephesians were no different than any of us before we came to know Christ. Paul describes them as dead in sin, directed by demonical powers and disobedient. This is the condition of all people not just the Ephesians. Until a person sees themselves as they truly are before God they will never understand or appreciate what God has done for them. We live in a world that accepts sin as a normal part of life. Certain behaviors and patterns of thinking that are not in agreement with God’s Word are no longer seen as sin but as an acceptable alternative lifestyle. The world does not like the word sin because it implies that they are doing something wrong and that someone is judging them. The reality is that our sin separates us from God and we are literally dead to the things of God. Sin keeps us from becoming the person God created us to be. The sin nature of man controls him. His carnal nature gravitates toward sin, his mind is obsessed with thoughts of evil and his motivations for doing things that appear to be good are not holy but full of pride. Man apart from God is called a child of wrath. Their motivations are not right and their actions are evil and if they continue to live this way they will one day suffer God’s wrath and judgment on sin.
Paul’s description of the status of man is not good in fact it is hopeless and headed for eternal trouble. Man is not capable of seeing himself as he truly is unless the Holy Spirit reveals this to him. He is blinded to the truth about himself, he is deceived and really under the control of satan. All of us at one point were in the same condition. Our sins may be different but our nature is the same.
The next segment of this passage describes what God has done for us in Christ. Paul begins with two of the most important words of the Bible, “But God”. God was well aware of the hopeless condition of mankind but he was not content to let man continue to be ruled by a sinful nature. He acted, he initiated the way for man to be saved from sin and enter into a new relationship with him. God acted according to the mercy, love and grace that he has for sinful man. He did not have to do anything for us, he would have been just in leaving us in our present condition but He chose to do what was needed to rescue, redeem and transform us. He gave us new life in Christ, Christ now lives within us through the Holy Spirit. We now have a new controlling force at work within us, we are no longer under the control of the world, the flesh and the devil. We have been transformed from a dead man walking toward eternal destruction to a live man who is seated alongside of Christ in the heavenly places. We are recipients of God’s kindness and grace and we will spend eternity learning more about God’s marvelous grace extended toward us. We know so little about God and his grace but He will be teaching us throughout eternity regarding this aspect of his nature.
This gift of salvation is center in God alone. By faith we receive the gift of salvation and even this faith is a gift from God. Man has done nothing to save himself, God has done it all and he alone deserves the credit. If our works were part of the salvation process it would rob God of the glory he alone deserves. If man thinks that he can do anything to save himself, he takes away from what Christ has done for us and diminishes what Christ has done. Salvation is a gift we receive not something we can earn. It is purely God’s favor given to us because of his great love and mercy. When we receive this gift there will be a natural response in us to want to do God’s works. True faith produces works.
This leads to the final aspect of this passage and that is the believer is now able to walk in the destiny that God has for them. God is now at work within them, fashioning them, molding them and giving them good works to accomplish in their life on earth. We are now a new person in Christ Jesus and he is living out his life in each of us. Acts 10:38 gives us a little description of the work that Christ wants to continue to do in us and through us while we live on the earth.
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

God has a work for each of us to do and it will be a work that is a reflection of Christ in us. We are now on the earth to represent Christ to a lost world. Our life testimony is a powerful tool we can use to share the gospel message with others and I want to take a few minutes to share how you can present your testimony to someone in one minute.
Tom Elie is an Evangelist from MN whom I have worked with in India. He has developed this technique of the “one minute witness” that has been used by many people and been very effective. It is very simple and follows what we have been looking at in Ephesians 2:1-10.
There are 5 steps to follow and I want each person here tonight to take time while you are seated at the table to write it and share it with the other people at your table.
Step 1: Ask for permission. When you encounter someone while you are in a line waiting or seated somewhere you can look at it as an opportunity to engage the person in conversation and let them know what Christ has done for you. You may want to phrase a question to them like this, “Can I share with you the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life?” Some people like to preclude this statement by asking the person a question, “What has been the greatest thing that has ever happened in your life?” After you allow them time to share, you can then ask them for permission to share your greatest event.
Step Two: BC are two letters you can use to help remember this part and it stands for Before Christ. What you want to do is describe your life in a sentence or two what your life was like before you met Christ. Pick out 2 or 3 words that summarize what your life was like. These words need to accurately reflect in a powerful way what your life was like. For example, “Before I gave my life to Christ I was very lonely. I had no real friends and I was depressed most of the time.” Another example: “Before I met Christ, I was a very rebellious person. I was very selfish and only thought about myself.” Keep in mind that you want to limit your testimony to one minute so you have to be concise in choosing your words.

Step 3: TP are the two letters to remember and they stand for Turning Point. The TP of your life is the event that took place that caused you to see yourself for who you were and understand what Christ did for you. It is the event or perhaps series of events that led you to Christ. For example: “One day a friend talked to me about Jesus when I was in college. I understood for the first time that God loved me and wanted to give me a new life. I saw how my life was lived for myself and that many of the things I had done were evil.”

Step 4: AD stands for Anno Domini which is what your life has been like after you accepted Christ, the changes that have taken place. For example: “After I became a follower of Christ, I experienced peace and joy like I never have before. My life has purpose and I know God in a personal way.” The idea is to relate the most important or significant changes that have happened since you came to Christ.

Step 5: If I had not met Christ… This is your opportunity to describe what you believe would have happened in your life if you would have continued on the course you were on. Example: “If I had not met Christ I am sure I would be in living only to get money and buy things that would impress people. It would be a very empty life.”

Sharing your testimony does not have to be a long discourse with someone. Your testimony can have a huge impact on someone that may turn them toward Christ. Never underestimate the power of a personal testimony. Revelations 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the word of their testimony, the blood of the Lamb and they loved not their life unto death.” Your testimony has power over the enemy and it is something that we should never be afraid to share with another person. The Holy Spirit will use your testimony to open a closed mind that was once like each one of us when we were walking in darkness.
Look for opportunities to tell your testimony. Don’t let anyone discourage you from giving God glory for the tremendous gift of salvation you have received.