1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:06,720 Well, the premier illustration in Scripture of the Christian 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:12,400 life comes in Psalm 1. And Psalm 1 is at the beginning 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,480 of the Psalms for a reason. Because this, this image is 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,680 there. It's, it's the gateway into the 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,360 rest of the Psalms and everything flows from it. 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,240 It pronounces a man or a woman of God blessed, who walks worthy 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,280 of his or her calling, and who walks not on the counsel of the 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,640 wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,600 scoffers. But his delight is on the law of 10 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,200 God, and on it he or she meditates day and night. 11 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,920 And with that to the one who walks worthy, the metaphor that 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:46,480 describes him or her is the metaphor of a tree. 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,760 You shall be like a tree near planted by a stream, which in 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,760 its season yields its fruit, and its leaf doesn't wither. 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:55,680 And all that he does will prosper. 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:04,000 And it's a tree, A strong tree. Rooted, meaning you're mature 17 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,120 and you're grounded, like a watered garden planted near a 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,520 stream, perfectly nourished. You're stable. 19 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,600 It means you're providing support for all that are around 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:15,840 you, dependability and a source of constancy. 21 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,120 It's a tree because it's a living metaphor. 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:23,200 You're alive, increasing in fruitfulness, you're growing, 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,840 becoming more and more effective, even building on it. 24 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,600 It says you are fruit bearing, a source of blessing and energy 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,080 and service to everyone among you. 26 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,960 I want you to consider for a second in this metaphor, 27 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:39,720 consider a a fig tree and remember that this is a mighty 28 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,400 tree, and this is what you are imaging. 29 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,840 Its roots are up to 100 feet deep, giving stability in harsh 30 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,640 climates and allowing it to flourish while other trees are 31 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,520 dying. And it fruits continually the 32 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,720 the the fig tree fruits over and over and over again. 33 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,560 So while others have ceased being fruitful, this one 34 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,040 provides ongoing nourishment and they fruit in dry seasons when 35 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,400 nothing else is fruitful. It's SAP is medicinal. 36 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,240 There's medicine literally coursing through its bark. 37 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,560 It's wide canopy provides shade for birds and for livestock and 38 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,320 for men. I think of Philip and John 1 39 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,640 when he's sitting under the shade of a fig tree, when the 40 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:23,200 Lord calls him and scripture says it's an image of 41 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,880 fruitfulness, vitality, blessing, safety and rest. 42 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,760 Scripture says this is the image of the faithful Christian. 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,600 You are declared to be blessed and God reveals in Ephesians, in 44 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,560 the New Testament, if you want to begin to turn there, that 45 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,080 this kind of vitality, this kind of light in the midst of 46 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,160 darkness and life, in the midst of death and preservation, in 47 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,440 the midst of putrefaction, it doesn't happen naturally. 48 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,560 If you, if left to your own way, you will not produce this kind 49 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,080 of fruitfulness. It takes supernatural effort and 50 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,400 it doesn't happen by accident. It's Ephesians says in chapters 51 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,240 one to three, it takes part, it takes effort by God, and this 52 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:08,960 effort began an eternity past. It says that you were elected 53 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:10,880 and predestinated by God the Father. 54 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,880 You were predestined under unto adoption as sons, predestined 55 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,880 unto sonship. It was through the sacrificial 56 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,680 act of redemption which was accomplished by Jesus Christ the 57 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,560 Son. It was blood bought, and it's 58 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,720 according to the application of the power and the wisdom of God 59 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:30,560 by His Holy Spirit from everlasting to everlasting. 60 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,720 God has been working out your fruitfulness. 61 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,040 His effort. Again, hear the words of Psalm 62 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:37,800 1. He shall be like a tree that 63 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:39,560 grows. You're planted by a stream. 64 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,480 If your delight is in the law of God, you shall be like unto this 65 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,000 great tree, the image of a flourishing life. 66 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,920 And it takes effort on God. It also takes effort on the part 67 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:51,840 of the individual. That's what we're going to get 68 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,720 into as we look into Ephesians 4. 69 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,680 Paul's going to say, make every effort with eagerness to walk 70 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,760 worthy. And what does this metaphor of a 71 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,320 tree with its canopy and its roots, what does this kind of 72 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,520 fruitfulness look like in practice? 73 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,080 What does it look like in reality? 74 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,480 And the answer is it looks like Ephesians chapters 4 to 6. 75 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,560 This is what it looks like to the faithful application of 76 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,840 Christian doctrine. This is what it looks like in 77 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:25,120 practice. Hudson preached last week and he 78 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,320 he quoted Abraham Kuyper, one of the most famous quotes in 79 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,560 history, where Kuyper says there's not a square inch of 80 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,400 this universe over which God does not declare mine. 81 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,160 And as you look now to your Christian life and your 82 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,560 Christian ministry, there is no square inch of you in your life 83 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,120 and your ministry where God doesn't say the same thing. 84 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:45,000 He's making all things new. He's working it all out in your 85 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,200 life, which means how you control your anger, and which 86 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,440 means how you interact with your coworkers and even specifically 87 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:54,240 how you joke around with your friends. 88 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,840 The kinds of language that you use, your interpersonal 89 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:00,360 communication, your work ethic, how you order your household, 90 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,120 your interaction with your parents, your relationship with 91 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,080 them, your prayer life. It's all part of His dominion 92 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:09,120 and it's coming in these next chapters. 93 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,760 He's he's taken the time in Ephesians one to three to build 94 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,440 the foundation, a theological foundation for you and your life 95 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,760 and your ministry. And in chapters 4 to 6, he's 96 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,080 establishing your life on that foundation. 97 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,600 This is how you are to build and we're transitioning this morning 98 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,600 into a, a new section of the book where Paul's going to begin 99 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,160 to apply all of the principles that he's already worked out. 100 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,400 This is the ethical application of all the doctrine that's come 101 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,720 before. And this is kind of typical of 102 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:39,080 Paul. If you read Paul, if you study 103 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,680 Paul, he, he works out all of this rich theology and doctrine. 104 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,600 And then there's a transition where he says we're not moving 105 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,520 beyond doctrine, but we're now focusing and applying everything 106 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,240 that we've learned to the tangibles of everyday life. 107 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,280 And when he does this, he even has a a catch phrase that he 108 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,840 uses so that you know, when you're in his books. 109 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,560 We're moving to apply. We're moving the application. 110 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,200 It comes in Romans 12/1 or he says, moving from doctrinal to 111 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:06,960 ethical. He says, I appeal to you 112 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,360 therefore, brothers, I urge you therefore, brothers, I beg you. 113 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:15,640 Therefore, brothers, now that you know who God is, this is how 114 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:17,760 to live in Ephesians 41. Turn there. 115 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,640 This is the language he uses this morning to transition us 116 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,120 from doctrinal to practical. He says the same words and the 117 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,280 same word order. I therefore urge you. 118 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,760 I therefore beseech you, I therefore beg you to walk 119 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,440 worthy. And what follows after that are 120 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,880 ethical commands. These are demands that Paul 121 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,720 places on your life saying this is how you are to live. 122 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,360 And in the book of Ephesians, there are 41 of these commands, 123 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,480 which is why everybody likes Ephesians 4 to 6, because 124 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,600 there's no confusion on how we are to live. 125 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:50,040 It's why people like the book of James. 126 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,200 There's 54 at least commandments that James gives. 127 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,440 And so we're like, man, there's no, I can't confuse what I'm 128 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,160 supposed to do when it's just over and over again. 129 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,840 He's telling me this is how you live and this is how you live. 130 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,000 And so 41 commandments, how many of those do you think came in 131 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:10,440 chapters one to 311 commandment that we've come across so far. 132 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,080 We made a lot. We made a big deal of it and 133 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,920 we'll come do it again, which leaves 40 commandments in the 134 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,600 next 3 chapters for the remainder of the book. 135 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:19,880 And it and it has to be this way. 136 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,200 I'm going to pause for a minute. Paul's teaching us something. 137 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,800 This has to be the pattern of our life and of our ministry. 138 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,800 Because if you tell someone, your friends or your church 139 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,440 members or your children, if you tell them how to live without 140 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,840 first telling them who they are in Jesus Christ, then you're not 141 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,720 producing Christians, you're producing hypocrites. 142 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,480 And it's so important to understand that the order must 143 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,880 be in your discipline and in your discipleship. 144 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,360 You have to teach. This is who God is, and this is 145 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,360 who you are, and this is what God has done for you in Jesus 146 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,600 Christ. Now, children, obey your parents 147 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:03,000 and be careful how you joke. And this is how you should live 148 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,120 and all of the ethical outworkings of it. 149 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,240 Now walk worthy of the gospel and guard your speech and be 150 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,920 quick to forgive. And so the one commandment that 151 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:18,400 we've faced so far came in Roman or not Romans, in Ephesians 211 152 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,560 and 12. The commandment was, remember, 153 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,160 remember where you were, remember where you came from, 154 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,520 remember where you were before you were called by God. 155 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,039 And he says you were dead. In that context, you were dead 156 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:37,480 in your sins and trespasses. You were a stranger to the 157 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,640 covenant of promise. And remember that as Jesus pours 158 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,360 out his blood as a new covenant, and you are no longer a stranger 159 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,800 to that, We're going to take the Lord's Supper in a moment and we 160 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,600 are no longer strangers but partakers in that covenant. 161 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,200 He says, remember that you walked following the course of 162 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,240 this world, and you come to Ephesians 4. 163 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,920 And he says, now God is redeeming, that no longer do you 164 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:03,120 walk according to the course of this world, but you walk worthy 165 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,600 of the gospel. This is the second commandment 166 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:07,720 that we face in the book. The first one said you were 167 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:09,520 dead. You walked according to the 168 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:11,080 course of this world. Remember that. 169 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,120 But now walk worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 170 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:20,160 Walk worthy of your calling. Read Ephesians 4 one to six with 171 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:21,200 me. This is our text. 172 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,560 And hear this, this commandment, Paul says. 173 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:28,560 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a 174 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:31,360 manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called, with 175 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,320 all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one 176 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,360 another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit 177 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,360 and the bond of peace. There was one body and one 178 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,920 spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to 179 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:48,640 your call. 1 Lord, 1 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of 180 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,800 all, who is over all and through all and in all. 181 00:09:53,680 --> 00:10:01,200 Paul says Walk worthy of your calling 8 times in Ephesians, 33 182 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:05,680 times in all of Paul's writings, he uses this command to walk. 183 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,200 It's the ordinary living of the Christian life. 184 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:13,680 It's extraordinarily ordinary. Walking is and you might 185 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:17,880 remember the story I told of going to Powell's Books back in 186 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,200 Isaiah because this is one of the premier commandments of 187 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,080 Isaiah and 2/5. He says walk according to the 188 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,640 light of the Lord, walk in the light of the Lord. 189 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,280 And we visited Powell's Books, this city block of books. 190 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,200 And I remember in this premier place on an end cap, there was a 191 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,680 book called How to Walk. There's a big old thick step by 192 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:38,880 step instruction guide. And I thought what a, what a 193 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:43,120 weird thing to have such a long book over something that's so 194 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,440 banal and ordinary. And, and that's the point. 195 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,880 That's why Paul brings this out. This is how you walk. 196 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,360 He's teaching you now how to walk. 197 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,720 It's so simple. And he says you are to live this 198 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,040 lifestyle, this unique Christian lifestyle, this Christian walk, 199 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:02,920 a life of holiness and righteousness and moral purity. 200 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,800 We don't live this way because we have to live this way. 201 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,040 He's going to make the point we live this way because now we get 202 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,800 to live this way. We love to live this way. 203 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,800 We've been radically and supernaturally born again and 204 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,000 this is what we desire. And as we read through these and 205 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,880 he puts forth these virtues, we say, yes, I love this. 206 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,480 This is what I want to be like. This is who I've been called to 207 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,120 be. So we walk this. 208 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,320 That's so counter intuitive to our culture. 209 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,040 Paul says in verse one, we do this because we have been 210 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:36,440 effectually called according to the gospel and we walk this way 211 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,920 because we've been predestined to sonship and because we've 212 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,360 been redeemed and blood bought by Jesus Christ. 213 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,880 And because we've been sealed by the Holy Spirit and united at 214 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,080 the church and given an inheritance which is a foretaste 215 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,040 of our future inheritance in glory. 216 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,480 And it means that God's act of calling has made us alive. 217 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,440 You read Ephesians 2. He says you were dead in your 218 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,280 trespasses and sins walking according to the course of this 219 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:02,600 world. Something happened and now 220 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,000 you're alive and you have this desire to walk worthy. 221 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,320 And what that something is, is the calling of God who made you 222 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,520 alive. And you as the Christian are now 223 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:17,480 the the same supernatural walking illustration of the 224 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:19,520 power of God that Jesus demonstrated when he went to 225 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:24,160 Lazarus's tomb in John 1143 to 44. 226 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:26,120 Jesus goes to the tomb of a dead man. 227 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,320 He's been there four days. I love it. 228 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:33,480 The King James Version says he stinketh and he goes to the tomb 229 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,080 and he stands in front of the tomb and he declares Lazarus he 230 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:41,040 calls to him come out and Lazarus walks in the same way 231 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,000 God came to you. You were dead in your trespasses 232 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:44,320 and sins. You were walking according to 233 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:45,720 this world. You loved the things the world 234 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:47,320 loved. You were bought into it. 235 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:52,760 Jesus called you and said, come and follow me and you walked and 236 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,920 you must walk. And this is the line of thinking 237 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,280 that Paul writes, says he comes to verse one. 238 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,720 This is in his mind. He says, I therefore a prisoner 239 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,640 of the Lord, you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to 240 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,480 which you have been called, not the way the world lives, not the 241 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,760 way that you used to live. We remember, we keep it in our 242 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,880 mind how we lived before so that we can love and appreciate where 243 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,960 we are now. Now we walk worthy of Our 244 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,240 Calling. And when Paul commands you to 245 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,600 walk worthy, it's pear potato to walk the ordinary walking. 246 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,360 But he says walk worthy. This is the word axios. 247 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,480 The word worthy means literally bringing up the other beam of 248 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,440 the scales. It means literally bringing into 249 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:35,960 equilibrium. And what are we bringing into 250 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,160 equilibrium? You're bringing your life into 251 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,240 equilibrium with your calling. You're bringing it into balance. 252 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,840 James Montgomery Boyce says we use this this worthy language 253 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:51,200 even in our own, even in our own literature and how we speak in 254 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:52,640 the day today. He says if you have a worthy 255 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,240 opponent, if you're facing a worthy opponent, it's somebody's 256 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,640 whose gifts are in balance with your own. 257 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,920 Or if you have a laborer who, who's worthy of his wages, it's 258 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,360 somebody who's who's practice, he's working out in his job, 259 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,240 he's he's earning his wages. Those two are in balance. 260 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,800 So here Paul says your high theology and your doctrine has 261 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,560 to be brought into equilibrium with your practice. 262 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:16,840 The weight of theology has to match the weight of practice in 263 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,800 your life. And what that doesn't mean when 264 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,760 he says walking worthy, that doesn't mean walking deserving, 265 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:25,840 that you're worthy of your calling. 266 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:27,080 You're deserving of your calling. 267 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,000 It's actually exactly the opposite. 268 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:32,600 He says the calling is so valuable that God has put on 269 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,160 your life, that it deserves something of you, that it's, 270 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,440 it's worthy of your life. He uses this elsewhere. 271 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,280 Philippians 127 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the 272 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:48,600 gospel of Jesus Christ, meaning the gospel is worth so much that 273 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,920 your life comes into conformity with it. 274 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,320 Similarly, Colossians 19 to 10. And so from the day we heard, we 275 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,160 have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled 276 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,520 with the knowledge of His will and all spiritual wisdom and 277 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,520 understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. 278 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,360 So the Lord is worthy, and He's so worthy that our lives come 279 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:13,000 into conformity with Him. Matthew 37 to 8 John the Baptist 280 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:18,400 says it this way. Bear fruit worthy of repentance, 281 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,440 saying God has granted you repentance leading to a 282 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,640 knowledge of the truth that is so beautiful, that's so worthy 283 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:27,800 that you bring your life into conformity with it. 284 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,720 The gospel, your calling, repentance, your Lord. 285 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,000 Now walk worthy. And in Ephesians, as you go 286 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,720 through the remainder of the book, Paul will use other 287 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,200 language to to represent the same thing. 288 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:45,080 This worthiness. He'll use the word proper 289 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,960 sometimes, Prepe, he says sexual immorality and all impurity and 290 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,840 covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper 291 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,600 among the Saints, as is seemly, as is suitable, as is 292 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,800 appropriate. Sometimes he'll use the word out 293 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,480 of place. Anakin, he says in Ephesians, 294 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,320 let there be no filthiness or foolish talk, nor crude joking 295 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,520 which are out of place. And you say out of place for 296 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,520 what? Out of place for your walk. 297 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,080 This is out of place for how you are to be walking in the Lord. 298 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,200 And so there's a way that Paul is teaching us as he teaches us 299 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:25,600 how to walk. There's a way that is 300 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:30,600 distinctively Christian to live born out of a transformed life, 301 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,480 born out of relationship with God. 302 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,000 And it's not born out of obligation. 303 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:37,480 We don't do this because we have to. 304 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,320 We do it because we want to. And it's what's taught in these 305 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,800 three chapters. And and this is summed up in 306 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:48,040 this image of the the scales. You're bringing the scales into 307 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,120 equilibrium. Your doctrine with your 308 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,000 practice, your response proportionate to what God has 309 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,320 done for you in Christ. And so for Jamie and I, this has 310 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:58,400 been a struggle from the beginning because there are 311 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:00,840 there's a way that seems natural to you. 312 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,920 In our early Christian walk, it was much easier for me to 313 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,000 prioritize theology. I can sit on my bathroom floor 314 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,599 and read or lay in my bed and read theology from sunup to 315 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:10,960 sundown. Not an issue. 316 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,079 I won't get bored with it. But what was harder for me is 317 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,280 going and putting that into practice, to be the hands and 318 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:17,599 feet and to interact with people. 319 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,079 And for some people it's much more difficult. 320 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,720 So chapters one to three of Ephesians were easier for me 321 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,760 than 4 to 6. And Jamie says that I'm an ivory 322 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:30,360 tower by default, right? That fixed and immovable 323 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:31,960 structure. You sit in there and you study 324 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,080 and you never go anywhere. And she out of love, wanted to 325 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,560 live out the ideal Christian life. 326 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:39,480 She wanted to go and be the hands and feet of Jesus. 327 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:40,960 And theology was an afterthought. 328 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,120 And I said, well, if I'm an ivory tower, then you're just 329 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:44,600 wheels that don't carry anything. 330 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:46,600 You're wheels with no theological freight. 331 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,200 And so the, the dumb metaphor that we've used to kind of 332 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,640 categorize our life and our marriage is we are an ivory 333 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,760 tower on wheels. And so we have theology and we 334 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,520 take it with us when we go to be the hands and feet. 335 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,280 And so it's silly. It's but, but it's, it works for 336 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,880 us. And so for, for me, the priority 337 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,560 would be the theology of knowing that we are the orphans and the 338 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,320 widows and knowing theologically what God has done for us. 339 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,840 And, and I challenge Jamie in that way and she challenges me 340 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,680 to say, no, practically, we go and we love on orphans and 341 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,480 widows and sojourners. And when you bring those two 342 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,880 things together, the theology and the practice, amazing things 343 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,840 begin to happen. There are entire churches and 344 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,480 entire denominations whose practical acts of service 345 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,280 outweighs their knowledge of God, and in the same way, 346 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,560 there's entire churches and denominations whose knowledge of 347 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,200 doctrine outweighs their service, Paul says. 348 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:43,800 Bring them into equilibrium, balance them out and beautiful, 349 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,880 beautiful things will come. And everyone of you has to be an 350 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,320 ivory tower on wheels. You can take that and run with 351 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:52,480 it. And this is a chance for your 352 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,960 Paul's giving you a chance between chapter 3 as you enter 353 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,200 into chapter 4 to, to perform a spiritual diagnosis on yourself 354 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,040 and say, am I in alignment? Where am I out of balance? 355 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:07,400 Where do I need to adjust? Does your practice match the 356 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:09,640 high theology of Ephesians one to three? 357 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,440 And so as, as we go through the remainder of these 6 verses, 358 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:17,600 this, this concept of walking worthy, now that you understand 359 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,480 it, Paul's going to apply it in two places. 360 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,600 He's going to apply it and say, this is how you walk worthy at 361 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,920 the level of the individual. This is what you strive for. 362 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,960 And this is where you apply the doctrine of walking worthy at 363 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,440 the level of, of corporate local church. 364 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:36,480 So individual virtues and corporate unity, elements of 365 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,880 corporate unity, individual virtues and corporate unity. 366 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,720 And to introduce this, as we look toward the individual and, 367 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,840 and how we're called to walk worthy, I want you to remember 368 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,000 this, this verse that Hudson preached last week that kind of 369 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,520 puts us into this section. Paul prays in Ephesians 320 that 370 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,000 God would give us abundantly more than we could ever ask or 371 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,000 think. He prays that God will give us 372 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,360 more than we could ever ask or imagine. 373 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:07,760 And what he means by that is not money or free time or or power. 374 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:13,360 What he's talking about is virtue, that God has declared 375 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:16,800 you to be righteous and now he is making you righteous, patient 376 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,920 and long-suffering and loving and humble and kind and, and 377 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,960 it's a blessedness that you experience the fruit of walking 378 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,040 squarely within the will of God and the peace that comes from 379 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:29,760 that. You know how sweet your sleep is 380 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,280 at night and how quickly you go to bed when you know that your 381 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,560 life is pleasing to Him and you know that you're you're 382 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,960 producing fruit and you're walking according with your 383 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,160 calling. It's a transformed way of 384 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,400 experiencing the world. The inner joy and the peace 385 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,200 that's born out of that relationship. 386 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,840 The inward glory of holiness that's radiating like a theater 387 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,120 and and displaying God's holiness to the world. 388 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,680 A clear conscience for moral purity in a fulfilled and 389 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,960 fruitful life. This is what he's praying for. 390 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:04,600 Our Calling is transformative and Our Calling is eternal. 391 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,960 And Paul teaches that we are destined for glory, and that 392 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,880 glory isn't only a future thing. That glory begins now, and that 393 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,360 glory is today. It's not a worldly glory. 394 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,480 It's a true glory. And true glory, the world wants 395 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:21,720 it and it craves it, and it can't get it, so it offers you 396 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,080 cheap substitutes. But in the church, we have the 397 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,960 real thing. And so it's true glory. 398 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:30,720 It's true virtue, not virtue signaling along with the 399 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,560 culture, but actually becoming a beautiful, righteous, moral, 400 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,880 pure person. And it's true blessing, which 401 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,680 doesn't come from money and sex and power, or a big house or a 402 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,160 big rock on your finger or big muscles. 403 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,160 It comes from living your life as God designed it and walking 404 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,640 according to your calling, knowing that you're operating 405 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:55,880 squarely within the will of God and you're pleasing to Him. 406 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,720 That life will prove to be more blessed than anything the world 407 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,160 can offer you, more than you could ever ask or imagine. 408 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,640 And you can test God on these things. 409 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,560 He will prove Himself. This is the blessed life. 410 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,280 This is the life that Paul's living, which is why in verse 1 411 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,280 he reminds you again, I believe he reminds you here again that 412 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,520 he's a prisoner. We keep saying it over and over. 413 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:17,920 I'm a prisoner for the gospel. I'm a prisoner. 414 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,720 Paul, therefore a prisoner. And I think he reminds you here 415 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,160 again that he's in prison, in prison for two reasons, I think. 416 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,000 First, because he's saying if you live this blessed life, it 417 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,640 also might happen to you. This is what comes from living 418 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:32,880 contrary to the world when you live morally pure. 419 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:37,080 And 2nd and more importantly, I think he's telling you and it's 420 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:41,960 worth it, the life worth living does not depend on money. 421 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,000 The life worthy of living doesn't depend on whether you're 422 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,160 in jail or not. He says the gospel is going out, 423 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:50,000 that the gospel is not bound. Salvation is being worked out. 424 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,320 It's being worked out through me. 425 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,480 I'm living within the will of God. 426 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:54,880 There's joy, there's peace, there's blessing. 427 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,080 It's worth it if you do end up here. 428 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,960 And so he says live the way I'm setting before you in the 429 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,000 chapters that come. And he and he showcases this 430 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,040 lifestyle with six virtues that he lists that every individual 431 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,440 must exhibit to walk worthy. And these are beginning with 432 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:13,560 this, this first virtue on Paul's list. 433 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,360 It's first because it's the greatest, the foremost of all 434 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,880 Christian virtues. The first on his list is 435 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:23,600 humility. A Christian is humble, and 436 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:27,360 humility is quiet strength. It's never weakness. 437 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:30,640 Humility is not weakness. It's the strength that comes 438 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,400 from esteeming yourself rightly before God. 439 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,440 Humility is understanding who you are. 440 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,440 When you know who God is and what you've done and what he's 441 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,720 done for you, there's only one response, and it's humility. 442 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:45,240 And when you esteem yourself that way, all of these other 443 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:46,480 virtues are going to flow from it. 444 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:50,240 It's The Fountainhead. And humility was not a virtue in 445 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,240 the ancient world. If you if somebody was humble, 446 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:55,960 it was derogatory. It was it categorized somebody 447 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:00,560 that's a servant or a slave, servile, a weak or a lesser man 448 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,520 is a humble man. And it became a virtue with 449 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,200 Jesus Christ. It only was a virtue when Jesus 450 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:08,640 came and he said, I am gentle and lowly. 451 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:10,640 I am humble. And he showed us what a humble 452 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:12,000 life, the power of a humble life. 453 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,920 And he preached that this is how we're going to be. 454 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:18,440 This is when it became the first distinctly Christian virtue. 455 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,040 And a virtue is, is literally the word you. 456 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:26,080 You can see it in the word veer is the Latin word for man. 457 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,360 So if you're ever doing a crossword puzzle and it wants a 458 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,440 three letter word from Latin, it's it's veer. 459 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:34,080 And that's where we get virtue, which means manliness. 460 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,920 And so if you're going to be a true man in the ancient Roman 461 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,720 world in which Jesus walked and said you need to be brave and 462 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,160 strong and intellectually astute. 463 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,880 And if you are these things, then you are a true man. 464 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,480 And Jesus comes and he says, no, no, no. 465 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,520 You've heard it said these are the virtues of a true man. 466 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,880 But I say to you, if you want to be a true man and you want to 467 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,800 embody true virtue, it starts with humility and gentleness and 468 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,440 meekness. That is the marks. 469 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:00,880 Those are the marks of a real man. 470 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:03,960 And I've gotten to participate, had the privilege of 471 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,960 participating in manhood ceremonies for individuals in 472 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:08,320 the church and outside of the church. 473 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,680 And I only have one piece of advice every time I come to one 474 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,640 of those and it's be like Jesus Christ. 475 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,840 Because the world's going to tell you this is what a man is. 476 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,000 And that changes from culture to culture. 477 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,160 There's there's what people say this is in America, this is what 478 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:23,960 a man is. But if you want to know what a 479 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:26,680 real man is, open your scriptures to the Gospels. 480 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,920 Read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and model your 481 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,360 life after his. Because he was a man in the best 482 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,960 sense of the word. He was a man, a true man. 483 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,480 And if you are like him, then you'll be walking worthy. 484 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,880 He's everything a man intended is intended to be. 485 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:45,320 So humility is the foundational Christian virtue. 486 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,960 All others flow from it. Which is why when Augustine was 487 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,400 asked what are the Christian graces, premier Christian 488 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,600 graces, he said humility, humility, humility. 489 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,040 Paul in Acts 2019 says he's served the Lord with all 490 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:00,960 humility and with tears through many trials. 491 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,480 Humility is rightly esteeming yourself before God. 492 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,040 And when you have the right view of yourself before God, then the 493 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:09,640 second virtue flows from it. It's meekness. 494 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:14,120 These first two virtues are a pair, humility and meekness. 495 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:16,600 Gentle and lowly, they come together. 496 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,960 Meekness is often misunderstood. It's strength under control. 497 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,920 It's not that you don't have strength, it's that you, you 498 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:26,960 wield it properly. It's prowtase. 499 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,640 Aristotle in the ancient world, when he was describing this 500 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,240 word, he's always trying to find the golden mean between two 501 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:36,200 extremes. And so he said, between the 502 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,720 extremes of being angry all the time and never being angry, you 503 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,200 have meekness. That was his definition. 504 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,280 And you come closer to our modern generation. 505 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:48,000 William Barclay, probably with Aristotle in mind, says that 506 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,240 meekness is always being angry at the right time and never 507 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,400 being angry at the wrong time. And so meekness is not weakness, 508 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:58,800 it's incredible strength, but it's contained and it's 509 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,480 controlled, which is why this word was used in the ancient 510 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,360 world of a powerful animal that has been brought under control, 511 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:07,760 completely under control of its faculties. 512 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,080 That's the image, and Scripture says it was the premier virtue 513 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:14,840 of Moses in Numbers 12/3. It says that Moses was very 514 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,320 meek, more than all people who filled the face of the earth. 515 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,400 And stop there to say meekness and humility. 516 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:24,520 Comparing it to the ancient Roman world, these virtues, 517 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,600 their origin is supernatural. There's a reason that Romans did 518 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,240 not value these things. It's because they were dead in 519 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,960 their trespasses and sins. They did not understand. 520 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,120 And so these things come from the Holy Spirit, which is why 521 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:41,040 when you read Galatians 5, it says the fruit of the Spirit as 522 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,640 Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 523 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:48,800 faithfulness, meekness, and self-control because it is a 524 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,440 fruit that is generated by the Spirit of God. 525 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:56,920 And Jesus says like unto Psalm 1, Jesus says in Matthew 5, the 526 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,440 meek are going to inherit the earth. 527 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,320 The meek are blessed and they're rich and they're so rich they 528 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,760 they will inherit the world. And so gentleness and meekness 529 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,440 come first. I know that if you embody these 530 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,320 things, you will be living just like Jesus Christ. 531 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,040 Because if you go to Matthew 11/29 he uses these two words to 532 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,960 describe himself and his own heart. 533 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,840 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and 534 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,160 lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. 535 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:27,520 It's the same 2 words, gentle and lowly, humble and meek. 536 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,760 Humility and meekness enable the third virtue which is patience, 537 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:37,360 macrothalmia and it means a long-suffering endurance. 538 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,480 The Proverbs talk about this as personal endurance. 539 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:45,080 It's it's used of a city that's under warfare and under siege. 540 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:47,520 It's used of rulers and it's used of Saints. 541 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:51,600 And this is patience that keeps you from lashing out, acting 542 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,600 quickly. It keeps you from vengeance and 543 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,800 from demanding immediate justice. 544 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:01,360 And you have to to just like we paired gentleness with humility. 545 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,800 These second two virtues are a pair because meekness out of 546 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,760 meekness flows forbearance. And so patience or forbearance 547 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:10,280 or a pair. If you're long-suffering, then 548 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:12,680 you bear with others in love, which comes to the 4th 1 549 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,720 forbearance anexomanoy. It means bearing up or enduring 550 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,400 weight or carrying weight, enduring people, enduring 551 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,240 hardships. If you want to attach a verse to 552 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,120 this virtue, you can attach first Corinthians 412 to 13. 553 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,400 This is how we embody this forbearance. 554 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,800 Paul says when reviled, how do you respond? 555 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,400 You bless. When you're persecuted, you 556 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,680 endure. When you're slandered, you 557 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:42,920 entreat. That's forbearance. 558 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,680 And it kind of goes with this next one because all of these 559 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,800 things he says must be done in love. 560 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:53,600 The 5th virtue is love agape. It's not a possessing love, it's 561 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,640 a giving love. It's a love that is external and 562 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,640 moves outward to others. It's an active, giving, 563 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,840 charitable love. And he's going to say in the 564 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,840 very next chapter of Ephesians, therefore be imitators of God as 565 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,480 beloved children. And we're going to continue to 566 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:13,680 walk there, he says, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave 567 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,760 himself up for us. And so love is the motive and 568 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,040 the bond and the fuel of all the other virtues. 569 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,920 And it's essential for you as we go through this list and you 570 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,360 say, you see, meekness and humility and patience. 571 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:27,640 Virtues are things that you can work on. 572 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,000 The the last virtue he's going to say in a minute is, is 573 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,320 eagerness. Make every effort. 574 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,360 Make every effort to embody these things. 575 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,520 Challenge yourself in these ways. 576 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,160 Clinton Arnold applies that it says if you have a tendency to 577 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,400 be proud, arrogant, egocentric, and boastful, then you need to 578 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,040 cultivate the virtue of humility. 579 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,000 If you're quick to get angry, then you need to cultivate the 580 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,800 virtue of patience. If you're insensitive and 581 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:52,560 bullish and rough and bossy and quick to impose on others, you 582 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:54,800 need to cultivate the virtue of gentleness. 583 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,440 If you're intolerant with the shortcomings of other people, 584 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,200 then you need to work on bearing with them and love. 585 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:05,280 And Paul's going to continue this with the 6th and final 586 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:09,280 virtue. It's eagerness, verse 3, eager 587 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:13,280 to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. 588 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,120 So if you want your life to be blessed and a source of blessing 589 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,480 to other people, if you want your life to be characterized by 590 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:23,920 the metaphor of a strong tree near planted by a stream, then 591 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,000 remember it took effort on behalf of God. 592 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:28,440 And he's been working and calling from all eternity that 593 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:29,920 you might be this kind of person. 594 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:34,360 And now he says it also takes effort on your part to embody 595 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,960 these virtues. The word eager in Greek means 596 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:42,720 literally to make haste, to be busy, to be diligent, to make 597 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,920 every effort to apply yourself to these things. 598 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:50,600 And elsewhere in the Bible, Paul uses this word to to talk about 599 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:54,440 enduring through a long journey or enduring through completing a 600 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,480 difficult task. It takes sustained and Godward 601 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,560 effort to walk worthy of the gospel, which is why the 602 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,680 metaphor of the tree is used because it takes a fig tree a 603 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,600 minimum of 10 years to establish the root system and the canopy 604 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,360 so that it can be a refreshment to the others around it. 605 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,560 And in a similar vein, Mark Dever, I wish I could remember 606 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,520 where he said this, but I heard Mark Dever talking about how 607 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,480 long it takes to bring a church from a place of unhealth to a 608 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:24,280 place of health. How long does it take to get a 609 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,840 church from an unhealthy place to a healthy place? 610 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,560 He says in his experience, it's about 20 years, 20 year 611 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,520 transformation and not only 20 years, but 20 years of sustained 612 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:38,200 effort, effort and doing the right things, prioritizing the 613 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:40,400 correct things. To quote Eugene Peterson, it's a 614 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,120 long obedience in the same direction and churches think if 615 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,240 we hire the right pastor and make the bylaw changes that are 616 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:48,760 necessary, then we're going to be healthy. 617 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,000 And you can see here that it's it's not the case. 618 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,760 Paul says no, it takes the cultivation of godliness and 619 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,920 virtue in the decades that that requires, coupled with the 620 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:01,160 decades of loving your church and pursuing unity together. 621 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,720 And in the same way, pastors think if, if I would just get my 622 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,840 Bible degree, then that would qualify me to be a pastor and I 623 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:09,720 would be ready. And we said what's missing in 624 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,360 that is yes, the knowledge of God, yes, the Bible degree, but 625 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,240 you have to be an approved Workman. 626 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,880 You have to be qualified through these virtues. 627 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,360 And there's a, there's a quote that I want to bring up that I, 628 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:27,080 I read to our pastors last Wednesday that sums up the kind 629 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:28,440 of Christian that we're talking about. 630 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,320 And it shows beautifully what's required to be this kind of 631 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:36,880 vessel for ministry. This author said that I think 632 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,760 this is even what it means to be a tree near planted by a stream. 633 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:42,560 The author said the old seminary professors used to speak about a 634 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,160 necessary trait for pastoral ministry called gravitas. 635 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,160 It refers to a soul that's been developed enough. 636 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,320 It's developed enough spiritual mass to be attractive. 637 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,880 Like gravity, it makes the soul appear old. 638 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:55,640 But gravitas has nothing to do with age. 639 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,200 It has everything to do with wounds that have healed well, 640 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:00,440 failures that have been redeemed, sins that have been 641 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,240 forgiven, and thorns that have settled into the flesh. 642 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,640 These severe experiences with life expand the soul until it 643 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:08,840 appears larger than the body that contains it. 644 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,239 Then it is large enough to proclaim a holy joy, which is 645 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:14,719 what makes the pastor's soul so attractive. 646 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,520 So the soul, your soul has to expand to be larger than your 647 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:27,639 body in these ways, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, 648 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:32,159 love, and eagerness. And if these qualities are yours 649 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:34,760 and they are increasing, then God will use you and He will 650 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,239 bless you. Ephesians 320 says far more 651 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:41,239 abundantly than you can ever ask or imagine because of the power 652 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:45,600 that is work within you. And important to note as well is 653 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:50,159 in verse 3 is that this this kind of individual virtue worked 654 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:52,760 out corporately brings unity in the church. 655 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,000 This is the unity that we're trying to maintain. 656 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,680 And you have to see here that we don't build unity as a church. 657 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:02,080 It says we maintain the unity that the Spirit has created in 658 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:04,960 us. We maintain the the Spirit's 659 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,120 unity. We preserve the unity. 660 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:12,240 We don't develop it, so Jesus purchased our unity when he died 661 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:17,400 on the cross and now he says your job is to maintain it, Ian 662 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,040 Hamilton said rightly. He pointed out there are a few 663 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:22,560 things more tragic and distressing than a disunified, 664 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:27,240 disunited, fractured family. It becomes an object of pity if 665 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:30,360 not derision, never a model to cherish or emulate. 666 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:32,800 You can apply that to a local church as well. 667 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:35,080 There are a few things more tragic and distressing than a 668 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:39,040 disunited, fractured church. But you say the opposite of 669 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:42,880 that. How beautiful is a United Church 670 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,520 with the unity of the Spirit? How fruitful is a church like 671 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:49,000 this, where these virtues are there and increasing and they 672 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,400 have preserved the unity of the Spirit? 673 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,200 And then Paul applies the worthy walk to our corporate life, the 674 00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:00,400 corporate elements of unity. It's really interesting that 675 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,080 there is no transition here. There is no lead up. 676 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:04,920 There's no, that's an abrupt change. 677 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,120 There's not even a conjunction. There's no grammatical 678 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,680 signalling at all. It's just a stop, an abrupt 679 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:11,320 change. And so in this sermon, I want to 680 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:14,440 have an abrupt change as well. And I want to invite the choir 681 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,320 to come up and I want to invite the deacons to come up and to 682 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:20,920 pass out the Lord's Supper because I don't want to go 683 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:22,880 through the rest of the sermon without the Lord's Supper in our 684 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,760 hands. And I don't want to go through 685 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:26,840 the rest of the sermon without stopping for a moment and 686 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,920 singing about unity and cherishing this unity that the 687 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,360 the Spirit has created in US. Deacons, go ahead. 688 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,480 As you get here, pass out the bread as we sing. 689 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:40,400 And for everyone here, as the choir sings this song, I want 690 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,440 you to meditate on the words. And when we come to verse 4, 691 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,880 specifically to this passage about unity, I want you to sing 692 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:51,800 along with the choir, Jim. We'll give you the cue 3 and 4. 693 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:55,400 Jim says sing on three and four and focus in and sing these 694 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,920 words about unity when we get there. 695 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,600 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 696 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,640 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 697 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,960 our website at www.heritageshawnee.org.