Walk Worthy Of Your Calling Series

DESTINY #4: WALK WORTHY OF YOUR CALLING

(May 2010 – Beausejour Church – Pastor Chris Jordan)

INTRO: What a joy and a privilege it is to be your pastor! I love this church! Explain…

REVIEW WEEKS #1-3: Our Destiny Series in Ephesians.

• The first three chapters talk about what God has DESTINED us to BE.

• Chapter #1: We are Chosen, Adopted, Accepted, Redeemed etc.

• Chapter #2: We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and we are His masterpiece.

• Chapter #3: God wants us to dream big and take the limits off:

• The last three chapters talk about what God has DESTINED us to DO.

OPENING TEXT:

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” (Ephesians 4:1).

• What does it mean to walk worthy of the calling? We have a DESTINY in Him!

• Amplified Bible adds “with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service.”

• Eph. 2:10: “For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”

• This is our destiny. We are called to live extraordinary lives in the Kingdom!

ILLUSTRATION: From the movie The Lion King:

Young lion cub Simba was born to be king, but because of a mistake, he ran away from the kingdom and ended up ‘in the world’ living a “Hakuna Matata” life – no worries, no responsibilities. However, he had a vision of his father saying, “Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king!” We need to remember who we are in CHRIST!

O We are children of the King – royalty – let’s act like it!

ILLUSTRATION: THE DASH – what will you do with the life you’ve been given?

When you look at a tombstone in the graveyard, there are three things: The date a person was born, the date they die, and the dash, which represents their life. You have no control over when you are born, or when you will die. But what will you do with THE DASH?

• (Answer = walk worthy of the calling with which you were called!)

THE BIG IDEA: God has called us to walk worthy of our calling, by walking in love and unity with others, and by doing our part to help the body to be healthy and growing.

1. WALK IN LOVE AND UNITY:

“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.” (Ephesians 4:2-3).

• Lowliness = humility – having a humble opinion of yourself. (opposite of PROUD).

• - following the example of Jesus who did not come to be served, but to serve others.

• Gentleness = being gentle is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit

• Longsuffering = patience – another fruit of the Holy Spirit

• “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

• Bearing with one another in love = making allowance for each other’s faults (NLT).

• Keep the unity of the Spirit = in the bond of peace – guard the unity!

• The Holy Spirit is key to being Christ-like (the fruit of the Spirit).

• ILLUSTRATE: When we walk in the Spirit, we become JUICY FRUIT CHRISTIANS!

• How’s your fruit? Is it juicy? Do people walk by and want what they see?

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

• Seven times in this passage Paul used the word “one” to picture the importance of unity!

• One Spirit, One Lord (Jesus), One Father = unity in the God-head.

• One body = one family of God. We are family!

FAMILY ILLUSTRATION:

A little five year old boy one day was playing with his two year old brother when the two year old reached up and pulled his older brother’s hair. He screamed in pain, and his mother came rushing in. He cried and said that his younger brother had pulled his hair. His mom said, “Well, he’s only two years old and he doesn’t know what its like to have his hair pulled.” The mom left the room and seconds later she heard another scream, but this time it was the two year old screaming in pain. She rushed in and asked what had happened, to which the five year old explained, “You said he didn’t know what it felt like, well, now he does.”