Come...together Series

COME … TOGETHER

Ephesians 4.1-3

S: Unity

C: Attitude

Pr: WE ARE TO WALK AND WORK TOGETHER.

?: How? How do we achieve this kind of unity?

KW: Virtue

TS: We will find in Ephesians 4.1-3 four virtues we are to practice in order for us to achieve unity.

Type: Propositional; topical

The ____ virtue is…

I. HUMILITY (pride)

II. GENTLENESS (harshness, critical)

III. PATIENCE (hurried)

IV. SERVICE (hindrance)

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• Understand that unity is a sacred purpose.

• Understand that unity is practical in terms of achieving kingdom purposes.

• Put to death: pride, “me-first”, my way is best, critical spirits…

Version: ESV

RMBC 26 August 07 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Personal

I don’t remember much from Kindergarten . . .

. . . but I do remember that I had the prettiest teacher ever, Mrs. Forsythe.

. . . and I do remember being taken for an orientation day by my mom and I thought that the room had the coolest toys I had ever seen, but I was afraid of the other kids that were already playing with them.

. . . and I also remember that we were required to take naps, lying out mats on the floor, and we would rest (after all these years, I have come to the conclusion this was for Mrs. Forsythe and not for us).

. . . and I remember playing tag a lot outside; as I recall it the girls were always chasing me.

During those days, there were not many, if any, nursery schools and day care centers.

Kindergarten was the first opportunity for many children to develop socialization skills.

One of the things we were graded on was whether we did work and play well with others.

That was on my report card.

Was it on yours?

By the way, how are you doing on that today?

1. Do you work and play well with others?

This is something that God cares about.

God cares about our relationships with each other.

He cares about the application of the oneness He has given us.

But sometimes, admittedly, we want it our way.

We would rather not be one, but something else…

ILL Unity (H)

There was a pastor that was giving a "children’s sermon" to all the young children. And as they sate before him, a bright-eyed three-year-old girl listened intently as he explained that God wanted them all to get along and love each other. "God wants us all to be one," he said. To which the little girl replied, "But I don’t want to be one. I want to be four!"

Marilyn McCoy, Chester, Vermont.

Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom."

I don’t know what you want to be, but God wants us to be one.

But this is harder for us than we might understand, because…

2. We live in a culture that elevates the importance of the individual.

We live in a culture than emphasizes equality and rights.

We believe that our individual rights are important.

We believe in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Sometimes, however, our application of these principles contradicts biblical truth.

For while we emphasize the importance of the individual, over and over again, God gives us instruction on unity and how we are to behave in community.

God not only cares on how we conduct ourselves individually, He really cares on how we do it in the context of the church.

That being so, we must understand that…

3. WE ARE TO WALK AND WORK TOGETHER.

Hear today’s text…

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We are all on a journey today.

And Paul is telling us to walk in such a way that is worthy of our calling.

In other words, we must realize that we carry the name of Christ upon us.

We are Christians!

We must live worthy of this name.

We must live our faith.

It is not to be a matter of convenience.

You see, the Christian life is more than just believing.

It also includes belonging.

So how do we achieve this kind of unity?

Well…

4. We will find in Ephesians 4.1-3 four virtues we are to practice in order for us to achieve unity.

First, we must realize that unity has already been given to us.

We just need to live it out.

ILL Unity (S)

Paul Thigpen has written:

Division is actually a lie, a sin against the truth, because the truth is that we are indeed one – one family, one household of faith, whose dividing walls of hostility have been torn down by Christ’s sacrifice. When we see ourselves as divided, we’re failing to see aright; we’re ignoring and denying reality.