Warnings, Exaltations & Instructions: Further Words for Ephesus
Ephesians 1:15-16; 4:1-3
Have you noticed something that has changed recently in life? If you buy any new product in a store and compare it to what it used to look like, you will notice several things. First of all the packaging has probably changed, but you will also notice that the amount of warnings on the labels has also dramatically increased. The morning I began to write this sermon, I put this to task and checked two items I use every morning. On my deodorant there was a warning telling me that it was for “external use only”. Then, I checked my toothpaste, and sure enough, I found out that this product is not intended to be eaten.
If you truly take time to look, you will find many such warning labels. On a bottle of dog shampoo, you can find out that the contents of the bottle should not be fed to fish. On a curling iron, you find the statement, “Warning: This product can burn eyes”. If you read your little booklet that comes with your hair dryer, you will learn that you should not use the dryer in the shower or while you are sleeping. A certain toner company that makes toner for laser printers found it necessary to tell it’s users that they are not to eat the toner. In the book for my universal remote control for the television, radio, VCR and such, it tells me that the remote is not dishwasher safe. And finally, on the package for a wristwatch there is a statement that exclaims in bold lettering: Warning! This is not underwear! Do not attempt to put in pants. I don’t even want to know about the situation that caused the company to have to state this on their packaging.
Now, these are some silly examples of warning signs, but believe it or not, these statements are there because some people need to know this information. All warnings and instructions are put on products for our protection and safety, and we come in contact with useful warnings every day. For example, a do not enter – one way sign is very important if you try to enter the highway the wrong way by accident. This is very helpful to everyone who comes in contact with it.
Because warnings and instructions are there for our benefit, we should make sure that we always pay extra attention to the words that God uses to give us protection or advice in His Word. Last week, we started a new series in which we are going to take a look at the words God has given to the churches to help them out. He shares some exaltations about what they are doing well that show what we can emulate. He also shares some warnings to the church to get their attention and get them back on the right track. He also shares other information which will help them to continue on the right track. This morning, we are going to take a look at some more words of wisdom that God had for the church at Ephesus. You can follow along in your sermon notes as we look in Ephesians 1:15-16 and Ephesians 4:1-3.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
This morning, we are going to take a look at two more exaltations that the Lord gives the believers at Ephesus, and we will take a look at the instructions they are given that will lead to them leading a life worthy of the calling they have received. Before we do this, let’s ask the Lord to bless our time.
Further Exaltations: Other Things They Do Well
Last week, we discovered five things about the church in Ephesus that they had done well. They were commended for their service, steadfastness, security, selectiveness, and their perseverance through suffering. When we look back to the book of Ephesians, we see two other aspects of their Christian walk that is worthy of emulating.
Great Faith:
Now, everyone on earth has faith whether they are religious or not. After all, think about it this way. When you flip on a light switch, what do you expect to happen? You have faith in the switch and electrical wiring in the house and trust that the light will turn on. When you turn the ignition switch in you car, what do you expect to happen? Some of us have more faith than others that the car is going to start. When you are sick, you go to the doctor with a name you probably can’t pronounce. Then, he gives you a prescription you cannot read. You, in turn, hand it to a pharmacist that you have probably never met. Then, they give you a medication that you don’t understand everything about. But yet, you take the medication out of faith in the system that it will help to make you better. That’s living by faith.
If I were to ask you to explain faith, what would you say? Many people automatically answer with the verse found in Hebrews 11:1 which states: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” That is a great Sunday School answer, but what does that mean? Most people don’t know. A. W. Tozer explains the verse this way. “Faith is seeing the invisible, but not the nonexistent.” Some people think faith is believing in something that is not actually there; however, great Biblical faith believes God when He tells us there is a reality which we cannot see. Faith means we keep our eyes on God who controls the circumstances – not on the circumstances themselves.
Author Tim Hansel told a story about a day when he and his son Zac were out in the country climbing around on some cliffs. Tim heard a voice from above him yell, “Hey dad! Catch me!” He turned around to see Zac joyfully jumping off a rock straight at him. Zac had jumped first and then yelled for his dad to catch him. Tim became, in his own words, “an instant circus act.” He caught Zac and they both fell to the ground. For the next few moments, Tim could not even speak because of his exasperation. Finally, he asked his son, “Can you give me one good reason why you did that?” Zac calmly responded by saying, “Sure! Because you’re my dad.”
This young child knew something that these believers at Ephesus got as well. He knew that he could trust his father completely. He had faith in his father so much that he jumped before calling for his father’s help. Thankfully, when God calls us to have faith, He is not telling us to take a blind leap into space most of the time. He just wants us to take Him at His Word. When He tells us that all things work to the good of those who love Him, He wants to see us believe that with all our heart even during those tough stretches. When He tells us to wait for His timing, He wants to see us be patient and wait for His time. That is what faith is: Believing that God is who He says He is and trusting that His words are true and the best instruction that we can receive. The believers at Ephesus had this type of faith. After all, how do you think they could put up with the daily persecution they faced? It was only through faith.
Love for the Saints:
Have you seen the new Cingular cell phone commercial? In the commercial, a mother gives her daughter a new phone, and they are yelling back and forth at each other. However, the words they are yelling don’t really seem to match their tone. The mother yells that the daughter is going to get this phone and like it. Then, the daughter yells back – “I really like it and am thankful that you go it for me.” Then the mother replies, “I love you and I’m glad you like it.”
I have to admit that I didn’t get this commercial right away. After all, they were yelling at each other like they were angry with each other. Basically, it was like many conversations that parents have with their teenagers. However, their words did not line up with their body language and tone at all. Their words were loving and appreciative but said in a harsh and spiteful way. This is why the commercial was confusing. In pre-marriage counseling sessions, I stress the importance of sending clear messages to your partner. You do this by saying the right words with the right tone and right attitude. All three have to be in line or else confusion can result. After all, my wife would never believe me if I told her “I love you” while rolling my eyes with anger in my voice.
I think sometimes God gets confused when He sees our relationships in the church. We know we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We even say that we love them and care for them. But, then our actions don’t match our words. We say we love someone and then we talk about them behind their backs or complain to someone else about another believer. That’s confusing to me. When our actions and words do not match up, we are not sending a clear signal, and that confuses me to no end. And, is it really love if our actions don’t back our words?
The church at Ephesus was praised for their love for all the saints. They truly loved each other and I am sure they backed up this love through actions. They were actually nice to each other to their backs and faces. Was this because everyone was perfect in the church? No – no one is perfect. These believers just made it a priority to put the second greatest commandment to love their neighbor as themselves into practice. They loved their brothers and sisters – warts and all. Because of this, they were rightly commended for their love.
Instructions: Living A Life Worthy of the Calling
Just as warning signs can be silly and over simplified, the same is true of instruction labels as well. Did you know that Dial soap instructs you to use their product like regular soap? At a 7-11 convenience store, I even noticed a muffin with the following: Remove wrapper, open mouth, insert muffin, and eat. Now, these instructions may be oversimplified for some of our tastes, but having simple instructions are not always bad. After all, how many of you like simple instructions when trying to get to an unknown location? After less than a month of living in Robertsdale, I asked for directions to a parishioner’s house. I was told to look for the first house past the old junkyard that had been cleaned up and taken out. These were simple directions to give but they were not very simple directions for someone who had not lived there to see the junkyard taken out 6 years earlier.
One area I am thankful for simple directions is in the Word of God. Paul tells us that we are to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. What in the world does that mean? Well, he knew we would need this simplified, so he laid out three qualities that we need to have to get there.
Be Humble:
According to the children’s dictionary, this is what the word humble means.
Humble – adjective – Not proud; modest. A humble person does not
think he or she is better than anyone else.
This is a rather simple word to define, but it is a much harder word to put into practice. We all know that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. What does that mean? It means that other people are just as important as we are. It means that others opinions are just as valid as ours are. It means that others preferences should be held with the same respect as our preferences. It means that others needs are just as important as our needs. Do you agree with that this morning? Do your actions back up the fact that you do believe this? I tell you this morning that this is just the first step in being humble.
If you look closely at Scripture, you will see that loving others as ourselves involves more than just treating them, their ideas, and their preferences as equals. We are also to take the next step. 1 Corinthians 10:24 tells us that “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” What does that mean for the church? Really, I want you to think about that for a minute. We as the church are a body of believers. So, who should we be looking out for? If we look to the good of others first, then we must make sure we are doing everything in our power to be a church that looks to bless the lost. Everything we do should be to see people come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and help them grow in their relationship with the Lord. In order to do this, we may have to let go of our preferences in order to meet theirs. That is what humility is all about. It is putting yourself aside in order to really serve and meet the needs of those around you. Are we doing all we can to meet the needs of those around us or are we too busy clutching onto our desires, preferences and wants? We need to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in this area and for the strength to put ourselves aside so we can serve others.
Be Gentle:
Once again, let’s look to the dictionary.
Gentle – adjective – mild and kindly. Soft or low. Easy to handle.
Did you know that the word gentle comes from an old French word that means noble or born of a good family? Because being kind was thought to be a quality of those of noble birth, this word came to mean one who was mild and kindly. As we read our instructions this morning, we find that we are to be gentle as Christians. I want to ask you a question this morning. Who comes from a more noble family than Christians? We are children of the most high God, so gentleness should emanate from every part of us.
I love Matthew Henry’s explanation of the word gentleness also translated as meekness in the King James Version. He states that meekness is, “that excellent disposition of soul that makes men unwilling to provoke others, and not easily to be provoked.” If you find yourself getting into situations where you know that you are going to provoke others, then you are lacking in the area of gentleness. Also, if you find yourself being provoked easily, you may also be lacking in this area of meekness and gentleness. Being gentle is not about being weak. It’s about being strong enough to restrain yourself when others provoke you or when you have the chance to provoke them. Our society is in desperate need for someone to show them the way to be gentle.
Be Patient:
Let’s look for a last time to the dictionary.
Patient – adjective – Having or showing an ability to put up with
hardship, pain, trouble, or delay without getting angry or upset.
I love the King James rendering of this word as it is translated as longsuffering. Patience is so much more than just waiting. It’s the ability to wait even when there is injury to body or soul without seeking revenge.
This is a tough teaching. After all, I have trouble waiting in traffic. How then can I be expected to be patient when someone has hurt my feelings or when I am going through the tough times? That is the beauty of all of this. I can’t do it on my own. I can try with all my might to be patient and it will never happen; however, if I let the Holy Spirit dwell in me, He will make patience radiate from me. If I rely on God and His promise that one of the fruit of the Spirit is patience, then I will show patience when I let the Spirit lead. Through our own strength, however, it is a losing battle. It comes down to this scenario – will I let the Spirit lead when the flesh screams out for revenge and instant gratification.
Just remember this. Would you rather have your roast cooked in the microwave or in a slow cooker? If you want the full flavor and goodness, you will let it simmer all day in the slow cooker even though you have to sacrifice the time. I have found that God is almost always like the slow cooker. Be patient – something much better than what you could have had right away is coming.
If we keep these three qualities, we are given a promise by Paul. These qualities are the key to keeping unity through the Spirit and will result in peace. Isn’t that what we all want in the church? I hope that is your desire – to have a church that is full of peace. It is how God intended it to be, and it is possible if we live a life worthy of the calling that we have received by living a life full of humility, gentleness, and patience.
This morning, I urge you to follow the instructions of the Lord – they are not silly or unnecessary. They are the key to a fruitful church. Chances are, if you are imperfect like I am, you need the Lord’s help in one of these areas. Do you need more faith? Do you need to show and not just say that you love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you need to be more humble, gentle, or patient? Whatever it may be, I invite you to come to the altar or pray at your seat and ask God for more. Otherwise, the whole church could suffer. Remember, just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest chain, a church is only as strong as its weakest member. Will you do your part to make sure the church is as effective as it needs to be by making a commitment to allow Jesus Christ to change you into someone who is worthy of the calling that we have received. Let’s pray.
