"Practice, Practice, Practice"
Ephesians 4:1-6
As Paul opens this chapter he feels compelled to remind us again of his status-he is writing as a prisoner-now he is not in the system as we sometimes say-he wants it to be clear he is a prisoner of the Lord. A prisoner of the Lord has a very unique status:
A prisoner is someone who has been captured. Paul has been captured by the grace of God. As a result he has surrendered completely.
In other words Paul volunteered for service. To determine your status in life there are a variety of people we might go to….
If we want to know our medical status we see our doctor---have an annual physical—sometimes we walk out with a list of tests or prescriptions we might need.
If we want to know the status of our car we got to a mechanic. I remember years ago were buying a used car for one of our boys and I found this car I really liked and the price was great. So I took it for a test drive and took it to a friend of mine who is an amazing mechanic; he actually pulled out a stethoscope like a doctor uses and listened to the engine—then gave me the news---good looking car but the engine block is cracked. Not a good status.
If we want to know our financial status we go to our banker or look at our most recent statement----we may then realize that our outgo is not as good as our income—so our status is in trouble.
If we’re thinking about our appearance we might go to the beautician/barber and they say, yep that’s a gray hair there and yes you have less hair than the last time you were here. ?
Now let me tell you if you want to know your spiritual status you go to Doctor Jesus. The great physician and the best question you can ask would be “Jesus can you give me some advice? Can you give me some pointers? Some next steps I need to take? HIS ANSWER: Glad you asked. As a matter of fact I can. There are several things He would tell us. How do I know? Because He tells us right here.
1. Live worthy of your calling. As a wise pastor once told me…..
God calls every believer to full time Christian service.
• Our calling is not to a one hour weekly worship service.
• Our calling is not to only act like a believer when we are around other believers.
• Our calling is to live 24/7 for Jesus Christ.
Too many people connect their spiritual life with a church building. Let me tell you that is OT thinking. And you need to let go of that. A friend of mine posted this on social media this week:
I believe churches are meant for praising God. But so are 2 AM car rides, showers,
Coffee shops, the gym, conversations with strangers, etc. Don’t let a building confine your faith because we will never change the world
by just going to church; we need to be the church.
You see in the OT the church was a temple; a building. In the NT, we are the church. Never lose sight of that truth. You are the church every day walking around in shoe leather; you are the only Bible some people will ever read and your witness could be the very one that will bring them into the kingdom of God. Again, never lose sight of that truth. Live worthy of your calling.
So what does it mean to live worthy? Worthy of what? Worthy of the calling you have received. The one who died for you has placed a calling; a purpose on your life. So live worthy by Possessing and Practicing these 3 qualities.
A. Practice humility and gentleness. Now we often refer to someone who has a law practice or a medical practice. That means at least two things. (1) It means they basically operate/run a business. (2) It also means it is a practice. They practice on you. They’re not perfect. They will make mistakes. They’re human. At times they will even have to redo something. Go back to court. Go back to surgery. These things can be costly and they can also be painful. But this applies to all of us in our daily work and daily activities. None of us; none of us are perfect. We will make mistakes; we will fall down but the good news is we can all get back up. This is because:
We serve the God of a 2nd chance. And a 3rd and a 4th.
So all of this takes practice. Patience and humility do not just happen. And here is why…. We live in a very hurried society---we want everything right now and our pride gets in the way. Hurry and Pride are enemies of Patience and Humility. Just when we feel like we become humble, we get all proud about it. Just when we think we’re learning patience, we grow weary of waiting and we break down and lose the bit of patience we have learned.
That’s why it’s so important to remember that we serve the God of a 2nd chance. Let me assure you, you will not get it right the first time. Patience and humility take practice. Let me say this about humility.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself.
Humility is thinking of yourself less.
It is placing the needs of others before your own. It is lifting others up even when you are down. More than anything, it is modeling the example of Jesus. Look at Philippians 2:5-8.
B. Next, practice patience by learning to love everyone. This is what I mean here. There are people who are easier to love than others. Right? You marry someone because they’re easy to love. A good friend treats you with respect, your opinions matter, they look you in the eye when you are speaking. In the OT book of Isaiah we find a prophecy concerning Jesus. It is quoted also in the Gospel of Matthew. Isaiah says this speaking of Jesus.…Listen….”he will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally, He will cause justice to be victorious.” Now I especially want to focus for a moment on the first part of that verse …… Jesus will not shout or fight or raise his voice in public. In all that Jesus went through, the pain of the cross, the trials and tribulations Jesus remained gentle and kind. He didn’t come to manipulate people…He didn’t come to debate or force Himself on anyone. He was gentle, compassionate, tender in the way He treated people. Never too busy to tend to the needs of anyone. Their status did not matter. Their wealth did not matter. They were His children. This scripture also tells us that “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.” In OT times reeds were often used to make a musical instrument. They are still used in wind instruments. In the OT when the reed would become cracked or soft, it was considered to be worthless so it was tossed aside. And when a lamp burned all the way down to the wick, it would no longer produce any light. Broken people can be like that and so we often toss them aside as though they no longer have value. Jesus loves us not because of your potential but just because He does. There is nothing you can do or have to do to earn His love.
I am intrigued that in this passage to describe Jesus, Isaiah chooses to describe His humility and gentleness. The NT continues to speak about this.
• Jesus says He is gentle and humble in heart.
• Paul says an overseer in the church should be gentle.
• Paul told Timothy to pursue gentleness
• Paul says he and his fellow workers treated new believers with gentleness, like a mother caring for her children.
Gentleness is sort of like holding a newborn baby. I will never forget the first time I held our first born son. There’s nothing like it. Don’t know how long I held him but when I put him down I remember my arms were stiff and a bit sore. Now mind you he only weighed less than 8 pounds but I was so careful, so afraid I might drop him. I was trying to be as gentle as possible. Now by the time the 4th one comes along you throw them in the air and do flips with them. JK. Kinda.
We hand that baby off to someone else to hold and we say “now be careful, hold her head up, hold her close.” We do it with gentleness. Philippians 4 says, “Let your gentleness be known to all. The Lord is near.” Interesting, isn’t it that because Jesus is near, could come at any time, His presence is right with us at every moment; the best thing we can do to share our faith is get this: be gentle with others.
C. Next, Develop Unity by practicing peace. Be at peace with as many people as possible. Paul said, “If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.” I like it that Paul says, if possible. Sometimes it’s just not possible. He also says do it to the best of your ability. It takes at least two to make peace. And sometimes the other individual isn’t interested. But if you attempt to do so you can find peace. Unity is a wonderful thing. We need in the work office, we need it in our family; we definitely need it in the church. So put it into practice.
If we do these things, here is the result: there will be Oneness with God and in the church. And with Oneness we can do anything. One mind, in agreement; one direction, together … that’s what makes the impossible work.
Years ago in Canada, one evening, a young child was lost. As you can imagine the parents were completely distraught. They lived in a farming community and somehow the child wandered into large wheat field. It was a very cold night. Fortunately there was a full moon so it gave them light to search by. People from the community came out to help. They made their way through the field but could not find the child. After some time someone shouted I have an idea. Let’s line up on one side of the field, hold hands and walk across together and then perhaps we will find him. So they did. As the made their journey it wasn’t long before one of the people shouted, “I’ve found him! I’ve found him!” Unfortunately it was too late. Hypothermia had set in and the young boy was gone. At that point someone in the group cried out in grief: this is terrible! “Why didn’t we join hands sooner?”
It takes God’s people working together, hand in hand to make things happen. And when we work in that fashion the impossible can take place. When we run in scattered directions, the church dies; families fade away, businesses stop making progress. But when we join hands, amazing things can and will happen. I tell you church. We are better together. Alone, not so much; but when we join hands and work together God can transform an entire community.
