Illus: A man inherited a little over $3 billion dollars. He had three sons. He told his sons that since he now had all this money, he would like to know what each of them would like to have. He stressed that MONEY was no object.
• His first son said that he had always wanted a Jaguar. The father went out, and since money was no object, bought him 7 Jaguars in different colors, so that he would have a different one to drive every day of the week.
• His second son said that he always wanted a motorcycle. The father went out, and bought him 30 new motorcycles -- 10 dirt bikes, 10 hogs, and 10 touring bikes, so he would have a different bike to ride every day of the month.
• His third and youngest son was only 8 years old. The little guy said that he simply wanted a teddy bear. So, money being no object, his father went out and bought his son the Chicago Bears.
None of us have been blessed to have such gifts as these. But suppose you were in terrible shape physically and you were going to die unless someone donated an organ that you needed. Suppose there was a person who loved you enough to donate the organ you needed, even though it cost them their life.
Wouldn’t you feel a certain obligation to that person? You should, if they were gracious enough to do that for you.
This is exactly what the Lord Jesus has done for us, He died that we might have spiritual life.
In this passage, the apostle Paul is alluding to the fact that God the Father has done so much for us, and now we should feel a certain obligation to Him.
We OWE GOD, but it is a debt we could never repay. We should be appreciative enough that we will live a life that is pleasing to Him.
Look at how this gratitude should reflect itself. It should reflect itself -
I. IN OUR CHRISTIAN WALK
Look at Ephesians 4:1-3 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Notice, Paul refers to himself here as a prisoner of the Lord for a reason.
WHY DOES HE REFER TO HIMSELF AS A PRISONER?
• He wanted these Ephesians to know that a “prisoner” does not have charge of his life
• A Prisoner lives a restricted life, he is under the control of someone else
• Christians are under the control of the Lord Jesus who has given us eternal life
Let look at two things about this Christian walk, we need to consider.
A. THE METHOD OF WALKING
Once we come to know the Lord, the Bible teaches we should walk in three ways. Look at verses 1-2 again, we find-
• We should walk in “LOWLINESS”
• We should walk in “MEEKNESS”
• We should walk in “LONGSUFFERING”
It is essential that we get our concept of what a Christian is suppose to be from God’s Word. Our life should be described by these three words; “lowliness”, “meekness”, and “longsuffering”.
If people are going to see Christ in our life, they will have to see these things because this is how He is described in the New Testament. But there are many Christians that do not fit this description.
We generally adopt our concept of what it is to be a Christian from the church in which we were raised. Some were raised in a church where everyone had a real straight face and no one dared to smile!
But if we had been with the Lord and the disciples, I believe we would have discovered they had a joyous time.
Illus: Garrison Keillor said, “Some people think it's difficult to be a Christian and to laugh, but I think it's the other way around. God writes a lot of comedy--it's just that he has so many bad actors. (Garrison Keillor at Goshen College (Ind.), quoted by Melanie A. Zuercher in Festival (Spring 1986). Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 14.)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN WE SAY WE ARE CHRISTIANS?
Illus: Someone said -
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'"
I'm whispering "I was lost",
Now I'm found and forgiven.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.
We have looked at THE METHOD OF WALKING. We should walk in lowliness, meekness, and longsuffering.
If you are not walking in these three ways, please do not tell anyone you are a Christian, because your life is misrepresenting the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have looked at THE METHOD OF WALKING, but let’s also look at-
B. THE PURPOSE OF WALKING
Have you ever seen a dysfunctional family?
Illus: I am sure you have if you have watched some of the television programs. Families that should be ashamed to have anyone know how they live, get on national television and tell the whole world how much their family is messed up.
We have all seen this, but as we watched these programs we sat there thinking, “I am sure glad I do not belong to that family.”
Every church is a church family. The world is watching us as a church family, but as they are watching us, what kind of family are we representing that God the Father has?
Lost people in the world see and hear some church families TALK and WALK in such a way that they are glad they are not part of that church family. Many of us have heard the lost world say, “I am not going down and sit with that bunch of hypocrites!”
God said that we who know the Lord should walk “worthy” of our calling. We can only walk worthy of our calling when we walk as he walked, in lowliness, meekness, and longsuffering.
The purpose of WALKING WORTHY is so believers can live at PEACE among themselves and represent the Lord Jesus in a Christ-like life.
Look at verses 2-3 again, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
When you have a group of professing people who claim that the Lord Jesus died for their sins, and they live a life of disunity among the lost world, they are stumbling blocks to the lost world, not stepping stones.
It is essential that we who say we love the Lord “Walk worthy” of His death for us, in such a way that will cause lost men and women to come to Christ.
WE ALL HAVE TESTIMONIES, but there are two kinds, GOOD ONES and BAD ONES. Generally, when we think of testimonies we think of this term as a legal matter.
Illus: Did you hear about the man who wrote his testimony to the “Tide” soap people? He said -
Dear Tide:
I am writing to say what an excellent product you have. I've used it ever since my Mother told me it was the best.
In fact, about a month ago, while at my mother-in-law's house, I spilled some red wine on my white shirt.
She immediately started to berate me and accused me of having a drinking problem.
One thing led to another, and I ended up with some of her blood on my white shirt as well.
I used liquid Tide with bleach, and all of the stains came out! They came out so well that the DNA tests were negative!
I thank you, once again, for a great product. Well, gotta go; I have to write a letter to the Hefty bag people also for their fine product.”
But testimony is not only a legal word it is a religious word. WE ALL HAVE TESTIMONIES (good or bad).
Illus: One of the reasons that some can invite people to attend church and they never come is because the people who they invite know that church has not helped them, WHY SHOULD THEY COME?
Illus: That would be like going to a restaurant, leaving, and bad mouthing it to your neighbors and family. Telling them how bad the food and the service was, and then inviting them to go to the same restaurant the next time you go.
There are folks who have badmouthed their church to their family and friends, so much that they would never be able to reach them.
They have totally destroyed their testimony. If they are ever going to have a good testimony, they are going to have to start building one, because at the present they do not have a good one.
It is sad that some of their own children will die and go to a Christ-less eternity because they do not want anything to do with PEOPLE WHO PROFESS IT BUT DO NOT POSSESS IT!
Professing Christians probably have done more to send souls to hell than anything else.
The Lord wants us to be:
(1) A light that shines to a lost dark world so that they can find their way to salvation.
(2) Salt that will create a thirst for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Illus: One Sunday, believers arrived at a house church in the Soviet Union in small groups throughout the day so they wouldn’t arouse the suspicion of KGB informers. They began by singing a hymn quietly. Suddenly, in walked two soldiers with loaded weapons.
• One shouted, "If you wish to renounce your commitment to Jesus Christ, leave now!" Two or three quickly left, then another.
• After a few more seconds, two more left. "This is your last chance. Either turn against your faith in Christ," he ordered, "or stay and suffer the consequences." Two more slipped out into the night. No one else moved.
Parents with children trembling beside them looked down reassuringly, fully expecting to be gunned down or imprisoned. The other soldier closed the door, looked back at those who stood against the wall and said, "Keep your hands up--but this time in praise to our Lord Jesus Christ. We, too, are Christians. We were sent to another house church several weeks ago to arrest a group of believers." The other soldier interrupted, "But, instead, we were converted! We have learned by experience, however, that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot be fully trusted."
Our love and gratitude for the Lord’s saving us should be reflected IN OUR CHRISTIAN WALK, and -
II. IN OUR CHRISTIAN WITNESS
Look at verses 4-6, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are 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.”
It is essential that GOD’S METHOD for the body of Christ be carried out so that GOD’S WAYS will be carried out.
Disunity in many churches has practically shut the churches down. It is only when the CHURCH ENDEAVORS TO KEEP THE UNITY that they can carry out the ways of God.
For example:
• An ARMY can not survive without unity
• A SPORTS team can not survive without unity
• An ORCHESTRA can not survive without unity
• A MARRIAGE can not survive without unity
• An ASSEMBLY LINE can not survive without unity
Illus: The strength of a rope is in how it is stranded together.
Beloved, the strength of the church is in how we who have been gloriously saved are stranded together. As the body of Christ none of us are alike, but we are all dependent on each other. Look how the Scripture ties all the believers together.
Look again at verses 4-6, we read, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are 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.”
Let me show you two things before we close.
(1) Look at the words “One Spirit”. This is the word “Pneuma” which means “Spirit or breath, creation.”
God breathed the same life into every saved person here. There can be no life unless God breathed it into us.
(2) Look at the words, “One hope”
Our ONE GOAL should be that the world would be redeemed in Christ. This hope unites us in a purpose. We serve, we give, we witness, we love, we reach out, because of this ONE GOAL.
Conclusion:
We can never repay the Lord for what he has done for us. Our life should show that we appreciate what He has done for us.
OUR GRATITUDE should be reflected:
I. IN OUR CHRISTIAN WALK
II. IN OUR CHRISTIAN WITNESS
Note: You can hear Dr Odell Belger preach some of these sermons on Youtube. Type Youtube and the word Lykesland
