"practice, Practice, Practice"

"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.