"Three F's Of Church Ministry"

• In Ephesians 2:19-22; Paul is explaining to the Church of Ephesus the importance of the presence of the Spirit within the church

• Many churches have services but having services does not equate to experiencing God

• John 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

• It is through and by the Spirit that:

o The Word of God comes alive

o We can clearly see God’s direction

o We can see the need around us

o We can understand the ability of all to come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ

• Paul give three distinct indicators as to what our attitude should be in church and with each other

• Those three items are

o FELLOWSHIP

o FOUNDATION

o FUTURE

1. FELLOWSHIP (VS 19)

• Paul is speaking to both Jew and Gentile in verse 19

• He is here, establishing the equality of the two

• Although Israel has been chosen by God as his nation, when it comes to salvation; it is available to all who are willing to receive it

• 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

• Romans 2:11: “For there is no respect of persons with God.”

• In the context of what Paul is speaking about; When one was doing business in Greece or moving from outside to within its boundary’s they were allowed only to look on when it came to civil and governmental happenings. Being allowed to be there but absolutely to not participate

• In other words they could watch without experiencing

• With the giving of grace through Jesus, the ‘partition-wall’ had been symbolically removed

• The ‘partition-wall’ was the wall that separated the Jewish court from the gentile court in the temple

• Paul opens this portion of scripture in an attempt to unite both Jew and Gentile believers in Christ

• We are, after all, working to achieve the same goal

• The same concept holds true today in our local church; we must not take on a particular identity that we are not willing to let go of

• We must continually seek God’s direction and follow it; with trust and faith in the servants he has sent us to labor beside

• Matthew 9:37-38: “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

• When God sends laborers, we can’t be judgmental as to their:

o Past

o Ethnicity

o Financial or social status;

• For it is the blood of Christ that is the great equalizer

• We are “Fellow Servants” (Vs 19)

• We must understand the difficulty with which the Jewish believers were experiencing this new concept of ‘Gentile’ brothers and sisters

• Focus for a moment on your own ‘hang ups’ maybe it is someone who:

o Has been convicted of a crime

o Has been notoriously recognized as trouble

o Has been someone you, since birth, have been warned to say away from

o Has been someone you never trusted

• Now picture that person becoming a partaker to the same blessings and mercies you are experiencing

• This would no doubt be difficult, but is a must when we consider serving alongside one another in the kingdom work upon this work

2. FOUNDATION (VS 20)

• 1 Corinthians 3:11: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

• This passage could also be interpreted as the only ‘successful’ foundation is Jesus

• For we know that many people build upon other foundations, they are not, however, successful foundations to build upon

• We must remember, also, that Godly success is not measured as worldly success

• Proverbs 3:3-5: “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

• A solid foundation ensures our ability to:

o Minister in times of trouble

o Withstand the storms of the Devil

o Know God’s direction and vision for us

• No building has ever been built from the top down, the first and most important step in construction is the laying of a solid form and foundation

• We know that Jesus is the foundation upon which we must build our lives; when it comes to the actually building who is it and what is it that makes it functional?