The Calling For The Brotherhood

Good morning. May God's rich blessing be with us this morning. I felt for this morning it's not fair that I get to share last.

I think I should have been first. Just the thoughts and what goes through your mind and the newness and everyone's sharing it and kind of our hearts are at the same place and so yeah I'm thinking I should have shared first and then let the rest of you share. Yeah I too, I welcome each of you.

I'm blessed to be here in Fellowship Together and all the things that we've been thinking about and what I'd like to do as we start here, I know that we've had lots of conversation, we've had, we've been anticipating this for some time and so it's something we're well aware of but I'd like to do it anyway. I'd like to, in a form of blessing, I'd like to welcome each family here by family that has committed their hearts to being part of the outreach here. So can I say on behalf of the outreach for all of us, welcome Ben and Samantha and family and welcome James and Melody and son.

I was gonna say family. Welcome Dave and Crystal and your family. Welcome Josh and Sharon and your family.

Welcome Myron and Lily and welcome Peter and Anna Gunther and your family. Also a special welcome to the boys and girls. Again you think of this change, you think of you have maybe less friends now, all gathered together, smaller group and yet still a blessing and I think of Allison and Kayden.

You're our oldest now, our oldest teenagers. What a blessing that'll be. Twyla, you're the oldest teenager for the girls.

So much opportunity, so much before us and it's like sowing seeds. There's a path in front of us and I look forward to that path for all of us and I think it can be, it's a change, it's something new and yet we do that with our hearts wanting to serve God so that'll be a blessing. So we all together, we can say welcome to each other and bless each other in our commitment that we want to take up together.

I think God gave us me, God gave me this blessing of starting again in a smaller group because God wanted, God wants to help me try to remember everyone's names. In a large group I just can't do it. I'm so bad with names and one of the thoughts highlights for me thinking of our getting together is the highlight of getting to know each other more and knowing each other's names.

So all the children, I got to learn your names. I look forward to that. Yeah, we're starting a new journey together.

We have been looking forward to this with hope and anticipation and some thought on has God called you out here and as we know when as we walk through life, God has a way of bringing us, bringing people together or even situations into into our life in a way that is very physical. Someone might ask you, are you sure God called you to be part of this church in Westlorn? And your response could be, well I just chose to go. I mean is that God's will or is it not? And yet I think yeah, God lays the burdens on the hearts and for whatever reason, whatever God laid on your heart, we're here together and I trust that as we think about this that we can receive it and accept it as God's blessing and direction for us and that he has called us here.

So we are part of a work of God. I think about we can and we could go into details of all the things that Lord willing, 10 years from now, we're gonna look back on and we're gonna see a lot of harvest from seeds. You know, like Brother Ben said about the neighbor, trying to win the neighbor over.

Can you imagine winning him over and he joined church? Now that would be a real blessing and so a lot will be done. Seeds will be sown and harvests will be made and we'll look back and we'll just see this as that journey and so we're part of a yeah, part of a work of God that I believe will be a blessing to us and it will help us serve him. For myself, brothers and sisters, for you families that are committed to the outreach here, I want to say that I'm personally, I feel blessed and privileged to be serving with you and hopefully, yeah, as we will serve each other.

So I'm blessed to be able to serve with you and serve you and so it's a privilege thinking of, I don't know, it's special. It's this, there's a togetherness that's more than if we were to go out for coffee, even though that would be nice too, but this togetherness to me, it means more thinking in light of us as a Christian servants of the Lord, this togetherness to me is special. So I know and I don't know how official I wanted to be this morning but so for brother John and Sue and your family, thank you for visiting us this morning as the ministry and Henry and Susie and your family and John Margaret.

I think I want to say on behalf of us then, we'd like to thank you and bless you for coming and supporting us. That's a blessing to us and I don't know that we normally would do this but I just want to recognize that what we're beginning with our new journey that we're beginning, we want to recognize that a lot of labor has been put together in this, in making this come together. We're not able to participate in God's work and in getting and coming together just because overnight we decided to do so.

As I was pondering this and I was pondering the home congregation and I just sensed, in that way I wish even they were here for me to share with them the same thankfulness, this gratitude. I feel a lot of labor over many years has been done as the church has grown, as young children grow older, as you know the teachings and the preachings and the prayers have been prayed and just this body of togetherness seeking God over years and years and as we know we find ourselves that we wanted to do an outreach and here we are participating in the outreach for us and I just I'm grateful for all the work that our home church has done over years of time serving the Lord and I feel like just to acknowledge that that that's part of you know that's part of the open door that why we're able to be here it's it's a lot of labor that has come together and so we're grateful for that. For us I'd like to do the same as something similar to what Brother Ben shared I did know what he was going to share about but we had not discussed who was sharing what and it seems like our heart and burden was very much similar I'll be reading out of a different passage and but yeah it was neat to hear that again our hearts are beating our our minds are thinking a lot of the similar thoughts and so that's a blessing.

I was thinking about us and us as families that are that are committing ourselves to being part of this outreach and one thing I was reminded of is and I trust this is a reality for all of us but just that we would all that we would all have committed our decision and being part of this outreach to the Lord it's not just a light-hearted yet we're in the outreach but yet yeah that we would have committed our decision to the Lord it's a it's going to be an obedience to a call a more than just a switch of direction in place it's a it's an obedience to a call and being that it's Christ that called again I feel it's sacred it's a blessing and so each one of us may we find ourselves there that we have committed our decision and we've we've surrendered our will to God's leading and direction and that us coming together here is us following God's will with that I also think of this as we come together and as much has been shared we each do a lot of the labor will all be participating in labor but we acknowledge and I trust you would find yourself there as well we acknowledge and accept that this is God working through us I appreciated Ben sought there on who would lift himself up you know when we think in light of and I'll actually I'll have a verse that will reference the same topic but yeah that was a good question who would lift himself up and we would say none of us none of us want to lift ourselves up in any way so we acknowledge this to be God's work in us and through us and again I would say families brothers and sisters I think that's a treasure I also would share this to us this morning to just have this have us soak this up and to again just treasure the work of God and the decisions that we've made and how he has brought us here we I hope we have and I believe we all have we've all made a voluntary commitment to each other now follow my train of thought here we have all made a voluntary commitment to each other that we're going to serve God not and then after that that we will serve each other and again for me that was a it was a good thought it was precious to think that we have made a commitment together that we will serve God I want you to know that I want to serve God and I trust that you want to serve God and again that takes us out of the carnal realm of who wants to do what and have any sort of carnal reasoning for it it's actually us doing God's will not us doing our own will I kind of thought of this phrase I hope it makes sense I found it to be a blessing but this is the relationship and before I read that phrase my I was pondering what to share and as I was thinking of us as an outreach and it's a new beginning and there's something about it I've never been part of it before some of you have I've never been part of a new beginning like that I've said it to some the idea that we have seven brothers fellowshipping together willing to serve in each one of you willing to serve and I was thinking of the ratio and just the aspect that a hundred percent of the brothers are willing to serve and as we've had discussion already I think we'll be busy you'll be busy we'll be busy together and to be honest I don't know I've never had the experience of that sort of blessing to be able to just ponder that that we have all the brothers willing to serve and just a strength behind that the current the strength behind each one willing to serve and how it will affect us and so that's a blessing I've heard others you've shared that you have been part of something like that that's great I guess I'm just trying to say highlight that how blessed I am that I get to be part of that so this little phrase I wanted to have us absorb is in light of Christ asking each one of us and this outreach is not our own this outreach is God's our hearts are as they were before even in Comber to serve God and so from here we lean on the Lord and we want to continue that same path and serve the Lord as an extension of Comber and with it comes labor and much else that will come with it and I thought of this little phrase here if Christ if Jesus would come to each one of us and this question or this phrase is more applicable this morning to us because it's a new beginning and is why I wanted to highlight it but this is a phrase we could ask ourselves anytime and all the time but this the phrase is like this if Jesus was here like you and he was talking to us like he did with Peter I think of our hearts being at a place and this is how I wrote the phrase each one of us on our knees surrendered to Christ and all of us together on our knees surrendered to Christ you follow that train of thought again our Heavenly Father in our Lord Jesus Christ is the one that we're bowing to and so me on a personal level saying to my Lord you know I'm surrendered to your will and then as a corporate group together on our knees with that same sort of heart set Lord we're submitted to your will and I think that's that's strong so often I find myself guilty of I can be part of something and not be part of it I can be part of something and yet somehow I don't have that maybe teamwork or that heart of commitment that's fully there and so as I was pondering the blessing of a new beginning and brothers and sisters coming together and giving a commitment of willingness to serve and I was thinking of this that my first goal is not to serve you my first goal is to serve God and your first goal isn't to serve me or anyone else it is to serve God and so with us having with us being surrendered to Christ individually we can all together be surrendered to Christ and I must say as I was pondering this to me that seems to be one of the most beautiful thoughts in light of thinking of starting an outreach just a heart of surrenderness to God we can sometimes have this heart feel of maybe some fear I know some of you have shared some concerns and you some some negative experiences and we're not sure where it was going I know when when there is a general conversation it's often about well that church and that preacher and so on and I must say I kind of shiver at the fact that now it's this preacher sometimes maybe or Ben as a minister as well and so I just know how often I hear someone say oh that preacher in that church and that and that it's like how sad how sad to me I feel it's how sad I have the blessing and privilege of sharing to you this morning but my heart is that as we take in the word we hear and I share and anyone that shares Ben and Dave this morning and song leading for brother James I trust that our experience that we're going to we're going to focus in on this statement here each one of us surrendered to Christ and all of us together surrendered to Christ and I feel like that is the best way to do that so that our hearts are right before God that we're at peace and we can trust God that he will lead us we have a lot of work ahead of us we have discussed some of these things we'll be busy and I think it'll be a joy each one of you and I myself serving to the best of your abilities with what God has given us not feeling like you need to take someone else's place but you serve I serve in what way I can with what God gives to me and I would like to say to all of you so brothers and sisters also boys and girls thinking of the young men helping with a lot of the work and young ladies young lady helping with the sisters and their work what a blessing that will be and I would just want to say in advance thank you thank you for your work that you will do and the blessing that you will be as we serve together may God richly reward you so those are some beginning thoughts and from here I'd like to go into we'll call the main message which will be out of Ephesians but before we do that let's pray together Heavenly Father we again bow before you Lord we bow in your presence and Lord we quiet ourselves we humble ourselves and Lord we acknowledge how you are the one that works in us and through us and Lord we also submit ourselves to your will and God we know that we have much need often we are blind to your ways or often we can be hard of hearing and so Lord we ask that you would have mercy on us in that you would help us be patient with us and help us to hear and Lord as we think of this outreach and the many blessings that we look forward to in having in fellowship where we will participate together in serving you and worshiping you Lord I pray that you would bless us here this morning Lord may you bless your word that's already been shared and now Lord I ask that you would bless your word as we would like to look into Ephesians Lord bless your word to us help our hearts Lord to absorb what you are saying to us and help us to take that courage and make that choice that we will strive and serve you Lord we ask for your blessing for us in Jesus name we pray amen so Ephesians chapter 4 and I feel what I would call this is a letter a letter from a brother to us I was pondering as I was reading through Ephesians and just pondering the different verses and what I would call this and it came to me as you know maybe we can think of this as a personal letter written to us thinking in light of starting a church starting an outreach it fits very well what a blessing it would be I can imagine in Paul's time to receive a letter from a brother who was walking with the Lord and he gives this he gives this wonderful blessing the wonderful word to the church and for us this morning what we're going to read and I'm going to call this message the calling for the brotherhood for us it will be it's our first Sunday gathering together and our hearts are that we're starting an outreach and I yeah as I looked at Ephesians 4 it just blessed my heart to read what what I was reading and I just thought this would be a perfect letter for someone to write to those who starting a church and so maybe receive it that way this morning that maybe this we could call this Paul's letter to us as we think about starting a church there's going to be powerful things that are said here and there's going to be heavy or deep theological meanings that get alluded to in these verses and what we'll notice is there's practical advice to us and it reflects a heavenly kingdom that's much more than just a physical mind can understand there's I appreciate how this is written again where he gives a practical advice and as you ponder and you kind of look into the words of what he's saying there's so much spiritual treasure in what he has said and so yeah let's apply this to ourselves let's start reading in Ephesians and I'm going to go verse by verse and we'll go through Ephesians as Ephesians chapter 4 starting in verse 1 and we'll be going up to verse 16 for this morning Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 here Paul says I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called thinking of us coming together as families starting an outreach it's so much about us there's going to be a lot of work that gets done there's going to be you know a lot of changes for our lives for some of you that will be moving here shortly what a change that you will be making so your feelings your mind a lot of what goes through a heart and mind is going to be physical it's going to be the reality of a change of life and here so yeah it's that reality of life of the amount of change that you will participate in and what I am overjoyed with is your testimony of how God has called you I don't know how I would explain that to us to try to build up that value if it had if you could put a price tag to it just this reality that again let's use the example that price would come would be here with us and would have would call us here and he would look at each one of us and I trust this is our testimony he can look at each one of us and say you my child you are you you are striving to serve me you're committed to serving me and so each one of us that's here we are called and we have this calling and it's actually in again referencing how much it will be about physical change but this calling isn't physical it's completely spiritual there's a blessing that God gives and that calling that we've got received from him it is spiritual let's let's look at that a little bit so beseech you I beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called what vocation is calling walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called what is that calling again this message would apply just as much to anywhere anytime but thinking of us here and this calling is not the outreach calling in itself but what is this calling and I was pondering what this calling is and to see what the calling is we're going to go we're going to backtrack a little and go to Ephesians chapter 3 and we're going to read verses 16 to 21 look at what the calling is if you take if you go through Ephesians a chapter by chapter you'll see here at the end of chapter 3 it's Paul's prayer for the group and verse 4 or chapter 4 verse 1 it starts I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called and as I was just meditating on what's it what would what could be his reference what would what would bring us to that calling that he is talking about and I don't know if this is the exact one that he would reference but this is a very powerful one that we'll see here starting verse 16 so this is mine and your calling between you and God me and God that he God would grant you according to his riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man would you like to expound and explain that verse that he would grant you he's going to give it to you according to his riches how big how what's his riches like small little you know if you ask me for my riches if it was referred to money well I don't have very much very little to give but for the Lord here according to the riches of his glory what does he want to give to you what what does all this what does all this mean and for what purpose to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man well one of the my highlights of reading this verse is this there is something far more in living for God than just an idea that I'm a Christian the idea that I live day to day and a tag on that name yep I'm a Christian doing the right thing doing the right deeds has very little meaning but here it leads us to to think there's a lot more to be living as a Christian to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man so if God would allow us to tap into his might and that he would by his spirit work in me what work would he do how much work would he do verse 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that he might be filled with all the fullness of God maybe we could say it's wonderful as King David at that time David slew Goliath a wonderful story of Daniel and the trials that he went through the three friends being in the in the in the fire Daniel in the lion's den and all these great stories but I wonder if there isn't a much greater work that God would do in our life and that great work is that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God to kill Goliath was a small thing even today to do miracles today is a very small thing moving a great mountain is a tiny little miracle compared to us having a greater and greater understanding of who God is and for God to do a great work that he could and I would have to add he often struggles to try to teach me more of who he is but a miracle a work of God would be that I would learn more of who he is we read there in verse 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that you being rooted and grounded in love could you and I testify that yes I'm grounded in love to me it would be a bit of a struggle to explain how that what exactly that is or to what level I look at Christ as the perfect example and we see him giving his life first becoming a man which whom he created becoming like his creation and then being ridiculed and harassed and killed for that and he was willing to do that in love no retaliation no evil thoughts there's something about that about that example that I can agree that he dwelt he was grounded in love and that is what God wants for me so and to know the love of Christ verse 19 which passeth knowledge well knowledge information understanding should we go to school should we learn about the love of Christ and we cannot learn it the scholar can't learn it he can't find it unless he served the Lord and through Christ received it so it's almost like saying it there's not a whole lot of point to try to explain with knowledge or a curriculum the love of Christ and again we as we know that someone needs to receive Christ before they can understand verse 20 now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us so he can do more than than we could think above all that we ask or think that's what he can do in and through us according to the power that worketh in us as we had read earlier in verse 16 by his might his spirit will work in our inner man that we would know the love of Christ verse 21 unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end what I see here is I see surrendered hearts fully surrendered to God and to a level that I cannot understand there's a level of surrenderedness to God that is beautiful and I would say as the description gives it to us here it seems to be perfect and that's the challenge to us that we would also grow in that so going back to verse 1 here we have chapter 4 verse 1 I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called and I'd like for us to ponder this way this morning that the vocation one of them should we say or the calling that we know we have as we just read in verses 16 through 21 a calling that we have is that we would know the love of God and allow his power and might to work through us in light of that in light of those verses again Paul says I beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called let's go to verse 2 how how do you think we would and this is again to us as a brotherhood here wanting to participate in God's work in an outreach how would we walk worthy of the calling wherewith we are called and I believe he answers that in part starting in verse 2 he says to us with all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in love that's what he says again for me I feel like this is very foundational it's very it's very deep of what he is saying and he's giving us the practical now he's giving us the before in verse in chapter 3 there he gave us the spiritual and we meditate and we ponder you know God's mighty spirit working in me to into a level more than I can ask or think and what I normally do is I ask myself okay I'm on a practical level what's the Lord doing in my life and then I see myself having a need of seeking the Lord more because woe to me if it be that he can't work in me because I'm in unbelief and so I want to be open and ready for him to work in me and through me so if verse 2 there again with all lowliness and meekness the practical outworkings and I trust you would agree that this is the fruit this is actually a gift that we receive when Christ is working in us I'm not saying it comes naturally but this is a working an outworking that is practical in our flesh in our minds in our hearts how we think this is a outworking of God having done a work in me that I would with all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in love and I want to highlight here I want to be text-specific with this verse when we reference lowliness meekness long-suffering and forbearing let us just remember that our connection is God in his mighty spirit doing a mighty work in you and in me God is in control God is doing the work we are surrendered to God and in that state and it's not only in that state but I want to highlight this I want to highlight it in this context he Paul is writing this letter to the church and his heart is that everyone in the church there would find themselves that in that place where God through his mighty spirit works in their lives in a mighty way and then he goes on to bring it to here so what I want to highlight here is that surrendered heart that committedness to God and the reality that God is working okay and from there he says this is how we should this is the outworking from our life that it's lowliness meekness long-suffering forbearing and I say that for two reasons one and it's not that it can't be done here but I want to highlight something for us I actually would like to create a heart set that says that we that puts us in protection mode so very very often when there's much trouble and there's disagreements and there's heaviness in churches they quote these verses and it is a time to quote the verse and it's right and it's good and my the blessing that I feel that that I'm just overjoyed with is we have an opportunity we all do all the time but as I was studying this in light of us here we have an opportunity and I have the comfort and the confidence that God is working in you each of you and God is working in me and so God is working in our hearts in our life and in that context as we are it's not the heaviness and the weight and well we shouldn't gossip and we shouldn't say this and we shouldn't do that and all the negative and then we would quote the verse this is how we should be which is it would be correct but here we have this we want to follow Paul's heart Paul's heart is that I would that you would be here which is where I believe we are your testimonies just with following God and then he says this is this is practical now this is you serving the Lord practically with all lowliness and meekness and long-suffering forbearing one another these are more than personal qualities for the life worthy of the calling of God is a life in the fellowship of the people of God and if this is to be maintained these four virtues are vital so we're going to highlight that God this is given to us by Paul to us not just because you want a nice a social gathering but God has a very heavy burden we're going to say this morning that we would fellowship one with another and again thinking of us as no reach this is God's will for us that we would be part of his work and he gives us this courage these are not just personal qualities this is needful for us for the life worthy of the calling of God is a life in the fellowship of the people of God I'm not sure if I'm giving you enough thoughts or enough if I'm saying enough to bring that weight in that blessing together it takes us out of the picture and it puts us on our knees before God and God is in charge and his word is mighty it's powerful and very directional and how we can serve him so let's look at this aspect of lowliness in Christ lowliness became a virtue his life and death were service and sacrifice without thought of reputation because the Christian is called to follow in his steps humility has an irreplaceable part in a Christian character and so often we can find ourselves on the opposite side of this where if there isn't humility there is pride and humility can't surrender and this meekness or this lowliness again we're going to just highlight the context here this lowliness is me first surrendering to God and his will and then being humble with my brother so in that context it's not mean you can't get along and I need to be lowly so I'm just going to be quiet and you know give in that's not lowliness here it is a this lowliness is a humility but the heart is still strong and doing God's will so that's what I want to highlight in lowliness seeking to do God's will and also for the reason that he has been brought to see the greatness and glory and holiness of God this is where we connect with what Ben shared about who would lift himself up we have in lowliness you know once we have seen the greatness and glory and holiness of God which one of us could stand up and say oh I can be proud I have something to be proud about and we have the words of Paul where Paul he says I'm the worst one there is no pride there where he could say to them how he was a Pharisee and all the things that he would lift up about himself to be lowly the next one here is meekness meekness was used in classical Greek in the good sense of mildness or gentleness of character meekness in the New Testament is used of a person's attitude to the Word of God but more often of one's attitude to other people it is closely connected with the spirit of submissiveness okay what we're going to highlight here meekness submissiveness and again the the outworking the proper outworking of this would be that I am meek and submissive to God's Word desiring God's will and working out that way again it's not you finding a back corner saying oh I'm not important I'm just a nobody I'm very submissive my you know and so on it's not a negative it is a positive we can be strong of character we can have meekness and yet strive and be and be courageous and doing God's will but this submissiveness that we want to reflect here is a submissiveness first to God's Word God's will then to each other always always God's Word first then to each other that keeps it from a person a man lifting himself up and being where a man would be first rather than God's Word it should always be God's Word first then you know should there be a need for direction from men it would follow after God's Word okay so thirdly there's patience a word sometimes used of steadfast endurance of suffering or misfortune but more often as in this in the case here of slowness in avenging wrong or retaliation when hurt by other by another it is used of God's patience and humanity and the example Christian should be towards others so we should be long-suffering or patient patient in suffering again where where our heart is trusting God seeking God's will and as we seek his will we are patient we are long-suffering and in fourth here forbearance the fourth requirement is also a divine quality it is the practical outworking of long-suffering it involves bearing with one another's weakness not seizing to love one's neighbor or friends because of those faults in them which perhaps offend or displease us it is the mute it is that mutual tolerance without which no group of human beings can live together in peace such forbearance and indeed all these four qualities are possible only in love for love is the basic attitude of seeking the highest good of others this it will say that Paul is telling us giving us some advice he's saying you're thinking of starting an outreach you have brothers and sisters coming together you're gonna fellowship together you can have a church together here's his advice one the first advice that we want to heed is chapter 3 16 to 21 that God is working in our life and I believe that's important that we have that confirmation God is working in my life and then he goes on to give us verse 2 in chapter 4 that we should you and I we together we should be in lowliness meekness long-suffering and forbearing all in glorifying God not in getting space not in being slack not in being not in compromising or any of such negative thoughts but all in light of the mighty spirit with yeah God's through God's might and his spirit working in us mightily in that context we want to think of this verse 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bondage or in the bond of peace sorry endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and what I'll highlight here in this verse for us we have this privilege we have this before us and may our hearts again draw to it and absorb it and meditate on this the the encouragement here that we would endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit and there's a there's a struggle between knowing is it the atmosphere like is it my spirit to your spirit that we're at peace that type of unity or is it as we've been referencing here in other verses is it God's spirit working in me God's spirit working in you and that we are in unity and so as I've studied it the conclusion is that it's it's God's spirit God's work in my in your life and that those two would come together and be in unity so it's not a matter of do we agree in ideas or disagree in ideas but here's the powerful thought for you and I again how God can work in your life and in my life bringing us together in unity and we have his strength working on our behalf keeping us together thinking of outreach I think of this it's good and it's right for us to strive and be together putting our efforts together but it is better to have God's work God's spirit working in us keeping us together God can do much more in us and through us than we could agree together on physical matters so endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit that we would we would have a desire and we would we would work towards keeping the unity of the spirit I so my heart and what I'm sharing here is just to do what we'll call what's the preaching called and it's verse by verse expository so I'm not trying to yeah it's literally and truly just expository going verse by verse and it's interesting how much is practical and so we have this blessing that we work and labor together to keep the unity and I want to highlight something in the background of this imagine for any any brother in the Lord but for us it's it's going to be practical here this morning just imagine each one of us having this burden first that we seek God and that God works in us we have a burden for God we have seen his glory a part of his glory we have seen his righteousness we we have seen a part of his holiness so we are compelled within to serve the Lord and with that compelling we also have a burden for my brother and that we together would be united with God's will God's will God's will not my will your will his will their will God's will and as I was thinking about a group as I think about teamwork I feel like there's nothing more powerful than Christians submitted to God where God works in and through them and when God has free reign in the Christians hearts and lives God dies does a mighty mighty work and then it confirms in verse 4 there it expounds and confirms what he's saying and this is us this is us together there is one body we are part of Christ's body there's only one there's one body and one spirit and even as you're called in one hope of your calling one Lord one faith one baptism one God father of all who is above all and through all and in you all maybe we could pause and just as we think about these words think about the invitation that God gives and the desire God would have that he could work and live in us and again I say this not that he doesn't but I say this that he wants to do it more he wants to do it more for me wants to do it more for you and it's just a blessing how God invites us to learn more and understand more of him that he can do this but unto everyone of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ wherefore he sayeth and I this is a blessing who will lift himself up look what it says here wherefore he saith when he ascended on high upon high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men my gift your gift our gifts they're given to us by God and may we find ourselves where we thank the Lord for the gift he gives us and that we can be faithful and using that gift for his glory I'm going to skip a few I'm gonna skip verse 9 and 10 there verse 11 and he gave some Apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ this is again this beauty that comes together here I've never really seen it this strongly it just blessed me to think that how strong God's call is that we here in this world that we would dwell together in fellowship as I read earlier for the life worthy of the calling of God is a life in the fellowship of the people of God and that that's God's heart and here we have that starting there in verse 12 this is the purpose of the gifts that God gave God gave these gifts for the purpose of the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministry now we pull back and we go back to verse verse 2 this is where it becomes practical each brother will use their gift and will encourage and preach and teach and all the things that they will do evangelize we will do that to each other that's what we're called to do and we're going to do it with lowliness meekness long-suffering and forbearance and as those two come together and woe is us if we decide not to use our gifts to edify one another but that we would use our gifts for the perfecting of the Saints and here's what the result is as we labor together and we yeah we live out verse 2 and we live out verse 12 here is the result of that we're going to do this and this is the result till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and I was pondering this and thinking of it this way Christ is so much higher than we are I can only understand a small window I have a small piece of that pie you have a small piece of that pie another brother or sister has a small piece of that pie and it's all of us bringing each piece of pie together that makes that full pie it's all of us teaching each other and as we grow in Christ and we live this out together the result is that we will be in unity because his spirit is in us in the faith and we're going to grow in knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and I found that to be a tremendous blessing to think that you and I will co-labor together and teach each other of Christ that's what we do that's what church is all about co-laboring together teaching us teaching each other who Christ is the idea of having different gifts maybe we could call it sometimes different views and how we co-labor those together we live those out and it will help us to see Christ I think that's powerful here is this is what happens or this is the this is what we can not this is what we can overcome or there's a struggle here that we don't have to go through which is worse verse 14 so if we do not have verse 13 12 and 2 then we have this that we would be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine that was what would happen when we're not together but as we do God's work God's way this is what we would this is where we would be that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive but speaking the truth in love may grow up into all things which is the head even Christ I want to read that verse again but speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ something that comes to me here as I think about this is the reality of my need the blessing of your strength and your God working in your life so much affects and blesses my need that's why I was gonna say that's why you're here you're here to follow the Lord to help me I'm here to follow the Lord hopefully some way being able to help you that blessing together and each one of us stands before God in great need and as we know we could tell stories of the effect of the church when they love God you know the testimonies of families having help in very difficult times and how the world looks at churches and like what's wrong with them how you know it's almost odd in studying the topics here of lowliness meekness and patience it gave a little description of the time the time frame of Jesus's time the idea of being lowly to them was so foreign you got to be a Roman soldier humbleness meekness it was just unreal they wanted nothing to do with that and that's who Christ was a humble lowly person walking in this proud generation so we have this blessing that we can love and work together that and to help each other and I'll just add here so this reality that I'm here wanting to serve are serving the Lord so that you will learn and serve him more you're here serving the Lord and to help me see more of him and serve him more and all of that is done in lowliness meekness long-suffering and forbearance and each one of us together again find ourselves each one personally on our knees before Christ surrendered and corporately on our knees before Christ surrendered that must be the greatest struggle the churches have that Christianity has the greatest struggle must be to bring the hearts together so they together can be on their knees before Christ verse 16 from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted for that which every joint supplying you supplying yours I supplying mine according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love that I just give you a strong word or do you see that wonderful treasure and that gold the gold that's there the treasure that Christ gives to us we can sometimes walk through life and again maybe we're not really seeing that seeing the treasure but as I studied this and you see the power there and you see what God wants to do there I just found it to be I find ourselves as humans to be unworthy of such a perfect God who helps us in perfect ways and the more perfectly you can that you and I can surrender ourselves and be less the more perfect Christ can be where we are and I just find that to be amazing it's yeah I find that to be amazing so when I can leave myself behind and surrender to God's will the more God can be seen from me and through me and around me Paul gives more challenges he goes back into the negative starting verse 17 I don't want to necessarily I don't want to go there he I do want to give us a little challenge that heat that Paul does give to us in same chapter chapter 4 but it's in verse 30 there's there's three verses here that we can we can read Paul says this and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind in this is an interesting combination of verses grieve not the Holy Spirit then he seems to reveal what that looks like if we do if we're disobeying God this is the reality let all bitterness and wrath and so on then he goes to verse 32 again and be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you again what a blessing powerful chapter 5 1 & 2 be ye therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor and that is our heart that we would be pleasing to God I trust in in some way I hope that what I've shared can be a help to our foundation thinking of our outreach it can be a motivator it can be just that that reminder of how we can be at the feet of Christ and how God wants to work in us and through us and how again that it's God's work in God's will and not about us on a personal level or in or in any selfish way we being fully surrendered to God there is the most beauty again we can think of it in this way for us the reality is the hardest thing to do is sacrifice of self the denying of ourselves that's the hardest thing to do but when we do that that's the strongest blessed that's the time and that is where we will find the strongest blessing from God and that's just my heart for us this morning it's not to my heart is just that to see this as a letter to us and an encouragement given to us if we will seek the Lord and if we will be surrendered to him we can be sure that he can work in us mightily and we will have his blessing and again as I started right in the beginning what blesses me is already seeing your testimonies our testimonies and here we have I feel that we have such a blessing that we have to be careful that Satan doesn't want to devour it we have such a blessing to be able to have you know seven families desiring to serve God and and being right with God and committed to serving the Lord all at the same time it just seems to me that it's kind of like saying we are God has given it to us in such a way that I feel like we have a lot of strong labors we have a lot of blessings we have we have a lot of good on our side we have a strong start we don't want to be arrogant or overconfident and we don't want to be self-focused we want Christ to be the focus and all our hearts go to him but again just reflecting that you know reading stories where churches started and there's two or three families and and it's just a struggle in the struggle of reaching out to those around them and it just seemed to be a lot of weight and a lot harder and here we have this blessing of seven of us families each one of you serving the Lord having God working in your life us coming together I think that's a treasure let us treasure it let us take care of it let us be careful and at all times that our heart is that God would receive the glory and we could talk about maybe sometime later but just the activeness again of reaching out and there's so much to this picture that is beautiful and that will bring God glory and I trust that that's where our hearts are that is what we would like that's what we will strive towards that is all I will share from before my message this morning and at this time I will call up Peter and a Gunther