It's
so important to walk worthy of your calling.
In San Jose, California, Luke Goodrich was burning garbage out back of
his home and that is against the law. But
worse, while Luke was burning this garbage, the fire got away from him.
It spread over a hundred acres. It took six helicopters and 400
firefighters to put it out. Luke Goodrich is the captain of the San Jose fire
department.
Ephesians
4:1 (NIV) As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy
of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be
patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the
unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians
4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we
all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we
will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here
and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men
in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will
in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him
the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows
and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
1. The Calling Are
you called to become a part of the body?
Have you joined up and become a member of the body of Christ.
There is only one body.
a.
You have a calling /vocation to take part in the building of the body.
b.
You have been called to walk worthy of the Lord.
Fred Somebody, Thomas Everybody, Peter Anybody,
and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but they were not like you and me. They were odd people and most difficult to understand.
The way they lived was a shame.
All four belonged to the same church, but you would not have enjoyed
worshiping with them.
Everybody went fishing on Sunday or stayed home to visit with friends.
Anybody wanted to worship but was afraid Somebody wouldn't speak to
him. So guess who went to church
-- uh, huh -- Nobody.
Really, Nobody was the only decent one of the four.
Nobody did the visitation. Nobody
worked on the church building.
Once they needed a Sunday school teacher.
Everybody thought Anybody would do it, and Anybody thought Somebody
would do it. And you know who did it? That's
exactly right -- Nobody!
It happened that a fifth neighbor (an unbeliever) moved into the area.
Everybody thought Somebody should try to win him for Christ. Anybody
could have made an effort. You
probably know who finally won him: Nobody!
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.
But Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it. But
Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it, because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, and Nobody realized that Everybody
wouldn't do it. It ended up that
Everybody blamed Somebody and Nobody did the job that Anybody could have done
in the first place.
II.
The Challenge: is to build the Body, the church, of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
a.
Forbearing one another in Love is the glue.
b.
Endeavoring to keep together.
A beautiful little girl wandered out one
cold day into the countryside of Canada.
The family finally realized she was lost and started a search. Then they called the people of the community together.
Each went his own way. It
became dark and the cold of the Canadian winter settled down.
After some time someone suggested the searchers join hands and cover
the grass fields. But it was too
late. They found the girl curled up, frozen in the cold.
Then the shout went up, "If only we had joined hands before!"
The spiritual meaning of this story is clear.
Christ's love demands unity among His believers.
c.
One God in you all by your gift..
to build each other each
muscle..
d.
It's a people thing. It’s
an individual ministry. It is
person to person working as one body .
A chaplain who was ministering to a seriously wounded soldier
was requested by the dying man to write a letter to his former Sunday school
teacher. "Tell her I died a
Christian because of what she taught me in that class in church.
The memory of her earnest pleas and the warmth of her love as she asked
us to accept Jesus has stayed with me. Tell
her I'll meet her in Heaven." The
message was sent, and some time later the chaplain received this reply:
"May God forgive me. Just
last month I resigned my position and abandoned my Sunday school pupils
because I felt my work had been fruitless.
How I regret my impatience and lack of faith!
I shall ask my pastor to let me go back to teaching.
I have learned that when one sows for God, the reaping is both sure and
blessed!"
e.
Use our gifts for others. Go against the Resistance build up the body
Your body..
III.
The Commitment to the Goal is to build the body until...V.13-16
a.
To grow unto Maturity as Christ is.
b.
Healthy Body v.16 with every joint providing the strength to the
body.
c.
To speak the truth in Love.
Not as children but as mature adult Christians.
d.
To grow until we are not afraid to stand up for the word of the
living God, so that we aren't afraid to go against the flow of the popular
tide..