Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning and welcome to Mission Church.

Our mission is to partner with God to see His kingdom come in Las Vegas as it is in heaven and we accomplish this as we Love Jesus, Live like Jesus, and Lead others to Jesus.

This morning, we return to our study of Paul’s beautiful letter to the Ephesians.

A journey that we’ve entitled, “God’s Plan for God’s people.”

You see, we have been invited to be a part of God’s plan for the world.

Despite our brokenness, and regardless of our weaknesses, God plans to use His Church to transform the world for His glory!

If you would, please grab your copy of God’s Word and open it to Ephesians 4.

The Apostle Paul wrote this amazing letter while being chained to a soldier in a Roman prison.

And he spent the first half of this letter, chapters 1-3, focusing on how we receive new life in Christ.

And..Chapter 4 is a turning point as Paul begins his instructions on how we are to live out the new life we have received in Christ.

You see, Chapters 4-6 address the working out of chapters 1-3.

In other words doctrine demands devotion and a living faith produces good works.

Now....we last left off with Paul instructing us on how we are to live out our new life in Christ in the context of the local church.

For the Christian, the church is the sphere of life that should determine and shape all other areas of our lives.

With this in mind, Paul begins his practical exhortation by essentially writing a manual for the church and by first calling Christians to live in unity.

You see....the visible unity of Christ’s church weighed heavily on Paul and in 4:1-6 he persuasively impressed this burden upon us.

But, for Paul, unity did not mean uniformity.

In fact...within the church there is a diversity and a range of gifts that Jesus has given His church....and if we are to be a healthy and mature church …these gifts are to be appreciated and practiced as our diverse roles and abilities enrich and bless the church.

In fact this morning’s sermon is pt 2 of An Owner's Manual For The Church.

And is entitled Becoming a Mature Church.

Now, If you are able, I would like to invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Ephesians 4:7–16 (CSB)

7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8 For it says:

When he ascended on high,

he took the captives captive;

he gave gifts to people.

9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.

16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Pray.

“You may be seated”

Our city is known most for what it replicates.

In one day you can visit a mid-evil castle, a pyramid, the statue of liberty, the Eiffel tower, and even walk along the canals of Venice.

And…all though these replicates are cleverly done and people travel here from all over the world to see them....the truth is....Las Vegas is not deceiving anyone....in other words....people don’t really believe they are in Paris ..or Egypt…or Venice.

No one is fooled into believing they time traveled to mid-evil Europe.

Why? Well.... because we are not little children.... we’re adults… we are grown ups and we are mature enough to know better.

We have the ability to assess our surrounding and measure what is real and what is not.

However, the same can not be said regarding the Church and the truths of Scripture.

You see… like the Ephesians…we too live in a culture and a society that is overrun with counterfeit truths, false teachers, and deceptive doctrines...all of which are seducing and misguiding immature believers into ....not only believing that the replicate is the original..... but they are also leading Christians to lose confidence in the authority, the wisdom, and the sufficiency of God’s Word.

And.....the result of this deception is an anemic and immature church that does not reflect Jesus.

Tell me....as we live in a fallen culture full of counterfeit truths and false doctrines ....

How can we measure our maturity?

How can we avoid being deceived?

How can we, Mission Church, grow into and function as a mature church?

Well…I’m glad you asked because in our text this morning Paul reveals to us two standards by which we can measure and assess the maturity of our church and by doing so we can take the steps necessary to grow up and function as we should.

In verses 7-12 we see the first standard by which we can measure our church’s maturity.

1.

The Measure of the Gift of Christ.

v. 7-12

7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Underline or make note of the word “grace.”

If you were to give a definition of the gospel in one word it would be .... Grace.

The gospel is the good news of God’s grace to sinful mankind....and the nature of grace is giving.

Consider the fact that God gave Jesus Christ to this world.

John 3:16 (CSB)

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son...

Jesus gave his life for the sins of the world.

Which reminds me of what Jesus says in John 15

John 15:13 (CSB)

13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

Dying for those who you would call a friend is impressive but even more impressive is the fact that Jesus died for His enemies.

You see...God gave His Son and His Son gave His life.

Understand that .... God’s gifts have nothing to do with anything we have done or have failed to do....God....well....God is a God of grace because He is a God that freely gives.

You see......God is gracious because of who He is…not because of who we are or what we are.

His grace therefore is unmerited, unearned, and undeserved.

Grace is God’s self-motivated, self-generated, and sovereign act of giving.

In other words…grace is God’s gift of Himself…and friends…there is no greater…more important or precious gift that God can give you than Himself.

This is the staggering and incomprehensible truth of the Gospel .... that the Holy God of the universe has given Himself to sinful mankind!

God owes us nothing but judgement for our sin…yet in His grace He blesses us with Himself so that we can have life.

Now...God’s grace not only saves us but His grace enables us…look back at v7....and see that Paul makes it clear that God’s enabling grace has been given to every believer.

In a little while we will observe a baptism which partially symbolizes a new member joining the Body of Christ.

You see…when Jesus Christ saved you.....you became a part of this beautiful body called The Church…and your new life in Christ is then lived out in the context of membership in a local church where you then go to work for God utilizing the unique gifts of enabling grace that God has given you.

Paul details this reality further …look at v8

8 For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.

(Ps.

68:18) 9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.

Jesus descended…speaks of the incarnation of Jesus…this phrase is pointing us to the fact that God put skin and bones on and lived among us.

Jesus …fully God and fully man…lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s rule and reign…He was the only one who has and will ever be able to do so....and...He completed His work by dying on the cross for sinful humanity and then raising from the dead....ultimately defeating sin, satan, and death.

40 days after our Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead He ascended back to Heaven …and when He ascended he led captivity captive.

In other words....those who had been held captive by sin, satan, and death have been set free by Jesus Christ.

And then having gone back to heaven He sent The Holy Spirit…and the Holy Spirit of God gives gifts to every believer.

If you are a Christian then you have at least one gift from God.

Now…what are these gifts given for?

Well…they are given for ministry....and the first standard by which we can measure this church’s maturity is this.... Are we discovering, developing, and using the gifts that God has given to us? Brothers and Sisters.... God has graciously given you a gift…and in the context of this local church …you should be using your gift.

You see….the

local church is not supposed to be a one man show.

Mission Church does not exist so that I might look good, or so that I might have a platform…No!

..this is not a stepping stone to a book deal or to a greater authority.

In fact .....I pray that no man will ever stand in this pulpit who would ever use the people of this church to build up his platform.... instead of using his platform to build up the people.

The local church is not a dictatorship....it’s not an experience or a fan club where a group of fans gather week by week.

No.

The work of the local church involves everybody and the first measurement is this:

a. Have you Discovered your gift?

b.

Are you Developing your gift?

c.

Are you Using your gift?

Now… there are many spiritual gifts listed in Scripture…not all of which are listed in our passage today.