Encouragement from Love
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Prayer
Adoration: Holy/transcendent; steadfast love; faithfulness that never changes
Day of Prayer: for CEF—against intentions of ‘Satan Clubs’
Confession: …we have sinned, failed to grasp Sword of Word during temptation, failed to pray fervently for each other; failed to care about spreading gospel/failed to open our mouths...
Thanksgiving: Your word assures of your unfailing lovingkindness, shown in the death of your Son… sins removed forever!
Supplication: Help us to look to you by clinging to your Word (temptation/holiness), give us opportunities + boldness => gospel
Benediction//Family Matters: Hatfields in prayer,
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
Sermon
Sermon
Reading: Eph. 6:21-24
Two notes:
Where we are in our life together—
=> Going through Ephesians + study on the HS => especially an opportunity to refresh our foundations together: to remember who our God is//to place his gospel at the center of our life together//to reflect on what it means to be a congregation + walk the Christian life together
=> We will always be refreshing the foundation—going deeper into God + his gospel!
=> But now, we will begin asking in earnest, as a congregation, what is discipleship supposed to look like among us, in practice? What does it mean to live as disciples, and to disciple one another? How would God have us grow in this area? What would it look like to have a culture of discipleship among us?
=> Not that we won’t talk about evangelism during this next phase—but there is a certain logical order to this: First, we asked, who is God and what kind of redemption has he made for us?//Now, how do we grow as his people?//Then, eventually, how do we take this message to the world?—
Our next Sermon series
=> With some of you, we had a conversation… asking you to pray about our next sermon series. I wanted to preach Lamentations, but wasn’t completely sure… God has been kind to provide guidance on this through the wise words of multiple counselors: I have concluded that we need Lamentations… but also that now is not the best time for it. So: thank you for your prayers! They were answered.
=> So what will we be doing next? A series in the Psalms, focused on the spiritual life of a true believer/disciple => walk through what the Psalms have to say about what true fellowship + blessing from God looks like for his people in this life.
Intro
Intro
Q: What does the Father’s love look like reflected in the hearts of his children?
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ex: Church website quote: “we believe in the privacy, self-determination, and spiritual growth of the individual believer. Growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ, we’re able to endure life’s challenges on our own.
Maybe reacting against cult-like control? No.
Put the whole philosophy of discipleship together:
(1) listen to bible preaching on Sunday,
(2) have your own private walk with God,
(3) presto: a private, self-determined spiritual life where you endure life’s challenges on your own.
You can probably sense something wrong with that…
Few churches will ever outline a discipleship plan as anemic as that…
But what's missing?
Q: We may reject such an idea, but is there a risk that our life together could become like that?
What’s missing?
What’s missing from a life where you hear a good preacher, and then use what you hear from him in a private, self-determined spiritual life, where you face challenges on your own?
[Answer]: The missing piece can be found in many places in Scripture, but it comes through loud and clear in today’s passage, the last four verses of Ephesians
The Practices of Love
The Practices of Love
As it happens, the Christian life, by design contains certain basic practices for the community of faith—often called, “the one-anothers”—things that we do toward/for one another that are a critical part both of reflecting the Father’s love and of helping each other to grow as disciples.
***But what are these practices? And what do they look like in action? What is their content?***
**Not going to see all of them today… but some very central ones…**
[Concern + Prayer]
So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
Concern—
Paul can assume that the Ephesians care deeply about how he is doing...
Why he lets them know that Tychicus will fill them in on everything… they want to know!
Prayer—back up a few verses
Paul instructed them to pray… doesn’t even mention prayer for themselves individually… but prayer for all the saints (vs. 18), and for Paul the prisoner (vs. 19)
How could Paul unload such a big command on them? Seems like he assumed they would have some kind of drive/desire to do it… that he and other believers mattered to the Ephesians… why?
He knew: already as strong basis: love...
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
Same phrase: “all the saints”
Paul’s reasoning: If you love all the saints, then you will be concerned about all the saints, so I can ask you to pray for all the saints
What is root? Not random!
Divine adoption:
In 1:5, read, Father of our Lord—
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
By God’s own act, he = father, we = brothers and sisters
Result => Spirit-empowered love toward fellow believers => a deeper understanding of this adoption = fuel on the fire of that love
B/c of this love => Eph. congregation had a desire to know how Paul was doing + readiness to pray for him
Application… who for us?
Love always begins with those closest to you = family members, members of your congregation
Husbands, do you know your wife’s spiritual battles? Pray?
Parents, concerned w/ spiritual things w/ children? Close friends?
Brothers + Sisters in this congregation? Congregation as a whole?
Love then extends => other congregations + believers
Other congregations, believers
Missionaries, like Paul…
So: love of the Father reflected in his children => concern + prayer
But also: Encouragement
vs. 22: a major reason for Paul sending Tychicus w/ a letter => “…that he may encourage your hearts.”
Basis: returned love
But: Paul not present to encourage… how?
w/ a letter… but that’s not Paul’s focus (vs. 22)
Tychicus… as a conduit of loving encouragement… how?
=> historical practice: Tychicus carried the letter => Ephesus, + read it to them...
=> But focus here: Tychicus himself would encourage their hearts, not just w/ the letter, but with his own words… how possible?
Paul gives hint by how introduces him: “Tychicus, the beloved brother...” // word “beloved” => used only one other place:
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
=> b/c he is a beloved brother he is able to encourage their hearts = his status as a beloved child of God is the basic reason why he is able to encourage
=> also introduced as, ‘faithful servant (minister)’ = Paul saying, ‘here is a trustworthy brother with a faithful track record who will be able to encourage you’ => tells us: to encourage one another in a biblical way is something we are to grow in over time as we mature as believers…
Yet, in this one example of Tychicus, we see the practice of encouraging one another—a practical way to reflect the Father’s own love in our lives as his children—which is for all of us…
Sub-conclusion: So then, this is a model for us… the Love of God must be reflected in how we practice love toward one another!!! This involves concern for one another, prayer for one another, and encouraging one another… and actually other things as well, such as confronting sin, etc. Yet, just listing these things by themselves is not enough… for the believer, there is a specific content to these practices.
The Practical Content of Love’s Practices
The Practical Content of Love’s Practices
Concern => Prayer
They have a basic, good concern for Paul… how does he address that concern? Pray for me!
Content of prayer:
Strength in Gospel of Grace
Boldness to speak gospel of grace
Application:
Pray like Paul asked…
ask for prayer like Paul asked…
Concern => Encouragement (Paul’s own concern for them?)
Specific nature of their concern?
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
Paul stops there, goes on for 12 more verses… ‘this is why the glory of the gospel means that you shouldn’t be discouraged by the fact that I’m in chains’
‘God had a plan from the beginning, to reconcile people from every nation to himself, creating this little thing called the church—often despised in the eyes of the world—and yet—’
so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
So what was their concern? => Paul, champion of the gospel, is in chains!
What was Paul’s comfort for them? => The gospel itself, in a sense… “Don’t you see? I may be wearing earthly chains… and some day, you might wear them too… but through Jesus, and faith in him, we who were formerly God’s enemies now have bold and confident access to his own holy presence.”
Now: Paul—“I am an ambassador in chains”
What kind of encouragement was Tychicus going to give about this?
Same kind as Paul in Ch. 3— “Yes there are earthly chains, trials, sufferings, persecutions… but the result of the gospel is => at the same time, we are those who have been redeemed… forgiven, sealed with the unbreakable seal of the Spirit, bound for a glorious inheritance w/ God.”
[Benediction]
Imagine Tychicus reading this to the Ephesians...
Tychicus reads,
“I have sent Tychicus to you… that he may encourage your hearts”
Next verse, he reads:
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
So, the words of these verses are part of this encouragement… a beloved brother saying, “Peace to the brothers”
Benediction—
= an announcement of God’s blessing on God’s people
= a reminder of gospel blessings => used by Spirit to comfort + strengthen…
==> a summary of the gospel as presented in Ephesians//what Paul wants to encourage them with!
==> implication: these are the truths we are to bring to each other!
Peace
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Explained esp. in ch. 2
At one time you were separated from God + alienated from his people (if you have not trusted in Christ, still you…)
You were a stranger to his promise of Salvation… whether you sensed it or not, “no hope + without God in the world” = summary of your condition
Yet:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Brought near into a new people, united with each other by Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf
Brought near to God—sin + guilt removed, hearts made new…
Such a profound peace that we have bold access into the unspeakably glorious presence of infinite God!
Take comfort: you are a people who have an unlosable peace, and it comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
BTW = the need to remind of this peace => it is always yours, but there will be times when you can’t sense it/enjoy it…
This is a peace to remind each other of => not just that you have peace w/ God, but how you got it.. through the death of Christ!
Love with Faith
The love of God is toward you: you are his beloved Children, brought into his family by Jesus’ death and Resurrection
God has opened your heart in faith to trust his gospel: he will preserve your faith, and hold you fast in his salvation
These are words of comfort + encouragement to share w/ each other
Grace
By grace—a free gift—God redeemed you… and God’s free grace is with you still
This grace is for those who love Jesus w/ a love that is, “incorruptible”
“Incorruptible” = new creation
Everyone who believes has been created new in the inner person… inner person belongs to the coming new creation already!
Your new-creation-heart contains a love for Jesus (small, newly sprouted?) that cannot be corrupted away, but as the result of God’s grace it will grow until it comes to full flower…
But if these are the kinds of truths we’re supposed to encourage each other with…
Ask yourself: is there someone that I need to reach out to? One time? Form a relationship to disciple?
How can we be a congregation w/ a culture of speaking these kinds of things regularly to each other? Tip: after the service, habit of: “Here’s how song/sermon, etc. spoke to me, etc.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
What was wrong with church mentioned in intro? To private + too pastor-centric (explain)
A central part of God’s plan of discipleship: that we pray + speak into each other’s lives—Jeff and I exist to equip you to do that, and to model it for you…
Note: there are other one-another practices...
Let us Show Love with Gospel-Soaked Concern, Prayer, and Encouragement Toward One Another...
For we are those who have been given… grace, peace, love in Jesus… let us strengthen each other by speaking those realities into each other’s lives!