Church Unity

Background

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Ephesians 4:1-16 df

Today we are doing a stand alone sermon on church unity

But it is part of a larger series that focuses on church health

And so as we expound on Ephesians 4 and look at practical application for us

I want us to think about this in two ways - the full body of christ - every believer

Anyone who has put their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation is part of the church of Christ

So there is a macro level that we have to be aware of

But we also have to be aware of the church at the micro level

In the local body of Christ

In the group of believers that are around you and close to sphere of influence

And so we want to look at this in terms of the Big Church and in terms of New Day Church Pasadena

For many of you who may not know - we are a replant church

We were formerly named Golden Acres Baptist Church and Golden Acres has a really good and honorable history here in this neighborhood

At the same time, in the cycles of life - the church had gotten older and was seeing a need for change

Change had to happen in order for this church to be able to continue to love, serve, and advance the gospel in this community

And the members didnt want to move/leave the community - they wanted to stay planted here

And by God’s providence he led Golden Acres to New Day who encounted the same problems, who addressed the same challenges, and is now steadily growing healthy

After 10 years, New Day Oak Forest has healthy ministries and has steady growth

And in the midst of change, God brought unity

Can we take a minute to acknowledge that change is often hard and uneasy

Change can keep people from moving forward

Change can bring in fear and anxiousness

But what happened here at this church is that the goal was greater than change

The goal required change

If the goal is for this church to continue to glorify God, love God, love others, and to continue to meet for generations then change had to occur

And by the leading of the Holy Spirit, this church passed the vote to become New Day Pasadena with a 92% majority

And so if you have joined us recently, if you are unaware of whats happening here -

I want you to know and understand that you are visiting a local church who is lazer focused on its goal and in the midst of facing change - are unified in moving forward to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ

There is much unity amongst us and it is in that unity that we are prepared to continue to do the work of ministry

We are now New Day Church Pasadena but we do not want to rely on New Day Oak Forest to sustain us forever

We want this local body to continue to work to bring about the change to reach the goal

We are supported, we are uplifted in prayer, but we do not want to be dependant

And so we are to continue to gather, and work, and grow in unity so that we are able to grow as a local church

And what we are going to read and exposit today is a blueprint as to how we can accomplish this

Ephesians Background

The Apostle Paul writes the book of Ephesians as a letter to the church at Ephesus

And while some may argue that the letter was written for multiple churches within the region

It is abundantly clear that Paul is writing to the body of Christ

And in the preceeding verses that lead up to chapter 4 - Paul is praying for the body of Christ

Paul is praying for the church

And this prayer for the church is the foundation to which how the church is to operate and build

So I am actually going to read Ephesians 3:14-4:16 sdf

However we are going to start with 4:1 in our exposition

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

Ephesians 3:14-4:16

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

This is the Word of the Lord, you may now be seated

The Call

Believers Call

Ephesians chapter 4 starts a new section of Pauls letter that focuses on unity and purity

And starting in chapter 4, Paul appeals to his brothers and sisters from prison that because of Christ -

There is a new walk

And Paul stresses how important this walk is by using the word urge

urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

And if we are honest, most times we may think of God’s callings in exclusive terms of calling a pastor or calling someone into ministry

And while this is the case, we must also remember that every believer has a basic calling as a believer in Jesus Christ

In Ephesians 2 Paul stresses that we were once spiritually dead in our tresspasses and sins but that by God’s grace - he makes us spiritually alive together in Christ Jesus

And so now that we are spiritually alive - we have a spiritual walk that must be carried out

And this walk for every believer starts with growing spiritually in all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The spiritually dead people think about themselves, and because they think about themselves they can be course with others, and when wrong is done to them - almost any response other than murder and love are acceptable

And by our standards that there many people I know that are spiritually dead but have morals that are good

I would call them a good person by human standards -

But at the core - at the essence of their decision making, because they are spiritually dead - their goals, their motives, the purpose they create for themselves to live are not to the glory of God and are spiritually apart from his will

And so a good person by our standards can portrait humilty, they can portrait gentleness, they can portait patience and love

But because their motive, because their essence, and reasoning and purpose for living is apart from God, then they are ultimately portraying these traits to glorify self. It makes them feel good

But for the believer, verse three details a trait that only believers can do because only believers in Christ Jesus can maintain the unity of the bond of the Spirit because every spiritually alive person has the Holy Spirit

And in todays world, if we were live streaming this sermon, someone would take the clip of what I just said, they would post it on twitter, and they would say, you see - they think they are so much better than us because they believe in Jesus

And unfortunately there are a minority of people who do think that they are better because they have Jesus

But in reality - the reason why humility is listed as the first trait is because we must recognize that we are not better than anyone else

That it is by God’s grace that we are saved and in our new walk, we walk only because Jesus has died and arose from the dead

And so this church, New Day Church Pasadena will gladly declare and share and confess that we are imperfect, that we do fail at times, and that we arent better than anyone else

But this Jesus - Jesus has given us life, he has given purpose, he has given us meaning -

And so I once walked on earth spiritually dead aiming to please myself

But now that I am alive in Jesus everything I do is for the glory of God

And it is in this new mission, goal, and purpose, that we are humble, gentle, patient, bearing in love, and eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

And so this section here tells us that we are all called to start with humility and should end in unity and peace

And what happens in the Christian life, is that we can start this walk in humility and somewhere along the way to unity and peace,

The temptations of the world seek to cause us to stumble

The believers of Jesus Christ are attacked to not act as the church - decieved by lies that sometimes we know what is better and because I know better then we should do it this way

But through Jesus, through the unity of the Holy Spirit - we are to fight against these spiritual attacks

That we are not left alone, but that we always have hope in Jesus

Our text says just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

In the walk of spiritual life, as we seek to be humble and to reach unity, we must remember the call that rests in Jesus

That because of Him, and through the Holy Spirit, we can continue to pursue and reach unity

Gifts for Work

As I was reading through this and preparing, I was reminded of the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

And in this book now also a movie

Through a wardrobe, 2 boys and 2 girls that are brother and sister are found in a different world called Narnia

And in Narnia it has been ruled by a witch

And Narnia doesn’t have humans in it but magical creatures

And there is a prophecy that says when 2 sons of Adam and 2 daughters of Eve come to Narnia and sit on the thrones of the palace, that the spell will be broken and peace will be brought in

And as the story unfolds, one of the brothers is decieved by the witch and is taken as a prisoner while the other three are trying desperately to find a way to save their brother

And in the course of the story, the three find themselves trying to reach Aslan who should be able to help them

And they are being chased by who they think is the witch but come to find out - was Santa

And they are each given gifts - Not toys to play with - but gifts to be used as tools accopmlish their journey and mission

Peter was given a sword and shield, Susan was given a bow and arrows, and Lucy was given a dagger and a liquid that only requires one drop to heal anyone of their ailment

And as the story unfolds, the three could do nothing to save their brother

Their tools were not enough to save themselves

And so it was Aslan who had to give up his life to save the brother

And while everyone thought Aslan was dead and would stay dead, the brothers and sisters went to war against the witch and was trying to using their tools to overcome the evil

However, their tools were no match and it seems as though they would all die

Edmond, the brother who was decived by the witch was stabbed

And so they are forced to retreat

And at the very end - Aslan comes back to life because he gave himself as a sacrifice on the stone table for the brother

And in his conquering of death, showed up to the battle and killed the witch

In the same way, we on our own are no match for spiritual darkness

But with Jesus, the light who overcame darkness, the one who died and came back to life, we can continue to fight

And as he ascended into heaven he promised to be with us till the very end

And as he is with us, he also gives us gifts

In our fight, our walk, our quest for unity - we are given gifts to use

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Verse 11 here can be a hang up for many people

But verse 11 is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the church offices nor is it meant to be an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts

But what verse 11 is meant to do, is to show that there are offices and gifts bestowed upon God’s people to help God’s people

And these gifts are to be used

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

If the main context of this section is unity and purity

Then the context of this section here is for unity and purity

And so there are tools/spiritual gifts that are going to be different

We are all called to humulity, to be gentle, to love, be patient, and to pursue unity in the Spirit

But we also have unique gifts that we are to use to equip the saints and to build up the body of Christ

Some of us are given swords and shields, some are given bows and arrows, and some are given a dagger and liquid to heal

And we are to each use the gifts given to us for the same purpose - of glorifying God and fulfilling the Great Commision

Can we be honest that the command to make disciples is what is being taught here

And in this text, it is not saying that the offices listed in verse 11 are to be doing the work of ministry

Rather, it is the people that they equip

I submit and admit that I can’t do everything

Sometimes it may seem like I dont think that - But trust me I know my limitations

I simply can’t run our Kids Camp all on my own

But what I can do is empower and equip others to minister using the gifts that are given to them

That as everyone comes together to use their gifts, the body of Christ is built up

That Jesus be shown/reavealed/confessed/magnified/ in every aspect of Kids Camp

That Lord willing the kids hearts will be changed and will say yes to Jesus and will start their walk with him

And as the church, welcoming him or her into the church, we also continue to disciple, equip, and train them to be able to one day go out, equip, and train, others

And while it may be a team effort at Kids Camp for the kid to come to know Jesus

Not a single worker take the credit for it but that the team together glorifies God for the work that he has done

And so the church needs the prayer warrior, the church needs the person gifted with administration, the church needs hospitality, the church needs the bold to go out and share the gospel, the church needs the teachers, the compassionate

And everyone must use their gift for the building up of the church

And here is the thing, even after we die, the work of Jesus Christ must continue on

It will continue on until Jesus comes back again

And so this is what the members of this church are unified in saying - that after we pass, there has to be another generation of disciples equipped and ready to continue build up the church of Christ

That this community, even after we are gone, will still be reached

That as new people are added and moved into this community - this church remains and stays commited to reaching them

And I love how Paul ends this section - he writes, “14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

And so if we are body then each of us are needed to make the body function

We do not rely on ousrselves to sustain the body but we trust in Christ to do that

And in our walk, we are to grow spiritually from being a spiritual child to a spiritual adult

And as a spiritual adult, because of your walk with Jesus,

with the leading of the Holy Spirit and through wisdom and discernment,

we will not fall into deceit or to teachings contrary to scripture

But that we will continue to seek truth and lift each other up in truth

And because we are accountable to each other, we must have hard conversations

We must continue to communicate our struggles

And again, to know that we are not doing that alone

Christ is with us - and so we are not be alone spiritually or physically

But we grow in him and with each other and we are equipped by eachother

We are a body - No believer is called into isolation

Jesus displayed the ultimate sacrificial love for his church

And it is God who displays the highest form of love to his church - Agape love

So his church, his people are to love

Application

We must love

Everything a believer does must stem from the love of Jesus

Everything we do here must stem from the love of Jesus for one another

Every converation we have must stem from the love of Jesus for one another

Every decision we make must stem from the love of Jesus for one another

1 Cor. 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

We will talk about the apostolic gifts a different time - but the point of the text is that it desnt matter what gifts God has given you, if you are not using them out of love the love of Jesus, in love with Jesus, and for the love of Jesus, - then we are using them for self and not for the glory of God

But if we focus on loving eachother as Jesus loves us, we can continue to work together to build each other up

Keep Your Leaders Accountable

If you are not getting the discipleship you need, we need to know that

If you do not feel equipped, we need to know that

I know I am flawed and I submit that there will be times where I think a ministry or a program is working and it really might just be a hangout

We just read it, my responsibility as a shepherd/teacher is to equip the saints

To help you use your gifts in a ministry

We have plenty of needs in this church

And I appreciate the willingness of people to step up,

At the same time, if we only stick people where they are needed and not where their gifting is, then they are prone to burn out quickly

Listen I have been here for three years and in the three years 5/6 that we have in Kids church are the same

The same three deacons who teach Sunday School are still teaching Sunday School

And as much as I would love to give them a rest or add people to the rotation

The reason why they are able to keep going is because they are being faithful to their calling and gifting

They do not complain and they do not ask for a rest - why? Because they are using the gifts to build the body and through the work of the Holy Spirit, they are sustained

And that is why I dont ask them all to serve on the greet team as well

Some of our teachers are non greet team people

And if I were to try to stick some the teachers behind the sound board and computer - they might not like me very much

But if thats you, if you are being misused, if you are not being discipled well, if you arent being equipped to use your gifts and talents - hold me accountable and let me know

This open accountability keeps from disunity

What causes disunity is when these things arent addressed and the pastor has no clue but some of the people start getting together and start talking about the pastor or leadership

Build up the Church and remember the purpose

Our goal is to glorify God, Love God, Love Others, and to make Disciples

Our vision for this year - That we pursue healthy growth through unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender heartedness, humility; and will seek and pursue peace within the church and the world

And so maybe you know your gift but havent been using it, let us know so we can get you plugged in

We do have discipleship ministries

Get plugged in

We are putting the final details on community groups for the fall

We will be hitting outreach a lot in the fall

Do you aspire to be a deacon - please let us know

We have the same purpose, we have the same vision - so how are you going to be a part of that

Let that be your prayer this week and let the Holy Spirit guide you to where you need to be

Membership brings unity

Lastly, I want to encourage you, if the Spirit is leading to join this local church

To join New Day Church Pasadena

We do believe in membership here

It is not used for us to become a club but for us to have accountability to one another

Membership brings clarity and unity that I am a part of this body

That I have responsibility to my fellow brothers and sisters here

I am going to be involved and walk out my faith here

And for me as the Pastor, it lets me know that I am spiritually responsible and accountable to you and your spiritual walk

Dont get me wrong, I will help disciple anyone who needs it - but scripture is clear that there is a weightiness for me to be responsible to those who are willing to submit to the local church and its leadership

If someone is willing to do that, it puts responsibility on me

If you are interested in that please let us know, you will meet with me (usually one day after church)

And we will go through the beliefs, values, and responsibilities of the church and church members

And its also a time for us to get to know one another better and for you to ask questions about the church

Announcements

Connect Card - Please fill out, we want to connect with you

We want to be Kingdom Minded what is your response? - giving, serving, response to Christ

Kids Camp will be July 24th-July 27th from 5:45pm-8pm (VBS) Register online instagram or Facebook

Mid Summer Mysterey Match will be the same - 6th-12th - Same thing on registration

We are looking for Volunteers - and if unable we ask that you at least canvas

Out in the Foyer we have door hangers for you to take and pass out to your neighbors and friends

Also in the foyer - Spiritual Gift Inventory Test - It is a helping guide, maybe you need to refresh

New Sermon Series - I will be out next week

‌New Day Reading Plan - Mon-Fri - Romans 9 - Romans 13

1 Chronicles 16:10-11 “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Do this Now and Forevermore - Amen