How You Livin'

Eph 4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

While this letter is addressed to the Ephesian church, it was in reality a circular letter written to numerous churches, thus it addresses topics in general vs the specific issue or issues of one church. So in light of that, it would certainly be relevant for us today because we still see these issues in the church today.

In this letter, Paul is bringing the Jews and Gentiles together into one group, a group saved by faith through grace. Paul expresses, it was a privilege for him to be chosen to explain this to God’s people. As ministers of the Gospel, and I mean ministers as in servants, not the position or title, we are all ministers of the Gospel in that we serve God and his people. But as ministers of the Gospel we have an assignment to fulfill.

We should count it an honor and a privilege to tell others about the goodness of God and to spread the Good News, the news that gives them the opportunity to begin again. How many of you would like to begin again when it comes to certain things in your life? Not necessarily a do over because it’s the things you’ve gone through that make you the person you are. But sometimes there are things that if you had the chance, you would do it differently, you would say something different, you would react differently.

To be able to tell others about the Gospel of Christ starts with living a life that’s holy. It’s a little difficult to tell others about living holy when you’re not doing it yourself. To be most effective, you have to live what you speak about. Because when you don’t the word for that is…let’s say it together; hypocrite.

Paul begins this letter giving us doctrine or principles to live by and now he tells us how to live those principles, how to put them in action. Sometimes you may have knowledge about something but you don’t know how to put it into practice. Well buckle up, this is how we do it.

Paul, again identifies himself, one translation says a prisoner of the Lord, another says a prisoner for serving the Lord. The difference is, one is literal and one is figurative. Paul was a literal prisoner and we are figurative prisoners. But Paul was not ashamed of his situation as some might be for being in prison, because the reason he was there was for the cause of Christ.

Not everyone is going to like what you have to say when it comes to the Gospel of Christ.

Sometimes they’ll disagree.

Sometimes they’ll label you.

Sometimes they’ll attack you with words.

Sometimes they’ll attack you physically.

Sometimes in some places, to tell others about Christ could cost you your freedom or your very life.

We’re not so familiar with this last one because we live in a place where we are free to worship who, when, and where we want. That is not the case everywhere.

A prisoner is someone whose freedom is limited. Now we know we are free in Christ, but there are certain things we should not and will not do as representatives of Christ and children of the most High God. While all things may be permissible, all things are not expedient. We are in the world but we’re not of the world so we don’t think like, act like, or respond like the world. Or at least we shouldn’t. That’s where we’re striving to get to.

Paul says he begs you to live a life worthy of your calling. Simply put, be who you say you are, everywhere you go, in every group you’re in, with your family, with your friends, with your coworkers, with your church family. If you talk the talk, walk the walk. People are watching what you do, more than listening to what you say. But be careful, they’re listening too.

Live a life worthy of your call because you have been called by God. That’s important! Who called you is important, because with that call comes an expectation, a standard, and a responsibility. Others are watching.

So how do you live a life that’s worthy? Here comes the practical.

Always be humble. To be humble is to not be threatening or over bearing. You’re not braggadocios, always telling others how great you are, taking credit for what God and others have done. The question is asked, if you have to tell others you’re humble, are you really humble?

Always be gentle. You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. There are two sides to the Gospel and with it you can either draw someone in or drive them away. There is the legalistic side and there is the grace side.

In the Old Testament they were legalistic, it was all about the Law of Moses. That was all they had. But in the New Testament there was Jesus Christ and he brought grace with him. We, mankind, couldn’t get it right. We couldn’t live right, talk right, or think right. But Jesus came, showed us how to live and when he ascended back to the Father, he didn’t just leave us in a world of darkness with no hope. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, to live in us, to abide in us, leading and guiding us into all truth.

Holy Spirit dwells in, He lives in, He abides in us, in our spirit and when we listen and follow, oh the things we can make it through. The situations we can face, the trials we can endure, all because the Holy Spirit will carry us through.

There’s a song we used to sing at our church when I was growing up, that was one of my favorites. I, of course, didn’t fully understand the words but I liked the song. It goes like this

“Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin; Each vict'ry will help you some other to win; Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue; Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.” The chorus says, “Ask the Savior to help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you, he is willing to aid you, He will carry you through.”

What a promise. First there is a warning, you will face temptations in your life. Then there is admonishment, but don’t give in, because to give in is a sin. Then there is encouragement, the more sin you resist, the stronger and better you get at it. The easier it becomes to walk away, to just say no.

Then there’s a notice, you will have to fight sometimes, it may not always be easy, but you must subdue the flesh, because in the flesh dwells no good thing. The flesh is always at odds with the Spirit.

If you think about it, when you do something that feels good to the flesh, it’s typically some type of indulgence, something that’s not good for you, something that’s a sin. But when you do something that brings glory to God, like helping someone else, you feel good in your spirit, not your flesh.

And then there’s help. We all need help sometimes. Being gentle with each other, frees us up to ask for help when we need it. Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold.

Be patient with each other, you didn’t and don’t always get it right either. Sometimes you just need to sit and wait, sit and listen, and sometimes you just need to sit.

We all have our faults, some you have to call out and some you let them work out on their own. But the key thing is to be patient, make allowance for each other’s faults because you love one another. Love covers a multitude of sins. The love of Christ covered all of our sins and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So no one can boast, no one did it on their own, there really are no self made men or women, we all needed someone to get where we are. Even when it felt like you were all alone, God was with you, holding you up, smoothing the path, moving obstacles out of your way before you got there.

We thank God for getting us out, for healing us, for delivering us. But what about the things you don’t experience because he moves them before you get there? Sometimes you need to praise God for what didn’t happen.

The next thing you must do to live a life worthy of your calling is to make every effort to keep yourself united in the Spirit. Jesus said it best in John 15

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

As we stay connected to Jesus, we can bind together in peace, not bickering and complaining, jockeying for position and titles. There are many members but one body and the objective is to work together to accomplish one mission, lead as many people as possible to profess and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.

Every knee will bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus is Lord, that is going to happen. The question is will they do it before they reach the judgement seat, before it’s too late?

We are called to be at peace and the only way we can have peace is to recognize there is

one body

one Spirit

one Lord

one faith

one baptism

one God and Father of all, who is

over all

in all and

living through all

We’re all on the same team and unless we all pull together, going in the same direction, we cannot be effective for the Kingdom of God. We may get some things done, but it won’t be near as much as we can together.

When God placed it on my heart to start the food pantry, my first thought was we’re too small. But as quickly as the thought came to my mind there was an answer. They do not have to be members of Love Christian Center to help Love Christian Center.

And so, by faith we started and you have come, you have given and you have prayed. I thank you for showing up, I thank you for your willingness to serve others and I thank you for your support of this worthwhile cause. We all need some kind of help sometimes and God has called us to help each other.

For those of you who grew up with siblings, how many times did you hear your parent or parents say, “Help you brother, help your sister”?

God is telling you to help your brothers and sisters. You never know when you might be the one who needs help and wouldn’t you want God to say to someone else, “Go help your brother, go help your sister.”?

Over two thousand years ago, we needed help. The sacrificing of animals wasn’t doing the job. So God sent his Son to help his brothers and sisters. He sent Jesus to show us how to live a life worthy of the calling we have on our lives.

And Jesus came humble and gentle like a lamb.

He came displaying love and compassion.

He came healing diseases.

He came forgiving sins.

He came encouraging sinners.

He came delivering the lost.

He came restoring sight to the blind.

He came causing the lame to walk.

He came opening deaf ears.

He came feeding the hungry.

He came giving direction to the lost.

He came sacrificing his life for our sins

He came providing a bridge for us to return to the Father. Sin had separated us, but now! Now we have direct access all because Jesus came when we needed help, when we needed a Savior, when we needed a friend.

Jesus came and the curtain that separated the holy from the holy of holies was rent from the top to the bottom, giving us full access to God the Father. We no longer needed the priest to go in on our behalf. You can talk to God for yourself. Whenever and wherever you are.

You can call him in the morning, you can call him in the noonday, you can call him in the midnight hour. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He’s always there and he’s always on time.

Whatever you need, God’s got it. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell there in. So what do you need? God’s got it and he’s got you. There’s nothing too hard for God and there’s nothing too trivial for him. He will perfect that which concerns you.

What are you concerned about? Give it to him. What do you need? Ask him for it. He’ll give you the desires of your heart. Your desires will change from what you thought was important to what’s really important. What does God wants from us? To love him, to love one another, to live holy, to be obedient, to make disciples and teach them.

When you love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength that’s easy to do because you want what’s best for your brothers and sisters.

When you love God, you’ll strive to please him.

When you love God you’ll endeavor to be obedient to him. His will and his way will become your nature.

When you love God, you’ll change from a me centered life to a God centered life.

When you love God you’ll go from a inward focus to an outward focus. Life will no longer be all about you and what you want. It will no longer be a me, me, me, me, me life. Now you’ll think about what would Jesus do, then answer a more important question.

What are you going to do? You can know what Jesus would do all day long, but what are you going to do?

What are you going to say?

How are you going to help?

What are you going to give?

How are you going to live?

Will you live a holy life or live like hell on earth. Will you live a life worthy of your calling or one full of strife and trouble? The choice is yours and today is the day you can make a decision.

Will you choose God, or will you choose Satan. I know that sounds harsh, but to not choose God is to choose Satan. You see in this life of salvation there are only two choices, you’re either on the Lord’s side or you’re not, there is no in between, there is no middle ground, there is no abstaining.

Where do you stand? Who’s on the Lord’s side?

If you want to be on the Lord’s side, it takes a simple prayer. Father, I confess I’m a sinner. I acknowledge you are the son of God and that you died for my sins, that you rose again and ascended back to the Father where you now pray on my behalf. Please come into my heart, I give you my life. In your name I pray, amen.

If you prayed that simple prayer welcome to the family, send us an email to [e-mail] and let us pray with and for you.

If you’d like to support this ministry on the move for the Kingdom of God, please go to our website at www.lovechristianctr.org and click on the online giving tab. Please consider a recurring gift to support our food pantry ministry as we strive to do what thus saith the Lord and feed his people.