Calling and Growth
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Ephesians 4:1-16
We are called in unity
We are called in unity
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
What is a calling?
Like, when someone says that they have a calling or something like that, what does that mean?
Angie Ward commented that, “Calling is a God-given conviction about your life’s direction.” - Angie Ward
I like that! A calling is a conviction about your life’s direction.
But then, she ended the article she was writing about how her and other leaders are “called” to work in specific churches and ministries.
So, she started by saying it’s a conviction on direction, and then calling became a job description!
I’ve done the same thing! I used to say (I’m working on not saying it anymore), but I used to say that I was “called” to be a pastor. But, what that really means is that I think that God wants me to be a pastor, and that He’s given me the ability to do that, but that’s a job description! That can’t be what a calling is, just because Paul says that we’re all called to walk in a manner worthy of the calling!
We all have a purpose and I don’t think that it’s to be a pastor!
We are called to live in light of the Gospel.
If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been called to be a child of God, and we have to live in that way.
It get’s to be different and unique for you, we all live that out in different ways, but we are all called to be a follower of Jesus.
If you aren’t yet a follower of Jesus, you’re being called, RIGHT NOW, to be a child of God and believe in Him, and then to live that way!
So, how do we live in the calling?
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Humility
This isn’t that you hate yourself, it’s that you care for other people!
Gentleness
We should be gentle towards one another. We care and support one another, we’re not beating each other down, we can be kind to one another
Patience
If we can’t be patient, then how are we supposed to live like a child of God, because He’s incredibly patient with us!
John Chrysostom said that patience is, “to have a wide and big soul.”
Bearing with one another
I like this one because it’s realistic!
It doesn’t say, like one another, it says put up with each other!
We need to be able to tolerate one another in love, or else how are we supposed to be followers of God?
If followers of Jesus can live this out together, then we can be unified, we can all work together to make Jesus known.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
There is only one God and one faith, and we’re supposed to be unified in that.
So, we’re allowed to disagree with each other, but that never means that we can’t be around each other.
I’m sure that all of us have some different ideas on how we’re supposed to pray or read our Bibles or any other part of the life of a Christian, but I also know that we can all be together because God calls us His children.
We are equipped to equip.
We are equipped to equip.
All of this so far has been about howGod is working in us, which is great! We need that in order to be followers of Jesus, but then v. 7 goes on to talk about what is expected of us.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Grace was given because of Christ’s gift. Each of us was given grace and the gift of Christ.
That’s what the next few verses (8-10) are about!
Jesus came onto earth and gave gifts to all of us because of His great love for us.
Ephesians 4:8–10 (ESV)
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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,
It says that he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers: that’s PEOPLE
Part of the gift that God gives us are the people around us that are there to grow us!
I had my youth pastors and leaders, and I’ve got mentors and friends now, that are a gift of God to grow me.
You do too! I pray that you look at your leaders as people who are trying to grow you in holiness!
The purpose of this gift is to equip you for the work of ministry!
We don’t do youth ministry for free! There’s an expectation that you guys are going to grow into followers of Jesus that are even more effective than we are! I would love to see you guys pick up where we left off and transform Lewis County in the light of Jesus!
The goal is that we would grow into people empowered by God to equip others.
That’s what v. 13 is all about.
The purpose of your life can be all about getting cash in your pocket or followers on instagram or just to be so cool that people are in awe of you, but all those things are temporary and really suck your life away the more you get it.
You’ll reach the end of your life and still feel like you accomplished nothing.
Instead, why don’t we make the purpose of our life, our calling, to love and serve Jesus so much that we can’t help but draw other people to Him.
That’s an eternal purpose! That’s something that lasts! That’s something that has some weight to it! You can spend your entire life following after that purpose and still feel satisfied!
You we’re placed here by God to grow into follower of Jesus that can point others to Jesus, and to spend the rest of eternity loving and worshipping Him.
That’s what v. 15-16 talks about!
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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.
We’re supposed to grow up (15) and make the body (the church) grow (16) so that it can build itself up in love.
Here’s the thing I get really excited about in all of this:
We are called because of the love of Christ into a life with Him which is full of love and unity, where we are given people to help mature us into followers of Jesus that can mature other followers of Jesus until we all reach the throne room of God, where we then get to spend the rest of eternity loving and worshipping and celebrating and learning.
THAT’S ALL ENCOMPASSING! THAT’S MY FOREVER
God loves us enough to have an actual plan for us! He know’s your intricacies and uniqueness and that He factored all of that in in placing you exactly where you are now so that you can grow to love Him more!
Jesus cared enough about you to sacrifice Himself on a cross as payment for our sin so that we can live out our calling, which is exactly what the gospel is all about! We are so loved and so cared for even though we are so flawed and sinful, to the point where God was thinking about your eternity before you were even born!
That’s a love that transcends time and space and human logic and reason and its source is found only in God!
Questions:
What is your favorite season and why?
How would you define “calling?”
Out of all of the characteristics of the calling (humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another), which are you best at? Which do you need the most work on?
How can we better equip you to love and serve God?
