Sermon Tone Analysis

Verse 1 - “THEREFORE”

Paul starts out Ephesians 4 with “therefore”.

There’s a sound teaching when it comes to Bible study, anytime you see the word “therefore”, it’s best you stop and figure out what it is there for.

Hopefully, by the time we finish tonight, we will be able to answer this question in regards to the fourth chapter of Ephesians.

Read Ephesians 4

Personal struggle with this message.....

Football season.

Clemson: 8-0, ranked #4.

Gamecocks: rough season, beat Georgia, played Florida tough until the fourth quarter

What if a football team NEVER ran a single play in a game?

First down, the team takes the field, huddle up, the coach tells the quarterback what play he wants to run, the quarter back tells the team the play, they clap hands and then all run to the sideline, sit on the bench and wait for the play clock to run out.

Second down, they all run out to the field, huddle up, the quarter back calls the play with enthusiasm; everyone is getting excited, they tell the quarterback what a good play it is; everyone claps hands and then all run to the sideline and watch the play clock run out.......this is how the entire game goes on offense and defense.

The coach is calling the right plays, the quarterback delivers the plays with zeal, the team gets pumped up, happy, excited..........but never takes the field to actually execute a play......how successful do you think that team would be?

I imagine the team would be pretty bad, regardless of how much talent the team had, it would be impossible for them to win a game against any opponent.........

We would make jokes about how terrible that team is, laugh and jeer at them.

It dawns on me how often we, as Christians, are this team:

Get off the Sidelines and Take the Field

Paul tells us in

Who are the saints?

Anyone who has been sanctified in Christ Jesus, all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a saint.

That’s us!

Apostles, prophets = The Bible

Evangelists = Preachers, Shepherds = Pastors/Church Leaders, and teachers

Equip the saints = Connect you to the body, teach you God’s will, present you opportunities

The saints do the ministry

God’s field is out there in the world

This building, “church” is just the team huddle.

How often do we hear a rousing message from our Bible Teachers or Brother Ron, get excited about God’s Word, even so much to tell them what a great job they did; then walk out those doors and go about our lives on the sidelines until the next huddle?

How often do our fellow Christians struggle in their attempts to accomplish God’s work while we prioritize other things and sit on the bench?

“Because”........you can put any reason behind that because, it doesn’t change that God’s work is priority #1, God’s call is to get off the sidelines and take the field.

The Whole Team is Needed for Success

However, you deciding to take the field is not enough

Wait.

What?

You just told me to get on the field........

There is a reason why coaches rely on team meetings when things get particularly rough during a season

The greatest motivation for a team, comes from the team itself

You deciding to get on the field is step one

step two is getting the rest of the team on the field.

The difference between a good player and a great player is that a great player makes their teammates better

If you know of a Christian who is not plugged in, a teammate standing on the sidelines, urge them to the field

It’s not just the church leaders responsibility to organize and make things happen.........we are the saints, we ARE the ministry........

No amount of play calling will score without the whole team on the field.

Play Angry

So what happens when we all take the field?

Guaranteed victory?

I don’t think so, I think how you play matters - Step 3

These two verses can be condensed to one statement: Be angry and give no opportunity to the devil.

Be angry?

isn’t that un-Christian?

I appeal to Jesus in:

Anger is an emotion, a strong one.

It motivates us to an action.

What makes it right or wrong is what we do with it.

Do we allow it motivate us to actions that are destructive, or do use it to motivate us to positive results.

The latter is what Paul wants us to do

When I read this verse, I couldn’t help but think of the movie Blindside.

The movie is about Michael Ohr.

Michael is a beast of a teenager.

He’s twice the size and strength of most boys his age.

But he is a gentle giant.

He grew up amongst so much anger and violence that he learned to deal with it by internalizing everything so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone around him.

Because of this, he got pushed around on the football field despite his size and strength.

But there is a turning point in the movie where Michael reaches his potential.

His team is playing against an opponent that everyone believes his team has no business on the field with.

The fans, the refs, even his teammates chalk up the loss before the game even begins.

The game begins and it seems they are right.

The other teams best players are pushing him and his team around.

The refs are even beating him down by calling anything he does positive a penalty.

Then his coach stands up for him and the refs disrespect his coach too; and that’s when everything changes.

You see, Michael has a special gift.

He is extremely protective of those he loves, of his family.

In this moment, he could have been justified in saying his team was not playing their best, he could have made a case for being angry with the coach for getting a penalty and making the situation even worse.

Instead, his eyes were opened and he saw his coach and his team as his family and when he realized the other team and the refs were disrespecting his family, while he just showed up and did the little everybody expected of him, he became angry.

But the anger didn’t lead him to start a fight or complain or quit.

Instead, he decided to lead the way.

The next play he took hold of that same player who had been pushing him around all game and ran him right off the field, legally.

He made such a big hole in the defense that the running back could have made a pit stop at the concession stands and still scored.

In fact, Michael took it to the other team the entire rest of the game in such a way that at the end of the game, the other teams best players were asking to be taken off the field because they were so thoroughly beaten.

After the game, Michael’s team had won, and he was asked what he was thinking.

He calmly responded: “It was time for them to go home.”

Claim Victory

All of us spend time in the huddle

Sunday School

Sunday Service

Wednesday Service

Bible Study Groups

Online

All too often we break the huddle, run to the sidelines, watch the play clock run out, and complain when the team loses

Don’t confuse me for saying that we should never be dissatisfied, I’m saying quite the opposite, we should be dissatisfied

It’s what we do with that dis-satisfaction that matters though

Dissatisfaction that sits in itself and remains as such is evil

Dissatisfaction that motivates action, change, positive results, a spiritual touchdown.

That’s God’s play.

Paul is calling a team meeting in the book of Ephesians.

Paul spends the first three chapters telling us that Christ is in control, Christ is calling the plays in our life, Jesus is our coach.

Paul tells us that we all belong to Christ as redeemed saints, that every other Christian is a family member, they are our teammates.

Paul points out that sin is against us and nobody gives us a chance.

In Chapter 4, he tells us what comes next.......

Therefore..........