One for All, All for One

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Join us on Sunday Mornings at 9:30 am for Sunday School, Wednesday evenings at 6 pm

Prepare for Worship

Call To Worship

Song 332 - Oh How Good It IS

Confession

Prayer of Confession

Almighty God, we acknowledge and confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; we have not loved you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. Deepen within us our sorrow for the wrong we have done, and the good we have left undone.O Lord, we confess that there is much sin within us - crucify it, much flesh within us - mortify it. Purge us from our selfishness, our fear of man, our love of praise, our shame of being thought old-fashioned, our desire to be cultivated or modern. Grant us to stand with our dying Savior, to be content to be rejected, to be willing to take up unpopular truths, and to hold fast despised teachings until death. Grant us more and more of the resurrection life: may it rule us, may we walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence. For the glory of our living Savior. Amen.

Assurance of Faith

Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us.

And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The good news is that Christ calls us to new life and enables us to begin again and again and again and again. Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

Catechism

Q. 14. What is sin?

A. Sin is any desire to disobey or actual disobedience of the law of

God.

Q. 15. What was the sin by which our first parents fell from

the estate in which they were created?

A. The sin by which our first parents fell from the estate in which they

were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.

Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first sin?

A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but

for his children; all mankind, who has descended from him, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first sin.

Worship

352 - I Love Thy Kingdom Lord

164 - What A Friend We Have in Jesus

354 - The Churches One Foundation

Prayers of the People

Prayer Request

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

All for One, One for All

Turn to Eph 4

For the past month we have looked at Paul's exhortation to the church at Ephesus and in turn to us to be unified as a body

Ephesians 4:1–16 ESV

1 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.

We are told that we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling

We are told that we are of one body, one faith, and that we should be eager to maintain unity within that body

We are told that Christ as the head of the body has given gifts to that body, and he marks out especially those gifted in leadership

and we are told that His desire is to build up the body and do the work of ministry

That the body is to be equipped in such away that it grow not only in size but in maturity,

and He concludes this exhortation for unity with this

Ephesians 4:15–16 ESV

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.

He returns to the body metaphor once again. We are a body, He is the head, and the body works and grows when each part is working properly

All for One, and One for All, I am going to guess that each of you has heard this phrase from the Three Musketeers book by Alexander Dumas

It is a rallying cry meant to inspire unity among this band of men set upon a common mission

I must admit I have never read the books, merely seen the many movies that have been derived from them, and because of this I do not think I rightly remember the fullness of the quote. Some or most of you are like me thinking that this was all they said All for one, and one for all. So this is where we will start

I am not usually one for using catchy titles or quotes from outside biblical sources, but this fit so perfectly I chose to use it

All for One

The famous rallying cry implied that all the members of the Musketeers fought not merely for the one king, but for each other, they held together never abandoning the organization because of their loyalty to one another

The whole of the group sacrificed to ensure the well being of each individual member, they desired that not a single one should go without

Paul tells us something similar when he tells us of how we should walk as a group, and how the gifts of the group are for the good of the individual, and how the labors of the body are for and to the head.

Walk worthy

Paul calls us to walk worthy, in gentleness and kindness, bearing with one another in love

Each individual member of the church is vital to its operation, and as a collective we are to work together to ensure their wellbeing

Ephesians 2:19 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

We are not a group of strangers gathering to do something together we are members of the same household, and we must function as one, ensuring that we all give to help the one

Imagine it as this within your own family, would you let one go hungry and the other fill themselves, would you let one die if together you could somehow prevent it?

Then we as the members of God's household have to think in the same manner

Gifts for All

When Christ ascended on high it says he gave grace to each of us according to measure of Christ gifts

It then says he gave gifts to men. We have all been given gifts in the church, and not a one of them is for our own gain

Our gifts, even those special gifts given to very limited number of persons, apostle, prophets, evangelist, and pastors are a grace to the whole body but they are for equipping each of us

The gifts of the whole are for the individual

My gift is for each of you, each of your gifts is for me, we only thrive as a body when we care for each individual part utilizing that which God gave each of us for the others

All for the One

In Paul's conclusion to this group of passages he tells us we are to speak truth in love, we are to grow up into him who is the head, Christ

As a body we have one head, and in Him is our ultimate allegiance, and our efforts, all we do is focused and directed to Him

We have been gathered together collectively for His glory

Psalm 86:9 ESV

9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.

Our unity, our collective work as a church is not for our own glory, not to be the biggest, or the brightest church in town,

all that we do should have only one goal and that is the Glory of God

One for All

The Musketeers saw that the whole must care for the one if they were to be successful, but they also recognized that the one must also be willing to sacrifice for the whole

If the body of Christ is to be of any real consequence in the battle against evil, then each individual must have the willingnessWe to sacrifice him or her self for the good of the whole.

Christ said

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And what does it mean for us to love one another

John 15:12–13 ESV

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

If we are to be effective, if we are to be built up it must be done as one, with each sacrificing for the all

"One body, One Spirit”

God has not created a church “for” individuals, but a Church comprised “of” individuals

Paul says

Ephesians 4:4 ESV

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

He says we are to bear with one another in love, seeking to maintain unity, that is to hold ourselves together

but how often do we seek to divide the body over our individual differences, even when we divide ourselves out into groups we are still dividing the body

We are to all strive to be one, giving of ourselves so that the body might thrive

Gifts to Men

Our gifts are individual, not all can teach, not all can sing, not all can do the accounting

We spoke before how the gifts are given to the body, for the good of each individual. But the inverse holds just as true. Each one of you are gifted so that the whole body might be preserved and grow.

Until We all attain to Unity

That growth that we talked about last week, that each of us is to grow to maturity in our faith, so that we might come to unity

I think of a military unit, as usual, it is highly important for me to hone my individual skill and become more deadly, but it is useless if I allow everyone around me to remain mediocre.

We must lift one another up so that we are a cohesive group working towards a singular purpose, not striving for our own individual gain

Christ says that greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend.

Don’t let yourselves think merely in terms of dying for your friend or family, that is easy to do.

Rather lay down your whole life for your friend, your wants, your needs, your time, your money, your comfort, so that the whole of the Church might benefit from what God has blessed you with.

Then and only then do we attain to unity of faith, a faith knowing that he will provide for us all.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

But enter the part of the phrase from the book, I did not remember

All for One, and One for all, United We Stand, Divided we fall

This lines up perfectly with Paul’s concluding statement

Ephesians 4:15–16 ESV

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.

United in Christ

Paul exhorts us to grow up into Christ, because He is the head of the whole body, he tells us we are united in Him

telling us that in Him we are held together by every joint with which the body is equipped

individually we serve as the joints and muscles of this local church, as a Church we serve as the joints and muscles of the large body of Christ

this is how the work of Christ is done in this world. Paul tells us that when each part is working properly the body grows. And this is our purpose that he pointed out back in chapter 2

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

So we are sewn together in a singular body to do the work of Christ as He directs and commands

ideally we should be able to continually expand this idea, from family, to church, to community, to state, to nation to the world. But yet here lies a problem as a church we must face, we allow ourselves to be divided.

Divided out of Christ

The church, at large, in our current context, fails to reflect the true body of Christ. Whether it be minor differences in the small country church, or a look at the multiplicity of denominational divides, we are divided.

The foot thinking they can do the work of the hand, and the eye thinking it is the heart. It is no wonder that the world around us is crumbling so rapidly. We as a worshipping body are no longer United in Christ, we are divided in our worldly concerns.

Truth be told, we, here at 1st Pres Artesia, cannot single handedly change that reality. But we can encourage, we can exhort, we can demonstrate.

We must strive to be united in our own body. Then find other parts in our local community that we can seek unity with to do the work.

All the while praying and trusting that it is the Spirit that will bring the growth the increase.

Truth in Love

But how do we do that? Paul tells us clearly, speaking truth in love.

But quickly what is the truth

simply put

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We must not waiver on a single bit of the truth of Scripture, and we must present it in love. If you are sharing the word out of a desire to get someone to comply with a standard that you think they should meet, then you are doing so for a wrong reason.

But if you are sharing God’s standard with the true desire of that person coming closer to Christ, growing up into the head, then and only then will the body grow in love as Paul indicates

Conclusion

The Musketeers knew this, whenever imbalance enters into an organization that is supposed to be working towards a singular goal or purpose it will fail at its mission.

If the whole fails to care for the one, or the one forgets that it’s purpose is to serve the whole, then the whole thing will flounder.

I think that is where we are today. As churches we are far to focused on the individual, and we teach the individual that their only purpose in faith is their personal relationship with Jesus, when we teach that the churches only purpose is to get people to sign up for their get out of hell free cards, we completely abandon the reason we exist.

We are not a country club, we do not gather for individual counseling sessions on Sunday. Rather we are an Army, gathered together for the purpose of the battle. We come together throughout the week to have our wounds bandaged, recieve more training, encourage one another, and make collective battle plans. Then we return to the battlefield to face the enemy, in love.

I am concerned about each and everyone of you and your eternal destination. I tell you that unless you repent and believe upon Christ, you will never see the kingdom of Heaven. Talk to me or another Christian you trust if that is the step you need to take. We will show you what it means to be a follower, to trust in the Lord, and to be baptized into the body of Christ.

But after that I tell you in love that you are now part of the group, and we have some heavy lifting for you to do. Come join us and know what it means to be part of the body. Church we cannot fix the sorry state of the world by voting for the right person, or sending money to the right lobbying group, or especially by ranting and raving on the internet. We are called to show the world Christ, and to do it right here and now in our own backyard.

When the world sees us loving each other and those around us as Christ loved the world, then and only then will there be conviction to come and sit and be part of the body. To be united with Christ and His people.

Benediction & Doxology

Closing Prayer

If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to catch me afterwards. And a quick reminder we do have plates in the back for anyone who desires to worship through giving today. The plate to the right is general giving, and the one to the left is specific for our missions giving.

Join us as we sing the doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.