Sermon Series: Ephesians: 

The Believer's Bank

Look What I Learned!

Ephesians 4:1-6

PSBC 8/13/00 PM

In a nutshell: What should characterized every Christian? Be completely humble; Be gentle; Be patient; Make every effort to keep the unity.

I. Introduction

A. Look What I Learned

I love getting stuff sent to me over the Internet. Many of you have shared things with me that have been helpful and inspiring. A lady from my former church in Missouri sent me something recently, that I have really enjoyed because of its practicality. It's called Look What I Learned. Here's a few excerpts...

I've learned-
that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
I've learned-
that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
I've learned-
that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned-
that it's not WHAT you have in your life but WHO you have in your life that counts.
I've learned-
that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something.
I've learned-
that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned-
that you can keep going long after you can't.
I've learned-
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned-
that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned-
that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned-
that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I've learned-
that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned-
that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned-
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you are to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned-
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned-
that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I've learned-
that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
I've learned-
that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I've learned-
that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I've learned-
that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned-
that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings, and standing up for what you believe.
I've learned-
that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
B. Paul says, Look at What I Learned

Well, in verse one of Ephesians 4, we have a case of Paul saying, "Look what I learned."

Ephesians 4:1
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

It's as if Paul is saying,
"-I've been at the helm of leadership in the church,
-I've performed miracles by the power of God,
-I've started churches in every country I've set foot in,
-I've trained numerous church leaders who are now leading and directing the church throughout the world,
-I've had audiences with Kings and princes and royalty,
-I've experienced God breaking down every conceivable barrier known to human beings.
-Now, I'm a prisoner for the cause of my Lord, Jesus Christ...
...and I've learned some things about what it takes to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And if you're going to experience the blessings of God through the power of God, like I have, then you need to pay attention first of all to the quality of your life. You need to live your life in a worthy manner."

Then in the rest of the verses, through verse 6, Paul lists four things that he's learned through all his experiences that will help anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ to be "worthy of this calling –or this commitment we call, being a Christian."

II. 4 Things Paul Learned

A. Be Completely Humble

The first thing that identifies a worthy follower of Jesus Christ, is found in the beginning words of verse 2...

Ephesians 4:2a
2 Be completely humble...

The Greek word that's used here is a uniquely Christian word. I say that because until Christianity came along, in the middle of the first century, this concept of humility was so abhorrent to the Greek and Roman world, that they didn't even have a word for "humility" in their language. To think of one's self without the characteristics of pride and self-satisfaction was considered "unnatural" to most people of the first century pagan world. That is, until Christianity came along.

The reason for this is simple–God hates pride and humans love it. Look at these verses...

Isaiah 2:11
11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

Jeremiah 50:31-32
31 "See, I am against you, O arrogant one," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty, "for your day has come, the time for you to be punished.
32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her."

Illustration: I found this out in a personal way in 1988. I left the ministry vowing never to return. I was burned out, beat up, angry, and I had some major character flaws and sins that I had to deal with. When I resigned, I got some counseling help from a Christian counselor. I also started my own business. And I decided that I never wanted to go back into the ministry again. I stayed out for four years.

That hiatus was so good for me, because I learned about humility. My company cleaned toilets as it's principle function. That's pretty humbling stuff in and of itself. But probably the thing that helped me the most to understand why humility was so important to God was through a quote that a friend of mine gave me from a magazine article written by a Christian management specialist entitled, "The Art of Being a Big Shot". It means so much to me that I've taped it in the front cover of every Bible I've owned since then, and it appears on our church website as my favorite quote...

It is my pride that makes me independent of God. It's appealing to me to feel that I am the master of my fate, that I run my own life, call my own shots, go it alone. But that feeling is my basic dishonesty. I can't go it alone. I have to get help from other people, and I can't ultimately rely on myself. I'm dependent on God for my next breath. It is dishonest of me to pretend that I am anything but a man–small, weak and limited. So, living independent of God is self-delusion. It is not just a matter of pride being an unfortunate little trait and humility being an attractive little virtue; it's my inner psychological integrity that's at stake. When I'm conceited, I am lying to myself about what I am. I am pretending to be God, and not man. My pride is the idolatrous worship of myself. And that is the national religion of Hell!"

Friends, the reason God hates pride is because pride sets man up as God. And that's idolatry! And God is a jealous God who will not tolerate idolatry. He will not share your loyalties with anyone. And He will not demonstrate His power or His blessing in any lasting way through a prideful person.

As Christians, you and I have blessings beyond measure in our spiritual bank accounts. But we will not be able to access those blessings if we are prideful, and insist on relying on our own strength to accomplish things that are important to God.

So the first thing that a worthy follower of Christ needs, is humility.

B. Be Gentle

The second thing that Paul says he's learned that must be present in a worthy follower of Jesus Christ , is that he or she must be gentle. That's found in the middle of verse 2.

Ephesians 4:2b
2b ...and gentle...

Gentle is a Greek word that came from people who trained animals for a living.
-A lion could be trained to do certain tricks in the arena.
-A wild horse could be trained to carry a person or pull a chariot.
And while these wild animals could be trained, they never lost the power they had. So, gentleness came to mean, "power under the control of the trainer".

Now, friends, by that definition, a person has to have some power if he or she is going to be gentle. A powerless person cannot be gentle, because he or she has nothing that can be brought under control. A powerless person is just a wimp. But a powerful person, brought under control of a trainer is someone who can be gentle.

Did you know that according to the Bible, if you are a Christian, you are a powerful person? Listen to Jesus words...

Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

When you became a Christian, you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. That Spirit is the third person of the Trinity–God, Himself, dwelling in you. So, by virtue of the fact that you are a Christian, you are already powerful, because the very power of God dwells in you, since the Holy Spirit of God dwells in you.

That means you don't have to pray for God's power in your life. Because you already have it. Our task, as followers of Jesus Christ, is to bring the power that resides in us under God's control, so He can use it for what it was intended to do–advance His Kingdom.

Let me give you a very simple way to be gentle. Start each morning with a prayer that goes something like this..., "God this day belongs to You, and I belong to You. So, here I am, use me however you want to use me to do what you think is necessary to advance Your Kingdom."

And if that's you heartfelt attitude, then you are on your way to being gentle.

C. Be Patient

The third thing Paul learned that is so important for Christians to have in their lives, is also found in verse 2, the last phrase...

Ephesians 4:2c
2c ...be patient, bearing with one another in love.

I came across this story in "Leadership" magazine. It helped me understand what Paul was saying...

A man once bought a home with a tree in the backyard. It was winter, and nothing marked this tree as different from any other tree. When spring came, the tree grew leaves and tiny pink buds. "How wonderful," thought the man. "A flower tree! I will enjoy its beauty all summer." But before he had time to enjoy the flowers, the wind began to blow and soon all the petals were strewn in the yard. "What a mess," he thought "This tree isn't any use after all."

The summer passed, and one day the man noticed the tree was full of green fruit the size of large nuts. He picked a large one and took a bite, "Bleagh!" he cried and threw it to the ground. "What a horrible taste! This tree is worthless. Its flowers are so fragile the wind blows them away, and its fruit is terrible and bitter. When winter comes, I'm cutting it down." But the tree took no notice of the man and continued to draw water from the ground and warmth from the sun and in late fall produced crisp red apples.

Some of us see Christians with their early blossoms of happiness and think they should be that way forever. Or we see bitterness in their lives, and we're sure they will never bear the better fruit of joy. Could it be that we forget some of the best fruit ripens late? (Misty Mowrey, Roseville, Minnesota. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2.)

Paul says that one of the things that must characterize our lives as Christians, if we are going to be worthy of that name, is that we have to be patient with each other. And he defines this patience as "bearing with one another in love."

The apostle Peter makes this statement about this kind of love...

1 Peter 4:8
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

He's saying that forbearing love throws a blanket over the sins of others. Not so we can excuse the sin or justify the sin, but to keep the sins from becoming any more known than necessary.

In other words,
-we don't talk about another Christian's faults,
-or times when a Christian person has messed up,
-or even snicker at a fellow Christian when their mistakes have been especially embarrassing.... ...We throw a blanket of love over them that tells them, "This is a safe place to be. You can grow here. You can make mistakes, and still be loved here. And you are loved for who you are, not what you do."

D. Keep the unity

The last thing Paul learned that is so very important to Christians being worthy of the name Christian, is found in verse 3...

Ephesians 4:3
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

At the core of this unity, and what makes unity with all Christians, regardless of what denominational group or independent group they affiliate with is this:
-Everyone of us has had to admit before God that we are sinners and separated from God,
-and that the only way to re-establishing a relationship between God and us is through faith in Jesus Christ as the forgiver of our sins and the leader of our life.
-And we find out how to enter into that relationship from only one source–the Bible.

This levels the playing surface for every follower of Jesus Christ. We are all on equal footing. And it's that equal footing that provides the basis for unity.

The pastors involved in the intercessory prayer offensive, are committed to this unity. Because we know that without it, we won't be able to fight the evil that pervades this area, and without it we will never see the harvest of souls that God wants to bring to pass.

Ted Haggard, in his book, Primary Purpose, articulates why this unity is so crucial to the cause of Jesus Christ. He writes...

Inside the walls of our churches, let's teach and practice the full menu of what we believe.

...But outside the walls of the church, I believe we must focus on the absolutes. Because when we do, we put tremendous pressure on the forces of evil that want to divide us and distract us from our primary purpose.

The result is that the non-Christian community hears the same basic absolutes from thousands of Christians from a variety of churches. They start wondering where all the Christians have come from. In their viewpoint many people are talking about how wonderful Christ is and how great the Bible is. No longer are they hearing that Baptists are better than Presbyterians or that charismatics are more spiritual than Lutherans. They hear, instead, from all of those groups that Jesus is the only solution to the problems they face and that they can trust in the Bible.

Then, in the next three verses Paul shows how God in three persons still operates as one, and sets the example of unity for us:

1. Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:4
4 There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called–

Here we're told that the Holy Spirit is the common denominator in all denominations, all independent churches and all individual Christians. Because it is the Spirit of God that draws people to a relationship with God.

2. Jesus

Ephesians 4:5
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

-There is only one person that God expects us to pattern our lives after–only one Lord–Jesus Christ.
-There are no multiple faith experiences that lead to salvation–there is only one–faith in Jesus Christ alone.
-And there is only one baptism or cleansing from sin. Buddha can't do it–he wasn't perfect. Mohammed can't cleanse from sin, for the same reason. New age guru's can't cleanse from sin, because they aren't sinless. In fact, no one but Jesus can cleanse from sin, because He was the only one to live perfectly as a human, and thus earn the right to be the sacrifice for our sins and take away the consequences of Hell that we all deserve because of our sin. Like the old Sunday School chorus goes...What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

3. Father

Ephesians 4:6
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

And God the Father is superintending every event, circumstance and incident that takes place in every person's life. So that any person who wants a relationship with Him can enter into it.

So, in the triune God, there is oneness, and unity. Yet in their three persons, each has a job that is important in the process of reconciling sinful men and women back into a love relationship with God.

4. Pull it together

So, Paul's point is that worthy followers of Christ will recognize our diversity, but won't let it divide us on the most important issue–people need to personally know Jesus Christ as their forgiver of sins and follow Him as the leader of their lives.

When you're divided from other Christians, you're witness is diminished. When you're united with other Christians, you're witness is powerful.

Billy Graham says, "Church-goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out."

III. Conclusion

Illustration: Before Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States, he served as a major-general in the Tennessee militia. During the War of 1812 his troops reached an all-time low in morale. As a result they began arguing, bickering, and fighting among themselves. It is reported that Old Hickory called them all together on one occasion when tensions were at their worst and said, "Gentlemen! Let's remember, the enemy is over there!"

That's a good summation of this passage this evening. Paul is reminding us that our enemy is out there–not in here.

So..., What has Paul learned that he's passing on to us?

Be completely humble
Be gentle
Be Patient, bearing with one another in love;
Keep the Unity.

Blessing and usefulness come to lives committed to these core values.
Amen.