Walk Worthy of God's Calling (Ephesians 4:1) - Tim Conway

okay Ephesians chapter 4 I just want to deal with verse one today but let's read the first three I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called 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 so this morning just verse one I've entitled my sermon worthy of God's calling I have four headings and they flow right from four words that you find in verse one urge you may have a different definition than the ESV if you do the word is likely entreat or beseech number one urge number two walk number three worthy number four calling so that's what I want to look at urge let's think about that word for starters urge like I say your Bible it may be entreat or beseech let me give you just a standard maybe Webster's dictionary definition of these terms which which is not far off of the Greek definition here but just entreat to ask earnestly to implore you like that word implore I implore you that doesn't sound just that doesn't sound casual urge you know what urge sounds like it's got it it sounds very close to urgency beseech means to implore urgently urge you look at edge it carries the idea to push or force along impel with force or vigor to drive with incitement to speed or effort to press push or hasten now what I want you to see about this and this is very telling in the original language here the very first word in the Greek is this urge in fact if you look at something like Young's literal translation which gives you more of an order of words according to the way the Greek has it listen listen to how it would come across urge you therefore do I the prisoner of the Lord to walk worthily of the calling with which you are called urge you therefore when you start what you have to recognize is this when you wrap up chapter 3 and you come into chapter 4 the very first word he hits you with as this transition takes place last week we looked heavily at the word therefore and just the significance of that but you know what the first word is in the original it is that urge that takes the prominent position here the verse opens literally urge you therefore do I the prisoner of the Lord to walk worthily we start chapter 4 with with this idea pressure I mean think about edge to push or force along impel with force or vigor to drive with incitement to speed or effort to press push or hasten we start chapter 4 with with a push it's an apostolic push an apostolic encouragement I mean do you realize what this is saying to us one thing it's saying is that the Christian life I this is essential what it's saying to us is that the Christian life doesn't happen spontaneously the Christian life does not just simply happen naturally you urge somebody you encourage somebody you implore somebody there is this urgent imploring why because in the apostolic mind he recognizes this if I encourage them and I pushed them hopefully they will respond to the push and they will excel beyond where they would have been if I wouldn't have encouraged them implored them pushed them that's that's the reality you don't encourage urge implore urgently and impel with force and press and push if you believe that for the Christian to walk worthily it just happens this is key because you know what as we come into these practical teachings here if you will be pushed I mean if you'll hear this like wow he's he's really encouraging me to do this for one that means he believes it's possible for me to excel beyond where I am if I will heed his urgent call that's that's key listen I'll tell you this if you were to find out that James Jennings stood up here this morning and preached that message on the tongue the use of the mouth and you actually heard him say wow you know I just I had to preach Sunday morning and I was looking for material and I came about that well they have any effect on your life oh I don't know they really affected my life at all I wasn't really studying that to affect my life I did I had to preach I get paid by the church to preach but that might be the same way that you approach this message somebody could be in here and say well you know we we hear these messages they're gonna come along hopefully there will be something in each of the message that maybe will be interesting or stir my mind or you know maybe convict me or something but listen listen with such an urgent impelling right at the beginning I would say this he believes that we can get beyond where we are for one thing you don't urge people like this unless you believe that they can get beyond where they are and it's possible look if you approach the Christian life well I'm just a failure and I don't really have much expectation beyond that I think you're missing the whole flavor of such urgency you see what what you want to find out is that you know what James studied the material that he studied from Proverbs not just to teach you but because he really desires to be changed from it and I would say that as we're going into this chapter for with such urgency with such a and imploring you can you can just miss this you cannot hear this or you could say yeah you know what I mean to be changed I am going to expose myself to the teaching of the Apostle Paul in these chapters ahead and you know what I mean to change I mean to do what is necessary to come out of this thing more worthy walking more worthy of this calling to which I have been called I I know this doesn't naturally happen there needs to be effort there needs to be striving on my part there needs to be there needs to be a determination in your mind that you know what I am gonna be confronted by standards James knew this going into that study he was dealing with today he knows he's he's going to look at himself in this mirror of Scripture and be faced by a standard that he's gonna have to say I don't measure up anybody anybody else out there squirming but you see this thing is you hear these things it's not just enough to squirm what you really need to do is you need to set your sights on okay let's squirm as we go through this let's be honest let's face where we fail let's face where we fall short because listen right off if you're not honest you're not going anywhere if you just basically approach everything I don't need help I don't need growth I don't need to be convicted I don't need to heed this urge this is this urge tells me I mean it's it may it's coming from a man who's inspired yes but he's he's excited about this he's he's putting pressure because he believes these people can be motivated by the therefore remember he's deducing from all the glories of those first three chapters I really he's talking he really feels that this is motivational and this can propel us and compel us to to reach further and higher and to be changed not just to come here well yes yeah you know that's what I do on Sundays I go to I go to the church meeting I hear the preaching but actually and it's listen it's painful if you ask James while he was studying or even some of you you can tell when you were listening to the message today what's gonna be like that in in the chapters ahead we're gonna confront ourselves do you know the first thing we're gonna confront ourselves is is pride humility all the different ways that that can manifest itself or gentleness or lack thereof patience love but this is the way someone talks who believes that coasting doesn't get you there like like you know if you're in a football game and you're cheering on the team or I would go to Joshua's track meets and he's coming down what do you say go run run run why because you're you're hoping he's gonna hear that voice he's gonna hear dad's voice he's gonna hear family up there and that's gonna give them that little extra push the little extra incentive why because you believe that you're yelling can really help stir and compel that's what you're hoping for that's what he's hoping for hear that where you are right now and the way you're walking in this life right now that you can actually get beyond where you are and simply coasting isn't the thing this is the way someone talks who believes that none of us have yet attained all there is to be attained you talk this way when you believe there's more when you can press in further higher up but this is also the way someone talks who believes that if we do exert ourselves we can attain to a walk that really is worthy of the calling to which we've been called he doesn't he doesn't set this is some target but that's just so unreachable that you just sit down and despair and and make no effort to excel at there's nothing here to make us think that what Paul presses us towards is impossible of laid hold up the very further of his urgency here oughta make us realize it's only gonna be laid hold of by exerting ourselves and I mean I I you know I was thinking this time of year just a little bit late but you think with me the question any hours.this how committed are we to this if a football coach you know how it is August comes around football players are in to day practices the football coach is urgently I mean he's shouting at the guys but but he's not doing it with Noah no purpose he knows this but if these guys will work and they will work and they will work and they will give themselves and I won't go out and get drunk with the other guys that aren't on the football team on Friday night and that work hard and they'll they'll think football night and day you know what he can tell them there will be success there will be victory there may be Championships out there there may be trophies but you press that way and you know what you get you get some football players like many of them I went to high school with stay up late drink on the weekends eat candy bars and you know what you end up 500 at the end of the season you look there's there's reality to this there's there's guys they think football they want to eat right they're exercising they're seeking to be on that on that edge well that's hey come on that's that's worldly sports we're running a race of life were the people of God how are you what commitment level are we going into this with where you say you take a teacher that also happens this time of year you get the new semester starts a teacher applies pressures to his students in September during the first week of college classes my son and daughter are experiencing that kind of thing but you know you get the you get the college professor and he's urging the children if you get a good one some of those guys don't really care but you get a good one you come in he says to the students look I'll tell you right up front the ways that will really help you get a good class get great in this class is come to all the all the classes if you skip classes not gonna go good avail yourself of my office hours because I'll meet with you and I'll help you I mean and you know what the promise is there the promise is there good grades you end up with a better grade point average in the end hopefully you end up with a better job see there's there's something to this there's rewards there's promise here and you know what you get well you know what you get in college some guys that just basically try to just survive just try to get by just try to get by with a passing grade but if you ever watch people that just try to get by with passing grades they're not really their heart's not in this thing and you compare that to a person who is a straight-a student and you watch the differences you know what there is a difference as we as we go into chapter 4 what do you want you want you want 500 you you want to you know that's that's the football motif you you want a see we should we should be striving for A+ why because of the incentive he's gonna urge us with I mean the calling to which we've been called it's like do you know who you are if you do Paul gives us Paul gives us the promise did you think about coming out of those first three chapters you just think about the things he said every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places if you just got to where you gone when you hear that always heard that so much over the last couple years or seated with him in heavenly places or filled with all the fullness of God Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith or that we have access to the Father through Christ in one spirit we're the dwelling place of God I mean there's this promise all these promises and we're being called upon to walk worthy of the calling that God has called us to are you this is the question are you decided to succeed and it doesn't start right now are you decided to take the message you heard in the first hour and say you know what that can vix me but I just don't want to go out of here convicted I want to go out of here changed but my wife doesn't really know this happened but a couple of weeks back I'm driving down Commerce Street and I'm coming up on a street light and I've got a green light and the guy comes up the other way and he makes a right on red but he didn't I don't think he even stopped he just kind of went through it and I was really close to him and you know I didn't over break I just kind of flew up real close behind him and my wife said something about just doing that because you're trying to punish the guy I mean she was reminding me and I thought well that's exactly what I'm doing and I thought I am not dude I'm not gonna do that anymore because there have been various times my wife has said you know this is what you're doing and I've said like when she's not looking I turned to the Lord and I say Lord that was exactly what I was doing and I don't want I don't want to do that anymore but I hope you're like that that's the way we've got to approach Scripture or just like something is pointed out to us and it's like yes I'm gonna put forth an effort if this may not happen perfectly but I'm gonna draw a line in the sand it's like I'm not going I'm not going there anymore and if I find myself there I'm gonna repent just like that I'm gonna back off of that are you decided to succeed and like I say it takes being honest I mean you got to be dead honest James could sit here and tell you this convicted me yeah and I was squirming over there too and I could tell you know I can tell when my wife is she's nodding and I'm thinking yeah she's thinking about me but if we don't admit where we fail you're you're not you're not gonna do well we got to be honest honest with the Lord honest with each other because look we're all in the same boat we all are we desperate we're people that need to be saved we need the grace of God we need the help of God we need the power of God now the next word here is walk you see it there Ephesians 4:1 I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk Paul likes that word you know how he uses it in other places very familiar verses walk in newness of life we walk by faith and not by sight with the guys on Thursday afternoon we just looked at walking in the spirit he likes that word look with me here in Ephesians he uses it repeatedly look at Ephesians 2:10 we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them or you see this again in Ephesians 4:17 now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds or look at five - or just we're gonna see this repeatedly in the days ahead walk walk in love as Christ loved and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God look at verse 8 for at one time you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light just one more look at verse 15 of chapter 5 look carefully then how you walk not as unwise but wise what's walk it's used figuratively of how we live it's it's our way of life that's what walk is but I like the imagery because think about the imagery of walking the Christian life is given different air imagery in Scripture we may liken the Christian life to a battle can you think of any place where it's like into a battle fight the good fight of faith there's other places sometimes it's likened to running a race can you think of any place where it does that how about Hebrews 12:1 let us run with endurance the race that is set before us but you see we each of these whether it's a battle whether it's running a race it conjures up certain imagery the reason you use imagery like this is because there's something in the imagery that reflects some reality of what the Christian life is like different imagery tends to reflect different realities about the Christian life Paul likens life to a boxing match why does he do that should we be boxing on each other actually he's boxing himself see that's good in fact that's a good imagery as we take into he Ephesians 4 are you ready to to beat on yourself he says I do not boxes one beating the air but what do you think of when you think of walking I mean what's that what imagery does that produce well I can tell you this it makes me think of movement I mean just minimally it makes me think of that a walking man he's going somewhere he's not stationary he's not idle he's not laying on his behind now look when I think of a walker he's not running he's not sprinting but I think of consistency you know if you got a guy walking you may dry by this guy look at the guy walking we're in our car and you go right and you do something but then you know that guy can just keep walking at that speed and you go do what you're doing and you drive you can find that guy miles away later it's like hey there's that guy we passed before way over there how to get over here well you just walked because there's consistency it's amazing how far I mean in there I don't know if you want to call it a fairy tale but the rabbit and the hare wasn't there The Tortoise and the hare yes a rabbit is a hare I mean what's what's the moral of that story if you're a turtle and you just keep walking a lot of times you'll get places before the person who's Prince but he's hit and miss all the time and he's always getting distracted and it's just it's consistency a walk is something that's maintained we're going somewhere walking walking walking distinctly a progressive motion I like that walking engages typically if you're a normal Walker I mean some people walk you know really stiff and their whole body may not be committed to it but the average person the whole body's committed to it the walking engages puts in action the whole man and you got the legs moving the arms back and forth no part is left out lungs working torso swivels anyway it's just we're in this walk let's go to the next word worthy because this is a this is a major word here I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called no what I often do is I've got my Bible works I come across a word like this I go to the Greek word I look it up in my five or six lexicons and I try to I try to get a feel for these lexical meanings listen to a lexicon definition of this word worthy pertaining to having a relatively high degree of comparable merit or worth now I know what here that more plainly it's the idea of comparable value that's the key it's it's the idea that one thing has comparable weight or merit or value to something else imagine holding a scale scales deal with weights imagine the kind of scale that we had in chemistry where you basically have this thing and it's got pans on both sides not a bathroom scale this is this is the kind where you put a weight on one side and then you put something on the other side and you you make it balance typically what you're doing is you're putting a known weight on this side and then that tells you what the weight of this thing is on the other side but it's it's that idea imagine holding a scale in your hands on one McCall's saying imagine the scale we get like mrs. Liberty with her head you know she's she's got the blindfold on and she's holding the scales it's a picture of fairness in judgment in our court system imagine those scales do you know what Paul is doing here when he talks this way he's saying take this calling this has to do with the first three chapters it has to do with the realities there take the glory of those first three chapters God think God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing God has chosen us to stand before him God has adopted us God has promised us an inheritance in those chapters God has given us the Holy Spirit God has given us redemption through the blood of his son God has allowed us to draw a knee by the blood of Christ he's made us into this one new man together we are this new man this new creation we are reconciled in one body to the Father we have access to the Father by way of the Spirit in one spirit we are this dwelling place for God you think of these you know what Paul's doing he's putting all those realities on one side of the scale and he's saying now let your life be equal in weight that's what this word means you know what churches that don't preach Ephesians one through three or they go over it in two sermons and they don't dive in and people don't see the glory that's no good Paul wants us to see the glory he wants us to feel it because he wants us to know the weight but the reality is this the more we are exposed to that glory the more it's expected that our perception of that glory is gonna result in us recognizing just what kind of weight there needs to be in the way we walk and the way we live in our practice that's the idea and I look however your your head we get people to come in the church they love doctrine love doctrine I want to learn all about this I'm going to learn all about the election of God and being chosen before the foundation of the world oh I love all this but you know what you know what's being said in a verse like this the scales are always out there and the more heavy the more weighty you see all of these realities on this side the more it's expected that your conduct is going to be of such weight so with that scale stays even that's what walking worthy walking in the same weight walking in a comparable manner comparable that's what we need that's what we us have brethren can you imagine us a bunch of people in the church imagine us carrying our scales around and we're all walking around and we're getting all a heavy-duty doctrine we get we get teaching but all of our scales are like this that's not what Paul is urging us towards he's his urging is bring those things into balance folks that's what the call is here that's what it is what sort of conduct is gonna keep the scale balanced it's yeah that's what I recognize I recognize that flying up behind another car and getting right in his rear rear window because he practically ran the red light that doesn't balance the scales oh yes let's let's fly up behind the guy in in you know the big UConn highlights put right in that back window and then I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna study Ephesians chapter 3 look at the glory here Steve that's that's this that's carrying the scales around and it's bad it's bad that's we're to walk comparable comparable remember the therefore that means therefore its deductive there's deductive reasoning here I'm supposed to deduce that flying up behind people like that or misusing our mouth is not walking worthy of this weight of doctrine this glory of this gospel this reality of Who I am as a child of God simply we're supposed to deduce what sort of life we ought to live in light of all these realities brethren it's only when we really perceive how weighty these realities are how great the weight is over here this is no small salvation we're a part of this thing is big and and it's the bigness of it it's the weightiness of it that really causes us to see just how holy and righteous and blameless we ought to strive to be in order to put this balance equal but it's interesting it going through the lexicons we also see the word worthy carries the idea of suitable - that's kind of like comparable but it's it's actually listen to this the King James Version many of us cut our teeth on that but it speaks this way a very similar verse and don't turn there just listen to it Philippians 1:27 in our ESD reads this only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ it's the same kind of impelling urging listen to it again let your manner of life be worthy that's our word the King James Version says it this way only let your conversation or manner of life be as it becometh the gospel of Christ you see our work our walk our actions our life is to be becoming of who we are and who God is and what God has done for us the idea conveyed here is matching lloyd-jones lloyd-jones like it likens it to a bunch of old ladies wearing clothing that only young people should wear but it's the idea that your clothing isn't mismatched it doesn't clash it's suitable to just recently I'm walking up a house going somewhere and Ruby says you're not going like that are you like what green plaid shorts and a blue almost polkadot polo shirt I saw nothing wrong with that but but you see we laugh but but just stand back and be in the myriad of angels as they watch well they're here here comes the guy who's preaching at that church over there all the time Wow look how did he just flew right up behind that car that's not very becoming did didn't Christ save that guy oh yeah that happened like that many years ago and he's still doing that see it doesn't become the Christian that's the reality it's a clash and that's exactly what Paul is saying should not be true of our lives as Christians just listen to these verses I urge you to walk in a manner worthy walk worthy of the calling to which you've been called or the one we just looked at in Philippians let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so it's the calling to which you've been called yes walk worthy of that walk worthy of the gospel of Christ let your life be of equal weight and not clash with the gospel that you proclaim or there's this Colossians 1:10 walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God or first Thessalonians 2 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory you see there are certain things that are not becoming there's certain things that are sharp contrast in clash do you know where we're going first humility gentleness you all see it their patience love unity peace see humility and gentleness that doesn't mean that there's not times like our Lord where you take the whip and you clear out the temple but these are the things that are becoming these are the things that are Christ like James took took us to Christ and the way he spoke I say that's what we're gonna be doing in the weeks ahead we want to think we really want to bring our minds back over and over and over again how did Jesus because because you know before we get out of chapter 4 he's Paul's gonna talk about the way you learned Jesus see we want to seek to imitate him in all these things he's the perfect model of humility the perfect model of gentleness the perfect model of patience and love striving for unity so we're gonna be looking at him we don't want to clash with him you see you see you don't want him over there looking green plaid and you walk up next to him and you're looking blue polka-dot that's what you don't want that's what clashing really is when we don't look like him no clashing or you get it like this I think Paul especially captures this don't turn again but listen to Titus 2:10 many of you know this and everything adorn the doctrine of God our Savior you see the appeal is always to the doctrine here's unbelievable gospel truths in Ephesians 1 2 & 3 take those and put them on cover yourself the life must always issue from that it must match that it must be comparable to that listen you're chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him wow I've been selected out of all mankind for that yes put that on and take that out into the world you're the dwelling place of God put that on put that reality on filled with all the fullness of God you're a people who are loved by Jesus Christ with with dimensions of which it's it's unknowable the love of Christ for his people you're the recipients of that robe yourself and go out you're your the recipients we looked at the Song of Solomon when he says come away it's to you Christian that he's talking you're the favored ones you're the people of Christ of people for his own possession robe yourself with that reality and go it must never be in conflict never contrary adorn yourself to match it adorn yourself to act that reality out okay lastly calling you see this this is really it's it's in one sense it's that which the first three chapters were all about the calling to which you've been called it's what's on the other side of the scales it's what our activity needs to be comparable to I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called I mean isn't that a unique way to say that the calling to which you've been called Christians Christian your people you're a person who has been called do you know another word we could use there you've been summoned look I know I know that this is a physical example but it's so captures the reality here Lazarus come forth you see Jesus called to a dead man and he came out that is a that is a wonderful picture of what we're talking about when we talk about the call it's God speaking that's what call means his voice now look I'm not talking about just the Gospels being preached I'm talking there are people that when they get exposed to the gospel the voice of God comes through that gospel and it rings on spiritual eardrums and they hear it and it is a hearing that actually calls them forth from the dead we're talking about an authoritative powerful call of God call is something God does to you and it's everywhere in the New Testament probably we don't recognize just how often scripture speaks this way and I don't make any claim to try to deal with all the verses but we're gonna look at some of them just so that we might get a feel for what this call is go back to Ephesians 1:18 because we came across this already in Ephesians 1:18 Paul this is Paul telling the Ephesians how he prayed for them the first time he tells them again in Ephesians 3 but remember the first time that he holds them up and praise thanking God for them he's praying that that they would have the spirit of wisdom and in revelation of the knowledge of him in Ephesians 1:18 he he is praying his prayer for them is that they would have eyes of their hearts enlightened notice the first thing in his list that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you literally this is what is the hope of his calling see that this is the first step that you might know it that's what the first three chapters are all about so that you might know just what you are called to God has called you out of the tomb and I'll tell you this he didn't call you out of that tomb just to come away from the Hellfire flames he called you out of there to be a people of his personal possession and to live a certain way and to stand before him holy and blameless we need to remember that so ah my favorite places and all the Bible that deals with the call is found in first Corinthians and I do want you to turn there first Corinthians chapter one when we know the hope of what it means to be called we throw that out in the scale our walk our conduct should be comparable suitable becoming of what's on the other side so what what can we say about this call because the more glorious you see it to be the higher more worthy we are expected to walk my first statement here is this call it's never based on merit it's God does not choose and pick the way we do that is for sure look at this 1st Corinthians 1:23 we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews folly to Gentiles but to those who are called you know what another name for Christian is that those who are called out of all the masses of mankind there's a people that have been called out both Jews and Greeks so it doesn't go down ethnic lines it tramples all over that Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God for the foolishness of God is wiser than men the weakness of God stronger than men now here it is again for consider your calling of course this is if you have been called if you have been called consider the call what he's saying is this there's something true about it I'm gonna tell you consider think about your call and you'll know this to be true what not many of you were wise I know it goes on to say according to worldly standards so this is good because we're coming into humility right right at the beginning word were the fools basically not many powerful we're the weak not many of noble birth were the nobodies but God chose now isn't that interesting because he said call before but now he moves he transitions to a different word what what that means is God calls God chooses he chooses who he calls God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise look that's okay I'll readily acknowledge it in my last days I was a fool I was weak I was a nobody I was not of noble birth and you know what if if that's what is the reality behind most people who get saved wouldn't you rather come from that stock and get saved I know I would God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong God chose what is low and despised in the world even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God and I would just say this if I if a king comes along and he chooses he calls out of the crowd you know the King and all of his pomp and circumstance and he's parading through and he looks over in the crowd and there's a poor beggar kid over there and he calls him out and he says I'm gonna give you money and I'm gonna you nineties clothes but no I'm gonna adopt you I'm gonna make you my own son I mean how are you gonna walk around then like some spoiled brat you gonna walk around like you're still a slum beggar I mean if he adopts you should you should you still be on the corner begging we need to live like we are who we are according to the calling to which we've been called we've been called by the King of Kings we have we have we look we are these beggars we come from poorer stock most of us it's it's something he does to us and you remember what Jesus said no one can come unto me unless my father who sent me draws him and there is a draw he speaks he summons and we come why because in that call is life it's a call of life it it's a call of power then there's this you don't need to turn very quickly I'm gonna move through these but Romans 1:6 called to belong to Jesus Christ oh if there's a if there's a doctrine to adorn yourself with I have been called to belong to him I'm not I'm his possession why he owns everything but you know what that means that means I'm among the people that he has made his own the the people that he has made his bride the people of his intimacy the people of his salvation the people who are going to be with him for ever and I'm one of those so but Doorn yourself with that reality God is faithful this is first corinthians 1:9 by whom you were called into the Fellowship of his son so we're called to belong to Christ were called into the Fellowship of Christ and Hebrews 9:15 he says this he says Christ is the mediator of a new covenant so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them see the called are the redeemed and death has taken place we're called to belong to Christ a fellowship with Christ were called to be saved by Christ here's another thing the call happens in time when we talk about for knowing or predestinated I mean you can't pin those down that's before the world began that's eternity but when it comes to the call listen to this was anyone this 1st Corinthians 7 was anyone at the time of his call already circumsized let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised let him not seek circumcision he says each one should remain in the condition in which he was called were you a bondservant when called do not be concerned about it he was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freed man of the Lord likewise he was free when called is a bondservant of Christ you see what Paul's saying there's a time you're called there's a condition you were in when you were called it happens at a point of time we may not be able to identify the exact moment but being saved is something that happens in the course of time whether you can identify the moment or not there's a moment when that voice came to you and you were called forth from the dead and you came up out of raised up with Christ that's that's the teaching of the scripture it happens prior to justification why is that important well you know the text that affirms that those Romans eight thirty knows whom he predestined he also called those whom he called theirs are he also justified see that comes after one and those whom he justified he also glorified what's important about that the call happens then justification were justified by faith which mean God calls and then we believe and are justified faith is something that is the natural outflow of God calling us and giving us life it happens through the gospel that's key listen to this verse 2nd Thessalonians 2:13 we ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers beloved by the Lord because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth to this he called you through the gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ but hear that called through the gospel look God does his calling through the instrumentation of his word never forget that if we want to see people converted we need to be preaching the word we need to send them to the word we need to have their eyeballs in the word they need to be finding the Christ of the word they need to be going the scriptures that's where the calling God has given his word preserved his word to speak through that word so that his voice might awaken the dead and call them and then just listen to the glory and excellence called 2nd Thessalonians 2:14 called that you may obtain the glory I know I know we're just about done but don't miss this I can't capture all that this is but here this you just living along your kind of mundane life remember who you are and where you are going what you're called to second Thessalonians 2:14 called that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ now somebody may say well I think that means this and something else is I think that means that I'll tell you whatever it means that you want your you're called for that wherever you may live whatever lowly occupation you may have or maybe not however you feel like you're walking this Christian life you're suffering you're not in the limelight maybe you feel like you kind of alone in certain circumstances before you have any kind of pity party remember this you are called to suffer scripture says that but you remember what's after this you are called that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ first Thessalonians 2:12 God calls you into his own kingdom and glory first Peter 2:9 he's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light first Peter 5:10 called you to his eternal glory in Christ 2nd Peter 1:3 called us to his own glory and excellence I just say this brethren adorn yourself with that and live comparable to who you are walking around in Pride walking around not gracious not gentle not patient it's not becoming and it's not a comparable weight adorn yourselves let our scales be in balance brethren that our clothing not clash as he who called you is holy you also be holy and all your conduct brethren remember this you are called walk worthy of the calling to which you've been called don't walk unworthy don't walk with the scales all ajar and tilted comparable walk worthy walk worthy Paul is every bit expecting you can not that it's impossible not that you're incapable not that what he's about to say for three chapters is useless verbage spent for no reason he's expecting that by the grace of God we have been called that means God has given us every spiritual resource in the heavenly places to walk this way so brethren let us walk worthy of the Lord the Father we ask you to change us help us grow us press us further on to hear this urging of the Apostle Paul and to take it to heart walk Lord I pray that there would be a consistency a consistent progress in the Brethren here I pray this in Christ's name Amen

Channel: I'll Be Honest

Views: 5,019

Rating: 4.9496856 out of 5

Keywords: Ephesians 4:1, walk, urge, worthy, Christian

Id: R3HXfRc1PsY

Length: 62min 32sec (3752 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 28 2018