[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 22nd of October, 2017. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
I am always amazed at the special insight the Apostle Paul had into who Jesus is and what He wants of us. Even though Paul did not walk with Jesus during His ministry, and indeed worked against our Lord at first, the Apostle had an incredible grasp of just what it means to be a Christian. And through Christ, Paul was also given a clearer understanding of our Father God and the mysteries of heaven. Paul constantly proclaimed his thanks to God, and with good reason.
Listen and follow along as I read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, beginning with chapter 1 verses 3 through 10, then skipping over to end with chapter 3 verse 20 through chapter 4 verse 3, from the New King James Version of our Bible…
Listen and follow along as I read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, beginning with chapter 1 verses 3 through 10, then skipping over to end with chapter 3 verse 20 through chapter 4 verse 3, from the New King James Version of our Bible…
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
--Ephesians 1:3-10; 3:20-4:3 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, You give us so very much. Everything we have, in fact, comes from You. And your greatest gifts are Your forgiveness and our salvation. Forgive us, please Father, when we take all this for granted. Please share another gift with us this morning, Father. Speak into our hearts through Your Holy Spirit and help us better understand Your message and Your will for our lives. In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. "I couldn't read it," the friend explained. "Somebody named Guten-something had printed it." "Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in horror. "That Bible was one of the first books ever printed! Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!" His friend was unimpressed. "Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German."
It would seem we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Why else would we pay movie and sports stars millions of dollars a year to entertain us, yet pay barely a livable wage to our educators who teach us and our children what we need to get along in the world? We need to be more cognizant of the true value and worth of people, things, even our beliefs.
I started our service this morning, as I usually do, with a call to come together and worship our Father God. The word “wordship” evolved from the concept of worthiness, or of being worthy. To worship God is to recognize His worth, His worthiness. It is to look God-ward, toward the Father, and to acknowledge in all ways the true value of what we see.
So, family, what do we see when we look God-ward? The Apostle Paul saw only goodness and blessings. He saw how very much God gives us, while basically asking for, and expecting, so little in return. And filled with that special insight Jesus gave him, Paul devoted the first three chapters of Ephesians – fully half of his letter - just to tell us how good God is.
Because of God’s wonderful grace and the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, we are blameless, redeemed, forgiven. We are His child, His heir, His chosen. We are holy, partakers in the promises, sealed by His Holy Spirit.
And we are also created for good works. Think about that a moment… A hammer was created to drive nails. It can be used for other purposes – I’ve even used the claws to work out some stubborn large screws. But it works best when used as intended, for the job it was created to do. Since we are created for good works, that is the job we can do best, if we would just apply ourselves to it.
While Paul enjoyed such a beautiful gift from Jesus, he never considered himself all that special. Just the opposite – he thought himself unworthy. In his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, the 15th chapter, verse 9, he described himself like this…
Which probably made him even more thankful for what he had been given. And might explain why he wanted us to understand God’s goodness, too.
Look again at the ending verses of our scripture reading this morning. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think! Not just abundantly, but exceedingly abundantly! So we should be sure to give God all the glory. And more than that, we should walk worthy of God’s call to us, be worthy of His love and goodness.
What does that mean, to walk worthy of His calling? Paul gives us a very good hint. We should walk through this life with lowliness, or humbleness, being gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, trying our very best to remain as one with God’s Holy Spirit living within us. We should try to be worthy of God’s goodness, and of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
The Apostle Matthew saved pointers our Lord gave us regarding unworthy behavior, in chapter 10 verses 37 and 38 of his Gospel account…
To be worthy, we must put Jesus and God first above all others, and we must follow Him and His commands no matter the personal cost. And the Apostle Luke records Jesus saying this in his Gospel Account, chapter 21, verses 34 through 36…
We shouldn’t let ourselves get too complacent, avoiding getting carried away with partying and drunkenness or even the daily cares of life. For the Day of Judgement is coming and we must be ready, lest it catch us off-guard and we not be ready for our Master’s return. Instead, we should remain in prayer, being watchful of our actions, and our thoughts, staying true and faithful to Jesus and what He would have us do.
Paul understood all this. So he offered counsel and instruction to the church, to us, because he wanted us to understand as well. The second half of his letter to the Ephesians pretty much detailed how we, as Christians, should live. He emphasized our role in being worthy in many of his writings. Here is what he shared in his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verses 9 through 14…
If we want to walk worthy of the Lord, we will do what fully pleases Him. We will not only do good works, but we’ll be fruitful in them, successful in them. We will increase our knowledge of God, studying our Bible and praying at every opportunity. We will let God’s Holy Spirit strengthen us for the patience we will need, and we will suffer with joy knowing that our reward is coming. For we share in the inheritance of the saints, promised through Jesus, our Deliverer from the ultimate darkness, who redeemed us through His own blood. This is how we walk worthy of our calling, worthy of God’s love, worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice.
God gives us so very much, yet asks so little of us in return. Let’s do all we can to be worthy of His love. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, there is nothing You cannot do. Since You created everything, You can give it all away if You want to. And You give so very much to us. Help us, please Father, to always see how You exceedingly abundantly provide for our needs. Help us to never take Your love and generosity for granted. Help us to be worthy of Your calling. Forgive us, please Father, when we act in a manner unworthy of Your love.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your great mercy, repenting of our disobedience and sin, and seeking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, You cautioned us not to be unworthy, and Your servant Paul showed us how we should live so that our Father God might see us as worthy of His love. Help us, Lord, to do the right things. Help us to be fruitful in our good works. Help us be worthy.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. "I couldn't read it," the friend explained. "Somebody named Guten-something had printed it." "Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in horror. "That Bible was one of the first books ever printed! Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!" His friend was unimpressed. "Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German."
It would seem we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Why else would we pay movie and sports stars millions of dollars a year to entertain us, yet pay barely a livable wage to our educators who teach us and our children what we need to get along in the world? We need to be more cognizant of the true value and worth of people, things, even our beliefs.
I started our service this morning, as I usually do, with a call to come together and worship our Father God. The word “wordship” evolved from the concept of worthiness, or of being worthy. To worship God is to recognize His worth, His worthiness. It is to look God-ward, toward the Father, and to acknowledge in all ways the true value of what we see.
So, family, what do we see when we look God-ward? The Apostle Paul saw only goodness and blessings. He saw how very much God gives us, while basically asking for, and expecting, so little in return. And filled with that special insight Jesus gave him, Paul devoted the first three chapters of Ephesians – fully half of his letter - just to tell us how good God is.
Because of God’s wonderful grace and the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, we are blameless, redeemed, forgiven. We are His child, His heir, His chosen. We are holy, partakers in the promises, sealed by His Holy Spirit.
And we are also created for good works. Think about that a moment… A hammer was created to drive nails. It can be used for other purposes – I’ve even used the claws to work out some stubborn large screws. But it works best when used as intended, for the job it was created to do. Since we are created for good works, that is the job we can do best, if we would just apply ourselves to it.
While Paul enjoyed such a beautiful gift from Jesus, he never considered himself all that special. Just the opposite – he thought himself unworthy. In his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, the 15th chapter, verse 9, he described himself like this…
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
--1 Corinthians 15:9 (NKJV)
Look again at the ending verses of our scripture reading this morning. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think! Not just abundantly, but exceedingly abundantly! So we should be sure to give God all the glory. And more than that, we should walk worthy of God’s call to us, be worthy of His love and goodness.
What does that mean, to walk worthy of His calling? Paul gives us a very good hint. We should walk through this life with lowliness, or humbleness, being gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, trying our very best to remain as one with God’s Holy Spirit living within us. We should try to be worthy of God’s goodness, and of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
The Apostle Matthew saved pointers our Lord gave us regarding unworthy behavior, in chapter 10 verses 37 and 38 of his Gospel account…
37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
--Matthew 10:37-38 (NKJV)
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
--Luke 21:34-36 (NKJV)
Paul understood all this. So he offered counsel and instruction to the church, to us, because he wanted us to understand as well. The second half of his letter to the Ephesians pretty much detailed how we, as Christians, should live. He emphasized our role in being worthy in many of his writings. Here is what he shared in his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verses 9 through 14…
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
--Colossians 1:9-14 (NKJV)
God gives us so very much, yet asks so little of us in return. Let’s do all we can to be worthy of His love. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, there is nothing You cannot do. Since You created everything, You can give it all away if You want to. And You give so very much to us. Help us, please Father, to always see how You exceedingly abundantly provide for our needs. Help us to never take Your love and generosity for granted. Help us to be worthy of Your calling. Forgive us, please Father, when we act in a manner unworthy of Your love.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your great mercy, repenting of our disobedience and sin, and seeking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, You cautioned us not to be unworthy, and Your servant Paul showed us how we should live so that our Father God might see us as worthy of His love. Help us, Lord, to do the right things. Help us to be fruitful in our good works. Help us be worthy.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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