Sermon in Cokato 20.10.2013

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let us quieten our hearts in opening prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

As we pause for a few moments this evening, once again, before we close, before the aforewritten word of God, we'll read from the epistle of Paul unto the Ephesians again, and this time from the fourth chapter, from the first verse onward. And these words are in Jesus' name as follow.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

For there is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Amen.

As we heard so preciously this morning, concerning that word, written by the Apostle Paul unto the Ephesians in the, was it the fifth or sixth chapter, and how we were reminded of the preciousness of faith and the importance of clinging to this begun faith.

We were reminded about a topic for this Sunday, the theme which reminds us of the foundation of living faith, and the importance of clinging to this begun faith.

In this text, when one reads it, it becomes very clear, very quickly, there is one God, there is one faith, and one Lord.

I think it's important maybe to give a little background onto this portion of scriptures.

When the Apostle Paul first arrived onto the city of Ephesus, there were no believers there. Of course, other than the little children. Little children are, all little children are children of Jesus. They are Christ's own. No matter where they live, where they are, and where they go, and who they are, they are all children of God.

But there were no adult believers there in Ephesus when the Apostle Paul entered, or came onto that seaport city for the first time.

But a little background of what he saw as he was coming on the ship into port there in Ephesus.

There was on the seashore, one of the ancient wonders of the old world. One of the ten wonders of that ancient world.

There was a vast temple that had been built there on the shores of the sea there in Ephesus.

It was a vast, huge structure. It was made out of stone, and there were 127 stone pillars, 60 feet high, holding the roof around this structure.

It was four times bigger than that old building, that the ruins are still there in Athens, Greece. I forget the name of that structure. I'm sure many of you have seen pictures of it.

This building was four times larger than that.

It was a temple, and it was a temple unto the god of fertility. Greeks called her Diana, Hebrews, Artemis.

And they worshiped there upon this false god.

And in the name of worship and belief upon this god of fertility, there were, in the name of God, three gods. One was the god of fertility.

There were, in that temple, prostitutes and harlots. Temple harlots were in and with the people partook in the name of religion, living in sin, fornication, and adultery, within the vast structure, in the name of worshiping this false god.

Ephesus, at the time when the apostle Paul arrived there, was a city of about 200,000 people.

It was a vast city for that day. Huge.

The streets were laid with marble. There were libraries there in that city. There was an arena there.

You've seen pictures of the ancient arenas of Rome. There was one there in Ephesus that seated 25,000 people.

This is into which the apostle Paul arrived for the first time.

It was a notorious sinful city, seaport. People came and went. Many came just to see this temple. It was a wonder in that day.

And even if we could see it today, it would be a wonder even today.

How they could have built it in that day, several thousands of years ago, without the technology and the machinery and equipment of this day.

And yet, there it stood. And people flocked to it.

There was all manner of different beliefs and even different gods that people worshipped there in Ephesus.

It was an ungodly city on one hand, and on the other hand, there were those that worshipped these other gods.

And I suppose one could say even when the apostle Paul first came to Athens and he got on those shores and landed and as he's walking toward into the city, there was a pillar there.

And it said, there was an inscription on that stone. And it said, to some unknown god.

It was a place of worship.

And the apostle Paul gathered there in the city and he began to speak.

And he mentioned, I pass this pillar with this inscription that you have written to an unknown god.

I am here now to preach unto you of the living God of heaven, the creator of all things.

And he began to preach the gospel.

He did the same here in Ephesus.

He began to preach the gospel message.

And there were many, many, literally, literally hundreds of people, no, thousands of people that received the grace of repentance.

The apostle Paul, we remember when he, in his early life, he was a Pharisee.

Unbelieving, self-righteous Pharisee.

And he spoke of his background and of his training.

And he says, I, of my age of that time, I was the greatest Pharisee.

He was taught by the greatest teachers of that time.

Studied years.

He knew the holy scriptures.

For they studied the law.

And they preached.

They preached the law unto the people.

It was a harsh sermon that the people heard.

For who can live under the law? Not one.

No, nobody can.

For we all fall short daily.

But he spoke of his background, his teaching.

And as he was known to be a Pharisee of Pharisees of that day, he was known to be a Pharisee of the people.

And as a matter of fact, he was there when the first martyr of the New Testament time died because of this faith that you and I have this evening.

Stephen, or Stephan, the apostle Paul was there.

He was known then as Saul.

He was present at that killing of that believing man.

He was on the way to Damascus.

What was his mission?

Saul of Tarsus.

His father was Roman and his mother was Jewish.

So he was a Roman citizen.

He was a Christian through his father.

But he held onto the Jewish faith through his mother.

And he was on the way to Damascus.

He had one mission.

He was going there to gather the children of God and to cast them into prison.

On the way there, as we heard, Jesus approached him.

The resurrected Lord Jesus approached Saul.

All Saul could see was this blinding light, but he heard a voice.

Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Saul was blinded.

He was alarmed and terrified.

And he began to question Jesus.

Lord, what must I do?

And Jesus told him, Go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do.

But what we note here, what we see here, is the Lord Jesus, the resurrected Lord Jesus, came onto the unbelieving Saul of Tarsus.

He was a Christian.

He did not receive grace at that time.

He did not receive forgiveness.

But he was blinded.

He was temporarily blinded.

He couldn't see anything.

And those that were traveling with him then arose from the ground and led him into the city of Damascus.

And there he sat, blinded, trembling, fearful, terrified, until Ananias approached him.

Jesus spoke unto Ananias.

I'm going to read that, what he had told Ananias.

It relates of it in Acts of the Apostles.

If I can remember where that is.

In the ninth chapter.

The Lord said unto Ananias, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Ananias didn't want to go, of course.

He knew who Saul of Tarsus was.

But he went.

He was obedient unto the voice of God.

And it was there then, it says, that Ananias went this way and entered into the house, putting his hands on him, and said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee on the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Saul, the righteous Saul, had nothing to offer to say.

He was trembling, fearful, and he was in need of forgiveness and grace.

And it says, And he sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been, scales.

And he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

The mission work began.

And Saul, or the Apostle Paul, writes of his former life in this way.

He was a highly educated man, learned in many areas.

He knew the Scriptures, the holy law of God.

He counted his former life, he says, I count it for dung.

Not worth anything.

Because now, he received living faith, and the Lord Jesus into his heart.

And he believed.

The Apostle Paul didn't begin his public ministry for years after this.

When he began those mission trips, now when he was coming into Ephesus, it was ten or twelve years after he received the grace of repentance that he began to be a Christian.

And there's not much recorded of his life for those years.

But I know this, he preached the Gospel.

He confessed faith.

He rejoiced over this, that he was chosen and called.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear children, beloved youth, as you have been chosen by God, even as we heard so preciously this morning.

God has called you, chosen you, called you by name, to become his child.

And faith is so personal, it is so personal, that each of us must believe on our own place of watching, on the walls of Zion.

And so in Ephesus, as the Apostle Paul stepped down from that boat the first time, and he heard the clamor of the city around him, and saw the sinful life, God had sent him there.

And there were hearts there, that were pining away.

Men, women, youth, old, were in need.

And so the Apostle Paul began to preach.

And thousands and thousands of people received the grace of repentance.

The Bible records unto us, the Apostle Paul recited in this city for three years, preaching the word.

It was the longest time that he was in any city during that work, that time of the mission work, and around the Mediterranean areas, and countries.

Ephesus, much like many of those cities in that area, put much emphasis on man.

Greek philosophy, wisdom, and teaching of man was held in high esteem.

The feats of man, the Olympics, began in those areas.

Much was placed upon, much value.

Now, they begin to hear something different.

And you know, when you read this letter, that he sent, while he was in prison in Rome, unto the believers there in Ephesus.

It is such a miraculous teaching word.

And a word that reminds in such a simple way.

And one of those portions, which is one of those favorite verses of mine, where he reminded them, and he's reminding us this evening, where he said, and be ye kind one to another, and tenderhearted, and forgiving one another, even as Christ has forgiven you.

Isn't it something, that these people, who lived in such grievous, and filth, and sin, and who had belief upon these false gods, and who had believed upon these, and believed upon these, the grace of God.

Now, had received the grace of repentance, and believed in as simple way, as you and I believe, this evening.

And so in our text, the apostle Paul begins, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you.

He often speaks of himself as, the prisoner of the Lord, the prisoner of Jesus Christ.

He is speaking of it in these terms that the love of Christ has constrained him.

The grace of our Heavenly Father had approached him.

And now he is a servant of the Lord, a prisoner of the Lord.

And I forget which portion that is when he approached those unbelieving people in those areas and those cities.

He began in this way, I came not unto you with enticing words of men's wisdom, but I came to preach unto you the resurrected Lord Jesus.

He preached unto the people.

There is grace and there is mercy.

Here again he reminds them, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

What does that mean, to walk worthy of the vocation?

Or in other words, you now have received grace and repentance.

Or, speaking unto us this evening, we who have been called also by God.

Many of you, and probably most of you, born as a child of God.

Preserved in faith to this day.

But some who have come from the outside.

Who have gone unto those highways and byways of unbelief and darkness.

And the grace of God had again called you.

To this blessed place here in God's kingdom.

He's reminding us that we endeavor to walk in simplicity and in obedience unto the word of our Heavenly Father.

That we would keep the Lord Jesus in our heart.

And as we heard.

Hold fast to this faith that has been gifted unto us.

It is a miraculous gift.

He says here then that.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

With all lowliness and meekness.

With long suffering.

Forbearing one another in love.

Speaking of the fruits of living faith.

Important that we are lowly and meek.

That is why Jesus often times referred unto the sheep, the lambs, the shepherd.

For indeed we are the lambs of our Lord Jesus.

We are little lambs of Jesus.

The good shepherd.

The faithful shepherd.

The faithful shepherd.

And He encourages us that we would walk in that way.

He said that endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

How important that is.

That we would endeavor to do this.

When difficulties come.

When we have to.

And each one of us we're different we're gifted with what we're gifted with every one of us has gifts but also we have our personality and our quirks of nature and so on and each one of us is different.

Often times we may be at odds with one another over the silliest thing but Satan is working there to drive that wedge further and further.

That unity of the spirit of peace would begin to cool and to drive us apart.

You know there's a part in the Apocrypha I think it's from the wisdom of no it's from the Ecclesiasticus the book of Ecclesiasticus where it says in this way there are three things that are beautiful before God.

Now what do you suppose those three things would be when you think about it?

Well the first thing it says the unity of the brethren.

This is beautiful before God that our hearts are united together.

We don't agree on everything.

Everything of course we don't.

It's impossible you can get any two three people anybody and hard to find.

I mean there's differences you know we think of things but that's in a temporal sense.

Now when we speak of living faith and the foundation of faith this Holy Spirit of God teaches us the grace of God calls us again and again to be faithful to be faithful to be faithful to be faithful to be faithful.

For we fall into sin again and again and yet that loving voice of God we hear again and again come you can believe that forgiven in Jesus name and precious blood.

And so in the matters of doctrine we are one and we must be one and we must be one of one mind.

But the unity of the brethren is important it preserves peace.

We need this unity of the brethren.

The Holy Spirit as we heard here in this portion there is only one spirit one God one faith and so on.

And so if we become of a different mind on these matters of faith Satan is already working on us and pulling us away and where can we go?

Oh sure there's thousands of different faiths in the world and the vast majority of those faiths in the world believe upon the living God but they're in a darkness of unbelief.

They don't have even the smallest flicker of the light of the Holy Spirit to guide and to teach them.

They have nothing to do with it.

They have nothing to do with it nothing.

Where can we go?

It's exactly like Peter when he cried unto Jesus when Jesus asked his disciples will you also go?

Because at that time he spoke something and there were some people that were offended at what they heard and they turned and they walked away from the kingdom of God and from the living Lord Jesus.

And so Jesus asked his disciples will you also leave?

And Peter cried Lord where could we go?

For thou hast the word of life.

And nothing has changed.

It's the same tonight here is the place of the living word of our Lord Jesus.

The Holy Spirit opens the word unto us even as we sit here.

The Holy Spirit opens the word unto the servant and we believe in such a childlike way and also unto the hearer.

The Holy Spirit opens the word unto the hearer so that is beautiful before God the unity of the brethren.

And what's what do you suppose number two would be?

It's three the unity of the brethren the other one is love of thy neighbor.

Well isn't that something because love is the first fruit of living faith.

If we if we if we sense in our relationship with other believers or even unbelievers that the love is beginning to cool Satan is there working he wants the love to cool he wants to separate he wants the love of the children of God to die.

And when the love of of Christ dies in our heart you know where we are?

We're in unbelief.

That's how interesting it is that's how important love is.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in that thirteenth chapter of Corinthians there is there is love faith and hope and the greatest of these is love or charity.

It's a first fruit the living faith.

The Apostle Paul when he speaks of the fruits of faith unto the Galatians he reminds them and the first fruit is love and the first fruit is love and the first fruit is love and the first fruit is love.

Dear brothers and sisters what is the commandment that Jesus left us?

Because we don't live under the law we live under grace and that's what the Apostle Paul even said here to the Ephesians and unto us he says by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast.

We have nothing to offer unto our Heavenly Father we have nothing to offer and that's exactly what the prophet reminded us isn't it?

That prophet Micah when he speaks unto us of what does the Lord require of us and again I'm going to read that in that 6th chapter of Micah the 6th verse easy to remember 6th chapter, 6th verse of Micah.

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow myself to Him and bow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings with calves of a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He hath shown thee, O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee?

Listen but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.

The simplicity of living faith to do justly to be just well that's what the Apostle Paul is reminding us.

I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called with all lowliness and meekness with longsuffering forbearing one another in love and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And for grace keep on walking with meek using that humility that of love that of goodness the Lord must know that thou pleasest thee in the way that I have said for now let not the deceitful and the loves yea not the false cause meekness to ever.

Writing to him that thou lovest love ye and such, yet there be of meekness a thought that scent of sin and focuses on meekness.

Isn't that what the Good Samaritan left when he left that two pence there on that wayside to that innkeeper?

Two pence, love and truth.

Love first, then truth.

The truth without love, someone once said, that's more harsh of a whip than the law itself, even though one has the truth.

But if there's not love, there's nothing.

There's unbelief and there's darkness.

Love is so important, dear brother and sister.

It is indeed the first fruit of living faith.

And that is why our Heavenly Father reminds us, when we see that the love is beginning to cool, we need and we must speak of the issues or the matters we need to live.

We need to visit so that the enemy of the soul is not successful.

For if the love should become cold and disappear, even though we may sit here in a pew, the heart is gone into unbelief.

That is how serious this is.

So then the third thing that is beautiful before God, first, the unity of the brethren.

Second, the love of thy neighbor.

Third, you know what the third thing is?

It says, a man and a wife who agree together.

Isn't that remarkable?

Isn't that a reminder unto us of the importance to preserve the unity of the spirit and peace in our home congregation, with our children and our youth around us?

Watching, even though we try to teach, they learn more by our example.

You know, isn't it remarkable?

The importance, it says that there's three things beautiful before God.

And this is one of them.

This is one of the three.

A man and a wife who agree together.

Dear brothers and sisters, the simplicity of this faith that has been gifted unto us is so incredible.

What does the Lord require of us?

For our sin and our transgression, as the prophet asked my firstborn son.

No.

All he requires is a humble mind, a loving mind, and a mind that agrees unto the unity of that teaching of the Holy Spirit.

That's all.

That's all.

What do we have to offer?

That's what the Apostle Paul reminded those Ephesians.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

And even this verse that to me is so wonderful, where he teaches, and be ye kind one to another.

Well, of course.

That's the teaching of Christ.

That's the only commandment Jesus left us.

That he would love one another as I have loved you.

And even here, God then, he even goes further there than that we wouldn't make this kindness to become a work in our life.

He says that we wouldn't do it in our own way.

That we wouldn't do this.

He says, also, be tenderhearted.

Now it's coming from our heart.

Be tenderhearted.

Meek, lowly, humble.

The love of Christ.

He continues here.

There is one body.

He's referring to God's kingdom.

We are those living branches of the living mind of our Lord Jesus.

There is one body, one kingdom.

Oh, how our mind and our human reason struggles with this so many times.

Oh, how our mind and our human reason struggles with this so many times.

How can that be?

That there's only one faith, one correct faith.

And yet, when we read here, there is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and the Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all through the Holy Spirit.

I often remember, it's getting late, but just this, when the two disciples were on to that village of Amos, after Jesus had been crucified on that Good Friday, that same day in the evening, they were approaching that village.

And what strikes me is, the Bible says, and they reasoned among themselves.

They were so bewildered and so despondent, so sorrowful, so sad, so... because they looked at those things that had happened through the reason of the mind, not through the Holy Spirit.

Oh, how Satan wants us to start walking down that way of the mind and human reason.

And even when Jesus approached them, they didn't recognize him.

And Jesus asked them, why are you so sad as you travel?

And they were bewildered.

The Bible even said, and they began to relate unto Jesus, that haven't you heard what had happened?

But they didn't recognize him, because the doubts that weighed on them were so tremendous and so deceiving.

They didn't recognize the Lord Jesus with whom they had been, I dare say, almost day and night for the last three years.

And as we remember then, the Bible says, that Jesus, he took the Bible, he literally didn't have the scrolls of the Old Testament, but he knew word for word what was written in the Holy Scriptures.

And it said, he began at the beginning to speak unto them of those things pertaining himself, the promises that God had made.

First one there, the outside of Paradise, on the outside of the Garden of Eden, and again and again through the prophets in the Old Testament time.

And as they were getting closer to that village, Jesus, the Bible even says, Jesus made it as if he was going to continue on and, No, no, no, they were so, No, no, you come with us.

But they didn't yet recognize that it was the Lord.

But what had happened is that they rested upon the Word of God.

It felt so good.

Their reason was left as they journeyed.

And they listened now to what God's Word said.

And they had the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit was opening that Word unto them that Jesus spoke.

And you know what?

It felt so good.

Doesn't it feel good?

When we sit at the feet of Jesus and He speaks to us.

Thank God, dear brothers and sisters, that we are able to sit here at the feet of Jesus.

To hear what He has to say unto us.

Reminding us.

No, don't use your reason and human understanding and wisdom.

Simply listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks within you.

That Holy Spirit that opens the Word unto you.

And pray.

Pray as you sit there.

That God would open the Word unto us.

Whomever may sit here.

That is important.

Pray to God that He would give words of utterance.

Words of comfort and uplifting.

There's a portion there in that same book of Ecclesiasticus that reminds us of the Holy Spirit.

How wonderful, how wonderful, he is.

That's a wonderful universe he built for us.

I love His.

And even though it is something I cleansed from Satan, according to some, we won't rest on his hands.

He made Satan the person who is not the only one blessed by God, He is the person that God, Beach, left the world inubified.

And went into the promise to him.

And shall he?

Us that which many of our loved ones have departed for.

I say simply this evening, dear brother and sister, beloved youth, it pays to believe, as we heard this morning, cling to this gospel.

It is the power of God unto salvation.

And so, yes, the enemy of the soul is strong, and yes, he causes grief and sin to fall upon us.

But again and again, the grace of God is bestowed upon you and I, and even this evening.

Beloved journey companions, believe this simple gospel message.

That all your sins and doubts are forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood.

And hold fast, even as in the very final pages of the Bible, Jesus reminds us, hold fast to that which thou hast, lest any man take it away.

Cling to simple, childlike faith.

And believe that message.

From our Lord, thy sins are forgiven, in Jesus' name and precious blood.

And I also need to hear this gospel, and can I believe my many failings and sins also forgiven.

Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us.

The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Amen.