Rooted
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Intro
Intro
Good morning church family in house and those joining us online.
Today we are continuing our study through the book of Ephesians. I hope that you have taken some time this past week to read through all six chapters.
It is a challenging book, but it is a life changing book if you follow what God is saying.
I read that John Mackay, a former president of Princeton Seminary, recalled how, at the age of 14, he took his Bible into the hills of Scotland and studied the book of Ephesians. He wrote these words:
“I saw a new world … everything was new … I had a new outlook, new experiences, new attitudes to other people. I loved God. Jesus Christ became the center of everything.… I had been ‘quickened.’ I was really alive” - John Mackay, former president of Princeton Seminary
The purpose of Jesus dying for mankind was not to make bad people good, but dead people alive. Jesus came to bring life to anyone who will follow Him.
Today I want to share with you a message called ROOTED.
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Still Teaching Unity
Still Teaching Unity
In chapter 3 of Ephesians, Paul is still hammering home the importance of unity within the body of Christ.
Without unity in the church body, God cannot move. We can see the results of unity in what is happening now at Asbury University in Kentucky.
If you were to go on their website to their about section, you will find right at the top of the page:
“With a commitment to academic excellence and spiritual vitality, Asbury University encourages its students to study, worship and serve together.”
Spiritual vitality is an important factor in their existence.
Vitality is defined as “the state of being strong and active; the power giving continuance of life.”
Here at New Life Assembly, our commitment to you is the same. Spiritual vitality. Carly and I as your pastors, as well as our staff & leadership, desire is to see you walk in the calling, blessings, and all that God has for you and your family.
When we have spiritual vitality, unity will follow. Unity is doing life together. Studying the Word together. Worshipping Jesus together. Serving each other and Jesus together.
Jesus prayed for the church to dwell together in unity.
11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
We will dive more into unity in the next chapter and in chapter six we will see why we need to fight for unity within the body of Christ.
But the question is, how does unity happen? What can we do to start the process or even maintain the unity within the church body?
Just a side note, I am not sharing this message because there is some issue of division in the church. Sometimes pastors will preach/teach messages that are reactive. This is a more proactive message.
Prayer
Prayer
Write this down.
Prayer. Trust. Love.
Prayer is a key to unity.
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Paul is praying that God in all His unlimited resources, would empower the church in order to live in unity.
It is only through the POWER of the Holy Spirit that we as a community of believers can live in unity.
You see, unity is not getting along with one another. I can get along with anyone, but it doesn’t mean I am living in unity with them. I get along with others who don’t believe in Jesus, but I am not joined with them.
Unity is not tolerating people. I can accept people. I can accept who they are. But I am not joined to them.
You see unity is something that is joined as a whole. In other words, I am looking at the whole thing, and not just one part. That part being me.
You see, unity is laying down of oneself in order to accomplish not what I want to do, but what God wants to do.
In order for me to accomplish this, I must have the POWER of the Holy Spirit working in and through me. I must be in contact with the one whom I may receive the POWER of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told the disciples
49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
While they were in the city, they weren't just sitting around tolerating each other. There was one hundred and twenty of them.
I am sure they each had something they thought they should do.
Maybe one said we should sing. Another maybe said we should go back home. Maybe another said lets make some food and eat and fellowship.
I am sure that out of the one hundred and twenty that were there some who wanted to do something different than just sit and wait.
But it wasn’t about what they wanted to do. It was about what God wanted to do in and through them. God had a plan. What better way to find out the plan of God than to pray.
14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
They prayed. Laying down their desires in order for God to accomplish what He wanted to accomplish. Unity had taken place and the fire of God began to fall!
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
I keep thinking of this revival taking place across the campuses of our Universities and how no one is leading it, no one is in charge, it is just God’s people waiting on the Lord to see what He wants to do next!
Trust
Trust
In order to do this church, we must be able to TRUST in the Lord.
17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
As we pray, as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, Jesus sets up residence in our lives and we must be able to TRUST in Jesus.
Too often we want to trust man. Did you know that we as Christians are not called to put our trust in man? In fact, the bible says you are cursed if you put your trust in man.
5 Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.
You see, I don’t need to trust that you will strive to live in unity with other believers. My confidence isn’t in you.
When my trust is in you, I will be let down.
When my trust is in you, I will miss out only the good things in life, but the God things.
When my trust is in you, I will see no growth in my own life.
When my trust is in you I am cursed Jeremiah says.
You see, my trust, your trust, is to be in the Lord and the Lord only. When you put your trust in the pastor, the church leaders, you will be let down. You will miss out.
Here is a real life scenario.
We put our trust in the pastor and the church’s leaders that they will have a great service lined out for us.
We trust that the greeters are going to greet us with a smile.
We trust that Paul is going to have coffee and donuts ready for when we walk in.
We trust the worship team is going to play all the songs we like.
We trust the pastor is going preach a short sermon.
And when none of these things happen, all of a sudden God didn’t move in the service. God didn’t speak in the service.
You see when you put your trust in man, you are a bush in the dessert not receiving the necessary nutrients in order to survive. You are cursed.
But when you put your trust in the Lord, Jeremiah says you are:
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.
You see we are to put our trust in the Lord that He has those around us and that He will do the work necessary in them in order for unity to take place. And when it doesn’t happen in them I will not fear because I am rooted in Christ and I can still grow and produce fruit in my life.
Love
Love
This leads us to LOVE. Love is essential to keeping unity within the church. Paul said that through prayer and trust in Jesus that you would experience the love of Christ.
19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
This love that we are to experience is an agape love.
There are four types of love in the Greek.
Eros - this is where we get the word erotic. This type of love is a selfish love. Because it is about self not the other person.
Philia - love of friends or brotherly love. Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love.
Storge - type of love of parents for children.
Agape - this is the love of Christ that Paul wants us to experience.
This type of love is selfless, expecting nothing in return. You love simply because it is a part of who you are. That is the love of Jesus. He is God and God is love. It defines who He is.
Paul is praying that you and I experience this love. Why? Because we must if we follow Christ.
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is the same word for love (agape) that is used to describe the love of Christ. The only way we can display this kind of love for one another, is if we experience it first.
Being rooted in Christ is the only way that I can love you with an agape type of love. Without Christ, I cannot accomplish this.
This type of love looks at people in a different view. This type of love helps me to look at people and treat people as though Jesus died for them personally.
He did. Jesus died for you and every other person on this planet.
Stand with me this morning. As the praise team comes.
Closing
Closing
Loving people this way is the complete opposite of the culture around us.
Imagine if we as the church began to love people with an agape type love and see and treat them as though Christ died just for them. How different will our church look. How different would our culture look.
I know what some may be thinking. It’s a nice thought. But it can’t work. Our culture will not change.
My answer to you is stop putting God in a box.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
God can and God will. The question is, will you be a part of it?
Prayer: That we would experience Jesus love and express that same love towards others.
Directions for dismissal:
We are taking a quick 15 minute break. Use the restrooms. Grab a lunch plate.
Their is lunch in the social hall, grab a plate and head right back here to the sanctuary
As soon as the ten minutes are up, we are going to go right into the financial meeting
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