2023-07-28
Given by Pastor Ibrahim
You remember we said the Christian Walk. There are 8 instances in the letter where Paul speaks of the believer's walk. We have spoken of the old walk, and in Acts 2:10 how we are his workmanship and created for good works. We were first in the mortary marathon, but God in his mercy has pitied us and sent the Saviour in our hearts. We trusted in the Saviour, our sins were washed and obliterated, receiving new minds and heart. Conversion makes us to gain back our minds, we were fools living for the here and now, but Christ saved us not through good works, but through grace, and now we must do good works.
Ephesians 4.1
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Vocation - the calling. It is amazing because the very word "church" means the called ones out of the world. We are the called ones, you did not call yourself, I did not call myself, if I had to call myself I would never initiate that call, but Christ through his tender mercies initiated that call. You cannot save yourself, and you cannot de-save yourself or de-born yourself because God has initiated that salvation. And God has called us from darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter).
We are also called to fellowship with Him. We are called to liberty. You would never be free without Christ. Without Christ you are in bondage, in chains, in captive, but when Christ sets you free, free indeed you are.
We are also called to service. Pastor when saved was told that he was called to worship, and called to serve. Now the call is different, to have fun, to be happy, no no, we are called to worship and called to serve. Another motto is "No Bible no breakfast" - Matthew 4:4.
Look at the word "worthy" - is there anyone worthy of salvation? No, not at all. You are called unworthy, but your walk must be worthy. It means actually to be matching with the gospel. Even some of us, we want everything we were too much, some have a great obsession with matching, matching tops with trousers, shirts with socks, even the hat, what does this have to do with anything? But there has to be coordination in our walk, one step after the other. When it comes to the gospel, there must be coordination between the heads, the hearts and the hands, in harmony. The 4 "H"s - head, heart, hand and harmony.
Our walk should be visible. To walk worthy means to walk as a witness. Everyone knows the word witness in Greek - it gives us the word martyr in English. A martyr is someone willing to die for what he saw and what he heard in the Bible. Our walk must be visible as witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The good thing is that we don't invent anything, how do we walk worthy. We are given the ingredients in v2.
Ephesians 4.2
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Lowliness is to have a low view of self, you don't need a lecture about loving yourself, this is innately within us. Lowliness is to have a low opinion of ourselves in our self-admiring world. So important for the believer.
Meekness is the second. It is a twin sister with lowliness. Meekness in the Greek means to have the power of a lion or tiger but to put that power under control. If you do that you are a great man or woman, to subdue our animal power. We lash out, we are gladiators all of us. Titanic power, but you subdue that power. And you subdue that with the Spirit. The 9th aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is temperance which we translate - self control.
The third and fourth is in v3
Ephesians 4.3
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
We don't make that unity.
The fourth is the bond of peace. The Christian seeks and pursues after peace. The Greek word here is that he hunts after peace. We are all born troublemakers, we come out of the womb speaking lies. All come into this world has warmongers and troublesome creatures. I cannot tell you how sweet it is to know Christ. We are joined together with our heavenly father. But look now, we are given 7 things with the ingredients - which are the irreducible minimal things to believe in v3,4,5,6
In v15 and v17.
Ephesians 4.15
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
For the world, truth is relative. But in the Bible there is absolute truth. Not man's invention. If you look at v14 and v17
Ephesians 4.14, 17
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
We did before what everyone did. There are some Christians today who say look they do everything. The Christian is different, not indifferent, but different. We are not like others. Not to boast us, or to be superior, but God made you to be different because you are a child of God. Dear friends, with conversion we leave the things of old behind. Repentance is about a turning of our minds.
How do you walk in the truth? We will list things in the passage.
This is another great verse in Ephesians 5.1
1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
From cover to cover of the Bible we are told to love God first and love one another. The Bible is so radical, if a man does not love, that is murder. We walk in love, but look at the elements again.
To be like God, to imitate God, to mimic God as loving children loving their father, to love the brethren, to love the unsaved people. Satan hates God. But we as his beloved children imitate God because he is our heavenly Father. There must be familial likeness. If you say God is your father, there must be familial likeness, the more that you look at someone, the more you can see their physical parents. Although Christian is not written on our foreheads, we hope to bear that testimony, it is a worthy name (James 2:7).
This is in Ephesians 5.3-14.
Ephesians 5.8
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
We should be like days different from darkness. There are certain things that should not even be mentioned among believers, because we are saints. Look at v8. We have the light. How can someone walk in light and still love darkness. It is like a torch with no battery, you cannot find what you want.
v15-21.
Ephesians 5.15
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Circumspectly means outside the circle. If you don't enter in the circle with Satan on a leash, you will not be attacked and you are safe. But if you enter into his circle you are in trouble. But may the Lord help us to keep us out of the circle. This also is a call to obedience.
Don't be confident and think that you can handle sin. Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:12
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Romans 13.14
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Have your eyes in front of you. When you walk, put them even more in front of you. Don't be drunk, evil is everyone. Wisdom dictates that we abstain, that is wisdom.
In Ephesians 5, you can have a good 10 signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit. One of them is in v20 - giving thanks to God, this is not about speaking in tongues, thanksgiving is a sign of being filled in the Spirit. Redeeming the time is a sign. The wife being submissive to her husband is a sign. Look at v21 - submitting ourselves to one another is a sign of being filled. Loving the wife as Christ did, an obedient child, all signs of being filled. An employee working hard for his employer is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Everything here is practical. Those who say that they are filled with the Holy Spirit and fall on the ground and laugh like dogs, that is blasphemy. Falling backwards is not Biblical, the Jews always fell forward to worship. They fall backwards because someone is there to catch them.
We have the 7 pieces of the Christian armour. Take the letter of Ephesians and look only for the Holy Spirit, you will be amazed. This is a letter of the Holy Spirit all from chapter 1 to chapter 6.
Stand like Joshua. Stand like Gideon. Stand like David against Goliath. This is the command we are given in the word of God.
Ephesians is summed up for us in 5 words in chapter 6, you know them by heart. Peace (v23), Love (v23), Faith (v23), Grace (v24), Sincerity (v24).
Ephesians 6.23-24
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.