Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Church: Conformed, Loved, Filled
19 Plays26 days ago
Eph. 3:14-21
Recommended
Transcript
Metaphor of Silly Putty and Spiritual Formation
00:00:00
Speaker
Probably one of the greatest inventions of all time.
00:00:05
Speaker
Silly putty.
00:00:09
Speaker
Remember getting your first plastic egg of silly putty? Would it surprise you that over 350 million plastic eggs of silly putty have been sold worldwide? isn't that amazing?
00:00:22
Speaker
You'd take that silly putty and you'd take it out of that egg and you'd rub it flat, right? And you would take it and place it on top of the newspaper. Remember that as a kid? And you'd press it into the newspaper and as you'd peel it back, the ink from the newspaper would be transferred onto the silly putty.
00:00:38
Speaker
It's amazing. You'd have an image, a reverse image basically of that newspaper ad. You could also take that silly putty and and push it or press it into a mold.
00:00:49
Speaker
and the These various molds that came with the shape of a turtle or a flower. And as you press the silly putty in and you pried it out, it took that shape of that mold.
00:01:03
Speaker
Brothers and sisters, do you know that the same thing is happening to you each and every day? You are being pressed or conformed into either two images.
00:01:16
Speaker
Either the image of the world... or the image of Christ.
00:01:21
Speaker
And it's apparent to me that we're living in a time when many Christians believe they can come to church on Sunday and live one way, and then they go out the rest of the week and live worldly lives.
00:01:34
Speaker
As if they aren't being conformed, shaped, or imprinted by the world. You can't straddle the fence, I'm here to tell you this morning. It's just that simple.
00:01:46
Speaker
You can't have a foot in both kingdoms. God won't allow it. Because if you've given your life to Christ, you belong to Him. You are His. You are in Christ. You are part of the family.
00:02:00
Speaker
And His goal is that you will be shaped or conformed or imprinted, as Brother Maxie eloquently read this morning Romans 8, 28. You will be conformed either to the world or to Christ.
00:02:17
Speaker
He wants you to be conformed to Christ. And friends, if we are conformed to Christ, we're going to look like Him, we're going live like Him, and we're going to love
Submission in Prayer: Insights from Ephesians 3
00:02:28
Speaker
like Him. That's what we're going to see today in Ephesians chapter 3 as we wrap it up. Ephesians chapter 3, I invite you to ahead and turn there with me.
00:02:34
Speaker
You remember from last week, we said the Apostle Paul started... chapter 3, in this way saying, for this reason or when I think of this. And then immediately he got derailed. Remember we said he had an ADHD moment.
00:02:49
Speaker
And he got derailed for verse 2 all the way down to verse 13 was all one digression. Well, verse 14 picks up the exact same way.
00:03:00
Speaker
It says, when I think of all of this. And he starts on. It's an amazing section that talks about you. The church. Me.
00:03:11
Speaker
The church. And what is expected as be believers of us.
00:03:18
Speaker
Let's read. Chapter 3 starting in verse 14. Paul says from the New Living Translation. He says, when i When I think of all of this, I fall on my knees and I pray to the Father.
00:03:29
Speaker
The creator of everything in heaven and on earth. And I pray that from his glorious unlimited resources he will empower you. with inner strength through His Spirit.
00:03:42
Speaker
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. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is.
00:04:02
Speaker
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.
00:04:15
Speaker
Now all the glory to God who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus, through all generations, forever and ever.
00:04:31
Speaker
Amen.
00:04:33
Speaker
Paul begins this prayer to this Ephesian church. detailing his posture before the Father. Verse 14 says, I fall on my knee, or I bow my knee, ma your translation may read.
00:04:49
Speaker
ah Kneeling in prayer was not uncommon. However, during Paul's time, most of the time, prayer was on your feet with your hands extended to heaven. So Paul's not telling you every time you pray you need to get on your knees.
00:05:04
Speaker
What he is saying here is it's a posture posture. of submission, kneeling is. He's saying the posture, the proper posture of coming before the Father is in prayer is one of submission. It's the bowing of the heart.
00:05:19
Speaker
It is the bowing and submitting of our wills to the Father, from whom every family on earth and on heaven is named. He's our creator.
Creator vs. Created: Divine Order and Human Control
00:05:30
Speaker
He is the creator of all things, from flora to fauna to the family.
00:05:35
Speaker
He's above it all and over it all, everything on earth and in the heavens. And I simply just put this week as I reread this, he's the mold and you are the putty.
00:05:46
Speaker
He is the creator, you are the created. There's a divine order. And what happens, quite frankly, brothers and sisters, is sometimes we want to be the creator.
00:06:00
Speaker
We want to be in control of our lives. We want to be running things. But friends, that job is for the Creator. His goal is that you and I are conformed or pressed into the image.
00:06:15
Speaker
But the danger is, because we live in this world, we have this tendency to get entangled. don't you've ever been swimming and you've come into seaweed before, swam into seaweed My brothers and sisters were big water skiers growing up and my oldest sister fell one time water skiing and she fell right into seaweed.
00:06:37
Speaker
And she said she was screaming bloody murder out there on the water. My dad came and said, what's wrong with you? It's just seaweed. She said, no, it was like wrapped around all of me. And I get this visual, friends, every time I think of the world that we live in. It's not simply, you know, you touch it and you get the the ink from the newspaper on your hands.
00:06:58
Speaker
it's a It's an all-inclusive entangling of the world. and And Paul's warning this church here, and he's warning the church in Romans 12 too, the same way, he's saying, don't be conformed.
00:07:13
Speaker
Teachers, don't be conformed. Administrators, don't be conformed. Coaches, don't be conformed. Don't be conformed to the world.
00:07:26
Speaker
Rather, he says, be transformed or be conformed to something else. It's this image of Christ.
00:07:34
Speaker
Why does Paul find it interesting i find it interesting? Why is it so important for him to tell you don't be conformed? Well, because it was a big problem back then. These were people who lived sexual, immoral lives.
00:07:49
Speaker
And then they became Christians. These were people that worshiped multiple idols and then they became Christians. And they had a tendency in their immature spiritual walk as they had this tendency to go back to these things.
00:08:05
Speaker
I'll pray to Jesus on Sunday, but boy, Sunday night comes and those Dallas Cowboys start playing. I'm starting to pray to something else.
00:08:16
Speaker
And we laugh because it's a multi-billion dollar industry. Those are real world idols. It was a real world problem for Paul. It's a real world problem for
Role of the Holy Spirit in Sanctification
00:08:27
Speaker
you and I today. It's this tendency to be conformed to the world in which we live.
00:08:33
Speaker
It is by the granting of the for ah Father according to His vast resources. And I love this, the the the New Living Translation, the abundance of His glory. It's because of these two things that we are conformed into the image of Christ.
00:08:46
Speaker
How are we shaped? Well, Verse 16, look with me, verse 16, we are strengthened with the power in the inner person by the Holy Spirit. You're empowered to live like Christ day in and day out by the Spirit. It means you can't do it in your own spirit, the little s spirit.
00:09:05
Speaker
It means you must have the Holy Spirit to empower you to live like Christ. It's the same Spirit who resurrected Christ.
00:09:18
Speaker
It's the same Spirit who opened your eyes and gave you saving faith in Christ.
00:09:24
Speaker
That's regeneration, by the way. That same Holy Spirit is now indwelt in the lives and in the hearts of every believer. And it's that same Holy Spirit who day in and day out empowers you to live like Christ. That's sanctification.
00:09:40
Speaker
That is being sanctified to be made holy one day at a time. Dr. Curavilla says, the hallmark of every believer's life is that the character of Christ be more and more, day in and day out, more and more apparent in your life.
00:09:56
Speaker
He says the center of the believer's life should reflect the very nature or very character of Christ. In other words, brothers and sisters, if Christ has taken up residence here in your heart, at the very core of who you are, if he's if he's influencing your thoughts in what you speak, in what you do, and he's at the very center of your life, exercising authority over your life, as you have submitted to him, we should see transformation happening in your life.
00:10:28
Speaker
We, the church, your brothers and sisters. Why is that? Well, because i I feel there are many, many Christians that have been sitting in these very pews decades who are still baby Christians, who have refused to progress, who have refused to mature.
00:10:53
Speaker
We should see you become more and more humble, more and more patient, more and more kind, more and more loving.
00:11:04
Speaker
Less arrogant, more meek. Less about you, more about Christ and everybody else.
00:11:15
Speaker
I simply put this week as I thought to myself, if somebody were to take a survey of my life, if they were to find the biggest piece of silly putty that they could find and press it over top of my life, and they start peeling it back, would they see the face of Christ?
00:11:33
Speaker
Or they see glimpses of the world.
00:11:38
Speaker
Brothers and sisters, you and I have this very same indwelling spirit that Christ has.
Exploring the Depth of Christ's Love
00:11:45
Speaker
He's the same spirit that empowers you to live, like Paul says here in verse 17, look with me, rooted and founded. I love these words. He gives two...
00:11:58
Speaker
metaphors if you will an agricultural metaphor and an architectural you're you're rooted or your roots are so deep they're down into Christ's love that that type of love is then produced it's an agricultural picture these people reading this would have known that because they they were from an agricultural background he's saying if your roots are so deep and it's down into Christ's love what will produce in your life in your beliefs in your relationships you'll produce that type of compelling love towards others.
00:12:31
Speaker
Not only will you be producing that because you're rooted, it says you're founded. The little foundation of who you are is based on Christ. So that if we are, it says, you may now comprehend and know Christ's love.
00:12:45
Speaker
And I just put down, I don't think we'll ever fully know the extent of Christ's love on this side of eternity. I think we take glimpses or we take a stab at every once in a while thinking about Christ's sacrificial love for you and for me.
00:12:59
Speaker
There's some song on the radio, and I was i i will tell you I did my darndest this morning to try to remember what this song was. Every time it comes up, it talks about the replacement of Christ on the cross and how he took my spot on the cross. And every time I hear this on the radio, it gets me. I'm going to think about right now, and I feel ah feel like I'm being overcome because I just have a very small understanding of that sacrificial love and what he did for me on the Christ.
00:13:28
Speaker
The more and more we know about Christ, the more and more we love one another, it compels us to love like him.
00:13:37
Speaker
1 John 4, 20 says, if someone says, I love God but hates his fellow believer, that person is a liar. How do you like that?
Community Love vs. Solitary Spirituality
00:13:47
Speaker
For if we don't love people we see, how can we love God in whom we cannot see?
00:13:53
Speaker
Verse 18 gives us a hint right here as we move on. Paul tells us, verse 18, the only way to experience and express the love of Christ is with all the saints or with all of God's people.
00:14:06
Speaker
that's That's your brothers and sisters to the left and right of you right now. If you just turn real quick and look over, this is who the church family is right now. This is the community that Paul is speaking of.
00:14:19
Speaker
He's saying that there's a love experienced, not a love studied. It's not a love experienced on an island all by yourself. It gets me every time somebody tells me I don't need to come to a Bible study class. I can study the Bible all by myself.
00:14:35
Speaker
I don't need the local church body because I can simply turn on the TV and listen to a preacher on the TV. Friends, that's not loving in community. That's not what Christ is modeling for us today.
00:14:49
Speaker
He says you must be here among the brothers and sisters. You must love the way Christ loved. That's his intention. That's his goal for you and I. And the best way that we can experience that, the best way that we can portray that type of love is among your brothers and sisters right here.
00:15:10
Speaker
It's his plan for you and I to love just like he loved. And I just put down, how how is that this week for me? Well, I put, it means we love sacrificially.
00:15:21
Speaker
It means we love when it's inconvenient. We love when it's costly. We love when it's not easy. But, but, we struggle to love like that, don't we?
00:15:37
Speaker
I'm not gonna speak for you, I'm just gonna speak for myself today. Not even as your pastor, I'm just gonna speak to you as Patrick Ransom. There are days I wake up and I simply don't want to love other people well.
00:15:50
Speaker
I just don't. And I put down why, and I answered it with one word, selfish. I'm selfish, I don't wanna be inconvenienced. I don't wanna be bothered.
00:16:03
Speaker
I wanna be left alone. wanna go about my daily business. It's a real struggle sometimes to love others like Christ, isn't it? And I thought to myself this week, why it so tough to love other people like Christ loved?
00:16:20
Speaker
Well, i put I notice it in my own walk when I'm trying to do it in my own strength. When I'm exhausted or I'm tired and i and I don't really want to engage, it's because I don't have the energy to engage.
00:16:34
Speaker
But if I were to rely on the Holy Spirit to empower me to do that, you'd be surprised how you can step up and love in a big way. He's reminding us this morning that it's not God's design that you try to love others in your own strength.
00:16:50
Speaker
He's given you help, the Helper, capital H Helper, the Holy Spirit, to empower you, and I wrote down, the supernatural boost that you and I need some mornings. It's that boost that sees the guy in the truck with a broken down wheel, then you're like, ah I don't want to stop today.
00:17:09
Speaker
It's that call you get from Cindy who says somebody needs a ride today and they need you to pick them up in Cameron and take them to temple for a doctor's appointment.
00:17:21
Speaker
And you go, oh, it's right in the middle of my favorite show.
00:17:27
Speaker
We laugh, but that's us.
00:17:32
Speaker
The point of what I'm trying to make is we can't do it in our own strength. we we need We need the Holy Spirit. And he'll empower us to do that.
Sanctification Through Challenges
00:17:40
Speaker
Verse 19 says, when we do this, when we rely on the Spirit to empower us to love others well, like Christ loved, we glorify God. Verse 19 says we are literally filled to all the fullness of God.
00:17:55
Speaker
The fullness of God means the fullness of his nature, the fullness of his character, the fullness of his perfections. This idea of being sanctified means you're you're being made holy. Doesn't mean you are holy.
00:18:08
Speaker
Means you're you're getting there. It's a sense of we are but and but not really yet. It's this picture, if you will, if you've ever seen gold, when gold is mined out of the ground. It doesn't come out all shiny like a ah gold bar. That's not the way they find it.
00:18:23
Speaker
It looks like a big dirty rock. And they heat it up and they knock off all the imperfections. Brothers and sisters, that's what sanctification is happening in your life. God is heating you up and knocking off the imperfection so that His glory, His character, His love, His nature can be shown through you.
00:18:48
Speaker
ah put down a favorite saying that I really wish could be our church motto, although I couldn't really get it to stick. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. What does that mean, get comfortable being uncomfortable?
00:19:01
Speaker
It means that if God wants me to be more like Christ today than I was yesterday, he's going to get me uncomfortable. He's going to take me out of my comfort zone of what I've been doing for the last two years.
00:19:16
Speaker
and and make me uncomfortable, to stretch me, to love different, to live differently. it's It's like going to the gym, those of you who go to the Cameron gym here, and do the exact same workout every single day.
00:19:32
Speaker
At some point, you're no longer growing muscular. you've You've hit your limit because you haven't changed your workout. Paul saying today, some of you need to break out of that.
00:19:44
Speaker
comfortable workout schedule that you have and stretch yourself. Love differently. Do it in the power of the Holy
Practical Expressions of Christ's Love
00:19:53
Speaker
Spirit. And when we do this, it brings God the glory.
00:19:57
Speaker
Verse 20. Verse 21. God receives the glory. 21 says, it is because the church, that you and I who are in Christ, that God is glorified in us, in the church, as we live out day in and day out looking more like Him.
00:20:15
Speaker
That's our job, that's our function, if you will, is to bring glory to God by looking more and more like Christ and loving more and more like Christ. How do we how do we do that practically? That's where we're going land today. Just a couple of quick observations.
00:20:28
Speaker
This week, by the way, application, very ah tangible. So if you're thinking to yourself, hey, I want to leave Sunday and I really want to start stretching my spiritual muscle, I really want to grow spiritually this week, here's the first way I ah suggest you do that.
00:20:47
Speaker
Offer somebody practical help. That's the first thing that you're going to do. It's often going to be inconvenient. It's awful often going to be not in your timing.
00:21:00
Speaker
Assist with tasks. Lend a hand with chores. or errands or projects around the house. Provide meals, bring a meal to somebody who's sick or grieving or simply needs a break.
00:21:14
Speaker
Brother Dale does this next one really well. just wanna let you know that. Offer transportation, give somebody a ride. Brother Dale picks up Charles Wade often, often y'all, and takes him to appointments in temple.
00:21:35
Speaker
is Is it convenient? No. Is it costly? You bet. Does it take away from what you want to do? You betcha. but But we're called to do that. One way we can demonstrate that we look like Christ and love like Christ is we offer somebody practical help. Maybe that just simply looks like um those of you who have kids picking up the phone and calling somebody who doesn't have kids and say, will you take these kids for that evening?
00:22:06
Speaker
You laugh, but you'll be surprised, and those of you who have kids know, it's amazing what a three-hour block of no kids can do to rejuvenate a single parent, right?
00:22:17
Speaker
Or a husband a wife that are struggling in their marriage. Simply be able to have three hours to focus on something else other than the kids. Those of you who are retired and don't have kids, what a what a great blessing that would be if you simply answered the phone and said, you you bet, you bet I'll take those kids for three hours.
00:22:39
Speaker
send them Send them with some type of entertainment. That's my only suggestion.
00:22:45
Speaker
Offer practical help. Second, offer prayer.
00:22:52
Speaker
Specific prayer. What does that mean? Well, friends, you get these texts if you're part of the group here in the church, right? Please pray for and and somebody's information is in there.
00:23:03
Speaker
um If you're like me, if you don't write that down, write that second, what happens? In about five minutes, I forget about it. In about 10 minutes, I delete that text. I suggest you write it down and you have an ongoing prayer sheet.
00:23:18
Speaker
that's If that's foreign to you, it looks like this. It's a piece of paper. You take it out, you number it, and you start writing the prayer. I'm praying for Kim. I'm praying for John. I'm praying praying for Frank. And this is why I'm praying for them.
00:23:33
Speaker
and you And you make it a point of offering specific prayer, daily prayer. Maybe it starts with the teachers and the students on this list. Hey, I'm going make a difference this week. I'm not a praying person. I don't normally pray in the morning. I'm going to make a point of every morning from 8 to 8.15 is to pray for the names on this list or a name on this list. Start small.
00:23:57
Speaker
Also simply put, pray for spiritual growth in the congregation here.
Encouragement and Community Engagement
00:24:00
Speaker
Pray for those people who who've been here stuck. And I say that lovingly and in the best pastoral way I can.
00:24:08
Speaker
um It's very easy to get stuck because you come here each week and you sit in the same spot and you have the same study group and you see the same people and boy there's a whole lot of other needy people right outside these walls.
00:24:27
Speaker
I just wonder if if maybe we ought to get out a little bit more. But it starts with prayer. Last, encouragement. Offer encouragement. This goes a long way.
00:24:38
Speaker
I simply put, when was the last time you called your Bible teacher and thanked them?
00:24:44
Speaker
what was the last time you you picked up the phone, you youth, and and called Kathy Barrett or sent her a text? Thanks for... Preparing the lesson. Thanks for coming Wednesdays and opening the gym so that we can shoot basketball.
00:25:01
Speaker
When's the last time you've texted or called Mildred? Thank you for preparing the meals. By the way, she prepares tons of meals here if you're not aware of that.
00:25:13
Speaker
Call somebody in the church, your fellow believer, your fellow brother and sister in Christ this week and tell them, hey, I appreciate you. Thanks for being so kind. Thanks for having an open ear. Some of you guys are fantastic listeners.
00:25:30
Speaker
How much more encouraged would it be to get a call from somebody and say, hey you know, you really made ah an impact in my life when you listened. You just gave me 10 minutes the other week and and you listened to me.
00:25:43
Speaker
Offer words of encouragement, words of affirmation. Let them know that you see them and you see what they're going through and that you're praying for them. I get that type of encouragement. When people tell me, hey, pastor, we pray for you every week. And I think to myself, that's so great.
00:25:58
Speaker
I really need it. And thank you. I sure hope you guys are doing it. Imagine if we simply picked up the phone and you called somebody this week and let them know that you're praying for them.
00:26:08
Speaker
And I just put at last, acknowledge and celebrate spiritual growth. let Let somebody know ah quite often when we baptize them right up here, part of what I say is, okay, they've now been baptized. They're now your responsibility.
00:26:22
Speaker
I did my responsibility. They now have been handed over to the church. You guys raised them in the church. How great would it be is as we go to Bible study classes and we grow spiritually that somebody every once while goes, hey, great job showing up on Wednesday nights being faithful in the study of Proverbs.
00:26:40
Speaker
Friends, I know it's not easy coming Wednesday nights sometimes. And I'm the teacher. I can imagine being the student listening to me babble on. That's why I chose to have some other great teachers this last time show up.
00:26:52
Speaker
So thank you teachers who've taught Proverbs on Wednesday night for me. I really appreciate that. Brothers sisters, by engaging in these actions, by simply loving people well, we can demonstrate Christ to your brothers and sisters.
00:27:10
Speaker
May we be a people who looks like Christ and loves like Christ. Amen.