WEBVTT

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We'll look in the Word of God today at the fourth

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chapter of the book of Ephesians. Education is

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important, but not as an end in itself. One may

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study science, engineering, law, business, medicine,

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and all of that is good, but with limited benefit

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until it is applied in practice. does not touch

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the reality of life. As that is true of secular

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subjects and knowledge, so it is even more true

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of the Word of God. Knowledge without application

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does not benefit in that it does not teach the

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reality of life. So it is, as we come to Ephesians

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chapter 4, that the Apostle Paul begins the application

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of the truth of our calling in Christ Jesus to

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the lifestyle of the believer. Truth will now

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be applied to life. We have learned as we have

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studied the first three chapters that we are

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seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenlies, that

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we are the possessors of every possible spiritual

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blessing in Christ. We have been told that we

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are members of the body called out to belong

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to Christ himself. We have gained some understanding

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of the purposes of God in the history of the

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world and mankind. We have looked at the fact

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that you and I have a direct connection to the

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living God of the universe. And we have reminded

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ourselves of the knowledge that we are accepted

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by him. as his own son. Our sins have been forgiven,

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and now God looks upon us as dearly as he looks

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upon his own precious son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Now these privileges that we have learned about

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carry with them a certain dignity as well as

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responsibility. One claiming to be a child of

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God cannot suppose to live the same way as the

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unregenerate in the world around. Life for the

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Christian has a new significance, and thus there

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are also unusual expectations. I suppose that

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many of us have been intrigued at some time in

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our life by royalty, particularly British royalty,

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because so many of our roots come from the British

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Isles. We may be tempted to think that they are

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but a privileged and pampered family, not worthy

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of respect. But if you study the royal family,

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you find that along with the privileges which

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they enjoy, there is heavy responsibility. The

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children born into the royal family learn very

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early on that they are not like other boys and

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girls, that with their birth into that family

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has come a responsibility because they are the

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royalty of the nation. They understand that they

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cannot be the same as everyone else. You and

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I, who are the redeemed of Jesus Christ, purchased

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by his precious blood, are the royalty of God's

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universe. We are born into the family of the

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King of kings and have become by that birth the

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heirs with Christ of all things that God has

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made. Your call into God's family and his royalty,

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your call to be different, should not be viewed

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by you as burdensome. or as a handicap. In fact,

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it is a privilege that is extended to us by the

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grace of God, quite apart from our own works.

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With that privilege comes responsibility. The

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conduct of the child of God is described for

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us in chapters 4, 5, and 6 of Ephesians. He has

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told us in chapters 1 through 3 who we are in

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Christ. Therefore, he now says, this is the way

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that God wants you to live as his dear children.

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We could probably summarize it all in maybe five

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words. First, unity. The first part of chapter

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4 deals with this truth. If we are the children

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of God, we are to live together in unity. Secondly,

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he tells us that we must live in honesty, the

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last part of chapter 4. Thirdly, if we are the

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children of God, we are to live in purity. He

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covers that in the first part of chapter 5. And

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then in the last part of chapter 5, he tells

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us that as the children of God, we are to be

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characterized by harmony. And finally, in chapter

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6, as children of the living God. We are to be

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characterized by victory in our lives, all because

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of who we are in Christ Jesus. For that being

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the general outline that we're going to follow

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in the upcoming weeks, let's first take a look

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at this matter of unity and its ramifications.

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Unity begins in the character of the individual

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believer. But it spreads out from there to impact

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the whole body of which he belongs, that is,

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the local church. You see that in Paul's explanation.

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Notice in verses 1 through 3, he talks about

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our personal character as preserving unity. We'll

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get into that some this morning and more, the

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Lord willing, in a couple of weeks. Then in verses

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4 through 6, He talks about the doctrinal foundation

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providing for unity. Notice the seven oneness

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of our faith. He talks in verse 4 about one body,

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one spirit, one hope. Verse 5, one Lord, one

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faith, one baptism. Verse 6, one God and Father

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of all. That is the doctrinal foundation of our

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unity, providing for it. Then in verses 7 through

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13, he explains to us God's practical plan. promoting

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unity. And finally, in verses 14, 15, and 16

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of this paragraph, he explains to us the natural

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results in a church proving unity is there. How

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do we know when a church is unified? Well, those

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verses will come to life in that church. Now

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let's back up all the way to verse 1, where we

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are encouraged by God to conduct ourselves in

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a manner worthy of our calling. What does that

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mean? Well, let me say in the first place that

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it has no sense of meaning, such as living so

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as to merit God's pleasure or to somehow claim

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God's blessing because of what we've done. That

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is not what the Apostle is saying here when he

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tells us to walk worthy of our calling. He is

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not saying to us that we can somehow balance

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all of the good on this side of our lives, and

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surely it will outweigh the bad, and God will

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be pleased. He is not saying that we somehow

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get God's blessing by climbing the ladder of

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our own goodness and deserving it. That is not

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what he means when he talks about walking worthy.

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Beloved, all of God's blessings, whether it be

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the blessing of salvation or all of the blessings

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that flow from that initial blessing, All of

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God's blessings are given to us on the basis

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of grace. That is the unmerited kindness of God

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toward us. Favor which we do not earn or deserve

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by anything, by anything that we do. Now I emphasize

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that because there are so many people deluded

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in the thinking that somehow, someday, they're

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going to get to heaven on the basis of their

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own righteousness. Their own good works. One

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of the testimonies in baptism this morning in

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the first service dealt right with that truth.

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The person shared that in her early years she

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was depending upon her own self -righteousness.

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But it was later that she realized that she was

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a sinner needing to repent and to believe on

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the Lord Jesus Christ. That's when she became

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a real Christian. If you today are somehow convinced

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that you're going to make it into heaven, that

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you're going to get salvation from God by the

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good things that you're doing, let me warn you

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that that is deception. It may be the common

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way of thinking among men, but it is not the

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truth. And Paul is not saying here that somehow

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we are worthy of salvation by living a good life.

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That is not what he's saying in verse 1. He is

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rather addressing those of us who are saved by

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faith, by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. He

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is speaking to us, and he is telling us who are

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saved now to walk worthy of our calling. The

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word worthy literally means of weight, or it

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means an equivalency. He is saying here that

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our calling should be on one side of the scale,

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and on the other side of the scale, giving balance

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to that should be our lifestyle. That's what

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he's saying. He's saying, look at who you are.

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See your calling in Jesus Christ and the weight

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of that, the glory of it. And once you have that

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in mind, he says, then walk worthy of it. Let

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your lifestyle, your conduct, your behavior be

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equivalent to who you really are. We who are

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children of God are forgiven and set free. We

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are indwelt by the Holy Spirit that we might

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become all that God has created us to be. That

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is our calling. When we are born into God's family,

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we are born looking ahead, looking to the future.

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That is the direction of God's children, not

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the past. So often we tend to live in the past,

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either in its glory or in its problems, its failures.

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If we live in the past in its glories, then we

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become arrogant. If we live in the past with

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all of its failures, we become depressed and

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discouraged. All of us. None of us can boast

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about where we've been. God doesn't tell us to

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focus on the past. Forgetting those things which

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are behind. That's what the Bible says. It's

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over. You say, yes, but there are some things

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in my life I wish I could go back and correct.

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Oh, if I could only go back and live that. You

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can't. It's done. That's history. What we can

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have happen to us is have that forgiven. And

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every child of God knows the meaning of that.

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It means that that past that hangs over us like

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a cloud is wiped away. It's cleansed so that

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we're no longer guilty over those sins that are

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in the past. Don't focus on the past, beloved.

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Focus on the future. Someone has said, That for

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the child of God, the best is yet to come. And

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that's the truth. When the Bible talks about

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our calling, it is telling us to look to what

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God wants us to become in Jesus Christ. Don't

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live regretting your past. Focus on your calling.

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And notice that the calling is in the passive.

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We're acted upon. He says, the calling with which

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you have been called. In other words, you didn't

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call yourself into God's family. He's just reminding

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us here that salvation wasn't something that

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originated with us. It wasn't your idea or mine.

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We didn't one day all on our own say, hey, you

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know, I think I want to become a Christian. I

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think I want to have my sins forgiven. I think

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I want to have a new hope. I want to have it.

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That wasn't from us. He says that calling by

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which we were summoned out of the world to belong

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to Jesus Christ came from outside of us. And,

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of course, it came from God himself. He is the

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one who has called us into the fellowship of

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his son. The Lord Jesus Christ has liberated

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us. Not only from our past, but from the power

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of sin within us even now. He has liberated us

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so that we can give ourselves to him as Lord.

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We can give ourselves again to sin. We can give

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ourselves to our own lusts. We can live to please

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ourselves is the point. Even as God's children.

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But how tragic that is. What a waste. For God

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has called us out and set us free. He has liberated

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us so that now we can freely give ourselves to

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Jesus Christ to obey him. That's what he's talking

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about here when he says, walk in a manner worthy

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of your calling. Don't be content to be what

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you've always been. Press on to be what God wants

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you to become. Walk worthy. Develop a lifestyle

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that is consistent with your calling in Christ.

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This is not an isolated theme to Ephesians. Turn

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over to Colossians and look in chapter 1 and

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verse 10. Here Paul makes it a matter of prayer

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for the Colossians. He prays what he does in

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verse 9 and then goes on to verse 10 to say,

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that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

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Notice, very similar language. Here he doesn't

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emphasize walking worthy of your calling. He

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says, walk worthy of your Lord. You say, can

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I really do that? If you couldn't, God wouldn't

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tell us to. Walk worthy of the Lord who has called

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you. If you bear his name, Didn't walk worthy

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of the name. The story is told of Napoleon, who

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went to the front lines in some heated battle,

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and there he saw a soldier who was afraid to

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go into battle. He would not go to the front

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lines. Napoleon walked over to him and said,

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Soldier, what is your name? And amazingly, the

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soldier replied, Napoleon. The great general

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looked at him and said, soldier, get to the front

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or change your name. Walk worthy, my friend,

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of your commanding officer, Jesus Christ. Walk

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worthy of the calling by which you've been called.

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Turn over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse

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12. Here the apostle says, I am... pleading with

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you, I am exhorting you, as a father would his

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own children, verse 12 now, so that you may walk

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in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into

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his own kingdom and glory. Now let that trickle

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down into your mind a little bit. God has called

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you to inherit his kingdom. He has already predestined

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you to be conformed to the very glory of Jesus

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Christ, child of God that is true about you,

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every one of you, that's your calling. Paul says,

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oh, that you would walk worthy of that calling

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to glory. You'll notice going back to our original

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text now in Ephesians chapter 1 that this message

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from the Lord does not come as a command. Does

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that amaze you as it does me? Paul doesn't say,

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I therefore command you. He says, I entreat you.

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Remember, God is speaking through him. God is

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here begging us. That's what the word means.

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Urging us that we would walk worthy of our calling.

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This is the same word used of the Holy Spirit

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in John's Gospel, where he's called the Comforter,

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the one who is called alongside to help us. The

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Apostle pictures himself, and God is using Paul

00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:56.400
to picture himself, as coming alongside us, putting

00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:59.000
his arm around us and saying, Look, my child,

00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:07.059
this is who you are. Now, would you please live

00:19:07.059 --> 00:19:12.839
worthy of your calling? Do you see the gentleness

00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:19.140
of God in that? Here is not some dictator who

00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:24.779
is making demands, but here is a Lord who gently

00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:29.980
comes alongside us and urges us to get moving

00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:33.490
in this direction. to begin getting into our

00:19:33.490 --> 00:19:39.990
lives, the truth about ourselves, to recognize

00:19:39.990 --> 00:19:44.450
the high position and the holy privilege that

00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:48.130
we have to be the called ones of Jesus Christ,

00:19:48.549 --> 00:19:52.970
to let that truth soak down deep and instill

00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:56.569
in each of us a fresh desire for a lifestyle

00:19:56.569 --> 00:20:01.579
that reflects who we really are. You know, that's

00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:05.140
the one thing that really matters in your Christian

00:20:05.140 --> 00:20:08.720
life. That is, conducting yourself according

00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:14.220
to your heavenly calling as God's royalty. Not

00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:19.420
money or clothes or that profession you've been

00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:22.920
wanting to get into. Not the house you own or

00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:25.299
the car or the job or the promotion you're working

00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:30.160
for. Not your educational degrees. None of those

00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:34.000
things are important compared to this. It's not

00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.319
the big game. It's not that once -in -a -lifetime

00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:41.859
opportunity. It's not your dream vacation that

00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:45.980
you've been working toward when you retire. It's

00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:48.140
not even getting married and having a family.

00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:53.119
But the most important thing in life is what

00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:57.000
he talks about in this verse. To conduct ourselves

00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:02.259
worthy of the calling that Jesus Christ has given

00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:08.940
us. To live this way requires supernatural assistance.

00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:14.559
You and I cannot in ourselves live worthy of

00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:17.720
Jesus Christ. That's why God has given us his

00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:22.519
Holy Spirit. As we draw upon the resources of

00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:24.920
the Spirit of God in our lives and live like

00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.059
he tells us to, and he will explain what he wants

00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:31.880
from us. As we begin to put this into practice

00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:35.539
by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit,

00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:40.420
some things will take place. First of all, you'll

00:21:40.420 --> 00:21:44.279
be pegged as different from other people. That's

00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:49.480
all right. You're royalty. You will make some

00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:54.299
people uncomfortable. There will be people who

00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:58.160
will misunderstand you and, yes, even hate you.

00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:01.920
Because of the way that you live, that lifestyle.

00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:07.180
But never neglect the fact, don't ever forget

00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:12.000
the truth, that you are a child of God. Not because

00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.000
you are something in yourself, but because of

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.940
the calling of Jesus Christ that brought you

00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:24.599
to faith in himself. And because of that calling,

00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:28.680
that you had nothing to do with, that came to

00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:32.539
you from the outside because of that calling

00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:37.799
to become and to experience the fullness of all

00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:40.980
that God has planned for His children. Because

00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:48.339
of that calling and that destiny, God urges us

00:22:48.339 --> 00:22:54.299
now to get our lifestyle into sync with it. In

00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:57.700
the Old Testament, God said to his people, I

00:22:57.700 --> 00:23:03.799
will bless you if you obey me. But in this age,

00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:08.640
what God says to us is this, I have blessed you,

00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:16.480
so please obey me. Let's pray together.