Brother Bob Sunday School 5/26/13

Brother Bob Sunday School 5/26/13

We need each member in the Body.  I’m so glad for each one.  There is not anyone that is going to make it alone.  We need each member of the Body.

Paul said this:

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Beseech means to beg.  How important it is for us to stay true and faithful to God!  Paul is an example of a man that was going the hardest in the wrong direction that anyone has ever gone.  He was persecuting God’s church and causing some to be put to death.  God showed him he was wrong and in His loving mercy turned him around.

He did the same to me.  I have no talents or smooth speech, but I want to be faithful to God’s service.

Paul was a prisoner of love.  God didn’t make him a prisoner.  He felt the love of God and he was willing to return the love of God with his whole life and being.  The books he has written prove it.

We have an adversary.  We have a real hindrance that would try to hinder us.  By the grace of God we can be successful in our walk with Him.

The love that God showed to send His very son to die such a terrible death for us!  We don’t have to be lost in a devil’s hell for eternity.  We can be saved and have access to the grace of God to walk in the light that God shows on our pathway.

We walk worthy of the vocation.

Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

This is instruction for us: walk with lowliness, meekness, and longsuffering.  This means patience too.

Forbearing one another in love.  Before God saved me from the life of sin I thought I knew something about love.  After I got saved I realized that I’d had no clue of what love really was.  That love that He shed on us is the same love that we show to others.

With longsuffering…  God’s children are peace makers. 

Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

We are all called to be saints.  Everyone that is saved is a member of Christ’s body.  You are either saved and serving God or you are lost and bound for hell.

There is only one faith, one spirit.  You can ask people what faith are you and they will come up with some manmade organization.  They have missed it.  I hope some of them are saved and walking in all the light they can see in spite of the organization.

Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Aren’t you glad that you can be cleaned up and saved from your sin and able to live a life so that Jesus can live in your heart?  His grace is sufficient for us.  Whatever life you’ve lived, you can be cleaned up and can measure to His word.

Eph 4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

God’s grace is sufficient for us that we need have no lack.  There are scriptures that bring that out clearly.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

When Jesus came He did a complete job.  There are many religious people that think that He has to come back and finish his job.  He did a complete job so that we can live an acceptable and Godly life here on this earth. 

He will come back to receive His saints.  The kingdom of God is here now.  Jesus paid a full price that we can enjoy the kingdom of God today.

Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

We can have it right now.  We don’t have to wait for a better day.  We have access to the kingdom of God that He bought for us with His very blood.

There is nothing unfinished.  If there is anything that is unfinished, it is us.  The only way we can be finished is to walk in the light that God shows in our pathway.  We can have confidence that every promise in the Book is ours if we are walking in the light.  If we’re not then we cannot have confidence.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

These verses make it clear to us how the church of God is designed by Him to work.  There is not anyone that can be saved and be isolated by his own will and make heaven.  God’s plan is that we have prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. 

They are necessary.  Each one supplies for the needs of the others. 

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

This is how much we need the body and each member working together for our protection.  Until we come to the stature of the fullness of Christ. 

Paul said that he had not attained.  As much as he had been used for Christ and had done, he pressed on to the mark.

We want to press on to the mark.  We want to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, not doing despite to the grace of God but having the grace working in our lives, perfecting us and in honor preferring one another.

This is how the church of God works.  We need teachers, evangelist: the exhortations of the saints.  God talks to my heart through all the exhortations in this church.  We need it.  If we are by ourselves then we will not make it.

Pastors:  thank God for the pastor that we have.  He loves the sheep.  We’ve seen other churches that struggle because they did not have a pastor that had a pastor’s heart to love the sheep.  Thank God for a pastor that loves us and has given us his life.

I don’t know if there are any of you that desire to be a pastor.  I don’t.  I don’t think that I could handle the stress.  They don’t have an easy row to hoe.  They give their best for counsel and instruction.  Not everyone is going to be happy with it.  They love the sheep and the counsel that they give is for (to the best of their ability) to protect the sheep. 

It is not easy and every godly pastor is that way.  We really need to hold up our pastors.

Part of the battle is that the enemy attacks any that will use their influence for the truth.  The pastor is working for their own soul too.  We really need to lift up the hands of those that are laboring for the gospel.  For us looking on if we don’t understand the counsel then mark it down it is the best counsel that he has and can give to perfect the sheep.

We may not understand, but we need to back off and take his counsel.

I’ve been appreciative of Sister Karen, it cannot be easy to be a pastor’s wife: the time that is taken from them even in their home and companionship.  I’ve been appreciative of her sacrifice.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

We need to gird up the loins of our mind and keep our self so that we don’t have to be touched by the enemy.  God can strengthen us so that we don’t have to fall into anything that would cause us to be disobedient to the gospel.

The gospel of Jesus is a gospel of love; there is no strife or enmity.  God’s children are a children of peace.  This brings to my mind the elder sister Kelly.  She used to bring the message often.  You need a backbone like a saw-log and stand for truth.  We can have a backbone and stand in love.  We don’t need to be contentious to stand for truth. 

We can stand and be saved.  Think of the vilest sinner.  Who are we?  We are saved by grace.  We were nothing and less than nothing before God saved us.  Thank God for the righteousness, peace and joy that we can have.

It is so important that we stay in the love of God.  There is a list of the fruits of the flesh that are enmity against God in Galatians chapter 5. 

We are instructed to bear the fruits of the Spirit of God.  These fruits are not optional.  We must bear these fruits and the enemy is out to destroy them.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Gal 5:26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Love, joy, and peace go together.  If you have lost one of them then you are in trouble.  If you have love, joy, and peace then you can have longsuffering.  Have longsuffering for the one that rubs you wrong.  Love them until they get saved.  Love them unto salvation.  God is no respecter of persons.  We have no right to be one.

Jesus is our perfect example.  All the attributes of God we need in our life.  If we are going to be perfect before God we need them.

We don’t want to get ruffled up like a mother hen with chicks.  We want to be gentle: gentleness, goodness, meekness.  We don’t want to be puffed up in any way shape of form.  We have no capabilities of our self.  The only good that we can accomplish is because of God.

Temperate in all things:  Not overcharged with the things of the world, playing, we want to be temperate in all things.

They that are Christ’s have crucified… if we haven’t done this then we will have trouble bearing all these good fruits.

If we are bearing the fruits of the flesh and they are not crucified.  It says in verse 21: They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.  This instruction from the gospel is not optional but by the grace of God we can live, fulfill, and talk it.  Zero strife saints!