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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/isaiah-frazier/faithfulness-worship-unity/
Now what I want to speak to you about this afternoon, very briefly, I'm not here to occupy a lot of time, but I want to speak to you about faithfulness. And so I'm going to read one verse to lead off my message, and it is in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 1.
I'm thankful for the Stout Assembly that still annually hosts their conference. There always seems to be many that enjoy coming here. So in the will of the Lord, keep up this work. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 1.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. I assume that that is a term or a name given to the Lord Jesus, a way of speaking of him as the ascended Christ.
If you were to go to another epistle that Paul wrote from prison, say the book of Colossians, you would find that he wrote to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ. And I believe as I look at the book of Ephesians, the first three chapters is predominantly occupied with positional truth, what we are in Christ.
Looking through the verses of the first three chapters, you will find in Christ, in Jesus Christ, in him, in himself, and also you will find as these terms or this recognition is of the lovely person of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you come to verse 6, we are accepted in the beloved.
And so when I think of us being positionally brought into alignment with God's will and God's purpose, God's purpose that you will find even mentioned in chapter 1, that it's a wonderful thing to be linked with Almighty God and come into a relationship with the Trinity and the members of the Godhead.
To think that God is our Father, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, our advocate, our great high priest, our intercessor. And furthermore, when it comes to the Spirit of God, as we'll notice, as we could be noticing in chapter 1 and in chapter 4, the Holy Spirit of God has sealed us unto the day of redemption.
And we are indwelt by the Spirit of God. And as there are so many young people here today and older ones, as well as myself, listen, we need to have a fresh glimpse and a recognition and a reminding that we are linked by the Almighty power and the will and the purpose of God, linked to divine persons.
We're just not a bunch of people here on earth wandering around aimlessly. We're not orphans in this world. We are linked with God and we have been blessed by Him exceedingly. And so as I think of these here at Ephesus and what was written to them, I think of what is said in Acts chapter 18, 19, and 20, as Paul gives an update on his interaction with the assembly there.
And it's very interesting that when you come to chapter 20 and verse 31, let me read it to you. Therefore watch and remember by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears.
Why did he say that? Why was he concerned about these that had been brought into this wonderful and positional relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and recognized as faithful ones? Because up the chapter he is writing, and I think we've been reminded of this in the conference, that there were grievous wolves that were going to rise up from within.
And there were men that were going to come along and they were going to gather to themselves followers. And it would be a tremendous distraction to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he was concerned about their faithfulness at that time.
You know, after what was recorded in his interest in Ephesus that we have noticed from Acts, approximately four years later, I believe if I'm right, he writes this epistle to the Ephesian believers. And right in the first verse he identifies them as those that are faithful in Christ Jesus.
But keep in mind something. It was within about 26 years the church of Ephesus got another communication. And that communication was from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as you're very familiar with Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3.
And in verse 4 of chapter 2, this is what he says, that they had left their first love. What was the problem? There was a lack of faithfulness in their lives. And having left their first love, some have thought of it this way, they didn't have the love and appreciation to the Lord Jesus Christ that they had in the day when they had trusted Christ or subsequent days and that which followed on as an assembly.
Well, that may be true. But you know, I really think the Lord had realized that he said to them after he complimented them for so many things, you have left your first love, that the Lord Jesus Christ was not receiving from them the appreciation and the place and the glory and the honor that he was deserving of.
Maybe you have had that feeling yourself. Maybe you've been convicted of it yourself. That really, I do not display a faithfulness to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as I ought. If that be the case, you know, we're in the driver's seat of our life.
And so at this time I want to go over to the third chapter of four, five and six and look at practical truth. Listen, if we are in Christ and we are positionally so, then those that are there ought to have a willingness and a desire on their part to practice truth as it is set before us.
And I don't know what kind of excuse we could ever give to the Lord when we fail in this. And I'm sure we all have a sense of failure. But notice here, I want to, I'm going to read here from chapter four, but before I do, I want to do something else.
I want to think of some of the things that he set out in a practical way that they were expected to be faithful in. I think our brother Isaiah yesterday pointed out verses 19 and 20 of chapter five, and it pertains to worship.
And I'm just going to probe ourselves this a little bit today. Am I faithful as a worshiper? Is it my burden? Is it my interest? Do I recognize that I have a responsibility out of love to Christ to worship?
I come down in the chapter a little further. And of course, we're reminded of the church, the body of Christ, of which Christ is the head. But he weaves into that responsibility in a marriage relationship.
Husbands should love their wives. Wives should reverence or respect their husbands. And as done as that unto the Lord. And the reason I bring this up is because strong marriages in God's assembly is a tremendous thing, and it's very beneficial.
You say, how would you prove that? You come to the assembly, and if you have one marriage that is not functioning as it should, it has a capability of making party spirit and raising chaos in God's assembly.
So we need to be faithful if we're married. We need to be faithful in our marriage relationship to our spouse. It doesn't run around with our minds wandering and fantasizing in our mind about anything and everything.
We need to be loyal in our marriage relationship. And I want to say something to the young folks here today. The day will come when you will have a desire for a spouse. Don't you be taken up with the handsomeness or the beauty of the individual.
You pay very close attention to their spirituality and their focus and their interest in spiritual things and make the right choice prayerfully before God. Now, that has already been said in this conference, but if you fail in that, you might find troubles in your marriage that you won't like and you won't appreciate.
I move over then into chapter six. And the first thing it seems that comes to our view is a faithfulness in relationship to our children. Have we heard that in the conference? We have. I'll just underscore it.
We need to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Fathers are not dictators and families. And children deserve an explanation as to what, why, what is expected in the family to be done.
We need to be faithful to our children. He even comes in on the work in the work area. He talks about slaves and masters. Today it's employers and employees. Do we need to be careful about that? Do we need to be faithful in that?
That there wouldn't be rumors that would circulate around. That there wouldn't even be things said in an area that would be detrimental to assembly testimony. We need to be faithful how we run our business and do our things in this world.
It is to the glory of the Lord. I come a little farther in and I find out that we are exhorted to be faithful in relationship to the Word of God. Have we heard about that? We certainly have. Are we all prepared to move and make improvements in our life in that regard?
I hope we are. I hope to. And then he talks about faithfulness to the Gospel. Are we faithful to the Gospel? We appreciate with the Gospel the message that has come to us and the blessings we have come into.
But are we concerned about others? We have heard about that. Encouragement for young men to be out in the work and to seek to win souls to Christ. Faithfulness in the Gospel. And you come right down to the end of the chapter.
I told you I'm going to get down from this place as quickly as I can. It's not my comfort zone. But I find a little statement here to be in prayer and supplication for all saints. Are we faithful in prayer?
If you haven't discovered it yet, prayer is a work. And prayer is the result of an exercise. Sometimes we pray for those that are sick. And we pray for those that are bereaved because death has come in.
And we pray for those that have lost jobs and financial resources have dwindled. But I think of it this way sometimes. Like Brother Stanley Wells would talk about people that have their ducks in a row, whatever that means.
You know, sometimes there are believers and they seem that everything is going along smoothly. You know what? We need to pray for one another and for our preservation. Sometimes things look good on the exterior.
But we need to be praying for one another, for our preservation, and for help for fellow believers that we might live for the glory of Christ and for the prosperity of God's assemblies where Christians are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After all, we go back to chapter 20. You know what Paul said to him as to the assembly? The assembly had been purchased with the blood of his own and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a place of dignity.
If there are those here today and you have been saved and haven't been baptized, you need to be baptized. And if you're saved and baptized, you need to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ if you are sound in doctrine, because that's where the Lord Jesus Christ would have you.
Every assembly is purchased by the blood of Christ. But let me come to my final thought. This is what I want to consider. I don't know how much you think about it. I don't know how much we are exhorted in ministry about it.
But I'm back now to chapter 4 and verse 1. The rest of my comments I'm going to draw from chapter 4. But here we are at verse 1. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherein ye have been called.
I go back to the young people. You have a profession? Are you excited about your link with the person of Christ? Are you interested in bearing testimony to his name? You know, I believe everyone that is saved would really, God would want them to gather to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so he's talking about here their walk and walking worthy of the vocation wherein they are called. You come over to chapter 5. Sorry, I am deviating here. It says here, walk in love. And then in verse 8, walk in light.
And verse 15, walk circumspectly. And so it is important how we walk as far as God is concerned. Come down to verse 2. With all lowliness and meekness and long-suffering forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, there's my subject, faithfulness in relationship to the unity of the Spirit of God.
You know, the Holy Spirit of God, as we understand from the Scriptures, he is the author of Holy Scripture. I remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said, as we have already reminded ourselves, that we have been sealed by the Spirit of God and we're indwelt by the Spirit of God.
But the Lord Jesus Christ said in his ministry in the upper room, verses 14, 15, and 16, he talks about the coming of the Comforter. And when he comes to chapter 16 and verses 13 and 14, he says the Holy Spirit of God, when he is sent, and he did come 10 days after the Lord ascended, the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.
He will show you things that are to come. And I think it's like frosting on a big cake. That's a poor analogy. But listen, he also says that the Spirit of God will take the things of mine and show them unto you.
Spirit of God teaching us truth relative to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, dear Peter, as he comes to the end of his writing, as a restored man, he says, growing grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to him be glory, both now and forever.
Amen. That should be our focus. That should be our goal. To know more about him and to have that gentle movement of the Spirit of God toward us to guide us into all truth and things that are coming and things relative to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As I come to this verse, these three verses, I find out that the unity of the Spirit is not mine to make. It is made by the Spirit of God. And where is my responsibility in this? It is to keep it. You say, well, what am I keeping?
Keeping the unity of the Spirit. Listen, I want to make a statement, and I hope you agree with it. The Spirit of God says the same thing to you. He will say the same thing to me. He doesn't speak variable things to variable people.
He says the same thing to everybody. And so when I think of the deposit of truth in all that we are privileged to, and you know what, really? We're responsible to know. We hang our heads how little sometimes we do know, but we are responsible for the truth of God that the Spirit of God wants to teach us and wants us to know.
And he has made a unity, the unity of the Spirit of God, I judge, from the truth of God that we have on the pages of Holy Scripture that is taught to us and brought to us. We're glad you're at a conference.
But you know, in the quietness of your little dwelling, you can, with a bowed and open heart and prayerfully before God, the Spirit of God will teach you. He never confuses people. And so I think of the spirit of truth, and I think of the unity of the Spirit.
The Spirit brings into a unanimity, to a oneness, to a completeness to teach us the truth. Now, some would say, well, we're going to keep in the context of this epistle. After all, the Apostle Paul, as he was speaking about the body of Christ, he was speaking about Jew and Gentile and brought into one body.
That's all right. We're on the practical side of this epistle. And while that was true in early days, maybe we don't worry about ethnics and all that as to people coming into God's assembly. That really isn't a problem with us, is it?
But I want to say this, that everyone in God's assembly should be in the enjoyment of the unity of the Spirit of God. He has made it, and the exhortation is to keep it. I like what is said in verse two.
How do we keep it? With all lowliness. I was shocked when I really looked at the word. Loneliness. To have a humble opinion of self, a display of modesty, and allowing our mind to be controlled by the Spirit of God.
Lowliness. You see, when it comes to the unity of the Spirit, it isn't something that someone that is headstrong, bullheaded, wanted to move in some kind of an authority of self-prescription or an egoistic way.
These people have a hard time coming into an understanding what the unity of the Spirit is about. That's too bad, isn't it? It's sad. How many of us are able that we would sit on from time to time and evaluate ourselves in our own life with honesty and integrity?
Did you ever try that? Did you ever try to be honest before God and to think about, how am I personally doing in my Christian experience? Well, we keep this unity of the Spirit in lowliness. He goes on to say meekness.
You know what that is? That's gentleness. And modesty is a desire to put myself to the side for the exaltation of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Long-suffering. What's that about? Patience. Slowness to avenge wrong when you think you see it in others.
Is that a hope to us today? Is there something we need to adjust and change? Forbearing. How gentle and how willing to accept others for what they are. When I think of meekness and lowliness, you know where I think?
My mind goes right away to Matthew chapter 11. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. What are we talking about here? You want to talk about meekness and lowliness? Take a look at the Lord Jesus. You want to imitate someone? Imitate him. He was never anything other than meek and lowly.
You look at the scriptures. You look at the gospels and how he responded to the Pharisees and the scribes and the elders. How he responded to perishing people. How he responded to his disciples. It was in a faultless way.
That is how we are to endeavor to diligently right now. It isn't something we're going to try to do sometime. It should be now. It should be our personal exercise as to a faithfulness to keep the unity of the Spirit of God.
The Lord Jesus promised rest, didn't he? And how true that is. So I come down to this verse here and he says, to diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Do you ever find people moving around, they're very agitated and they're unhappy and they're grumpy?
It happens. People are discontented. You know what the problem is? They do not know what it means to keep the unity of the Spirit of God in the bond of peace. And again, I found it very interesting that this word bond is actually the word ligament.
So here's the unity of the Spirit of God and we are to keep it. We all know what a tendon is, a muscle that is connected to the tendon, that's connected to the bone. You see those charts sometimes in a doctor's office.
I understand a ligament and a tendon are pretty much of the same structure as far as cells are concerned. I'm just going as somebody recently told me. But you see, a ligament holds bones together and that is what the unity of the Spirit of God does if it is kept.
What's it bring? It brings peace. It brings tranquility. It brings calm. It brings a condition that we all like. And if we deviate away and we go away from it, no interest in keeping the unity of the Spirit of God, we're in big trouble.
You know, if I was standing here and all my ligaments failed me, I'm not much to look at right now, but I'd be a personal responsibility to keep it. Will that have impact on our, even in domestic realm?
It will, but primarily in God's assembly? You know, sometimes people leave an assembly. I'm not here to hang out filthy laundry. That isn't it. We can't deny reality either. Sometimes people leave. Sometimes people aren't happy.
They go on their downward spiral. They leave the assembly because something there doesn't please them. There's agitation and there's peace and there's a lack of peace and there's sorrow. I'm just trying to open our eyes a little bit today.
Maybe everybody knows much more about this than I do. I don't know. But it's been speaking to my soul to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. And how do we do it? Well, I'll tell you what, we got to have a right attitude and we got to have the right focus.
And as Paul is saying here, with all lowliness and meekness and long suffering for bearing one another in love. Let's go to the end of the chapter. I see in verse 20, let no communication or rotten or putrid words and communication come out of our mouth.
Verse 30, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Don't bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit of God. Don't bring heaviness to the Spirit of God. There's no wisdom in quenching the Spirit of God. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 19, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby he is sealed unto the day of redemption.
The second place in this epistle that Paul speaks about, having mentioned it in chapter 1 and verse 13. Sealed unto the day of redemption. Sealed into the day when we're at home with the Lord and our bodies are changed and there's a consummation of our salvation.
Then he says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Does that ever happen among Christians? All I'm going to say is it can. Now I'm not going to go into the definition of those words.
Maybe it would be profitable, but I know the malice is ill will and a desire to hurt. What we told yesterday about watching our tongue and what we have to say, right? Let me wind this up. You're saying good.
I'm glad you're about done. But anyhow, and be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. I wonder if there's anybody here today and you have a grudge against somebody else.
You think you have been hurt and consequently you have ill feelings toward others. Do you know what forgiveness is? Forgiveness is taking someone you feel that has offended you and you pardon them. You drop, you just plain flat out drop your feelings and your accusations against them.
Add something to that and then show them kindness on top of it. Why should we do that? Because God has forgiven us for Christ's sake. I am going to submit something to you today, whether you like it or not.
You know, I've got to leave here pretty soon anyhow, so maybe you won't have anything to say to me. But I would say this. People that hold grudges and people that don't want to forgive other people, they don't have a clear understanding of that forgiveness that has come to them from God to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, and all that He passed through to forgive us of all our sins.
You know, people that are bitter, you know, I was thinking of a Hebrews chapter 12, I think about verse 15, it talks about the root of bitterness. You know what the root of bitterness produces in anybody?
The fruit of bitterness. And I have never met a bitter person yet that has profited one iota by holding that grudge, that bitterness. I never have. And who suffers from it most? The person that carries the bitterness.
For Christ's sake, we should forgive one another. Being wound up and caught in a battlefield isn't a profitable place to make and have prosperity, spiritually speaking. I don't know what you think about keeping the unity of the Spirit, but it's for the blessing of all who do it.
It's to the blessing of every assembly to have peace and tranquility by keeping the unity of the Spirit. And dear Saint of God, I'm telling you something. If God's assembly is a full charge and he has purchased it with his blood, keeping the unity of the Spirit is to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.