All Saints Church Thorpe Acre with Dishley - Sermon Application Questions

	All Saints Church Thorpe Acre with Dishley
	Thorpe Acre Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 4LF, England, UK

Sermon Notes & Cell Group Application Questions
14^th June 2009
Paul Chung

United in Diversity

Ephesians 4:1-16

Cell Group Application Questions

1) Do you know your gifts? If no, how can we help one another to find out?

2) Do you know your role within the church, or which role do you want to play in the church? If you don’t know than how can we help one another to find out?

3) How can the church work more effectively or coordinated better to achieve a common objective?

1. Introduction

We are going through a series of sermon on Ephesians. Today we come to Chapter 4. As pointed out by Derek two Sundays ago. This chapter marks a change in emphasis in the letter. The Apostle Paul moves from describing our rich position in Christ to how we should live our new life as Christians. The first thing he wants to bring up is unity – make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.

Unity among believers was very much on the mind of the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed. He prayed, “My prayer is not for them alone.” That is his prayer is not only for the disciples. “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20-23.

Jesus prayed for us that we may be brought to complete unity. Have you thought about that? This was one of the last prayers that Jesus prayed here on earth. How important that is!

Unity amount Christians was also upper most on the Apostle Paul’s mind and he recognized that unity could not be maintained without effort. He said, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” If we are not careful we are all in danger of losing it.

Unity is commonly misunderstood or misapplied word. Unity does not mean uniformity – that is the expectation that everyone, everything is the same; unity does not mean conformity – that is the expectation that everyone complies to the same way of doing things.

Unity is to do with working together in a harmonious environment towards a common goal.

Today we are going to consider what it means to make effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. I want to divide the Apostle Paul’s instructions under three headings: 1) have the right attitude, 2) understand and appreciate that we are all different, 3) know your gifts and fulfill your role.

2. Have the right attitude

To achieve anything in life, having the right attitude is essential. To do well at work or to do well in your chosen sport you need to have the right attitude. To achieve unity we must also begin with the right attitude. It doesn’t matter whether an organization is big or small, Christian or secular.

The Apostle Paul’s advice is “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (v2) Notice the Apostle Paul did not just say be “humble and gentle”, but “be completely humble and gentle”.

What does it mean to be humble and gentle? Again, the word humble is a commonly misunderstood word. To be humble does not mean that we play down our achievement and say that we are good at nothing. To do that would be false modesty.

One of my favourite films is Chariots of Fire. Eric Liddell was a Christian who devoted his life to serving God. His life of faith in God and his achievement was an inspiration to us all. He never denied or ignored the gift that God had given him in false humility. One thing which he said is a great inspiration to me. He said, “I believe God has made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure” Wow, what a statement – God has made me fast! Christian testimony would be poorer if he did not acknowledge and act on that.

Knowing and acknowledging what you are good and being completely humble is not a contradiction. You can be a high achiever for God and a humble person. Of course, we do not go around boasting I am good at this and I am good at that. However, there is the inner knowledge, confidence, strength and even pleasure when you know that you are good at something and do it well.

So, what does complete humbleness mean? To be humble is to acknowledge that despite all our gifts and achievements we are no better than anyone else as a person.

The world looks at what we are and what we have got. It was all over the news recently that Rolando is worth £80m. That is the value he is being sold for his transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid. But what is a person’s real worth. We are all God’s creation and we are all equal. We are no better than anyone else. In fact we are all sinners. In God’s eyes we have absolutely no credit to claim. “For it is by grace you have been save, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2: 8-10)

This is fundamental. You and I are no better than anyone else. Don’t despise anyone and be completely humble. Having this attitude is the first step towards unity.

The next is to be gentle. Gentleness is important because it helps to diffuse difficult situations. Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” This is certainly true in my experience. Unity is maintained through humbleness and gentleness.

The Apostle Paul then went on to day, “be patient, bearing with one another in love.” As mentioned earlier the Apostle recognizes that unity does not come easily. Difficult situation will arise. Therefore we need to be, and expect to be, patient with one another and bearing with one another in love.

Earlier this week I went abroad for a business meeting. At Gatwick Airport I saw a HSBC advert. The bank’s assertion is that they are the world’s local bank. Although they are a worldwide corporation they understand the differences between local cultures and operate in a way that is appropriate to local culture and customs. There are different variations of the advert. The one I saw is something like this. First, there is a pair of pictures (show pictures) and then further along the wall there is another pair of pictures (show pictures). Finally there is a printed slogan “Another point of view can sometimes open up a whole new world.” Isn’t that so true? We can have different perspectives on the same things – Another point of view can sometimes open up a whole new world! If we are a bit more patient and tolerant with one another and try to see things from another person’s point of view then our horizon will be opened up and our lives will be so much more enriched. The fact that we are all different is not a threat but offers tremendous opportunity. Therefore, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Having an open mind and be willing to learn are all part of being humble.

The Apostle Paul then goes on to emphasize that we need to understand that we are all different. We have different gifts and we have different roles to play.

3. Understand and appreciate that we are all different

⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

The Apostle Paul points out that there is a certain unique oneness in Christ which we must not overlook – one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is overall all. We are all in Christ; share in the same salvation, led by the same Lord and worship the same God, but (and this is a very important but) God has given us different amount of grace. “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

This reminds us of parable of talents told by our Lord Jesus. The master did not give the same number of talents to his servants. One servant was given 5 talents, to another 2 talents, and to another 1 talent. The Apostle Paul is making the same point “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

¹¹It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, …

We must understand and appreciate that not only do we have different views and ideas we actually have different gifts. The church is very diverse. This diversity if harnessed offers many exciting opportunities.

Did anyone watch the recent final of “Britain’s got talents” on the television? I thought it was tremendous. The winner was a dance troop called Diversity. They were really good. Simon Cowell made a comment that really impressed me. In effect he said, “Here you are a group of young people of different ages and different sizes yet you are able to produce such creative dances. It is pure genius.” Under the leadership of the choreographer the whole troop danced in perfect timing and produced some stunning moves. This is a clear demonstration of what diversity in unity can produce.

Has this church got talents? Yes, I believe so. Has this church got a range of talents? Yes, I believe so. The task is to harness the diverse group of people with a diverse set of gifts for the purpose of extending God’s kingdom – to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be build up (v12).

4. Know your gifts and fulfill your role

Therefore, what does it mean for us in practice as individuals and as a church? First, I have already stressed the importance of having the right attitude. So, develop the right attitude. Second, know your gifts and fulfill your role. Unity is not uniformity or conformity. Together we are the body of Christ and we are different parts of the body and we have different roles. When you do what God has designed for you to do you then will feel the pleasure. What we want is not vain praises but to use our gifts to fulfill our responsibilities to the best of our abilities.

A body needs to be coordinated so that the different parts move together to achieve a common objective.

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