Redemption's Purpose IS Life & Peace

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Sunday 01/19/20

Series: Do we Really Believe?

Message – Redemption’s Purpose is Life & Peace

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Why do we Gather?

Last week I presented you with a question which I told you we should NEVER again fail to ask whenever our hearts are exposed to His Word – especially when it is here in His house as a church body.

I am not going to ask you to tell me what it was THIS week, I’ve placed it on the screen for you to write down.

I WILL be asking you in the future. NOT TO QUOTE IT – but to tell me, the essence of the question.

When I say scrutinizing I do not mean to paint a picture of a God who is far off looking down upon us just waiting for us to miss the mark so he can slam down a gavel he keeps ready at hand.

I mean to paint the picture we see in the book of Revelation where Jesus is walking in the midst of His church… aware of her condition and her state of heart and knows her trials and her victories but Who threw concern of her diligence to pursue His kingdom within her heart maintains a steady awareness where we are walking contrary to His will.

The portion of scripture that we read last week was Ephesians 4:11-32.

Did you, even ONCE, spend time examining your life in light of what it said? Did you even once ask yourself the question I told you, you should ALWAYS ask when you hear the Word of God?

Let’s do this now. THIS IS TRAINING…

Eph. 4:11-32, “(11) And He personally gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, (12) FOR

the training of the saints in the work of ministry,
to build up the body of Christ, (13)
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,
growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”

So we have here a clear picture of what God intended your exposure to and relationship with Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists & Pastors to produce in you.

So what questions do you absolutely need to ask yourself if you are going to evaluate your obedience to these verses?

If God intends me to be trained for Ministry – it is clearly God’s will that I be a minister of His.

Have I surrendered my life enough that I am willing to be His minister?

If not, what in me do I have to die to in order for my heart to be willingly obedient to His will that I be His minister?
If I do desire it, what do I need to do to allow the various gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist and Pastor to train me in this work? What kind of purpose and heart do I have to possess when I am receiving from their ministry to me?

God also desires and intends that my exposure to and relationship with these gifts is to mature me into Christ’s image.

Am I intentional in seeking to be changed? In my every exposure to God’s Word am I seeking for it to stimulate a change in me that I might be more like my Lord?
If not, why not?
What am I protecting?
What am I substituting for God’s will in this matter?
What can I do to encourage a change of heart regarding this?

Doing this is both justified and illustrated in scripture.

King David in Ps. 17:15,

ASV – “As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding thy form.”

Holman – “But I will see Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.”

NKJV – “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

Though the translations differ – the result is the same, since WE know that when we finally see Him face to face we will be changed into His likeness.

1Jn 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Adam Clark has this to say about these words.

I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness – Nothing but God can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit. He made it with infinite capacities and desires; and he alone, the infinite Good, can meet and gratify these desires, and fill this all-capacious mind. No soul was ever satisfied but by God; and he satisfies the soul only by restoring it to his image, which, by the fall, it has lost.

I think there is an allusion here to the creation of Adam. When God breathed into him the breath of lives, and he became a living soul, he would appear as one suddenly awaked from sleep. The first object that met his eyes was his glorious Creator, and being made in his image and in his likeness, he could converse with him face to face – was capable of the most intimate union with him, because he was filled with holiness and moral perfection. Thus was he satisfied, the God of infinite perfection and purity filling all the powers and faculties of his soul. David sees this in the light of the Divine Spirit, and knows that his happiness depends on being restored to this image and likeness; and he longs for the time when he shall completely arise out of the sleep and death of sin, and be created anew after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness. I do not think that he refers to the resurrection of the body, but to the resurrection of the soul in this life; to the regaining the image which Adam lost.

To miss this is to miss the entire message and purpose of the Gospel.

Jesus’ Own words concerning His earthly purpose and mission…

John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

Life is knowing God to the point of intimate union with Him. The kind of knowing that is an exchanging of not just thought but essence. He is not change by us, but we are restored by Him.

So even in this one verse Jesus is stating this His purpose was to cause us to have eternal union with God by being forever changed into His likeness.

John 8:12, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” He was the revelation to the world that man can have union with God. Those who truly follow Him will not continue to live in futile thinking, but will have and conduct themselves in union with God

John 12:47-50, “If anyone hears My words and doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. (48) The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge: the word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. (49) For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak. (50) I know that His command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

Question – how can we walk with God if we are incapable of living in agreement with Him? Amos 3:3

The “training” you are to receive from those who are Gifts to the body is nothing more that the continued instruction of the TRUE teacher of us all – Jesus Himself…and what did He say?

Luke 6:39-40, “(39) He also told them a parable: “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? (40) A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

and

John 13:14-17, “(14) So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. (15) For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you. (16) “I assure you: A slave is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. (17) If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

So the goal of salvation was NOT just the forgiveness of sins but the changing of a life. That is the reason for the imagery of being “born again”.

As I have told you MANY times and is most clearly stated in Galatians 3:21,

“(21) Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law.”

Righteousness was not the reason for the law OR the New Birth – but LIFE! Righteousness is simply the means to that goal. For without righteousness – there can be no intimacy!

“How can two walk together if they are not AGREED?”

Jesus was said to have destroyed the enmity between us and God thus establishing peace!

Paul often uses a word for Peace which essentially means – the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, fearing nothing from God and consequently content with its earthly lot, whatever it is.* It is used in a civil sense, the opposite of war and dissension. Peace of mind, tranquility, arising from reconciliation with God and a sense of a divine favor.

*Rom. 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

*Rom. 8:6, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Rom. 14:17, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Rom. 14:19, “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”

Eph. 2:13-22, “(13) But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. (14) For He is our peace, Who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, (15) He did away with the law of the commandments in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. (16) He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. (17) When Christ came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. (18) For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (19) So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, (20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. (21) The whole building is being fitted together in Him and is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, (22) in whom you also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.”

Col. 1:20, “and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” 1517 – Eirēnopoiéō – bringing about a cessation of hostilities.

*Col. 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

2Peter 3:14, “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;”

So you can see that if you miss these verses in Eph. 4:11-13, you miss EVERYTHING!

“(11) And He personally gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, (12) FOR

the training of the saints in the work of ministry,
to build up the body of Christ, (13)
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,
growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”

So how devoted to these things ought you to be…like Peter said in 2Peter 3:10-12.

“(10) But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. (11) Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness (12) as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be on fire and be dissolved, and the elements will melt with the heat.”

What will be the results of this according to the rest of our passage in Ephesians 4?

“(14) Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. (15) But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him Who is the head–Christ. (16) From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.”

God Bless!

I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.

We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!

If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.

If you HAVE been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but please understand that all the outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!