R356 Living A Worthy Life Pt.1

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about living a worthy life. Today we head to Ephesians chapter 4 as we study God's word together, and you need to know we're here for you connecting on our website right now at www.tewonline.org. While you're there, sign up for the daily email from Dr. Don at www.tewonline.org.

And now, Dr. Don Wilton. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Paul's letter to the Ephesians chapter 4. I want to read to you the first six verses of Ephesians chapter 4. To keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. May the Lord write His word upon our hearts, living a worthy life. Beloved friends, this morning we're going to notice a dramatic shift of emphasis as we begin chapter 4 and for the next three chapters of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Something is going to happen and in fact, right in the middle of verse 1, there's a word there.

As a prisoner of the Lord then. In the authorized text, the word there is therefore. That word there introduces a shift, a change of emphasis on the part of the Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Spirit of God. And what we're going to begin to discover is that the Apostle Paul is going to begin to place an incredible emphasis on the practical translation of what we have learned about God into the fabric of our daily lives. And in fact, my friends, I'm going to say to you that from time to time over the next several weeks, I'm almost going to stop preaching as it were. And we're just going to chat about a few things. There's some things that you can preach about and there's some things you just need to sit down and talk about.

Sometimes you just need to stop and have a little chat about a few of the practical things that go on in life related to raising our children, related to our marriages, related to the difficulties that we face, the struggles that we have. And here in chapters 4, 5 and 6, we're going to notice that the Apostle Paul is going to shift emphasis, but there are three things that he places an emphasis upon. This morning, I'm going to simply do an introduction to the next three chapters. Perhaps it is Paul sitting back and saying, now, what reason could we have to want to do what God wants us to do? We're going to look first of all at the response. What are we responding to? The second thing we're going to have a look at is the call that God places in our lives and you're going to notice that in verse 1. And then the third thing we're going to look at is the plea, the earnestness with which the Apostle Paul is about to present what he presents to us.

And we're going to discover some remarkable truths. First of all, the response. To whom are we responding and why are we responding when it comes to living a worthy life? Well, Paul is going to show us here beginning in verse 1 that what we have to deal with is our obligation to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, folks, let's be perfectly open with one another today. Anytime you and I join an organization, we have an obligation to that organization.

Doesn't matter what it is. We have an obligation to that organization's standards, to their objectives, to their creeds, to their rules, to their way of doing things. Consider a citizen of the United States of America. I wasn't born in America. I'm a naturalized American citizen. And folks, when I became an American citizen, I became obligated.

To what? I became obligated to the law of the land that had adopted me. It was my choice. Nobody came and forced me to do that. And when I became an American citizen, I said I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. Therefore, it behooves me as an American citizen to do what this nation requires of me and to stand up for it.

An employee of a company, all of us work for somebody, I'm sure. If you're an employee, you have obligated yourself to work for that person, to abide by the company's rules, by their regulations, by their standards, by their precepts. You join a club, whether it be kawanas, lions, rotary, you could go on and on. You become beholden, you become obligated to the rules.

It might be Spartanburg Country Club. It might be some other organization. You become obligated to the organization that you have aligned yourself with. Perhaps the best example is in athletics.

A hallmark of an athletic team is the extent to which an individual member of that team is a willing participant in every aspect of their team. Well, Paul here is talking about the obligation that we have as born again believers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is going to tell us in these next several chapters that if you and I have trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we've been born again of the Spirit of the living God. We've been washed and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, going hand in hand with the blessings and the miracles and the things that God has done with us is our commitment to live a life that is worthy to the call that God has placed in our lives.

Now, some people had remarkable problems with that. If you turn with me to John's Gospel Chapter 12, just quickly turn there to John's Gospel Chapter 12. Don't lose your place in Ephesians. But John's Gospel Chapter 12 and verses 42 and 43, listen to what happened to some people. The Bible says that yet at the same time, many, even among the leaders, believed in Him. There was no question that these people believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But watch what happens. But because of the Pharisees, they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. Why were they afraid to confess their faith? They had received the blessings of God, but they weren't prepared to go public. They weren't prepared to live a life that was worthy of the calling that God had placed in their lives.

Why? Verse 43 tells us, for they loved praise from men far more than praise from God. What Paul is going to teach us here in Ephesians, my friends, is that our spiritual obligation, our spiritual responsibility is to live a life that is worthy of the calling that God has placed in our lives.

That's why we're going to notice this shift. In the first three chapters, we dealt with the believer's position in Christ, the blessings, the honors, the privileges. In chapter three through six, we're going to deal with the obligations, the requirements, how to live it out in the public marketplace of life. In the first three chapters, we dealt with truth as it relates to the believer's identity.

In the final three chapters, we're going to deal with the practical response of the believer to the truth that has been inculcated into his heart and in his life. Paul is going to tell us that when we accept Christ, that the Lord Jesus Christ expects us to act as Jesus would expect us to act. His standards must become our standards. His purposes must be our purposes. His destiny must be our destiny.

His nature must be our nature. He's going to move us from positional truth to practical truth. He's going to move us from doctrine to our duty. He's going to move us from principle to practice. He's going to move us from the area of right practice to right principle. He's going to teach us that right doctrine is essential to right living. And the apostle Paul, my friend, under the inspiration of the Spirit, is going to say to us nonetheless that a weak theology is going to result in a weak lifestyle. Now, folks, listen this morning. Many times marriages break apart.

It's happening all over. One of the things that I never apologize for telling people and I tell you as a congregation out of the love of my heart. Do you know what the single worst thing you can do? If your marriage starts to fall apart, do you know what the single worst thing that you can do is? It's to go to a non-Christian counselor.

Now, I want to run that by again in case some of you think I'm being a little evasive on this. The single worst thing you can do if your marriage is falling apart is to go to a non-Christian counselor. You'd say to me, Pastor, why? The reason is because of our response to God to live a life worthy of the calling that He's placed in us. If you have a weak theology, you're going to have a weak lifestyle.

If you have no theology, you're going to have a tendency to have no lifestyle. Let me tell you what a non-Christian counselor will tell you. Now, folks, we've got some wonderful counselors. There are some incredibly gifted counselors who are not Christian people. They understand human development. They've read well. They have PhDs. They are some of the finest people that you could ever meet upon the face of the earth.

They have basic intrinsic value. But here's the difference. If you're a man or a woman and your marriage is falling apart and you go to a non-Christian counselor, do you know what a non-Christian counselor is going to do? A non-Christian counselor is going to counsel you within the context of justifying the brokenness of your marriage.

Let me use an illustration. If you've been unfaithful to your wife, sir, and you've walked out on your wife, sir, and you go to a non-Christian counselor, nine times out of ten a non-Christian counselor will tell you the following. They'll say, all marriages break up. Divorce is everywhere. They will say to you, listen, do you love your wife? No, I don't love her anymore.

Well, that's okay. It's quite normal to just stop loving somebody. They're going to tell you that it's okay to walk out on your children. They're going to say to you, listen, everybody all around the world, why don't you just go and find another woman? There are plenty of fish in the sea.

Why don't you just go and marry somebody else? Why don't you just, it is basically built upon a humanistic approach, folks. There is no theological basis. The covenant relationship is not there.

The precepts and the principles of God's eternal word are not there. Here's what a Christian counselor will say to you. A Christian counselor will say to you, why don't we pray about this?

Let's talk to the Lord Jesus. A Christian counselor will talk to you about hope. A Christian counselor will talk to you about forgiveness. A Christian counselor will look at you and say to you, yes, according to God's word, you've messed up. You've committed adultery.

You've broken things up. You're in trouble, but I want you to know that God will forgive you for that. And He'll restore you and He'll bring your marriage back together again. And He'll write a new song upon your heart and He'll make the broken hearted whole again. He'll make the blind to see and the lame to walk again.

That's what a Christian counselor will do. He will root what he says in our response to who God is. That's what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, listen, we've got to move from doctrine to duty.

We've got to make a shift. We've got to completely immerse ourselves in God's word. And here in chapter four, verse one, the apostle Paul begins to apply the practicalities of the dynamic of who we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. The response that we have is going to determine a life that is worthy of the calling God has placed in us.

But secondly, I want you to note the call, C-A-L-L, the call. Look at it in verse one. As a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the call, worthy of the calling you have received in Christ. Now that's a very interesting concept there because the apostle Paul here begins by talking about his imprisonment.

Did you notice that? Look at chapter three in verse one. He says, for this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus. He gets into chapter four and he's going through this dramatic shift into a practical exhortation and he says right at the front, as a prisoner of the Lord, why did Paul keep coming back to his status as a prisoner?

Perhaps four reasons. Number one, because Paul had paid the price of living a worthy life. Paul had paid the price. Paul was not saying something to us that he said was easy.

Beloved friends, it's not easy to be a Christian. Number two, perhaps he was saying this because if you're going to follow Jesus, you're going to live a life of total subservience, you've got to be totally subservient to him. If you're a prisoner to someone, friend, you are totally subservient. But number three, perhaps what he was talking about is the real meaning of commitment. Paul was saying, listen, I'm a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've been set free from the bondage of Satan and I have been delivered unto the captivity of Christ. Someone said, and it has been said many times, that true freedom is knowing your limits.

You see, friend, if you understand your limits in Christ, you are a prisoner of the Lord Jesus. Everything that Jesus Christ does and says is more important than anything else. But there's a fourth reason I think Paul spoke about being a prisoner. Perhaps it was because he saw everything from Jesus' perspective.

He saw everything vertically. Paul is saying in practicalities here that there is nothing that I do that I do outside of a vertical approval. He was far more concerned about a vertical approval than a horizontal approval. He was far more concerned about what men had to say about it than he was about what the Lord Jesus Christ had to say about it. His motives were God's motives. His standards were God's standards. His objectives were God's objectives. His vision, his orientation, it all belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is saying here, friends, I'm a prisoner of the Lord Jesus.

Why? Because everything I think, everything I plan, everything I say, I am captive to the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul is saying that this perhaps is one of the marks of spiritual maturity. David, I think, grappled with this. Remember, David committed adultery, folks. David murdered, folks. David lied and cheated. David was guilty as charged and David wrote in Psalm 16 verse 8, I have set the Lord continually before me because he is at my right hand. So let's talk about it practically.

How does this affect us, our calling in Christ? I think that there are four basic questions we ought always to ask. If you're wondering about whether you should have a relationship with someone, ask these questions. Young people, if you're dating someone, ask these questions. If you want to go somewhere, ask these questions.

If you're trying to make a decision business-wise, ask these questions. Ask these questions as you pray about it. Number one, how does this affect God? Whatever it is I'm going to do, how does it affect God? Number two, how will this reflect on God? If I go and date this person, how's it going to reflect on God? Young people, whatever it was you did last night, how did that reflect upon God? The decision you made, the place you went to, the book you read, the program you watched, the manner of conversation, how does this reflect on God? Question number three, what does God say about it anyway?

Good question, isn't it? What does God have to say about it? You ask God what He's got to say about it, sometimes it alters our perspective. Number four, how can I most please God by doing what I'm about to do? How can I most please God by doing what I'm about to do? You see friends, the apostle Paul, when he talks about being worthy of the calling you have received, he's talking about two things. He's talking about the sovereign call of God. John's gospel tells us about it. John 6 and verse 44, no one can come to me unless the Father draws him. He's talking about something that finds its very root in the heart of God.

But this calling is not only based upon the sovereignty of God, but it results in a worthy walk. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word, and we'll be back with the rest of today's message, Living a Worthy Life, in just a moment. But if you missed part of today's program or would like to catch up on other great resources of Dr. Wilton, you'll find them at our website, TEWOnline.org.

That's TEWOnline.org. You'll find also great resources like Pray For Our Nation. Our nation needs prayer more than ever. Our founding fathers understood that everything that we have and everything that we are is rooted in all that God is.

And without him, we're on our own. God has a very serious message for America. This month, for your gift of any amount to The Encouraging Word broadcast ministry, you will receive Dr. Wilton's powerful message, Free Indeed, along with the bonus book, 31 Days of Prayer for My Nation. This resource set will provide encouragement now and for the days ahead. You will have a renewed focus on the promise and power of prayer and for your freedom as an American.

Call us at 866-899-WORD, that's 866-899-9673, to request Free Indeed and 31 Days of Prayer book. Thank you for supporting The Encouraging Word as we continue to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ to a nation in desperate need of biblical truth. Now back to today's great teaching on Living a Worthy Life with Dr. Don Wilton. If you've been called by God, the result is going to be a worthy walk. Now look at verse one with me again because there is some neat stuff here, folks. We've got to get to grips with this as we get into these next few chapters. The word worthy there, do you see the word worthy there?

I urge you to live a life worthy. That word worthy there is the word axios, A-X-I-O-S. We get our English word axil. Now what in the world has an axil got to do with worthiness? Well, do you know what the word axios means in the Greek New Testament? It means literally balancing the scales, just like an axil does in a motor car. It balances the wheels. What Paul is saying here, listen to this, Paul is saying that what is on one side should be equal in weight to the other side. Worthiness is applied to anything that was expected to correspond with something else.

The believer's life, his daily living must correspond to the high calling that he has in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. I love to read about famous people. One of those is a fellow called Vince Lombardi.

I believe he was a great coach, Green Bay Packers. One time they were playing a game, I read somewhere and some of you probably saw this, but they were playing a game and they scored a touchdown and the person and the team that scored his team, they went berserk. I mean, they slammed the ball. They did all their movements, jumped up all over the place. They just went berserk. After the game was over, Vince Lombardi called all the team together and he ostracized them. He admonished them.

He rebuked them and he said, team, I want you to know something. When you go into the end zone, at least look like you've been there before. Just think about it for a moment. Oh, at least look like you've been there before.

Don't look like you've never been there before. What is the Apostle Paul saying? He's saying, listen, you must be worthy.

You must look like the relationship you claim to have. There's got to be a balance between what you believe and who you are. Your practical living must match your spiritual position. That's what Paul is saying. He's not only saying that, he's saying as a result, you will walk worthy of that calling and that walk is what the rest of these chapters are about.

It is the daily conduct. And then, of course, he speaks in the third place about the plea. The plea. You see, not only is there response and the call, but there's a plea. He says, as a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you.

I beg of you. And the word plea there or entreat or beg is the word parakaleo. Parakaleo means to call.

Para means to draw alongside. And what he is saying here is he's saying with tremendous intensity of feeling and strong desire. He is saying, listen, what you need to do is you need to draw alongside the one who has changed you, who has forgiven you, who has renewed you. In Acts 26-3, he pleaded with King Agrippa to draw alongside the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians 2-8, he urged and pleaded with the Corinthians to reaffirm their love for a repentant brother. In Galatians 4, verse 20-12, he pleaded with the Galatians to stand firm in the liberty of the Gospel.

In Romans 9, verses 1-3, he pleaded for unsaved Jews. There was an intensity, there was an earnestness that the Apostle Paul had. The same kind of earnestness your pastor has for you. The same kind of earnestness your parents have for you young people. The same kind of earnestness that your Sunday school teacher has for you.

Your youth workers have for you. Every believer who knows of the grace of God begs and pleads for what? That you and I would walk worthy of the call that God has placed in our lives.

Isn't that incredible? How about you today? Such powerful teaching from Dr. Don Wilton about living a worthy life that all starts with a single choice. Here's Dr. Don with our closing thoughts for the day. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. If you just gave your life to Christ, praying along with Dr. Wilton, welcome to the family of God or welcome back if you rededicated your life. Either way, Dr. Don wants you to have some free resources if you'll call us and ask about them at 866-899-WORD. Again, the phone number is 866-899-9673 or you can meet us online as well at www.tewonline.org. It's our desire to encourage you as you walk with the Lord on a daily basis. Speaking of daily, if you're not getting the email from Dr. Don, you can sign up for it on our website as well. It comes out about 6 o'clock every morning and will launch your day in a powerful way. That's online at www.tewonline.org. This program is sponsored by The Encouraging Word and your generous prayer and financial support.