R358 Rallying The Troops Pt.1

Welcome to The Encouraging Dr. Don Wilton. Could you take a copy of God's Word this morning and turn with me to Ephesians, Chapter 4, the fourth letter of Paul's to the church at Ephesus, fourth chapter, Ephesians, Chapter 4, rallying the troops. You know, I think that we would all agree this morning that there are so many times that in our lives we are called upon to rally the troops together. It's happened in America so many times when one thinks back over the various wars. Many years ago I had the privilege with my family of being in Hawaii and of course we visited Pearl Harbor and it was a remarkable experience and when one stands there at Pearl Harbor and you think of all the lives that were lost in one dramatic moment and yet you think at the same time on how this nation rallied together.

Just remarkable, one thinks of the Korean War, one thinks of Vietnam with all of the complexities and all the heroes and heroines that returned, even more so those who never returned. America rallied together, think of Operation Desert Storm, we think of our troops even deployed right now in places like Bosnia and Somalia and on and on it goes. Families sometimes have to rally together, circumstances enter into our lives of varying kinds and things begin to happen.

There is a death in the family or there's a very serious hurt or someone, something has happened, the finances have collapsed or someone's been arrested and put in jail. There's all kinds of calamities that come upon us as families and yet we rally together and we come together and that wonderful unity that we have provides us with a remarkable strength. Here in Ephesians chapter 4 we find from verses 1 through 16 God rallies the troops together and God gives to us a groundwork, a fundamental basis, a platform from which to operate.

God gives us something to stand upon that is firm and is solid. I want to read to you the first 16 verses and invite you to follow along in God's Word with me. As a prisoner for the Lord then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Be completely humble and gentle, be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort, here it is, 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.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says when he ascended on high he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower earthly regions.

He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles and some to be prophets and some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and some to be teachers to prepare God's people for the works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and that we become mature attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead speaking the truth in love we will in all things grow up into him who is the head that is Christ from him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts. It seems to me this morning that if we rarely begin to understand Ephesians chapter 4 we begin to see that God is rallying his troops together and perhaps what Paul had a glimpse of by the inspiration of the Spirit was the magnitude of the task that was set before the church at Ephesus the difficulties that lay ahead of them the struggles that they were encountering in the practicality of their daily lives and Paul goes back to fundamental roots and I want to share with you in the first place this morning God laying the groundwork you see in verses four through six we're going to discover something here that is absolutely remarkable and is almost too wonderful to try and express with human expression. God lays out for us seven ones now but the letter seven becomes increasingly significant as far as God's scheme of things is concerned. Well I believe that it is no accident that hearing Paul's letter to the Ephesians in chapter four that the Apostle Paul trying to focus our attention on God and his people on God our Heavenly Father lays down for us a groundwork a fabric of operation a mode of operation that is laid upon a solid foundation which points in essence to seven things. Number one, one body. Paul here reminds us in verse four he says there is one body now remember in verse three the Apostle Paul has just made a staggering statement he has said there do whatever it takes to maintain and to keep an engender unity among you he says I want you to do something that is practically impossible you just think of the United States of America how's it possible for the United States of America and of our people ever to think and to be of one mind one can think of any kind of group of people we are all diverse people we've all got different characters and personalities we all like different things and we all behave in different ways and the Apostle Paul here in verse four he's going to lay the groundwork that is laid for us in Christ Jesus through God our Heavenly Father and he says listen the only means by which you're going to be able to rally the troops is if you understand that God is our commander-in-chief and he has laid a groundwork for us that boggles the mind and he points to the first level and he says there is one body what does he mean by that as men and women we look around our world today and we see an awesome amount of division don't we in fact it's many very sad in many different ways all over the place there's division there are Catholics there are Protestants there are Orthodox state churches non-conformist churches there's the parachurch there's the splintering of churches into denominations into sects into factions on the left we've got the liberals on the right we got the fundamentalists in the middle to the right we've got the conservatives and of course don't forget the charismatics we've got churches that are divided on doctrine we've got churches that are divided on church government we've got churches that are divided on issues even related to matters pertaining to morality all of this confusion that we have in America today is aggravated by the fact that there are many heresies and cults many of whom are claiming to be Christian churches but the thing that horrified me more than anything else my friends were members of the church masquerading as people who knew and understand and love the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm going to say to you that this only adds to the confusion and the aggravation here in the United States of America as to who is the true church Paul here is going to take us back to a fundamental premise he's going to take us back to a foundation you see friends there is however only one church the Bible tells us that whereas man sees disunity God sees unity what God tells us in his word my friend is that he sees a church filled with men and women and with boys and girls who are washed and redeemed by the blood of the lamb all of them are one in Christ there are some on earth there are many even more so who are already in heaven and all saved members are members of the one body of Christ they share one life and that is the life of Christ that is what Paul is saying Paul is taking us back to the cross of Christ he's taking us back to the person and to the work of Christ and he is saying listen you will never accomplish what you have to accomplish if you don't understand the groundwork which has been laid by our commander of chief there is one body old and young rich and poor boys and girls men and women enlightened people who are confused the victorious the defeated whatever happens and whatever matters Paul says there is one body there is one body but he takes it even further than that he moves on from one body and in the next breath he says there's not only one body there's one spirit you see that's what makes coming to church so special does it not you see Paul is saying to us my friends it doesn't matter where you come from it doesn't matter what you've done it doesn't matter where you've been or where you think you're going if you have repented of your sin and by faith given your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ you are welcome into the body of Christ and that is made possible because he begins to move through a progressive revelation here that is made possible by the second piece in this groundwork and that is one spirit what did he tell us in Romans 8 and verse 9 he said if any man has not the spirit of Christ he is none of his and Paul here is saying if there is to be one spirit it means that we've got to pinpoint the distinguishing mark that distinguishes a believer from everybody else and that is the indwelling presence of the spirit of the living God some people have tried to suggest that this has to do with with spirit baptism and all other kinds of things friends I'm going to say to you that what Paul is talking about here is the holy spirit of the living God and in fact Paul goes a step further he is saying if there is one spirit you need to make absolutely certain that the groundwork upon which you stand is based upon the spirit of God why because there is an endeavor today for spirits to infiltrate the church of God turn with me to 1 John that's just before the book of Revelation turn to 1 John chapter 4 everybody turn there 1 John chapter 4 verse 1 listen to what the apostle says I love to hear all those pages rustling everybody turn to 1 John just before the book of Revelation listen to what the apostle says verse 1 he says dear friends do not believe every spirit do you see that do not believe every spirit now folks just look up for a second in America today on our television sets everywhere you look there are people claiming to operate under the spirit of God it's all over America today some of it is very popular because it's all flashy it's got a lot of glitz and glamour to it it looks good sometimes it even sounds good listen to me listen to me I will guarantee you that probably within the next several weeks someone is going to come and knock at your door you know what they're going to say to you they're going to say to you they're going to say to you that we've come in the name of the spirit of God that's what they're going to tell you well listen to what the bible says dear friends do not believe every spirit why Paul in Ephesians says there is only one spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world this is how you can recognize the spirit of God every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God now here it is this is the spirit of who the spirit of the antichrist he says this is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard is coming now here it is very staggering and even now is already operating in this world God's word warns us Paul writing to the church at Ephesus he says be very careful some of you might say to me today well pastor how do I know if somebody who comes to my door is a cult or if they truly do love the Lord Jesus Christ test the spirits some of you say to me pastor what do I say to someone who comes to my door you ready for this you ready talk to them about Jesus let's say it together talk to them about Jesus now come on you can do better than that you shouted at a football game yesterday talk to them about Jesus focus on Jesus that's what the bible says the word of God says my friend test the spirits how do you test the spirit you test the spirit because the bible says there is one body and there is one spirit and that spirit is the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ there are many false spirits out there what does the spirit of God do for us he convicts us of our sin he enlightens us he saves us he indwills us he fills us he seals us he guides us into all truth he gives us the desire to read God's word to come to church to love one another to be unified in Christ to love others to serve him that's what the spirit of the living God does for us you're listening to Dr Don Wilton our teacher here on the encouraging word and we'll be back in just a moment with more of this rallying the troops message from Dr Don but many are asking about the resources we have available both on our website at www.tewonline.org and just by calling and asking at 866-899 word we continue to have a number of people asking about the book Dr Wilton released just a month or so ago called Saturdays with Billy yes it's available you can see more on our website at www.tewonline.org I hope you'll check it out now back to today's teaching with Dr Don Wilton can you see God rallying his troops laying the groundwork he says first of all there's one body the life of Christ number two there is one spirit the spirit of the living God but then he takes it one step further he says there is one hope of your calling look with it there right in Ephesians he says there is one hope of your calling what an incredible statement to make what in the world could he mean by that well I've read people saying all kinds of things and I guess we're entitled to do that but I'm convinced that what Paul is saying here is that the hope of our calling is the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again he's talking about the hope that we have in Jesus coming again now folks in verse three we've got to understand this he's making a call for spiritual unity then he's going to the oneness of the body the oneness of the spirit and now the oneness of the hope of our calling why is he emphasizing these things because there is so much disunity among people today with regard to these things take the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ there is so much divergent thought with regard to what is going to happen at the end of the age what's going to let me give you some of them I'm going to outline some of them very quickly there are the post-millennialists now who are they they the ones who believe that when the gospel has sufficiently permeated society and made the world morally and spiritually ready for his coming that's when Jesus is going to come again the second group are the are-millenialists some people say the amillenlists who are these people these people believe that the church is a spiritual Israel and that all the millennial promises of the old testament are being spiritually fulfilled in the church even as we speak there is no literal millennial age and that the second coming will usher in the eternal age of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ there's a third group of people and remember Paul has just said there's one hope of our calling what's all this that I'm talking about well the third group are the premillennialists they take the old testament millennial prophecies absolutely literally they believe it 100 they refuse to explain prophecy away they believe that Christ will rescue the church that he will set up a thousand year reign upon this earth and you say well wait a minute pastor they're premillennialists and are-millennialists and post-millennialists I don't even know what a millennialist is I had one of them things but the wheels fell off there's all different kinds of I can break that up even further listen to this there are the post tribulationists these are people who believe that before Jesus can come back the church has got to go through the tribulation period there are the mid tribulationists these are people who believe that the church will be snatched away in the middle of the tribulation the church will suffer for a while then they will be taken away and rescued from the awful things that come upon us there are the pre-tribulationists these are a group of people who believe that the church will escape altogether while God judges Israel and the nations that are left behind there are the partial rapture theorists the partial rapture theorists this is a group school of thought that believes only those who are expectant who are actually looking for Jesus to come at the time of his coming are going to be taken to be with him and will escape the rapture they will escape the tribulation some people said they are not partial rapture theorists they are partial rapture theorists because they believe that the church will be ruptured and that some of the church will be taken and others will be left behind a lot of confusion yes a lot of conflict yes a lot of division what is Paul talking about oh he doesn't say this but maybe he's talking about the pan millennialists who in the world are the pan millennials they believe it's all going to pan out in the end you know I'm not trying to make light of that but in a sense I think Paul is trying to say to us listen why don't you take seriously what Jesus said in John 14 verses 1 through 3 you read it you know it why don't you take it seriously what did Jesus say Jesus said let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me in my father's house there are many mansions and if it were not so I would have told you and I'm going to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I'm going to come back again there's the second coming I'm going to receive you unto myself that where I am there you will be also Paul is saying wait a minute now folks here the call the clarion call in verse 3 is to make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace how's this possible it's only possible because God is the commander in chief what does the commander in chief do he lays a solid groundwork there is one body there is one spirit there is one hope of your calling then he goes on to a fourth one he says there is one Lord there is just one Lord here he focuses our attention on the common confession of our faith he takes us back to John 14 6 he said Jesus is the way because he is the one and only Lord Jesus is the truth because he is the one and only Lord Jesus is life itself why because he is the one and only Lord there are not a whole lot of roads that lead to heaven you cannot get to heaven by any means whether it's your sincerity or your works or your denomination the only way you can do that is through the Lord Jesus Christ listen to Roman 10 verse 9 if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and will believe in your heart that God raised him up from the dead you will be saved Paul is saying that this is the ultimate evidence of salvation Paul is saying that we must turn our lives over to the Lord Jesus Christ because he is the one Lord Paul is saying that this is our heart's response to the one who must become the center of our universe the sum of all our endeavors the circumference of all our expressions and our travels and our joys and our sorrows in this confession the mouth speaks according to Matthew chapter 12 and verse 34 out of the abundance of the heart look at it look at verse 4 there is one body there is one spirit there is one hope the kind of hope that you have when you were called there is one Lord and then Paul even takes that one step further he says there's not only one Lord he said but there's one faith one faith Martin Luther discovered this to be true in 1517 when he discovered that the Bible teaches that the just shall live by faith Paul is saying this is our way of saying to God I am absolutely sure of who I am in Christ because of my faith because of our faith what an ultimate culmination of today's teaching from Dr. Don you've heard him in the pulpit now as he steps into the studio to share his heart I pray you'd open your heart to what God's going to do next 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 and by the way don't go away because I'll be right back in just a minute welcome to the family of God I'm confident some of you prayed along with Dr. Don to give your life to Christ or rededicate your life to Jesus and it's time to let someone know we'd love to be at the other end of 866-899 words celebrating with you jot the number down give us a call Dr. Don has free resources he wants you to have if you'll call us at 866-899-9673 we would love to hear from you as a matter of fact before we get away a closing thought about that very thing from Dr. Don Wilton you know I'm so glad that we've been able to share together by means of radio today you just mean so much to me and how thankful we are for the word of God together you can call right now and connect with me at 866-899-9673 did you get that 866-899-9673 call and connect with me right now our time's gone for today but we'll be back with more of rallying the truth with Dr. Don Wilton tomorrow on the encouraging word this program is sponsored by the encouraging word and your generous prayer and financial support thank you so much