Walking Together Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

Why can't we all just get along? These famous words capture the essence of the struggle we have in dealing with others. Come with us into the second half of Paul's letter to the Ephesians for some lessons on forming positive relationships.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, help us understand the division of Ephesians between chapters 1 to 3 and then 4 through 6. Well, Dave, you know, when the Apostle Paul wrote doctrine, it was always with the intention of life change. As a matter of fact, when I used to teach preaching, I would always emphasize that to the young men. I would point out that it's one thing to preach the truth, but you always need the truth to be translated into the lives and the experiences of your listeners.

So, if we take the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians as doctrine, which it largely is, beginning now, 4, 5, and 6, it all has to do with the application of doctrine. Very critical. Helps us to understand how we should live in a nation that has lost its way. I want to thank the many of you who are supporting Running to Win, and I want to emphasize that during this month, any gift that you give will be doubled.

Furthermore, at the end of this month, it's the end of our fiscal year, help us to end strong as we continue to expand this ministry. Meanwhile, let us always remember to walk with God no matter where we find ourselves. Let me ask you a question today. Is there someone whom you can't stand? Is there someone within your family or within the larger body of Christ that you simply cannot get along with and you are glad that you don't have to live anywhere near them?

You know, it's easy to get along with people as long as they're far enough away. The question is, how do we resolve the differences and why is unity so important? One of the great marks, the distinguishing mark of the Holy Spirit is unifying believers. And I'll tell you the way in which God does it. When it's done by God, he does not take away our differences. He allows those differences to be with us, but he transcends those differences by giving us a sense of unity and purpose and power that is stronger than those differences.

It's the unity of the body of Christ. Well, as you know, my wife and I returned from Europe yesterday, and I want to tell a story. We went to Europe ahead of the tour group this year because we wanted to visit a special place. For years, it has been a dream of mine to go about 175 miles from Berlin, 60 miles or so east of Dresden, to go to a place, first of all, called Herrensdorf, which is where Ludwig Count von Zinzendorf as a boy lived in a castle. His mother died when, or I should say his father died when he was two years old.

His mother did not play a great role in his life at all, and he went to live with his aunt in this castle. And because she was of nobility, he himself was of nobility, and so he's Ludwig Count von Zinzendorf. So Rebecca and I found the castle. It's a ruin today. The walls are maybe 20 or 30 feet high, but there's no roof on it. And as we stood there, we thought of Zinzendorf being raised there as a child and at the age of four writing notes to Jesus and throwing them out the castle window hoping that Jesus would read them. And I think Jesus did. That's where Franke, one of the great Pietists, and Speiner used to come and visit because the family, the family was very much involved in Pietism.

From there, Rebecca and I drove about 10 miles to Herrenhut. Herrenhut, it has nothing to do with a hat. I know that the German word for hat is hut, but this has to do with the word watch. It is God watching over his people.

Her, of course, the Lord's watch. That's a good way to translate it. Because Ludwig decided to buy the estate of his aunt, and it is there that Christians began to come, particularly those who were under persecution from Moravia. And they came there known as Moravians.

Moravia, contemporary today, we call it the Czech Republic. And they came there because of persecution, and Zinsendorf was obsessed with this idea of Christian unity. They began to build homes there. Five or six hundred people gathered together, and then it even became more, and all these families lived together in close quarters in a colony. Some were responsible for making clothes, others for food, and those who were given responsibilities to work on the lands and the farms. And there was a delegation, some elders, who gave instructions and under whose authority all of these people lived. Well, there was a lot of disunity among them. So much bickering it was unbelievable, understandably so.

Imagine bringing people together. They had differences theologically. Some of them were Calvinists, some of them were Lutherans, some of them were of different Christian persuasions, and there they all were trying to live together, and theology was a big deal in those days. They had differences with regard to fairness.

You know, why is it that I have to work in the field? You know, the closest thing I think we can relate to today is Japuza, Jesus Christ USA. They, of course, have a hotel just north of us, and I visited there some time ago, and I was told that you can't buy a computer until the elders who are in charge say that you're next on the list for a computer, and all of their money is pooled together.

Can you even imagine how that brings to the surface all of the pettiness and all of the disagreements and all of the jealousies and all of the cries of unfairness? Well, in that place there in Herrnhut, Ludwig Count von Zinzendorf heard it all, but he was obsessed. He says Christians should be able to live together. Differences among their children, the whole bit. So we visited Herrnhut, and there we saw the three of the buildings that are still there from the 1700s. All of the others have been torn down, and other things have been built in their place, and we wanted to visit the cemetery because death in the Moravian community was a big thing. They believed that indeed that God was taking care of his people, particularly the graveyards, because there's going to be a resurrection. So somebody gave us a map and showed us where the graveyard was, and we started walking over there, and we said we don't see any graveyard. If we had looked farther, we had seen it, but from where we were, we couldn't. So I looked across the street, and I noticed a man was getting into his car, and there was another man in the car, and I went over to him, and I said, in German, you know, we'd like to go to Ludwig Count von Zinzendorf's grave.

Where is it? And he said, come with me. And I thought he wanted us to get into the car, really he didn't. He wanted us to follow him, and he drove a couple of hundred yards and turned left, so we walked, and before he did that, as he was getting into the car, he said, yeah, come with me. And he showed me a long skeleton key, maybe four or five inches long.

I had no idea what the key represented, but we were on our way. So there we come to the cemetery. It was called God's acre. And the Moravians believed that in death everyone was equal, so all the cemetery gravestones were the same. They were all just with a flat stone, a flat square stone.

Well, not everyone is equal, or some people are more equal than others. Zinzendorf and five or six others, they have their tombs visibly marked above the ground, actually, but everybody else was buried with that sense of oneness. And so the man pointed out, over here were the men, over here were the women, over here was one choir, because they had so many choirs, they believed in music, and one choir buried over here, another choir buried over here.

If you were a child and you sang in the choir, you got buried over here with the children's choir. Then we still did not know, even though we found Zinzendorf's tomb, we still did not know where this man was leading us. He has this large key, and he kept saying, come with me. So we go through another set of trees, and we finally come to a tower, and he has the key to the tower, and he opens it, and we go up the cylindrical stairs, and now we discover that this actually was the purpose of the key, and this is herrenhut, God's watch.

God is watching over his people, and the tower is symbolic of God's watching over his people there that are buried there. Herrenhut, God's watch. As we were walking along, I said to the man in German, I said, are you born again? He said, no, I've been born once, and that's plenty.

He said, I wouldn't like to be born again. I told him, I said, do you realize that Jesus said that unless you are born again, spiritually, you'll not see the kingdom of God. I told him how providential it was that we met him, and then he explained to me, he said the reason I had the key is I had just picked it up from the museum, that's where the key is, to get into the tower, and he said I wanted to show it to my friend, and he agreed with me that it was absolutely divine providence or some kind of providence that we should happen to meet him just as easy getting into the car with the key so that he can show us the tower and show us the cemetery. And I explained the gospel to him and to his friend and told them that I hoped to see them in heaven sometime and that God had led me to them all the way from America to share the gospel with them.

Their eyes were wide with unbelief. I looked at the bottom of the hill because that's where they oftentimes had their services. Then we got into the car and we drove one mile to Bertelsdorf. In fact, as we were walking along or driving along, I even said to Rebecca, let me out and let me walk a couple of hundred yards, the last couple of hundred yards, because, see, what the Moravians did is they had their livelihood and their life there in Herrnhut, and they had services there, but then they always walked the one mile from Herrnhut to Bertelsdorf to go to the Lutheran church there, and that's where God unified them, and I wanted to see the place. Well, that church no longer exists, but one has been built in its place. It's a little church. We weren't allowed in because we were there in the late afternoon and nobody was there to open the door.

I looked through the windows. It was very barren inside, which is what we'd expect in a church like that, but what happened there? 1727, they're having a communion service on a Wednesday. They had a service down in Herrnhut and then they walked and they came here and suddenly and unexpectedly the blessed Holy Spirit of God came upon them and unified them. There was so much conviction of sin that those who were there described it as saying that people who couldn't get along were falling on one another's necks and weeping and asking forgiveness, and God unified them as a congregation and they looked at that as the birthday of their own church.

I wanted to be where it happened. In fact, I sat on the church stairs and made a recording as I had done on Zinzendorf's grave, which I hope will be used someday over the radio, but as we were there I recounted with Rebecca the great things that God had done in that Moravian community. Now, there it is where they decided that they would have a 100-year prayer meeting.

Of course, they didn't decide it would be 100 years. They didn't know it would be, but they began to pray around the clock. They had a prayer wall just like we do and you signed up for one-hour segments, so 24 hours a day men were praying, 24 hours a day women were praying. As that generation died, others began to take their place and their prayer meeting lasted 100 years and those dear people sent 240 missionaries around the world back in the 1700s. The first 23 of the first 28 died.

They called it the great dying, but they continued even being willing to be slaves in some of the islands like St. Thomas if necessary to win the slaves for Jesus Christ. And when they said goodbye to their people, when they commissioned them, they sang up to 100 songs because the Moravians liked singing. In fact, there in Herrnhut, the way in which the hours of the clock were distinguished was they didn't have bells to signify the hours, they had singing.

So somebody singing one song and you say, well, it must be four o'clock in the morning because look at what they're singing. Ludwig Zinzendorf wrote, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty art, my heavenly dress. And he came to America and that's why we have Bethlehem, Pennsylvania today because in 1747 he's there. He's having a great time Sunday on Christmas Eve I should say, and they decided to name it Bethlehem.

Why do I tell that story? When the Holy Spirit of God really works mightily among people, they become unified. They become unified. Now pick up the text of scripture. We're in Ephesians chapter four, which really marks a break in Paul's thought in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter four, the first three chapters have to do with doctrine.

The second part of the book has to do with duty. The first part of the book has to do with our wealth in Jesus Christ. The second part of the book has to do with our walk in terms of Christian experience. And so Paul is going to now urge the believers to take the unity that God has given them and to live it out in the common experiences of their lives. Notice he says in verse one, as a prisoner of the Lord, I then urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. King James and the New American Standard says, walk worthy of the vocation, the calling that God has given to you. First of all, we're to walk worthy of the high calling of God because after all, it is God who saved us, who chose us out of the world to make us different. The book of Ephesians stresses that as you, if you've been with us, you know that out of the masses of humanity, God chose us to be his in a special way and to give us blessings that literally boggle the mind that we cannot fully understand.

And therefore, let us walk worthy of that commitment and that blessing that God has given us. It is the blessing of salvation. It is the blessing of sanctification, the fact that the Holy Spirit of God has been given to us. God has united Jew and Gentile together. Now, you have the Holy Spirit of God.

If you're a Christian, I have the Holy Spirit of God. And if we can't get along, if we irritate one another, if we say to one another, you and I do not say eye to eye about anything so you go one way and I go another, we are really doing a disservice to the Holy Spirit of God because the Spirit in you and the Spirit in me get along perfectly. It's just the flesh that gets in the way and that's why we build all these walls and we hold all these resentments and we never really do get on with it because we have been so badly hurt and we will not deal with the hurts that create the barriers to the true unity that God gave to us. You know, the church in Corinth was very carnal and some of them said, I am of Paul, some of them said, I am of Apollos. Paul says, look, grow up. Was Jesus Christ divided? Is there that kind of division in the body?

No. Don't you recognize that we have the same Lord, we have the same Christ? Verse 1, Paul says, walk worthy of the calling that you have. Notice in verses 2 and 3, he says, walk worthy of one another, walk worthy of one another. And then he gives us five characteristics that should really be a characteristic of our walk and if you've ever lived closely with other people who irritate you, you know how desperately you need these characteristics. He says, humility, gentleness, patience. Patience is the ability to endure discomfort without fighting back. Forbearance. Do you know anyone who stretches your forbearance quotient? You say, yeah, and I want to make sure that I not see them anymore. No, God placed them in your life for the very reason that you might be able to develop that quality in your life of forbearance that all of us seem to be have in such a short supply.

And love. As I say, it's easy for us, you know, because we're a regional church. You can put up with anybody on a Sunday morning. But if you have to live with them, if you're in close contact with them, if you have to do business with them, if you see them seven days a week, it can really, really bring all of the uncrucified part of the flesh to the surface. You know, my wife and I have noticed that, you know, we can get along very well here.

But you know, when we're overseas and when we're traveling, suddenly you live 24 hours a day with this person, never more than just a few feet away. And therefore, every irritation, every imperfection comes to the surface in a case like that. This past week, I read about a man who on his honeymoon said to his wife, now, dearie, you know that I really do love you, sweetie, sweetie pie. But now that we're married, can I share with you some of the faults that I have noticed in your life? And she said, sure, please do so.

She said, because you see, it's because of these faults that I was not able to get a better husband. Nowhere do the differences between Rebecca and me become more clear than when it comes to shopping. My idea is, look, what is it that we need to buy? Let's find it. Let's buy it. Let's get out of there. Get it done with.

But for Rebecca, the process, the process is just as important as the end result. I'm interested in the catch. She's interested in the hunt. And so we put up with this for a few hours and you know, I'm being very loving, very spirit filled.

I'm the pastor of Moody Church, really. I'm going to be gentle. I'm going to be loving. I'm going to be.

And then finally, I have the brains to say, look, honey, why don't we take what we've already bought and I'll take it back to the hotel and then you can continue to do some more shopping. Notice what the text says here. Maintain at all costs the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. That's what Paul says. Guard it.

Look after it. Make sure that there is no falling out unless there is reconciliation and understanding because God has unified you and you should live in a unified way to honor his name. That's what the text says. You see, that's why God hates the tongue so much when he finds our tongues out of control. In the book of Proverbs, it says, yea, six things doth the Lord hate. Yea, seven are an abomination unto him. And one is a tongue and a life that sows discord among brethren.

Why? Because God says you're unified. And you cannot maintain the unity like the apostle Paul says we should. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit. It is impossible to do it unless you know the meaning of the word forgiveness and you exercise that word in your life. I challenge those of you who have irreconcilable differences to be reconciled in the name of Jesus.

I know that sometimes it can't be done because there are some people who say I don't want reconciliation and you've attempted it and you've done your responsibility, therefore, because the simple fact is that sometimes there are falling outs that are never repaired and seemingly cannot be. But Paul is saying make every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit. That's why if we are going to be credible to the world, we have to have examples of couples who are not able to get along and who are on the brink of divorce and whose marriages were wracked by every sin imaginable, who have been brought together in the power of Christ who now love each other and are committed to each other. That's the gospel, folks. It's the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. We need examples of people who have been upset with the church, who have been so upset with other Christians that they say I don't want to have anything to do with them, and yet now in whose heart God has done such a tremendous work that they come back and they say I want to be unified and I want to forgive and I want to understand and I want to work toward the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Walk worthy of your calling, Paul says. All right, let me ask you very pointedly, who do you have to forgive in order that you might be reconciled? You might say well, Pastor Lutzer, I'm not the one who did the wrong.

I understand that, but at the same time, oftentimes we have done some wrong even unintentionally. In your heart, God does want his people to walk together in unity. I'm so glad that the ministry of Running to Win is continuing to expand.

You've heard me say it before, but Running to Win is in 21 different countries in four different languages, and we just signed a contract to go into three other languages. All thanks to you. And during this month, it's a very special month for two reasons.

Number one, every gift that you give will be doubled up to $90,000, but at the same time, at the end of August, that of course is the end of our fiscal year. Help us to end strong for the glory of God. And we here in this ministry take nothing for granted.

That is to say, we know that we are dependent upon those who listen, those who contribute, and those who pray. Would you like to join us? Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com.

Remember, any gift that you give will be doubled during this month, rtwoffer.com. And of course, if you wish to call, here's what you do. Go to 1-888-218-9337. Now, I'm going to be giving you that contact info again because it's very critical, but let me thank you in advance for helping us.

And I hope that you have a pencil or a pen in your hand because we are dependent upon your prayers and your support. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Thanks to you, Running to Win continues to expand and we'll keep you up to date on all that God is doing.

rtwoffer.com or 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. Pastor Erwin Lutzer has brought part one of Walking Together, the eleventh message in a series on Between Heaven and Earth, taken from the book of Ephesians. Next time, join us for some concluding thoughts about how we as believers can walk together in the Spirit. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.