Scott Wiens: We're in the middle of a sermon series in the book of Ephesians, and we've been titled In Christ.
Scott Wiens: Have you guys enjoyed this so far?
Scott Wiens: It's been good.
Scott Wiens: It's been really good.
Scott Wiens: I've really enjoyed this, and we've heard messages, three different messages so far.
Scott Wiens: Tyler kicked it off with a series when he when he talked about.
Scott Wiens: He focused on how Christ is in us, but how we are in Christ as well.
Scott Wiens: And it was really in light.
Scott Wiens: I appreciate that message.
Scott Wiens: I'd never really thought about that before in that way.
Scott Wiens: It was really, really helpful.
Scott Wiens: And then Derek gave a great message on what it means to be adopted into the family of God.
Scott Wiens: I appreciated what he shared, his transparency there.
Scott Wiens: And then Kelly last week taught on verses seven and eight, where he talked about what is biblical redemption and how that, how we can relate to that and how we should really grasp that.
Scott Wiens: And it was really, really enjoyed that.
Scott Wiens: We weren't out of town camping, but I got to listen to it online.
Scott Wiens: Kelly, you're just as good online as you are in person, by the way.
Scott Wiens: Enjoyed that.
Scott Wiens: But our text for today is uh verses nine through twelve of Ephesians one.
Scott Wiens: So let's go ahead and read this.
Scott Wiens: So beginning in verse nine of Ephesians one, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.
Scott Wiens: In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who are the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
Scott Wiens: This is God's word.
Scott Wiens: Father, we thank you for this amazing book.
Scott Wiens: We thank you for Paul.
Scott Wiens: We thank you for relating to Paul and realizing that at one time he was an enemy of the church just like we were.
Scott Wiens: And Father, we thank you for these words.
Scott Wiens: We pray that as we unpack this, Father, and as we study about the unity that is brought to us through Christ, and pray that we would all be refreshed in our hearts and reconvicted in our hearts and minds about the importance of this unity.
Scott Wiens: And so we give this to you and thank you in Jesus' name.
Scott Wiens: Amen.
Scott Wiens: Well, see, in this passage, we're really seeing an introduction to one of the most prevalent themes in the entire book of Ephesians, and that is this theme of unity, unity.
Scott Wiens: Paul threads the concept of the unifying work of Christ throughout this epistle in just a beautiful tapestry that focuses on the redemptive work of Jesus.
Scott Wiens: And as the result of that work, we're not just individually in Christ, not just individually in Christ, but we are collectively in Christ as well.
Scott Wiens: So today we're gonna really focus on two things.
Scott Wiens: The first thing is we're just gonna walk through this passage and do a little bit of exposition and just explain what Paul is talking about here.
Scott Wiens: And then we're gonna look at three reasons why we should all want to be part of the unified body of Christ, which is the church.
Scott Wiens: You guys ready for that?
Scott Wiens: Well, let's do that.
Scott Wiens: So let's start by walking through the passage and let's take a look at what Paul is saying, especially about this unity, which is really sandwiched right in the middle of this passage.
Scott Wiens: So beginning in verse 9, he says, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ.
Scott Wiens: Now, the word mystery sometimes you get this little eerie, ooh, it's a mystery.
Scott Wiens: What is this mystery?
Scott Wiens: Well, it's it's actually a word that Paul uses other times in his other epistles.
Scott Wiens: He's used this word before.
Scott Wiens: And sometimes when you're studying this and you run into a word like that and go, so what is this mystery?
Scott Wiens: It's really good to look at the context of other passages where it's used.
Scott Wiens: So in Romans 16, 25, he uses that word mystery, but he gives it a little bit more context.
Scott Wiens: In Romans 16, 25, he says, Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, which is really the gospel of Jesus, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past.
Scott Wiens: So what we're seeing here is a coupling of the gospel with this term mystery.
Scott Wiens: Paul is writing this at the very end of the Epistle of Romans, which, by the way, I think is arguably probably one of the most comprehensive and in-depth explanations of the gospel that you'll find in the entire New Testament.
Scott Wiens: And Paul is saying that the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past is the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Scott Wiens: That's a mystery.
Scott Wiens: And it's revealed to you and it's revealed to me.
Scott Wiens: And we're going to understand a little bit more about what that means when we talk about being called.
Scott Wiens: So let's continue in Ephesians 9 or 1, verse 9.
Scott Wiens: Making known to us the mystery will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ.
Scott Wiens: Listen, it was God's sovereign will from the very beginning to redeem mankind through Jesus Christ.
Scott Wiens: That was his purpose.
Scott Wiens: And when you see words like according to his purpose, does God get his way?
Scott Wiens: Yeah, he absolutely gets his way.
Scott Wiens: If God has called you, do you think you can run from him?
Scott Wiens: I can I can show you whole books about people trying to run from God.
Scott Wiens: You can't run from God.
Scott Wiens: If he has purposed this, and it's going to do, and so when he purposed his plan, and this is what's something we sometimes miss, it was never in jeopardy of not being carried out.
Scott Wiens: Do you think Jesus was going into the wilderness and, like, oh, I hope he makes it?
Scott Wiens: No.
Scott Wiens: It was a done deal.
Scott Wiens: It was a done deal from the very beginning.
Scott Wiens: And in Christ means that the redemption came in the form of Jesus Christ and what he did.
Scott Wiens: If you put all of verse 9 together, we can clearly see that God has purposed his plan for the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ.
Scott Wiens: That's why we're calling this sermon in Christ.
Scott Wiens: Right?
Scott Wiens: That's the focus.
Scott Wiens: So let's jump over now to verse 10.
Scott Wiens: And this is where God, where Paul's going to introduce God's concept of united and uniting us together in Christ.
Scott Wiens: So, as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.
Scott Wiens: Now, let's just talk a little bit, let's break this down a little bit.
Scott Wiens: So, as a plan for the fullness of time, what does a fullness of time mean?
Scott Wiens: Because we read sometimes we read these scriptures and we go, fullness of time?
Scott Wiens: You know, what how do you wrap your head around that?
Scott Wiens: Remember the context.
Scott Wiens: You got to look and see if that's ever been used before by the Apostle Paul, and indeed it has.
Scott Wiens: Galatians 4, verse 4.
Scott Wiens: This is what he says.
Scott Wiens: But when the fullness of time had come, oh, everybody's on the edge of your seat.
Scott Wiens: Okay, what happened?
Scott Wiens: God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that me, what uh we might receive adoption as sons.
Scott Wiens: So clearly, the fullness of time is referring to the time frame covering the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Scott Wiens: It's here.
Scott Wiens: And Paul is identifying this is what the fullness of time is it's the life of Christ and his death and his resurrection.
Scott Wiens: So let's go back to verse 9.
Scott Wiens: As for the plan of uh as a plan for the fullness of time, and he says this, now that's a key verse that we're going to focus on.
Scott Wiens: To unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.
Scott Wiens: This is what Christ came to do.
Scott Wiens: He came to unite.
Scott Wiens: And when you are uniting something, what are they before they are united?
Scott Wiens: They're separate, right?
Scott Wiens: They're separate.
Scott Wiens: You can almost make a case that this is reuniting.
Scott Wiens: Because the sin of Adam in the in the garden, we know what happened.
Scott Wiens: It separated us, mankind, it separated mankind from God.
Scott Wiens: And it put us in a very unnatural state.
Scott Wiens: And all of us, as we've preached from the stage before, are living under that curse, if you will, of Adam.
Scott Wiens: He is our federal head, meaning he is the one that represented us, and now we're dealing with his sin.
Scott Wiens: I know it's not fair, but it's truth.
Scott Wiens: We are the ones dealing with that.
Scott Wiens: However, and this is what I love, God forordained from the foundations of the earth that his son was going to come into the world, live that perfect life that we couldn't live, die as a perfect sacrifice so that we can be redeemed, united together once again with God.
Scott Wiens: I need to hear a hallelujah for that one.
Scott Wiens: Can you imagine if we didn't have that?
Scott Wiens: I don't know about you, but once you've been walking with the Lord for a long time, the thought about not walking with him just you can't even fathom it.
Scott Wiens: Every day I wake up under the grace of God.
Scott Wiens: Remember, it says his mercies are new every morning, right?
Scott Wiens: Every morning I'm just thankful.
Scott Wiens: God, thank you for another day of life.
Scott Wiens: Not because I get a big charge of a living that life, but because I get to live it under his grace.
Scott Wiens: And wow, that's beautiful to think about.
Scott Wiens: And you know, under that bridge, as I was talking to these people and praying for them, that's the one thing that kept coming through my mind and my heart.
Scott Wiens: Just I want them to have what I have.
Scott Wiens: I want them to receive the gift that I received.
Scott Wiens: What a beautiful plan.
Scott Wiens: All right, verse 11.
Scott Wiens: In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.
Scott Wiens: Here's Paul's going off again.
Scott Wiens: He's he's sounds like he's rambling, but every word has got so much meaning, right?
Scott Wiens: In him we have obtained an inheritance.
Scott Wiens: I loved, I really appreciated Derek's message a couple weeks ago because he talked about this, what it means to be adopted.
Scott Wiens: Because when you hear the word inheritance, guess what?
Scott Wiens: Who inherits things?
Scott Wiens: Yeah, the children.
Scott Wiens: Your inheritance.
Scott Wiens: So we are the adopted sons and daughters of God, and we now receive that inheritance.
Scott Wiens: By the way, do they earn it?
Scott Wiens: You know, you were born into the family.
Scott Wiens: You receive it, you don't have to earn it.
Scott Wiens: We've been adopted into the family, and we have obtained that inheritance, not by anything we have done, but what Christ did for us.
Scott Wiens: And what a beautiful thing.
Scott Wiens: So it says, In him we have attained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.
Scott Wiens: When my dad first started going to church, I was about 10, and he got the little three by five flashcards.
Scott Wiens: Well, they were just cards, and he we he made me write the verses on them.
Scott Wiens: And I'll never forget one was John 6.44.
Scott Wiens: Don't put it on the screen.
Scott Wiens: Oh, don't put it on the screen.
Scott Wiens: I was gonna test him.
Scott Wiens: Who can who can quote nice and loud John 6.44?
Scott Wiens: Oh, come on.
Scott Wiens: All right, I guess my dad wouldn't pick the kind of a remote one.
Scott Wiens: No one, this is Jesus speaking, no one can come to me unless the Father himself draw him, right?
Scott Wiens: God has to draw you to Jesus.
Scott Wiens: Right?
Scott Wiens: And the whole purpose of this scripture, the church we were in, was trying to show is that you can't respond unless God's allowing you to respond, unless he's calling to you.
Scott Wiens: You know, I love what Neil always says when he's talking about we're dead spiritually.
Scott Wiens: He said, you can't reason with a dead person.
Scott Wiens: They're dead.
Scott Wiens: They're dead spiritually.
Scott Wiens: If you've ever tried to talk to somebody who's not being called by God and you're trying to share truth with them, and you see that blank look, maybe they're not being called just yet.
Scott Wiens: Maybe later, but right now they're just shut off.
Scott Wiens: No man can come to me unless the father who sent me draw him.
Scott Wiens: And I love this, and I will raise him up in the last day.
Scott Wiens: This doctrine of predestination, which is that God has determined beforehand that he is going to call some to him, is a doctrine that's all through the New Testament.
Scott Wiens: And by the way, it's also a pretty divisive doctrine because there's two different ways to look at it.
Scott Wiens: And this sermon's not about predestination.
Scott Wiens: We're gonna give that one to Mark.
Scott Wiens: I think we should let Mark teach that one.
Scott Wiens: Seriously, though.
Scott Wiens: Um predetermined that I would get it.
Scott Wiens: I predetermined that you were gonna get this sermon.
Scott Wiens: That's a word of knowledge, I think, right there.
Scott Wiens: But literally, all you have to do is read scriptures like Romans 8 28 through 30, uh, Colossians 3.12.
Scott Wiens: There's lots of passages that talk about this, and this is a good thing for you to embrace and wrestle with a little bit.
Scott Wiens: But the fact is, this is all I know.
Scott Wiens: If you're sitting here today understanding the gospel and receiving the truth from the word of God that I'm teaching, then I know you're called.
Scott Wiens: And that's a beautiful thing.
Scott Wiens: That's a beautiful thing.
Scott Wiens: We need to rejoice in that.
Scott Wiens: All right, verse 12.
Scott Wiens: So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
Scott Wiens: Now, this phrase, we have to read this in context, and we have to think about the author on this one.
Scott Wiens: This is Paul.
Scott Wiens: Before Paul was called, what was he?
Scott Wiens: He was a Jew.
Scott Wiens: Well, yeah, he was solved.
Scott Wiens: Good point.
Scott Wiens: What was he in his standing?
Scott Wiens: He was a Jew, and he still was a Jew, by the way.
Scott Wiens: So Paul was a Jew.
Scott Wiens: All right.
Scott Wiens: So this phrase, we who are the first to hope in Christ, it's a pretty clear reference to the Jewish believers.
Scott Wiens: He'll pull out commentaries, they'll talk about that.
Scott Wiens: But obviously, Paul was the disciple to the Gentiles, right?
Scott Wiens: He was an apostle to the Gentiles.
Scott Wiens: So this whole thing, he was just simply saying, listen, you know, we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
Scott Wiens: All of this is done to glorify God.
Scott Wiens: And this gospel that was preached to us, all of us, we should be thankful for and be grateful for.
Scott Wiens: You know, when we start looking at how Paul introduces this theme of unity, we're gonna see right from the beginning that there is a collective unification that he talks about.
Scott Wiens: And this is really one of I want to focus on.
Scott Wiens: In fact, from the very first verse in the book of Ephesians, chapter one, you start to see Paul setting this stage by using collective language.
Scott Wiens: Right?
Scott Wiens: He and he uses specific pronouns.
Scott Wiens: Now, isn't it terrible that the word pronoun has just gotten a bad meaning lately?
Scott Wiens: I brought this up in the elder meeting, and there was like a five-minute laugh session about pronouns.
Scott Wiens: I'm like, guys, that's not what I'm talking about.
Scott Wiens: No, he literally said, Listen, look about this, think about this, what he says.
Scott Wiens: From the very beginning, beginning actually in verse 3, he uses we four times.
Scott Wiens: He used the pronoun us five times, and the pronoun our twice.
Scott Wiens: Who's he speaking to?
Scott Wiens: He's speaking to the collective body of Christ, right?
Scott Wiens: There is this collective body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: And I think we miss that sometimes.
Scott Wiens: But look what he says.
Scott Wiens: Verse 3, blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.
Scott Wiens: He in verse 4, he chose us in him before the foundations of the world.
Scott Wiens: Verse 7, in him we have redemption through his blood.
Scott Wiens: There is a distinct expectation that those who are redeemed by Christ would be a collective, unified group of people identified as the church.
Scott Wiens: The church.
Scott Wiens: And that's true.
Scott Wiens: There is a inter very close interpersonal relationship that you're gonna have with God and your Savior.
Scott Wiens: You should.
Scott Wiens: But you can't cut it off like that.
Scott Wiens: It's more than just that.
Scott Wiens: And that's what Jesus is pointing out here.
Scott Wiens: He's not just talking about you and God, he's talking about a collective body.
Scott Wiens: And I think it's really important.
Scott Wiens: And I marvel at those who claim to be born-again believers of Christ, yet they reject the church.
Scott Wiens: Not just don't come to church, some of them will get on soap boxes and they will basically tear down the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: Now, I understand, by the way, because many times the church has been a source of pain.
Scott Wiens: In fact, if I were to ask you, put up your hand if you've ever been church hurt, meaning somebody hurt you.
Scott Wiens: In fact, let's just do this so everybody can see that my point is valid.
Scott Wiens: If you've ever been hurt at church, put your hand up.
Scott Wiens: Well, lucky there.
Scott Wiens: The motion stands.
Scott Wiens: So why does this happen?
Scott Wiens: Why do we get hurt in church?
Scott Wiens: Well, sometimes the enemy places wolves in churches.
Scott Wiens: If you've ever been to church, you've probably run across some wolves.
Scott Wiens: People that really aren't Christians, they're acting the part, and they hurt people.
Scott Wiens: We've seen that before.
Scott Wiens: But more often than not, it's simply because of sinful acts completed committed by imperfect people.
Scott Wiens: I often tell people, if I haven't offended you, please be patient, I'll get around to it.
Scott Wiens: It's true, and I won't do it on purpose, or maybe I'm having a bad day and I might do it on purpose.
Scott Wiens: But this is interesting because we know that the church is imperfect because it's made up of imperfect people.
Scott Wiens: And I like that quote by the way if you find a perfect church, don't go because you won't fit in.
Scott Wiens: In fact, when you start going, you're gonna make the church imperfect, right?
Scott Wiens: But isn't it interesting?
Scott Wiens: The fact that the church is made up of imperfect people, it really should make us comfortable, shouldn't it?
Scott Wiens: Shouldn't it make it comfortable?
Scott Wiens: But see, Satan twists this around, brethren.
Scott Wiens: He twists this around.
Scott Wiens: He makes us blind to our own imperfections and we focus on everybody else's imperfections.
Scott Wiens: When someone hurts us, we focus on that person's imperfections.
Scott Wiens: And the result is we begin placing unrealistic expectations on our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Scott Wiens: I can't believe that Andy said that.
Scott Wiens: You get the idea?
Scott Wiens: We start putting these expectations on people and we totally ignore that we ourselves are imperfect, right?
Scott Wiens: And so we take offense and we walk away from the body of Christ thinking we're justified, yet for some reason we forgot to look in a mirror.
Scott Wiens: And mirrors are all over the place, by the way.
Scott Wiens: And the greatest spiritual mirror is probably sitting beside you that could be interpreted in many ways.
Scott Wiens: It's your Bible, could be your wife or your husband, by the way.
Scott Wiens: Isn't that sad though?
unknown: Yes.
Scott Wiens: See, nobody can live up to perfection.
Scott Wiens: Why do you think all through scripture we hear this, we hear admonitions to dwell with one another with love and understanding and extend grace to one another?
Scott Wiens: Because we have to.
Scott Wiens: We have to.
Scott Wiens: Because if we don't, we'll walk away from the very thing Christ came and created the church.
Scott Wiens: The result is we have people who claim to be Christ's followers, but they directly disobey scriptures that clearly state we are to be in the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: And let me just make it really clear to you.
Scott Wiens: I'm not saying this to try to shame anybody or promote this church.
Scott Wiens: One of the things I love about this church when we do announcements is that we say, if you're a visitor here, we thank you for coming.
Scott Wiens: And we're glad that you're here.
Scott Wiens: And if you're looking for a church, we hope it's ours.
Scott Wiens: But if it's not, we're going to be praying that God places you in the body of Christ where He wants you.
Scott Wiens: We're not about just filling this room up.
Scott Wiens: It's not our job, it's God's job.
Scott Wiens: We want you in the body of Christ, wherever that is that you need to be placed.
Scott Wiens: For Amy, you had to come to this body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: Sometimes it's a win-win for us.
Scott Wiens: You know, the result of this, by the way, is can be really sad, and I actually call it oxymoronic.
Scott Wiens: I call it that because I just want to use a big word.
Scott Wiens: But literally think about it.
Scott Wiens: I'm a Christian, but I don't need the church.
Scott Wiens: It's the same thing as saying, I love being married, I just don't like to be with my spouse.
Scott Wiens: I don't want to be around them, I don't want to talk to them, I don't want to hang around them or nothing.
Scott Wiens: But I love being married.
Scott Wiens: It doesn't make sense.
Scott Wiens: It's a contradiction.
Scott Wiens: And that's the same way that God looks at it.
Scott Wiens: If you truly love God, you will love the church.
Scott Wiens: The imperfect church that's gonna hurt you.
Scott Wiens: But you know what?
Scott Wiens: More often they're gonna love you and encourage you.
Scott Wiens: And we have to keep that in mind.
Scott Wiens: Those that claim they can be Christians without the church have bought into a lie that being united in Christ is exclusively referencing a personal relationship with Jesus and not also a collective relationship with the church he established.
Scott Wiens: By the way, I used to carry a soapbox around because I got church hurt big time.
Scott Wiens: And I used to jump on that soapbox and I said exactly this.
Scott Wiens: All you need is God.
Scott Wiens: And why was I wrong?
Scott Wiens: All you have to do is read the scriptures in the New Testament.
Scott Wiens: You can't avoid them.
Scott Wiens: They're all over the place.
Scott Wiens: John 13, 35.
Scott Wiens: Jesus says this.
Scott Wiens: This is Jesus speaking.
Scott Wiens: By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have a great understanding of doctrine and a close individual relationship with God.
Scott Wiens: No, no, no.
Scott Wiens: That's from a movie, by the way.
Scott Wiens: I won't say it.
Scott Wiens: If you have love for one another, you want to know one of the hardest things to do is to love people that you don't like or you don't get along with really well, or somebody that maybe offended you.
Scott Wiens: That shows that you have love.
Scott Wiens: And that's what he's saying.
Scott Wiens: Romans 1 or 12, verse 5.
Scott Wiens: This is such a powerful scripture.
Scott Wiens: Paul says, so we in Romans 12, 5, so we, though many, though many, here we are, many, are one body in Christ.
Scott Wiens: That's the unification that Christ did, right?
Scott Wiens: As individual members, one of another.
Scott Wiens: Whew! That's like almost the Trinity type of complex, right?
Scott Wiens: One of another, but yet we're individual, but yet we're one.
Scott Wiens: That's the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: It's so beautiful.
Scott Wiens: God designed the church, God's design for the church was that it would be a unified group of people actively engaging this world with the gospel message and living an example that people would look at and say, that is real.
Scott Wiens: That is real.
Scott Wiens: Okay, so with that, I want to quickly go through three reasons why the God wants us to be united in a body of Christ, with the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: I'll go through these fairly quickly.
Scott Wiens: The first is true fellowship.
Scott Wiens: True fellowship.
Scott Wiens: As believers, we're placed within the family of God and we live our lives together.
Scott Wiens: In Ephesians 4, 1 through 3, he says this I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Scott Wiens: With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another.
Scott Wiens: Thank you, Paul.
Scott Wiens: That's what I've been saying.
Scott Wiens: Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
Scott Wiens: Here's that phrase unity again.
Scott Wiens: Fellowship.
Scott Wiens: We do it together with gentleness, humility, patience, bearing with one another in love.
Scott Wiens: And one of the reasons Jesus created the church was to create a place where we could, where that would, by the way, meet the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: And that happens at this church, by the way.
Scott Wiens: A church that's truly representing the unity of Christ will be a church that epitomizes love, care, and compassion for each other.
Scott Wiens: We celebrate with each other.
Scott Wiens: We grieve with each other.
Scott Wiens: We serve one another.
Scott Wiens: We share with one another.
Scott Wiens: We work alongside.
Scott Wiens: We learn together.
Scott Wiens: We encourage.
Scott Wiens: That's what the body of Christ looks like.
Scott Wiens: It's so wonderful.
Scott Wiens: Serve day is just a hoot.
Scott Wiens: Because we get to be, and you know what?
Scott Wiens: I got to know better.
Scott Wiens: I got to know the people better that I worked with.
Scott Wiens: And we serve the needs of the community.
Scott Wiens: That's what the unified body of Christ looks like.
Scott Wiens: And by the way, I just wanted to speak on behalf of the eldership.
Scott Wiens: There's neither, none of us believe that we're doing this perfectly.
Scott Wiens: And we all believe that we can do this better.
Scott Wiens: We talk about it in the elder meetings a lot.
Scott Wiens: Tyler is a great encourager that way to keep us focused on what our calling is as pastors and shepherds.
Scott Wiens: But again, all of you are called to do the same thing.
Scott Wiens: We're called to have fellowship together.
Scott Wiens: Fellowship is living out our lives with one another.
Scott Wiens: Second reason that God wants us in the church is being accountability.
Scott Wiens: Being a part of a healthy family means we take advantage of the accountability that's available to us.
Scott Wiens: Now, Ephesians 4.25 says this.
Scott Wiens: And here it is, one of another.
Scott Wiens: Notice the theme of unity that you see here.
Scott Wiens: You know, the term accountability in this culture has kind of become a bad word.
Scott Wiens: It's got a negative connotation.
Scott Wiens: Because sometimes we don't want anybody that we have to answer to.
Scott Wiens: I don't have to answer to Matt.
Scott Wiens: I don't want to have to answer to anybody.
Scott Wiens: The very thing, by the way, that can be a strength when it's not mixed together with God and the Spirit of Christ can be a real negative.
Scott Wiens: But accountability is a good thing.
Scott Wiens: Accountability in the body of Christ is freedom for the believer.
Scott Wiens: You know, if you're if you're struggling with a specific sin, you know, maybe you maybe you I don't care what it is.
Scott Wiens: If you're struggling with something and and you're just keeping it to yourself and you're just trying to fight that along, you and your little sword and guess what?
Scott Wiens: You're gonna get wiped out.
Scott Wiens: I love the I I'm gonna misquote Neil, but he says, I think he says the sheep that leaves the herd gets shorn or eaten.
Scott Wiens: I don't know, something like that.
Scott Wiens: But he basically, if you leave the herd, you're vulnerable.
Scott Wiens: Accountability is a good thing.
Scott Wiens: Satan loves for us, by the way, to keep secrets.
Scott Wiens: He loves that.
Scott Wiens: You know, this concept, you know, if if if you want to get free from something, here's a real simple process you can follow.
Scott Wiens: Very simple formula.
Scott Wiens: First, confess your sin to somebody honestly.
Scott Wiens: Someone, obviously, that you trust.
Scott Wiens: Don't just confess it to anybody.
Scott Wiens: Find someone that's trustworthy that you know.
Scott Wiens: Ask them to help you work through the result of the sin.
Scott Wiens: Sometimes it can be of uh of actual consequences you have to deal with.
Scott Wiens: Sometimes it's just shame.
Scott Wiens: Whatever it is, ask them to help you with that, encourage you through that.
Scott Wiens: And then ask them to follow up with you.
Scott Wiens: Keep you accountable.
Scott Wiens: Hey, ask me about this.
Scott Wiens: Ask me if I have neglected my Bible study.
Scott Wiens: Ask me if I've neglected my prayer time.
Scott Wiens: Ask me if I've gone to that website.
Scott Wiens: Ask me if I've spent five hours on my phone when I should have spent one hour.
Scott Wiens: Okay?
Scott Wiens: See, I went from preaching to meddling.
Scott Wiens: Talked about phone screen time.
Scott Wiens: I don't repent of that.
Scott Wiens: But here's the thing: if you keep these sins, you know, your secret sins, I just want to say, welcome to Satan's prison.
Scott Wiens: Welcome to Satan's prison.
Scott Wiens: Because here's the thing secrets destroy us, and you want to know why?
Scott Wiens: Because they are driven by shame, and they are fed by the whispers of Satan telling you that if you confess your sin, someone's gonna judge you and they're gonna reject you.
Scott Wiens: So guess what?
Scott Wiens: He's got you in your little prison.
Scott Wiens: And there you are, and you're miserable and you're suffering, but you're stuck there because you're worried about these things.
Scott Wiens: I had a man tell me one time, I'll never forget it.
Scott Wiens: He said to me, we were having a deep conversation one night, and he said, I have something to confess that I've never told anybody else.
Scott Wiens: And he was deep in drugs at one time in his life.
Scott Wiens: And he told me about something that was really bad that it happened, and very shameful that it happened.
Scott Wiens: And he said, You probably look at me differently, don't you?
Scott Wiens: And I said, Yeah, I do.
Scott Wiens: I have more respect and love for you now than I did before.
Scott Wiens: And you know, it changed his whole life because this sin that had him in a grip like this was now out.
Scott Wiens: No, I mean I say out.
Scott Wiens: He he confessed it and he received love and he received encouragement.
Scott Wiens: He didn't receive judgment, he didn't receive shame.
Scott Wiens: That is why we should confess to one another, and that's why we should have accountability.
Scott Wiens: You know, the fifth chapter of the book of James has a really powerful description of the whole living together as a body.
Scott Wiens: And the concept of James 5 is or the context is really talking about healing.
Scott Wiens: And I'm just gonna jump straight down to this one verse.
Scott Wiens: He well, in verse 13, he talks about is any suffering, let him pray.
Scott Wiens: If anyone's cheerful, let him sing a praise.
Scott Wiens: If anyone's too sick, let him call on the elders or whatever.
Scott Wiens: And he keeps going all the way down to 16.
Scott Wiens: He says, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.
Scott Wiens: The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Scott Wiens: Now, again, the focus on this is healing, but there's a broader principle here that we can't miss.
Scott Wiens: Confessing releases the power of the secrets, and I love to say this: the demons scream.
Scott Wiens: Because they lost you.
Scott Wiens: They lost you to the love of the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: Proverbs 28, 13 says something.
Scott Wiens: Whoever conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Scott Wiens: We know we'll obtain mercy from God, but sometimes when you obtain mercy from one of his own, it's a beautiful way that God communicates with us.
Scott Wiens: All right, the last point is spiritual growth.
Scott Wiens: As part of the body of Christ, you will experience spiritual growth.
Scott Wiens: Ephesians 3 14 through 19 says this.
Scott Wiens: Then he says this, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints.
Scott Wiens: What is the breadth and length and height and depth that you may know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
Scott Wiens: This is a beautiful picture of the spiritual growth that we have to look forward to as members of the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: If we are not connecting with the body of Christ, we're going to eventually experience spiritual stagnation.
Scott Wiens: Been there, got the t-shirt.
Scott Wiens: We're going to make ourselves open to spiritual attacks.
Scott Wiens: I was there.
Scott Wiens: I walked away from the church, and I told you about the soapbox I had.
Scott Wiens: I was so self-righteous.
Scott Wiens: And the enemy loved that.
Scott Wiens: Came after me.
Scott Wiens: It was miserable.
Scott Wiens: I didn't start growing until I started sitting my butt in the church again.
Scott Wiens: That's when I started growing again.
Scott Wiens: And walking side by side with brothers that I came to love and trust and to that are close to me this day.
Scott Wiens: That's where I grew.
Scott Wiens: When you're connected to the body of Christ, you will have many opportunities to grow spiritually.
Scott Wiens: Obviously, through here, being taught, going to Bible studies, community groups, uh, you know, small groups, house churches, you know, having breakfast with somebody, serving alongside people.
Scott Wiens: Listen, you're gonna grow spiritually.
Scott Wiens: And by the way, yes, we want to learn about God's law, we want to learn about the Bible and everything, but again, when you're rubbing shoulders with people, that's really where you get to, you know, how do you know that you're gonna forgive somebody if they hard, if they cause your offense to you, if you've never around anybody?
Scott Wiens: I mean, that's the thing.
Scott Wiens: People get hurt and they walk away.
Scott Wiens: I had the unfortunate opportunity to talk to somebody yesterday that was a part of a Christian organization that had been hurt by that organization.
Scott Wiens: And uh it was a paraministry, and it was sad to hear him talk.
Scott Wiens: And I had to look at him and I say, but all the time, because it was one or two things that had happened.
Scott Wiens: I said, all the time that you were serving there, did you get to share the gospel with people?
Scott Wiens: He said, Yeah.
Scott Wiens: He said, I still share the gospel with people.
Scott Wiens: I said, That's great.
Scott Wiens: I said, but you walked away from that collective body because of a few sins, of a few people.
Scott Wiens: I said, We're called to serve together.
Scott Wiens: We're called to serve together.
Scott Wiens: And so to me, it's just spiritual growth comes from being with the other people in the church.
Scott Wiens: Now, listen, um, I'm gonna conclude by simply saying, I know I've been preaching to the choir.
Scott Wiens: A lot of you are like, yeah, Scott, I'm already convinced.
Scott Wiens: Can you cut this short?
Scott Wiens: But you know, as I've been preaching, I'm looking out at all of you, and we've been a part of this body for nine and a half years.
Scott Wiens: And I look at, for instance, this rover here.
Scott Wiens: I look at people like Jack Wright, I look at people like, you know, Joan and Ed, Wanda.
Scott Wiens: These people, these beautiful saints, if you want to know why you need to put you a part of the church, just ask them.
Scott Wiens: You know, many of them have a lot of excuses to not be here.
Scott Wiens: Age takes its toll on the body, it's not easy.
Scott Wiens: I remember Jack telling me one time about how hard it was for him to get dressed every morning.
Scott Wiens: But Jack is here more than almost anybody.
Scott Wiens: And by the way, you might ask why.
Scott Wiens: Well, I can assure you they're not trying to earn something.
Scott Wiens: That's not why they're here.
Scott Wiens: They're here because they want to be here.
Scott Wiens: They want to be with the body of Christ.
Scott Wiens: Do you want to be with the body of Christ?
Scott Wiens: I know I do.
Scott Wiens: I hate missing Sunday.
Scott Wiens: I hate it.
Scott Wiens: Because this is my family.
Scott Wiens: You're my family.
Scott Wiens: I'm gonna be dwelling with it in eternity with you guys.
Scott Wiens: Like I told Chad Raines, I hope he's on the other side of the planet, but I will be with him for eternity.
Scott Wiens: But seriously, think about it.
Scott Wiens: By the way, he earned that one.
Scott Wiens: He was mean to me this morning.
Scott Wiens: But just think about it, look around.
Scott Wiens: These are the people that you're gonna be with for eternity.
Scott Wiens: Eternity.
Scott Wiens: And I look forward to that.
Scott Wiens: I look forward to that with all of you.
Scott Wiens: I'm gonna end with the scripture from Hebrews 10.
Scott Wiens: Who he says it the best, the writer of Hebrews says it the best, beginning in verse 19.
Scott Wiens: Therefore, brothers, since we have the comp excuse me, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through that, through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.
Scott Wiens: And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, a full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with a pure water.
Scott Wiens: This is what we are in Christ.
Scott Wiens: Look what he now says.
Scott Wiens: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised his faithful, and let us consider how to stir one another up to love and to good works.
Scott Wiens: Can't do that on your own, brethren.
Scott Wiens: You can't stir yourself up.
Scott Wiens: You can't stir others when you're not around them.
Scott Wiens: Not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Scott Wiens: Marshall, I appreciate what you shared because that's been going through my mind too.
Scott Wiens: When something like this happens, you just you just feel in your heart that we're drawing near, the time's drawing near.
Scott Wiens: There will be a time that you will need each other more than now.
Scott Wiens: And we need to do that together.
Scott Wiens: Please stand to your feet.
Scott Wiens: Let's pray.
Scott Wiens: But that's not our identity, Father.
Scott Wiens: We stand before you as the collective body of Christ, and that you called us together to be here together today, this day, to love one another, to encourage one another, to bear with one another, to forgive one another, to extend grace to one another, to serve one another, to laugh, to cry together.
Scott Wiens: Father, you've called us together to do that.
Scott Wiens: And Lord, we thank you.
Scott Wiens: Jesus, we thank you that you came and you created your church on this earth.
Scott Wiens: We thank you that you made us a family, that you united us together through the blood that came off that cross and the redemption that came from that empty tomb.
Scott Wiens: Father, I pray right now that each one of us would be convicted in our hearts and minds about the importance of the body of Christ, and that we would, Father, make every effort to dwell together.
Scott Wiens: And Father, if our hearts don't want to do that, I pray that you would supernaturally change our hearts, Lord, that we would desire to be together, Father.
Scott Wiens: And as the days draw near and as evil continues to grow in this world, Father, I pray that we will continue as a collective group to be the light this world needs to see, the light that is the salvation of Jesus Christ and the hope through the gospel.
Scott Wiens: Father, that's my prayer.
Scott Wiens: And I pray this through the one who through all uniting comes, Jesus Christ.
Scott Wiens: Amen.