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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the House of God for our evening worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Psalms Psalm 138 for our call to worship psalm 138. I'll begin reading in verse 1. the psalm of David I will praise you with my whole heart before the gods I will sing praises to you I will worship toward your Holy Temple and praise your name for your loving kindness and your Truth for you have magnified your word above all your name in the day when I cried out you answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul all the kings of the Earth shall Praise You O Lord when they hear the words of your mouth Yes they shall sing of the ways of the Lord for great is the glory of the Lord though the Lord is on high yet he regards the lowly but the proud he knows from afar though I walk in the midst of trouble you will revive me and you will stretch your out your hand against the wrath of my enemies and your right hand will save me the Lord will perfect that which concerns me your mercy O Lord endures forever do not forsake the works of your hands amen well please turn in your hymn books to Psalm 47. Psalm 47 a as in Alpha and will stand as we sing together [Music] our race [Music] foreign [Music] please please [Music] foreign [Music] let us pray our gracious God and Father we thank you for this Lord's day we thank you for the privilege to gather in your house to come to the father through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit and we pray that you would be all in all in this place we thank you for your graciousness to us we thank you for your mercy and for your loving kindness we thank you for the gospel of our Salvation we know that we have not earned it we have not deserved it but you in Grace conferred blessing upon us and that because of what the Son of God has undertaken on behalf of his people we thank you for his life of perfect obedience to that uh to that Divine Law we thank you for his death on Calvary as a substitute and a sacrifice and for his resurrection again on that third day and God we know that our hope our our life our our Everlasting blessing is is tied up in what he has accomplished on behalf of all of his people so we rejoice and we express our gratitude and our thankfulness we just praise you for what you have done in terms of our our Salvation we ask tonight that as we sing and as we pray and as we turn our attention to the holy scriptures that you would be glorified the psalmist said that you were enthroned upon the Praises of Israel we know in this new covenant setting we know that the the church is the Israel of God so we pray that this would be true this would be the case tonight that you would receive our worship that it would be cleansed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and come to you as a sweet smelling sacrifice and we ask that you would forgive us now for all transgression against your holy law we ask that you would wash Us in that precious blood that you would indeed cause us to to reflect upon your goodness and the provision of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world we ask that you would as well give us Grace and help and strength so that we might pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight that we would hear the master's voice that we would respond that we would follow our great Shepherd wherever he bids us to go as well God we pray for your blessing upon any and all tonight that have come here that do not know you we pray that you would open their eyes and hearts to behold wondrous things from your from your holy word we thank you for your mercies to us as well we ask God that you would bless those within our context within our local church that are struggling physically we just commend them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would sustain and bless your suffering Saints as well God for all of us spiritually we pray that you would help us to persevere to fight the good fight to contend earnestly for that Faith which was once for all delivered to the Saints and Lord we know we don't do this in isolation we know that we're one small part of a much bigger whole we thank you for the various churches in our community we thank you for those men that are Faithfully proclaiming the truth as as it is in Jesus Christ we pray for your blessing upon those churches we pray that you would just Prosper them and cause them to know your nearness as their good and Lord be with the same Saints and Surrey we thank you for Pastor Mike and for the Brethren and Armstrong we thank you for pastor Ryan and for the brethren in Northern Ontario we just thank you for that work that is being established and we pray would come to fruition as well we pray for the church in sigua Topeka we thank you for pastors Carlos and Luis and Isaias and and Jairo we pray for these men that they would be faithful in the ministry of the Gospel we pray for John and Milena that you would continue to watch over them and strengthen and bless them richly and God we pray as well for the persecuted church we know that there are many in many countries that do not enjoy the Liberties that we presently have and God we know there are those in prison we know there there are those facing death sentences we know that ultimately it's because men hate God they reject and resist the Lord Jesus Christ so we pray for your suffering Saints in those places that you would grant them help to persevere in the midst of such trial and a flake shed may they identify with the church as a whole for it has been the case for the 20th centuries and even beginning with the Apostolic Church where the people of God were persecuted for their association with our Lord Jesus Christ so God be merciful then through their witness and through their faithfulness and through their shining his lights and a crooked and perverse generation we pray that more people would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ Our Lord and may you bless the missionary Enterprise and those in other nations that are proclaiming truth to every tribe and tongue and people and Nation God we pray that multitudes would come to the Savior that they would believe the gospel and that you would be glorified in this and we ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to number 391. we'll use a familiar tune not the one that's written but a familiar one 391 will stand as we sing together [Music] this is [Music] the Stars is is hello [Music] everybody away there's always [Music] well you can turn in your Bibles to the Book of Numbers where a Numbers chapter 25 Numbers chapter 25 for our scripture reading this evening and I'll begin reading in verse one now Israel remained in Acacia Grove and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people ate and bowed down to their gods so Israel was joined to Baal of peor and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel then the Lord said to Moses take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord out in the sun that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel so Moses said to the judges of Israel every one of you kill his men who were joined to bail a peor and indeed one of the children of Israel came and presented to his Brethren a midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel who were Weeping at the door of the Tabernacle of meeting now when Phineas the son of eliezar the son of Aaron the priest saw it he rose or he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through the man of Israel and the woman through her body so the plague was stopped among the children of Israel and those who died in the plague were 24 000. and the Lord spoke to Moses saying Phineas the son of eliezar the son of Aaron the priest has turned back my wrath from the uh from the children of Israel because he was zealous with my Zeal among them so that I did not consume the children of Israel in my Zeal therefore say behold I give to him my Covenant of peace and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel now the name of the Israelite who was killed who was killed with the midianite woman was zimmery the son of saulu a leader of a Father's House among the simianites and the name of the midianite woman who was killed was Cosby this the daughter of Zur the he was had of the people of the of the father's house in Midian then the Lord spoke to Moses saying harass the midianites and attacked them for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of peor and in the matter of Cosby the daughter of a leader of Midian their sister who was killed in the day of the plague because of payor amen well we see what they did in terms of idolatry it says very clearly they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people ate and bowed down to their God so they violated the first and second commandment in terms of the object of worship and the manner by which we worship we've seen something similar in the book of Exodus in Exodus chapter 32 after the detailed instruction on the building of the Tabernacle in Exodus chapter 32 the children of Israel have a golden calf fashioned and they worship it they bowed down before it they dance around it we see a similar judgment we see a similar sanction imposed upon them for violating the terms of the Covenant remember that God did not leave them wondering what would happen if they violated or transgressed the Covenant the Covenant was very clear if you do not follow if you do not obey there will be sanction there will be judgment and then in terms of this fellow Phineas he is commended for his activity not only here in numbers 25 but as well in Psalm 106. and I understand that in this new covenant era it seems so bizarre and it seems so outlandish that anybody would be killed for engaging in idolatry but as I said in the old Covenant they were under strict orders to maintain obedience to Yahweh and when you departed from that and engaged in idolatry it was to compromise one's religious standing with the true God but as well there were political ramifications it was an act of treason it was an act of departure in terms of the Civil polity so while we may not always get why such strong sanctions were imposed they got it and they understood and they acknowledged this in terms of the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of man well let us pray Our God and our father we know that you are a just and a righteous God we know that you give Commandments you don't just suggest a particular path for us to follow as well we know those Commandments come attached with sanction for violation and transgression so in this new covenant era we rejoice in our blessed savior Phineas made atonement here in numbers 25 But ultimately Christ makes atonement on the cross he dies for the sins of his people and is raised again so that we might have forgiveness and cleansing and washing so that we might have a righteousness that avails with you we praise you for the finished work of Our Redeemer we praise you for the reality that we still have that that attachment to this moral law that we thank you that you have given us the spirit you've given us a desire you've given us a heart and a mind to want to do those things that are pleasing to you as Jesus said if you love me we'll keep my Commandments not so that we might be saved but because we have been saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and we rejoice in him and we thank you for him and we pray in his blessed name amen well you may turn in your hymn books to one final hymn before the preaching number 195. number 195 will stand as we sing together [Music] thank you Grace [Music] thank you foreign oh they're overflies [Music] foreign [Music] s Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. we work our way through Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus we find ourselves in verses 13 to 16 but I do want to begin reading in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 to remind us of the context so beginning in chapter 4 at verse one I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called with all lowliness and gentleness with long-suffering bearing with one another in love endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace there is one body and one Spirit just as you were called in one hope of your calling one Lord One Faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all but to each one of us Grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift therefore he says when he ascended on high he led captivity captives and gave gifts to men now this he ascended what does it mean but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth he who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things and he himself gave some to the apostles some prophets some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the Saints for the work of Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ do we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting but speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ from whom the whole body joined and knit together by whatever joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the Body for the edifying of itself in love this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk is the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind having their understanding darken being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness but you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and Holiness therefore putting away lying Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another be angry and do not sin do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil let him who stole steel no longer but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give him who has need let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers and do not grieve the holy spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you amen well let us pray Our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for the section in Ephesians we pray for the ministry of the spirit now to guide us as we consider what Christ has purposed with reference to gospel Ministry we pray that you give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and that you would be glorified again forgive us now for all sin and unrighteousness and we pray in Jesus name amen well as we've moved through this particular book of the Bible we have seen the doctrinal emphasis in chapters one and two the Apostle teaches that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God lest any of us both we're not saved because we're good we're not saved because we're on the right path we're saved because God is gracious and God is good and he sent his son in order to live die and Rise Again chapter 3 is a bit transition e it does move from the doctrinal portion to the Practical section but in there Paul highlights the mystery of Christ the reality that Gentiles will be included in the Covenant Promises of God and that in Christ Jesus it's no longer two people groups but rather the Jews and the Gentiles are united as one new man under Jesus Christ Our Lord and then in chapter 4 he begins the Practical section which takes us to the end of chapter six and we've been noted noticing how Jesus gives gifts to God gives gifts to the church you see that in verse 11. he himself gave some to be Apostles some prophets some evangelists and some pastors and teachers and then Christ gave these particular gifts to the church for a specific reason so what we've seen thus far is that there are purpose of the gifts in the Church of Christ so verses 11 to 16. we see the identification of the gifts in verse 11. this isn't like tongue speaking or prophesying or the gift of healing these are particular meant men identified by the church qualified in terms of First Timothy 3 and Titus 1 who assume a Teaching Ministry in the life of the church and then we saw the purpose for the gifts in verse 12. there's three coordinate phrases there that the Teaching Ministry is engaged in doing they are to equip the Saints they're to engage in the work of ministry and they are to edify the body of Christ again they don't do that because they're great guys and they love to entertain and and they're just one wonderful specimens of human beings they do it by preaching and teaching the word of God that's the emphasis with reference to the ministry that's the emphasis with reference to these pastors teachers that continue to serve the church until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again their task is to proclaim the truth in a particular way so that the people of God are edified and strengthened now tonight we come to verse 13 which specifies the duration and the goal of the gifts and then we'll see finally the effect of these gifts in verses 14 to 16. but notice the duration in verse 13 it says for uh till we all come it's not the case that it's just supposed to be a handful within the context of the local church we see this emphasis on the corporate body we see this emphasis on the people of God as a whole and we see this emphasis on all of the people of God in a particular church till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ the emphasis in terms of the New Testament is on the corporate people of God I think this is an emphasis in the Old Testament as well the word Ecclesia the New Testament use of the word Ecclesia which is translated Church it is congregation and it is consistent with the kahal the Hebrew word form in the Old Testament the Assembly of God's people he never meant us to walk alone he never intended us for to be uh to be Maverick Christians he never purposed for us to try and make it between here and there without any help without any assistance without any teaching without any instruction he never intended for us to wave our Bible and say well all I need is my Bible in the Holy Spirit as I mentioned this morning the Bible and the Holy Spirit tell us we need the church the Bible and the Holy Spirit tell us here in Ephesians chapter 4 we need the Teaching Ministry of the church there is this corporate emphasis in Psalm 87 the psalmist says that Yahweh loves the gates of of Zion more than all the Dwelling Places of Jacob that doesn't mean he hates the the homes of Jacob it doesn't mean he hates the people who live in individual dwellings but he loves the gates of Zion he loves it when the people of God sing those psalms of ascent when they come to the temple he loves it when the people of God gather together to glorify God on his day in his house with one another and so the emphasis of the Apostle is till we all come and again we see that in the context equipping the Saints edifying the body of Christ the presupposition is that the all will attend to the ministry of the word so that they may grow so that they may understand so that they may achieve knowledge so that they may uh learn all the things that the Apostle Paul has for that so the corporate focus in verse 12 is emphasized here the equipping of the Saints and the body of Christ we see that in verse 13 till we all come the corporate necessity is seen here we're all supposed to be in church we're all supposed to be 3 attendance upon the preached word and then the corporate existence is Promised here as well remember back in chapter three notice in verse 21 to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus notice to all generations forever and ever as long as there's Generations there's going to be a church now there may be the Ebbs and the flows there may be the persecution there may be the eradication at least in some points in in history but there will be a church Christ has promised in Matthew 16 I will build my church in the gates of Hades shall not Prevail against it the gates of Hades are certainly going to try the gates of Hades may win a few battles here there but the gates of Hades will not Prevail so long as there are Generations so long as there will be a church and with reference to verse 13 the same emphasis is here till we all come in other words this corporate maturation is going to be achieved and it's going to happen not Perfection not without blemish not without spot that waits for us on the other side in glory but relative to the ministry Hodge makes this observation the ministry is not a temporary institution it is to continue until the church has reached the goal of its high calling so that's the duration but now notice the goal there in verse 13 B till we all come to the unity of the faith and then he mentions three things notice first the unity of the faith and then secondly the knowledge of the Son of God and then thirdly the maturity of the church notice that Unity of the faith so the Christian Ministry the men specified or provided by Christ according to verse 11 help the church to comply with the exhortation that we see in verse 2. notice that Paul starts chapter 4 verse 1 with an exhortation where they call it I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called with all lowliness and gentleness with long-suffering and then notice bearing with one another in love of and then endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of Peace if we were to ask the question well how do we do that well individually we seek by the grace of God to kill our remaining corruption and to put others before ourselves but as well within the context of the church we're taught the scriptures were taught the word of God we're taught what Jesus has spoken to his church so that we can comply with these things and you see the emphasis here till we all come to the unity of the faith so the ministry helps the Saints comply with that endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace as well the ministry instru instructs the Saints in terms of the content of the faith look at verse 11 again until we all I'm sorry 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith that faith is not my subjective belief in Jesus it's not your subjective belief in Jesus it's the content of the Christian faith in other words the church is to be taught what the church is supposed to believe and the ministry given by Jesus according to verse 11 is supposed to undertake that specific task she's not to be about entertainment she's not about uh to be about you know games and gimmicks and that sort of thing it's about the proclamation of the truth the final command given by the Apostle in terms of corporate application is to preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching so the Apostle wants the church to be instructed by the ministers that the Lord Jesus has given to the church so that we can attain to the unity of the faith the ministry is calculated to promote Unity not destroy it it's to provide Unity not division there's not supposed to be the introduction by the pulpit of those things that produce division among the people of God now if people don't receive the truth if people are rejecting the truth if people continue to hate the truth that's certainly a problem but it shouldn't be because the minister has taught them bad things or or those things that are incorrect notice he goes on to say not only this till we all come to the unity of the faith but he says and of the knowledge of the Son of God the ministry teaches the faith which is summarized by the doctrine of Christ here notice till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God that's what's unique about our religion now our religion shares in common other features that are seen in religions you've got emphasis on Golden Rule you've got emphasis on you know don't steal from one another you got emphasis on don't murder one another all those things are not all of those things but most of those things are are typical in the religions of man what differentiates Christianity what separates us from the rest it's the Son of God it's John 1 1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God it's John 1 14. the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory it's John 1 18. no one has seen God at any time but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him so it's not out of the norm that the Apostle would basically summarize the faith Under The Heading of the knowledge of Christ we are told in second Peter chapter 3 at verse 18 to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in John's Second Epistle you can turn there this is the litmus test as to whether or not we receive people into the church what think ye of Christ in second John specifically at verse 9 whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God He Who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the father and the son if anyone comes to you and does not bring this Doctrine do not receive them into your house nor Lord greet him for he who greets him shares in his evil Deeds there is a participatory effect when you engage in heresy if somebody brings you heresy and you don't cast out or reject it John says you are sharing in his evil Deeds but the point back to Ephesians 4 13 is that the very Christian faith itself can be summarized as the knowledge of God now uh the knowledge of the Son of God now there's other things we need to know about the Tabernacle and the sacrificial system but interestingly what does the Tabernacle and sacrificial system teach us it teaches us about the Son of God what do the prophets teach us and their announcements about the the coming Messiah they're teaching us about the Son of God it's as if the entirety of the Bible has one Central Focus the scope of scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ and so it's not out of the norm for the Apostle to summarize that Faith Under The Heading of the knowledge of the Son of God and then look at what he says now he talks about the maturity of the church at the end of verse 13. he says till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ now this is a metaphor to a perfect man that includes women as well you're not being excluded by the Apostle Paul George Bernard Shaw the famous novelist said that the Apostle Paul was the Eternal enemy of women nothing could be farther from the truth when we move into the household code in Ephesians chapter 5 you will see Paul's heart for the women of God you will see Paul's heart for the women who are adopted children of God but with reference to this man includes women we we used to talk like this we'd say Mankind and we would know that that meant man and woman the contrast here is between the man the perfect man the mature man the man for formed into the image of Jesus Christ corporately seen the church as a whole the contrast is with a child there's nothing wrong with children Paul's going to mention children in just a moment there in verse 14 but you have to you have to see the contrast he wants maturity he wants growth he doesn't want Perpetual toddlers Perpetual infants Perpetual adolescents he wants the church to progress he wants the church to go forward he wants the church to mature that's the emphasis in the latter part of verse 13. it's the cultivation of maturity notice the standard that's involved it says to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ in other words we are being conformed unto His Image in Romans 8 the Apostle deals with what we call the Golden Chain of Salvation or the if you prefer the Latin order of salvation for whom he foreknew these he predestined to be what to be conformed to the image of his son the ones he predestined he called the ones he called he justifies the one he just once he justifies he glorifies but there is this Conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ that's why I read beyond our section this this evening verse 17 goes on to encourage the people of God to pursue those things that should be seen in new men in Christ Jesus the new man in Christ Jesus has been saved he's been born again he's been Justified freely by God's grace he's received forgiveness he's received a righteousness by which he can enter into the presence of a holy God well now what what do we do now well you live in a manner that's consistent with it just like he says in 4-1 to walk worthy of the calling with which you work all if one of the aspects or one of the the goals of the Christian Ministry is to produce or promote maturity on the part of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ it is through teaching it is through preaching it is through Sunday school it is through Bible study it is through encouraging home Bible study or individuals reading their Bibles and family worship so that all the things that he goes on to discuss in verses 17 in chapter 4 and then five and six we are to become mature in Christ Jesus whatever the relations we find ourselves in generally speaking don't live like a gentile a Godless wretch with reference to our families we're to live as husbands and wives as new men in Christ Jesus we're not supposed to be dead set on our own needs we're not to be so dead set on our own desires we're to put the other first why because we're new men in Christ Jesus when it comes to employ employer relations same sort of thing obtains there in chapter six parent child relationship has uh fathers do not provoke your children why because you're new men in Christ Jesus and new men in Christ Jesus don't provoke their children to wrath rather they bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord so you see the Teaching Ministry in the church is supposed to preach and teach in such a way that the people of God mature that they grow that they learn that they understand and they see the application of God's word to every jot and Tittle of life so we've seen the identification of the guests verse 11. the purpose for the gifts in verse 12 the duration and goal of the gifts in verse 13. now notice finally the effect of the gifts in verses 14 to 16. there's a negative and a positive negative we see in verse 14. I'm going to call this the preventative maintenance for the church and then in verses 15 and 16 we see the part positive influence on the church so again we're in that context of the gifts given by Christ to the church for a specific reason and if a functioning gospel Ministry is doing its job then we should see these things realized in the context of local churches so notice the negative notice the the preventative maintenance Paul says there are three things that a a faithful gospel ministry will hopefully help people to avoid I remember hearing a story of a man he was a retired pastor and I think that things perhaps went sideways in his church and he had made the observation I spent all my Ministry and all my time telling people what they were supposed to believe but I never cautioned them against what they should have avoided and you see those twin Concepts in our text this morning John chapter 10 verses 4 and 5. what does the sheet do with reference to the voice of the shepherd he hears that voice and he follows the shepherd wherever the shepherd says to go but in verse 5 the Sheep doesn't hear the voice of the stranger rather the Sheep flees from the stranger that thief or robber that is only going to fleece the Sheep only going to abuse the Sheep so we need to not only know what to believe but there is a time when we need to be cautioned against what we ought not to believe and the apostles do that Jesus did that in John 10. he said these guys are fakes they are thieves and they're robbers and they like to indulge in stealing killing and destruction according to John 10 10. brethren in many respects that describes you know lots of leadership today and remember this morning I said it wasn't just ecclesiastical or spiritual leadership that the Sanhedrin provided in Israel it was political as well it's hard very hard to read the gospel narratives and not see some politics not to see some contrast between Jesus and the religious leaders do you really think those religious leaders were so bent on doctrinal Orthodoxy they were so pure in terms of the application of yahweh's word they were so fastidious when it came to the truth no they hated Jesus they opposed Jesus they had enmity against Jesus Jesus came and all the people started listening to him there's that instance in Luke's gospel Luke chapter 15 it says all the tax collectors and the Sinners Drew near to him to hear him Jesus so what are the scribes and the Pharisees do well this is great we're so thankful that they have a willing ear to hear this new Rabbi this new teacher no they they grumbled in in their hearts they grumbled amongst themselves they said if if this man receives Sinners and eats with them they were bested they were they were uh sidelined by the ministry of our Lord Jesus that made them mad that caused outrage that produced enmity in their hearts and they sought to vent it in the extermination of our blessed savior these were men that were about thievery about killing and about destruction and so we need to know those kinds of men so we don't listen to that right makes sense well look at what the Apostle says in terms of three particulars with reference to preventative maintenance first they're to avoid spiritual immaturity second there to avoid spiritual instability and third they're to avoid spiritual susceptibility now notice the spiritual uh immaturity that we should no longer be children again if you're a child God's not mad at you it's a good thing to be a child I mentioned this in our Sunday school hour this morning when my two-year-old grandson acts out I don't say stop acting like a two-year-old but I could see me to my 30 year old son say don't act like a two-year-old two-year-olds are fine they're not bad they're not horrible but there is this expectation of maturity of growth they they do their thing at two and then they toddle I guess they're already toddling by two then they they they walk solidly and then they run and then they get older and they get more stable they get more secure they get more mature the Apostle doesn't condemn that sort of a mindset all across the board look at First Corinthians 14. First Corinthians 14 specifically at verse 20. Brethren do not be children in understanding however in Malice be babes but in understanding be mature when it comes to sin and evil and violeness yeah be a big be an infant be that harmless little cooing one that smells good and doesn't get into malice usually as well you've got Hebrews chapter 5 specifically verses 13 and 14 where you see a bit of a contrast here as well Hebrews chapter 5 verses 13 and 14. well verse 12 for though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the Oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a babe that solid food belongs to those who are full of a a full age that is those who by reason of use have their senses ex have their senses exercise to discern both good and evil and then notice in a second Peter I'm sorry First Peter chapter two First Peter chapter two there's just this distinction between immature and mature if you're a brand new Christian great you're going to grow up you're going to get mature you're going to get solid you're gonna you're gonna pass through that total phase and pass through that barely able to walk phase past that running face past that that phase where where there is this inability to to grasp the truth and the doc doctrines of the Christian faith notice in First Peter 2 1 therefore laying aside all malice all deceit hypocrisy envy and all evil speaking as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious so back to our text in verse 14 he says that we should no longer be children again it's not a condemnation of children it's not a denigration of children it's the contrast with the perfect man in verse 13. the perfect man is the end game the perfect man is the the result the perfect man is sort of the goal and yet when it comes to the to the the mindset with reference to some in the church they're content to be infants now again I'm not picking on anybody brand new Christians praise God we we praise God for those saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ but we typically try and tell them now grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ read your Bible praise you know attend church go to Bible study those sorts of things Sermon Audio is a massive catalog of sermons online that you could you know literally spend the rest of your life and and listening probably to five a day and not get through them all so it's not like well I don't know what they're at there's plenty if you have any questions ask we we got plenty of resources with reference to that but we are to avoid spiritual immaturity the goal of the individual believer and the church as a whole is maturity First Corinthians 16 verse 13 in the Old King James the Apostle admonishes the church quit ye like men again he's not saying that the women need to be manly but he's speaking in terms of Bravery Courage the new King James renders it that way it is uh be brave I like the way the nasb renders it act like men again the wives you know your husband doesn't want you to act like a dude that's not the point the point is be brave Express courage be manly in your faith be be faithful be persevering and be ready to deal with the various things that God calls you to so quit ye like men the goal of the believer the goal of the church is maturity So to avoid spiritual immaturity that's one of the effects that a good preaching Ministry has upon the people of God then notice to avoid spiritual instability verse 14 that we should no longer be children now notice the instability tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine the figure of speech is obvious it's like a boat on the sea and there's these winds that come and it tosses the ship to and fro it's not a difficult sort of a figure it's not a difficult sort of a metaphor to get one's mind wrapped around James in James 1 6 admonishes the people there same way let them ask in faith with no doubting for He Who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind there the wave here probably a boat you are not supposed to be tossed to and fro a good faithful Ministry instructing the people of God in the word of God will hopefully inoculate them against that particular danger that instability that's not a good place to be always learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth Paul says that will characterize life in the last days in second Timothy 3 verses 6 to 9. he Likens the false teachers to The Magicians in Egypt Janice and jambres they had a a flash in the pan but they didn't have the ability of God most high and so Paul says they they come in and they pray on on gullible women in such a way so as to to to to exploit them and to do horrible things to that so the figure of speech is clear we're not supposed to be unstable we're supposed to be stable fastened firmly to the word of the Living God now with reference to the specifics look at what he says that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about notice with every wind of of Doctrine it's the truth that matters it's the taught word that matters it's a departure from that taught word it's the the voice of the shepherd or the voice of the stranger so again a faithful Ministry is educating people as to what is true perhaps along the way as to what is not true avoid those things but by and large it's what is true if you know the the truth if you know the the real deal you're able to spot the counterfeit I don't have to study every you know counterfeit bill just study the right one and then I know which is counterfeit and which isn't study the right Bible study the right teaching of the church study the early grades and confessions and again I think that what we find in this particular passage kind of roots us or tethers us to the life of the church as a whole he gave these gifts so that they could teach the church so to say well I don't need the the gifts that Jesus gave to the church is to reputation Jesus and his ministry in terms of the church and or his government rather in terms of the church so with reference to this Doctrine just consider a few passages Matthew 7 15 to 20. you must spot the false prophets by their fruits remember Jesus cautions against the false prophets and he says you will know them by their fruits it's an interesting fact that the truth of God's word does produce good living there is a doctrine that Accords with godliness and a doctrine that Accords with ungodliness in Acts chapter 2 you can turn I'm sorry Acts chapter 20. it's a few passages to illustrate this the the danger of heresy and the necessity on the part of the people of God to recognize that heresy so that they avoid it so that they're not tossed to and fro by every wind of Doctrine so that they're not sort of out on the on the sea of of professed Christianity getting blasted all of about but rather they're tethered they're fastened they're they're they're they're they're stabilized notice in Acts chapter 20 specifically at verse 30. well verse 28 here's Paul not writing but Paul preaching in the first pastor's conference and look at what he says to these Elders these are Elders uh he's in myelitas so chapter 20 verse 17 from my leaders he sent to Ephesus and called for the Elders of the church so our particular letter at a time when the Apostle is journeying and here he gathers these Alders together and he preaches to them again I call it the first pastor's conference because that's exactly what's happening so notice what he says in verse 28 therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to Shepherd the Church of God how do the overseers shepherd the Church of God do they do it with an iron fist do they do it with authoritarian decrees do they do it with you know by by robbing You by killing you and by destroying you no they do it by preaching and teaching the word of God that's the means by which shepherding is conducted it's the word of truth it's the emphasis upon the scripture as that which is formative in Christian character so he says Shepherd the Church of God which he purchased with his own blood now notice the reason why he gives this in verse 29 for I know this that after my departure Savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock pretty bold imagery there I mean we can Envision that sort of a thing what typically happens when you've got a predator out on the out on the uh the planes there they go after the weak one they go after the separate one they go after the isolated one they go after the one that's limping they go after the one that's tossed to an and fro by by every wind of Doctrine and what does that Savage wolf do when he comes upon that hapless sheep he kills him he destroys them he eats him he ingests him that's his function and so Paul says within this body of Elders within this particular group that he is addressing notice what he says in verse 30. also from among your selves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears this is no joke in the parable of the soils or the parable of the sower in Luke's gospel he describes that the devil or he says that the the the the the seed that's thrown under the shallow Earth it's easy prey for the birds to come and pick it up we know that right I mean we live in a farming Community we've all seen the birds canvas the fields when the the seed has been thrown out there it's a pretty normal thing those birds aren't vindictive those birds aren't full of malice those birds don't want to put the farmer out of business that that's not their intention it's an analogy it's a figurative way of speaking but from that Jesus says the devil he doesn't want you to go to church he doesn't want you to hear the truth and he doesn't want you to believe it he is malicious he is wicked he is evil and his minions function accordingly those religious leaders in John's gospel these were not harmless innocent men they were men who robbed they were men who killed and they were men who destroy well certainly those are the kinds of man you want to avoid you don't want to be tossed to and fro by every wind of Doctrine and then pray for somebody that's going to come in and dig their fangs into your neck one other passage there's many more but you can turn to Jude the book of Jude as I said many many more passages in the New Testament we go to the Old Testament it's not for in there God cautions Israel about going a whoring from him and going into those other Idols we see it there in numbers 25. what happened they already start to go after Baal before they even get to the promised land they they swore Fidelity to Yahweh in terms of first and second commandment along with the other eight but they break that repetitively they break it in chapter 32 of of the book of Exodus after having said in chapter 24 all that God has commanded we will do so the Old Testament along with the New Testament is filled with admonition and warning so that we don't go astray so that we're not tossed to and fro by every wind of Doctrine now I've cited Jude 3 today probably twice it says beloved while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the Saints that's a good rousing passage for the people of God that's a good text to tell us what we ought to be doing in terms of contending earnestly for the faith good military language martial language but why does he say that why does he do that verse 4. notice how verse 4 starts off it starts off with a little word called four this is the reason this is the rationale this is is why you need to be on guard and to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the Saints notice in verse 4 for certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation ungodly men who turned the grace of our Lord of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ you see what he says I wanted to write to you kind of a theology book about our common salvation but I found it necessary to sideline or Sidetrack that and say I want you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once were all delivered to the Saints why because these ungodly men are creeping in unnoticed to the churches and when these ungodly men creep in on notice to the churches they destroy them they bite sheep they hurt sheep they they they kill they they destroy they they steal from them they do all kinds of destructive things so the Jude wants us to contend earnestly for the faith that was once were all delivered to the Saints as we saw this morning in Romans 16 17 and 18 you must know sound Doctrine and avoid the heretic Galatians 1 6 and 7 the Apostle tells us we need to know what the gospel is the gospel isn't Faith plus works and in order to be saved it's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that results in sanctification we need to understand that we need to know that we need to observe that and then as I said this morning or as we saw this morning in John 10 4 and 5 the Sheep hears the voice of the shepherd and follows him the here the Sheep doesn't hear the voice of the stranger and he runs from him he flees from him so we need to avoid spiritual immaturity we need to avoid spiritual instability and we need to avoid spiritual susceptibility that simply means we're susceptible to these particular men notice in verse 14 the doctrine's not just sort of out there and it attacks sheep it's not just sort of you know ethereal oh there's some you know bad Doctrine and it's gonna it's gonna connect itself to my neck and and infiltrate my head now it comes out of the mouths of Wicked Man and notice how Paul describes these wicked men in verse 14. he says specifically that we are not to be susceptible to that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine by the trickery of man the specific language there is dice playing these men are and and it's not dice playing for a little bit of fun it's dice playing with probably loaded dice so that you always lose the game so that you always lose the game it's a rigged deck as we might say in our vernacular so he says by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting we're not to be susceptible to that now Brethren that is not saying that every gift given by Jesus to the church is perfect is without blemish never says anything untoward never says anything off you know off the cuff that is incorrect that is incorrect there's always issues you've always got you know problems in terms of the Gospel Ministry because men are in the gospel Ministry they're not perfect they're not without blemish they're not you know the Spotless wonderful vessel no Paul says they are Earthen vessels they are cracked pods so that the power may be of God and not of men when God blesses a cracked pot by preaching the gospel and and sinners get saved it's not so you can say wow what a great cracked pot no what a great God who uses cracked pots to bring Sinners unto himself it's a beautiful thing he makes straight things out of crooked things the the the helvetic confession speaks about the the man preaching the word of God it says that he he even being an evil man you're to receive that now evil there is probably in the sense of remaining corruption and Perfection not you know not Jesus there's only one holy harmless and undefiled that's Jesus so there's problems in every gospel Ministry there's shortcomings in every gospel Ministry I've been thinking about this passage has been you know rolling it around in my own head believe me there are shortcomings Brethren not only in terms of individual but in terms of ecclesiastical there's no no perfect Church on the face of the Earth there's no church that's arrived there's no perfect man in the sense that we've yeah that's it we're there all right now we can just chill out when we gather together on Sunday and you know drink coffee together no that's not going to happen but notwithstanding those imperfections you've got to understand that if the ministry in a particular church is communicating the voice of the shepherd then that man is to be listened to again not because of him but because he's communicating the voice of the shepherd now there are men that are diametrically opposed to that they're not communicating the voice of the shepherd they are bad men false men men that don't know doctrine that is why in our church one of our practices is to be a confessional church and what does that mean a confessional Church it means we subscribe to the second London Confession and that means we are Tethered to the history of the church just like those men were in the 1600s hundreds do you think they just said oh we're gonna we're gonna invent the wheel we're gonna invent Christian doctrine they said no to that we have no desire we have no itch to clog religion with new words when they had that Act of Toleration passed when they had the ability to confess themselves to confess without imprisonment what they believed they said we're going to take the Westminster we're going to take the Savoy we're going to take the best insights out of that we're going to change a few things that are indicative of our Baptist Heritage but we want you to know we're in the train or trajectory of the Christian church this is why in second London Confession chapter 8 paragraph two when it talks about the the hypostatic union of our blessed Lord where do you think they go do you think they make it up no they go back to the Council of Council on in 451. Brethren there is safety to be Tethered to the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ eyes we don't believe everything every Church father taught we don't believe everything every medieval Theologian taught we don't believe everything every reformed Theologian taught we don't believe everything ever every post-reformation Theologian taught but there is this emphasis on the things most surely believed among us and our confession is a wonderful summary statement of what the Bible teaches under those 32 hats this connects us this tethers us and I think it's this that respects this passage he ascended on high he led captivity captive and he gave gifts to men Augustine was a gift Cyril of Alexandria was a gift Gregory of nazianzen was a gift Calvin was a gift Spurgeon we're get those were gifts for us to say well all I need is my Bible in the Holy Spirit but the Bible tells us that Christ gave these men and we should take heed to what they said confessionalism is a great option in terms of being fastened to the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and not going astray not wandering again we're not perfect it's not a perfect document it didn't fall Out of Heaven oh wow this wonderful no no that's not what happened but it is a wonderful compendium a wonderful summary statement of those things most surely believed among us so we need to avoid spiritual susceptibility by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting well we'll get to the positive influence next week I don't want to wear out my welcome here I just want to summarize just a few things and then God willing next Sunday night will close out this section in terms of the positive influence on the church so again verse 14 it's pretty negative that we should no longer be children that we should no longer be tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine that we should not be susceptible to the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting verses 15 to 16 give us a very positive emphasis probably a good place to end our Exposition God willing next week but in terms of just some concluding thoughts we've already won established a necessity for the gospel Ministry and in terms of the the gifts indicated in chapter of chapter chapter 4 verse 11. we know that there's no more Apostles we we know that there's no more prophets in terms of the New Testament Church the prophets were given for a specific time to communicate the word of God now the we have the written word of God there's no place for a prophetic Ministry now the the prophetic Ministry comes in part through preaching I'm not going to you know get into all that debate here and there but profit in the New Testament was a revelatory gift you had tongue speakers and Prophets that were communicating the the word of God at a time when they didn't have the New Testament they didn't have published Cambridge Bibles with wide margins and calfskin leather excuse me goat skin leather we should probably call Cambridge and say goats aren't good in the Bible we should have sheepskin anyways we see this emphasis in on evangelists it was probably a temporary Ministry in the early church again this scholarship goes either way on that particular is there still an office of evangelists some suggest there is I lean toward they're not being I think Philip and Timothy are good examples in the New Testament men that didn't have a particular church that they always labored and had a bit of an itinerant had a bit of a moving had a bit of a a a more of a a transient Ministry among the Churches of Christ it's the pastors teachers that God has instituted for the duration of the church until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again now that's not only stated here in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11. but we see it as well corroborated in first Timothy 3. if anyone desires the office of a bishop or an overseer or an elder it's a good thing and then it specifies what this man must be in terms of virtue in terms of characteristic in terms of the way he lives but it also specifies what he must do he must be apt to teach he must be able to teach a man might have all the virtue he might have all the godliness he might have all those things in place but he might not be able to teach therefore he's not going to be an elder that's not a sin that's not a bad thing you're not to be put down for that God doesn't equip everybody to teach as Spurgeon said if God wants a behemoth to fly he'll put Wings on him he obviously didn't want Behemoth to fly he didn't put any Wings on him there are some men that are Godly faithful righteous holy excellent beautiful wonderful men but if they don't have the atmos to teach they're not supposed to be Elders Titus 1 duplicates that list of qualifications for the elders in five to nine and what is verse 9 say he needs to be able to to encourage urge the people of God with sound Doctrine and he needs to be able to refute those who contradict so that Teaching Ministry is extant it is still in play it is still under the lordship and headship of Jesus Christ again it's not fancy it's not you know we just plug in our our brains to the console and we sort of get this assimilated no it's just kind of an old-fashioned thing preaching and teaching open your Bibles look at the text understand this in light of this text and compare it with these other attacks and see it in a grander scheme of of God's Redemptive plan that is to be in play until Jesus comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead so that there is a gospel Ministry should lead us secondly to pray for gospel ministers in other words if we don't have faithful capable and qualified men we're not going to achieve the specified ends that we find in Ephesians 4. and so we can ask our blessed savior who is the Lord and the king and the head of the church to raise up men to fit and qualify men to put it in the hearts of men to serve in this capacity and not just men but boys boys that are brought up in the context of the local church have you ever thought boy it'd be nice to be in the ministry not because they only work on Sunday but because I'd like to serve God I'd like to work in the word and Doctrine I'd like to do those things to extend the Blessed kingdom of God we can pray to the ascended Christ to give more gifts to the church we have a need sorry has a need Armstrong has a need and certainly Dryden has a knee they seem to be blessed there in sigua to peke but they then might have a need to go plant more churches all throughout that particular community and it's not just in our localized era it's not just in our country but all over the Earth today there is a great need for qualified men to take the word of God out and to Proclaim it to preach it this isn't happening overnight the the things specified here it's not like one service and oh boy we're all perfect now we're all mature we're all able to see the bad and avoid this is a lifelong Endeavor this is generational in nature we need to pray to Christ to raise up men and to fit them for service in the churches of our Lord Jesus Christ and then thirdly and finally we need to recognize that the means by which they are supposed to do this is through study of the word it's through prayer to the god of the word it's through faithfulness in the exposition of it Paul emphasizes this turn over to the book of second Timothy second Timothy chapter two he has a vision for the church and I don't I mean I've just kind of speculating he tells us what the church is supposed to look like notice in 2-1 you therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to Faithful Men Who will be able to notice this next phrase to teach others also the ministry doesn't accomplish these ends or accomplish these goals Again by their winning personality by their spotless blemish free life by their you know ability to just Dazzle the ought no they do it through teaching notice in second Timothy 2 14 remind them of these things charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to be to no Prophet to the ruin of the hearers now notice in verse 15 be diligent to present yourself approved to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of Truth see that's the emphasis in the gospel Ministry it's not on the you know pep rally squad or the the CEO or the Fortune 500 guy is just going to come in and he's going to revamp the church we're going to put program here and program here we're going to be so successful and we need so many people that's not what the Bible teaches the Bible says preach the word the Bible says teach these truths the Bible says and emphasize this Doctrine for the growth maturation and stability of the people of God in the Church of God so that God in that may be glorified and honored and praised so Brethren pray pray that God will raise men up pray that God will bless men and pray that God will send them out to Proclaim his glorious Truth for his ends well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for the word we thank you for this section in Ephesians 4 we pray that you would bless our local church we pray that you'd raise up more men in our context to function as Elders we pray for Mike and Siri and the Brethren there and for Ryan and Armstrong and the Brethren there and God give grace to the Saints and in Dryden as well and we thank you for your goodness and we thank you for the fact that Christ has given these gifts to the church for the building up of the church for the maturation and for these things specified in our text we pray that you would go with us now watch over us in this coming week and be glorified in our lives and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation