Step into the huddle as we explore the profound connection between the teamwork seen on the football field and the unity we strive for within our faith communities. Just as a team comes together to claim victory, we are called to unite as one body in Christ, diving deep into Paul's message from Ephesians chapter four. Our commitment to this spiritual team means aligning our mission, vision, strategy, and values to serve and glorify Jesus Christ. By embracing our diversity and fostering the love for our church and its teachings, we're not just members—we're teammates on a mission to lead others toward the ultimate victory of salvation.
Feel the Spirit move within you as we discuss the 'Power of Unity in the Church'. Communal worship and daily prayer are our spiritual workouts, strengthening our bond with the Holy Spirit and each other. We're not just Sunday believers; we live our faith every day, extending our mission beyond the church walls. This episode's heartbeat is Jesus's prayer for unity—where our oneness exemplifies the love of God and affirms the authenticity of Jesus's mission. Join us, and let's witness together how a church united in purpose and passion can be the most compelling testament to the world around us.
Step into the huddle as we explore the profound connection between the teamwork seen on the football field and the unity we strive for within our faith communities. Just as a team comes together to claim victory, we are called to unite as one body in Christ, diving deep into Paul's message from Ephesians chapter four. Our commitment to this spiritual team means aligning our mission, vision, strategy, and values to serve and glorify Jesus Christ. By embracing our diversity and fostering the love for our church and its teachings, we're not just members—we're teammates on a mission to lead others toward the ultimate victory of salvation.
Feel the Spirit move within you as we discuss the 'Power of Unity in the Church'. Communal worship and daily prayer are our spiritual workouts, strengthening our bond with the Holy Spirit and each other. We're not just Sunday believers; we live our faith every day, extending our mission beyond the church walls. This episode's heartbeat is Jesus's prayer for unity—where our oneness exemplifies the love of God and affirms the authenticity of Jesus's mission. Join us, and let's witness together how a church united in purpose and passion can be the most compelling testament to the world around us.
Go and open up your bibles with me, to Ephesians, chapter four this morning. Ephesians chapter four, because I want to remind you, as we talked about last week with the Tower of Babel, that as we have a new church logo, as we have a new church look, by no means would we ever be trying to make anything about our church. Our church is always, has always been, will always be about our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. Put your hands together for Him, because he is the one that we do everything for. He is our identity. We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mission, our desire, our purpose is that people come to know Jesus and they are saved. That's why we do everything that we do, and today we get to come together. Look at Ephesians, chapter four. On this Super Bowl Sunday, by the way, who do you have winning the Super Bowl? How many of you all have the chiefs winning the Super Bowl? Raise your hand. You think the chiefs are going to win? How many of you think the 49ers are going to win the Super Bowl? How many of you think Taylor Swift is going to win the Super Bowl? Just kidding, she is actually not playing, even though she's getting all the attention, she's actually not playing.
Speaker 1:
I want to call this message this morning one team. Everybody say one team. It is so important for our church to be one church, to be one team together. We need to make sure that as one team, we have the same mission, we have the same vision, we have the same strategy, we have the same values together. Could you imagine trying to win a Super Bowl If your offensive line goes left but your running back goes right? It's not going to go very well. Could you imagine your quarterback throwing deep but your receiver running over to the flat? It's not going to go everywhere. You all have to be on the same page Everybody say same page in order to be on the same team.
Speaker 1:
That's what this passage of Ephesians, chapter four, verses four through six, is talking about. Let me read it to you. Ephesians four, verse four, says there is one body and one spirit, just as you are called to the one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is overall and through all and in all. The word that the apostle Paul is talking about this morning is one. Everyone say one. Let me pray, heavenly Father, god, we just pray that you would speak through your word this morning, by the power of your Holy Spirit, through your Son Jesus Christ. God, we pray that the gospel would be the centerpiece, it would be on the forefront this morning. And God, I pray for changed lives for all of us. God, would you change my life through your word this morning? Would you change our lives through your word this morning? Would you change our church this morning, god, through your word, god, so that we can bring change through this community. Father, we love you and we pray all these things in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1:
And all guys, people said the apostle Paul, if you notice, the apostle Paul said we are called to be one body and he said we're called to be one body, the church. In the only way he says that we're called to be one body is through the one Spirit, the Holy Spirit. In that Holy Spirit we know who the Holy Spirit is, because he was sent by Jesus, who is our one Lord. And in Jesus we are only to have one faith and in Jesus there is only one baptism and in Jesus there's only one calling, which is to follow after Jesus. There is only one hope, which is we get to spend eternity with Jesus, and it's all possible because we have one God, one Father, who is overall, who is through all and who is in all. If you believe that, say amen.
Speaker 1:
So the question is this morning is how can we, or how can you, be one team with your church? Because I wanna tell you this morning, we all come from different backgrounds. We all have different dislikes and different likes. We all have different allegiances. We all have different teams that we root for, that we cheer for. We all have different gifts and abilities. We all have different families and backgrounds. We are all different. We are like a house divided. How many of y'all live in a house divided when it comes to sports? Raise your hand. A few of us, my wife and I we have our hands raised. I'm a Bamba fan, she's a Tennessee fan, but we can both agree on the braves. See, we're a house divided in terms of. We all have different sports teams, but that's not what makes up our house here. That's not what makes up the house of God. That's not what makes up your house. Is your sports team. In fact, I believe the Bible says the more different we are as a church, the more different we are in our homes, the more we find our unity, the more we find our commonality in what is most important, in Jesus Christ alone. Amen, jesus is our unity. So how can we be one team together, as a church Number one? Here we go. Here's how you can do it Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:
Be filled with the Holy Spirit Because, let me tell you something, the more that you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the more you love Jesus and the more you love his church. He says here in Ephesians 4, verse 4, there is one body, which is the church, and there is one spirit. Notice how the apostle Paul links together the church and the Holy Spirit. Why is that? Because when Jesus died, when he rose from the dead, the Bible says that he walked on the earth for some 40 days. The Bible said that he died there, right there, at the day of atonement. We know that the day of Pentecost came 50 days after the day of atonement, which means Jesus walked on the earth for some 40 days. He ascended to heaven, which meant there were about 10 days, which seemed like silence. Were the disciples, the followers of Jesus? The Christians had to be thinking to themselves is that it? Is it over? Is it just us? Now? What? What is going to happen? And on the day of Pentecost, some 10 days later, after the ascension of Jesus, the Bible says that they were all up in an upper room praying together, and it says that something miraculous happened that changed human history forever. It said, for the first time in the world of human history, that every follower of Jesus, every believer in Jesus, right then, right there, was being filled with the Holy Spirit, indwelled with the Holy Spirit, full of the Holy Spirit, and that is the birth of the church. Can I get it? Amen, that's where we began being the church.
Speaker 1:
The church is incredibly important to God's plan. Notice here in this passage, where God is talking about the Spirit of God and the Son of God and God as being our Father and our faith and our baptism and our call and our hope. Notice in that same passage, with all of these incredibly huge things that he's bundling together. It all starts out in verse 4, there is one body. Think about the how essential the church of Jesus Christ is. If you're watching us online this morning, just imagine, just think about how central, how important the church of Jesus Christ is to God Himself and how important the church is called to be to you and to be to us, and we realize, if you're watching this morning and you can't be here, that we are worshiping with you in Spirit and in Truth. We see here the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:
If you are saved, the number one thing in your life that is most important for your life on an everyday basis is that you are being filled with the Holy Spirit. You've been given the Holy Spirit at your salvation. You've been indwelled with the Holy Spirit when you've given your life with Jesus. You have become full of the Holy Spirit when you have believed the gospel. But hear me, the Bible says that there is a sense in which that, even though we've been given the Holy Spirit, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit on a continual basis.
Speaker 1:
The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, chapter 5, to be continually filled of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because you leak and because I leak. We have a hole in our spirit, in our body, in which that we leak, so we need to continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit. How can you be filled with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis? You can be filled with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, by getting into God's Word, by asking God to fill you with this Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:
God, would you fill me with your spirit? Today I pray Isaiah, chapter 11, verse 2, every single day. God, would you fill me with your spirit for your wisdom, for your understanding, for your counsel, for your might, for the knowledge of you and for the fear of you. Isaiah 11, 2. And we must pray verses like that, scriptures like that, and ask God, through His Word and through prayer, to be filled. But also we're filled as we come together as a church.
Speaker 1:
Do you realize that when you come, when we come together as a church, you leave more full of the spirit than when you came that morning. You leave more full of the spirit for the week than when you came at the beginning of the week. You leave why? Because God fills you with the spirit when you worship Him together with the body of Christ. He fills you with the spirit because God told passers to preach the Word of God. He fills you with the spirit as you get into a group, as you get into community, as you get into a Sunday school class, as you get into a connection group. God fills us with His spirit. When we practice community together, god fills you with His spirit.
Speaker 1:
When you have a role in the church, when you serve in your church in some way, serving is not just pouring out, serving is also getting poured into and we get filled with the spirit. Hear me, when we live on mission, when we tell people about Jesus during the week, we're not just pouring out, we are getting poured into. He says that there is one body and there is one spirit. We get full of the Holy Spirit not just during the week by ourselves, but when we come together as the church of Jesus Christ. And this is the very heart of Jesus. For you, brother Buddy, read this earlier John 1721, already stealing my thunder, preaching my servants, stepping on my toes. John 1721,.
Speaker 1:
Jesus said he's praying.
Speaker 1:
Listen, he's praying to his father.
Speaker 1:
You're hearing the heart of Jesus, the way in which that he prays for you, the way in which, here, that he prays for us.
Speaker 1:
He says that they may all, speaking of the church, the body of Christ, that they may all be one. He prays for us to be one. He says, just as you, father, are in me and Father, I'm in you, that they may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. In other words, when we believe that we are one together as a church, when we believe that we are one body, that we don't just go to church, that we don't just come to a worship service, that we don't just check that box off of our list for the week, that we don't just come and do our church thing, but when we see ourselves together as one body. Jesus said that is when the world understands and sees and believes that God sent Jesus to be our sacrifice. When we pull together as one, the world is not looking for something else to do. They're not looking for another event to go to. The world wants to be one.