Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You are invited to come to the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and pray for the church (and other things -- 7:00 PM Wed., LHF time).

(text: Eph. 4:11 - 5:2)

God gives various gifts to various people in order to "prepare God's people (that is, his Church) for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we ALL reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:12,13) The point I've been trying to make for the last two weeks is that God's way works. Through the gifts God has given, not just some of God's people, but ALL of God's people are built up and become mature and attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. We will become like Jesus. This may seem unlikely to some, but it will happen. The reason it will happen is that God has committed himself to making it happen and he is almighty. He has given us his Holy Spirit as a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" (Eph. 1:14) and as a seal for the day of redemption (Eph.4:30). The word of God is given to us through the apostles (the Apostle Paul, for example), through the prophets, through the evangelists and through the pastors and teachers. The Holy Spirit plants the word of God in our minds and writes it on our hearts. Even now God is calling us his holy people (Eph. 5:3).

Last week I pointed out that, in Christ, there is always contentment. And that if you are not experiencing that contentment, it must be that you have not fully put off your "old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desire (Eph. 4:22)" and "put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (4:24)." (Incidentally, not experiencing fully the contentment of being in Christ certainly applies to all of us since being "built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" is a process and it takes time. In fact, it would not be unreasonable to think that it would take a lifetime, so be patient -- but, keep praying.)

Now lets look at some of the things Paul says need to be done in order to put off the old self, which is being corrupted, and to put on the new self, which is in every way like Christ. Lets look at these things with the full expectation that when we consider them, and that when we pray concerning them, the Holy Spirit will write them on our hearts and plant them in our minds and that we will be built up to become like Christ (and as a church, not just individually).

1. Each of us must put off all falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, because we are all members of one body. (Eph.4:25) We are a nation of liars. We lie to protect ourselves. We lie to get our way. We lie to avoid conflict. We lie for all kinds of reasons. We lie both subtly and blatantly. We lie in such a way that, while we are technically telling the truth, we are deliberately misleading our hearer. We lie by speaking words that are true but using inflection and tone of voice to cause the hearer to think we mean other than what the words literally say. We are experts at lying while claiming, even to our own consciences, that we are telling the truth. We must put off ALL falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbors.

2. In our anger, we must not sin. We must not let the sun go down on our anger and give the devil a foothold. (Eph. 4:26,27) How long do you hold onto anger?

3. We must work and do something useful with our hands -- not just to feed ourselves, but also, to have something to help those in need. If we are not doing this, we must be stealing. (Eph. 4:28)

4. We must not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but ONLY what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. (Eph. 4:29) This means that any talk that isn't intended to build up those who hear it according to their specific needs is unwholesome.

5. We must not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. (Eph. 4:30) When God's Holy Spirit convicts you through the word of God to do something or to not do something -- or to say something or to not say something, do you ignore him? Also, do you lie to the Holy Spirit by claiming you are telling the truth when you know that your intent is to deceive. We must not grieve the Holy Spirit.

6. We must get rid of ALL bitterness, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. We must instead be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave each of us. (Eph. 4:31,32) Jesus says that if you don't forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will not forgive you either.

7. We are dearly loved children of God. We really are. We must believe that we are and imitate Gods love for us. Jesus loved us and sacrificed himself to God to redeem us from the judgment that we deserved. Therefore, we must live a life of love. (Eph. 5:1,2)

These verses are the very word of God given by the Holy Spirit to Paul the apostle. They are, in a word, extreme. God's love and sacrifice for his Church are also extreme.

Come on Wednesday and pray for the Church. The Church is the overflowing abundance, the wealth beyond measure and the full and perfect nature of God who fulfills and completes everything in every way.

Grace and peace,
Dean Svoboda

PS: You can also bring you own prayer requests and pray for them with your brothers and sisters in Christ (i.e., with the Church). Bring your requests to God with thanksgiving and receive his peace.

PPS: Pass this invitation along to others in your household or to someone who doesn't have an e-mail address in the LHF directory