Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 5:1-2 | J. Allen Mashburn

As we begin to study the 5th chapter of this great book, we are immediately confronted by a passage the demands that we do the impossible. We are called to be like God. We are called to love like He loves. It sounds like an impossible task. How can we, sinful, human, frail, failing people ever be like Him or love like Him? This text has much to say about this call to be like the Lord.
 

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 4:25-32 | J. Allen Mashburn

This passage builds on what Paul has been saying about the new life we have been given in Jesus. The word “wherefore” calls our attention back to verses 17-24, which are a basic overview of the new life we have in Jesus. Since the old man of sin has been “put off,” v. 22, since the mind has been “renewed,” v. 23, and since the “new man,” has been put on, v. 24, the child of God is expected to life a transformed life. I would remind you that the putting off of the old man, the renewing of the mind, and the putting on of the new man, are events that took place in our lives when we were born again.
When the Lord saved us, He changed us. We were made “new creatures,” 2 Cor. 5:17, at the moment of conversion. Everything changed! A life the had never existed began at that very moment. That is the essence of the new birth. You were born again as a new creation of God at the moment of conversion.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 4:17-24 | J. Allen Mashburn

In the first phrase of verse 17, there is a word that beckons to focus our attention backward. It is the word “therefore.” Anytime you see “therefore” in the Bible, you should stop and see what it is “there for.”
 This word calls our minds back to what Paul has been teaching us about our high calling in Christ Jesus. Because we have been given all the benefits mentioned in verses 1-16, we are not to be like the lost, pagan Gentiles who live around us. What benefits is Paul talking about?
Our calling to “salvation by grace” through faith, vv. 1-3.
Our unity in the body of Christ, vv. 3-6.
Our unique gifting by the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord and His church for His glory, vv. 7-10.
Our being built up through the ministries of gifted individuals in the church, vv. 11-16.
 Because we have been given all these advantages, and made the partaker of such gifts from God, we are to walk in a manner that is different from the world around us.
 In the verses that are before us today, we are called to A New Walk For A New Life. Paul issues some very specific challenges for all those who are saved. These challenges teach us how we are to walk, and how we are to be different from those who have not been saved.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 4:7-16 | J. Allen Mashburn

The word E Pluribus Unum appear on The Great Seal of the United States. Until 1956, E Pluribus Enum was the unofficial motto of the United States. In 1956, the official motto of the United States became In God We Trust. E Pluribus Unum, while not the official motto of our nation, still appears on our Great Seal and on other currencies and documents produced by our government.
 
E Pluribus Unum is a Latin phrase which means “out of many, one,” or “one from many.” This phrase pictures the United States as a melting pot. It envisions our nation as one nation, made up of many individuals. While there is diversity and division among the people that make up the United States of America, at the end of the day, we are all still Americans. Regardless of the country of our origin, the color of our skin, the type of politics we embrace, or where we stand on many social issues, we are “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The United States is a unity made possible by, and in spite of, great diversity.
 
I want you to see that the phrase “out of many, one” could also be applied to the church. Paul has just told us that we are one on the Lord. That we stand together as one in the Lord. We are in the same body. We are indwelled by the same Spirit. We share the same hope. We serve the same Lord. We believe the same faith. We have experienced the same baptism. And, we are children of the same Heavenly Father.
 
As I mentioned when I preached from verses 4-6, we are made one through our relationship to the members of the Holy Trinity. The same Spirit lives in each of us. The same Lord died to save each of us. The same God has saved us and brought us into His family. We are on in Him!
 
Yet, as the first word of verse 7 points out, we may be one, but we are still many. The word “but” in this verse is more than a simple conjunction. It literally means “in spite of that,” or “on the other hand.” The idea is that, while we may be united in Jesus, but we are still expected to be different people. We are expected to be individuals for the glory of God. We may be commanded to do everything in our power to maintain the unity of the body of Christ, v. 2-3, but, at the same time, we are to celebrate the diversity that makes our unity possible.
 

Trouble at the Temple | Mark 9:15-19 | J. Allen Mashburn

Apparently, when Jesus visited the Temple on Sunday, He saw some things that He did not like. During this visit on Monday, He will address some of those issues. The events that occurred during our Lord’s visit to the Temple on that Monday morning are what I want to look into today.
Let’s join Jesus as He goes to the Temple on a Monday morning. I want to share a few thoughts that we cannot afford to miss. I want to point out A Description Of The Temple; A Dispute At The Temple and A Decision At The Temple.
 

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 4:1-6 | Part 4

Paul has been teaching us in Ephesians that God, by His grace, and through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has brought together people from every imaginable background, and has made them one in Jesus Christ. Jews who were born under the Law and who are subject to the Law, and Gentiles who were given over to dumb idols, have been brought together in one body.
 
The ground of our unity does not rest in our ability to get along with one another. Our unity in the body of Christ rests upon the common elements that we share as members of His body.
 
All of the elements Paul mentions in these verses are freely given to us by the grace of God. They are the fruit of our relationship with Him. It is these elements that make unity within the church a real possibility.
 

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 4:1-6 | Part 3

In verse 3, we are commanded to walk in unity as a body. In these human bodies we inhabit, there is wonderful unity. If you don’t believe me, take a hammer and strike your thumb. You will be amazed at the unity your body can summon in a moment of crisis like that. Paul illustrates this great truth in 1 Cor. 12:12-26. Verse 3 is The Plea For Unity.
 
These verses do not state the next truth, but it is implied here nonetheless. If we must do as verse 3 says and “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit” it must mean that the unity we are supposed to keep can be broken. Sadly, it can, and quite easily at that. The greatest challenge to the unity of the body of Christ are the very people who are the members of that body. The real problem with our unity is in our diversity. We are a different and diverse people with differing opinions, ideas, wants, and methods, which are unique to each individual in the body. The greatest threat to the unity of the church is not the devil or the world, it is the very people who make up the body. Thus, we have The Problem Of Unity.
 
In the middle verse of this section, verse 2, Paul speaks about The Path To Unity. In this verse, Paul mentions five qualities that each member of the body must possess if there is to be true, lasting unity in the church. The first of those qualities we have already considered. It is the word “lowliness.” This word means, “to think or judge with lowliness; to possess lowliness of mind.” It speaks of “humility.” Humility, as we learned last time, is “the quality or condition of being humble;  modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.” The word used here for “lowliness” literally means, “a deep sense of ones littleness.” It is not thinking little of oneself, it is not thinking of oneself at all! Genuine humility, or lowliness, is the absolute antithesis of pride, which is thinking only of yourself.
 
The other qualities that Paul mentions in this verse flow from a humble spirit. When we come to the place where we are truly humble, these other qualities will naturally be a part of our lives. Unfortunately, we seem to be in a constant search for humility, thus these other qualities were lacking as well. As elusive as humility and these other qualities are, they are essential if there is to be true unity in the church. When these qualities are a part of each of our lives, unity will be the result. When they are not part of each of our lives, it is an evidence that there is pride within our hearts. When there is pride within us, the very unity of the church is threatened.
 
I would like to spend our time today in the remainder of verse 2. I want to talk about the four qualities that remain. We have talked about “lowliness.” Now, let’s consider “meekness,” “longsuffering,” “forbearance,” and “love.” Let’s study these qualities together as we consider The Path To Unity.

Why Christmas?

In this message, Pastor Mashburn examines why Christmas had to happen to accomplish God's Will, Purpose, and our Salvation.