Protecting the Church | Mark Estes

receive the tithe and offering.

And now, welcome Apostle Mark with the

word.

>> Good morning, North Palm.

Wow.

You know, I have to uh to echo Patricia

on that.

Whatever that is, it's divine.

Yeah. Yeah. VIVA.

AMEN. Turn with me in your Bibles. I

want to talk to you some about something

that I believe is extremely important

and is a word for the church.

So, uh, we're going to look at two

passages of scripture from Paul's

letters. First is Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

and then we're going to flip over to

this little small verse in Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 4 beginning

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

with verse one. I therefore, the

prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to

walk worthy of the calling with which

you were called, with all loneliness and

gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing

with one another

in love,

endeavoring, now this is the verse I

really want you to focus on from this

passage. Verse number three, endeavoring

to keep the unity of the spirit in the

bond of peace.

>> Now turn over to Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

verse number 14.

But above all these things, put on love,

which is the bond of

perfection. put on love which is the

bond of perfection.

Take a moment and lift your hands with

me. Come on everybody, lift your hands.

Pray this prayer with me. Holy Spirit,

>> Holy Spirit,

>> open my ears.

>> Open

>> that I can hear

>> what you have to say.

>> Open my heart.

>> Make it receptive.

>> Receptive.

>> I give you permission

>> to move deep into my life.

to form my heart,

>> my heart,

>> to form my character, my character.

>> Jesus, have your way

>> in me today.

>> Amen. All right, we're going to talk

about protecting the church, really

guarding what God is building. So, in in

these two letters, Paul is writing to do

to two very different but equally

complex environments. the church at

Ephesus and the church at Colasse.

Ephesus, you see, is a major urban

center. It's saturated with religious

pluralism. It's marked by the dominance

of idolatry, specifically the worship of

Artemis. And and in this environment,

there is a widespread

occult practice and all kind of magic

arts that are being practiced. Then you

have the smaller city of Colassi. It's a

less prominent city, but it's been

shaped by syncretism. And syncretism is

a combination of different forms of

belief or practices. And so the

Colossian culture was really a blending.

It was a blending of Jewish legalism

as as well as magical elements that were

incorporated in that and the pagan

philosophy that undergurted all of that.

And so in both settings,

the church had to confront competing

world views.

That's like what we're living in today.

We cannot run from

what is happening in our country or in

our world. We are living in an era of

competing world views. And so we have to

establish just like Paul did. What was

Paul doing? He was establishing

doctrinal clarity.

He was bringing the truth of the word

into focus. He was establishing

relational unity because without

doctrinal clarity and without relational

unity there is no stability.

There's no stability and there is no

witness for Christ. So we have to know

the truth because is is it is the truth

that sets us free. Philosophy will not

set you free. Religion will not set you

free. you can understand all that there

is about mysticism and and all of the

elements of philosophy and and and um

the different elements of education. But

you will only experience freedom by

knowing Jesus.

>> It is his blood that sets us free. And

so the early church faced a lot of

pressure. There were divisions in the

early church between Jews and Gentiles.

There were different groups that were

were competing there different

backgrounds they and and trying to bring

all of this together. All of this this

these different backgrounds and

different cultures and all of this

diversity together.

It was hard but that was the mission to

bring them into unity.

So there was um in this confusion there

were many competing ideas and many

different beliefs which made it harder

for people to be grounded in the truth.

And in that culture people were

sensitive. They were so sensitive to

public honor.

you know,

title

recognition.

And because they were so sensitive to

title and recognition, they were easily

offended.

Kind of like some folks today, if you

don't get their title right,

they cop an attitude on you.

Oh boy, pastor, that's good preaching.

Yeah.

And so there would be disagreements that

would arise and and those disagreements

would would really quickly turn into

major conflicts and and and here's the

the deal. The churches met in homes.

These were largely home churches. And so

you're in this intimate environment. And

so these tensions became very personal

immediately. And so without unity, if

there's no unity, the church could would

it wouldn't just be split apart. It

would lose respect from those that were

watching and it would weaken its

witness.

So you understand that the church is not

something that you attend. We looked at

this a couple weeks ago somewhat. The

church is not something that you attend.

It is something that God is building.

Jesus said, and I remind you, Matthew

Matthew 16:18

chapter 16 verse 18, he said,"I will

build my church, my eklesia, and the

gates of Hades shall not prevail against

it."

He didn't say, "You'll build it." He

said, "I build it."

Jesus said, "I build the church." But

while Christ is building the church, he

assigns us the responsibility of

protecting

the church. We are to protect what he is

building. And so the greatest threat to

the church is not external opposition.

It is internal fracture.

You understand Rome couldn't stop it.

You know, persecution could not silence

the church, but division

has weakened it across generations.

So many divisions.

If we're going to see strength, if we're

going to see growth, if we're going to

reap the harvest in these days, then we

have to learn how to protect the church.

Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

verse three, Paul said, "Endeavoring

to keep the unity of the spirit in the

bond of peace." The New American

Standard Version says, "Being diligent

to preserve the unity of the spirit."

Being diligent to preserve the unity of

the spirit. In Colossians 3:14, I remind

Colossians 3:14

you Paul said, "Above all these things,

put on love, which is the bond of

perfection, or literally the perfect

bond of unity." Love is the perfect bond

of unity. So if unity

breaks down, the church isn't just

weakened, it collapses.

If we do not stand together, we do not

stand.

And so Paul doesn't start with programs.

He doesn't start with good happenings in

the city. What he starts with is

protection.

So understand that unity is a spiritual

reality that we have to guard. The unity

of the spirit. It's not something that

we create. It is something that is holy

spirit. That holy spirit has already

produced.

So when you were saved, you weren't just

connected to God. You were connected to

his people. We talked about the church

is the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians

chap 12 verse 13, Paul said, "For by one

spirit we were all baptized into one

body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether

slaves or free, and have all been made

to drink into one spirit. So unity is

heaven. It's not man-made."

>> Well, think of a family.

In a you don't create family. No, you're

born into family. You're born into it.

So, you can either protect the

relationships

or you can damage them.

How many families

have turned into cannibals?

So, what am I supposed to do?

Stop treating unity like it's an

optional value.

Unity is not optional.

Start seeing

unity as a divine reality that has been

entrusted to you. It has been entrusted

to you. So you're not called to

manufacture unity. You're called to

guard it.

>> You're called to guard it. I want you to

also notice that unity requires

intentional effort.

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the

spirit. Being diligent to keep the unity

of the spirit in the bond of peace. And

that word endeavoring literally means to

strive to exert effort. And it's talking

about there's an urgency to it. This is

something that I have to do. I have to I

it is urgent that I protect the unity.

And the word keep literally means to

guard, to preserve, to watch over. And

it's used for guarding something that

has already been established. God

established the unity, but you are to

guard it. And so unity is not created by

us. It's protected by us. And that word

unity literally means oneness,

harmony. And it occurs here and also in

Ephesians chapter 4 verse number 13 11

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

through13. remember that passage you

you're you understand apostolic ministry

where in Ephesians 4:11 where Paul said

Ephesians 4:11

and he himself gave some as apost

apostles some prophets some evangelists

some pastors and teachers for and then

he goes to the purpose for the equipping

of the saints for the work of ministry

for the edifying of the body of Christ

these are purposes of the five-fold till

we come verse 13 till We come in 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. So you cannot be a

proper representation of Jesus and be

and promote disunityity.

>> Oh man, pastor's preaching today. Woo,

that's good.

>> I have to do that sometimes when it gets

quiet.

So, this is a spiritual reality. It's

not an organizational agreement. We

treat unity as if it was an agreement in

the organiz. We are not in an

organization. There are organizational

elements about what we do. But this is a

divine work of Holy Spirit for us to

represent Jesus to this world. So that

we as we represent Jesus can can have

that Jesus will draw all men to himself.

>> So anything that's valuable requires

effort to maintain.

What do you mean? Well, marriages

require effort.

Your marriage is valuable

and you're not going to maintain a good

marriage

and work against each other.

How many times do we see that

insecurities arise between husbands and

wives and they start competing instead

of cooperating?

Families require effort. You cannot have

a stable family, a healthy family

without a lot of effort.

Churches require effort

because the church is a family. And so

if if a house is left unattended,

it doesn't stay strong.

A house that is abandoned begins to

deteriorate. Small cracks become huge

fractures. And so what is ignored

becomes damaged.

So again, what am I supposed to do? All

right. How about address issues early?

Address them early. How about refuse

passive disengagement?

How about stay staying engaged

relationally?

staying engaged. Re unity is not

maintained by intention. How many of you

have heard the road to hell is paved

with good intentions?

Unity is not maintained by intention. It

is maintained by action.

So you understand that peace is the

structure that holds unity together.

peace. Paul said he referred to the bond

of peace. Keeping the unity of spir of

the spirit, endeavoring to preserve the

unity of the spirit in the bond of

peace. The word bond literally means

that which binds together. And and

actually it's medical imagery that Paul

is using. He's drawing a picture of a

body that the ligaments the ligaments

and the joints are working together and

they're holding everything. There's

movement in the joints because the

muscle is attached to ligament and that

allows the body to have strength. The

ligaments hold it together. So peace is

the is relational the relational

ligament of the body. Peace is the

relational ligament of the body. And so

the word peace is in the Greek word is a

parallel to the Hebrew word for peace

shalom. Uh the Greek word for peace here

means wholeness, completeness. So it's

not an absence of conflict.

You can't have a marriage and not have

conflict. You can't have a family and

not have conflict. You can't have a

church and not have conflict. But it is

relational harmony.

Relational. We may have differences but

we are together.

Now Paul presents unity as spirit

produced. It is leader protected and it

is relationally sustained through peace.

Albert Barnes said unity is already made

by the spirit. The duty is to preserve

it from disruption. In Romans chap 12

verse 18 Paul said if it is possible as

much as depends on you live peaceably

with all men. So you understand

sometimes it's not possible. There are

some folk that just don't want to get

along.

I know you've probably never met none of

them. None of them are here at all. I

mean this is this we're talking about

somebody else obviously.

But there's this there's this group of

people somewhere in the world

that they just don't want it.

That's why Paul says if it's possible

because sometimes it's not possible as

much as depends on you.

It may not be possible but it is

possible with you.

>> May not be possible with them but it has

to be possible with you.

You make a decision to live peaceably

with all men. So peace is the

infrastructure of unity. Without peace,

misunderstandings will grow. Without

peace, offenses will multiply. Without

peace, distance will develop. But and

you know, if there are damaged ligaments

in your body, you can't function

properly.

You ever torn a ligament? It's painful.

Sometimes it's more painful than a break

of a bone. A torn ligament is a very

painful thing. So when you tear a

ligament, the parts are still there.

Your hand is still there. Your your feet

are still there. But if you have a torn

ligament, it's like that part is not

useful because it can't work together

because there's no unity to hold it

together. How am I supposed to live

this?

All right. Don't avoid conflict,

but resolve conflict correctly.

>> Don't just jump down somebody's throat.

Choose reconciliation over being right.

Somebody didn't hear. I I said choose

reconciliation

over being right.

>> Do you know you can be right and still

go wrong?

I could be right in a disagreement with

my wife, but communicate it the wrong

way and be wrong.

How many you men know what I'm talking

about?

Preach, pastor. Yeah.

And then how about

refuse offense as a lifestyle?

>> What are you talking about? I mean,

there's some folk that just they live in

offense.

They got these little tentacles out

there looking for how I can be offended

next. And the offense becomes a

lifestyle to them and they go from one

offense to another offense, from one

church to another church. Oh, no. He

didn't say that, did he? Oh, he did. He

went there.

So, understand that peace is not

passive. It is intentional relational

alignment.

Also, love is the highest protective

force. Paul said in Colossians 3:14,

Colossians 3:14

above all,

SAY ABOVE ALL.

>> Put on love.

>> Yeah, that was a little weak, but

>> it's okay.

which is the bond of perfection.

So love is not optional.

I can't choose to not love you.

Now I know none again none of these

folks are here and this is not about you

but you ever been around somebody that

just gets on your last nerve.

It's like crawls under your skin and um

won't go away.

boy. Now, the struggle is real.

>> So, love is not optional. It's a

priority. And Paul said, "Put on." Now,

you got to get this what he's he's

drawing a picture here. Paul says, "Put

on

love."

And and that word put on literally means

to put like put on clothing, like clothe

yourself

with love.

You know, clothing is not optional.

Some folks don't get that

clothing is not optional. Came because

of the fall. Before the fall, Genesis

Genesis 2:25

2:25, Adam and Eve were both naked and

not ashamed.

We're not living there.

So, love is not merely felt.

It is intentionally worn.

Oh,

so clothe yourself is is a deliberate

action.

You don't accidentally put your clothes

on.

You don't fall into your pants in the

morning.

You put on your pants

deliberately. And that word love is the

the Greek word agape.

He didn't use a eros for love. That's

erotic love, sensual love. He didn't use

filio for that. That's a brotherly love.

He didn't use storage for that. That's a

parental love. Love that a mother has

for a child. But he used the word agape.

And that is a selfgiving

sacrificial

covenantal love. And so really what Paul

is doing here is is like echoing what

Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 2. Or

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

Peter is echoing what Paul said but in

the reverse. Because in 1 Peter chapter

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

2 verse 1:3, Peter says, "Therefore,

laying aside all malice and gvy and

hypocrisy and all evil speakings as

newborn babes, desire the sincere milk

of the word that you can grow thereby.

If so be, you have tasted that the Lord

is good." So when he said laying aside,

it's the opposite of what what uh Paul

was saying where Paul said, "Put on

love." Peter is saying take off these

dirty clothes. Laying aside is getting

these dirty clothes off of you. And he

he enumerates the the filth that a lot

of remember he was writing to the

church. He wasn't writing to the pagan

world. He was saying to the church,

"Wherefore taking off all malice, all

hatred, all gile, all envy, all

hypocrisy, all evil speaking, take them

off like dirty clothes." Why are you

going around in dirty clothes?

That's what children do. That's what

babies do. Um, we were uh

in in Mexico and uh Gigi decided to buy

her grandsons these swimming shirts

because she didn't want to get their

arms burnt anymore because the sun is is

real.

And they put them on and they come out.

They look so good, man. They were just

all nice and clean. And then we went to

breakfast.

And Johnny, you know, Johnny was still

nice and clean. Looked over at Asher,

man. Boy, you can see the eggs and the

ketchup. And And since it's vacation,

the chocolate

was like all over that nice, formerly

clean shirt.

Why are you walking around in dirty

clothes?

So many Christians come in to the house

of God, go out into the world and they

just covered with smut

>> because you take smut in

>> you eat and junk.

What you watch, what you read, what you

listen to, it close, it gets on you. Who

you listen to, the gossip that you did

you hear about brother so and so? Did

you hear about sister so? Oh my

goodness, now I'm not gossiping. We

really need to pray for them.

We just need to agree together in

prayer.

And all the while it stinks.

It just absolutely stinks. I'm not

against, you know, Holy Spirit has

brought us into this this uh era of

exposure.

But it's not for you. Holy Spirit

exposes it. I have a problem with people

that make financial gain and profit off

of the dirt of the church.

>> Amen, pastor boy.

>> So get the dirty clothes off of you.

Agape love is distinct from emotional

affection.

It is a covenantal love. It's not a

preference based I don't love you

because you look like me or you talk

like me or you act like me. I don't I

love you because Jesus blood has made us

family. He lifted both of us up out of a

horrible pit. He established us upon a

solid rock. He put a song in our heart.

He gave us joy. He transformed us. Love

is a decision before it's a feeling.

>> GOD DECIDED THAT. HE SAID, "I LOVE YOU

WITH AN EVERLAST EVERLASTING LOVE."

AMEN.

>> That means you can't be ugly enough,

dirty enough, smutty enough for him not

to love you. EVERLASTING LOVE.

John 13:35.

John 13:35

Jesus said, "By this all will know that

you are my disciples if you have love

for one another." By this all will know

you're my disciples if you have love one

for another. If you don't love your

brother, you're not a disciple. The

world's not going to believe you if you

don't love your brother.

Get rid of the offense. You don't wait

to feel like putting clothes on. You

choose to. In the same way, you don't

wait to feel like loving somebody. You

just love people every day. And so, the

practical application of this is love

beyond agreement. Love even when you

disagree. It is respond

beyond emotion. Don't allow your

emotions to dictate your response and

choose patience over reaction. Oh boy,

that one's going to come back to hit me.

So love is not how we feel about people,

it's how we choose to treat people.

>> Love binds the church into into

maturity. Colossians 3:14, "Above all

Colossians 3:14

these things, put on love, which is the

bond of perfection." The NASB says the

bond of unity. And so that word bond is

the same word that's used in Ephesians

Ephesians 4:3

4:3 where Paul said, "Endeavoring to

keep the unity of the spirit in the bond

of peace." And so love is the binding

force of the body. Colossians 3:14, the

Colossians 3:14

bond of perfection, the bond of unity.

That that literally is translated

and it means maturity. It means

completeness. It means full development.

Love is what brings the church into full

maturity. Love is what brings everything

together into full development. Listen,

you need to understand this. You can

have incredible doctrine, but if you

have doctrine without love, it's just

harsh.

>> If you have structure, you can have

great structure, great organ, you can

have structure, but if there's no love,

it's just rigid.

It's just religion.

You can have activity. You can have all

kind of ALL KIND OF PROGRAMS. LET'S GO

OUT AND LET'S DO DO PROGRAM FOR THIS AND

PROGRAM FOR THAT. BUT IF YOU don't have

love, it's just empty.

Empty. But when love is present, love

completes everything.

>> So think of a puzzle. Remember Patricia

mentioned this a couple weeks ago. Her

mother loves to put together puzzles.

All the pieces can be there but until

they are properly connected you can't

see the picture. The picture is

incomplete. Love is what connects the

pieces into a finished picture. So

understand that love is the highest

priority. Paul said, "Above all, love is

the binding agent in the family, and

love is the pathway to maturity." So,

what am I supposed to do with all this?

Well, how about measure maturity by

relational health?

If you have a against your brother and

you can't forgive him, you're not

healthy.

How about refuse to equate knowledge

with growth? Just because you know

something doesn't mean you're mature.

How about grow in how you treat people,

not just in what you know?

Because a mature church, a mature church

is not just a teaching church. It is a

loving church. So here's the deal.

The spirit creates unity.

We're called to guard unity.

Peace is what holds everything together.

And love perfects unity and causes us to

mature.

>> So I want you to make a declaration with

me. Make this declaration with me.

Should be slide for that. Ah, here we

go. Are you ready?

We will protect what God is building. We

will not allow offense to divide us,

pride to separate us, indifference to

weaken us. We will guard unity, pursue

peace, and walk in love. Because what

God is building is too valuable to leave

unprotected.

>> Somebody give the Lord a hand clap of

praise.

So

to summarize, protecting the church is

not about controlling people.

It's about guarding unity. It's about

pursuing peace. It's about walking in

love.

>> Amen, pastor. Amen.

>> Now,

if you're here this morning

and you don't know Jesus,

we cannot

end a service or finish a message

without giving an opportunity for people

that don't know the Lord to come into

the family. This is the most important

aspect. This is the most important part.

You can grab all the knowledge of the

truth and still go to hell.

It's when we apply the truth and we

allow Jesus, who is the truth, to come

into our heart that he gives us hope and

he gives us peace. And and and let me

tell you something. When you're in sin,

there's this weight that's on you. It's

like this incredible weight that's on

your back and you're miserable.

You're miserable. But when you when you

let Jesus come in, that weight lifts off

of you. When you confess and you believe

in your heart that God has raised him

from the dead and you allow him to take

his blood and just wash your sins away,

he removes the weight of that guilt

and then comes in hope and peace and joy

and all of the goodness

of the father.

So, if you don't know him, I want you to

pray this prayer with me. Come on,

everybody. Let's all say it together. If

you don't know him and you pray it for

the first time, there's a miracle that's

going to take place. You will be born

again. So, let's pray this prayer. Lord

Jesus, I confess my sin.

>> Come into my heart.

>> Cleanse me.

>> Wash me.

>> Redeem me.

>> I confess with my mouth.

I believe in my heart

>> that God has raised Jesus from the dead.

>> God has raised.

>> Thank you, Jesus.

>> For loving me,

>> saving me, and healing me.

>> Amen.

>> God bless you.