This recording is from Willow Creek Church in Wintersprings, Florida. We're reverend to Kevin Labby as our senior pastor. Today's message is part 19 and a series on the book of Ephesians titled Blueprints. This sermon is taken from Ephesians chapter 6 verses 21 through 24. Now here's Kevin with today's message. As we come to the time that our service when we open up God's Word lets our heads and pray for the Holy Spirit's ministry and our hearts and then our minds. The eyes of our hearts might be opened and that we might see God's truth and believe it and rest upon it in faith. Let's pray. Our great God we love you. And we know that we love you because you first loved us. In Christ you revealed to us a way of salvation. A way for us to have our record of sin and its iniquity cancelled and to have Christ's perfect record of righteousness imputed to us, wrecked into our account entirely by grace through faith. And Father this morning we pray in faith by your spirit that we might receive what you say to your church that we might hear behind your feeble messenger and behind this written word. Father your word speaking truth by the power of your spirit into our hearts and into our minds. Father we thank you that every bit of your word is true and is useful for correcting, for teaching, even for rebuking in righteousness. Father would you correct our understanding and shape us that we might understand the foundation upon which we rest, the form of faith that should follow. Father equip us to stand even in this evil day for your glory. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. If you've not yet opened up in your Bibles would you please open up to Ephesians chapter 6. We're going to be looking at verses 21 through 24 this morning. It's going to conclude our message series and Ephesians. And through it all the Apostle Paul his wondrously declared the foundation upon which we rest in the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians. He's laid out a doctrinal foundation for who we are now in Christ entirely by grace as we just prayed a moment ago. And the foundation that he described is a foundation that is strong, irrevocable, unassailable, a foundation on which we stand that is now so secure that the writer of Hebrews declares that our faith is now like an anchor for our souls. No matter how high the waves, no matter how stormy the gale we cannot be lost, we cannot be unhinged from this rock of Jesus Christ on whom we now stand. Then beginning in chapter 4 down through the end of this great book, the Apostle Paul has described the form of faith that should rest upon that foundation. And you've noticed if you've been paying attention these many weeks or have read this book on your own over the years, you've noticed that it's largely impersonal. It doesn't mean that Paul is impersonal in writing it. It just means that he's describing doctrinal truths independent of specific historical applications. And you might think of the letter to the Corinthian church where Paul describes their particular worship services and then says in the context of that, what the proper understanding of worship should be, there's nothing like that in Ephesians. Ephesians is outlining what seems to be abstract theological truth but is in reality deeply practical. It's at the very end of Ephesians now in these verses where we see the warmth, the heart, the personality behind all that's preceded it. So let's begin in verse 21. What did you just follow along with me as we read through this? Verse 21, so that you may also know how I'm doing and what I'm doing, Tichicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. Now I want to pause there and just tell you that sometimes you might think to yourself, well, if a pastor's gone to seminary, he knows how to pronounce all of these names. I want to tell you that's not the case but I want to give you a tip in case you ever have to lead a small group or some other setting where one of these names appears and you're like, I don't know how to pronounce that. I want to give you a wonderful resource, BibleGateway.com. And I actually did this myself to confirm my understanding was safe. If you go on there and you pull up the passage, there's a little microphone up on the right hand side, you just click on it. And Max McLean, who some of you know, he's kind of a Shakespearean actor, he'll read the scriptures audibly, you can listen to his rendering of the text. So I'm pronouncing it the way he pronounced it. Now you might pronounce it differently later on, that's fine. And that's why I would give you a second layer of rules in case you don't have technology with you when you encounter a passage like this. I have a seminary professor say it doesn't really matter how you pronounce it because nobody knows how to pronounce it anyway. Just pronounce it loudly, confidently, and quickly. And nobody will call you on it. So we're going to go with Titchicus, you can go with Tychicus, whatever you would like. You can call him Frank for all I care. Number 22, I have sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love, incorruptible. Now this passage, like every other passage of scripture exists within a particular context and the context leading up to these verses with their emphasis on God's love and peace is actually a passage where Paul has described a great spiritual conflict in which we're now engaged. He's described spiritual armor that we must wear in this present day because the day is evil. We live in this present darkness and we must always be on heightened alert and on guard against spiritual warfare that wages against the people of God. Now the foundation upon which we stand, as we said just a moment ago, is something that cannot be compromised. We can't be lost. Our salvation is never the question. Once we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved son, once we are found in Christ, we can no longer be lost. Once you are truly redeemed, you cannot lose such a great salvation. Now Paul says that in a variety of other places. Jesus says that the Old Testament prophets apply that as well, but Philippians 1.6 is a wonderful passage to turn. If you've ever wondered on that truth, where God says that he who began a good work. Remember we're loved because God first loved us. He who began a good work will see it through to completion. Your destiny is not in question. The question is how you will live your life in this present darkness and this present age. You are going to be assailed. Satan can't remove you from God's love and care, but he can harass you. And the three great enemies of the Christian faith, we outlined last week in Ephesians 2. The world, the devil, and even our own sinful flesh. Now for that reason, Paul has said in Ephesians chapter 6 leading up to these verses that, that daily we should dawn the armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the word of God which is the sword, should be in our hands at all times. We should be as Christ was in this temptation, ready to speak the word of God against every temptation of the devil and every trial of life. We should cling to the truthful promises of God, hinge our faith upon it and our righteousness in Christ. We said that that armor is not only for us as individuals, it's for us collectively. And last week I closed the message describing a Roman military formation called the tortoise, where the soldiers would line up shoulder to shoulder and form kind of a square or maybe a circle of some sword. And they would hold their shields outwardly so that on every side of 360 degrees they would have protection from those who would fire arrows at them. Horizontally, but then those soldiers in the middle would interlock their shields above their head so that the entire grouping of soldiers was encompassed, round about and over top with with armor, they could be protected in the day of battle. No doubt, Paul has these kinds of armor and these kinds of tactics in view, Plutarch actually describes that tortoise formation this way. He said, then the shield bears wheeled around and enclosed the light-armed troops within their ranks. They dropped down to one knee and held their shields out as a defensive barrier. The men behind them held their shields over their heads of the first rank. Well, the third rank did the same for the second rank. The resulting shape, which is a remarkable sight, looks very like a roof and is the surest protection against arrows, which just glance off of it. This is Plutarch describing a military strategy, but certainly this is the kind of thing that Paul had in mind in Ephesians 6 when he was describing the spiritual armor that we have, the shields that extinguish the fiery darts of the devil. Peter echoes the whole theme of spiritual warfare. You don't need to turn there, but in 1 Peter 5, 8 it's Peter who says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. We need to live our lives in the constant state of readiness for war. It is true that we can dawn the helmet of salvation given to us by God and be derelict with the other aspects of armor. We can be those who are redeemed through this present darkness, though as those through the flames perhaps, those who make it in, but in this life are not nearly as fruitful or as forceful for the kingdom of God as they would otherwise be. But that's not Paul's vision for us. Paul's vision for us is that we would be forceful. You remember the Gospels when it describes the kingdom of God advancing. It says the kingdom of God has been advancing from the day of John the Baptist until now, and forceful men, men of violence lay hold of it. There's a bad teaching in the church and undercurrent today which teaches the Christians the mark of being a Christian is kind of being a Casper milk toast, being so gentle, unassuming that we don't stand for anything in this present darkness. But when you read Paul and you see his manner of life, you realize, no, it's great zeal, great tenacity that should mark the Christian because it's only the Christian that understands the foundation upon which they stand. And having been given feed fitted with the readiness of the gospel can take their stand in that day against evil not only individually, but collectively round about. And the stronger they are when they lock shield one to another. And so when Paul closes Ephesians chapter six, he evidences that which he's been preaching about in the preceding verses that were called to a spiritual war to a conflict but were not called their alone. God is with us and God's radiating love within us radiates outwardly and links us one to another and that we in the church are stronger, more fruitful, more forceful for the kingdom when we are bound together in God's incorruptible love, experiencing the peace of Christ within our hearts. A love and a peace that drives out fear and draws us into one another this morning, I'd like you to see three things in this passage as we close our series in Ephesians. I'd like you to see how the love of God produces a radiating cycle of peace within the church. First, we'll see it in the life and ministry of Paul, then we'll see it radiating outwardly from Paul to Titicus and then we'll see it from him to the church and then back from the church to Paul and a beautiful cycle of radiating peace, love, faith, assurance, unleash in the church. Let's first look to the love of God to Paul. Verse 21 says, so that you may also know how I am and what I am doing, Titicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I've sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. This is a very interesting closing comment when you reflect upon the context in which Paul wrote the comment. He's in prison, a Roman prison. Now, there were various imprisonments during Paul's life and ministry whenever he ministered the gospel of Jesus Christ, he faced Jewish opposition and then around Jerusalem, even among the synagogues of the Roman Empire as he fanned out on various missionary journeys. And as the Christians became an increasingly distinct group relative to the Jewish people, the Romans were no more happy with them than the Jews were. You see, in the Roman understanding, you could worship whatever God you wanted as long as you also had a dual loyalty in allegiance to the Roman Emperor. As long as you offered incense, perhaps, to the Roman Emperor in an act of worship, you could worship whatever God you wanted. And many people living in the Roman Empire back then were polytheistic. They worshiped many gods. And as long as they incorporated the Emperor into their worship system, as long as they had that form of religious syncretism that would merge those, everything was spying with the Romans. The only thing that the Romans really cared about, and this is broad brush, but probably speaking a great degree of truth at the same time, but really the Romans didn't care what you did, as long as you didn't upset the peace of Rome, the Roman peace, the Pax Romana. As long as you didn't challenge their governments, you were really free to do whatever you wanted. The Romans would only get involved in particular provinces and cities when riots erupted. That's one of the reasons the Jews are so quick to take care of Jesus Christ, they don't want the people to riot. They want to restore peace to Jerusalem, unless the Romans come in and do to Jerusalem what eventually they did anyway in 70 AD. And in Ephesus, when Paul was preaching the gospel to these very folks, to whom he's now writing this letter, there's a riot that erupts, and the great concern is that the Romans are going to crush it. In the Roman system, among the Gentile Christians, there's great concern about the Christians, or among the Gentiles there's great concern about the Christians because the Christians, like the Jews, refuse to worship any God, but the one true God of Scripture. They won't bend their need to Rome, they won't bend their need to the state, they won't bend their need to the emperor. They'll pray for the emperor, as Peter commands them, they'll honor the civil magistrate as every Christian should, Romans chapter 13, but they will not worship the state. And no Christian should ever worship the state. The apostles are those in the book of Acts who say, judge for yourself whether it's right for us to obey God or men, for us we're going to obey God. The dates and God are opposed to one another, the Christian has no doubt where his or her loyalty lies, it lies with God. And this made the Christians oftentimes a persecuted minority. For several hundred years, the Christians would be increasingly persecuted, Paul would be increasingly persecuted, and an aspect of that persecution was these imprisonments that ultimately culminate in his martyrdom. He killed most scholars, believe, under the persecution of Emperor Nero who became so frustrated with the Christians that he would burn them alive, that he would crucify them, that he would kill them, torture them. Paul was no stranger to all of this, and Paul certainly understood that it had been revealed to him in gradual degree what the end of his life would be. Remember when he wrote to the Philippian church, he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God for the salvation of all who believe he wrote. But he also says that he would lay down his life willingly for Christ, for to live as Christ and to die as gain. He knows what death is coming, but what I want you to see here is both in prison and his only concern, apparently, it's not really for himself, but it's for his churches. He's so enraptured with the love of God that he loves what God loves, and God will love the world that he sent his one only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And be gathered into the church, Jesus Christ died to redeem his bride, and you're his bride, and Paul's desire as a lover of God is to so love the church that his self-concern, well certainly there is eclipsed by his concern for the things of God. Several years ago I went to visit somebody in jail, they were in the county lockup, and I'm smiling about it, not because they were in the county lockup, but because of what I'm about to tell you. It was one of the first times that I had ever visited as a young pastor, somebody in jail or in prison. It was a younger man who was caught stealing to fund a drug habit, and brought great shame upon his parents, great embarrassment upon himself, and as I drove out to the jail to visit him, having been given permission by the warden and the chaplain there, and have been requested by him to come out. I have to confess as a young pastor, I didn't know where that visit was going to go, I didn't know what I was really going to say to this guy. I had only ever seen anything like this in a movie, and it was exactly like the movie. I checked in, I had to take my shoes off, they padded me down, I'd go up an elevator, I'd go into a room where there's a long column of chairs, metal, cold, sterile, stainless steel chairs, and then this kind of bulletproof, soundproof glass, with a phone on one side, my buddy on the other with the other phone, and as I'm going up the elevator toward this I'm thinking, Lord, I don't know what to say, I can only imagine his shame, I can only imagine the embarrassment, so I go in with this somber mood, reliance upon God to speak something through this foolish servant, God give me something, anything to say here, and I'm waiting for him to kind of walk in, sit down and look at me, the preacher with just a quizzical look like, what am I going to do now? And instead he found it in the room, he sat down the chair, he picked up the phone, he said, hey, cab, how are you doing? I was like, I'm doing okay, how are you doing? I said, I'm doing great, great, how can you be doing the great, look around you man, you're in jail, you're facing a hard time, you might end up going to prison, how can you be doing great? It was very interesting what happened to him, when he got isolated in that jail cell it was the chaplain who gave him some reading material, the only one who would give him reading material, he requested a Bible as his many want to do when they're finally confronted with some horrible consequence of their actions, he started reading the Bible and to his words he felt freer in prison than he ever felt outside of it. It was there that he started to feel the love, mercy and grace of God, it was there in that jail where he really started to see how bankrupt he was, where his delusions were destroyed and he knew his only hope could be found in God and he turned to God in prayer and started to feel a great peace as we talked. I was very, very interested to see a life transformed, beginning a transformation in the swelter, he didn't talk really about himself, he felt embarrassment and shame for his parents, concerned for them, he felt concern for the church and embarrassment regarding his past involvement and what others might think his concern was to do whatever he could to make things right, not as a way of earning atonement but as an expression of the atonement. It applied to him by grace, it transformed man and while in prison you could see it and here's the same thing true in Paul. Now if you have your Bible, you can turn back there and read it for yourself but you don't have to, in Acts 16 Paul is actually in a Philippian jail and while he's in that jail with one of his buddies undoubtedly hanging against the wall, his arms chained to the wall above his head, he had a certainly uncomfortable position, probably sitting in no small degree of filth, as he's there what is Paul doing, you remember if you've ever read the passage, he's singing songs of praise to God, he's singing to God, he's filled not with self pity, not with self concern but with Christ as a center and the focus of the gospel is his passion in every circumstance. Paul actually refers to that in his letter to the Philippians and Philippians 4, 11 through 13, remember what he said, he said, not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I've learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Paul's had everything taken away from him, he's been shipwrecked on the aisle of Malta, he's been plugged, he's been beaten, he's been abandoned by others and in every one of those deprivations what his Paul learned, what we oftentimes fear the most, but when everything else is taken away only then do we realize that Christ is all that we need, that Christ is sufficient, he goes on to say I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound, it's not wrong to have much, it's not wrong to have little. In any and every circumstance I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need, I can do all things through him who strengthens me, oftentimes we take that verse in isolation and imply that anything is possible for the believer, if you want to fly by flapping your arms, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, you emblaze that on your bedroom wall and fly off the roof, you're going to get a broken arm. In the proper context what is Paul saying at the most difficult thing for any of us to rely upon Christ alone not only for a salvation but for a day to day life is possible through Christ. So his Paul is languishing in this prison, he's thinking of God, the gospel of his Lord Jesus Christ and the church, his love is not for self first and foremost. But for God and for others and notice how this transforms his relationships outwardly, the second love that we see is the love of God through Paul to Ticacus. Notice what he calls this great servant, he says that he's a beloved brother. Now Paul could have just referred to him as a brother, he could have just said the spiritual truth that he is a brother in Christ and every male in this room who is clean to Christ alone for your redemption, you're my brother in Christ. And I'm your brother in Christ and every woman in this room, you're my sister in Christ and I'm your brother, but as we grow in relationship, as we grow in love for God and for one another, we can become beloved to one another. And that's what Ticacus is to Paul. He loves him deeply. We see an echo of this in another epistle from Paul in Colossians 4.7. Through aid he calls him beloved brother there as well, he calls him faithful as he does here, he calls him a servant or a minister, but notice why he sends him to the church. Ticacus has been transformed by God's love, radiating through Paul in his ministry, and he sends him to be a lover of the church. I've sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. The Greek word there is paracaleo. When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, he said that he would not leave the disciples as orphans, but instead would send them another comforter, a paraclete, parilell and mathematics, somebody to come alongside, to comfort, to counsel, paracaleo, that ministry of comforting and counseling. Paul, though in prison, is not thinking about himself, he's thinking about the church, and though he cannot go, he's now seeing a radiating love expressed in a radiating relationship, another minister of the gospel carrying Paul's words in his ministry to this beloved church, that they might be encouraged. Now if I was in prison, I would be longing to be encouraged myself. I would want the church to send me a care package. Please promise me if I ever end up in prison that you'll send me brownies or something, maybe like a shiv or something I could solve bar with. Do whatever it takes to get me out of there, but Paul is thinking about this other church. I didn't mean the shiv. I don't want to stab anybody, but I might be desperate. Maybe we'll see. I'm a sinner too, but I want you to see your radiating love. And then notice the church, the love received from God through Paul and tichegas to the church, the wish for them to have peace, love, faith and grace. Now the call to peace is very interesting. I'll wrap up here. The call to peace is very interesting because Paul has just described his spiritual conflict, but he says nevertheless be at peace. The book of Ephesians has described God being reconciled to sinful humanity through Christ. The Jew reconciled to the Gentile, racism dying within the church as it should. Husbands reconciled to their wives and patterning their marriages after the example of Christ, his marriage and union to the church. Children reconciled to parents, masters reconciled to slaves. Peace is coming into the world. Shalom is coming into the world because Christ's ministry in the gospel is radiating outwardly, transforming relationships. And Paul's desire is for us to be intentional. And that's why the second wishes for love to be manifest in the church is they've received the love of God so let the love of God radiate outwardly to everyone. Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you, but especially Paul says do good unto the household of God. Many people show up in the church today and they say I'm here, serve me. Paul's vision for the church is quite the contrary. I'm here. Where can I serve? Because I have all that I need from Christ. I don't need to manipulate you and others to provide what I already have so richly I've learned the secret of contentment. This requires the third thing Paul desires for the church faith. Trust in God. And then grace. The grace that makes everything Paul's described in Ephesians possible. I just want to give you a final encouraging word in 30 seconds. Many of you know there's a team from Willow Creek leaving for Mexico next week. I'm a minister among Arminia as Pastor Kurt mentioned if you don't know what Arminia is go to our church website on the homepage. There's a link there that describes some of that. But it was really funny. We I put on Facebook along with several members of the team that we were collecting clothing and many of you have been giving clothes in the foyer toward that effort. Still can if you'd like to. Sometimes around cell does make some money for the ministry there. And we're also designed to take shoes and some of you have been contributing toward that effort to provide shoes for 41 of the kids down there. We hope to provide them with sneakers and some other things as a blessing encouragement to them. It was going to funny. I put down my Facebook page. I was just hoping that folks from the church family here at Willow Creek would see it and respond which you did which is wonderful. But you know I went to pick up my wife and kids in Pittsburgh. I should have their extended stay for vacation and drive them home just got in yesterday afternoon. And while we were up there a member of my former church Murray's community actually went out and bought a ton of shoes. And met up with me at McDonald's through them in my trunk and said take those back down to Florida and if you can get them to Mexico for the kids. Just chokes me up. That's what we are. We're a family. And as we're loved by God and we love one another that radiating reciprocal love. Oh it in live and things that makes them beautiful. We're going to be here anyway. We're going to minister anyway. Why not lock. Shield shoulder to shoulder. Love one another intentionally. Intercede for one another. And the more we're love the more we're equipped to love one another. Let's pray father. We thank you for your grace that radiates inwardly and outwardly and touches every sphere of life that we touch every institution of society but also every relationship we have. Father, would you help us to be more intentional to live lives of peace and father through our ministry your ministry in us and through us rather that you might reconcile others to yourself and set the world of blaze with the love that now burns within our hearts. Father, we thank you for Paul, for Tichicus, for the Church of Ephesus, the Church of Colossi, the Church of Philippi, our brothers and sisters of a former age. We pray that the same dynamics unleashed in them would be unleashed here at Willow Creek. We pray in Jesus' name. Willow Creek Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. Our website is www.Willow Creek Church.org and our phone number is 407-699-82-11.