A Lord Worthy of Faith

Ephesians 1:19b-23

One of the most blessed events that ever occurred in my life was when I was given permission to go and live with my grandmother. I was only 13, and had recently given my heart to Jesus.
However, I had been taught the Word by Granny Spooner since I was a child. I can remember back when only 3 years old, I would ask her at bedtime to read me the story of Elijah, and the widow’s meal barrel and cruse of oil (1 Kings, ch. 17).
She lived, moved and had her being in Jesus Christ! Oh! What a lady and witness she was to the Grace and Goodness of God! One of the very first scriptures she taught me was Psalms 37: 4-5. It became a cornerstone in building my faith in God’s goodness and willingness to provide for His children!
You’ve read it, and possibly can quote it from memory, but let’s go over it one more time! Psalms 37:4-5... “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the DESIRES (not needs only) of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass!!!”
Shortly after coming on board with Granny we were offered free rent to stay with a little ole’ lady, whose children really didn't want to be bothered by her. Incidentally, granny and I had financial assistance from the welfare department to the sum of $1 6.23 a month! Man, could that do something to your dreams if that was your total source of supply! Thankfully, we had other resources Satan couldn't put a lien on, which was the ever living Word of God!
To better understand the Grace of God in this particular situation, you really should have seen the house we were living in. It was a four-room house, an enormous hallway separating the rooms, two on each side. With a sagging roof plus the front porch roof was falling in, and our kitchen and living room were one in the same.
When we ate, we would pull the table out, I would slide behind it into the corner, and granny would push it back in place so she would have room to get up and down, if necessary.
Our bedroom consisted of two beds and a dresser. Anyway, we had tons of love for each other, and that made up the difference for the lack of conveniences we had to indulge!
To get to the crux of the story, one day after coming in from school, I asked Granny if she thought the Lord could help me get a pair of saddle oxford shoes for Mayday festivities at school?
Looking at me with those loving eyes (as only she could) she smiled and said, “Well, sweetheart, you know nothing is impossible with the Lord!
If we ask in prayer, believing, then nothing is out of reach to those who believe!” I said, “It ‘s seven weeks until the festival, and I believe He will do it for me." So, I asked her to let me pray each lime we ate, so I could praise and thank Him for the shoes! I want you to keep in mind, here is a 13 year old living on free rent with his grandmother, and the only income was S16.23 a month. However, it was still 7 weeks to May day, and I felt that was plenty of time for God to do anything!
Little did I realize even at such an early age that I would be setting a pattern for my faith to grow on, and that I personally would experience my first real encounter with a Wilderness experience. I shall never forget something Granny Spooner once said about God’s timing. “Son, the Lord may appear to be slow, but He is never late!”
Anytime you lay a petition before the Lord, and see the fulfillment of that desire, you will have ample time to question God’s willingness to provide. Also, there will be suggestions from Satan that God doesn't care, you can forget hearing from Him and the best thing for you to do is forget it. Tough it out and do the best you can!
This is what Satan would have you do. God puts it another way “Cast all of your care, your anxieties, frustrations, fears, desires and anything that has to do with you living the Copious and abundant life through Jesus Christ, My Son, and I will provide whatever necessary to see it complete for you!!!"

Well the first week went by and no saddle oxfords, the second, third and forth still no manifestation of the shoes. I still had plenty of time to say, “forget it Lord.” But I kept my confession, and continued thanking Him for my new shoes! Every time we had prayer over a meal, in the morning, and any other time, I would steadfastly thank God for answering my request!
Time moved on, and so did the weeks. The fifth, and sixth weeks had come and gone, still no saddle oxfords! And now we were coming down to the final leg of the seventh week. No money had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, and we were still living off a tight $16.23 a month budget. Yet I knew that had nothing to do with God’s ability to provide and fulfill my desires.’
As Monday rolled around it was apparent we had only 6 shopping days left before May-day festivities. Granny sat me down that evening and said she wanted to talk with me. Concerned about my young faith in the Lord and His Word, she said, “Sweetheart, often times we can ‘t understand God’s way of doing things, or why He does things sometimes. However we do know He loves us, He proved that through Calvary. Now, just in case the Lord doesn‘t see fit to provide you your shoes right now, I’m sure He will in His own good time. I just don ‘t want you to be hurt at God in case He does not see fit to do it right now.” As we sat and talked, my mind went back over Psalms 3 7:4. “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart!”
I said, “Granny, I’m not going to have any reason to be hurt at the Lord, because I know He will get me my shoes, I just know it. He said he would give me my desires, so let ‘sjust wait and see how He does it!”
Monday was soon gone, Tuesday and Wednesday came and went by, still no manifestation of His Provisions! Only three shopping days left.’ I still held onto my confession that God will provide, and I didn't change it! It was not my responsibility to figure out how God was going to work, I only had to take His Word at face value, and He would do the rest!
Before you could say, “scat Crusoe,” Thursday was history, and now it was Friday! I went on to school, I said, “Granny, God will provide, and I’m going to keep praising Him for my shoes!”
That night at supper, I asked Granny if I could say the blessing, and she said that would be fine. As we sat down to eat, it was between 9- 9:30. I bowed my head, and began to pray. I said, “Jesus, I thank you for loving me, and giving your life that I might be saved, and enjoy living for You. I thank You for the Bible, and the many promises You gave us. I know we have only one more shopping day left and I thank You for my saddle oxfords! Amen and Amen!” While we were eating, we heard the phone ring in the other part of the house, and didn't pay any attention to it. However, it wasn‘t long before the little ole lady with whom we were staying with, called out, “Ms. Spooner Ms. Spooner (that was my Grandmother ‘s last name,) you ‘re wanted on the telephone!” Granny looked at me and said, “Raleigh, son, who in the world could that be wanting me at this time of night?” I said, “Grandma, I don ‘t know, in fact, I don ‘t even know anybody who owns a telephone.”
She went on up to answer the phone, and in a few minutes she called me to come up there. Well, a pile of things went rushing through my mind, and one was that it could probably be my teacher calling to talk about me. Satan is always ready to put his last shot in just before the victory, but it was too late!
When I got there, she was smiling, and handing me the phone, she said, “Here son, your brother wants to talk with you!” My brother! Man, he was overseas, and he wanted to talk to me, wow! Now are you ready for it?
My brother was on board a ship, anchored in Honolulu, about 6,000 miles from us. The first thing he said to grandmother was, “Boy, granny, am I glad to finally get through to you! You, and Raleigh have been on my mind for several weeks, but the weather has been so bad I couldn’t make the connections.”
When it comes to the several weeks he was talking about, I can tell you exact&’ how long. It was 7 weeks, because that was when I first placed my petition before the Lord! It reminds me of Danie4 when he had fasted three weeks seeking the face of God for wisdom and understanding!
In Daniel, the 10th chapter, the angel told him that his prayer was heard the very first day he set his heart to find God, however, the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstood him for 21 days. But Michael, one of the chief angels of God came to help him, and now his answer had manifested itself!!!
Anytime you claim a provision of God, Satan will do his best to cause you to doubt in some fashion, or form about it being the right time, or if it is for you. But like Daniel, I held to my confession of faith, and God, as always, was faithful!!!
Now, are you ready for the blessing? After talking with granny for a bit, the very first thing J. B., my brother, said with regards to me was, “Granny, I’m wiring you S 100 tonight, and I want you to get Raleigh a pair of shoes!!!!!!!!!” Oh, Praise God, for His faithfulness to His Word and our faith!!!

In our passage today we see displayed the prominence of Christ within the church. We see that He is ruler over all of creation and that He is the head of His church. What He has created and established He rules. As we look at this passage today we will see two principles of Christ within our lives.

The first principle that we see is that Jesus remained pure despite the death and evil He experienced. We have just seen three signs of our redemption and at the end of the passage Paul mentions three benefits of our salvation, the hope of our calling, the riches of His glory of His inheritance, and knowing the surpassing greatness of His power. And now we are here where Paul says these are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might. Of His abundantly effective strength to reach a particular end. God’s strength is so great that it is effective and God the Father is able to reach His desired end. Not only does He reach His desired end but He does in the desired manner. It is peculiar and odd to some people that the Father desired for Christ to die. Some people call this divine child abuse, well, it was God the Father’s intention that Christ die. I am sure that Christ saw many people crucified throughout His lifetime, and I am sure that He knew what was to come. Yet, our God, our Savior, Jesus the Christ sought in His life and death to bring about the perfection of our salvation. He desired that we might be reconciled to our Father, and that we would have the same relationship with Him that Christ Himself experienced. Now Christ reigns in perfection at the right hand of the Father, after He was raised from the dead. Christ’s rule was perfectly established through His perfect submission to the will of the Father which required His death. Christ died and rose again and ascended. He left this world to reign in heaven and was not tainted by the death He experienced nor by the evil He witnessed during His time here. He was not affected but He was effective in gaining our salvation. Our Savior demonstrated utmost humility in that He willingly served. The Pharisees ridiculed Christ for dining with the “sinners.” Well, He would have dined with them as well. He served and even touched the unclean. He forgave the sinful, immoral woman caught in adultery and He would even forgive the man who lay with her. In fact, He died to provide redemption for that man’s sin as well. And through His humility He provided the example of righteous living, the sacrifice required for our redemption and the opportunity for reconciliation with our heavenly Father.

Because of His work He now is ultimate supreme ruler of all. He is exalted and sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father. He is above all. His authority is greater than all other authority. He establishes all authority here on earth. He is ruler over all. He rules in this age, and in the age to come, He will be ruler over all. His authority was established in His demonstration of righteous living. Through Him we see that we could have remained pure in this, yet we are not. We see that through His death He conquered death and remained pure and righteous despite being dead. Our death symbolizes our mortality. His death symbolizes the end of eternal death. Living in an evil and wicked world He ascended victorious and conqueror of sin. We embody evil and wickedness. He embodies purity and holiness even after 33 years here. In less than a year sinfulness is evident in children. By the age of two they have mastered rebellion and selective hearing. Our Lord in his earthly life completely destroyed the stronghold of sin upon humanity. A characterized by sacrifice and suffering. Strange words for victory.

The New Millennium began with a bang in Sydney, Australia. On the tick of midnight 31 Dec 1999 the promised fireworks display erupted over Sydney Harbour to the delight of more than a million people, who watched from the foreshores and from a vast flotilla of watercraft on the harbour.
This was the display to end all displays. It was designed to outdo every other New Year's celebration on planet earth, and it seems to have achieved its goal. For 24 hours the world media ran continuous commentary of celebrations on every part of the globe. From remote islands in the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, across Asia to the Middle East, and on into Europe to France's Eiffel Tower and England's Millennium Dome. Then, as the earth spun at 1,000 miles per hour, across the Atlantic we saw the richest and most powerful nation on earth, the United States of America, in the freeze of winter join the celebration of a thousand years; but nothing compared with the brilliance of Sydney Harbour on 1st January 2000.
What was the reason for Sydney's success in surpassing every other display around the globe? Was it the amount of money spent on the fireworks? or the fact that Australia has such incredible skills in developing fireworks extravaganzas? Perhaps in the year of Sydney's Olympic Games it was intended to put the city in the land 'down under' at the top of the globe.
Sydney Harbour has a natural beauty unsurpassed by any harbour in the world, and the mild summer drew nearly one in three of its four million citizens to the harbourside celebrations. While much of the world shivered in the cold of a Northern Hemisphere winter, Sydney's weather was idyllic, and even the forecast showers did not eventuate.
Many may heap their plaudits on the organizers for the world-wide notoriety, but there is another reason for Sydney's New Millennium success. A reason that can be summed up in one word that hung suspended from the giant arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, amidst the jetting rockets exploding above and the deluge of light that poured from the roadway beneath it. That word was "Eternity".
Like a message from heaven flashed across the world stage to billions of souls, it shone like a beacon, warning that time is swiftly passing and we are creatures of eternity. This was a sermon in a word, the magnitude of which can only be grasped as one understands the story behind it.
In down-town Sydney, set in the pavement at Sydney Square, is the same inescapable word, "Eternity", in faultless copperplate writing. It was put there to perpetuate the memory of Sydney's unique citizen, Arthur Stace, otherwise known as Mr Eternity.
When the Sydney architect, Ridley Smith, unveiled the plaque in Sydney Square in July 1977, a note in the Sydney Morning Herald drew attention to Arthur's one-word sermon:
"In letters almost 21 cm high is the famous copperplate message ETERNITY. The one-word sermon gleams in wrought aluminium. There's no undue prominence; no garish presentation; merely the simple ETERNITY on pebbles as Arthur Stace would have wanted it."
Arthur was a thin little man no more than 5 feet 3 inches in stature. He was uneducated and on his own testimony could barely write his name. His wife would read him his mail and he would tell her what to write in reply; yet for 33 years this incredible man rose at 5 o'clock each morning to walk the streets of Sydney and its far-flung suburbs to write with chalk in flawless copperplate style on the pavements just one word, "Eternity". Day after day, with a commitment and passion rarely equalled, he preached his sermon to the busy crowds of shoppers and workers as they rushed along the sidewalks. It is estimated that this simple, yet profound message, was repeated over 500,000 times.
In many ways the word was mysterious, for no one knew who was responsible for this elegant graffiti that adorned the pavement.
Newspaper journalists wrote about it and people everywhere discussed it, but who was responsible? No one could predict where the word would appear next. It could be in the heart of the city one day and 20 kilometres out in the suburbs the next. It even appeared in Melbourne, 1,000 miles away.
There was no doubt the same person was responsible wherever it appeared, but who did it? Journalists referred to its author as "Mr Eternity", and each day people would remark, "Mr Eternity has struck again!" Occasionally his sermon changed to "Obey God", but quickly reverted to the simple one-word sermon, "Eternity". One day in 1956, after 24 years of mystery, Rev Lisle Thompson, who was Arthur's pastor at Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle, saw him writing the mysterious word on the pavement. "Are you Mr Eternity?" he asked. Back came the answer, "Guilty, your honour."
Once Mr Eternity's identity was known interviews were arranged with the media, and the Daily Telegraph published a full report on 21 June 1956. The secret ;was out, and the mystery solved at last. In 1994 a TV documentary was produced on his life and shown across the nation. A Sydney poet has written his story in verse.
Arthur Stace was born in Balmain, now an inner suburb of Sydney, in the year 1884. His father was an alcoholic and his mother ran a brothel. He had two brothers, both of whom died of alcoholism. His two sisters ran a brothel.
During childhood the five Stace children had to fend for themselves in a home where domestic violence was the norm. It is said that the children frequently slept on hessian bags under the house to escape the wrath of a violent, drunken father.
Needless to say, the family grew up in abject poverty, and Arthur's childhood was a daily battle for survival. He stole to eat, and at the age of 12 was made a State Ward. He received no education.
When 14 years old Arthur went to work in a coal mine, presumably the old Balmain coal mine, and at 15 served his first gaol sentence. Even at this young age he was a heavy drinker.
In his twenties he moved from Balmain to Surry Hills adjacent to Sydney Central Railway Station. There he occupied himself with running "sly grog" for pubs and acting as "cockatoo", or lookout, for gambling houses and brothels. His whole lifestyle brought him into conflict with the police and on many occasions was he arrested and sentenced.
When the Great War of 1914-18 began, Arthur escaped the life he was living and enlisted in the AIF. He was sent to the battlefields of France, where he served as stretcher-bearer and drummer. He witnessed the horrors of warfare in the trenches under heavy artillery bombardment in freezing conditions, and received injuries that impaired the sight of one of his eyes. In 1919 he returned to Australia and was discharged still suffering from shell shock and the effects of mustard gas poisoning. Back home in Sydney, Arthur found it easy to renew old acquaintances and soon slipped into a life of alcohol, gambling and crime. He wandered the streets feeding out of rubbish bins. Methylated spirits became a cheap escape. He found he could buy a bottle for sixpence and that would keep him in drunken oblivion for a whole day. Next day he drank water to reactivate the methylated spirits. He could thus get along on threepence a day! On his own testimony, Arthur had become "a petty criminal, a bum, and a metho drinker".
Alcohol which had destroyed his father was now controlling him, and on one occasion he staggered into a police station and begged to be locked up, but the officer refused. Evangelist John G Ridley, who knew Arthur personally, records that he staggered away saying, "When I don't want them to put me in, they do it: now when I want them to put me in they shut me out.'
By 1930 the world was in the grip of the Great Depression. Unemployed men walked the streets searching for help wherever it might be found. One port of call was St Barnabas Anglican Church in Broadway, where Archdeacon RBS Hammond ran "A Meeting for Needy Men ".
The Archbishop was a strong evangelical with a great concern for people. In his meeting he presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only solution for man's need, and afterwards supplied each man with a cup of tea and a rock cake.
On the 6th August 1930 Arthur Stace wandered into this "Meeting for Needy Men' and found 300 seated in the hall. Looking around he noticed a few well dressed men standing near the door and he turned to the man sitting next to him, who was one of Sydney's best known criminals, and asked, "Who are they?" The reply came back, "I'd reckon they'd be Christians." Arthur said, "Well look at them and look at us. I'm havin' a go at what they've got."
After the gospel had been presented and each man had received his rock cake and tea, Arthur made his way out of the hall, across Broadway into Sydney University Park. There, under a big Morton Bay fig tree he fell on his knees to the ground and with tears of repentance streaming down his face cried out, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"
That cry was the pivot on which Arthur's life turned. His was a genuine conversion to Christ, and for the next 37 years his life was a living testimony to God's saving and keeping power. At that instant God heard his cry and he became a child of God. He could say, as the hymn writer has put it, "My sins which were many are all washed away!"
Later Arthur testified: "I went in to get a cup of tea and a rock-cake, but I met the Rock of Ages."
Let those who doubt that God can hear the sinner's cry and answer in infinite love and power to lift him into glorious liberty from sins slavery, take heed to the testimony of this hopeless little metho drinker and petty criminal who, by the grace of God, became Mr Eternity. And let it be known by all that Arthur Stace is not the only one to experience the mercy of God. Millions have found the joy of salvation by trusting the Saviour. Not all had the same unfortunate background. Not all were enslaved by the fearsome drug of alcohol, but all needed to be saved.
The Bible says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
When Arthur Stace turned to God and found mercy he realized that every other person needed to do the same. That is why, for 33 years, he walked the streets from the early hours of the morning preaching his one-word sermon, "Eternity".
"Eternity", to him was the everlasting destiny of every soul to be spent in heaven or hell, and concern for his fellow man drove him on day after day. He knew the forgiveness of God in his own life and wanted others to have the same assurance.
In Nov 1932 Evangelist John G Kidney MC conducted an evangelistic mission at the Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle in Darlinghurst, where Arthur was attending. John Ridley had also served in the fields of France and had won a Military Cross for bravery in battle. A German bullet had passed through his face and impaired his speech; but God had wonderfully restored him to become a most eloquent, forceful preacher, and an outstanding evangelist. Little did he realize what impact his sermon would have on Arthur Stace when he preached on the text Isaiah 57:15. "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity"
Stressing the word eternity, the preacher cried, "Eternity! Eternity! I wish I could sound or shout that word to everyone in the streets of Sydney. Eternity! You have to meet it. Where will you spend eternity?"
Arthur Stace recalled that meeting. He said, "Eternity was ringing through my brain, and suddenly I began to cry and felt a powerful call from the Lord to write "Eternity". I had a piece of chalk in my pocket, and outside the Church I bent down right there and wrote it. The funny thing is, that before I wrote it I could hardly write my own name. I had no schooling and I couldn't have spelled "eternity" for a hundred quid. But it came out smoothly, in a beautiful copperplate script. I couldn't understand it, and I still can 't".
Over the next 33 years that one word, "eternity", was repeated more than 500,000 times, all over the city of Sydney, in country towns and in Melbourne; wherever he went.
It is an amazing turn of Divine providence that the Sydney architect, Ridley Smith, who unveiled the plaque inscribed with the word "Eternity" in the pavement of Sydney Square in July 1977, was the son of missionary parents serving with the China Inland Mission. His father named his son Ridley because of his great respect for Evangelist John Ridley, the very preacher who was used to change Arthur Stace into Mr Eternity.
Many stories have been told of this humble servant of Christ, for that indeed was what he was. From the day he met Christ under the fig tree in University Park he felt he had a debt of love to pay. He was like the street woman who came into the house of Simon the Pharisee, and washed Jesus' feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. He loved much because he was forgiven much.
Although no one knew the identity of Mr Eternity for 24 years he did not go unnoticed. He recalled being apprehended by police.
"Twenty three times", he said, "I have been questioned (by the police) but I’ve never been arrested....the police have been very good to me. I know there's a rule about defacing the footpaths, but I've got authority from a higher Source."
Once, in his early days, a policeman apprehended him with, "What are you doing writing on the pavement? .... Well," replied Arthur, "it is a word from the Bible which I want the people to read; and don't forget that when you were sworn-in to the Police Force you placed your hand on that Book." With that the officer turned away and Arthur continued his silent, sacred ministry.
Some tried to erase the word from the pavement, and one man followed him placing the letter 'm' before "eternity" making it "meternity". It was then that Arthur increased the size of the first letter and, as he said, "I tricked the bloke and made it a great big E'.
Arthur was a tireless worker for God. He was 46 years old when he was saved and married at 57. He was employed as a cleaner in the city, but wherever he found an opportunity shared the gospel of Christ with his fellow creatures of eternity. For many years he preached on the corner of George and Bathurst Streets in the heart of Sydney. His method was unusual. First he would place his Bible on the ground, and then cover it with his hat. Next he would begin walking around the hat, pointing to it and calling out, "Look, it's alive! It's alive!"
Soon people would gather round; and then he would remove his hat, take up his Bible and proclaim, "It's alive! The Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword...." quoting Hebrews 4:12 from the Bible.
In this way he got his audience, and never failed to tell the good news of the Saviour who had changed his life and given him hope for eternity.
Although Arthur could not read the Bible he had memorized much of its contents and quoted it faultlessly. In Church services he had no need of a hymn book for he had memorized every verse. He was blessed with an incredible memory.
His ministry included leading prayer meetings in his Church at Burton Street, regular street meetings, helping at the Buckland Street Hostel, and the Francis Street Night Refuge.
On the 30th July 1967, in a nursing home, Mr Eternity suffered a stroke and passed over into the immediate presence of his Lord and Saviour. When he entered the nursing home in 1965, he remarked, "I don't think I'll leave here under my own steam."
It is said that the word "Eternity ....... can still be discerned on the bell in the old Sydney GPO Tower. How he; put it there no one will ever know, but on the 1st of January 2000 that one-word sermon tolled far beyond the revellers on Sydney Harbour, to possibly 2 billion viewers around the entire globe; not once, but again and again that message rang out.

Was the celebration worth all the millions of dollars expended? I venture to say that this was the most cost effective sermon ever preached; and it was the message of a little man who had no theological qualifications, had never been ordained to the Christian ministry, and who, up to the age of 46 years confessed himself "a petty criminal, a bum, and a metho drinker".

Revelation paints a clear picture of Christ’s eternal rule. Behold the Lamb that was slain. He was a humble, righteous, victorious man who was God and laid His down willingly in order to establish and secure our redemption and reconciliation. We offended God and God rescued us.

The second principle we see this morning is that Jesus is the authority for His people. Verse 22 says that He put all things in subjection under His feet. Everything is placed under the rule and authority of Jesus. All things are subjected to Him. Everything is Jesus’ subjects. He is the King and everything and everyone else is His subject. He is the Lord and we are His bondservants. He is ruler and we are mastered. We are imperfect and He is perfection. Then we are told that the Father gave Him to us as head over all things. Repeating the idea that He is over all. But He is over all to the church. He is perfection. He is over all things to the church. Wait. Now how is Christ actually head over the church when He is not here to lead us? Good question. I am so glad you asked. He is the head of the church and leads us through our submission to His spirit. So if you are not submitted to the Spirit then you are not able to follow. If you are not submitted to the Spirit then there is no solid guarantee that you desire what the Lord desires. If you do not allow yourself to be mastered by the one who has demonstrated mastery then you are outside of the Lord. Wednesday night we had someone ask the question of where we would buy property if not this property, I believe my response was we are looking here because hopefully people are coming to know us as being here in Lottsburg. Then I hopefully added but we don’t have to be located here. Ladies and gentlemen, where we are located should not necessarily matter. Let me explain, if individually we are being mastered by Christ through the Spirit then as a church we should be mastered by Christ as well. Then we as a church will desire the Lord’s will and do as He wishes. So we may actually become located somewhere else, but the key is that by being mastered by the Lord what we do outside of the church is what is most important not where we are located. The church ought to be mastered by the Spirit of our Lord. Verse 23 says the church is His body. If we are Christ’s body then we better act like Him. If the church is Christ’s body there is a high calling in life. If the church is His body then we ought to exemplify humility and submission. Because the verse continues with the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The fullness. We are the fullness of Christ. Do we look like Christ?! Do we?! Do we really look like Christ? Tell me what is it that we do that looks like Christ? What is it that you do that when people see it, they see Christ?

One time my wife and I were having intense fellowship (quarreling). In the heat of it, the Lord spoke this to me: "Your pride is being exposed." I was immediately convicted as the following scripture rose up in my spirit.

By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom (Prov. 13:10).

God continued, "John, any time you and Lisa fight, you'll find pride lurking somewhere, and you must deal with it." But one may argue, "What if I know I'm right?" Allow Jesus to answer this question, "Agree with your adversary quickly" (Matt. 5:25). By refusing to defend yourself, one if not both of the following will happen. First, you lay down pride, which will open your eyes to recognize flaws in your own character that went previously undetected. Second, if you are right, you are still following the example of Christ by allowing God His rightful place as judge of the situation. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrong­fully ...For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Pet. 2:19,21-23).

This is our calling: to follow Christ's example, who suf­fered when He was not at fault. This precept wars against the natural mind since its logic appears absurd. However, the wisdom of God proves that humility and obedience make room for God's righteous judgment. Defense, correction, vindication or whatever other response is appropriate should proceed from the hand of God, not from man. An individual who vindicates himself does not walk in humility of Christ. No one on earth possesses more authority than Jesus, yet He never defended himself.

Matthew 16:18 says that upon the confession of Peter Christ would build His church. He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. The church is built upon Christ. He died for the church. Ephesians 5:23 says that Christ is the head of the church just as the husband is the head of the wife. We see an illustration and instruction for marriage, but we also see that the church is led by sacrificial service and full authority of Christ.

When it says all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things, are you in subjection to Him? Is He your head? Do you live as Christ lived? Are you living in complete self-denial. Christ withheld His glory in order to glorify the Father. Do you desire that Christ’s will and attitude would be yours? Be anxious for nothing but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God. (Phil. 4:6) Subject yourself to the rule of Christ through prayer. He is a Lord Worthy of Faith. Is He yours?