During the COVID-19 quarantine, Calvary Chapel Rosarito has been providing live streaming topical devotionals every weekday. The video shown below is the devotional from Tuesday, May 26th, 2020. The full text of the devotional follows the video.
SETTING THE STAGE
In order to set the stage for the focus of this devotional, here are two brief stories:
A teacher wanted to teach her students about self-esteem, so she asked anyone who thought they were stupid to stand up. One kid stood up and the teacher was surprised. She didn’t think anyone would stand up so she asked him, “Why did you stand up?” He answered, “I didn’t want to leave you standing up by yourself.”
Now that you’ve finished laughing or groaning at that one, let me tell you another story about the very same teacher. After getting over her embarrassment, the teacher continued with her lesson on self-esteem by asking some questions she was sure the students could answer correctly:
First, she asked: “Kids, what does a chicken give you?” One student shouted: “Eggs!” The teacher said: “Very good! Now what does a pig give you?” Another student responded with: “Bacon!” The teacher said: “Great! And what does a fat cow give you?” The student who had stood up before said: “Homework!”
Now, those may not be the most hilarious jokes you’ve ever heard but I suspect we all see some humor in them. It’s the sort of humor that I remember being most popular back in the middle of the last century when I was in high school. We referred to it as cutting someone down.
This morning’s devotional is the opposite of that. It’s entitled “Build Each Other Up”. I’ll be using selected verses, in context, from Ephesians 4:17 through Ephesians 5:7 as our Scriptural reference today.
PRAYER
Before seriously digging into this topic, let’s pray for the Lord’s blessing on this time.
Father, thank You for Your provision, making it possible for us to gather in this way, in Your name. Give us ears to hear what You want to say on this topic and give us hearts to be obedient to Your direction, that we might glorify You in the way we lead our lives. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
“Don’ts for the Audience
In the part of Ephesians we’re looking at today, Paul was speaking to the believers in Ephesus. He was exhorting them to be in the world but not of the world. The world they were in was the very pagan culture of Ephesus. Paul admonished them to not participate in behaviors that were commonly accepted in Ephesus.
Look at this list of the behaviors Paul was talking about!:
Lewdness – Greediness – Deceitful Lusts
Lying – Anger – Stealing – Bitterness
Clamor – Malice – Fornication
Covetousness – Filthy Language – Idolatry
Do’s for the Audience
Apparently, the average Ephesians were pretty nasty people. No wonder Paul didn’t want his sheep to turn out like them. No doubt, our Pastors want the same for us today.
In addition to the list of “don’ts” that Paul addresses, he speaks of a quality lacking in the culture of Ephesus that he does want believers to exhibit. Here’s what he says about that:
Ephesians 4:17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, Ephesians 5:5 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 7 … put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
As I said earlier, Paul was not speaking to the Ephesian culture, he was speaking to the believers in Ephesus. In doing this, Paul was actually speaking to all Christians for all time, telling us to be shaped by Christ, not by the culture.
Of course, we can’t fully imitate God but we can exhibit the qualities that His Word tells us He wants to see in His dear children. We aren’t instructed to incorporate these qualities in our lives because we just want to be among those who are counted as being good in the world. There are unbelievers who do that. I don’t know, maybe that’s just because they don’t want to be on Santa’s Naughty List. But, we are expected to live this way because, as Paul says, we have “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” This isn’t in order that we become God’s children. It’s because we are God’s children. Accommodating behaviors that are acceptable in the culture or, worse yet, adopting those behaviors, dishonors our Christian family. We are not like those who don’t know Christ. We are different. We are set apart. That is why we encourage each other. That is why we build each other up. It’s the reason that this Scripture begins with the word “therefore”. It’s because we have received salvation and we know who we are in Him, so we should encourage one another and build one another up. And, this isn’t behavior we are only to exhibit with Christian Brothers and Sisters. We are to behave this way with everyone … even with those who we don’t like. It’s a call to impact the world we live in not by becoming good but by being who we have become. We are Saints and we must act like it.
God’s Assignments
Here are three areas of building up that every believer has been assigned by God:
- We are called to build up ourselves, spiritually. Jude tells us not to be like the ungodly world. Instead, Jude 1:20 says, “But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,”
- We are called to build up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:12 tells us, “… since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.”
- We are called to build up each other. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, …”
How To’s
God wants us to learn to use our time with our brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage them spiritually, to motivate them in their times with God and in prayer, to discuss ways to more effectively share Christ with others, to serve them and help them.
God created us to be a part of a vibrant community of people. If that community is healthy, then one of the priorities will be to build others up. A loving group of people wants to see each other grow in their faith and their gifts and we rejoice when we see them accomplish it. Paul’s challenge to each of us is to be someone who builds others up.
It’s really not that hard to build up others. Mostly, we just have to be watching for opportunities to do so. Often, it can be done by saying something as simple as, “Keep up the good work, you’re doing a good job” or “I’m glad you’re here today, you add so much to our group”.
Proverbs 11:25 – Tells us that doing this pays dividends. It says, “The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.”
Intentional Edification
As we recognize that God calls us to build each other up, He also directs us to not do the opposite … That is tearing each other down.
As we read earlier in Ephesians, ”Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted,”.
Our words are powerful. They can build up or tear down and they can switch from one to the other in an instant. Our words also reflect what is going on in our hearts. Paul is exhorting us to become people who build others up. We do that by looking out for the needs of other people. We listen for where people are struggling and determine to meet those needs. We are mindful of new Christians, and we make sure that we encourage them and protect them from anything that might weaken their faith. We watch what comes out of our mouths because we realize that we are an example.
Those with selfish hearts look after their own interests. They don’t look to the needs of others but only to satisfy themselves. They are like the Ephesians. Unwholesome talk reflects the sin in our lives. Loose talking and coarse joking can affect a young believer’s faith. Exaggerating for effect can lower the opinion others have of us. We need to eliminate these from our lives. To do this, start by asking God for forgiveness of what we have said. Then, take our eyes off of what we want and start to look at what others need.
Use your words to build up. Encourage and exhort one another to Godly living. Speak words of wisdom and care into the life of others. When we build others up, we bring significant benefits to our community of believers. It blesses those who are being built up, it provides an example for those who are watching, and it does a work in our hearts that we might not expect, we find a subtle joy in helping others out.
Proverbs 17:22 tells us about that in saying, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”
We have all heard the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” That is not true! Words do hurt! Words can either build up, encourage, motivate or they can hurt, tear down or leave someone with lasting scars. As people of God, we need to be very careful about what we allow to come out of our mouths. Words spoken out of our mouths are very important for the simple fact that they speak what is in our hearts.
Luke 6:45 tells us, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Long before we had computers, God taught us …
Garbage in, Garbage out.
Final Analysis
What are we speaking? Words that build up or words that tear down? Let us all examine ourselves by listening to the words that proceed out of our mouths. The wrong words can destroy and the right words can mend. Words spoken out of the mouth of those who confess Christ should be wholesome words which edify the body of Christ and glorify God our Father. We need to ask ourselves, “Is God receiving glory from the words that we speak?”
Let me encourage all of you with a few closing words …. You are a child of God. He loves you, He sincerely does. He is there for you. He cares. He is listening. He is for you. He wants to wrap you up in His arms and encourage you. He wants to build you up. He wants to strengthen you, especially in those places where you feel weak. His desire is for you to have all that is possible for you. Seek Him today and look for opportunities He gives you … to build up others.
