Bob Russell, the pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY was the keynote speaker last night at the General Baptist Mission and Ministry Summit Conference that is going on this week in Evansville, Indiana! I was greatly encouraged by the message he brought us.
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it<sup value='[a]’> says:
“When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” 9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Some notes and thoughts:
Until we are unified in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, Spiritual Maturity and fullness in Christ cannot happen. Unity is vital to the functioning body of Christ!! There are some things that just DO NOT MATTER when it comes to unity in the faith. What songs we sing and how we sing them, how we dress, or whether our local church meets in a building with pews or inside homes. We might all have a preference with a reason, which is okay, but it is not important to the heart of the mission of Jesus Christ; and we cannot let these things hinder the movement of His Message to our nation. Diversity within the body is healthy- different parts of the body all have a specific function to do! God created each of us unique and special for His Glory.
Pastor Bob said, “You don’t have to be my twin to be my brother.”
I liked that. It’s SO true! We come from the same blood line- the blood of Christ, yet we are all very different people. Still, we are one with each other and with our Father, and as He guides us and commands us, we are to joyfully obey!
While there are things that we cannot get hung up on, there are other things that are VITAL that we are unified in.
*Spiritual Maturity is evidenced by Biblical Certainty.*
This is the world view of religious unity: I did a google image search for religious unity out of curiousity, and these images came up. Take a minute and let these images sink in.
Other cultures might see this type of unity as a great strength, but as a follower of Christ, this should cut us to the heart. This should bring us to tears. This should put us face down on our knees to cry out to our Lord on behalf of our world. We must be bold in our belief that
Jesus Christ
is the ONLY WAY.
The same God who spoke this world into existance came to earth in the form of a man, to redeem us from sin. Christ died for EVERY man, even those who don’t believe in him. We should be ferverent in prayer for our nation and people of all cultures and religions, that they might come to know the truth and love of Jesus Christ, and accept Him as their Savior. We are called to bring the truth of Jesus TO them, but not to say that what they believe is okay too. How long will our generation bow down to the cultural standards to keep quiet about our faith? How long will be “be careful not to offend people” when we address the world?
*Did you miss that last image of what OUR Lord and Savior came and did for us?? Scroll back up and look. The wages of sin is death. You deserved that. I deserve that. But He took it for us. That’s how much He loves you and me!
Jesus dying on the cross would mean absolutely nothing without the prophetic fact that he conquered death and rose again!! 
I believe with my entire being that this is true! My redeemer lives!
The Bible teaches us that we will all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, and that each person will recieve what is due him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10)
*What am I doing in the body, now?
*Christian Maturity is evidenced by a courageous testimony.*
Our mission is not to gain the world’s favor, but to proclaim the truth of Christ in boldness. The truth MUST be told in LOVE, but it STILL MUST be proclaimed verbally or it isn’t really truth in love. It just becomes this worldly ‘niceness’ that benefits no one. Making someone feel good and loved without sharing Christ is like a hug on the way to hell. The Holy Spirit will always guide us; we have to learn to hear His Voice and trust that He will show us His Way.
1 John 3: 16-24:
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Let’s be obedient, bold, and courageous- unified in the faith, Spirit, and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become MATURE disciples of Christ, speaking the truth in love!!!
