A Believer's Character
September 17, 2023

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Ephesians 4:2

Be completely humble and gentle, be patience, bearing with one another in love. [NIV]

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other faults because of your love. [NLT]

Luke 14:1-11
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.

5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”


Philippians 2:1-11 [NIV]
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

Rather he made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesu every nee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


Psalm 18:27
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.


James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

BEYOND SUNDAY
Use these questions in groups or by yourself to consider the message series, One in Christ. This week focuses on the character of a believer.

1. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2)

What are the marks of a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ? Paul lists four characters: humility, gentleness, patience, bearing. What do they mean?

In inverse order:
Bearing one another in love: The New Living Translation says, "making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love." NLT suggests that we make room for the foibles of others. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone sins. How do we live with each other in a manner that reflects the values of the Kingdom of God? One approach is to hold a mirror up to the person who has fallen short of God's expectations, like a prophet calling out people. Another is to "make allowances" for the other person. Do I tend to point out people's faults? Or do I tend to "make allowances?" This isn't to say that we excuse someone's behavior. It is to say that we forgive. Are we a forgiving kind of person? Please note that the word love is agape: God's very special kind of forgiving love.

Be patient: Patience is difficult. And when we need to practice patience, it means that we are probably more frustrated than ever. Henri Nouwen, noted Catholic theologian, said, "A waiting person is a patient person. "The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us." When you are facing trying times that demand patience, ask yourself, "What is God trying to teach me? What am I supposed to learn?"

Gentle: Here are some synonyms: kind, forgiving, benevolent, kind, compassionate, tender, moderate. Which of these words mark your character?

Humble: C.S. Lewis wrote: "True humility is not about thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less." Are you predisposed to think about others? Or yourself? In what situations are you prone to defend yourself or assert yourself? Is it about your ego? Correction?

2. In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus tells the parable of the wedding banquet where a man sits in a place of honor. here is a parable in the gospels about the man who automatically sits at the head table without invitation and a man who sits at the lowest place. The man who sat at the head table was asked to vacate his seat, and the man who sat at the lowest place was given a more honorable seat.

In what ways are you like the person who automatically sits at the head table? At the lowest place? What might God be teaching you about your own sense of propriety and humility?

For PCC's budgeted giving year
(June 1, 2023 through May 31, 2024)

Annual Budget: $3,100,000

Giving Update (as of 9/12/23)
Needed to Date: $1,033,333
Giving to Date: $ 527,305

Shortfall to Date: $ 506,028