Public Seminar, 19 August - Richard Pratt / English Full

 This is an english text of Richard L Pratt's Public Seminar on 19th August 2025. The public seminar is titled "joy in life's struggles? ". This event is free and you do not need to register to enter. This only includes the dialogue of Richard L Pratt. 

Richard Pratt: Good night! I'm so glad to be with you tonight. Thank you for coming out in the evening like this. Although I cannot see you because of the bright lights I believe you are there. I'm always glad to be with you in these evenings when we do special seminars. What we'll do is read from Ephesians 4, the first six verses of this chapter.

" As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

I have a friend who told me a story about a friend of his. This friend of my friend was a grandfather. His grandson was coming to visit him. The grandson was about to go to the university. But in high school, he had not worked very hard. So, his grades were not very good. But, he had been accepted to the university. But do you know why he went to his grandfather? He went there to ask him for money. The young man came to visit his grandfather and this is how the story goes.The grandfather said "OK, tell me about your plans". The young man, 18 years old, had a big smile on his face, and said "Oh grandfather, I'm going to go to the university and change the whole world. I'm so excited about it. Can you give some money to help me with this?" Then his grandfather sat back at his chair and said "When you have a real plan, come back and see me, and we can talk again". This 18-year old, like a lot of 18 year olds, was very naive, excited and he thought he was going to change the whole world. It might take him 1-2 years of school, but after that everyone is going to know his name. The grandfather was a practical man, even a cynical man maybe, and he did not think his grandson was going to change anything. He wanted his grandson to have a real, practical plan. Don't you wish that the 18-year old could keep his enthusiasm but at the same time be practical? Don't you wish the grandfather can keep his practicality but still have a little enthusiasm for life. Wouldn't be good if these two people were one? Enthusiasm, big dreams and hopes, but practicality also? That would be a great person to meet. Because they are rare people. In this passage in Ephesians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul shows something about himself. He demonstrates that he is a very enthusiastic person and has a big vision, great hope for the future in the church of Jesus Christ, but he is also practical. What we're going to do tonight is to see both his enthusiasm for this Church of Jesus, his bright and glorious future, but also see his practicality and how he instructs us to reach that glorious future. Let's begin with the enthusiasm! The letter to Ephesus is a very enthusiastic letter. The Apostle Paul is in prison and he wants to see the Christians in Ephesus. You might think he would be sad, hopeless, down, but he wasn't. All through the letter, he is so enthusiastic it is hard to imagine anyone being more excited. This is the reason: he knows that Jesus did not simply die on the cross but rose from the dead. That makes you excited if you follow him. He did not just simply rise from the dead but extended himself up to heaven and reigns over the entire earth now. This is a theme that the apostle brings out many times in this letter. Jesus is exalted over all creation, over the demons, the powers of this universe, every bit of land in the universe, every country in the universe, and the apostle was excited for that fact, because it gave him a vision of the future. Not a future that was full of destruction but a glorious future for the people of God. He says spectacular things about the church of Jesus. A little bit like the 18-year old. He says there is one body and that we have all been called to one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father, who is over all, in all and through all. This is the way the apostle is thinking about the church. Could there be anything grander than that? Grander that a worldwide church? Where we all share one thing in common - one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father, who is over all of us, in all of us, and through all of us, everywhere in the world. He sounds a little bit like the eighteen year old. This is the vision that Paul had, because Jesus was no longer dead, he was not simply alive again, but now he rules in heaven over everything, he is  most powerful and most glorious out of every creation, and there is nothing that can stop him. Think about the church that you think about today. Can you say we have "one faith"? In some sense, maybe one faith in Jesus, but we have thousands of denominations who sometimes don't talk to each other . Do we have the same baptism? Some churches baptize babies, some churches baptize three times, some churches don't baptize babies, and some churches baptize one time. Paul says these words at the beginning of the chapter, "I want you to walk in a manner of that kind of church", worthy of the calling you have received. You are not part of something insignificant, you are part of the body of Christ and this is expanding to the ends of the earth. I serve in a ministry called Third Millennium, the name is because we started just before 2000. The year 2001 is the beginning of the third millennium. A millennium is a thousand years, so 0-1000 is the first millennium, 1001-2000 was the second millennium, and after 2001 is the third millennium. Why are we excited about the third millennium? The third Christian millennium is the greatest Christian millennium. There are many ways in which that is true, but let me remind you of these two factors: there are more people today that call on the name of Jesus than the amount before. That's one reason. The second reason is that those billions of people who call on Jesus' name, they live in more parts of the world than previously in history. The church of Jesus is not a handful of people, not in one or two little places. Now, literally there are billions of us everywhere in this world. This is a glorious time to be a follower of Christ. We can see with our own eyes: Jesus is not losing the battle for planet Earth. He is the exalted king of all and all who follow him have one people, one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father, who is in all, over all and through all - that is who you are. That is your people, not just a country like Indonesia. We are members of the body of Christ that is covering the entire world. It is time to have enthusiasm about this body of Christ, to see its glory and to live in a manner that is worthy of being called into that body. Oh grandfather, "I'm going to change the world". Oh Christian, "Jesus has changed the whole world." That sounds good to me, I like to be on the winning team. If there was a war, I would want to be in the side that wins, I want to be on the side of Jesus because he is going to win. That was the "enthusiastic 18-year old apostle Paul".

Richard Pratt: What about the grandfather apostle Paul"? It's okay to be excited but how do we move toward the goal? Paul takes the time in this chapter to take the practicalities. We are going to skip a few verses after verse 6, in verse 11: So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ maybe built up  until 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". Here's what he's telling us - when Jesus went to heaven, to build this glorious church all over the world, he gave gifts to people. He gave gifts to his church, and these gifts were people and there were names to them. He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Five kinds of people who are leaders of this body of Christ and as he says in the verses we just read, they were given to the church so that the church would grow to the fullness that belongs to the church. So we would become as great as God wants us to be in the world. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists. Pastors and Teachers. If you want to build a worldwide kingdom, would you put those kinds of people in charge of it? Instead, we would've put a general, military person, economist or anything else to put in charge of it. But this is a special kingdom, not an ordinary kingdom - one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God, over all, in all, through all. What do apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers have in common? What makes them leaders? Is it because they all have money?  No, is it because they  have worldly wisdom? Is it because somehow they are powerful and compelling celebrities that appear movies and alike? No, what is it do these five types of people have in common? They only have one thing in common: they speak the word of God. How is the church going to grow to reach the ends of the earth? By those who speak the word of God. The apostles and prophets were at the beginning of the church and now we have a collection of their writings in the Bible. That is why they are so important to us. Evangelists take the good news of Jesus to new people, to new ears and new hearts. Pastors are the one who shepherd God's people and the church and help them mature in the church. Teachers are the ones who teach the word of God and instruct them. This tells us something: do you want to be a part of the winning kingdom? Do you want to be a part of the kingdom that will conquer the entire world? Then you must love the word of God given to us by the apostles and prophets, spread to us by the evangelists, taught to us by the pastors and the teachers - this is where you get the power, this is where you get the strength, this is how the body of Christ to  reach the stature and fullness of Christ, that fills all things. We have lots of Bibles in this room. We have Bibles everywhere, we listen to the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers but what's the problem with the church? So much of us like to misuse the Bible, misuse the word of God. Rather than using it to help each other, we use the word of God as a hammer to hammer other people in the head, so that we feel superior, so we feel right by making other people look like fools. The word of God can be turned to an instrument of life or an instrument of death, and it all depends on you and me, and how we use the word of God. The apostles want to use the word of God to build the church up, not to tear it down. He says this in verse 15: rather than following the ways of the world, rather than using the word of God as a hammer, we have to be very careful. This is the practical grandfather Paul in verses 15 and 16. The word of God can be used as a hammer to destroy people unless you do something very special. Verse 15: we speak the truth to each other in love. The truth to each other in love. It is not enough for you to know the truth of the Bible, not enough to share the truth of the Bible. It must be shared in love. What is love according to the same apostle Paul? Love is patient, love is kind, it is not arrogant, it is not boastful. My country has a custom that is not here in Indonesia I think. We have a custom when a young woman is about to have a baby. Men are not allowed. Sometimes, as a pastor, I would be invited to come to this party. I would be the only man in the room with fifty women and I am there to pray for her or something. In these parties, you bring gifts for the mother and all the guests sit down and chairs in a semicircle. The mother picks up one of the gifts and she must do is this: she carefully opens it up and holds it up for everyone to see and everyone is very excited. They are especially excited about the paper that wrapped the gift that is "so beautiful". When you get a woman a gift, your mother, your wife, your daughter, when you give her a gift, wrap the gift in paper. Sisters, when you give a gift to your man, your father, your husband, your son, whatever, don't care about wrapping it. What the apostle Paul is saying here is that there is more than the Body of Christ than what is inside the "box". The truth is inside the "box" and it is very important, but we do not only simply speak truth to each other, but we speak truth wrapped in love. When you give the word of God, they see your motivation, you care about them, you don't hate them. You don't want to divide with them, you want to be one with them. You will be patient, you will be kind, you will wrap the truth in love, just as Jesus does for you, day after day after day. We're talking about Jesus who is over everything who is building his church that is unimaginably large, and its future is even greater, one faith, one baptism, one Lord and one Father, over, in and through all. But there are practical steps that Jesus has ordained. This body must be built on the word of God wrapped in the paper of love. If we do both of that, we will see the church of God grow and grow. It's fun to be eighteen and think how your life can be important but also good to be practical to  know what steps to take. 

Richard Pratt: Look again at Ephesians 4, look for the great vision and look for the practical steps.

PERSEMBAHAN/OFFERING

Question and Answer (Tanya Jawab)

#1

Question: Professor Pratt, how about people who are temporarily studying overseas where their Christian communities are not very spiritual. How to maintain spirituality? 

Answer: It depends on how far you are from spiritual Christians, usually if you look for them, you will find them. That's the first thing I will say, don't worry if they are in the same denomination or not, find people that love Christ. The wonderful thing about living today is that in many parts of the world, we can go online and you can join other Christians in bible studies and worship services. My wife and I travel a lot, but we regularly go to our church in Orlando, Florida. We're not physically there, but we do our best to go there online. It connects us to that church and I would encourage you that if you're traveling somewhere look ahead and find living, breathing Christians, and find a way to get online. 

#2

Question: how can I, as an individual, love the church when I feel burnout? How does the church love those who are burnout?

Answer: That's a great question. Our kind of churches, presbyterian churches, which is a reformed denominations, you  are in a reformed church. You may go to a different kind of church, but the kinds of churches we are attracted to especially if they are large is very easy for people who have special needs to become lost, to not be noticed. In my country, what happens a lot. Sadly, many of our people will be divorced. The church will help people who are divorced when things settle down, the elders and people will not pay attention anymore. This makes it hard for those who have just divorced to fit in. This question comes from someone who probably has felt burnt out and the church was not paying enough attention. The rest of us must open our eyes and see that people around us in our churches are having trouble. Mothers and fathers or teenagers often have serious problems in their lives, and the body of Christ can easily ignore them. Some of the young people in your churches have parents who do not believe. They are also in a very different situation, they need older brothers and sisters to minister to them. So, when you come to church on Sunday, or to a bible study, try to open your eyes and see the needy people that are around you, and just go up to them, and say hello, "I'm so glad to see you tonight, how are you doing?"

#3: 

Question: Where is the place for love that feels like a hammer in the church?

Answer: Only if there is someone who is teaching things that are false and they are hurting other people in the church, then the elders need to go home to get a hammer. Ordinarily, thats not what you do. Ordinarily, you are gentle and kind. Jesus pulled out a hammer when he talked to the Pharisees because they were victimizing other people in the name of truth, when they were teaching falsehoods. We need to do that also, but it should usually be the elders who do that because they know when to do that. 

#4

Question: How to deal the leaders of the church  that shame us using Bible verses?

Sometimes, we need to feel ashamed. If they do it all the time, go somewhere else for church. Every once in all, we have to feel a bit of shame, it is a good thing, then we ask forgiveness for Christ, then we get up and go again. Shame is not always a bad thing. It's one of those emotions we need to have as part of our lives. If its' oppressive and constant, then that's not healthy, that's not a good situation.

#5

Question: What is the connection of enthusiasm and practicality in the body of Christ in terms of working, relationship or study?

Answer: Enthusiasm without direction (practicality) is silly and crazy. Enthusiasm is great, but it needs to be directed. Practicality without enthusiasm is boring and it will kill you later. There should be reasons for you to be excited about Christ, to love him and to be enthusiastic about his purposes. Without the fuel of our hearts, we will lose the ability to serve him. The Puritans understood this and said that the fire of the heart energizes the mind and the will and without the fire of the heart, the mind and the will can do nothing.

#6

Question: How about increasing our love to the people we evangelize to that we do not know?

Answer: I don't know. It's natural to be attracted to people who are related or like us. Our Lord Jesus looked  at people and did not look if they looked like him. He was not ashamed to be with people who were handicapped, poor and weak. We have to be wise about this and not put ourselves in danger. We should be people who can reach people who are not alike. He is our model. We must reach people who are not being approached. To love other people like that is what God wants us to do. The greatest commandment is to love God but the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus thought it was very important to love the person. 

#7

Question: What is the criteria to hammer someone with the word of God? What are the examples?

For example, "why don't you pray more? what's wrong with you!?" "We told you last week what chapter to read for the bible study and you didn't do it again". Obviously, you don't love Jesus - that's "hammers". (1 Corinthians 13 description of love)

#8

Question: How to draw young people who are away from the church to come back?

Answer: I assume that people want to be cared for, that they have friends in a city like Jakarta with people all around you, everywhere you turn there are people. But big cities like Jakarta are very lonely places. People feel alone, so if you feel kinder, if you can show the love of Jesus to people, that's the best thing to do. 

Thank you, God bless.