This chapter is kind of like being a kid in a candy store.  There’s so much here to talk about, how do you pick a few?  But, my goal in doing these daily studies is not to give everything there is to give, but to whet your appetite for more.  To give you a taste and let you take the initiative in extra helpings..  so here we go.

VS 1-6, FACT OR FICTION - Maybe you’ve heard before that what we believe affects how we behave.  I think that’s 100% correct.  If we say we believe that smoking is bad for you, but we do it anyway, then we don’t believe it enough to change our behavior.  If we accept it is cold hard fact, then it alters our actions.  While what we believe about Jesus is God is crucial, the reality of our belief is played out in our actions.  We say we love God… do we actually live like it?  If not, then our belief system is not strong enough to change our action system.  One of the big sticking points is pride.  Our spiritual growth can be hindered if we allow stubborn pride to prevent us from honestly reflecting on our lives and allowing genuine faith to reshape our actions.  A deep faith and belief in who Jesus is and what he has done should radically change the way we interact with each other.

VS 11-16, LEADERSHIP ROLES IN CHURCH - God gave at least five types of leaders to the church.  They exist to complete the member’s growth and to equip them to serve.  We spent some time on these roles in May, but I’ll recap them here.

1. Apostle - One sent to pioneer and establish new works and new leaders
2. Prophet - One who speaks forth God’s word to inspire, correct, and motivate
3. Evangelist - One who shares Christ with outsiders and trains others to do so.
4. Pastor - One who shepherds, guides, and guards God’s people as they serve.
5. Teacher - One who trains God’s people in the truth and teaches others to do so.

It is our desire to see all of these roles in place within our church.  Here are some questions I ask myself based on these roles and this passage:

1. What eternally significant growth occurs in the lives of those I lead?
2. Do our people understand that my role is to equip them to serve?
3. How are our followers serving and ministering?
4. Do our people know that involvement in service is essential to growth?
5. Do our people grow spiritually mature as a result of their ministry involvement?
6. Do our people lifestyles reflect Christ’s character?
7. What percentage of our people’s faith and involvement is easily shaken?
8. Do our people build up one another?

The answers to these questions are a key indicator of success.  Numbers matter because every number represents a person.  There are never “too many” people in church.  But numbers do not in and of themselves represent success in a church.  It is questions such as these that reveal if we are achieving what God designed.

VS 17, CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE - Paul makes a plea here for us to not live like the rest of the world.  What does that mean to you?  Can people look at our lives and honestly discern a difference between those of us with faith in Jesus Christ and those without faith?  What does that look like?

VS 25, TELL IT LIKE IT IS - “let each one speak truth with his neighbor”.  This one’s a killer isn’t it?  We can no longer be honest with each other.  We hint, pull punches, beat around the bush, but seldom are we direct.  This is not an inviation from Paul to be cruel to each other, but to love each other enough (since we are part of the same body) to speak the truth in love.  WHY IS THIS SO HARD?  More churches have been hurt, more friendships damaged than we can imagine simply because we lack the fortitude to speak truth in a timely manner.  My dream is to have a church that gets past this and builds one another up, sometimes through hard love.

YOUR TURN….

VS 1-7 GET SOME - There is an important concept that I think Paul puts forward here.  By themselves, not even the best accountants or financial advisers can actually create wealth for their clients.  All they can do is give advice about the accumulation of a healthy reserve.  The rest is up to the clients who receive that advice.  The same is true for leaders who want to see others access the riches of heaven.  The lives and ministries of the Apostle Paul and Timothy demonstrate this principle.  On their own, neither Paul nor Timothy could equip the Ephesians to please God.  But they know how to direct them to the ultimate source of ultimate power:  the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.  Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to take full advantage of all the resources and power God has made available to them.  He knows that all believers have at their disposal immeasurable wealth and power; infinite resources sufficient to equip every believer for the spiritual fight ahead.

VS 12, NO FEAR - Whoever came up with that t-shirt slogan was way behind the Apostle Paul on this one.  There is so much in this verse.  Let me address the ancient times first.  Coming into the presence of a king was a fearful and awesome thing.  A king could require someone’s head at the slightest provocation.  So it was pretty intimidating since it could cost you your life.  But Paul said we have no reason to be fearful when we come before our King.  We can come confidently.  WOW!  Now let me move into our culture.  We still have plenty of religions and faith beliefs that would have you believe that you’re not worthy to come before God in prayer… you’re not qualified.  You have to leave that to the professionals.  Let me say this gently… THAT’S A CROCK!  Because of the work of Christ on the cross, we can come directly before him with our requests and our concerns.  In fact, we are told to in this verse.  And to come fearlessly before him.  If you have invited Jesus Christ into your life, you have direct, unlimited, and fearless access to the King of Kings.  How awesome is that?

VS 14-21, A HALL OF FAME PRAYER - This is one of the most beautiful and inspiring passages of scripture in the Bible.  This is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and for all of us who call Jesus, LORD!  I don’t even want to add anything to it here.  I’ll just let it speak for itself….

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

I can only add that I pray that all of you reading this will experience the same and that you will know God in a deeper, richer way today than you have before.  Be blessed!

YOUR TURN….

]]> http://markdoebler.com/2008/07/16/youve-got-mail-ephesians-3/feed/ http://markdoebler.com/2008/07/15/youve-got-mail-ephesians-2/ http://markdoebler.com/2008/07/15/youve-got-mail-ephesians-2/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:20:33 +0000 Mark Doebler http://markdoebler.com/?p=719

Let’s dive right in to Chapter 2….

VS 1-3, A LITTLE GOOD IN EVERYONE? - How often have we all heard that phrase?  I have no idea where it began, but I’m pretty sure that it’s an effort to bypass the need for Jesus Christ.  If all we have to do is embrace that good that we each have in ourselves, then that’s probably all that’s necessary to get to heaven, right?  But Paul pretty much slams the door on that concept here.  We are born with an evil nature, and the spirit of the devil is the force behind those who refuse to obey God.  So… is there a little good in everyone?  Or are we depraved human beings in need of a savior?

VS 4-7, GOD IS GOOD - Paul makes it clear here that it is God’s love that initiated this whole salvation thing.  And because he loved us, we have been allowed to become one with Christ through salvation, and we have a seat at the table in heaven.  How cool is that?

VS 8-9, MEMORIZE THESE VERSES - These two verses are cornerstones in explaining the nature of salvation; it is a free offering, a gift… and there is nothing we can do to earn it.

• For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

VS 10, A MASTERPIECE - I love this verse.. we are God’s masterpiece.  We are of high value.  And we were made to distribute that value.  We are not created to “sit and soak”.  We are created to work and win… work at God’s purpose and win the lost around us.

VS 14-19, A BRIDGE BETWEEN US - Not only has Jesus Christ provided a bridge between us and God, removing the barrier between us, but Jesus Christ in us also provides the means to remove the barriers between us and others.  Have you ever had one of those relationships you thought could never be salvaged?  It can be…at least for you.  There are never any guarantees that someone will reestablish a right relationship with you once it has been broken, but when we realize that Christ forgives us, we can at least lay down any bitterness we have toward someone else and free ourselves from that burden.  And that may be all that is necessary to open the door to reconciliation.

VS 19-22, A LIVING LANDMARK - This is a fascinating set of verses.  Paul describes the foundation of the church consisting of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (what everything else is based off of) and the Apostles.  Then he describes these people sort of like living bricks and mortar, being joined together into this incredible house of God.  This challenges me to think, “What are we doing TOGETHER to construct a landmark building for the glory of God on the foundation described here?  Are we becoming living bricks and mortar that create a landmark structure for the world to see Jesus Christ?”

YOUR TURN……

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DOING YOUR BEST AT WHATEVER YOU DO

WALL.E is a robot all along, doing a thankless job.  And yet in the midst of all this isolation and with no incentive whatsoever, WALL.E never fails to do a great job.  As you watch the opening scenes, you realize that he has learned to copy the structure he sees in the buildings humans left behind, and build replicas out of trash.  It’s not enough for him to simply clean up and make cubes out of trash.  He creates out of trash.  How much better served would we all be if we would make the best of our situations… and even learn to be creative at it.  How much would our attitude change.  Maybe we’d become a bit more like WALL.E who we see whistling on the way to work.  The New Testament gives us just that sort of advice when we are challenged to do whatever we do “as unto the Lord”.  The task is not relevant.  The attitude with which it is tackled is.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

When WALL.E first spies the object of his love, I was immediately reminded of the biblical story of creation.  The Bible tells us that Adam was created first and God put him to work.  But Adam noticed he didn’t have a partner, another one like him.  Then God makes Eve… and I’ve always imagined Adam sort of flipping out when he first lay eyes on her, saying “Way to go, God!”  WALL.E was all alone at the beginning of the movie but on that fateful day that his love interest showed up he was immediately smitten.  I about fell out of my super-comfortable theatre chair when she said her name was EVE.  I have to think that was no coincidence by the creators (pun intended) of the movie.  It was clear that WALL.E was out of his league, but that didn’t stop him.  And through a variety of circumstances that unfold througout the movie, he consistently shows unconditional love, come rain or shine (literally).  Wouldn’t it be cool if we, as Christ folowers could live liek that.  We are urged to througout the New Testament.  That is one of the key ways that we are supposed to represent Jesus Christ to the world around us.

UPDATED INFORMATION - It appears as though the director, Andrew Stanton,  may very well have been processing this movie through a spiritual lens himself.  I just found this quote from an interview with him that I thought I would pass along to all of you:

“…what really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that’s not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say — that irrational love defeats the world’s programming. You’ve got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love.

With the human characters I wanted to show that our programming is the routines and habits that distract us to the point that we’re not really making connections to the people next to us. We’re not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living — relationship with God and relationship with other people”

IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO RISE UP

As the movie unfolds, we see that all humans live in “hover chairs”.  They don’t walk anywhere.  I’m thinking that I may be in training for that lifestyle when I plop down in my recliner every night.  Anyway, at one point, the captain of the space ship realizes that they need to return to earth.  But the auto-pilot tells him that they cannot return.  It’s a matter of surviving.  The Captain then summons up the courage to say, “But I don’t want to survive.  I want to live!”  How many people have simply settled for surviving because they’ve given up on living?  No matter what your situation or condition (heck, these guys could barely walk anymore after all that hovering), it’s never too late to start living.  We were never meant to simply survive.  That is not why God created us to live.  And when sin entered the equation and messed that up, Jesus Christ said in John 10:10 that he came to restore us to that original design… that we might live, and live to the full.

CONCLUSION

There is much to enjoy about WALL.E and I encourage you to take it in either in the theater or on DVD.  Enjoy the laughter and the real human emotion.  But don’t miss the lessons either.  There’s plenty to go around.

But…..

That doesn’t mean God wasn’t there and wasn’t blessing.  Here are a few of the good things..

• We had a photographer with the Journal Star show up to grab some pics for an upcoming article on the church.  I was totally unprepared and unaware of the article or the arrival of the photographer.  But it’s yet another affirmation of what God is attempting to do through our ministry.
• Those of us who were there truly enjoyed the morning with each other.
• We touched on a plan to help us grow.  And we do need to grow if we want to live like Jesus Christ is #1 (and he most definitely is).  Here’s the process Paul touched on in Colossians 2:1-7
  • Labor - It takes work
  • Stretching - A goal requires us to move forward
    • There is an article on wikipedia about getting things done (click here to read) that contains an interesting quote that is a further incentive to write goals.
    • Getting things Done.. “GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them externally. That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks.”
  • Learning - Knowledge must be consumed
    • Mark Twain said, “The man who will not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
  • Focus - Getting distracted can be dangerous and drifting is ineffective
  • Accountability - Growth accelerates when someone else is watching
    • One of the compelling reasons for me to maintain this blog is for accountability.  So that anyone can see that I am trying to be consistent in my walk with God and learning to view life through a lens of faith.
  • Building on the past - Growth always builds on past truth
  • Application - Growth solidifies when you practice what you know
  • Gratitude - Let gratitude change your attitude.  Phil Gramm said last week that we have become a nation of whiners.  He may have gotten in trouble over the comment, but I believe he was right.  We have more to be thankful for than we can honestly imagine.  We need to remain grateful since it’s keeps us humble and is a constant reminder of the reliable goodness of God.

So, it may not have been the perfect locker room gathering, but anytime teammates on God’s team show up together to learn and prepare, it’s a good day.  Those of you who were traveling for various reasons, please know that you were indeed missed.

CHAPTER 1

VS 3-5 - PART OF THE FAMILY- This absolutely blows my mind.  Talk about affirmation!  Paul tells us here that even before he made the world, God knew what would happen (I guess that’s why he’s omniscient), and CHOSE US (that would mean that he chose me!) to be in Christ, and therefore to be a part of his family.  I don’t want to get all theological here so I’ll explain it this way… God knew sin would come into the world.  He knew that Jesus Christ would need to become a sacrifice for sin.  He knew that I (and hopefully those of you who are reading this) would say yes to his offer of salvation.  And because he knew I would say yes, it gave him pleasure to go through all of this for that.  WOW!  He did all that for me!  And if you have received Christ, he did all that for you!  God decided to go through all of this because he loves you and he loves me that much.  That is mind-boggling.  AND……it brought him pleasure.  It pleased God to go through all of this for you and for me.  So what the heck am I doing at times when I wonder if anybody really cares?  And what am I doing when I get slack about my serving?  Holy Cow… if God loves me enough to go through all of that, then what more affirmation do I need?  And if he loves me enough to go through all of that, why do I even allow myself to get slack in serving?

VS 11 - WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? - That’s a question that is deep in our hearts most of the time.  I know that I am seldom free from that carnal question.  It helps me to know at times that even the disciples asked that same question.  But here’s what’s cool about God.  He knows that lingers in our natures… and so he answers the question.  This verse is dynamite.  Paul says that we are getting an inheritance.  And the inheritance is from God…. sign me up for that!  If you knew you were in line for a mind-blowing inheritance from the family, and that nothing could change that, and that the only question would be how large based on how you conduct yourself and carry out the family business, do you think you could get jacked about that?  Do you think you might want to dive into the family business with everything you’ve got?  Paul says that riches beyond imagination are ours through the inheritance we have in God through Christ Jesus.  Maybe that should affect our involvement in the family business… you think?

VS 13 - SEAL IT - This is so cool to me… because this assures me that it is the Holy Spirit that maintains my future and my inheritance in Christ.  My allotment in the inheritance may be driven by my commitment to the family business, but my stake is guaranteed.  I don’t have to worry and fret about it all the time.

VS 3-14 - IT’S BIG - In all of these verses combined, Paul shows the big-picture process of salvation… dating all the way back to before the beginning of the world.  Paul describes the work of all three persons of the Trinity.

• God the Father - selected us by grace
• God the Son - Offered himself as the sacrifice for sin
• God the Holy Spirit -  Has “sealed” us in Christ, guaranteeing our relationship with God

VS 15-22 - WHAT A BLESSING - In these verses, Paul offers the content of his constant prayer for these believers.  And it is powerful.  I am asking God to help me to be equally committed in my prayers for those within the body I lead.

VS - 18 - GET THE PICTURE - “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called.  I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritnace he has given to his people.”

YOUR TURN…….

CHAPTER 4

VS 2-4 - PRAYER - This may be one of the simplest acts that a believer can participate in, and yet at times it can feel like the hardest.  In my own life, there are plenty of times that I have faced the simple task of communicating with God, and I just couldn’t (or maybe more appropriately, I wouldn’t).  Prayer is not this overblown weird talk that we often hear in church.  It’s just a simple conversation with God about your heart, your dreams, your desires, your failures, etc.  I know that it’s a completely natural way of talking, it’s just that the conversation is with God, not your neighbor across the street.  And yet, even with that understanding, prayer can be a battle.  I think the enemy really leans on us hard when it comes to prayer because prayer is the vital link between us and the Father.  We’re simply not the same without it.  That’s why Paul urges us to “devote” ourselves to prayer.  And he even has the nerve to tell us to do it with an “alert mind”.  That’s almost not fair is it?  How many times have you fallen asleep while trying to pray?  How many times has my mind wandered through everything on my “To Do” list while I’m trying to pray?  Prayer is simple, but it is also a battle.  And it’s a battle we must win.

VS 5-6 - I had someone send me an email this morning with these verses because they felt like this was a strength in our church.  I am blessed beyond mere words to receive that.  But this is so, so, so important.  We can never allow ourselves to become lazy with this.  Part of our mission (and every church’s mission) is to reach the lost and the hurting.  To be a place of love and acceptance to those who need a touch from the Father.  So Paul tells us to be wise about this.  We need to be intentional.  This doesn’t happen by accident.  It is most definitely NOT haphazard.  We have to make the effort to connect to those around us in ways that communicates the love and heart of Jesus Christ.  And to get in our Bibles so that we are prepared with helpful answers when questions are asked.  The church that commits itself to these principles will be a church that impacts the world around them.

VS 17 - Almost as an afterthought, Paul adds this line of scripture, “say to Archippus, ‘Be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you.’”  What a powerful piece of advice.  There have been far too many believers that have felt God moving in their lives and then gave up on the work when it got hard or took to long.  I understand that dilemma.  I am a man of action.  I like things to happen now.  In my younger life, I was too quick to “move on to the next thing”.  I have no doubt left things of God undone while I looked for something else.  Age and maturity have tempered that, but it hasn’t gone completely away.  That’s why we have to be reminded to finish what God gave us to do.  FINISH…COMPLETE…ACCOMPLISH.  These word do not apply at the half-way mark or even at the 90% mark.  We need to stay with the task until it is done.  And one way we do that is to stay committed to prayer as Paul challenged us to do in verse 2.

How about it?  Got any unfinished business?  Are you struggling with prayer?  Are you in the Word so that you can provide answers and direction to those who need to hear from God through your life?

VS 1-14- Since we have a new position in Christ, we need a new perspective.  Permanent change and improvement always happened from the inside out.

1. REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY - (vs 1) - We must focus first on our position in Christ.  It all starts here.
2. RENEW YOUR THOUGHT LIFE - (vs 2) - We must focus our minds on things above.  We must raise new internal standards.
3. RECOGNIZE YOUR OLD LIFE IS DEAD - (vs 3-7) - Change doesn’t happen if we maintain any way to return to old patterns.
4. RELEASE PAST HABITS - (vs 8-11) - We must put off the old, like taking off a worn-out set of clothes.
5. REPLACE THEM WITH NEW ONES - (vs 12-14) - We get rid of old habits only when we substitute new habits for the old ones.

Do you see a key here?  Is there one step that has been missing for you or that has caused you trouble?

Finally Paul describes the proper environment in the Christian home.  Much of it has to do with understanding the right roles of authority and submitting accordingly.  But there is an element that paul adds in vs 23 that I think is very important here…

“Do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men“

What I find compelling about this statement is that it’s not enough to simply submit to a proper authority.  Paul tells us to do it with joy.  Ain’t that a kick in the teeth?  How in the world do we submit to authority with joy?  Paul tells us to do it as if we’re doing it to the Lord since our reward will ultimately come from him and he doesn’t miss anything.

YOUR TURN - What is God teaching you here?