Ephesians - Thanks

“But rather giving of thanks. ”

— Ephesians 5:4

But pastor, what’s before the statement above? My answer, “does it matter?”

Whatever is before the statement, my role as a child of God is to give Him thanks.

We conjure up scenarios in our heads about what God is doing with us. Is He punishing, is He disciplining , has He forgotten us, does He care?

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

— Romans 12:3

But, in reality, we have no idea. And here is where our faith needs to be applied. God gives everyone a measure of faith (Rom 12:3) but, He also speaks about our faith. See the examples of the apostles, “Oh ye of little faith, where is your faith, if you had faith as a grain of mustard, etc.”

We need to find ours and cultivate it as a tender plant that can be nurtured to grow beyond the initial amount given. But, it is in the giving of thanks that faith thrives. It is as though nutrients have been added to the soil and the perfect amount of sun and water have been applied.

The second part of Chapter 5 of Ephesians deals with light. Who is your light sharer?

Exposing darkness to light destroys it. They cannot coexist. So, bring those things to God and He will apply the faith and power we need to walk in victory and understanding.

We have enough of the world all around us; let’s be creatures of the light and walk in a new way.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians - How Do You Walk?

Oh, I so want to play, “Walk like an Egyptian” or bust out Monty Python’s, “Ministry of Silly Walks” videos as I read the verse. But then it gets real.

Gentiles (all those who are not Christ's) walk in the futility of their mind. Literally, it means in the vanity of their mind. Devoid of truth and even appropriateness.

And so did we walk at one time. Consumed and driven by our own desires; however trivial they might be or however perverse they might have become.

It goes on to say that our understanding becomes darkened and we are alienated from the life of God. We have conversations all the time with people who are beyond our comprehension, now, because of Jesus’ glorious light. But, only by the grace of God will they ever enjoy light and the life of God. The same way we received, and then we saw.

Paul is urging the Ephesians, and us, to be fed up with the old life, with its guilt and shame and walk a new life, covered by the blood of Jesus and lived out through the redemptive work of the Holy Spirit in us.

God is here to cover us and our choices with His mercy and grace, please allow Him to by consulting with Him in your decisions.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians - Week 7

If we truly want to live a life devoted to God, there is a price.

There needs to be within us the love of Christ. This comes with a price. Not something you can buy, but, rather, something you must long for.

I think of the verse that says, “You have not resisted sin to the shedding of blood.” And I think about how cavalier I might become about sinning. Like “Oh well, God is going to forgive me anyway.”

But, don’t we think we are fooling ourselves but not God?

In Ephesians 4, Paul switches from all that God has made us to be, to what we can do to prove His great trust in us is deserving.

And, of the gifts and ministries He has bestowed upon us they are not really for us, but for those around us. He gives us the opportunity to “pay back” this great gift given by passing it on.

And I must ask myself, “How am I doing in that department?”

Please ourselves or please God, live for today or for eternity, treasures now or treasures in Heaven? All these questions are ones we all have to answer.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians - Week 6

Last week we left off with our being the showing of the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in heavenly places.

We will pick up with the next verse which states that this was the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus.

Last week I asked if we were adamant in our love and desire for Jesus and the Father; and played the clip of the father pushing his disabled son in the marathon and the triathlon races, simply because he asked.

If we can show that same willingness toward our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.

Do you realize God made that specific dad for that specific son?

What doesn’t God do for us? He has enough power to get you and I through any and every situation there is. No matter how horrific, or terrifying, or maddening.

Believe on the Lord Jesus, and help, and power, and transformational blessing and mercy will be yours.

It’s only our belief in God that’s tested. And that doesn’t come from Him but from the enemy. Watch as you believe; and God will lift up His banner to the principalities of the air through you.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians - Growing

“The whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord!”

— Ephesians 2:21

While we are certainly a building; we are a living thing. Because we are growing in the Lord.

Normally, a building doesn’t grow—unless you add on; but our building grows as we mature in Christ.

How does this growth work? You are given tests. Tests are those things that work your trigger, push your button, or just plain make you angry outside of the boundary that God has allowed you.

And then we get to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to remold us into a better fitting shape for our place in this building.

Do you know how they fit stones together before the invention of the stone and tile saws? They chipped away at them. Carefully, so they would not wreck the whole stone, but only to make it fit with the ones around it.

But as a stone, sometimes we say, “Can’t you chip the other stone, I like how I am now!” And the mason will inevitably say, “I’m chipping (or shaping) both of you so the fit can be ultra tight without possibility of breach.

I’m not the mason, the Holy Spirit is. I’m a stone in the building trying to allow God to fitly join me together, how about you?

Pastor Brent

Ephesians - week 4

Have you learned anything yet? God is telling us the amazing power of His love for Jesus and the benefits of us being in Him.

But it does us no good unless we embrace who we really are.

In verse 10 of Ephesians 2 we are going to read that we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works.

And not only that, God has prepared these things beforehand that we might do them for His glory—but with His help.

We are like the basketball player that only has to shoot layups because everybody on the other team is guarding God.

Ephesians is a book as much about attitude as it is about us learning who we are. It tells us our position in Christ and with God but never forces us to take up that position.

I’m reading a book about the prodigal son and I must say it is going to depths about the son who stayed that I have never considered in all the times I have preached or taught about it.

The father tells the son, after the son refuses to go into the party for the prodigal, “I have slaved for you all these years and you have never even given me a goat to share with friends.”

The father then tells him, “All that I have is yours.”

We are in the same position! Quit your darn whining and ask like the son or daughter your Father has made you to be.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians - Who We Are

When we learn who we are, we have choices: Continue to be who we were, or be who God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, through the Word, says we are.

Trouble is, our senses take control of our lives and when we don’t see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what we expect, we begin to doubt that the Word is true.

Paul is giving the Ephesians the lowdown on what we have been given when we believe in Jesus.

It goes far beyond our being quote, unquote, “saved.”

We have spiritual authority based on our residing in Jesus and what He accomplished while here on earth.

Not what you’ve done. Many people, scripture says, will cry out “Lord, Lord!” “didn’t we cast out demons etc, etc in your name,” and He will say to them, “I never knew you.”

So, in the grand scheme of things, what do we want to focus on? Get to know the Lord and his body (other believers in Christ).

Then we will gain great confidence in His Word and what He says.

Please take this as an admonition to learn of Him,speak to Him, and give of yourself to Him, you know, Follow Him.

Great and wonderful fellowship awaits His chosen as we desire to be, and partake of, all that He has given us.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians—the Light

Paul, after assuring the Ephesians that they are indeed chosen by God, goes on to explain the gloriousness that we have in Christ.

Many of us are in trouble if we try to rely on our own circumstances or experiences to resolve our situations.

We simply don’t have enough facts all the time nor do we consult with enough people to make rational decisions.

But, God, has a way to enlighten us about things we are entering into.

It’s called light, the Scripture says, “if we will walk in the light as He is in the light,” and the payoff is—we lose the darkness so we are exactly where God wants us to be.

Now, God knows where we are and where we end up, but wouldn’t you rather be where He wants you to be rather than where you end up and remember how good He is?

Of course!

So listen this morning as Paul recants why we are free and the amazing advantage we have as children of God and members of His family.

You are a royal priesthood.

Pastor Brent

Ephesians

Ephesians is a book that we can use as a foundation for our belief, and as a guide for going through the rest of our lives.

When we feel overlooked, Ephesians assures us we matter and have been chosen since before time.

When we feel too important Ephesians reminds us we were chosen by God; we did not choose Him.

When we feel defeated, Ephesians reminds us the God that chose us, chose us perfectly suited for His actions and purposes and HE will clean us up along the way by His design.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

— Ephesians 1:17-19

Ephesians is going to be a great study, and I hope you can set your sites to make it to as many Sundays as possible.

Great to be back,

Pastor Brent

The Way, The Truth, The Life - Part 2

Jesus is all three. You cannot take one away from Jesus and have the fullness of the Godhead.

Today as we talk about the truth, it’s hard to know if there really is truth. Unfortunately our side is always right.

Which is what every side thinks. We are saved, so everything we say must be the truth because God has seen fit to save us.

But, in reality, the Word is more knowledgeable than we are and in Col 3:9 Paul warns us not to lie to each other because our old, sinful nature has been put to death.

Be careful who you quote. Not all people have the kingdom’s interest at hand and we may end up quoting something harmful.

We are in the midst of the most challenging of times, truthwise. Because seemingly no one has an unbiased view of our situation, or our predicament, or any reliable facts that we can point to and say, for sure, this is an absolute.

And it’s why we, as Christians are encouraged to stay with the Gospel. In fact, Paul got so disgusted with the way the rhetoric in his time was going; he determined to preach only Christ and his crucifixion and overcoming of death.

Maybe that should be our goal. Because once Christ is planted—-life ensues.

Pastor Brent