May 8, 2016
Ephesians
Chapter 1, Part 2
Thanksgiving and Prayer
Ephesians 1:13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:15-16
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
This is not a half-hearted statement. Because you are defined by Jesus, because you follow Christ, I am thankful for you and I pray for you. We have fallen pretty far from this mindset as the American church.
Abraham Lincoln -
"The more sects we have the better. They are all getting somebody in (to the Church) that the others could not.”
John 13:35
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
If churches around us:
- Preach the Gospel: the saving power of Jesus’ death and resurrection not a list of religious actions.
- Worship the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not a human leader.
- Believe in the inerrancy of the Bible.
- Love people around them, and live a life set apart from the World...
We should be FOR THEM, not AGAINT THEM
Ephesians 1:17-19a
17 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. 18 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, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
The Holy Spirit is 1/3 of how we connect with God: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), God the Holy Spirit. We can’t cut out and ignore the Holy Spirit or pretend He doesn’t exist in our lives.
Romans 8:9
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
We need to ask for the Holy Spirit to show us more.
We need to seek out more of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1: 19b-23
That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Communication Card
I will encourage and pray for Christians and churches around me.
I will release control and let the Holy Spirit work in my life.
I will read through Ephesians once this week
