Ephesians – Page 2 – Mt Freedom Baptist Church

Paul wants us to recognize how blessed we truly are as believers. Paul provides some foundational truths about our faith and works to help us understand how these truths can help us grow stronger as disciples of Jesus Christ. God has blessed us with our salvation through Jesus Christ. He has blessed us in our relationships. He has blessed us in our families, both at home and in our churches. He has blessed us with a new identity in Christ. He has blessed us with an eternal inheritance. Paul wants us to follow his lead and give praises to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He “has blesses us in Christ with every blessing in the heavenly places”.

This message begins a new series focused on Paul’s epistle to the churches surrounding Ephesus. It’s no secret that Christians are called to be different. We are to be “new” and not hold on to the “old”. In Ephesians Paul teaches what it’s truly like to be different. We live in a world of rapid moral decline. Therefore, as followers of Jesus Christ, we must train ourselves to function differently than the world. We must learn to fully commit to living a surrendered life and allow the power of God’s Spirit to help us walk in God’s ways and not our own.

None of us are perfect and all of us need God’s power to help us make it in this world. The holy ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two of the greatest gifts given to us directly from Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Baptism allows the believer the opportunity to announce to the world that they have given their heart and control of their life to Jesus. It symbolizes death to self, burial into Jesus Christ, and resurrection into a new life. Participation in the Lord’s Supper helps us proclaim the death of Christ as necessary for our salvation and proclaim our anticipation for His eventual return. Participation in the Lord’s Supper requires us to be in right relationship with Jesus and unifies the bride of Christ, His Church, together around the supper table of the Lord.

Every believer understands the command by Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples”, but very few strive to make evangelism part of their daily lives. When we allow our hearts to be in tune with our Savior’s, evangelism then becomes something which will flow from our mouths and our actions more naturally. It is the duty and privilege of every Jesus follower to set their life on a course which helps fulfill this great command from Jesus. Lives are at stake, and we must train ourselves for the work of an evangelist, whether we want to or not.

Biblical illiteracy and lack of spiritual maturity is quickly becoming an alarming trend across Christian churches. God – since the moment He granted Adam dominion over the earth has always encouraged His children to pursue knowledge, understanding and wisdom. He did this because He knew how desperately we would need His laws and His structure as we daily face the trials and tribulations our current culture is forcing onto the believer. We must develop a personal plan of discipleship, we must teach the next generation about God, Jesus, Salvation, and the Holy Spirit. No longer should it be acceptable to sit at home or in the pew with the attitude of, “the church doesn’t need me anymore. They have plenty of others to do that.” God expects every believer to study and then teach someone else all that God has taught them.

We need to look at salvation and what it really means for the person who chooses God over self. Our salvation has more to do with Him than it does with who we are. Yes, we are special and the greatest of His creation, but our salvation demonstrates the mercy and grace of a loving God.

Jesus did not give us lip service. He gave us His life. On Calvary’s cross He laid it all down. He left the glory of heaven for the work of the cross. He surrendered to the agony of the cross, all for love, so that you and I could one day inherit eternal life. If He held nothing back for you, why would you hold back anything from Him? What does your stewardship say about the authenticity of your faith? What does it say about where your trust really is? What does it say about your heart?

On the evening that He was betrayed to be crucified, Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another, saying that by the love we show to one another within our fellowships all the world will know that we are His disciples. The love Jesus commands us to offer one another can sometimes be difficult. We need to offer our brothers and sisters in Christ the fullest measure of grace we possibly can by the power of God’s Spirit within our hearts. Nevertheless, sometimes the love we need to show must be tough love. When our fellow Christ followers stray from the paths of righteousness, we need to admonish them and allow God to use our words and support to guide them out of sin and back into right fellowship with God. More importantly, we need to humble our own hearts to allow God to use our fellow believers to help us in the same way. In this our fellowships are enabled to press forward in service of God’s kingdom together.

Every person holds true to a set of values which speak to what is most important in their life. Organizations, especially churches, should hold true to the values assigned to them by God. If our core values are not in alignment with God’s Word, then we must prayerfully and honestly evaluate them and willingly make changes which will bring us back into agreement with Him. Afterall, our values dictate our behavior, unify us in our beliefs, and keep us grounded in the Word.

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