More Than Bread

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The first three chapters of Ephesians are filled with theology and doxology. In the last three chapters we get the so-what? If this is true and this is glorious, how then should we live? In these three practical-how-to chapters, Paul shapes his words around the metaphor "to walk." How is your walk? I like that metaphor.  To "walk" suggests intentional, forward, enduring, and directed, not frenetic or aimless.  Short term effort is not what we are looking for, but rather (as Eugene Peterson describes it) a "long obedience in the same direction."

So in this episode, I simply want us to ask ourselves, "How is my walk?" It's a question that has importance for far more than just my physical fitness. How is your walk?

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We are in the Good New business. That's our calling. Our primary business is not holding weekend worship services. It's not building buildings or hosting events. None of those things are bad, they just aren't our calling. Our calling is to know and become like Jesus and help others do the same. When that happens lives are changed. Marriages are renewed. Futures are restored. Hope is given. But we can't do it alone. I can't become like Jesus all by myself. I need you. You need me. That's what Ephesians 4 is all about, it's a blueprint for a life-changing community!

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What is our calling and how do we walk worthy of our calling? We start trying to uncover our calling when we're young. It begins with the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?" I think one of the first times we asked Jake what he wanted to be, he wanted to be a pirate. Now he’s a youth pastor, maybe sometimes not all that different. What do you want to do when you grow up…but you see walking worthy of our calling is perhaps just as much an answer to the question, “who do you want to be when you grow up?"

When Paul challenges us to a walk that is worthy of our calling, he's calling us to a certain sort of being... being like Jesus; humble, gentle, loving. So who do you want to be when you grow up? That's the question for this podcast.

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One principles operate by, at Calvary is the principle that God is always at work around us, so we need to look for what God is doing and then join him. It's a good principle, but let me tweak it a little bit. Don't just ask yourself, "What is God doing?" Ask, "What is God dreaming." What is on the heart of God that has not yet taken place? What is God dreaming? Because listen when it comes to dreams. Your dreams for you are not  enough. We need to seek God's dreams.

So let me ask you, "Where in your life is God daring you to dream?" Where are you stepping out on a journey that is doomed to failure if God doesn't show up? Listen, we have a Dream-Giver-God who goes beyond beyond. So it's always too early to give up hope and never too late to start dreaming!

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Can I tell you something? God delights in revealing Himself to those who will seek him with all their hearts.  He doesn't get tired of giving you moments to experience the love of Jesus that is beyond understanding. But he wants to be asked.  He wants to be pursued.  He wants you to want it. 

Can I tell you something else?  No one can love you like God. His amazing heart is for you. It is the wellspring of life for your heart! 

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We have a God who is able…a God who is able to do more…a God who is able to do immeasurably more than anything we’ve ever asked for…a God who is able to do immeasurably more than we can even imagine.  And what we need in today's world of complexity, uncertainty, and chaos; what we need in our neighborhoods and families, what we need in our hearts is a God who goes beyond beyond, the God of immeasurable strength, wisdom and love. That's who we got!

A God who can do more than we can imagine!

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Ephesians 3:14-21 is my all-time favorite prayer. It's a breakthrough prayer filled with faith and expectancy in the God who is able to immeasurably more than we have ever asked for or could ever imagine. But before Paul gets to the prayer. He sets the context when he says, "I am asking that you not lose heart..."

Do not lose heart. Don't quit. Don't give up. I know it's hard, but breakthrough is coming, because we have a breakthrough God. If you are going through a hard chapter in your story. Let this encourage you; let it fill up your heart. God is the God of breakthrough!

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Fix your eyes on the unseen realities of heaven coming to earth. You have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. You have been given a seat at the table.  You have been adopted into the family of God. You have been graced. But it's not just for you. You have been blessed so that you can bless others. Grace has been poured out on you, so that others would get caught in the overflow. So the question is for whom has God given you grace?

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In Christ we are accepted and deeply loved by God.  Think of all the reasons why you have thought you were unacceptable to God. Bring to mind the shame and the worry. Bring to mind the list that Satan the Accuser throws at you. Your prayer life is so dry. Your marriage is on the rocks. Your kids don't like you. You have failed so many times. Your secrets sins scream out to God, I'm no good. Whatever is on your list of do's that you've don'ted and don'ts that you've done; let it come to mind. 

 Now hear the word of Father God to you, "I chose you before the foundation of the world. I have adopted you as my very own child. I have a spot for you on my lap and a seat at my table. You are accepted and loved. " 

Isn't that rich?  Do we deserve it?  No.  Did we earn it? No.  Could we ever pay for it? No.  Should we enjoy it?  Absolutely yes. THAT'S GRACE.

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One thing I so love about Ephesians is Paul’s gloriously practical vision of the church. I read Ephesians and I think, "This is the dream in the heart of Father God." Ephesians is a practical manual on church but it looks forward also. It looks forward to the whole family gathered together, from every nation. That’s the end game, right? This is why we go through what we go through and still don't give up on the church. We may give up on structures and strategies and failures, but we don't give up on Christ's church because this dream is pulsating through his nail-scarred veins. Ephesians 2:11-22 passionately inspires me to live His church.