When God Calls with Michael McCaskill

• Verses 15 - 23
   
  • Paul’s message is for everyone to have faith in Jesus Christ and with that love for everyone. Our salvation depends on it.
     
    • Acts 20:21 - I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
    • Col 1:3-4 - We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people.
  • He is very specific in his prayer - that God may give them wisdom to know Him better.
    • Col 1:9 - For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
  • He doesn’t pray that the drunk get sober or that the sinner stop sinning.  He prays that they know God so that He reveals to them their calling that leads to everlasting life with Him. 
    • Rom 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
    • Rom 2:3 - Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
    • Cancer - if doctors just treat the symptoms (weight loss, pain, fatigue, etc) the cancer will kill you.  If doctors treat the source of the symptoms, the patient can be cured.
  • Paul isn’t praying people to stop sinning, he is praying that they will know God and obtain salvation. 
• How can this happen?
  • By the same power God used to raise Christ from the dead!  As Christians (those who have faith in Jesus Christ and love all God’s people) we are given this same power!
  • If we know God, we will better understand His will in our lives, leading to our salvation, everlasting life with Him.
  • Salvation through the power of Jesus’ resurrection after sacrificing his life for our sins.

Our  Sunday school class begins our study of Ephesians.  In this episode we discuss chapter 1 verses 1-14. 

Background

• Paul first ministered in Ephesus in about the year 53 but didn’t remain there (Acts 18:19-21) First missionary journey
• Two years later returned to Ephesus, third missionary journey, and remained for at least two years. (Acts 20)
• Ten years later writes to the Ephesians
  • He is a prisoner in Rome 

Chapter 1

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

• Paul begins by telling us what God has done for us.
• We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
  • Blessing - God’s favor and protection
• Spiritual blessings that he lists
• First, He chose us.
  • With all of our warts, inconsistent worship, forgetting about Him lack of bible study, lack of prayer, etc.
  • With all of that, He chose us before the world was created.
•  Blameless before Him
  • Remember all of our blessings are in Christ
  • One day when we stand before God Christ will present us as one of His, blameless because Jesus paid the penalty on the cross because we are in Christ.
• Accepted in the beloved.
  • God doesn’t accept me for me.  He accepts me because I am in Christ.
• The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace
  • Jesus’ death paid my debt so that I can be forgiven of my sins
• He made know to us his will
  • Unity will be brought to all things in heaven and earth under Christ.
  • This isn’t a maybe for possibly or I think I might
  • This will happen and if we aren’t in Christ we son’t be part of the unity.
• We praise God and give him glory by the fact that we put our trust in Christ 
  • When we trust Christ in the bad times and the good times we are praising God and giving him Glory.
• We were purchased by God.
  • When we heard the Gospel of our salvation we were introduced to Christ.
  • When we believed the Gospel and in Christ, Christ then knew us and God purchased us and places his seal on us by giving us the Holy Spirit.

We spend a lot of time researching things that could drastically change our lives.  In this episode I talk about studying Jesus' life in order to truly know the God we worship.

Do you have hurt and anger pent up inside you because of a wrong done to you or a wrong you have done to someone else?   Forgiveness will begin your road to peace.  

In this episode I bring two true stories of forgiveness right here in the panhandle of Florida that are unimaginable.  Stories that inspired me to forgive and accept forgiveness and I know they will inspire you too.

In this episode I talk about how we all need a little encouragement every now and then.

There are those people in life who best demonstrate how to live a Christian life in the worst of times.  Rory Mock is one such person!

Are you so busy that you don't have time to let God speak in your life?  I am struggling with this and in this episode I'll talk about what I am going to do to try and change that.

God created you with specific gifts and talents.  Therefore, only you are capable of doing what you do like you can.

We can come up with all kinds of excuses why we don't spend time with God.  In this episode I talk about the need to find time to give our problems to God so he can put our lives back together.

Have you ever stopped to watch ants work to fix their hill after something destroys it?  It is a marvelous event where every ant uses their particular talent to assist in repairing the damage.  

We can learn from ants. God has given us all talents and gifts.  But if we don't use them properly, it creates a void in God's Kingdom that has to be filled.