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September 11, 2020 7:05 am
Chuck Swindoll on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. I'm saying you just read it once a week but before long you will not need it framed on your wall, you will have it framed in your mind. Before long you will find the decisions being made will be filtered through truths out of Ephesians. Before long struggles you have been wrestling will will began to be solved through the truths of the letter to the Ephesians and it will no longer be printed on the page, it will be a letter written on your heart. Imagine receiving a handwritten letter address with the salutation from the apostle Paul, followed by a few personal thoughts and his signature inscribed at the close, it's likely his letter would commend your complete attention. My right today on Insight for living we're launching our next study in this time it's in Paul's emotion filled letter to the Ephesians, Chuck Swindoll invites us to join him on a journey of discovery as we open this ancient letter to see what God is teaching us for today to begin.
Chuck starts with an insightful overview of the complete book. Since we are beginning a study through the letter of Ephesians are really the letter to the Ephesians seemed appropriate that I select a few verses here and there almost at random from the letter itself will they do tie together in a threaded theme. As we will see later.
So turn if you will, in the New Testament to this letter, Paul wrote to the Ephesians want to read a few verses from it and then we will have some prayer in them a message. Paul and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 2. Look at verse one.
Please, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus over to chapter 4 verse one take note of what Paul calls himself will understand that better in a few moments. Therefore I the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called with all humility and gentleness with patients, showing tolerance for one another in love. Being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Chapter 5 again verse one therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us. Love you and gave himself up for us and offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma and then using Paul's word chapter 6, verse 10. Finally, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places last two verses peace be to the brethren in love with faith, from God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love leader Bible open right there in your lap just now with me in prayer.
How precious is your word to us, our father, the older we get, the more we realize its value.
We thank you for its precepts, clearly delineated and purposefully defined to give us direction. In a world that's lost his way. Thank you also for principles that with wisdom may be applied even in the 21st century, when it seems as though the standard has gotten pretty fussy and the future for many scenes, intimidating, fearful or grateful Lord that the entrance of your word gives light it means a lot to us because there's an enormous amount of darkness about us and we want to live on. On the bright side, the light side of life we want to be able to enjoy what you have for us rather than endure our circumstances, we want to see the beauty of your purposes and how it all fits together into a divinely designed plan that makes great sense to you and we rest our case, there even though it may not make sense to us. Thank you father in advance for the way you will speak to us through this letter in the weeks and months ahead. May we realize it is relevant my task is not to make it that way you have written it that way.
It addresses the needs of our lives.
It talks about where we live and how we are to live there. It deals in clearly stated words what life is about. And we do need that at the same time, Lord, we realize that you're a God of enormous mercy and compassion and grace and you you dealt with us. That way before we knew you when you're dealing that way with people in this very audience who've yet to come to know you in a personal way. May this letter have its magnetic appeal in their lives is the print on the page becomes the living word in their hearts. In the bow and submission to the glory of God the father, who has made them for this purpose we have learned through your word that it is more blessed to give than receive it. It that's not a human cliché, that's a divinely given principle for life and we find pleasure. Therefore in releasing from the substance you provided through our wage through the commission we make in sales through the provision you have allowed us to enjoy. In the abundance of investments that have gone well and from even the savings you have directed us to pull away and to give to you. We give Lord today with great delight in enormous pleasure knowing that there are different eternal dimensions in these gifts we give first ourselves to you.
We do so full of gratitude in the name of Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us. We given we pray God's people set. There are times we have been sent a letter that is so good we say to a friend or our partner in life you know I need to frame this letter, that's good enough to be framed. Matter of fact I have had a couple or three of my letters framed by other people and I didn't know what I wrote them they were going to be framed revisiting them in their home and there showing me through their place and I get to the hallway and they say is a look over this small frame.
In this letter and I see my signature. Nothing omitted I spell everything right when I wrote to you. Now you are when you see what your letters and you didn't know it would be for everybody to read Ephesians is one of those God framed letters for all time and we been living in the first century we would've thought immediately upon reading it.this will not be framed. This one belongs in front of our home or in front of our faces for the rest of our days.
This is one of those we don't want to ever forget. After all, it was written by a man who was unforgettable. Paul, who wrote more of these letters for the New Testament than anyone else. Paul, who lived a life of enormous sacrifice and commitment.
Though he began later in life later than many later than most of us but there was something about the spirits working in Paul's pin that directed to his thoughts into those areas of greatest need and scratch the deepest itches in the human life this letter to the Ephesians. Not only is it doctrinally vital link to us in our faith, giving us a foundation for believing that which is important but it is full of practical advice is were going to learn in the weeks and the months ahead. Information that will help us not only at work and in the social realm of our lives, but at home and in private. It talks about things that matter and it won't be long before you say not only do I wish that I could have the letter framed.
I would like to take that one verse and make it my verse for life. It's just that good but believe me it didn't it didn't find its origin in the context of enjoyment and contentment.
The cradle of this letter rocked in the time of enormous struggle just go right to the top of the world. It was it was in the time of the Roman Empire's greatest days and the leader was Nero. Even though you don't know a lot about Nero. Many of you some of you may know a great deal.
He began his reign, and it was that in 54 and he reigned until 68 probably only Domitian, the Emperor was worse than Nero's kingdom was evil to the core. He was a killing machine and especially took delight in killing Christians. Anyone who would not bow the needs and the need to Nero deserve to die. And Christians were notorious for bowing their need tutorial us Jehovah God and is Nero learn more and more of that took great delight in extreme measures of persecution and as most of you are aware, even on occasion the bodies of Christians lit the Coliseum and the bodies were torn from limb to limb by animals as part of the entertainment of the pagan world under Nero's rule to not come in context.
Paul wrote Ephesians around 6061 62 in the first century and if you know Nero's life.
You know that he really went mad toward the end of his life and in this maddening state of affairs, the apostle found believers not only struggling and battling for survival, but scattered away from home, not knowing often where they would lay their head living in dens and caves of the earth and some time and little clusters here and there. You'll notice in this first verse of Ephesians.
An interesting statement. Paul, who is the writer calling himself an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints.
So it's written by Paul to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus to the words at Ephesus. Some scholars inform us that there are a few of the good Greek manuscripts that don't include the words at Ephesus leading many who are serious about their study of the New Testament to believe that this letter wasn't limited.
Ephesians was cyclical in nature, meaning that it made the rounds from one church to another, probably coming first to Ephesus, but not stopping there, since it is written to all the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus to give you a little hint to where the letter may have wound up turn to Colossians couple of books to the to the right little further on in your Bible.
Chapter 4 Colossians 4 verse 16 we got the letter to the Ephesians before us, and we returned to the letter to the people living in Colossae who had become followers of Jesus followers of the way Paul in writing them in verse 16 of chapter 4 of Colossians, referring to this letter. Colossians when this letter is read among you haven't also read in the church of the Laodicean yet another place in western Turkey called in those days Asia so we have Ephesus in Colossae and now Laodicea have this letter written to the church of the Laodiceans and you for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea never stopped to look at that before, is some minor detail, but I suggest it's a hint that the letter to the Ephesians was making its cycle, making its rounds and he had perhaps been to Ephesians to the Ephesians and made its way to Laodicea and was now on its way to Colossae. Paul said read that letter that the Laodiceans are sending you from their town and from there church there gathering back to Ephesians chapter 1. Not only is it a cyclical letter. It is a letter of enormous significance. This is nothing new. I'm not making a sudden discovery in this 21st-century Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it the queen of the epistles, the divine. This composition of man. When John Knox was dying. He had read to him most often the sermons of John Calvin written on the letter to the Ephesians. It brought cotton locks that kind of comfort John Stott points out, many have been brought to faith and stirred to good works by its message, and then in Stott fashion. He turns in history to a man whose life was changed by the letter to the Ephesians 1 you may not have studied nor have I named Dr. John McKay MA CK a Y former president of Princeton theological seminary who said in his book to this book. I owe my life went on to explain in July 1903 as a lad of 14, he experienced through reading Ephesians what he called and I quote, again, a boyish rapture in the Highland Hills and I made a passionate protestation to Jesus Christ among the rocks in the starlight that beautiful at the age of 14 while reading the letter to the Ephesians. The light dawned on me. Starlight of the rock here is his own account of what happened as a result, I saw a new world everything was new.
I had a new outlook, new experiences, new attitudes to other people. I love God, Jesus Christ, became the center of everything I had been quickened. I was really alive.
As an adult agent following his education, he never lost fascination with the letter to the Ephesians McKay when invited to deliver the crawl lectures in Edinboro University in January 1948 chose this letter as his topic in this letter he refers to Ephesians as the greatest the mature wrist and for our time. The most relevant of all Paul's works for here is quartz again. Here is the distilled essence of the Christian religion. The distilled essence of the Christian religion. I will say to you without hesitation that if you are not a student of the letter to the Ephesians you have missed something important in the incident in your instruction to live the Christian life.
Not only have you missed an enormous foundation for the life which is a doctrinal in nature, but you have missed an enormous amount of direction in the horizontal plane of living that life from day to day. Ephesians offers both offers it in big gulps. This isn't bedside reading. This is reading for the serious student of the word of God and I'm going to be so serious as to say here that I would like for you to read it once a week for as long as we are engaged in the study of it. That sound fanatical or what some of you are smiling back to me like get a life. Are you kidding doing when I was a student at Dallas seminary back with the Earth's crust was cooling. I remember one of our great Bible teachers teaching us for two weeks. Through this particular letter said I want you to read this every day, every day.
He said you will discover at the end of two weeks that by the end of the day.
That last day you will be able on your own to think your way through this letter without looking. You will also notice for the beginning of the third week.
Your Bible will automatically open to the letter that you been reading everyday I'm saying you just read it once a week.
Yes, there are six chapters. Yes, it will take 15 maybe 20 minutes of your time. It'll take less time.
The more familiar you get with but before long you will not need it framed on your wall, you'll have it framed in your mind and you will begin to do what I call one of the greatest Christian activities you can do and that is think God's thoughts after him. Before long you will find the decisions being made will be filtered through truths out of Ephesians.
Before long struggles you have been wrestling will will will begin to be solved through the truths of the letter to the Ephesians and it will no longer be printed on the page, it will be a letter written on your heart is opening message Chuck Swindoll gives us a birds eye view of Paul's letter to the Ephesians and recalling the series becoming a people of grace.
Please stay with this because Chuck will offer a final teaching point just a moment to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org and Insight for living it's our prayer that this series will inspire you to become God's agent of grace in the world that starving for a touch of kindness today, September 11 and in the United States will never forget the horrific invasion 19 years ago this morning that altered our sense of security forever and sent shockwaves around the world as well. It's all the more reason to instill these biblical principles in our lives so that Paul's message to the Ephesians becomes a way of life. Along these lines check is written a helpful book on a similar theme. It's called encourage me carrying words for heavy hearts.
This book not only speaks to those of us who need a lift but it's also a great book to give away as an act of kindness to others in need. You can purchase a copy of encourage me right now by going to Insight.org/offer or call us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 on Sunday morning.
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Even though Paul's letter to the Ephesians was written in the first century aphesis is a city we can see today is Chuck Swindoll, aphesis, you can still visit the city.
Cynthia and I were privileged with a few friends of ours on the trip we made in 1999 to go to westernmost turkey along with trip across the Aegean, over into Macedonia and ancient. The ancient sites of Greece and to see the side no place was more impressive than aphesis. The marble columns that have now been brought back to their vertical position, having been leveled by earthquakes and some of the most impressive scenes you will ever witness. The structures are breathtaking.
There was more marble now in that city than any city I have ever visited, including the city of Athens in Ephesus.
It is a city marble. The streets are marble. The chariot ruts cut into the marble for the chariots. It even has speed bumps. Are you ready for the adolescent chariot riders. I'm sure back in the first wheel and before there was no city quite like aphesis it's background holds me and captures my thoughts as I walked the streets and can hear from the great theater for electron. It's called and asked 1929 the Fiat Tron were Paul was. He literally saw and was in the same theater seats 24,000 built of marble blocks and tears in sections. There you never quite the same. Ephesus join us again when Chuck Swindoll study and Ephesians continues Monday on Insight for living. The preceding message. Ephesians a life changing letter was copyrighted in 2000 2001 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll.
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