[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] It's Rick. Welcome back to the Nomad Pastor podcast. Last, last episode. We started with Ephesians chapter one. And so today we're going to dive into one of again, my favorite chapters of the Bible.
[00:00:22] It's going to be Ephesians, chapter two. This chapter paints a beautiful picture of transformation, reconciliation, and God's amazing grace.
[00:00:33] So if you've ever felt like you weren't good enough, like your past defines you, like you didn't belong anywhere, this message, this chapter, this is for you.
[00:00:46] And so we're going to, we're going to jump right into the scripture I read from the NASB version. And so we're going to start with Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1 through 5 says, and you were dead in your offenses and sin in which you previously 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 previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love, which he loved us even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ by grace, you have been saved.
[00:01:41] So Paul starts us off with some hard truth, right? He says, we're dead in our sins. We're not just struggling, we're not just broken.
[00:01:50] We were dead in our sins. We were spiritually dead. And you know, the unfortunate thing is dead people can't fix themselves.
[00:02:01] But there's this game changer in the Bible, these two words, and Paul introduces them here. But God, because of his great love, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we're dead to sin.
[00:02:24] Spend a second to think about that before, before you ever got your life together, before you ever tried to clean up your act, before you ever walked away from that addiction.
[00:02:38] God stepped in and made you alive through Jesus.
[00:02:45] Now I know for me that there was a long time that I didn't feel that. And maybe you haven't felt that.
[00:02:54] Maybe you felt like you're just going through the motions, that you're just spiritually numb.
[00:03:01] You see, but God, those two words, that game changing phrase, but God's love breaks through all of that.
[00:03:14] He doesn't wait for us to get our act together.
[00:03:19] He steps into our mess and gives us a new life.
[00:03:25] You know, when I first came to Christ, I Was like, I can't go to church.
[00:03:31] I don't have my life together.
[00:03:33] I mean, I was saved, but I was still doing things I shouldn't be doing. What am I doing here? I can't go to church.
[00:03:41] I'll be judged. I don't have the right clothes. I don't have this. I don't have whatever excuse I had.
[00:03:48] But God, his love breaks through all of that. He doesn't wait for us to get our act together.
[00:04:01] And I just. I'm going to ask you this question so that maybe we can reflect on a little bit. But when you think about God loving you even when you were spiritually dead, how does that change your perspective on his mercy and grace?
[00:04:19] Because for me, it just drastically changes it. I think of my kids, but I have four, three girls and a boy, and I love them no matter what they do.
[00:04:35] So think about God.
[00:04:39] His mercy and grace is so abundant, unmeasurable, because of his love.
[00:04:51] I think you'll start. As we go through these weeks of Ephesians, which will probably be like six weeks, you'll start to understand why the book of Ephesians and this letter that Paul wrote is so impactful to my walk with Christ.
[00:05:14] Because I didn't get it.
[00:05:17] I didn't understand that love. I didn't understand that grace. I didn't understand that mercy.
[00:05:27] And this next section started to help me with that. Chapter one, Amazing. Predestined, adopted. Before I ever took my first breath, God knew me, chose me.
[00:05:41] But now we're really getting into the meat, right? So Ephesians 2, 6, 10 says, and raised 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 boundless riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
[00:06:24] You see, in these verses, Paul reminds us that we're not only saved, we're not just saved, that we have been raised up with Christ.
[00:06:37] See, what that means is your position changed.
[00:06:41] And when that position changed, like where you are in life, you're no longer stuck in your past. See, you're seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
[00:06:54] And that place, that's a place of victory.
[00:06:58] That's a place of purpose. You remember earlier I said, have you Ever struggled to feel like you have your purpose. And I talked about that in the last episode in chapter one as well.
[00:07:09] Your place is a victory and purpose seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
[00:07:18] And here's the best part about it.
[00:07:22] Maybe it's just my mind that it's the best part, but I would argue that it's the best part.
[00:07:27] This salvation is a gift. You didn't earn it, I didn't earn it. We can't achieve it by being good enough.
[00:07:38] It's grace.
[00:07:40] It is pure, unmerited favor.
[00:07:46] Nothing I do earns that. It is a gift from God.
[00:07:53] But Paul doesn't stop there.
[00:07:57] You see, he reminds us that we are God's handiwork, that we are created for good works that he prepared in advance, that you have a purpose.
[00:08:11] God saved you for something greater.
[00:08:16] You know, if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that before I started doing this, I argued with God for at least two years, maybe longer.
[00:08:29] God saying, I got this purpose for you. You need to do this podcast.
[00:08:35] And I said, no, I don't think so. I'm not the right guy. I don't have the training, I don't have this, I don't have that.
[00:08:45] No God, he prepared it in advance.
[00:08:54] So my question before we move on is how does knowing that you are God's masterpiece, how does that change the way you see yourself and your purpose?
[00:09:09] Because it changed mine forever.
[00:09:16] The way I see myself today is different than I saw myself 20 years ago.
[00:09:22] 15 years ago.
[00:09:26] The purpose I have today is different from the purpose I had 20 years ago.
[00:09:34] 20 years ago it was, how fast can I climb the corporate ladder Today it's what can I do for God? And he's going to provide everything else if I put God first because I am God's masterpiece. And it drastically changed the way I saw myself.
[00:10:01] It's just, I know I probably said the word amazing too many times, but understanding that I have a purpose has changed my path.
[00:10:18] So I'm going to move on to Ephesians 2 and I'm going to read 11:14 says, Therefore remember that previously, you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by the so called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands. Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who previously were far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.
[00:11:10] You see, now Paul is talking to a group of people that felt like they didn't belong, the Gentiles. He's talking to me.
[00:11:19] My whole life, I felt like I didn't belong. I grew up in Salt Lake City. People who have listened to this forever know, right, I'm not Mormon. I felt like I didn't belong. My parents weren't Mormon.
[00:11:35] Right here Paul is talking to the Gentiles, but look, he's talking to me.
[00:11:43] They were outsiders.
[00:11:45] They were separated from God's promise.
[00:11:48] But through Christ, those who were once far away have been brought near, have been brought closer.
[00:11:59] Because you see, Jesus is our peace.
[00:12:03] He's the one who tears down the walls, not us.
[00:12:09] He's the one that tears down the walls of the race, tears down the background, tears down whatever that social status may be through Christ. In him, there are no outsiders.
[00:12:22] We are one family and we're united by his blood.
[00:12:31] So as you've walked your faith journey, have you ever felt like an outsider?
[00:12:40] Have you ever walked into a church and everybody looked at you like you didn't belong? Because I have.
[00:12:48] I promise you there's a church that doesn't act that way.
[00:12:53] Have you ever walked into a church and you sat down and everybody looked at you because you were sitting in somebody's seat, that they always sat there, nobody else did, and like you were breaking the rules? Because I have.
[00:13:10] So if you felt like an outsider in your faith journey like I did when I started, this should be an encouragement to you that no matter where you've been, you are welcome.
[00:13:26] And if you ever walk into a church and you don't feel welcome, walk into a different one.
[00:13:36] It's important.
[00:13:42] And so I'm going to finish this up with Ephesians, chapter 2, 1922. And it says, so then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into the dwelling of God in the Spirit.
[00:14:20] See, now Paul's going to wrap the chapter up.
[00:14:25] As you read Paul's letters, he is just amazing. Now he is wrapping up the chapter, right, with this incredible truth that you're no longer strangers, that you are citizens, right in God's kingdoms, that we are members of his household, that we belong, no matter what anybody else may say or think or feel, we are no longer strangers. We are members of God's household. That's how much God loves us. It doesn't matter what anybody on the flesh thinks or says.
[00:15:06] You know what's even more amazing is that Paul says we are built together as a dwelling place for God's spirit.
[00:15:15] And what that means is we are not just part of the church, we are the church. The church is not a building.
[00:15:24] God's spirit dwells within us, making us part of something that is far bigger than ourselves.
[00:15:32] It's far bigger than me and it is far bigger than you.
[00:15:36] We are not just part of the church, we are the church.
[00:15:43] So if you know that God's spirit dwells in you, how will that impact how you live?
[00:15:53] How will that impact how you engage with others in the body of Christ?
[00:16:01] Those are important questions you have to answer.
[00:16:05] You have to pray on those.
[00:16:08] How does knowing that God's spirit is in you, that dwells in you, how will that impact how you live? And how will that impact how you engage with others in the body of Christ?
[00:16:22] Because we are the church, not a building.
[00:16:28] God's spirit is within us.
[00:16:33] So as we finish this one up for Ephesians chapter two, I just want to remember, I want you to remember, remember that Ephesians 2 is powerful. It's a powerful reminder of where we've been and where God has taken us. You see, he's taken us from death to life, from outsiders to family, from being lost to being God's masterpiece.
[00:17:11] That we are here and God loves us.
[00:17:19] Like I don't know how much more clear that could be, that when you think about these things right in this chapter, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves. It is a gift from God.
[00:17:43] Nothing I do can earn my salvation.
[00:17:50] It's a gift.
[00:17:52] I can't achieve it by being good enough.
[00:17:57] That is profound, that the grace of God, this pure, unmerited favor, is given to me freely if I choose.
[00:18:15] That's the best message ever.
[00:18:20] So here's my challenge to you.
[00:18:24] After listening to this podcast for the next week, spend time reflecting on your But God moment. Remember earlier I said that simple phrase, the simple two word phrase, but God.
[00:18:42] I want you to think about your But God moment.
[00:18:47] Where were you before Christ stepped in?
[00:18:52] How has his grace changed you?
[00:18:58] Then ask God to show you the good works he has prepared for you to step into.
[00:19:06] Because he has a purpose for all of us.
[00:19:11] It may be scary, it may be scary to ask God, show me what you need me to do, Lord.
[00:19:21] But he has a purpose. He has prepared you for it. And he will prepare you for what you need to do to step into it.
[00:19:31] Think about your But God moment.
[00:19:39] Look, I want to thank you for joining me today on the Nomad Pastor podcast. I want you to remember that no matter where you are, no matter what your past looks like, you are loved, you are chosen, and you belong.
[00:19:53] So let's walk in that truth. Let's embrace the grace that God that saved us, and let's embrace the calling that unites us in Christ.
[00:20:09] Until next week, this is Rick with the Nomad Pastor podcast. I want to remind you that if you got a question, if you got a concern, if you need to know of a church locally, if you need prayer, if you want to talk about something specific on the podcast, send us an
[email protected] and I want to remind you that we're available on all podcast platforms. Subscribe, Share like it, tell your friends.
[00:20:33] Maybe that's your purpose. Maybe if you spend time to reflect, your purpose is to share this message.
[00:20:39] And lastly, and of course, one of the most important things is I want to remind you to love God and love people. It.
