Today I'm actually in the hills behind my house. I surfed one of my favorite spots this morning called a shark tooth
It rarely breaks a little longboard spot over in Doheny cut a lot of waves
Thanks to a big South swell that hit town really glad you can be with us today
We're in gonna be in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 10. Thanks for joining along today
I believe this is our 169th episode of Bible on the beach
We're just on a journey going through the Bible trying to figure out
Each day something that God can say to us to encourage us to build us up in our lives
That's why his word is here
And so in that spirit let's open up our hearts to what God wants to say to us today
Now it says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 and his fullness fills you even though you were once like
corpses dead in your sins and offenses
It wasn't long ago that you lived in the religion customs and values of this world
So there's a lot going on here and Paul immediately points out that we were dead
in our spirits
prior to us
Coming into union with Jesus coming into relationship with Jesus and so
Now that we have relationship with Jesus, we have new life. We have a new spirit
We have a new perspective and we're to thank God for that every day
and
He says it wasn't long ago that we lived in the religion customs and values of this world
So what Paul's saying here is that we have a culture
That we all live in and so my culture for example is in California
And I've grown up around the ocean and and grown up around surfing and so that's it's really part of my culture
It's what I know. We all have a culture
To to deny it is to deny, you know living in reality
So one of the things we need to do in our life is we need to identify
Our customs our beliefs and our attitudes about things and and get comfortable with them so that God can begin to use them
And and flow by the power of the Holy Spirit into our life
Now Paul is saying that we that we were obeying the dark ruler of this earthly realm
Who fills the atmosphere with his authority and works diligently in the hearts of those who are disobedient to the truth of God now
What Paul is saying here is that?
prior to coming into a relationship of Jesus that we were actually under the
influence and the perspective of
The evil one and so Jesus gives us new eyes to see new ears to hear new heart
To feel and be led by the power and by the Spirit of God in our life and from that all things
Become new we're no longer slaves to anything except the power of the Holy Spirit
Working in us and through us in our lives now
He says the corruption that was in us from birth was expressed through the deeds and desires of the self-life. So
The call to follow Jesus is the call to be unselfish now for some of us
Were unselfish more easily than others are unselfish, but
regardless of
What comes easy to you or what comes hard to you God calls us
increasingly into a life of others centered living a life of
unselfishness a life of
Having our life being poured out as a blessing and
to other people and
To help them be blessed in their life
He says before we live by whatever whatever natural cravings and thoughts our mind
Dictated living is rebellious children is subject to God's wrath like everyone else. So we all have selfish
Inclinations that God wants to free us from in fact every day
We just want to say God align my desires up with your desires and as God does that
You'll really feel him working and flowing in and through your life
and so
What it means to follow Jesus is we lay aside our natural cravings and we sow into
Unselfish cravings into spiritual cravings into godly desires into godly intentions into godly
Attitudes into a godly mission and purpose for why we are here on earth
He says but God still loved us with such great love
He is so rich in compassion and mercy
Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins
He united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace. So
God
Looks at us through his son Jesus and God looks at us through
The lens of Jesus having paid for all of our sins
And God says, you know what? I'm gonna do for you what you can't do for you
I'm gonna help you out even though you're not able to help yourself
That's why he sent Jesus to make us right to give us a right relationship with God
To give us a perfect relationship with God so we don't have to strive and in our life, but that we can accept God's grace
Grace is getting what we don't deserve. We don't deserve the life. We have we don't deserve the blessings that we have
But God gives them to us and then he watches to see what we're going to do with him
You know every blessing that we have in our life, whether it's your income or your education or where you live or your influence or your culture
God looks to see how you're going to use it. Are you going to spend it on yourself?
You're going to spend it trying to help others. God keeps perfect score
You know, there's only one judge in the universe and it's not you and I it's j. E. S. U. S
And so he's watching very closely to see how we're using our life
Are we using it for ourselves?
Or are we using it for others are we using it to bless others and the quality of our life is
Totally correlated to the amount of blessing that God is able to pour into our life to bless the other people that are around us
That's a godly perspective
About life he says in verse 6 he raised us up with christ the exalted one
We ascended with him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm
For we are now co-seated as one with christ so jesus makes us right with him. He gives us a relationship with him
Verse 7 throughout the coming ages. We will be the visible display of the infinite riches of
Grace and kindness which was showered upon us in christ jesus. So
God's we are all trophies of grace
God looks down from heaven. He says look at my kid there. Look at that bright
Shiny trophy of god's grace. That's what you and I are. We're bright shiny trophies
Of god's goodness of god's grace of god's plan of god's mercy
Here on earth, so let's make sure that we have a perspective that we're a trophy of grace
We're not self-made. We're god-made
We're not
Self-entitled we're christ-entitled
We're not self-entitled. We're christ-entitled
So he says here
Verse 8 for it is by grace. You've been saved through faith
Nothing you did could ever earn the salvation for it was the love gift
from god that brought us all to christ so
Our salvation is totally by grace. It's a gift through faith. Have you ever put your trust in jesus?
What it means to accept jesus into your life is that you put your trust in him you say god
I trust you for my life
Not my plan your plan
I follow you. I lay down my will for your will I lay down my path
For your path. I lay down what I want for what you want. I'm following you
I'm not asking you to follow me
I'm asking to follow you. In fact, i'm stating that I want to follow you
That's it. That's what it means to be a disciple a follower of christ
Not god following you but you following
Jesus that's what it means to be a disciple a follower of christ
so
Says in verse 9 so no one will ever be able to boast our salvation is never a reward for good works
for human striving so
we
Can never do enough in our life to be right with god. It is totally a gift. It is totally
Something that he gives to us
so
Why do we try to do good with our life? We try to do good with our life out as a out of uh,
Like a thank you to god
Thank you that you gave me all this god. Thank you that I get to live here
Thank you that I get to teach the bible. Thank you that I get to have my family. Thank you that I get to have my friends
Lord, please help me. I know I pray this lord. Please help me pastor people the best that I can please help me to
Preach your word the best that I can please help me to plant churches the best that I can
Please help me to provide water the best that I can that's what god's called me to do with my life pastor people
preach the word
Plant churches provide water so I stay focused on that. I get up every day at the same time 3 30 am
6 days a week on sundays. I don't that's my day to sabbath. No plans. No schedule rest eat whatever I want
Be with my family enjoy life
God commands that but it's all focused back to what god's asked me to do
The rest of my life isn't me trying to earn my righteousness with jesus
It's me trying to take everything that god's given me and be the best steward that I can to bless as many
people as possible
In verse 10, he says for we've become god's poetry think of your life as a poem. You know god wants
People to look at your life and say that is really amazing
What god is doing in and through that person a recreated people that will fulfill
The destiny he's given for each of us. Did you know that god recreates us?
He literally makes something totally new
out of our life
For we're joined to jesus the anointed one even before we were born god planned in advance our destiny
And the good works we would do to fulfill it, you know god has
Amazing things in store for us things. We can't even fathom. We can't even imagine
and
We just have to trust him
That he knows what he's doing better than we do. That's the invitation to follow jesus. It's a trust game
God, I trust you even though I don't understand what's going on right now
So in that spirit, I hope you're blessed today. Thanks for joining me. Have a beautiful day
If you think this will help someone text him reach out to him email him
Email him whatever we're across all the different platforms. I just hope you're blessed until next time bible on the beach. Hope you have a beautiful day