I'm Writing to You

Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul during his imprisonment by the Romans near the end of his life. The book of Ephesians has 2 big ideas to convey to the people.

1. Our Salvation is Accomplished in Christ
2. Because of that our lives should be different

We Are All Against God

Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Slaves to our passions

Our lives are filled with desires. So much so that entire religious orders have been created to deal with our passions. It is part of the human condition to desire. As with everything else in creation post Genesis 3 our desires have been corrupted.

We seek things, experiences and feelings to fill a void that can only be filled by the greatest desire we could fulfill.

But I am getting ahead of myself. How does being a slave to our individual passions show up in our lives?

Doing What Is Right In Our Own Sight

It is all about me. It is my way or the highway. Songs have been written and are being written to highlight that MY truth is the only truth and that MY way is the only way. I don't have to worry about what happens to someone else because I needed to get somewhere. A perfect illustration of this is seen on the road. I've got to get where I am going, and I have to get there now. That means if you are in my way, WATCH OUT! Run a yellowish light, check. Swerve in and out of lanes, check. Ride the Shoulder, check.

Ephesians 2:11-12 ESV

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--- 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

There was no difference between us.

I skipped ahead to verses 11-12 to highlight the point that there is no difference between us and them. There is no distinction. We are living in a culture, even a world, that is becoming more and more polarized. This letter was written to a Gentile church and it included this reminder that there was no difference between the Jew and Gentile believers as well as the between believers and non-believers. At one time we were all alienated from God. What follows is a reminder to all of us that God ultimately is the one who saves.

God Does The Work

Ephesians 2:4-10 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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 coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the 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, that we should walk in them.

God Sends His Son

God rich in mercy, abounding in love, sends Jesus to live a life free from sin. This is not just so that those after Him would have an example. It was also to demonstrate the great love of God. That God would send his perfection to die for our imperfection.

We are made alive through Faith in the Risen Christ

We were all DEAD in the world. We create and build and earn and store, seeking something incomplete. WE are trying to fulfill an longing that we lost in the Garden. Through the sacrifice of Christ we are able to satisfy this desire. We are able to commune with God, worship Him and experience the fullness that can only come through Him.

This gift is freely given so no one can claim their own salvation

Best of all this gift is given freely. We receive this grace by faith and NO ONE could ever claim to have earned it. This is a claim that separates the Christian from other religious systems. We don't have a God whose love has to be earned. This is why the life of the Christian should be marked by JOY even in difficult circumstances.

Grace Through Faith Creates Joy

Ephesians 2:14-22 ESV

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

He is our Peace

Through God there is Peace. The Shalom of God descends upon and dwells among his people. Joy and Peace should mark our lives. This does NOT mean that we do not have difficulties. It does not mean that we we never be anxious. What it does mean that in difficult moments we dwell on what God has done. When we feel anxious we remember the grace that God imparted to us. Shalom...

Brought Everyone Together

This is an interesting time to be alive. I am seeing both unity grow and divisions sharpen in the most unlikely places. Politics, Race, Money, Prestige, fandoms are being used as wedge issues. What needs to be driven home, especially in our camp is that we are all image bearers of God. We were all against God and that there are no levels to that. We are all now brothers and sisters, fellow citizens with the other saints.

We are alive together in Him

Ultimately we are all alive together in Him. We will live this life together as his bride, the church. We strive to fulfill his commands on this earth. We live lives worthy of His Sacrifice. We strive to be in unity with each other and be mindful of those outside of our fellowship that have yet to be drawn in.

The Life in the Clouds Podcast had their first live event last weekend. We spoke to Renovate Life Church, our home church, closing out the series on marraige. You can see the livestream above.

If you want to hear us preparing for the event you can listen to the latest episode of the podcast below.

Finally here are our notes.

Carlton- Our family statistics- we live in the whirlwind; it doesn’t just happen to us; we actually make our home there.

Example: Graduation-marriage-ministry-princess mighty-MD….princess mini....ordination…..the little prince…..now it’s 20 years later.

Personality stats- Carlton likes to cook with all the pots and pans, on all the burners. I like 1 pot/pan wonders in the oven- set it and forget it and minimize the mess. Our personalities and ways look diametrically opposed, but the beauty of it is that God brought us together to become one.

Scripture

'So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. ' - Matthew 1:17

God has a multigenerational vision and as his creation we need to have a similar eye.

What are you doing that will live beyond you? Children? Business? Legacy

Our lives are not our own
Contrary to what the world is telling us

Different people will enter our lives

Our lives before marriage matter - Singleness
Our lives during our marriage matter
Our lives after our marriage matter - Till Death Do Us Part

During our pre-marital counseling we were asked to create a vision - we want our marriage to be both impacted by and impactful to the people around us. This means that we need to be connected to the right people. Our marriage will not survive in a vacuum

As singles we had family, mentors and friends pouring into our lives.

As marrieds we have other families praying for us and around us.

As parents we have other parents praying for us and around us.

Lesson #1 - Heed the Lessons and the Warnings Around You

Wisdom and Folly call out to us in the street. Proverbs is a good illustration.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” - ‭Proverbs‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lessons I have learned (Carlton)

• Marriage is permanent; far from casual
• Marriage is difficult; effort and hard work is required
• Marriage is fun
• Marriage is rewarding

Lesson #2 - What You have Learned is not Just for You

The value of marriage is when it is shared. Acts is a good illustration.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2:42-45‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Gospel spread house to house; Family to family.

Share Your Story/Life - Shared lives - This is why we enjoy counseling and recommend it to every couple we meet. Marital and pre-marital. I know there is a stigma about counseling after marriage. Don’t wait until you have an issue to seek out a 3rd party.

What works for us/Principles we have learned and teach

1. Focus and develop a relationship with God
2. Your Spouse Is Not Your Enemy
3. Only One Can be Crazy at Any One Time
4. Have a Budget; review and change it
5. Fight Fair; no slander
6. Plan for Fun

Notes from Renovate Life Church 30 Oct 2016
Pastor Donnie Hatcher

Loving the People who Suck the Life out of You

*You are somebody's vampire *

... so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. Matthew‬ ‭23:3-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” ‭‭- Matthew‬ ‭23:13-33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some Vampires Need To Be Confronted

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. -Galatians‬ ‭6:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. -Matthew‬ ‭7:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some Vampires Need To Be Ignored

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. -Matthew‬ ‭5:38-39‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some Vampires Need To Be Endured(Loved)

And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. -Matthew‬ ‭5:41-42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some Vampires Need To Be Served

It is good to know that God has won.

He is Lord!

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (‭Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭32-35‬ ESV)

For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof so we will rejoice

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.

And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”

But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭6-13‬ ESV)

Storms

Everything has a lesson. There are storms that cleanse, that dispense heat, that cause growth.

God builds Wonderful

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (‭Psalm‬ ‭139‬:‭13-14‬ ESV)

This speaks to how we are made by God. It shows both the macro and the micro. How and individual is built and how the body of Christ is build.

External structures are there to handle the stresses caused by movement. The internal structures handle the sustaining functions.

Losing a body part has an adverse impact on the whole body. If the local church loses a part than that body suffers. If the local church is lost than the universal church will suffer.

We have to support and protect each other. Both within the local church and between churches.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many...

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose...

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭12-14, 18‬, 27 ESV)

You are needed as you are. You do not need to be different to FIT in.

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭14-16‬ ESV)

We want all the members of the body of Christ to function properly.