Transcript
Hello everyone. Thanks for joining with me on another Helping You Become podcast. I pray it's a blessing to you. Well, bless the Lord. Thank you for your company today.
Friends, we've been looking for the last six weeks now into this study out of Ephesians about living an effective life. And it's something that I personally would like to do well, to live an effective discussing that with the disciples, says, I'm the vine, you're the branches, the branches bear the fruit. And it's interesting because the branches serve the vine and the fruit. The branches are in the middle and they live permanently in the middle, carrying weight and serving. And that's what the branches do. They carry weight, they serve, and they get pruned. Yeah?
The branches carry the weight, they serve the vine, and ultimately the vine dresser, but they serve the vine, they carry the weight of the fruit, and when they're not carrying the weight of their fruit, they're actually getting pruned and brought back into shape, brought back into line, yeah? And that's a really strong idea when it comes to managing the first world problems that attack our lives.
There's so many things and so many people fighting for and fighting over our own attention. Ephesians 4 verse 1, I therefore the prisoner for the Lord appeal to and beg you to walk and to lead a life Worthy of the divine calling to which you have been called, with behaviour that is a credit to the summons to God's service. Look carefully then how you walk in Ephesians 5, 15 to 17.
Look carefully then how you walk. Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise, sensible, intelligent people. Wouldn't it be good? The will of the Lord is. And I personally would like to do that well. Yes, to understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is.
Now, there's a lot of information in this study about living and effective life. Please go to our website, livingsuccess.org, that's livingsuccess.org. And go to the resources there, the free resources and the podcasts and the information that's there. And you can download this study, living an effective life. It's our gift to you. It's free. There's no cost. Okay.
You can just download this and get some ideas into how to effectively manage this aspect of our life with perhaps more effectiveness, with behaviour that is a credit to the summons to God's service, Paul writes. Thank you, Paul, for the information, but how do I do it?
Well, the book of Ephesians and the people at Ephesus, they had Paul teach them five hours a day from 10 am through to 3 pm. In the School of Trannus for two years. Two years. In fact, a bit over two years, the Apostle Paul taught face to face in the region of Ephesus. He taught him five hours a day, face to face, every day for two years. How much ground did the Apostle Paul cover five hours a day face to face? That's not recorded in the book of Ephesians.
So when Paul writes something, chances are, and this is my view, this is my own belief, chances are he had already given them some how-tos when he was there face to with them five hours a day for two years. There's a lot of ground that Paul covered with these people at Ephesus.
So, looking back into our study, as I said, this is part seven now and to live a life that's purposeful, worthy, and accurate. If we're going to do that, I think there's some situations where we can actually step back a bit, look at some of the information in other books, like the Book of Romans, 4, 5 and 6, those chapters there, and we start to build a bit of a picture as to who it was that we used to be before, you know, we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord.
If we're going to, you know, function in this divine calling, Paul says, you know, live a life that's worthy of this divine calling to which you have been called with behaviour that's a credit to the summons to God's service. Well, if we're going to do that, it'd be helpful to know who it was that we used to be, before we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord.
If I knew actually who I used to be, wow, then I can know, you know, where I'm heading now. So, from God's perspective, who did I used to be?
Well, we look over here, this is just one example, Romans 5 verse 8, but God shows and clearly proves his own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners,
Christ the Messiah, died for us. While we're sinners, Christ the Messiah, died for us. Who did we used to be? Yes?
So the next thing who it is that we are now for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son okay we got reconciled to God through the death of his son whilst I was an enemy of gods whoa now that we're reconciled we shall be saved it is my trespass, that's Adam, one man's trespass, his lapse and his offence, death reigned through that one man, much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing grace, his unmerited favour, and the free gift of righteousness, putting them in right standing with God himself, Much more surely will those people reign as kings in life through the one man, Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One.
So who did we used to be? Well, we used to be enemies of God. But who are we now? Now we're reconciled to God through the death of His Son, And we're in a position where we are being saved daily and daily delivered from sin's dominion.
And it's much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing grace, that's us, much more surely will those people reign as kings in life, kings and queens in life. So who are we now?
Well, we're people that are born again of the spirit of God, saved by God's grace through Jesus Christ, and each one of us is someone who is extremely significant. So important, you reign as royalty in this life. Read it for yourself in Romans chapter 5.
So royalty know that their royalty, they hold position, authority, power, command respect, generally possess significant wealth. They have systems in place for governing. How well do we govern our own lives? Yeah? Do we have this royalty mentality and royalty behaviour, this idea that I reign in life as a king or a queen. Yeah, that doesn't make me arrogant. No, that should make us super humble. Yes?
Oh dear, so very important. Now, there's a really big point here in verse 18 and 19 of Romans 5. Well, then, as one man's trespass, one man's. for all men. For just as one man's obedience, one man's trespass, one man's active righteousness, one man's disobedience, for just as one man's disobedience, his failure to hear, heedlessness and carelessness. That's Adam.
The many were constituted sinners. So by one man's obedience, the many will be constituted righteous, made acceptable to God and brought into right standing with him. One man's trespass, one man's act of righteousness, one man's disobedience, one man's obedience. Understand the power of one. You know, the power of one. I hear people say, oh, it's just me. I'm not that important. Yes, you are. There's a big revelation in the power of one. Okay?
Let me read you something. I'll just turn over here in my Bible. It'll take me a second to turn over here. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 5. For he, God, for ordained us, destined us, planned in love for us, to be adopted, revealed as his own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will, because it pleased him and was his kind intent. Yeah, yes, God himself, the creator of heaven and earth, wanted you, okay?
He planned in love for you to be adopted, to be revealed as his own child through Jesus Christ in accordance with the purpose of his will. The purposes of his will was to have you with the purpose of his will. Why? Because it pleased him. And it was his kind intent. That's how important you are to God. Understand the power of one. You are that important to the Lord and you need to be, and we need, everybody else needs to understand how important you are to the Lord. Okay?
That's so, so, so powerful. The power of one is a real thing and it's never to be underestimated. This is why we need to treat everybody and to consider everybody and to look at everybody as made in the image and the likeness of God because they are. Treat people the way that you would treat the Lord Jesus Christ because he's in them and they're in him.
It's so important to live an effective and purposeful life, because you plus Jesus are an unbeatable combination. How else does the Lord get access to your areas of influence except through you? They're your areas of influence. Not his? They're yours. Yes? The power of one. Adam had influence in the garden.
It was his garden, to garden, protect and to keep. Okay? So it's your sphere of influence. And remember, God has an intended result. He has a desired outcome for people, for the world, for your community, for your family, for your spouse, for your children, for your siblings. God has a desired outcome for them already in mind. And it's your area of influence, not his. So how does he influence people that are in your area of influence?
He does it through you. And that's really important to understand that, to let that drop down into your spirit. Oh, it's just me. I'm not that important. Yes, you are.
You're vital. You're critical. I can't stress this enough. It makes me very passionate. Okay? You are that important to the Lord.
And you need to be that important to everybody else. It's just so, so, so powerful. You're vitally important in the economy and critically important in the kingdom of God. Right here, right now, where you live and move and have your being in Christ Jesus. So who did you used to be? Who are you now?
We understand those two questions. Well, that's going to position us and then start to steer us down the correct pathway of living worthily and accurately with purpose, with behaviour that is a credit to the divine summons and the divine calling to which you have been called.
Now, Romans 5 verse 2, triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. Verse 5, second half of the verse, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 6 verses 1 and 2. What shall we say to all of this? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace, favour and mercy may multiply and overflow? Certainly not. How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? Roman 6, Versus 5 and 6. For if we have become one with him by sharing a death like his, we shall also be one with him in sharing his resurrection, by a new life lived for God. We know that our old unrenewed self was nailed to the cross with him in order that our body, which is the instrument of sin, might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.
Romans 6 verse 12, let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal short-lived perishable body to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions. Compare that to verse chapter 5, verse 17. You can reign as a king in this life or sin can reign as a king over your life with you in subjection to it.
Therefore, let not sin rule as a king in your mortal body. So what is all the saying? You say, Joe, thanks for the information. What are you trying to say here? Okay. What are our priorities? What are the top five main things in your life and how much time do you allocate to each one, all right?
What are your end goals for those five main things? What are you doing to craft a meaningful, effective, purposeful life that has impact? What are you doing to craft a meaningful, effective, purposeful life that has impact? Now I'm not saying that.
The next question, remember, I asked a little one a while ago or two of them, who did you used to be? Yeah, we were enemies to God. Yes. Who are we now? Well, now we're reconciled back to God. The next question is, what are we now doing? Okay. What are we now doing? What are you now doing? How are you structuring your life? Who did you used to be? Who are you now? What are you doing now?
Are you focused on keeping the main thing, the main thing? There's so many things that attack the priorities in your life. So many people that attack the time that you have in your life, the 168 hours, yeah? And you get all sorts of distractions and interruptions and your phones ringing all the time. There's so much pressure at work. There's the needs of the children, the family, you know, your siblings, your friends, university, you know, uni students, my heart goes out to you. Two daughters at uni now, yeah?
And I know the work that they're doing. So it's a difficult life sometimes managing old in a greater way, living and effective life. God bless.
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