STEPS TO GREATNESS
Ephesians 3:1-12
Ken Ritz
Eph 3:1-13 NLT
I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles.
2 As you already know, God has given me this special ministry of announcing his favor to you Gentiles.
3 As I briefly mentioned earlier in this letter, God himself revealed his secret plan to me.
4 As you read what I have written, you will understand what I know about this plan regarding Christ.
5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.
6 And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s children.
Both groups have believed the Good News,
and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus.
7 By God’s special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.
9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose was to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his church.
11 This was his plan from all eternity, and it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.
13 So please don’t despair because of what they are doing to me here.
It is for you that I am suffering, so you should feel honored and encouraged.
An interview was done recently, with supermodels Kim Alexis, Carol Alt, and Beverly Johnson—
who collectively have appeared on more than 2,000 magazine covers—
They talked about the stresses and health problems of struggling to build their modeling careers.
Most women would love to trade places with one of these supermodels,
but the truth isn’t quite so glamorous.
Alexis said, "I cried for the first year of my career," Carol Alt was under such pressure to lose weight that she completely stopped eating, and passed out on one assignment.
Beverly Johnson ended up with bulimia, anorexia, and a thyroid problem.
Is that what it means to build a great life?
You men may not be able to relate to that,
so let me read a short football article.
Every year, one college football player earns the dubious distinction of being dubbed "Mr. Irrelevant."
The title is playfully given to the last man chosen in the NFL Draft —
In 1995, John Burrough came dangerously close to being Mr. Irrelevant. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive end from the University of Wyoming was selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the 245th pick in that draft, only four slots away from dead last.
The harsh reality is that the odds are poor for late-round draft choices to make it in the NFL. The odds are even worse that one will make it to the Super Bowl.
Fast forward to Jan., 1999, 4 years later, Super Bowl 33, between the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos.
John Burrough, Mr. "Almost Irrelevant," lines up for the opening kickoff as a member of the Falcons.
Burrough said,
"I had been spending the whole week getting ready to play, and I kept thinking, ’This is absolutely incredible. Guys play their entire careers hoping to get in this game, and here God has blessed me with the chance to play in it after only four years. "I remember all the build-up, the hype, and the media exposure. On Media Day there were thousands of media personnel down there. When you watch TV coverage of it at night, you could easily think you were participating in the greatest event in the world. But in the middle of all the explosions and hoopla and hype, all I could think was, ’Is this it? Is this all it is? Why, this doesn’t even compare to worshiping God!’"
This morning I want to talk about,
What is it that makes for a great life?
When we look at the Apostle Paul we usually think about all the good that he did.
He lived a great life,
maybe one of the best ever.
He wrote most of the New Testament,
he started churches throughout the known world,
he helped shape human history.
But there was a time,
and we talked about this a few months ago,
when by his own admission Paul was an enemy of God,
and an enemy of the church.
He persecuted Christians,
helping put them to death,
he did all he could to stop the growth of the church.
Then one day, he had an experience with God,
and his life changed.
He still wasn’t perfect; he still made mistakes and he still committed sins,
but his life took on a new direction,
and the world hasn’t been the same since.
He became one of the greatest Christian leaders, ever.
What was it that made his life great.
How did he change?
What is it about his life?
This chapter shows us.
Were going to look at today,
the steps to greatness in life.
The things we see in Pauls life
that made him great.
Verse 1
I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles.
Paul is in prison, writing this letter to the Ephesians.
The Romans had put him in prison because of his preaching to the Gentiles.
Now most of us,
if we were writing this letter,
would have started it off differently.
If I was writing from prison, I would have probably said,
I, Ken, am a prisoner of the Roman Empire,
because those dirty, stinkin Romans threw me in this prison even though I didn’t do a thing wrong,
and boy, are they gonna get theirs, when God gets ahold of them. They’re gonna burn in hell for this.
But Paul didn’t say that.
In fact, he says something crazy.
He says, I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
Now what is he talking about.
Prisoner of Christ Jesus/
Jesus didn’t throw him in jail,
the Romans did.
What is up here?
Paul is looking at the bigger picture.
He’s considering God’s ultimate plan,
and the fact that God is in control.
And Paul knows that if God didn’t allow it,
no Roman could throw him in jail.
So Paul says,
Jesus allowed this for a reason,
so I’m really his prisoner,
not the Romans.
That’s the bigger picture.
Paul could see God’s purpose in everything.
That’s the first step to greatness.
See God’s Purpose in Everything
I Peter 1:6-7 "At present, you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. This is no accident
[circle this -- It is not an accident, the problems that you’re facing.]
This is no accident. It happens to prove your faith which is infinitely more valuable than gold."
He’s saying that life is not a series of random events that have no meaning.
If you are a child of God,
nothing can come into your life without the heavenly father’s permission.
Nothing.
Because God is in control,
everything that happens to you is Father-filtered.
It’s not an accident these problems that you’ve had.
Now I’m not saying that everything that happens is God’s will.
It isn’t.
God allows things to happen,
that are not his perfect will.
Everytime you or I sin,
God allows that,
but its not his will for us.
There are many things that happen in life that are not God’s will.
Somebody get’s cancer – "That’s not God’s will".
A little kid gets hit by a car – "That’s not God’s will".
The Bible says that God is not the author of evil.
Evil things that happen are not God’s will God doesn’t cause all your problems.
He uses problems,
to help you grow,
but he doesn’t cause all your problems.
The truth is,
He doesn’t have to.
You bring enough problems on yourself.
And other people bring enough problems on you.
He doesn’t have to cause problems in your life.
What I am saying is this: God allows or permits -- problems.
But then He turns them around and uses them for a greater purpose.
God is a pro at turning bad things into good things.
He’s the expert at taking problems and bringing the greater purpose out of them.
God could have kept Paul out of prison,
but He let him go to prison.
He allowed it.
As a result,
Paul had time on his hands to write this letter to the Ephesians,
as well as several other NT letters,
and we’re blessed today because of it.
There was a purpose behind the pain.
Take Moses ---
when Moses said, "Let my people go" God could have had Pharaoh say, OK, you can go
but instead God let Pharoah say No.
It caused a bunch of temporary problems for Moses, but that way God could show all of His miracles and deliver his people.
God could have kept Jesus from going to the cross,
and kept him from being crucified.
But He allowed the crucifixion so He could do a resurrection.
Of course,
Many times problems are no accident.
Sometimes people hurt you on purpose.
The story of Joseph the Bible
is an example of how you respond when people hurt you intentionally.
You know the story.
Joseph was his father’s favorite son.
so his brothers got jealous.
and decided to sell him into slavery.
So he’s taken to Egypt and sold as a slave.
His masters wife tries to seduce him.
He won’t give in so then he’s accused of rape.
He’s put in prison and he spends years in prison,
his life is going down the tubes,
and I’m sure he was saying,
"Where is God in all of this?
What did I do to deserve this?"
If I were Joseph I’d be saying,
"Why me, God?"
But he was exactly where God wanted him to be.
God was in control and God was working behind the scenes.
In fact, if you asked him,
Joseph would have probably told you,
I’m a prisoner of God, not the pharaoh.
God’s still in control.
He’ll show me his purpose eventually.
And God did show him the purpose behind it all.
Later on, after Joseph rose to a powerful position in Egypt he was able to save his family.
Joseph says to his brothers,
Genesis 50:20,
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
Some of you are feeling hurt right now by bosses,
brothers or sisters,
your husband or your wife
or by other people.
They mean it for bad but God means it for good.
There may be people who don’t like you or maybe they’re trying to get your job or hurt your family or hurt your marriage.
They mean it for bad but God is in control and He means it for good.
and He’s got a purpose behind that problem.
Well then how should I respond to my problems knowing that every problem has a purpose behind it and that God has permitted it for a reason?
What is the key to my response then?
The key is to see the big picture,
see God’s purpose in everything.
I look past the pain and try to find God’s purpose behind the pain,
so that I can say,
I’m a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
Not I’m a prisoner of my husband,
who treats me like dirt,
or I’m a prisoner of my wife
who’s always trying to nag and control me,
or I’m a prisoner of my kids,
who stress me out, and don’t appreciate me,
or I’m a prisoner of my boss,
who is unfair,
or on and on.
Those may all be true,
but if you focus on those things,
you miss the big picture,
you miss God’s purpose,
and you won’t live a great life.
Because that’s the first step.
Paul said,
I may have been thrown in prison by those stinking Romans,
but they couldn’t keep me here unless God allowed it,
so I’m really a prisoner of Christ.
That’s the big picture.
How many of you know,
it’s a lot better to be a prisoner of Christ
than it is to be a prisoner of my circumstances,
always focusing on what other people have done to me,
and how they’ve hurt me.
In fact, I want you to think right now of that problem that’s really bothering you
and testing your patience,
at work,
or home,
or else a person who’s really hurt you,
and you have a hard time getting over it.
You got that problem or hurt in your mind?
Now lets all say together,
I’m a prisoner of Jesus, not of my problem.
When you say that,
you’re really saying,
Jesus is in control,
and he’ll work it out somehow
for my good.
Paul could see God’s purpose in everything.
so he said, I’m a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
Some of you are in situations right now
where it seems like there’s no way out.
Listen,
things are never as bleak as they seem.
Why?
Because you’re looking at it
from a human viewpoint
rather than from God’s viewpoint.
The disciples followed Jesus for 3 years
and then all of a sudden one day
they wake up and
“hey, He’s hanging on a cross.”
and He dies.
They weren’t expecting that one.
Don’t you think they were stressed out?
Don’t you think they were depressed?
Don’t you think they were at their wits end?
From their viewpoint
it seemed like their whole world
had crashed down around them.
What do we do now?
It was tough to see God’s purpose.
But you see,
God had the big picture.
He knew that Easter was only 3 days away,
and Jesus was coming back.
He had a bigger plan
Because God brings to life those things that are dead.
He’s in the miracle working business.
The first step to greatness,
is to see the big picture,
see God’s purpose in everything.
The second step, is
Find Your Ministry and Serve
Verse 2, As you already know, God has given me this special ministry of announcing his favor to you Gentiles.
Paul became a great person,
because he figured out his niche in life, what God wanted him to do, his ministry,
and he was excited about it.
Verse 8-9
Just think! … I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen…
Can you tell
Paul was excited about his ministry.
He says … I was chosen for this special joy, I was chosen, isn’t that great?
How about you?
Are you excited about your ministry?
The truth is,
everyone of us has been chosen,
for a special ministry.
Whether or not you know it…
you have a ministry.
When you see the word ministry in the bible,
you can just think servant.
minister literally means Servant that’s what the word means.
And if we’re part of God’s family.
we are all ministers,
We all have a ministry.
And it is not a choice…
If you’re a believer,
you DO have a ministry.
Now you may not be doing it,
you may not be ministering, or serving,
but you do have a ministry,
because God’s the one who makes you a minister,
not me or not the church.
God makes you that.
I was reading recently that
every church must decide to be either a COMMISSARY or a CARAVAN.
I can easily understand that,
because I spent 11 years in the Navy.
So I know what a commissary is.
For those of you who don’t know,
a commissary is a store that exists for benefit of military personnel.
Its got low prices,
and its right on base, so its convenient.
And if you’re in the military, then the commissary is there to serve you;
you don’t serve it, it serves you.
Some churches are like commissaries.
They look at their purpose as serving God’s people.
If you’re a Christian, that church is there to serve you.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Except I don’t think that’s what a church is supposed to be like at all.
When churches see their purpose as serving church people,
they get an inward focus,
and lose touch with society,
and end up having no impact in the world.
and the people are unfulfilled,
because they rarely find their ministry.
Now the other option for a church,
is to be a caravan, not a commissary.
We all know what a caravan is, right?
You ever been in a caravan of cars, going somewhere?
200 years ago, The wagon trains that settled the west, were caravans.
Those settlers would never have made it on the Oregon Trail if they tried to do it by themselves,
but they put together a caravan, or a wagon train,
and then they accomplished huge things,
and settled the west.
A caravan,
is a group of people, that’s on the move.
They’re all doing their own thing,
its not a 747, where most of the people are just passengers,
Everybody in a caravan is busy driving,
but they’re all going the same direction,
they’re all going to the same place.
That’s what a caravan is,
people that are going somewhere.
They’ve got a destination in mind,
and they haven’t arrived at it yet,
but they’re going there.
You know that they’re not going to be
in the same place tomorrow as today because the whole purpose of a caravan is to go someplace.
This church is a caravan.
We’re going someplace.
We haven’t arrived,
we’ve got a long way to go,
but we’re on the move,
and we’re accomplishing huge things as we go.
But the thing about a caravan is,
it doesn’t work,
unless everybody drives.
Say you’ve got a caravan of cars going somewhere,
Maybe you’re at a wedding,
and there’s a caravan of 30 cars
going over to the reception together.
And you’re getting ready to start,
and the first few cars take off and lead the way,
but the next several drivers say,
I don’t think I want to drive in this caravan,
I’m not as good a driver as those guys in the first couple cars,
so I’ll just let them drive,
but I’ll sit here in my car and watch.
Well, that’s not gonna be much of a caravan.
In order for a caravan to work,
everybody’s got to drive.
In order for the church to work,
everybody’s got to serve,
everybody’s got to find their ministry,
and start ministering.
It doesn’t work if people say,
well I’m not as good a teacher as Ken or Chris,
and I’m not as good a musician as John or Donna or Shane,
and I’m not as good a Sunday School teacher as Tim,
so I’ll just let them do the ministry,
because I can’t do very much.
That doesn’t work if you want to be a caravan.
And if too many people start sitting on the sidelines and watching,
then the church become a commissary,
and starts just focusing on your own people,
and a few people start doing all the ministry,
and everyone else sits back and gets served,
and the church does nothing and goes nowhere.
You see,
God has put each of us here for a purpose.
And everything that happens in your life happens for a purpose.
That purpose isn’t created to serve you—
you are created to serve that purpose.
That means,
The greatest decision you can ever make
is to decide "I am a going to serve the purpose God has for my life."
If you are willing,
God can use that purpose for his glory and for your good.
but we’ve got to join the caravan,
and start serving.
Take a moment to ask yourself,
What is my ministry?
Where am I serving?
If I can’t answer that question,
it means I’m missing out on what God has for me.
Verse 7
By God’s special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
Paul says,
it’s a privilege.
We don’t have to do it,
we get to do it.
Now there is another danger to this whole area.
Some people are happy to be in a ministry,
but only if they can be in charge
or if they can get recognition.
Anybody here ever raised chickens?
I haven’t, but I’ve read about it.
If you take 10 chickens,
put them in a pen together,
and spread a little chicken feed.
In a matter of minutes,
you will see an amazing thing happen.
These chickens, previously strangers,
will form a hierarchy.
Or using a term you’ve probably heard,
they’ll establish a Pecking Order.
Instinctively,
they will figure out,
through a series of skirmishes,
who the Number One chicken will be; then the Number Two; the Number Three; all the way down to the unlucky Number Ten chicken.
There’s a lot at stake in this dance of domination.
Chicken #1 is the strongest, so she pecks at and intimidates Chicken #2,
Chicken #2 will take it from Chicken #1 but will turn around and peck away at Chicken #3,
who will in turn, take out her frustration on Chicken #4.
The Pecking Order continues all the way down to Chicken #10,
who, needless to say,
has a pretty miserable life – she gets hen-pecked,
but has no one to peck."
Now chickens are not the only ones who establish pecking orders.
Humans do this all the time.
The most obvious place is the business world.
But you don’t just see it in the business world you see it at parties
or family picnics,
social organizations,
sports teams,
teenagers in school have their popularity pecking order,
you see it in neighborhoods --- whose got the nicest house or lawn,
or the most expensive car in the driveway.
even Churches can sometimes act the same way.
Did you know that even Jesus’ disciples
tried to set up a Pecking Order?
Luke 22:24-27 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.
I can imagine Peter saying,
I get to be #1 chicken,
Jesus called me the rock.
John says,
no I get to be #1 chicken,
well Jesus loves me more that you.
Andrew says,
I get to be #1 chicken,
I was a disciple before you guys were.
But then Jesus hears them,
and says:
the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant. [27] Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves.
God doesn’t like Pecking Orders.
Now I suppose he doesn’t mind it in chickens,
because he created them that way.
But He says,
no acting like chickens in my church.
In my church, the leader is the one who’s the servant.
And He said,
just to show you how this should look, just to make it clear,
that’s how I’ve acted with you.
I came among you as, one who serves.
Dwight L. Moody once said,
“The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”
That leads to the third step to greatness ---
Humble Yourself With People
St. Augustine was asked what are the 3 most important Christian virtues,
He replied, "Humility, humility, and humility."
The reason that particular virtue is so important,
is that its usually so hard to find.
Even very good people seem to have a hard time being really humble.
One day Linus tells Charlie Brown,
"When I get big, I’m going to be a humble, little country doctor. I’ll live in the city, and every morning I’ll get up, climb into my sports car, and zoom into the country. Then I’ll start healing people. I’ll heal everyone for miles around. I’ll be a world-famous, humble, little country doctor."
Verse 8
Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian …
Some of the things Paul said about himself are amazing.
He was one of the greatest men who ever lived,
yet he spoke about himself in pretty harsh terms.
In various places in the Bible,
he calls himself a slave,
a servant and a prisoner for the Lord.
In 1 Timothy he called himself "the chief of all sinners."
In Romans 7 he referred to himself as a "wretched, sinful man."
And here in verse 8, he says,
I am the least deserving Christian
Now the fact is,
Paul obviously knows that this statement is not accurate.
Sure, he was bad before he became a believer,
but so were a bunch of us.
That’s why we needed God.
And Paul also knows that
nobody alive at that time
had done more for God than Paul had.
So he’s not really, the least deserving Christian.
But here’s the key.
Paul chose to humble himself with people,
because he knew it was necessary.
It was necessary, both for him to keep his ego in check.
and to make sure that God got the glory,
not him.
Paul was just like we are.
We all have a tendency to think that the alphabet begins with the letter "I".
If we’re not careful,
we will act like we’re the center of the universe.
So Paul adopted the attitude "I am not an important person,
but I have an important job to do."
That’s an attitude that leads to a great life.
"I am not an important person,
but I have an important job to do." A few years ago a religious magazine called "The Door" published an issue on the subject of racism.
And they played a little trick, just to give their readers an idea of what it is like to be the object of discrimination,
They sent out photocopied issues of the magazine with a letter explaining that they’d goofed up and printed too few magazines this time,
and had run out of printed magazines.
The letter said that all the printed copies went to top priority subscribers,
so you would have to accept this lesser-quality photocopy.
Of course, what they’d really done
was send the photocopied issue to everyone,
just to let them know what discrimination felt like.
The result was great, because many of the subscribers totally missed the point about discrimination,
The magazine’s office was flooded with complaints,
from people who got their pride stepped on.
One pastor wrote a letter saying,
"I have never been treated with such disrespect—
I demand a written apology.
That’s a typical human response,
but it wouldn’t have been Paul’s response.
(Story, getting letter from pastor in town, ripping me)
If you want to live a great life,
humble yourself with people.
The 4th step to a great life,
Get Bold With God
Verse 12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.
I love the definition of prayer found in the Devils Dictionary,
written by Ambrose Bierce around 1900.
Dictionary of cynical definitions.
Defn: for prayer:
To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.
It’s a cynical definition,
but that’s what so powerful about prayer,
is that this actually happens.
God actually does this for us.
On a regular basis he overrides the laws of the universe
so that weak, unworthy people like me and you
can get our prayers answered.
Isn’t that great?
And the point is that we can be bold with God,
in prayer,
and ask him to override the laws of the universe
even when we don’t deserve it,
even if we’re not perfect.
Because I don’t know about you,
but I’m not perfect,
but I still like to have my prayers answered.
So this is good news to me.
Hebrews 4:16 says it this way: Heb 4:16 NKJV
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
It doesn’t say,
lets come boldly to God,
because we’re such good Christians
and we never goof up.
No, its says,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help.
You only need mercy and grace
if you have goofed up.
And God tells us,
you can come boldly to me and get mercy and grace,
and anything else you need to help you.
That word for boldness indicates a freedom to say anything,
other translations say fearless,
you’re not afraid to ask for anything,
you boldly come and ask God for big things.
God loves it when we’re bold.
(Close with this story)
I used to be a Chargers football fan when I lived in San Diego.
During the 1970’s when the Chargers had Dan Fouts as quarterback,
who’s one of the best QB’s in the history of the game.
But one game both Fouts and the team were having a bad day.
With 2 minutes remaining,
San Diego was down 14-0.
So the coach basically gave up,
and pulled out Fouts,
and put in the backup quarterback, Bobby Douglas,
just to give him some playing time the last couple minutes.
Douglas strapped on his helmet,
ran onto the field, heading for the huddle.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks,
turned to the coach and yelled,
“Coach, do you want me to win the game,
or just tie it?”
I love that confidence!
I want to have that kind of confidence in God, so that I’m not just trusting Him enough to barely get by but I’m trusting enough to win big.
If God wants me to be bold, then I want to be bold,
and ask for big things,
I don’t want to just tie the game,
I want to run up the score against other side.
The truth is,
God wants you to step out in faith,
and use your faith.
it honors God when you’re bold,
when you have faith for big things,
when you go out on a limb, and say,
I believe God is going to do big things
in my life, and through my life.
That honors God.
because we’re depending on his power to make it happen.
Prayer:
I’m going to pray a prayer and as I say this prayer you can say in your mind, “Me too.” Just silently say, “Yes, me too.”
Dear God, I’d like a fresh start in life. Beginning this week, beginning today, beginning right now. I want to start taking these steps to a great life.
Help me to start by seeing your purpose in everything. Help me to see the big picture, that you’re working behind the scenes in all the circumstances of my life, even when I can’t see any purpose to them. That I’m not a prisoner of my circumstances, but that you’re in control, and you’ll work it out for my good.
Father, help me to find the ministry that you’ve designed for me, and start serving – I ask you to bring me fulfillment and joy and peace as I start doing the good things that you’ve prepared me to do, as I find the purpose that you put me here for.
Jesus, help me to be humble with others, as you humbled yourself, to give us an example.
And finally Lord, help us to be bold and to have faith when we come to you – let us come fearlessly into your presence, knowing that you always welcome us, and that you want to do wonderful things in and through our lives.
