Live Chosen

Intro

DISMISS age 3 through kindergarten for kids church.

Good morning Bethel.

It is a joy to be with you this morning to start this journey together. I am honored to be here. My family has been so well loved as we’ve transitioned, and I want to express my deep gratitude to the search team, the elders, Pastor David, the staff at Bethel, the many people who helped us load and unload, and to you the church. I have felt for the last few months that I have been doing a lot of “receiving” in terms of help, love, support, direction, and things like this. But today I want to begin to return the favor. I did not move here because the church has recieved us so well. No. That only confirmed what I believe, that God has brought us here to serve Bethel church into its next phase of ministry.

God, yes, God, deserves the spotlight this morning. Not me. And as we shall see in our text this morning as we kick off a study in Ephesians, God is ultimately the one who sovereignly initiates his plan. Certainly this is true in terms of smaller things like pastors moving, but more importantly in much larger things as we shall see.

It is to that end that we turn our attention. Let’s pray

Hook

Why are we here this morning?

Some of you might answer,

- “because I want to learn about God”

- “because I worship God here”

“because this is what I do on Sundays — it’s how I was raised”

None of these answers are bad, by the way. But let me ask a deeper question. If you’re here to learn about God… why? If you’re here to worship God… why? If you’re here because it was how you were raised...... why?

See these answers, though they are answers, do not get underneath the activity to get down to the purpose. Purpose, is what I’m after.

Years ago, a business coach named Simon Sinnek was giving a talk in front of an audience, and he drew three circles. In the outside circle he wrote “how” in the second circle he wrote “what” and on the innermost circle he wrote “why.” Then he explained. And you’ll see how this applies to church in a second.

He said most businesses explain the what and the how, but not the why. And he gave an example of an ad you might here for a product. He said imagine I’m trying to sell you my product. I say, we make great computers. They’re lightweight, fast, and well-built. They’re also cheaper than competitors, and you can purchase one online today.

Not very compelling. This is because this ad started with the “what.” “They’re lightweight, fast, and well-built. They’re also cheaper than competitors.” Then explained “how” to buy it. What happens if this same ad starts with “why?” It might sound like, “we believe that technology should unleash creativity, it should bring out the best in productivity, and be a tool for accomplishing your vision for the future. This is why we make computers. They’re lightweight, fast, and well-built. They’re also cheaper than competitors.” Would you like to buy one?

For many years, the church has assumed the “why” and has focused on “what”

Read the Bible

Pray

Go to church

Give money to the church

Get baptized

Take communion

Sing

And we do these things because… it’s WHAT we do.

But what happens when we lose sight of the why? When the purpose behind things gets lost or fuzzy? We lose hope, we burn out, when say “this isn’t worth it,” we grit our teeth and try to do what we are supposed to, and this way of life seems very far from the words of Jesus “my burden is easy and my yoke is light.”

TRANS: As we begin our study of the book of Ephesians, and I know Pastor David has spent a few weeks in Ephesians chapter 4, we are going to start from the beginning. And here’s the good news, we’re going to rediscover the why.

Book

Turn with me to the book of Ephesians chapter 1 verse 1, and while you do that I’ll give some brief background on this letter.

This was written by the Apostle Paul. Some manuscripts do not have the word “Ephesus” in verse 1, but rather “Laodocia” which you may have heard of from Revelation chapter 3. This indicates that this letter was meant to be a letter that would make the rounds in the region. In other letters of Paul you might find him referencing specific instances or issues, such as 1 Corinthians, or talking about someone by name such as in Philemon. But here we find a letter that could apply to any church because of it’s focus on theology and christian living.

Ephesians 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Though many people would gloss over verse one as simply the “intro,” Paul gives away his entire thesis for his letter by way of repetition:

Apostle of Christ Jesus

To the Saints (those who are in Christ)

And are faithful in Christ

This letter’s major theme is about being joined with Christ in beliefs, character, and mission. And Paul hits on each of these in the first verse!

“Saints” are those who have believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and are now adopted by the Father into their new spiritual family.

“Faithful in Christ” describes one’s “walk,” i.e. choices that flow from a Christ-like character.

And Paul’s life mission, being an apostle, is driven by the mission Jesus gave to all believers: to GO and make disciples.

All of us are in-process. No one will do this perfectly. But this isn’t about creating unachievable expectations, this is about clarifying the target.

When I was working at a Christian camp as a boys cabin leader after my first year of college, me and a group of about 10 middle school boys were about to start archery. Prior to slinging arrows, it was my job to review safety, expectations, and to demonstrate how to shoot an arrow. So there I am, with my 10 middle school boys and 10 middle school girls from the sister cabin as I pulled back the arrow, released it, and from 25 yards hit the first bulls-eye of my life.

I looked at my now captivated crowd, their jaws dropped that quickly turned to cheering and applause. My group of boys ran to me asking if I can teach them how to be so accurate. Of course in my mind I knew it was pure luck. I hadn’t practiced enough for it to be anything other than that. And the subsequent misses proved to my boys and to myself that I was not given a gift from God.

For many of us, growth as a Christian may be attributed to accident more than intention and skill. If we find ourselves to be a growing disciple of Jesus, is that because we had some clear charted out path that we set ourselves to? Or because we just so happened to hit a bulls-eye here and there. And worse, how can we expect to hit the bulls-eye (being a growing disciple of Jesus), if we have not clearly defined what the bulls-eye is??

Pulling from Paul’s intro,

A disciple is one who is joined with Christ in his beliefs, character, and mission.

TRANS: As we begin this journey together, let us focus in on being growing disciples of Jesus in these three key areas. So the question is, how do we accomplish this? Paul’s answer, by God’s blessings.

Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

What comes to mind when you think of God’s blessings? Pause for a moment. Ask yourself. Consider.

Or put it another way, when someone says “I am very blessed,” what do they usually mean?

Money

Health

Generally free from suffering

Times are good

Something good just happened (a wedding in the family, for example)

Perhaps you would have a different answer. But this is how we talk about blessings, “I am blessed when my circumstances are good.”

Now also ask yourself, do I feel as though I have been blessed with *every* spiritual blessing? If we were honest, we might say God has been holding out on us. There is disappointment deep in our heart. It may be hard to see what God has done for us when we are fixated on an unfulfilled expectation. Whatever that might be.

But is this what Paul means? Paul does not tie blessings to circumstances, rather, he ties them to what God has done for us.

Pay attention to verse 3. our blessed heavenly father blesses us through Jesus Christ. This sets up a theme that Paul will continue to explore. But the blessings are not a health and wealth gospel, it is the True Gospel.

In order to feel blessed by God, we must define “being blessed” on His terms, not ours.

John Stott makes this point clear:

The Message of Ephesians (1. Every Spiritual Blessing (1:3–14))

The distinctive blessings of the new covenant are spiritual, not material.

Paul will go on to elaborate on the riches of blessings that God has given us in adoption, grace, forgiveness, inheritance, hope, and the holy spirit. Just as newly weds marvel in their blessing of their new relationship, a heart of gratitude is developed when we fixate on the privilege of being united to Christ. It is only after couples forget how great a blessing it is to be married in the first place that they, in their dissatisfaction, troubles start to come.

This is why we must constantly be reminded of what God has done for us. God is inviting you, today, to enter into renewed and greater joy in God’s spiritual blessings given to us through Christ.

TRANS: With this in mind, let us focus our attention on

The first blessing of God: His choice of us.

Ephesians 1:4–5 ESV

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Now at the risk of going on a rabbit trail, this passage does bring legitimate questions to our mind. Questions such as: “what about free will?”

Before we get to the crux of what Paul is communicating, i want to build a framework from scripture on this question.

What about free will?

Scripture insists on two ideas that, for some, seem to be in tension with each other, when in reality they work together. The idea of God choosing does not negate the genuine choices of humans, because if it did that would negate responsibility. It is clear from scripture that all people are responsible for their own choices, even while God is working in each situation for his own purposes as well.

Here’s a few passages that emphasize human responsibility:

Ezekiel 33:5 ESV

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.

Ezekiel 33:11 ESV

11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

1 Corinthians 10:13–15 ESV

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.

Though this passage in Ephesians 1 is clearly emphasizes God’s choosing when it comes to salvation, other passages in the Bible clearly emphasize human responsibility.

The core idea that Paul is teaching here is this: God is the initiator of salvation. Our response of faith is our responsibility.

How God’s election works is less important then the fact that he chooses.

Illustration of father looking for lost son. “Dad, I found you!”

TRANS: Though we may feel as though, initially, we are the ones that found God. The more we grow in our faith, the more we see how God sovereignly pursued us. And if you are in this room this morning and you have not responded to God’s pursuing of you, know that you have a good God who is on a search and rescue for your soul today.

While we may dwell on how God’s choosing works, let us pay attention to what God chooses us into.

- He chooses us to be holy and blameless.

- He chooses us to be in his family through Jesus.

Notice that it is God who supplies the resources in order to accomplish this. So often when we read passages like this, our instinct is to say to turn our attention to ourselves: “wow, now I have to try to be holy and blameless.” or “well I sure don’t feel like I’m a part of God’s family. I don’t feel good enough for that.”

God. Supplies. The. Resources. God does the initiating, God makes the avenue, God makes us holy and blameless through forgiveness of sins (as we shall see what Jesus has done for us next week) and by supplying the Holy Spirit (which we shall see in two weeks).

TRANS: And you know what? We don’t pull God’s leg to do this for us. Watch what he says next.

Ephesians 1:6 ESV

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

God does this because he is a God of grace. He blesses us in the Son, whom we have now been joined together. And God does this for his own sake, for his own name, according to his good nature. God pursues and saves sinners. This is the good news of the Gospel. So what is our response? Praise! Gratitude, thanksgiving, joy.

Ephesians: Verse by Verse Purpose: For the Praise of His Glory (1:6)

Our only viable response to all the blessings God is bestowing on us is praise

Why are we here? Because we are chosen sons and daughters of God.

We sing because we are responding to what God has done with gratitude, praise, thanksgiving, joy, and humility.

We study the Bible because we are brought into a new family and a new story. The more we read, the more we are transformed and we grow as a son or daughter of God.

We pray because we are talking to our heavenly father, who knows us and understands us. He is our good God who has met our deepest needs through his blessings.

We go to church because we belong to a spiritual family, and this is done by being together. We ought to stir one another up to love and good works, to encourage, pray for, and grow together.

We give because all that we have has been given to us by God, and he has asked us to give so that the church can be mobilized to be a light in this dark world.

We get baptized and take communion to remember, and remember, and remember what God has done for us: Jesus overcame the grave and brings life to spiritually dead people.

The “Why” for all of these things activities is this: we are in a new family. And when we live from this new family we find that this is how we were designed to live.

TRANS: We must keep the “why” fixed in our minds because when we lose focus, we slip back into focusing on our behaviors as the basis for our acceptance before God rather than God’s initiative and adoption through Jesus. So let me put it more clearly by way of application:

Application

Living chosen is the remedy for "auditioning” and shame.

Research on cohabitation (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html)

About ten years ago there was an article in the New York Times titled “the downside of cohabitating before marriage.” (where’s he going with this. Hang on, let me get there) Two sociologists set out to take a look at the effects of cohabitation, which was beginning to become more accepted and normal. Now the researchers of this study were not Christian, and in fact were motivated to prove the “test drive the vehicle before you drive it” thesis of relationships. To their shock, and probably discouragement, they found that cohabitation actually predicts marriages are far more likely to fail then couples who do not cohabitate before they get married.

Why?

As they interviewed couples, they found that rather than a place of safety, cohabitating couples felt perpetual pressure to put on their best face. One woman they interviewed said it like this:

“I felt like I was on this multiyear, never-ending audition to be his wife,”

How many of us feel as though we are on a never-ending audition to be worthy before God? This puts the emphasis on *our* choice of God, rather than recognizing God first chose us. So when we do not feel worthy, we hide. We pretend. We “fake it till we make it.” This is shame. And many of us are stuck there. We look to God through our shame, and we imagine he is frustrated that we haven’t gotten it together yet.

I have a friend who, years ago, told me that he had accepted Jesus into his heart like 8 times. I asked him why? He said, “because I keep sinning, and I’m afraid that I’m not a christian or that I’m not good enough.”

Can anyone relate? How many of us have spent our Christian lives trying to be worthy rather than living from a place of acceptance? Our worthiness can’t come from ourselves, if it did, we wouldn’t need the Gospel! No, adoption communicates acceptance before God.

Like marriage, God makes a covenant or promise with us at salvation. This creates a zone of safety, a realm of acceptance.

TRANS: “But Richard, won’t people abuse God’s grace?” Let’s talk about that. This leads to our second application.

Living chosen motivates growing as a disciple of Jesus.

A disciple is one who is joined with Christ in his beliefs, character, and mission. When you are joined with Christ, when you live from acceptance, when you recognized that you are radically and perfectly loved by God, your longings start to change. Or to put it another way, your “want-tos.”

Years ago, my wife and I were at a week long Christian counseling center called “crossroads” in Beuna Vista, CO. While we were there, we talked about all the things that we didn’t want to talk about. All the painful things big and small that we’ve said and done to each other. When you get married, you think you won’t hurt each other, when in reality you will likely be the ones who cause the most hurt.

But do you know what? We got near the end of the week, and I will never forget thinking to myself… Ashley would be justified in not forgiving me. I would understand if she wanted to stay angry. It was in that moment, that my bride turned to me and, with tears in her eyes, said “I forgive you. For all of it.” It was in that moment that, out of love and gratitude, that we began to heal. Love, deep love, motivates change. And what I have to keep going back to is as much love and acceptance that I felt in that moment from my wife, my God loves me even more.

When you are forgiven of so much, your longings change. Your want-tos change. Growing as a disciple of Jesus moves from obligation to joy, from duty to loving obedience, from trying harder to getting to.

All of this, because God. Chooses. Us.

LANDING

Who in this room needs to respond to God pursuing you this morning? He loves you. And his message to you this morning is come home to family. Be adopted by him through Jesus.

Others may need to respond by focusing on the “why.” You are in his family, God has given you what you need to follow him. So grow as his follower with joy! With thanksgiving! Live knowing that you are chosen by God, and you will experience freedom. Let’s grow as disciples of Jesus, and follow Jesus command to GO and make disciples. Bethel church, let us pursue this together with joy.

Pray