Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Notes
Transcript
Call to worship
Welcome everyone!
Call to Worship
Revelation 21:1–5 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.””
LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS
Lord,
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS
Lord,
SERMON
Introduction
Ephesians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:”
Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ.
An apostle is one of the 12 who was sent by the Lord Himself as a minister of the gospel.
This establishes Paul’s authority that given to him by Jesus who appointed him to be an apostle
So he can write not of his own thoughts or ideas, but through the inspiration of God and authority of God Himself.
So this letter has the authority of God behind it to instruct all Christians; EVEN those whom Paul has never met and does not know.
This first section of the letter is written in a general way to inform us of our great blessings that we have in Jesus.
And there are at least four of them in these first 14 verses and they are all contain “in Him” phrases.
Lets underline them:
(v 4) “just as He chose us IN HIM
(v 7) “IN HIM we have redemption”
(v 10-11) “IN HIM also we have obtained an inheritance”
(v 13) “IN HIM…you were sealed with the Holy Spirit”
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Explanation
Notice these are “spiritual blessings”
‘spiritual’ means: “something that pertains to or belongs to the Spirit”
In other words they pertain to our spiritual lives.
THERE IS A CONTRAST IN SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL BLESSINGS
I do not mean that God cannot or does not bless us with material things
We certainly see this in the OT, God blessed Israel and the patriarchs
And we see this in our lives. God provides for our needs
But spiritual blessings are superior to material blessings
WHY?
Because material blessings are temporary, spiritual blessings are eternal
When God blesses us with material things, it is a temporary blessing. It will come to an end and most often even before our lives end on earth
BUT when we experience God’s spiritual blessings they are forever! They never leave us! They impact us on far greater level than any material thing God could give to us
What is the first great spiritual blessing?
God chose us to be holy and blameless before Him
God chose us to be holy and blameless before Him
God chose before the foundation of the world
(v 5) “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ”
The word ‘predestine’ means that God decided before anything ever existed to save us and give us spiritual life
Back before God ever spoke light into existence, back before God even created time, God chose for Himself a people who would follow Him
Now many people cringe at the doctrine of predestination
That is God chooses people who will be saved
And many people people deny that God works in this way.
But here is is before us, clear as black ink on white paper, that God chose us to be in Christ before the He ever created the world
We say, “does that mean I had nothing to do with choosing Christ? Not at all, we were completely free to accept Him or reject Him.
But we would have never accepted Him, had He not first chosen us.
APPLICATION: Be careful trying to put God in some kind of theological algorithm.
There are many things about God that we do not know and could not know because we are finite humans
Predestination is a fact. Human freedom is a fact. How do they go together? I don’t understand it and I’m ok with that.
What I can tell you is that Jesus said IF anyone comes to Him, He will by no means cast them out.
So if anyone wants to be saved, you come to Jesus and He will save you
AND WHY DID GOD CHOOSE US? SO THAT we would be holy and blameless
The word ‘holy’ means “set apart”
When God chose the nation of Israel he told them: “Be holy, for I am holy”
When Peter said, 1 Peter 1:16
because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Our call then in this life, is to live lives of holiness. To live differently than the world around us.
To not accept the cultural Christian mindset that we are all just a bunch of sinners with the intent to keep on sinning! sinners.
NO, I am no longer a sinner just as I am no longer a liar, or an idolator.
I no longer practice those things!
Holiness is our call and it is the call of everyone who is in Christ!
But this predestination to be holy is one of God’s great spiritual blessings to us: HOW?
(1) When we die and stand before God we will be holy and blameless. We will not be judged like the world! He will not hold our sins against us. We have been made right with God through the blood of Christ!
When God opens the book at the Great White Throne Judgement, Our names will be found in the Lamb’s book of life
And God will see us as if we have never sinned
(2) It is a great privilege here on earth to live a life characterized by holiness.
Do you know that sin at its core is destructive??
It ruins lives each and every day, it ruins relationships, it enslaves people to do things to their bodies that hurts them and even kills them, and it moves people to hurt others
All of the worlds problems are linked directly to sin
It pollutes the mind
It hardens the heart
Sin produces bad fruit, that makes bad trees, and always leads to death
BUT those who live lives of holiness live the way God has always intended them to live
Those who do relationships God’s way experience what God intended for a man and a woman
Those who use their money, time, and resources the way God intended are far more satisfied and have much greater contentment regardless of what they have
Those who worship and follow the Creator experience peace and joy in this life the way God intended
To live a life of holiness is a great blessing that can only come through faith in Jesus Christ
Don’t buy the lie that living for God is boring or dull or unfulfilling
The greatest years of my life have been when I have walked with Jesus
There is no comparison
The second Spiritual Blessing is:
2) God redeemed us and set us free
2) God redeemed us and set us free
Ephesians 1:7–10 (NASB95)
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.
Explanation
The word redemption means to buy back. When someone has been redeemed they have been purchased and freed from imprisonment.
One passage that foreshadows this redemption we have is the Exodus God brought to the nation of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt.
After 400 years there, controlled by the Egyptians, forced to hard labor, forced to answer to Pharoah, their children being thrown into the Nile because they were multiplying too much, God by His mighty outstretched hand set the captives free and made them His people.
But Our redemption is ‘through His blood’, the forgiveness of our trespasses (v 7)
The believers in Jesus Christ have experienced a second exodus, freedom from the bondage of sin
It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross, that God purchased us and set us free from the power of sin
What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
Sin is not just an action, but a great power that entered the earth and controls mankind
The worlds obeys it, it is their master!
But Jesus came to set us free from it!
Notice the ‘we have redemption’
That is, our freedom is a present reality in this life!
We are not under the bondage/slavery of sin anymore!
We do not have to sin as we once did. Sin was our master, we obeyed it, it controlled us, we did whatever it wanted us to!
Sin said go have a drink, we did it! And there was nothing that we could do about it. It owned us
BUT NOW, Christ owns us
He purchased us with His blood, He freed us from that master, and now are slaves of Christ!
We obey Him, we follow Him, we do what He says, and unlike the destructive nature of sin, we reap the rewards from Him
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Do you know what true freedom is?
PRINCIPLE: True freedom is not the ability to do what we please, but the power to walk in obedience to Christ
Never in my life have I ever been able to serve and follow Jesus
Never have I ever been able to be forgive and not hold a grudge
Never have I been freed from the love of money and possessions
Never have I been freed from the fear of death UNTIL I CAME TO JESUS
And Jesus took those fears, and Jesus took that power over me and nailed it the cross and for once in my life I could actually do what I knew God wanted me to do
He set me free
And He set you free
Application
Let us not spend the rest of our lives, living like slaves
Let us not be controlled and led by the master we used to follow!
Let us not conform to the ways of this world!
Let us see our freedom as a glorious blessing and love what God has done through the blood of Jesus Christ
3) God made us heirs (11-12)
3) God made us heirs (11-12)
Ephesians 1:11–12 (NASB95)
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
Explanation
“We have also obtained an inheritance”
After Ashley and I went to see the Biltmore a few weeks ago, we were interested in what that life would have been like for that family. The very rich, who had servants living down stairs who waited on them hand and foot while they lived luxurious lives.
So we began watching a series called “Downton Abbey” which is a story about a very wealthy family in England who loved in a castle with the same set up. Well what made this family so rich as to live in a castle was that they were an heir to a relative of theirs. When that relative died, they inherited everything that he had includes his fortune and “Downton Abbey”.
All throughout the show, the family is concerned about their heir, because the father who inherited all of this fortune has no sons. So his heir becomes a cousin who ends up marrying his daughter.
‘Here is the great twist in the story, the fortune the family had, the giant castle they lived in, the servants, the life of luxury ends up getting lost when the father made a bad business move trying to secure the family during World War One. They lost everything and even the house may get lost unless a wealthy relative is willing to step in and save Downton Abbey.
Now as glorious as it may be for these super rich families to inherit their families wealth, IT IS INCOMPARABLE TO WHAT THOSE IN CHRIST WILL INHERIT!
How does inheritance work?
Well, I doubt I will have a significant amount to leave behind, but I will leave something.
And who will I leave my an inheritance to?? MY CHILDREN!
And what will they receive? Everything that I have. I will pass it on to them
Now what does verse 5 say, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ”
Do you know when God redeems us, He makes us His son or daughter?
We are not simply followers, we become His children! And we will inherit what God has as His children!
What waits for those in Christ?
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN ITS FULLNESS
We will inherit heaven as our final destination, our final resting place for eternity
A place where worship is better than any worship service you have ever been to, and all your neighbors are Christ worshipers!
A place where there will be no more sin, no more fighting, no more war
A place where every nation, tongue, and tribe will all be in perfect unity
And a place where God will dwell among us
Not as in Spirit, but as God dwelled with Adam and Even in the garden
He will be with us, He will walk with us, He live with us
And truth that can only know dimly will become reality
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
THE WORLD
Romans 4:13 (NASB95)
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
In other words, if we live by faith in God, like Abraham lived by faith in God, then we will be an heir of the world
The earth, the nations, everything in this world because God owns the world
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.”
What a reason to not live for the things of this world. Those who do, will lose it all, and those who live for God will inherit it all
What a reversal that is coming
NEW BODIES
1 Corinthians 15:50–52 “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
The last part of our inheritance will be new bodies.
These sin stricken earthly bodies will one day be gone, and we will inherit glorified bodies, bodies that never wear out!
No more pain, no more sickness or death
Bodies that will last forever!
And unlike the earthly inheritances, we can never lose this inheritance!
There will never come a time when God says, whoops I messed up.
Or whoops, I lost it all.
Or I changed my mind.
Look at it in verses 13-14
4) Our salvation and God’s promise are sealed by the Holy Spirit
4) Our salvation and God’s promise are sealed by the Holy Spirit
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Explanation
What is a pledge?
The pledge is a down payment on a promise. It is a purchase price in advance for the things to come.
I bought a truck back over the summer so I could haul these chicken coops.
And I had a very particular kind that I wanted and looked for while before I found one that matched my needs and at my price point.
When I found it, they would not take my word alone that I wanted it. That was not good enough.
They made me put a down payment on it, as a pledge that I would buy it
And what happened to that down payment if I backed out? They kept it! I wouldn’t get it back.
Bridge
God has put a downpayment on our future inheritance.
It did not come in the form of material things
Nor did it come by our names added to a church somewhere
Nor did it come by way of baptism
Nor did it come by a prayer that we have said
God sent His Spirit to indwell all those whom are heirs
The only way we can be sure we have an inheritance waiting for us, is if we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.
Application
If God’s Spirit has entered us, we are already experiencing the reality of these blessings we talked about today
Our lives are characterized by holiness. We walk uprightly
We have been freed from the bondage of sin and death
We are heirs of God and live for that future time that awaits us
And if this does not characterize our life?
How can we become heirs of God?
(v 13) ““after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise”
Paul says it right there in verse 13: “after listening, they believed”
Isn’t that most simplest thing you have ever heard. You say, all I have to do is hear the message of the gospel, that there is forgiveness for my sins in Jesus, and believe it, then I will be sealed.
That is what verse 13 says. Believe it! This is God’s message to the world, calling them to believe it and prepare for it and God will send His Holy Spirit to seal them up till the day of redemption when we will receive our inheritance in full!
There is nothing here about getting our lives together.
There is nothing here about cleaning ourselves up
There is nothing here about saying a certain kind of prayer or words
There is nothing here about baptism.
Listen to the message, believe what God has said, and commit your life to Him today
And if you do that with all of your heart, God will make you an heir to the greatest King the world has ever known
~PRAYER~
RESPONSE
PUBLIC INVITATION
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
OFFERING
We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.
BENEDICTION PRAYER