Untitled Sermon (2)

At Last

Who - Paul, an apostle, Christ Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ, God, our Father, to the saints in Ephesus, separated for God’s Holy purposes - Identity

What (a)- faithful in Christ Jesus, the theme of this book, In Christ, this is Beliefs what do we need to know, what has God done for us

In Christ we are

blessed,

chosen,

holy and blameless,

predestined,

adopted, sons and daughters,

redeemed,

forgiven,

heir,

sealed,

His body, the Church, a holy temple

alive,

saved,

raised,

seated,

a masterpiece, workers,

reconciled,

citizens

What (b) - what else do we need to know

There’s work for us to do, individually, as a body

put the manifold wisdom of God on display

bring Him glory

Unified

Purified

Imitating God, walking in love like Jesus

When - all the time, this is who you now are, so if in some circles you are Christian you, and in others you are, maybe not as overtly Christian you, and in others, you are the not Christian you, then you don’t get this, it hasn’t been hammered down into your heart

Where - everywhere, in the church as the church, at home as a husband, wife, parent, child, as a worker and as a boss

Why - We get to do this, Because we’re forgiven, loved, rescued, redeemed, because this is who we now are, because we revere Christ and this brings Him honor and glory, because this attracts not yet believers,

How - This brings us to chapter 6, starting in verse 10, which begins with this word, Finally, not only as in, I’m almost done, this is the last thing I’m going to say

At Last, Etta James,

(At last, my love has come along My lonely days are over And life is like a song

Ooh yeah, yeah At last, the skies above are blue My heart was wrapped up in clover The night I looked at you

I found a dream, that I could speak to A dream that I can call my own I found a thrill to rest my cheek to A thrill that I have never known

Ohh yeah yeah You smile You smile Oh and then the spell was cast And here we are in heaven For you are mine At last)

This is reminiscent of Adam in the Garden

Picture this in your mind

God has paraded all the animals before him,

in pairs, male and female, for Adam to name

all created to be fruitful and multiply,

But it says of Adam, “there was not found a helper fit for him”,

of course not among the animals, that’s not what it’s saying

The reason it’s not good for man to be alone, is that he, by himself, cannot complete the mission of his purpose

To accomplish these mandates, Adam needed Eve,

Especially to be fruitful and multiply

But she was not yet, so God made her

This scene has been building to this moment, the big reveal

Then God brings the newly made woman,

in all her glory to the man,

and at first sight of her, she takes his breathe away

And he exclaims, This, At Last, is like me, is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh, fit for me, the two become one

Do you feel that? AT LAST

Or Finally, this is what we’ve been waiting for

I believe that is what Paul is saying,

He started out so strong, right out of the gate in chapter 1,

Truth after truth after truth, telling the church, do you know this

Praying that these truths would make it from their head to their heart, so deep into the fabric of their being

That they believe this new identity so strongly, that it affects how they live their entire lives, everywhere

In Christ, as His body, the Church

But it’s in chapter 1, where Paul says something so significant,

So mind-blowing, that if we truly believed it, it would radically change our lives

After listing out all these truths and praying that they would be anchored down in our hearts

He let’s them in on the HOW

He says this, that we would know what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according the the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated His at His right hand in the Heavenly places

That we would know this power, believe this power, and when it comes to the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the foundational elements of our faith

Without Jesus’ resurrection and ascension our faith is pointless and we are to be pitied for giving our lives to nonsense

Paul writes this in 1 Corinthians 15

17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

19If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.

But He did rise from the dead and Paul wants us to truly know this great power that can raise the dead,

Jesus was dead, in the grave 3 days, and according to the working of God’s great might, out of His great power, He resurrected Him

But God also, ascended Jesus to HIs right hand, above all rule and authority and power, and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but in the age to come

Thats everything and everyone, forever, from past to present to future, Jesus is above them all

Now listen, and He, God, put all things under His, Jesus’ feet, just to be even more clear, Jesus is above all things, and all things are under Him,

Sounds like this doesn’t need to be said, it seems obvious

But it does need to be said, because of what he says next,

God gave Jesus as head over all things, to the Church, which is His body

Do you hear that?? If everything, all rule and authority, and power, and dominion, every name of all time, is under Jesus’ feet, and we are His body, then they are also under our feet

This power is towards us who believe, it says

dynamis, where we get our word dynamite

Maybe you’re here today, and you have not given your life to the Lord, you are not in Christ, you don’t have access to this power

These truths don’t apply to you,

in chapter 2 it would say you are still a son or daughter of disobedience,

you’re still following the course of this world,

following the prince of power of the air, who’s the satan if you didn’t know,

and you are still by nature a child of wrath,

Are you listening to me, you are going to experience God’s wrath for rejecting His gift, His Son, Jesus’ life lived on your behalf, Jesus’ death, the death we all deserved, but His death can be in your place

Are you hearing me, Hell is real, Jesus talked about it a lot

Eternal separation from God, eternal torment and anguish

And yet God wants none to perish but all to receive eternal life with Him

God is rich in mercy, He has great love for you, if you come to Him, sorrowful, repentant, amazed by His love

Come up here now and talk with an elder, today is the day of salvation

Elders come forward as well, at least one on each side

But maybe you are in Christ, but you are living a defeated life, you are not experiencing the power, the victory,