Ultimate Thanksgiving Gift

Intro to Paul’s Trials

​English Standard Version Chapter 1124 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Redemption

3. How does a man that’s been through all of this make the statements that we find in Ephesians? Acts 16 tells of the account where Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison because of their ministry.Yet in the prison having been beaten and shackled, they prayed and sung hymns to God4. I’m going to read off some things that Paul says to the Ephesians and listen to what he is saying from the standpoint of a man who has been rejected and persecuted by his own people, slandered, stoned, been through all sorts of physical and emotional calamity, etc...1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ2:4 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved2:14 - For he himself is our peace...3:18-20 - may you have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory4:1,2 - I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.4:32 - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 6:24 - Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. 5. This guy had something! He loved Jesus!Looking from a strictly worldly perspective, he had all the reason to curse God to his face, and live out the rest of his life in bitterness, anger, resentment, unforgivness, and hate!He had given his life to preach the Gospel, and all throughout was met with trials and tribulations.Yet we see a man of joy, compassion, love, hope, and faith, and has the all surpassing peace of God in his heart!This isn’t natural, and we have to pay attention to thatIt is because he lived in the joy of his spiritual blessings in Christ6. How do Paul’s experiences relate to us?Read Eph. 1:3Notice the plurality....US....every spiritual blessing found in Christ is applied to every ChristianIf you have surrendered your life to Christ and been born again, these spiritual blessingsBut these blessings are for those who are in Christ…in other words, it is for those who are born again Christians.Read Eph. 1:17-20 (Pauls Prayer)

Redemption - The release of people, animals, or property from bondage through the payment of a price.

45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Ransom - the price for redeeming or liberating slaves. In other words a substitute.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galations 4:6, 7 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

The release of people, animals, or property from bondage through the payment of a price.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What biblical story do you think highlights this thought of redemption? Tell me how?

Backstory of Israelites in Egypt

Backstory of Israelites in Egypt

Slaves for hundreds of years

1:11 - Taskmaster afflicted them

1:13, 14 - Ruthlessness

1:15, 16 - Killed their children

Play movie scene

, Deliverance

vs. 13, 14

Israel was going to have absolutely nothing to do with the deliverence process. They were to stand still and watch the salvation of God work.

, It is all by the grace of God

You can see the story of the cross of Christ all over this account! Think of the Red Sea.

the Red Sea may be named after a natural process. Seasonal blooms of a bacteria commonly called “sea sawdust” turn the water red. These bacteria, Trichodesmium erythraeum, help process nutrients in the ocean that certain small marine creatures depend upon. 

the Red Sea may also be named after a natural process. Seasonal blooms of a bacteria commonly called “sea sawdust” turn the water red. These bacteria, Trichodesmium erythraeum, help process nutrients in the ocean that certain small marine creatures depend upon. 

Show picture

Imagine this picture of Israel walking through the Red Sea. (Maybe it wasn’t red at the time, but…)

14:26-28 - The Egyptians were completely destroyed. The Israelites didn’t even have to raise arms against them.

Picture of the power of sin being destroyed in our lives.

We are no longer slaves to sin (Rom. 6:6)

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

So we were redeemed by the blood, and now also through his blood we have the forgiveness of sins.

The dynamic of forgiveness in the OT is thus releasing one from the past. The past acts and deeds of sin are not denied, but there is no longer any bondage. Forgiveness brings freedom (Commentary)

 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

Forgiveness

1 Peter 2:24

The dynamic of forgiveness in the OT is thus releasing one from the past. The past acts and deeds of sin are not denied, but there is no longer any bondage. Forgiveness brings freedom1 Peter 2:24

New Testament Equivalent -

English Standard Version Chapter 2

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament Chapter 1

1 Peter 2:24)

Sticky Note Question:

What does God look like?

God is a Spirit

We see the character of God through his character and what he has revealed in Jesus Christ

Why does God hurt people?

Alayna - Speaks 5 minutes

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles