Ephesians 3:1-7

Ephesians 3:1–7 ESV

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

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Intro:

From time to time.. when we read the messages that are in the Bible..

we should be reminded.. also, of the messengers..

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Paul is going to talk about himself a bit here..

But there’s something else.. of importance.. that we need to remember about Paul..

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Going back to

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

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We are reminded.. from whom Paul was given his calling..

And. From whom.. Paul was given his message..

It wasn’t from some counsel..

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it wasn’t from any board of leaders..

it wasn’t from any religious organization..

it wasn’t from any assembly of people, determined by democratic vote

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.. Paul makes it abundantly clear..

That his calling came.. not through men..

But through Jesus Christ, and God the Father..

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Paul’s words.. are revolutionary..

Paul’s words.. challenge the establishment..

Paul’s words.. Paul’s message..

.. has incited anger.. violence.. persecution.. physical violence.. and imprisonment..

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In fact..

Where is Paul writing this Epistle from?

Jail!

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Paul tells his readers… that he has been entrusted.. by God.. to be a good steward of God’s new economy....

.. God has moved into a new mode.. a new method.. a new economy..

Of dealing with man..

And Paul.. has been educated in this new economy..

And Paul.. is practicing this new economy in his life..

And Paul.. is teaching others.. about God’s new economy..

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This new economy… was a mystery..

“not known before”

But now.. it’s revealed.. and Paul is the.. consultant.. the coach.. the salesman.. the inspirational speaker.. the prophet..

Of this new… revealed mystery..

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Now.. if we bring the scenario of Paul into our modern culture..

This situation where a person is declaring the revelation… of what was previously a mystery..

We see This scenario playing out time and time again

By different people.. in different places..

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Many other.. religious movements.. have been started in this manner..

Unique revelation.. was given, as they claim… by God.

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Whether they… were in a cave…

Or.. they had their face buried in their hat..

Whatever their means might have been..

They received their revelations.. they wrote them down..

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Then, they proclaimed.. God’s new economy.. God’s new method.. God’s new means.. of dealing with His people..

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But.. with Paul.. There is a difference..

Some movements have to disavow previous revelation.. history and experience..

To make their Current revelation seem legitimate

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Some movements.. have to change the names.. the places..

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Some.. have to take a stand.. upon things.. that physical history cannot back up..

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But w/Paul.. there is real.. validity..

For Paul’s conclusions.. are consistent with previous revelation..

When Paul uses the word “mystery”

He is referencing information written down, and accepted from Old Testament.

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Paul’s conclusion.. was alluded to.. throughout the writings of the OT..

There were clues…

every mystery has clues..

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So.. throughout the law.. even, before the law..

The clues were there..

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The foreshadows.. of what was to come..

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So when it came.. and was fulfilled with incredible accuracy..

The message.. the new economy of God..

Was seen.. recognized.. and by some.. it was completely and totally.. embraced..

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But.. it still had a lot of opposition..

Different areas.. different departments of opposition..

So God called Paul.. very specifically.. to address one area.. very specifically..

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The new economy of God.. disqualified any wall of distinction.. or division..

Between Jew, and Gentile..

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This.. was a big deal..

This.. was an aspect of God’s new economy that many were not.. yet.. willing to accept..

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The Gentiles.. thought it strange that a religion which sprung up from Judaism..

.. would be accepting of them..

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And the Jews.. though it strange.. that the Gentiles could enter into salvation.. w/o first, becoming Jews..

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God called Paul.. to this specific work… to carry this unique message… even from the day of his salvation..

He was called.. to bring the message to the Gentiles..

And his zeal to carry out this mission..

His zeal to challenge the opposition..

His zeal to speak up for the cause of Christ..

Continually.. landed him in places of discomfort and trouble..

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He makes it abundantly clear.. as we look at vs. 1 again

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Ephesians 3:1 ESV

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—

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This is the reason why I am in jail… right now..

Because I have been preaching this message..

I declared that Jews and Gentiles alike.. In Christ: are of the same family.. and of the same nationality..

That they both… have a greater identity.. than that of physical heritage..

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Paul declared:

That both Jews and Gentiles..

Are being fit together.. equally.. upon the cornerstone of Christ.. and the foundation of His Word..

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Paul declared:

That both Jews and Gentiles alike..

Dwelling together as one are considered by God.. to be for Himself.. a suitable dwelling place..

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These are the things we established last week.. in vss. 19-22

It’s this message.. or, as vs. 1 puts it..

it is this reason.. Paul says… -why I am locked up.

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Very interesting thing to consider here..

Paul is locked up.. in Rome.. under the guard of Roman soldiers..

It would appear, in the physical..

That Paul was a prisoner.. of Rome..

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If things were printed in the local paper..

Posted on local message boards..

Written about.. on websites or blogs back in the day.. there in Rome..

It would be said:

That Paul.. was obviously.. in the custody of.. and incarcerated by: Rome!

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Even Paul, on a daily basis.. saw the keepers of his chains.. in the physical..

As being.. the Roman guards..

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The Roman law.. and the Roman courts… with his eyes.. that’s what he saw..

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But.. of whom does he claim.. to be a prisoner of? (go ahead.. answer it out loud)

JESUS!

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I don’t know about you..

But when I think about this..

The brakes hit hard..

I have to pull away from the story for a moment..

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And I need to appply this idea.. this mentality.. this concept..

To my.. real life.. right here and now..

And see: just how.. does this apply to me?

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I’m not in prison.. right now..

You are probably not in prison right now…

But maybe.. you’re in a bad place..

A bad situation.. a bad relationship.. a bad circumstance of health..

A bad.. environment..

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Maybe.. it’s circumstantial to previous actions..

It’s a ramification.. of a previous deed..

Or.. maybe you can’t place any reasoning to it..

You didn’t do anything bad to get there..

You’re just there..

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You’ve tried to do the right thing and live the right life..

But, for some reason.. there you still are..

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Paul could acknowledge both of these situations.. .

He could say: “I’m here, as a result of my actions.”

or.. he could say.. “I’ve done my best to do the right thing.. and I’m still here, in this bad place.”

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Essentially.. what it all boils down to is this:

Jesus allowed it.

Reasons and circumstances may abound.. in your life.. or.. there may be no reasonable explanation..

You’re just in a bad place, and circumstantially, you can’t see why it’s happening..

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And this is what it boils down to:

Jesus.. allows it..

Which leads us to the next big question..

Why?

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The answer for Paul is pretty simple..

If it wasn’t for his arrest.. he wouldn’t have been able to preach the gospel in Rome..

.. even before the government leaders of Rome..

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And.. if it wasn’t for his arrest..

He wouldn’t have had such an incredible opportunity..

To sit down.. undisturbed.. and write many of the Epistles that are in our Bible today..

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Paul declared Himself a prisoner of Jesus..

Because he looked beyond the circumstantial..

And saw.. that Jesus allowed it… for a purpose..

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Does God have a purpose in your hard place?

I’m confident.. that the answer.. is yes.

But.. whether you know it.. see it, or experience it..

Is totally a different situation..

That part.. is in your hands..

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It’s your choice.. to trust God.. be faithful.. and.. it’s your choice..

.. to seek out.. and be available.. for His ultimate purpose..

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Paul knew his purpose..

And Paul knew.. if Jesus allowed it..

That good things.. were going to ultimately.. be worked in it, and through it..

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Ephesians 3:2–7 ESV

2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

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Look at verse two. The stewardship of “the grace of God”

.. was.. a mystery.. defined.. vs. 5.. as that which was not.. previously known..

But is now.. known..

WHY?

Because God revealed it through the prophets and apostles..

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The specific mystery is given further explanation..

In vs. 6.. meaning.. that Gentiles are fellow heirs..

And.. the specific messenger of this mystery..

Is defined.. in vs. 7..

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Paul.. he’s the guy.. who has received so much grace.. therefore, he is able then, to operate in so much grace..

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Now.. let’s backtrack.. to vs. 2..

and consider this term: “stewardship of the grace of God”

Some Bibles use the word ‘dispensation’ of grace.

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I used to look at this word, “dispensation”

And say.. that a dispensation.. was a time period.. where in God dealt with his people.. in a different way..

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But.. my previous understanding of this word was wrong..

The time period.. was secondary.. almost trivial.. to the meaning of the word dispensation..

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An administration… a stewardship… a dispensation… had everything to do, with the economy… the system… the order… the rules… the laws… that God used, to deal with people.

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It is one word.. made up of two Gk words..

One word is “house” the other word is “law”

The house law..

Or, the law of the house..

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“oi-ko-no-mia”

It’s actually… where we get the word: economy..

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God.. had different ways.. of managing His people..

Different forms.. of economy.. that He allowed man to operate in..

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And if we look at them.. throughout history..

we see God.. teaching us an incredible lesson..

and.. we see God.. answering a lot of statements and opinions declared my people.

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For instance..

People say:

If our circumstances were better.. we’d be better people..

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Take people out of their bad environments and out from under bad parents and bad leadership..

And they will be good.

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People say this… because it makes sense. It’s logical..

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So.. we look back in history..

And God has already addressed this..

The first dispensation..

THE DISPENSATION OF INNOCENCE..

This existed in the garden..

Adam and Eve..

They had it good.. no parents to blame.. no crime.. no poverty..

They had no excuse..

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And yet.. they still sinned..

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So.. then people will say.. if we just followed our heart.. if we just.. lived life according to our conscience..

Then.. everything would be good..

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So God gave us.. the DISPENSATION OF CONSCIENCE…

And He had a new economy for man to live under..

He let them live, after the ways of their own heart..

He let them operate, according to their own conscience..

And this went on.. from the fall of man.. to the flood..

And what kind of condition was mankind in..

At the end of the flood?

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Genesis 6:5 ESV

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

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So the statements are made..

If man can just live by his own conscience.. it will be good..

But God has already shown us.. that it doesn’t work either..

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Well.. what we really need.. is good leadership.. good government structure.. then everything will be good..

So God takes us back to the next form of management he used with mankind..

The dispensation of government..

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From.. the flood. To the tower of Babel..

God gave man some rules and some structure. God repeated the Edenic command… go forth into all the earth… subdue it… be fruitful and multiply…

But mankind didn’t do that… instead of going forth, they settled in..

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Mankind.. tried to work together, under an orderly and civil means..

And what happened?

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They became so impressed with their ability to run and control things..

That they decided.. that they were sufficient on their own..

To manifest the incredible curse of pride that humanity fell under..

They built the “tower of babel”

Saying of themselves..

“we can get to God.. we can reach God.. we can be like God”

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This was a huge.. government project..

They built this giant Ziggurat. This pyramid, to create a point of contact between them the gods…

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It says.. they built it.. with bricks and slime..

Kind of like many of our government projects..

Good stuff in there.. bricks..

But.. too often.. there’s also… the slime..

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under the dispensation of government.. mankind broke down in a different way..

They became very prideful..

And determined.. that they could be.. totally self sufficient..

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So.. people might say.. if we only had a vision.. if we only had a promise to drive us..

so, from Abraham to Exodus..

we have the dispensation of promise..

and in the end.. the promise.. the vision did not hold for the masses..

they ended up in slavery..

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Well, people still have ideas and opinions..

So they say..

If we only had rules.. step by step procedures on how to live, and what to do..

If we could only read a book, or follow a system..

Then.. mankind would be in good shape..

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So God takes us back again.. to the DISPENSATION OF THE LAW..

From Exodus.. to the cross..

In this time period.. that’s what God did..

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He gave mankind.. His list.. of do’s and don’t’s..

And he taught an incredible lesson..

The rules teach us..

That we are not able.. that we are not capable..

That we are likely to fall.. to fail.. to miss the mark..

In every area.. at some point or another..

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Finally.. in Christ.. we entered into.. the dispensation of grace..

which is where we’re at now..

and is the very thing that Paul is talking about..

Now.. these different periods of management.. these different economies of God..

Are things we see, and observe in the Bible..

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But.. it is a concept.. that can be taken too far..

And some folks continue to break things down..

And create dispensations within dispensations.. and so on…

Beyond the big.. obvious ones we’ve listed here..

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We should use caution.. in trying to create different economies of God.. where He hasn’t defined, proven or established them..

Ultimately.. here’s our conclusion..

innocence.. conscience.. government.. promise and the law…

have all proven to be..

inferior..

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They all required mankind, to be responsible to some deed or decision, in order to make the system work…

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All but one… this final one. This final one isn’t about what we do… but totally, about what God has done, and is now doing.

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I’ll fail in my attempts to be innocent..

But God will continue to extend.. His forgiveness and restoration..

I’ll fail in my attempts to live.. according to my conscience..

But God.. will forgive me.. bless me w/His knowledge.. and maintain my restoration..

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I’ll fail in my attempts to be successful.. with government.. or with the rules..

But God.. will keep me successful.. in Christ..

For where Christ is victorious.. so am I..

Where Christ is perfect..

So am I..

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That which is good in Him, has been purchased.. and extended to me..

I’m under His blood.. I’m forgiven..

And my redemption.. my forgiveness in Him..

Is so great.

That it doesn’t matter what I started out as..

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Jew.. or Gentile..

Criminal.. or do-gooder..

Drunk.. or sober..

Corporate giant.. or homeless bum..

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Here in lies Paul’s message..

He is a steward… of God’s new economy..

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He’s pushing grace..

And he’s telling them what it means.. to walk in, and exist in.. grace..

It’s the same message that Ephesians has been teaching us in chapters 1 and 2..

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We’ve got it good..

No matter what our worldly circumstances are..

We’ve got it good.

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Conclusion..

Folks.. if I can leave you with any challenge today..

it’s this one..

Grace.. is the best way..

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God’s grace…

He made it.. He defines it.. He is the author of it..

And He gives it in a way.. that blows any other offer out of the water..

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For the believer here today..

you have incredible blessings to take hold of..

In your hard place..

Remember.. you are there.. ultimately..

Because Jesus allowed it..

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Now.. what’s your purpose for Him?

What can He do.. in you, because of that hard place..

And.. what can you do.. for Him..

Because of that hard place?

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If you’re a believer here today..

And you think that you’re better.. than some other believer..

Or, you feel like you are inferior..

Based on your cultural situation.. your social situation.. your economical situation.. or whatever..

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You need to remember.. the message that Paul is preaching here..

We have been given such a powerful salvation..

So powerful that our previous condition.. is irrelevant..

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There are no “head-starts” with God..

We are common.. united.. and on the level..

And if God sees us this way..

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We should treat each other this way too..

If you’re still trying make life work for you..

by trying to be.. good, or by following a system or a rule..

or .. by having vision..

Know this..

Those methods have been tried..

And they have been found.. wanting..

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God went to massive lengths in history.. to show us..

What works.. and what doesn’t.

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Doing it on our own.. does not work..

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..

We can’t do it.. and history proves it..

God wants to give us.. what we don’t deserve..

That’s grace.

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He wants to give us, the gift of forgiveness, restoration and holiness..

He wants to make us.. holy..

He’s paid the price, because we can’t.

He offers us.. forgiveness for all our shortcomings..

And it’s there.. in His hand.. extended..

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If you’ve never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior..

Today could be your day..

And if it is your day.. you know it.. because there’s a sensation of urgency being experienced in your heart..

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It’s simple..

You believe.. you turn.. and you receive..

Believe.. that Jesus is the Son of God.. who paid the price, for your sins.. on the cross..

Turn.. by telling the Lord.. that you intend to change the direction of your life..

From living.. for self.. to living.. for Him..

And receive… by accepting.. the forgiveness, restoration and holiness, that He offers to you..

If today.. in any way.. you need help.. you need Jesus.. or you need your life re-alligned with Him..

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How do we make this happen?

Is simply a matter of prayer. We pray in faith believing the God is forgiving us and we commit our lives by faith to him and we demonstrate that faith by repenting, literally doing a U-turn from a life we live for ourselves to a life that we live for God.

If you know today that this is what you're supposed to do then I invite you to pray with me as we close.