Praise to God for Our Inheritance - Ephesians 1:11-12

Ephesians 1:11-12 Immensely blessed as a part of God’s plan through Faith in Jesus Christ INTRO I am going to begin our time in God’s Word this morning by calling your attention to the crossing of the Red Sea. Don’t turn there….but you recall the account in Exodus chapter 14. The Israelites have left Egypt….they have plundered the Egyptians on their Exodus having “Jewelry, goods and so forth given to them….but no weapons to protect themselves with. God directs them to a shut in location with the Red Sea, a massive body of water before them, and mountains to every side except for from which they came. Like a culde-sac if you will. A very vulnerable position to be in if your enemy was in hot pursuit on your heels. Which Pharaoh and his army were. Trapped. The helpless Israelites have no way out. No way around this large body of water to flee to. Futile to turn and face their enemy, having no way to fight against them…they have no weapons of any sort. There they stood confronting that which was insurmountable. What to do? God steps in and instructs Moses to take the staff that is in his hand and “stretch it over the sea” to see Him, to see God work wonders in saving His people. Moses obeys and the Israelites, over the course of the night, “with the water being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left,” ….pass through safely on dry land to the other side to look back on their enemies who gets swallowed up by the water when Moses, as instructed by God… “…stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.” “….not one of them remained.” They all perished. Immediately following this scene is a time of dancing and singing in praise and worship of God that’s led by Miriam. (Exodus 15) Now listen to the account of this as recalled by (Psalm 77) and allow a visual to take place in your minds eye. (Psalm 77) turn their if you’d like. The writer of this Psalm (verse 4) is “.. so troubled he cannot speak.” We’ve been there before right? In seeking consolation for his soul he looks back at this account of crossing the Red Sea. Picking up in (verse 6) (Psalm 77:6). “I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: (Psalm 77:10-20). “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. ‘Saleh’ When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. …………Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Frightful imagery is it not? Does a picture of that formulate in your mind’s eye? The intensity of the situation must have been unreal…I mean, look at the language there…the earth shook and trembled along with the sea…lightening striking all around…lighting up the world….stepping through the midst of the sea with a wall of water on both sides all-through-the-night, following God’s footsteps though they were unseen….that was a distance…a terrifying distance…that took time…I imagine them wondering fearfully along with every step…like… “Aaagh… is this wall of water going to cave in?” The wind, the flashes of lightening, the trembling sea and earth… Immense and Intense circumstances. Pharaoh’s army still pursuing them! A Terrifying thing the Israelites faced. Insurmountable odds against them. Confronting something they couldn’t get around. Immense and Intense circumstance that without God’s help to pass through, they would be crushed! WELL, strangely so, similar to the Psalmist finding consolation to his soul by this account, I find comfort by it to my soul as being Illustrative of encountering God’s blessings found in scripture which at times can render us speechless and overwhelmed. For when one considers the magnitude of what-they-are, the weight of the wonder of their glory…it is beyond measure. The blessings we have as a part of God’s plan through Faith in Jesus Christ are immense. Confronting something massive, something beyond you, something Insurmountable….you can’t get around it. God’s blessings are like this. They are that BIG….and as serious thought is given to them….are rightly intimidating. True contemplation of them is intense. That’s why Paul prays for the Ephesians (Ephesians 3:19) “..to have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Why does he pray that? “….strength to comprehend the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” ……because the more we are able to comprehend it the more it has direct impact on our love and devotion to Him. We pray for this because God’s love is so immense and so intense in what it is,..we need God’s strength,…not our own, but God’s strength to be able to comprehend it….comprehend these glorious blessings of God's love towards us in Christ to greater measure…for when-we-do….When-we-do….God gets bigger and bigger and we get smaller and smaller and our lives as a result grow in greater love for Him and devotion to Him. And this is a good thing church. We want this. And my delight this morning is to take hold of the text together like Mose’s staff and step into these blessings by faith with God’s help to walk through it..individually and as a church to reach the other side where we sing and dance about the wonders of God’s great love towards us further comprehended by the strength He provides. So… We’ll meet 3 of these Immense blessings in (verses 11&12)….Blessings we can’t go around or over but only by faith in Christ we step forward through and immerse ourselves in….beholding His glory by - the immense blessings we have as a part of God’s plan through Faith in Jesus Christ. For we are church - Immensely blessed as a part of God’s plan through Faith in Jesus Christ And the first immense blessing I invite you to join me stepping into is our Possession. BODY 1) FIRST POINT - (Ephesians 1:11a). Blessing of Possession “In Him we have obtained an inheritance….” Possession Inheritance - This is beyond measure saints, unsurpassed worth given to unworthy sinners. “have obtained” it’s already ours by faith in Christ, we just haven’t acquired possession of it yet. What do you think of when you think of our Inheritance from God? Our Possession kept secured in the heavens for us? Is it Eternal life? You ever try and imagine living forever? Giving serious thought to a never ending life. Doesn’t your head begin to hurt when giving effort to comprehend something like that which is beyond us? How about eternity past? Eternity past. Like for some reason, perhaps eternity forward has some grip to it for ya…but eternity past? That God knew us before the foundations of the world were laid. That God always existed…He has no beginning. He has always been. If you’re like me perhaps you’ve gone down that thought path,..being filled with wonder right before you are squished by the weight of it all. We are exceedingly limited in our minds ability to fully comprehend these marvelous truths about God. How about no darkness? (Rev 21:23, 22:5) “God’s glory illuminates the heavens..” There is no night, no sun to shine, only the splendor and brilliance of our maker giving light to everything. Have you tried picturing that in your minds eye? What about not tiring out?.…never get sick or injured. How amazing is that? Full sprint run…leaping and darting with no lack of vigorous energy or agility… feeling you could go faster and faster, and you can…up,…down…full throttle and no relent. You stop because you want to stop. Isn’t that fun to imagine? Amazing blessings we have possession of in Christ Jesus and more could be mentioned..crystal sea, streets of gold, judging angels.…like whaat? Crazy things to consider we are heirs to in Christ. YET,….YET, as marvelous as each one of them are, they are secondary. They DO NOT exist without the one true Inheritance we have obtained in Christ JESUS our Savior. - GOD,…GOD is our inheritance. We-get-God. Being with God, in His presence, enjoying God, basking in His glory, we-get-God. We don’t deserve God. Guarded and made holy and blameless before Him in Christ. The GOD whom the Israelites rightly feared for their lives when He descended upon Mount Sinai. The GOD pictured for us in (Psalm 18:11-15) When “He bowed the heavens and came down…. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows (lightning bolts) and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.” This God….whom we are frightfully guarded by these elements of creation…..which serve as a shield…if you will….to protect us from God…., because of His Holiness, His majestic power that no one living is able to stand in His presence. Our Great and Awesome God (Neh 1:5)…You could insert the words Terrible or Dreadful in place of Awesome. They all are synonymous and fitting descriptions of our all CONSUMING FIRE God. It is this same God by faith in Christ - We, christians, get to enjoy the presence of without fear of condemnation. (Psalm 68:3) “….as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!” (Revelations 21:3) “….Behold, the dwelling place[fn] of God is with man.” By faith in Christ made holy and blameless before Him. In His Righteousness, cleansed and made Holy by Jesus’s atoning blood shed for us on the cross. Sanctified by His Sacrifice so that WE, through faith in Him may be holy and blameless and jubilant with joy in the presence of “…Him who dwells in un-approachable-light…” (1 Timothy 6:16). Enjoying the favor, the kindness, the indescribable beauty, the matchless worth and delight found only in Him. CHURCH… - We-get-God! NO longer separated from Him by sin, NO longer seeing dimly through eyes of faith but eyes wide open…uninhibited beholding of His excellence, His eternal Glory without fear of death and annihilation. Pleasures forevermore in God that never fade…never Boredom will not be a word in the heavens. Exploring the glories of God almighty will have - no end. There is NO peak to be reached. We keep climbing and climbing and explore for all eternity the delights….the rich beautiful inheritance we have in GOD. WE…say it with me church. “We - get - God.” Have you thought on this God….our God forever and ever? (Psalm 48:9-14) We can’t get around God, we can’t climb over. By faith in Christ we may step forward and immerse ourselves in Him,..beholding His glory. (Psalm 16:5-11) “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence…in the presence of God…there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We-get-God. Exploring the wonders, the greatness, the majesty, the supreme worthiness of GOD cannot be exhausted. It simply cannot. We will never cease in the exploration of His Holiness, of His Glory, of His Wonder. It will never be spent. “In Him (In Jesus Christ) we have obtained an inheritance….” That’s the first immense blessing we have as a part of God’s plan through faith in Jesus Christ. The blessing of our Possession in Christ…our inheritance. We take possession of that which we have rights to only through our sonship by faith in Jesus Christ. We-get-God. What is the second immense blessing we’ll encounter this morning in these two verses (11&12)? The Blessing of Predestination. 2) SECOND POINT (Ephesians 1:11b) - Blessing of Predestination Predestined to be a part of God’s plan. The opening of this epistle (verses 1-14) has a building emphasis on this. (verse 5) “According to the purpose of His will…”. (verse) “….made known to us the mystery of His will according to His purpose….” and now (11b) “…according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will.” I myself find it hard to not chuckle within on How the emphasis of this is concluded.. The one place where (Me, Myself and I) have perfect wisdom and counsel. Everywhere else it doesn’t. If we…you and I are to be wise we are to seek out godly counsel for help,…and heed it. Not that your life is dictated by others, but sincerely listen to the godly counsel provided out of loving care and concern for your well being and allow it to influence your plans. (Proverbs 20:18). “Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.” On the other hand….(Proverbs 21:30) “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel, can avail the Lord.” In other words. Who is going to provide God with counsel? The best one is Himself. I chuckle within as I get this picture in my mind of God working this out. Like….“What do you think of this plan “self?” I like it, it’s selfless, humble and glorious. Well thank you, I tend to agree. How about you “Me”? Could there be any other way. Your glory, in all it’s exceeding excellence is displayed perfectly for all eternity to the praise of your glorious grace. Well stated ‘Me’… we totally think alike. So, Me, Myself and I…we agree then? “YES”. Excellent, let’s execute as we’ve determined to do so.” NOW, I don’t see that as actually being the way in which it went down…BUT, the truth of the matter remains. GOD, in Himself, with perfect humble and holy self generated wonderful counsel determines with excellent wisdom (Isaiah 28:29) His purposes and sovereignly works them out according to His plan. (Isaiah 40:13) “Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?" (Psalm 33:11). “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.” This doctrine (of predestination) we face before us this morning is not isolated here. We find it elsewhere in scripture. (Deuteronomy 9, Exodus 10, Psalm 22, Romans chapters 8 & 9; Acts 2:23, & 4:28, 2 Timothy 1:9, Matthew 13:20, John 15:16) to name a handful. SO, like the Red Sea…we can’t go around it. Admittedly, it’s an intimidating doctrine. Intimidating to the point we may be tempted to move right passed it and not give it much attention to it at all. To not linger there because of it’s intimidating nature. It’s too much….I’m going to move onto other doctrines of my salvation while “working out my salvation with fear and trembling.”…but not spend time here…it troubles me. (Philippians 2:12). I say this as one who understands…I get it. The weight of this doctrine is HEAVY. Like chewing on meat that is full of sinew….just keep chewing and chewing and I wonder if I am ever going to be able to swallow it. As we study the Word of God we will confront it throughout the scriptures. The prophets speak of it…you’ll find it in the Psalms….the Apostles speak of it….Jesus speaks of it. Therefore we must not avoid this wonderful doctrine, but in faith, step forward and walk through it with God’s help..individually and as a church to reach the other side, like the Israelites who fearfully walked through the Red Sea following God’s path though His footprints were not seen, that we too, safely arrive on the other side, with song and dance about the wonders of God’s great deeds towards us. My hope is that conversations are able to take place around this blessed doctrine of predestination amongst those who may have differing view points. Isn’t this where we grow and sharpen one another? When we go to God’s word in explaining why it is we believe what we believe as to these things of God. This is not a salvation issue but it does have great benefit in sharpening one another with the mutual aim to grow more and more in the truth that is in Christ Jesus. The famous preachers Wesley and Whitefield provide examples to us of two powerful men of God who held differing positions on this doctrine…though their friendship for a time was fractured by their differing views,…they eventually reconciled as dear friends and saw the matter as non essential and had agreement to differ on the subject. So let’s not divide over this but rather humble ourselves that we may grow together as we discuss through this wonderful teaching from God’s Word. It was at the hight of Wesley and Whitefield’s controversy,…when Whitefield quoted the reformer John Bradford who said “Let a man go to the grammar school of faith and repentance, before he goes to the university of election and predestination.” The wisdom of this statement is the path in invite you to step into a measure this morning by answering 2 questions. 1. What predestined isn’t ? 2. & What predestined is ? The first step we’ll take in walking through the blessing of predestination is: What predestination isn’t. It’s not a means of salvation. Allow me to put this out there plainly. You can believe in the doctrine of predestination, of being chosen before the foundation of the world….listen…and not be …I say again…not be a child of God. Not be a true Christian. Just because one adheres to these doctrines doesn’t assure them that they are adhered to Christ. The Christian is in Christ. “There life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3) They are bonded forever to him by faith. It is NOT an intellectual accent. Believing things about JESUS is not the same as believing in JESUS as Lord and Savior. I want you to understand this friend. Don’t be deceived. “The demons believe and tremble.” (James 2:19) They quote scripture. (Matthew 4:6) They are not among the elect. They are not chosen vessels of mercy. They are not of the people of God. Following suit to this…. It’s not living as you please - this only confirms your just condemnation. An attitude of heart by one who responds this way is depraved of truth in their heart. They are deceived and not born again. (Titus 3:11). They are “…warped and sinful; they are self condemned.” Nor is it indifference as if nothing I do matters. This also shows you only have a wrongful understanding of it in your mind and the glory and beauty of it hasn’t reached your heart to bring about humility and excitement! For on the contrary,….as we shift now to What predestination is….taking another step forward.. Predestination is - ‘according to scripture’…what every true Christian is by God…and therefore, regardless of your view on predestination, the Christian marks remain. The powerful work of the Spirit of God is in their lives bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. God’s chosen ones love Him and love His Word and His people. God’s elect worship Christ and live their lives to make much of Him. God’s children, “predestined for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” …joyfully come under His rule and reign in their hearts and seek to know Him more that further surrender of their lives would belong to Him. The “predestined according to His purpose” believer is one who hates sin..hates every evil and clings to all that is good, holy and pure. The Spirit filled Born Again Christian pursues holiness in the fear of God bearing evidence of it by the fruits of The Holy Spirit increasing in their lives. There is a radical difference between one who may adhere to certain doctrines without life change and one who adheres to Christ and is being changed. A heaven and hell difference. God’s elect are ones who feel completely unworthy to know the one who called them to Himself and makes them worthy,…who has chosen them and set them apart has His treasured possessions for His Kingdom. God’s elect are ones who are excited to be ambassador’s for Christ!!,….God making His appeal through us…we implore others on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20) We have the Immense blessing being predestined as a part of God’s plan through faith in Christ to be involved in God’s work of seeking and saving the lost! (Luke 19:10) “For the Son of Man, our Lord Jesus, came to seek and save the lost.” And WE, the Church, His body continue that work in the Power of the Holy Spirit till He returns. There is Power in the name of Jesus…Earth shattering, prison bar bursting… resurrection - POWER!….in the name of Jesus…who will return when that work is complete. SO, since he has yet to return, WE know there are those yet to repent, those lost needing to be found who still need to hear the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ by which they will be saved. The very message that saved us and the one we share as ambassadors for Christ. We don’t know who that is so we share it with any and all opportunity allows to do so. We do so, gently, respectfully and with confidence in God…not in ourselves. Leave the saving up to The Holy Spirit. Our part is to share Jesus Christ crucified. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) The Immense blessing being predestined as a part of God’s plan through faith in Christ. Which results in another Immense blessing and our 3rd and final one in consideration from the passage before us this morning and that is the Blessing of Purpose. 3) THIRD POINT (Ephesians 1:12) - Blessing of Purpose “So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His Glory” Blessing of Purpose - to the praise of His glory. God is glorified in saving a remnant for His own possession. “Glory of the sons of God revealed.” That which “…all creation…groaning together groaning together in the pains of childbirth…waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God….that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19-21)..what a wild verse…but nevertheless true. God is glorified in saving a remnant for His own possession… Glory of the sons of God revealed.…As a part of God’s plan in the display of His glory to all creation for all eternity is — His — church….in which Christ is the head. “The fullness of Christ”…to the praise of God’s glory is His body…the CHURCH… adorned as a bride. Holy and pure and forever united in love. To the praise of His glory. Our story and our stor-ies that intertwine with one another both in the generation we occupy now, those in the past and those to come. We all share in the redemption song of the ages glorifying God on High for His grace lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight. GOD is glorified in His church. Unworthy sinners, rescued by grace, raised as adopted children by grace, brought safely home by grace, kept forever secure by grace who are on display for the coming of ages as jewels in our King’s Crown (Ephesians 2:7) that “…he might show the immeasurable riches of-his-grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The Immense Blessing of “Purpose“ to the praise of His glory. By faith in Christ WE the church are a part of this. The PURPOSE of our lives is for that PURPOSE. To the praise of His glory. Resting in His promise (Romans 8:28) “…… that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Ephesians 3:9-10). “God’s plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” You hear that church? “…so that through the church the manifold…manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the ruler and authorities in the heavenly places.” Is there any-other-purpose to aspire to? Heaven’s no! That’s the AIM, that’s the PEAK…to live to the glory of God. It is when we operate there,….here and now by faith,…where we have fullness of Joy even though we haven’t acquired possession of it. Dear Saints…. CONCLUSION …..we are Immensely blessed as a part of God’s plan through Faith in Jesus Christ. The blessing of Possessing our Inheritance….We-Get-God. The blessing of Predestination. We are chosen by God’s grace to be a part of His plan to unite all things in Christ. The blessing of Purpose. We exist for the great privilege to glorify God for all eternity. In light of these blessings let us (1 Thessalonians 2:12) “….exhort each other and encourage one another….. to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls us into his own kingdom and glory.” - PRAY COMMUNION Benediction (Colossians 1:9-14)