1 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,280 Good morning, everyone. Today we're continuing our 2 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,640 series, our Who Are We series and we're going to be going. 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,120 We've been going through this so far this year and we're going to 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,400 continue that as we start a new book. 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,960 And that book is the book of Ephesians, which will will be 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,760 our focus for the next few months and we'll be looking. 7 00:00:30,060 --> 00:00:34,780 At who we are in Christ. So the question is, do you have 8 00:00:34,940 --> 00:00:37,380 ever have those moments where you're lying in bed and you 9 00:00:37,380 --> 00:00:41,380 can't sleep and you start thinking about things like, who 10 00:00:41,380 --> 00:00:44,300 am I? Why am I here? 11 00:00:44,820 --> 00:00:50,020 Why am I like I am? What is my purpose? 12 00:00:50,820 --> 00:00:55,300 Did I leave the iron on? These are some of the things 13 00:00:55,300 --> 00:00:57,980 that sometimes run through my mind when I can't sleep. 14 00:00:59,030 --> 00:01:04,470 But the good thing is we don't have to rely on human philosophy 15 00:01:04,670 --> 00:01:08,950 to answer these questions. We can rely on the truth of 16 00:01:09,070 --> 00:01:12,470 scripture. And the book of Ephesians tells 17 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:18,110 us who we are in Christ. It is one of the key themes of 18 00:01:18,110 --> 00:01:21,390 this wonderful book, and earlier this year our young adults 19 00:01:21,390 --> 00:01:25,560 groups actually studied. The the book of Ephesians as 20 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,480 part of the weekly weekly Bible studies. 21 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,480 So they have a bit of a a heads up on this study. 22 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,120 But it is such a great book and it's so good that as a church we 23 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,200 can actually look at this in depth over the next few months. 24 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,680 So today has been read, we're going to be looking at the 1st 25 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:49,480 14 verses of chapter one in the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 11 26 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,920 to 14. So the heading for this message 27 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,450 is. Seven spiritual blessings of the 28 00:01:56,450 --> 00:02:02,410 redeemed and God's spiritual blessings are not limited to 29 00:02:02,410 --> 00:02:04,850 seven. There are many, many more. 30 00:02:04,850 --> 00:02:08,050 But today we're going to be looking at 7 that are mentioned 31 00:02:08,130 --> 00:02:12,770 in these verses we're looking at and our overall theme is the 32 00:02:12,770 --> 00:02:17,850 redeemed in Christ receive spiritual blessings which gives 33 00:02:17,890 --> 00:02:21,170 God glory, the redeemed in Christ. 34 00:02:21,490 --> 00:02:26,890 Receive spiritual blessings which give God glory and 35 00:02:26,890 --> 00:02:29,610 friends. These are great verses and Paul 36 00:02:29,610 --> 00:02:34,650 the writer gets straight into reminding us of who we are in 37 00:02:34,650 --> 00:02:37,330 Christ. And it is really important. 38 00:02:37,330 --> 00:02:40,770 It's a really important thing for us to be reminded of this, 39 00:02:40,930 --> 00:02:47,410 who we are in Christ, because we can so easily forget this and we 40 00:02:47,410 --> 00:02:50,190 can drop back. Into our old ways. 41 00:02:50,310 --> 00:02:55,430 If we're not careful, the enemy will do all He can to make us 42 00:02:55,430 --> 00:03:01,110 forget who we are in Christ, or make us think we are not worthy 43 00:03:01,110 --> 00:03:04,270 or good enough for what Christ has done for us. 44 00:03:04,630 --> 00:03:08,910 Or tell us we can't get past the sins we have done in the past, 45 00:03:09,470 --> 00:03:13,470 or struggle to accept that the Savior of the world would die 46 00:03:13,470 --> 00:03:16,920 for you. Satan will tell you that you 47 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,480 aren't doing enough and that you are a failure as a Christian. 48 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:26,200 And this reminder was actually really relevant to me this week. 49 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,680 You know, normally I think I'm a reasonably positive kind of 50 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,440 person. I'm a glass half full kind of 51 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:37,360 guy and I like to see the best in people and I'm usually truly 52 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,800 thankful for what the Lord has done for me. 53 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,990 But on Thursday this week? I had a few things thrown at me 54 00:03:44,270 --> 00:03:48,870 that really shook me and I easily went into a bit of a woe 55 00:03:48,870 --> 00:03:53,270 is me type of thinking that I was a bit of a failure and not a 56 00:03:53,270 --> 00:03:57,910 good enough person. But the best thing for me was to 57 00:03:57,910 --> 00:04:03,150 come back to these verses and Ephesians and be reminded of who 58 00:04:03,190 --> 00:04:08,190 I am in Christ. These verses reminded me of how 59 00:04:08,190 --> 00:04:12,600 God sees me. And for that, I am so thankful. 60 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,560 I'm also thankful that God doesn't run performance reviews 61 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,760 or have KPI targets on us as Christians that we need to meet 62 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,000 or else I would get fired. We don't have to track our 63 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:30,320 Christian performance or get an A+ and Christian living to get 64 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,280 the blessings of God. If that was the case, I would 65 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:38,880 miss the mark all the time. But in these verses, Paul goes 66 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,880 about showing us and reminding us of who we are in Christ and 67 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:48,320 what we are designed to do, and that is to give glory to God. 68 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,720 So let's walk our way through these verses and see the 69 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:56,960 richness of what God has done for us and who we are in His in 70 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:58,400 His sight. Today. 71 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,520 We get the opportunity to track the blessings that we have and 72 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:04,440 which we can be truly thankful for. 73 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:08,920 We didn't have to earn any of these blessings, so let's look 74 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,520 at verse one to two. Paul starts his greeting by 75 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:18,640 introducing himself as the author of this letter and lays 76 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,800 down his credentials an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of 77 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:24,920 God. And a quick point to note here 78 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:29,800 is that Paul was doing the will of God by being an apostle. 79 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,080 He wasn't appointed into this role by man, He wasn't. 80 00:05:33,570 --> 00:05:36,730 Chosen by the other apostles, he didn't have a theological degree 81 00:05:36,730 --> 00:05:40,890 that qualified him for the role. This wasn't a job for Paul. 82 00:05:41,170 --> 00:05:43,810 It was a calling, not a qualification. 83 00:05:44,330 --> 00:05:50,330 God qualifies those he calls. God seeks availability above 84 00:05:50,490 --> 00:05:55,810 ability, but for God this was a role given to him by Jesus 85 00:05:55,810 --> 00:05:59,090 Christ himself. And next nine we read of his 86 00:05:59,090 --> 00:06:01,730 conversion by Jesus on the road to Damascus. 87 00:06:02,110 --> 00:06:06,710 And in verses 15 to 16 it says, For he is a chosen vessel of 88 00:06:06,710 --> 00:06:12,030 mine to bear my name before the Gentiles, kings and children of 89 00:06:12,030 --> 00:06:14,630 Israel. For I will show him how many 90 00:06:14,630 --> 00:06:17,630 things he must suffer for my sake. 91 00:06:18,750 --> 00:06:21,790 So the best thing we can be doing is the will of God. 92 00:06:21,790 --> 00:06:24,150 It is important that the ministry or service you are 93 00:06:24,150 --> 00:06:28,230 doing is because you have been called to it by the Lord. 94 00:06:28,710 --> 00:06:30,710 The reason it is important is because. 95 00:06:31,060 --> 00:06:35,700 When times get tough, which they will, we know the Lord will help 96 00:06:35,700 --> 00:06:38,540 us through it, and they'll help help us through those difficult 97 00:06:38,540 --> 00:06:41,740 times because it is He who has called us to it, to that 98 00:06:41,740 --> 00:06:44,420 ministry. If we have gone into that area 99 00:06:44,420 --> 00:06:47,860 on our own strength, it is easier to give it away when the 100 00:06:47,860 --> 00:06:52,380 tough times come. So for Paul, he was doing the 101 00:06:52,380 --> 00:06:57,420 will of God, and this is a good example to us doing what God has 102 00:06:57,420 --> 00:07:00,240 called you to do. Might not be the easiest 103 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:05,920 sometimes, as Paul found out, but it is the best place to be. 104 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,720 So Paul continues and he says that he is writing to the Saints 105 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,640 of Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus. 106 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,320 So this letter is to believers in Jesus Christ initially 107 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,960 written to the church at Ephesus, and then it would have 108 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,320 been passed around the other churches in that area. 109 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,960 But it is also to the faithful in Christ Jesus that includes 110 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,640 us. Paul would have had no idea that 111 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,120 his words he was writing would be studied at Hukunary Bible 112 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,440 Church in Hamilton, New Zealand in 2023. 113 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,800 But God did. God's word through Paul is as 114 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:48,200 relevant to us today as it was to the believers in Paul's time. 115 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,480 And then Paul finishes his greeting the same way he does in 116 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,440 all his letters, which we see in verse two. 117 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,370 In this verse we see. The equality of God the Father 118 00:07:59,370 --> 00:08:04,210 and the Lord Jesus Christ, who are both equally divine. 119 00:08:05,770 --> 00:08:10,930 It's continuing to verse 3. This verse is central to the 120 00:08:10,930 --> 00:08:14,450 book of Ephesians. Now if you're if you like 121 00:08:14,450 --> 00:08:18,370 underlining your Bible, then underline this verse. 122 00:08:18,370 --> 00:08:21,370 This is a good verse. If you're even more spiritual 123 00:08:21,370 --> 00:08:24,770 and you highlight your Bible, then highlight this one. 124 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:31,480 In most of your Bibles there are two blessed words, but they mean 125 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,080 two different things in this verse. 126 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,159 The first, blessed at the start of the verse, starts off with 127 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:42,679 blessed be God, be the God or. But some versions will say 128 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:47,120 praise be to God or praise God, which is actually what this 129 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:51,240 blessed means. It is us giving praise to God, 130 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,720 which is what we are designed and called to do. 131 00:08:54,390 --> 00:08:57,870 But the second blessed is about the blessings that God has 132 00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:00,830 poured out onto us through Christ. 133 00:09:01,070 --> 00:09:05,270 And here we see that He has blessed us with every spiritual 134 00:09:05,390 --> 00:09:08,590 blessing. So Paul isn't talking about 135 00:09:08,590 --> 00:09:11,790 here, isn't talking about physical blessing that God gives 136 00:09:11,790 --> 00:09:13,350 us. The fact that we are here this 137 00:09:13,350 --> 00:09:17,390 morning, the fact that we have breath in our lungs to give him 138 00:09:17,390 --> 00:09:19,630 praise and glory, this is a physical blessing. 139 00:09:19,950 --> 00:09:22,590 We have roofs over our head. Water is in our tap. 140 00:09:23,300 --> 00:09:25,460 Maybe the ability to work or study. 141 00:09:25,660 --> 00:09:28,820 These are all physical blessings which we can be thankful for. 142 00:09:29,780 --> 00:09:34,420 God also physically blesses the just and the unjust equally in 143 00:09:34,420 --> 00:09:39,460 some instances, Matthew 545 tells us that for he makes his 144 00:09:39,460 --> 00:09:44,660 sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just 145 00:09:45,020 --> 00:09:48,100 and the unjust. But what Paul is talking about 146 00:09:48,100 --> 00:09:52,140 here is different. This is spiritual blessings. 147 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,760 And they are solely for those who have Jesus Christ as their 148 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,160 Savior. They are specifically for those 149 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:04,080 who are in Christ. And God hasn't blessed us with 150 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:08,040 some spiritual blessings. It says here that He has blessed 151 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,960 us with every spiritual blessing. 152 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:17,160 This is the graciousness of God, that he would pour out all 153 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,120 blessings on those who are His children. 154 00:10:21,470 --> 00:10:25,110 So let's look at some of these spiritual blessings that God has 155 00:10:25,110 --> 00:10:28,270 so graciously poured out onto us. 156 00:10:28,870 --> 00:10:34,070 These spiritual blessings remind us of who we are in Christ. 157 00:10:35,190 --> 00:10:43,710 So firstly, God chose you and verse four, God chose you. 158 00:10:45,950 --> 00:10:48,870 What a wonderful and encouraging truth that is. 159 00:10:49,470 --> 00:10:53,400 God chose you. He chose you before the 160 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,800 foundation of the world. Now, for some of you, that that 161 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,320 whole thing of being chosen might bring up some really bad 162 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,560 memories of your childhood when you were playing rounders in the 163 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:08,680 primary school at lunchtime and you know you'd get the two 164 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:12,760 captains and then they'd start choosing between. 165 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:14,720 You'd all be there and you'd lined up and. 166 00:11:15,310 --> 00:11:18,230 Then he'd choose one and he'd choose one and they always chose 167 00:11:18,230 --> 00:11:20,350 the sporty boys 1st. And then they chose the sporty 168 00:11:20,350 --> 00:11:21,750 girls. And then they chose their non 169 00:11:21,750 --> 00:11:23,990 sporty friends. And then you kind of left at the 170 00:11:24,070 --> 00:11:26,910 end and you're the last one and it just feels terrible, you 171 00:11:26,910 --> 00:11:29,550 know. But praise God, God doesn't play 172 00:11:29,550 --> 00:11:34,670 rounders. Thankfully you weren't chosen 173 00:11:34,670 --> 00:11:38,790 because of how good you are. It's not on your mirror. 174 00:11:38,790 --> 00:11:42,990 It doesn't matter how good you are, You were chosen by God's 175 00:11:42,990 --> 00:11:47,070 grace. Now this message is focused on 176 00:11:47,070 --> 00:11:50,830 who we are in Christ, not on the doctrine of election or 177 00:11:50,830 --> 00:11:53,950 predestination. I'm sorry to disappoint some 178 00:11:53,950 --> 00:11:57,270 people, but I would like just to say one thing. 179 00:11:57,910 --> 00:12:01,070 Scripture talks about the sovereignty of God and the free 180 00:12:01,070 --> 00:12:03,630 will of man. It talks about both, and I think 181 00:12:03,630 --> 00:12:06,110 Jeff summed it up really well at the start of our One Peter 182 00:12:06,110 --> 00:12:09,590 series with the analogy of the pendulum which can swing right 183 00:12:09,590 --> 00:12:13,590 over to one side. Where people might say that it's 184 00:12:13,630 --> 00:12:16,470 only the sovereignty of God that he knows all things which he 185 00:12:16,470 --> 00:12:19,910 does and controls all things which he does, and therefore 186 00:12:19,910 --> 00:12:22,030 there are those that have been chosen. 187 00:12:22,390 --> 00:12:24,710 And then if you're being chosen, fantastic. 188 00:12:24,710 --> 00:12:27,430 But if you haven't been chosen, well, that's bad luck. 189 00:12:27,710 --> 00:12:30,070 And then the pendulum swings right over to the other side, 190 00:12:30,070 --> 00:12:33,710 where God has given man complete free will, and it is fully at 191 00:12:33,710 --> 00:12:36,870 man's discretion whether he accepts Christ or not. 192 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,680 But in the middle, where the pendulum will rest, that is 193 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:43,040 where I believe the doctrine of election sits. 194 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:47,360 God is completely sovereign, and He sits outside of time and He 195 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,800 sees all things. Scripture is clear that He has 196 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,240 chosen you before the foundation of the world, but He has also 197 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,400 given you a free will to make a decision to follow Him. 198 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,680 What we can hold on to in this is the wonderful truth that God 199 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,060 has chosen you. And he has done that for a 200 00:13:08,060 --> 00:13:13,780 specific purpose, that we should be holy and without blame before 201 00:13:13,780 --> 00:13:17,580 him in love. And how can we be holy and 202 00:13:17,580 --> 00:13:21,060 blameless before God? Only through the redeeming work 203 00:13:21,060 --> 00:13:25,740 of Jesus Christ on the cross, because God chose us in Him 204 00:13:26,380 --> 00:13:31,660 being Christ, we the unrighteous receive the righteousness of 205 00:13:31,660 --> 00:13:35,420 Christ because of Jesus we the unworthy. 206 00:13:35,860 --> 00:13:38,940 Become holy and blameless before God. 207 00:13:40,620 --> 00:13:45,460 Our second spiritual blessing is that God has adopted you in 208 00:13:45,460 --> 00:13:49,300 verse five. There is something really 209 00:13:49,300 --> 00:13:52,860 special about adoption. It is the whole thought that 210 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:57,020 parents make a conscious decision to choose that child 211 00:13:57,180 --> 00:14:01,220 and bring them into their family and give them everything that 212 00:14:01,220 --> 00:14:03,740 any natural born child of the family would get. 213 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,520 Legally, emotionally and physically, the adopted child 214 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,760 receives the family name and is legally a member of the family 215 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,040 and entitled to all that the family has to offer. 216 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,000 And we have an example that in the Bible when we look at Esther 217 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,560 who was adopted into Mordecai's family and it's like this for us 218 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:27,200 when we adopted into by God through into his family, he has 219 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:31,800 made a decision to choose you and adopt you as his own. 220 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,040 Why? Because he wants to. 221 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:39,280 When God adopts us into his family, we are also made into 222 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,040 the image of his own Son, Jesus Christ, and we receive the 223 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:46,400 riches and blessings of Christ and also His nature. 224 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:52,160 We are not only become children of God, but we become joint ears 225 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,480 with Christ, Romans 815 to 17 says. 226 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:01,080 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear. 227 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:05,440 But you receive the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out. 228 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:10,120 Ever Father, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit 229 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:15,080 that we are children of God. And if children, then ears, ears 230 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:20,040 of God, and joint ears with Christ, if indeed we suffer with 231 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,360 him, that we may also be glorified together. 232 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:29,120 Verses 5 and six also give us the reason why God has chosen us 233 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,760 and adopted us. It is his will and it is and it 234 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:38,960 is for his glory. God is glorified by the plan of 235 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:43,600 salvation, by choosing and adopting us as his own. 236 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:48,960 All glory be to God. Our third spiritual blessing we 237 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,120 read in these verses is that God has redeemed you. 238 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:59,400 Verse 7 Redemption, you know, is one of those words that we often 239 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,200 talk about. And Christian circles a lot. 240 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,480 And sometimes we talk about it to the point that we actually 241 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:11,120 forget how amazing the reality of God redeeming us truly is. 242 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,200 Because redemption is a marketplace term. 243 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:19,720 To redeem something is to regain possession or ownership of it by 244 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,360 payment of some kind. It is to purchase or buy back 245 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,930 the item, but at a price. The thing about redeeming or 246 00:16:28,930 --> 00:16:32,410 buying back something is that the one who does the redeeming 247 00:16:32,810 --> 00:16:37,930 is willing to pay the price to buy back the item because it is 248 00:16:37,930 --> 00:16:41,450 something that they really want or care for. 249 00:16:42,370 --> 00:16:47,810 God's redemption for you and I was a deliberate and purposeful 250 00:16:47,810 --> 00:16:51,130 act to buy us back from the bondage of sin. 251 00:16:51,700 --> 00:16:55,500 And God was willing to pay the only price that could do that. 252 00:16:55,500 --> 00:16:59,100 And that price was the shedding of blood by a perfect sacrifice. 253 00:16:59,100 --> 00:17:03,420 And the only perfect sacrifice that there is is His one and 254 00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:07,540 only Son, Jesus Christ. The price of our redemption was 255 00:17:07,540 --> 00:17:11,060 death, and that price was paid through Jesus Christ and his 256 00:17:11,060 --> 00:17:15,700 death on the cross. That is the price that God, 257 00:17:15,900 --> 00:17:21,339 through Christ was willing to pay and redeem you and I. 258 00:17:22,540 --> 00:17:29,540 That blows my mind. Our 4th spiritual blessing. 259 00:17:29,540 --> 00:17:36,380 We also see in verse seven God has forgiven your sins and this 260 00:17:36,380 --> 00:17:40,940 is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest and most 261 00:17:40,940 --> 00:17:43,180 amazing spiritual blessing we receive. 262 00:17:44,180 --> 00:17:49,220 When God Forgives us our sins, it is done and dusted. 263 00:17:49,570 --> 00:17:53,530 The slate is wiped clean and he will never bring them back up 264 00:17:53,530 --> 00:17:57,970 again or hold them against us. But The thing is, as people, it 265 00:17:57,970 --> 00:18:03,210 is really easy for us to go back and back to something that 266 00:18:03,210 --> 00:18:07,610 someone did to us months or years ago and hold it against 267 00:18:07,610 --> 00:18:10,330 that person still. Even though at the time we may 268 00:18:10,330 --> 00:18:16,210 have said that we had forgiven them and we will often put hold 269 00:18:16,210 --> 00:18:19,130 God to our weak and sinful standard. 270 00:18:20,020 --> 00:18:23,980 And that we that we hold to ourselves, we often think well 271 00:18:24,140 --> 00:18:27,900 and that God has forgiven me, but surely he'll remind me of 272 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:30,300 this, these sins later. Why? 273 00:18:30,300 --> 00:18:33,420 Because that's what I do. But God's not like that. 274 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:38,700 There is a reason that our redemption through his blood and 275 00:18:38,700 --> 00:18:42,100 the forgiveness of our sins are mentioned together here in verse 276 00:18:42,180 --> 00:18:46,780 7, Hebrews 922 says indeed under the law. 277 00:18:47,300 --> 00:18:50,860 Almost everything is purified with blood and without the 278 00:18:50,860 --> 00:18:56,340 shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins because the 279 00:18:56,340 --> 00:19:00,380 price of our sin has been paid for in full through the shedding 280 00:19:00,380 --> 00:19:04,500 of Christ's blood on the cross. When we repent of our sins and 281 00:19:04,500 --> 00:19:10,700 ask God for forgiveness, then He will forgive us our sins and 282 00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:15,660 wipe the slate clean and we are seen as righteous in God's eyes. 283 00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:22,660 One Dom 19 says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and 284 00:19:22,660 --> 00:19:27,460 just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all 285 00:19:27,460 --> 00:19:31,300 unrighteousness. This is truly a wonderful 286 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:34,900 blessing from God that the unworthy and sinful creature 287 00:19:34,900 --> 00:19:40,900 that I am that you are, can have our sins forgiven by the one who 288 00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:45,340 is rich and abounding in grace our fifth. 289 00:19:46,190 --> 00:19:49,630 Spiritual blessing that we see in these verses comes in verse 290 00:19:49,630 --> 00:19:53,310 nine. God has revealed the mystery of 291 00:19:53,310 --> 00:19:57,150 his will to you, verses 9 and 10. 292 00:19:58,790 --> 00:20:02,310 Now, I bet a lot of you love a good mystery. 293 00:20:02,510 --> 00:20:04,750 I love a good mystery. You know, a little bit of 294 00:20:05,470 --> 00:20:08,670 Sherlock Holmes, maybe some might like a bit of Agatha 295 00:20:08,670 --> 00:20:11,590 Christie, but you know, you get a good book like that. 296 00:20:11,830 --> 00:20:14,670 There's always that temptation to kind of flick to the end of 297 00:20:14,670 --> 00:20:16,960 the book. Before you even start, you know 298 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,280 and see how it finishes. But the good thing with God is 299 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,400 that we don't have to wait or flick to the end of the book 300 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,320 that we can because it is actually in the end of this book 301 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,480 to see what happens. He has already revealed to us 302 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,400 his end plan, so this spiritual blessing is pretty cool. 303 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:41,360 God and His wisdom and grace has made known to us the mystery of 304 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:44,000 His will. Now to me this seems like an 305 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,200 incredible imbalance of sharing of knowledge that the sovereign 306 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,560 God and the creative of the universe would want to reveal 307 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:56,200 the mystery of His will to us. It's kind of mind blowing, but 308 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,000 this is what he does now. A mystery in the in the Bible. 309 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,560 Here it is, a truth that was hidden in ages past but revealed 310 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,000 in the New Testament. And the many, there's many 311 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,200 through the New Testament, including this in the Ephesians 312 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,310 3 which we'll come to. But Paul goes on to tell us of 313 00:21:14,310 --> 00:21:17,310 the mystery that he is talking about here, and the rest of 314 00:21:17,310 --> 00:21:22,030 verses 9 and 10, where it says, having made known to us the 315 00:21:22,030 --> 00:21:25,430 mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he 316 00:21:25,430 --> 00:21:29,190 purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of 317 00:21:29,190 --> 00:21:33,350 the times he might gather together, and won all things in 318 00:21:33,350 --> 00:21:37,830 Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him. 319 00:21:38,630 --> 00:21:40,510 So this mystery which God reveals to us. 320 00:21:40,860 --> 00:21:44,220 Is that in the end of time or the completion of history, God 321 00:21:44,220 --> 00:21:46,460 will gather all the believers together in the millennial 322 00:21:46,460 --> 00:21:48,860 Kingdom? And which is what it talks about 323 00:21:48,860 --> 00:21:51,100 here when it says the dispensation of the fullness of 324 00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:53,580 the times. And then after that God will 325 00:21:53,580 --> 00:21:57,620 gather everything to himself and create a new heaven and a new 326 00:21:57,620 --> 00:22:01,100 earth. All this will be be for those 327 00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:05,420 that are in Christ, those who have been redeemed by the blood 328 00:22:05,660 --> 00:22:07,820 of Jesus and had their sins forgiven. 329 00:22:11,470 --> 00:22:14,990 Our 6th spiritual blessing that we read here in verse 11. 330 00:22:15,870 --> 00:22:18,310 God will give you an inheritance. 331 00:22:21,230 --> 00:22:25,870 Now do you have a will? If you have a will, you know 332 00:22:25,870 --> 00:22:29,470 there will be a list of beneficiaries there in your will 333 00:22:29,590 --> 00:22:32,350 and they will inherit when you die. 334 00:22:32,350 --> 00:22:34,910 They will inherit the things that you want them to have. 335 00:22:35,310 --> 00:22:37,550 They are the people that you want to have. 336 00:22:37,550 --> 00:22:41,580 What is yours? You choose who they are and what 337 00:22:41,580 --> 00:22:44,500 they get. This is their inheritance. 338 00:22:44,900 --> 00:22:48,980 This inheritance that it talks about here connects us back to 339 00:22:48,980 --> 00:22:52,420 our second blessing that we looked at, that we adopted by 340 00:22:52,420 --> 00:22:56,420 God through Christ into the family of God as believers in 341 00:22:56,420 --> 00:22:59,460 Christ. We are now children of God. 342 00:22:59,620 --> 00:23:03,930 Let's look at that verse again in Romans 8. 15 to 17 it said, 343 00:23:04,250 --> 00:23:08,330 For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, 344 00:23:08,530 --> 00:23:12,570 but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out. 345 00:23:12,610 --> 00:23:17,450 Ever Father, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit 346 00:23:17,650 --> 00:23:22,570 that we are children of God. And if children, then ears, ears 347 00:23:22,570 --> 00:23:26,490 of God, and joint ears with Christ, if indeed we suffer with 348 00:23:26,490 --> 00:23:29,330 him, that we may also be glorified together. 349 00:23:30,350 --> 00:23:34,390 So we are children of God and also ears of God, but it doesn't 350 00:23:34,390 --> 00:23:38,270 stop there because we are also joint ears with Jesus Christ. 351 00:23:38,510 --> 00:23:41,550 It's like joint ownership we we die to our own life and we 352 00:23:41,550 --> 00:23:45,270 inherit everything that Christ promises now and in the future. 353 00:23:46,030 --> 00:23:51,350 This is an inheritance that will never perish or can be stolen. 354 00:23:52,230 --> 00:23:55,830 So the question is, what is the inheritance we have obtained? 355 00:23:56,610 --> 00:24:01,410 1P to 1/3 to four tells us that it is an incorruptible and 356 00:24:01,410 --> 00:24:05,890 undefiled inheritance that does not fade away and is reserved 357 00:24:05,890 --> 00:24:10,610 for you in heaven. Hebrews 915 says that it is an 358 00:24:10,610 --> 00:24:14,410 internal sorry, it is an eternal inheritance. 359 00:24:15,370 --> 00:24:19,730 So as joint is with Christ, we share in all the good and holy 360 00:24:19,730 --> 00:24:22,170 things that are of Christ and for our blessing. 361 00:24:22,860 --> 00:24:27,460 God and His grace shares His heavenly blessings with us 362 00:24:27,660 --> 00:24:31,620 through Christ. Our inheritance is a heavenly 363 00:24:31,620 --> 00:24:35,980 inheritance where we get to dwell in heaven in the presence 364 00:24:36,020 --> 00:24:39,500 of our Savior and our God for eternity. 365 00:24:40,540 --> 00:24:45,300 But just a note, being a joint ear with Christ does not make us 366 00:24:45,300 --> 00:24:49,740 equal with Christ. He is the only Son of God and He 367 00:24:49,740 --> 00:24:53,980 is the only Messiah. And in the rest of verse 11, 368 00:24:53,980 --> 00:24:58,820 Paul reminds us of the reason why God chose to give us this 369 00:24:58,820 --> 00:25:02,540 blessed inheritance. God purposed that that the 370 00:25:02,540 --> 00:25:06,460 redemption and salvation of the lost would glorify God. 371 00:25:07,380 --> 00:25:14,940 We get the blessings so that he gets the glory and our last 372 00:25:14,940 --> 00:25:17,380 spiritual blessing that we're going to look at today. 373 00:25:18,260 --> 00:25:22,020 God has sealed you with the Holy Spirit. 374 00:25:22,490 --> 00:25:27,650 Versus 13 and 14. Now, I love this. 375 00:25:28,010 --> 00:25:32,170 The idea that we have here is of a seal implies ownership. 376 00:25:32,450 --> 00:25:36,090 So if this was a place of trade like many of the towns and the 377 00:25:36,090 --> 00:25:38,450 cities of that time. So people would come to the 378 00:25:38,450 --> 00:25:42,330 markets and they would find what they needed, purchase it, and if 379 00:25:42,330 --> 00:25:45,530 they were going to get other things and other places, they 380 00:25:45,530 --> 00:25:47,490 might leave it there and come back for it. 381 00:25:48,130 --> 00:25:50,530 And if that was the case, they would set it aside. 382 00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:55,660 And they would put their seal on it, their own special mark. 383 00:25:56,100 --> 00:26:00,020 And this would show everyone else that they had paid for 384 00:26:00,020 --> 00:26:03,020 these items and that they owned it. 385 00:26:03,740 --> 00:26:08,620 The seal they put on the items showed everyone that it was 386 00:26:08,660 --> 00:26:12,180 theirs. And it's the same thing for us. 387 00:26:12,420 --> 00:26:16,820 God has redeemed us and paid the price for us to, and he's paid 388 00:26:16,820 --> 00:26:19,260 the price to buy us back from a sinful life. 389 00:26:19,630 --> 00:26:24,990 And then he seals us with the Holy Spirit to show everyone 390 00:26:25,350 --> 00:26:28,670 that we are His. That's amazing. 391 00:26:29,430 --> 00:26:30,990 Let's look at the Spirit 13 again. 392 00:26:31,430 --> 00:26:36,510 And Him you also trusted after you heard the Word of Truth, the 393 00:26:36,510 --> 00:26:40,830 gospel of your salvation, and whom, also having believed you, 394 00:26:40,830 --> 00:26:43,790 were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. 395 00:26:44,230 --> 00:26:47,110 So this is what happens at the point of salvation for the 396 00:26:47,110 --> 00:26:50,610 believer. They hear the word of truth, the 397 00:26:50,610 --> 00:26:54,970 gospel of Jesus Christ. They believe the gospel of Jesus 398 00:26:54,970 --> 00:26:58,890 Christ, and they trust in Him, and at that point they are 399 00:26:58,890 --> 00:27:03,090 sealed with the Holy Spirit. At the moment of salvation, when 400 00:27:03,090 --> 00:27:06,770 you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are sealed with the 401 00:27:06,770 --> 00:27:10,450 Holy Spirit, and God says you are mine. 402 00:27:11,650 --> 00:27:17,010 I have paid the price and bought you back, and you are mine. 403 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,520 How cool is that? But wait, there's more. 404 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:28,040 And it's not steak knives. God Seal isn't a seal of wax or 405 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,960 a mark that can be broken or removed. 406 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,400 His seal is of the Holy Spirit is a living seal. 407 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:40,040 It is a person, the person of the Holy Spirit, which indwells 408 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,360 in you. And this seal comforts, it, 409 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:47,240 teaches, it guides, it gives peace, it helps, and it leads 410 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,710 us. This isn't a physical seal. 411 00:27:49,950 --> 00:27:56,430 This is a spiritual seal. And John 1415 to 17 says, if you 412 00:27:56,430 --> 00:28:01,710 love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray, and I will pray 413 00:28:01,710 --> 00:28:05,430 the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may 414 00:28:05,430 --> 00:28:10,790 abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world 415 00:28:10,790 --> 00:28:13,990 cannot receive, because it is neither. 416 00:28:14,110 --> 00:28:16,950 It neither sees him nor knows him. 417 00:28:17,810 --> 00:28:23,730 But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 418 00:28:25,370 --> 00:28:29,930 Now verse 14 of Ephesians 1 here goes on to say that the seal of 419 00:28:29,930 --> 00:28:34,450 the Holy Spirit that we receive actually guarantees our 420 00:28:34,450 --> 00:28:36,370 inheritance that he talked about earlier. 421 00:28:36,810 --> 00:28:41,330 So the seal not only helps comforts and teaches us, it also 422 00:28:41,330 --> 00:28:43,770 guarantees our heavenly inheritance. 423 00:28:43,770 --> 00:28:49,740 Praise God. So let's look back over who we 424 00:28:49,740 --> 00:28:52,860 are. Let's us who are the redeemed in 425 00:28:52,860 --> 00:28:56,060 Christ. Look back and see who we are in 426 00:28:56,060 --> 00:28:58,900 Christ. Let's make this personal. 427 00:28:59,820 --> 00:29:05,300 By God's great grace and mercy, you are chosen. 428 00:29:06,140 --> 00:29:09,780 You are adopted. You are redeemed. 429 00:29:10,260 --> 00:29:14,580 You have your sins forgiven. You have been revealed the 430 00:29:14,580 --> 00:29:19,790 mystery of His will. You have an inheritance and you 431 00:29:19,790 --> 00:29:26,150 have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as an individual and as a 432 00:29:26,150 --> 00:29:29,230 church. The question is how do we apply 433 00:29:29,230 --> 00:29:34,110 this to our lives? These verses can be so 434 00:29:34,110 --> 00:29:38,750 encouraging to us all. When we see who we are in Christ 435 00:29:38,990 --> 00:29:44,590 or are reminded of how God sees us, it changes how we view who 436 00:29:44,590 --> 00:29:47,610 we are. If you're a younger person who 437 00:29:47,610 --> 00:29:51,170 is struggling with a world that constantly tells you that you 438 00:29:51,170 --> 00:29:54,690 need to look a certain way or be a certain size or dress a 439 00:29:54,690 --> 00:29:58,610 certain way to fit in and be accepted, then stop and read 440 00:29:58,610 --> 00:30:01,850 these verses. Because these verses remind you 441 00:30:02,530 --> 00:30:08,330 of how God sees you. Your worth is held in who you 442 00:30:08,330 --> 00:30:12,130 are in Jesus Christ. That is your true value. 443 00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:15,940 If you've been through a relationship breakup and you 444 00:30:15,940 --> 00:30:22,340 have been hurt through that and yourself esteem has been not let 445 00:30:22,340 --> 00:30:26,540 go of what you think the other person person thinks of you and 446 00:30:26,540 --> 00:30:32,700 hold on to how God sees you. Hold on to who you are in 447 00:30:32,700 --> 00:30:36,900 Christ. Maybe you're a parent, Maybe 448 00:30:37,060 --> 00:30:41,800 your life is so busy. With life and work and family 449 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:47,000 that you now only see yourself for what you have to do. 450 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,040 Taxi driver, cook cleaner, the one who brings in the paycheck. 451 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:57,120 But this isn't how God sees you. Maybe you've lost your job 452 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,640 recently or have been looking for a while, but nobody has 453 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:05,040 taken you on. Be reminded in these verses that 454 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,360 your value doesn't come from the job you do. 455 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,880 It comes from who God sees you and has made you to be. 456 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,680 You might be older now and health issues are creeping up on 457 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,640 you and you can't do what you used to be able to do. 458 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,000 You might think that you are now no use to your family or friends 459 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:32,440 or church, but this isn't how God sees you friends as a 460 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,680 believer. So one who has received these 461 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,900 amazing spiritual blessings. When God looks at you, he sees 462 00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:44,460 you cloaked in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 463 00:31:45,140 --> 00:31:47,900 He sees you as He would see his Son. 464 00:31:48,980 --> 00:31:55,180 Friends now know who you are in Christ because it changes how we 465 00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:59,820 do life and the witness that we can be to those around us. 466 00:32:01,140 --> 00:32:06,940 As a church, our desire should be to be imitators of Christ. 467 00:32:07,900 --> 00:32:12,380 If God loves our brothers and sisters in Christ enough to 468 00:32:12,380 --> 00:32:17,260 choose, adopt, and redeem them, then we should also. 469 00:32:18,060 --> 00:32:23,100 This can be really tough, though, because this church 470 00:32:23,620 --> 00:32:28,380 right here is full of sinners, saved sinners, but sinners 471 00:32:28,380 --> 00:32:32,060 nevertheless. And sometimes we say the wrong 472 00:32:32,060 --> 00:32:34,980 things or we rub each other up the wrong way. 473 00:32:35,260 --> 00:32:38,980 All we stuff up, and I put my hand up for that. 474 00:32:39,060 --> 00:32:40,660 All three of those and many more. 475 00:32:41,820 --> 00:32:47,060 Sometimes we're hard to love, but when we see how God sees the 476 00:32:47,060 --> 00:32:52,820 person sitting next to you, he gives us the perfect example of 477 00:32:52,820 --> 00:32:55,100 how we should value each other as well. 478 00:32:57,300 --> 00:33:00,900 Friends, these verses tell us who we are in Christ. 479 00:33:01,580 --> 00:33:06,630 This is how God sees you and me. Because of the redeeming work of 480 00:33:06,630 --> 00:33:10,750 Christ on the cross, every believer, every person who has 481 00:33:10,750 --> 00:33:15,070 accepted Christ as his Savior has had these spiritual 482 00:33:15,070 --> 00:33:20,190 blessings poured out on them by a gracious and merciful God. 483 00:33:21,110 --> 00:33:23,790 Do we deserve this? Absolutely not. 484 00:33:24,870 --> 00:33:27,630 Should we be thankful for this? Absolutely. 485 00:33:29,150 --> 00:33:33,190 This I don't want this to be a self help clinic where we come 486 00:33:33,190 --> 00:33:36,270 and we pat ourselves on the back and say how special we are. 487 00:33:37,270 --> 00:33:41,550 Because as we read these verses we see that we are only the 488 00:33:41,550 --> 00:33:45,310 beneficiaries. All the blessings that we read 489 00:33:45,310 --> 00:33:50,030 in these verses, they all come because God has graciously and 490 00:33:50,030 --> 00:33:54,750 mercifully bestowed them on us. None of them are from our own 491 00:33:54,750 --> 00:34:00,210 work, but they are all from God. So why does God bless us this 492 00:34:00,210 --> 00:34:03,330 way? These verses also tell us 493 00:34:03,730 --> 00:34:08,969 multiple times why verse five and six tells us it is according 494 00:34:08,969 --> 00:34:12,690 to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory 495 00:34:12,690 --> 00:34:16,690 of His grace by which he made us, accepted in the beloved. 496 00:34:17,409 --> 00:34:21,610 Verse 7 says it's according to the riches of his grace which he 497 00:34:21,610 --> 00:34:25,929 made to abound towards us. Verse 9 According to his 498 00:34:25,929 --> 00:34:30,810 pleasure, that pleasure which he purposed in himself, Verse 11 499 00:34:30,810 --> 00:34:34,730 says it is was according to the purpose of him who works all 500 00:34:34,730 --> 00:34:38,050 things according to the council of the of his will. 501 00:34:38,449 --> 00:34:41,889 Verse 12 says that we should be doing it to the praise. 502 00:34:42,090 --> 00:34:43,730 It's for the praise of his glory. 503 00:34:44,090 --> 00:34:49,530 Verse 14 tells us that it is to the praise of his glory God's 504 00:34:49,530 --> 00:34:53,889 purpose for lavishing these spiritual blessings onto us. 505 00:34:54,420 --> 00:34:57,300 Is for his pleasure and his glory. 506 00:34:59,620 --> 00:35:03,140 Friends, His words say that you are chosen. 507 00:35:03,500 --> 00:35:06,900 You are adopted, redeemed, and forgiven. 508 00:35:07,660 --> 00:35:12,660 He has revealed mysteries to you that were previously unknown. 509 00:35:13,380 --> 00:35:17,380 He has an inheritance for you that is stored in heaven for 510 00:35:17,380 --> 00:35:23,100 eternity, and He has guaranteed that for you with His Holy 511 00:35:23,100 --> 00:35:28,210 Spirit. This is who you are in Christ, 512 00:35:29,570 --> 00:35:33,010 and through it all God is glorified. 513 00:35:33,570 --> 00:35:39,050 All glory be to God. Let's pray heaven. 514 00:35:39,050 --> 00:35:40,930 Father, we thank you for your word. 515 00:35:40,930 --> 00:35:47,050 We thank you for who we are in Christ, and it's nothing from 516 00:35:47,050 --> 00:35:49,370 our own strengths or what we do or. 517 00:35:51,090 --> 00:35:53,850 Our own merit, but it's it's all from you. 518 00:35:54,410 --> 00:35:58,610 And we thank you for the redeeming work of Christ for us. 519 00:35:58,610 --> 00:36:00,370 We thank you for the forgiveness of sin. 520 00:36:00,370 --> 00:36:04,450 We thank you that we are chosen and adopted by you, what you 521 00:36:04,450 --> 00:36:08,650 have revealed and the inheritance to come, and that we 522 00:36:08,650 --> 00:36:10,130 are sealed with your Holy Spirit. 523 00:36:10,490 --> 00:36:14,050 We give you all thanks and all praise and all glory.