This is Us // Our Lot in Life

Our Lot in Life – Glorifying God
Eph 1:11 August 2, 2020 - Communion

I. introduction:
A. My good friend Mike Stabile talks a lot about finding your sweet spot –simply
defined as doing what God created you to do! That place where our calling in
life, our gifts, desires, experiences, and joys all converge together to find the
place that makes you the greatest blessing to others, gives you the greatest sense
of fulfilment and brings the greatest glory to God!
1. When we were in seminary, I remember laying on the floor working on
something underneath the desk that broke. There was a screw that needed to
be turned to get to the part that needed fixing.
a) I did not feel like getting up and walking all the way to the other end of
the apartment to get a screw driver, and there was the expensive pair of
sewing scissors of my wife’s sitting on the table next to the desk.
b) I grabbed them, opened them up so the one arm of the scissors could fit
into the screw, and I turned it and bam! The scissor arm snapped in
half.
2. Sewing scissors were not created to do the work of a screw driver and a
screw driver cannot do the work of sewing scissors.
a) But when each one does the work they were created for it gives
blessings to those using them and others. It is their sweet spot!
b) But when each one does not do what they were created for they break,
and they offer little blessing to others!

B. Another way to say this simply is your purpose in life! And when our life is
aligned with God’s purpose for our life, the One by Whom we were created and
for Whom we were created, then our life has this deep down sense that God had
when He created the world and saw “it is good!” “It is very good!”

C. Turn in your Bibles to Eph 1:11 where we are going to learn God’s ultimate
purpose for our lives, some may want to call it my lot in life or my fate.
Whatever you call it we will see from God’s perspective what He has determined
to be your lot in life, your fate, your purpose!
D. Note the context of the passage:
1. The passage before talks about God’s universal purposes which are fulfilled
in Christ. And this passage is going to talk about our personal purpose in
light of this larger universal purpose of everything being summed up in
Christ
2. This passage is going to talk about our present inheritance that we have
already received and the next passage is going to talk about the future
inheritance that we are yet to receive.
E. The structure of the passage is very simple:
1. v11 tells us that we have already obtained or received an inheritance from
God, one that He has assigned to me!
2. v12 tells us just what that inheritance, that lot, that portion, that possession,
right, privilege is that God has given to us.
F. Read Eph 1:11-12
• Let’s start with the fact in v11 that:
II. We have already obtained an inheritance
A. I want to give you my best quick summary regarding our inheritance without
trying to prove every statement I make by showing you the bible verses because
that could take a whole sermon. You can study that out later if you want more!
1. In Hebrews 6 we learn that our inheritance is basically detailed out in God’s
promises.
a) The foundation of our inheritance is the promise/covenant that God
made with Abraham to bless!
b) The prophecies and promises in the bible help us further understand the
specifics of that covenant with Abraham.
2. We see in Ezek 36 that the heart of God’s blessings are further summarized
in the new covenant. Jesus ratified that covenant with His death. – thus
putting us in a place where we can now receive our inheritance

3. Gal 3 tells us that God bases this inheritance upon a promise and if we
belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s descendant, heir according to
promise
4. God’s blessings both now and those promised in the future make up God’s
inheritance that He gives us!
B. He started this verse stating we have, past tense, we have already received an
inheritance. We are already experiencing a portion of the gifts that God has for
us as His heirs. read v11a
1. As we will see next week and we know from other portions of the bible there
is much more of our inheritance yet to come in the future.
C. Then we see that this inheritance that we already have received was:
1. Predetermined, decided beforehand by God
2. That this inheritance is according to His purposes
3. Finally he expands on God’s purposes by stating that everything God does is
based upon His purposes, His will

• Then in v12
III. Defines what our inheritance is:
A. This passage defines for each one of us personally just what blessing, what
inheritance, what portion, what lot, what fate God has determined for each
believer with their life. What He has created and purposed us for! read v12
B. ?Did you catch that? “that we would be to the praise of His glory!”

1. Now many people read and apply this verse like this – that we should praise
His glory! So we need to take 20 minutes in our services to praise God and
give Him glory, especially for all these blessings. And it would even be
better if you took 20 minutes every day to praise God and His glory!
2. That is not what it says! It says that we would be!
a) Be does not talk about something we do but rather something we
are, it indicates our identity! It is referring to our entire existence!
b) I love the way the amplified bible says this, “we... would exist to the
praise of His glory”
3. My whole life, my whole purpose, my whole existence has
been designed to be and defined as a life that brings God glory!

4. That is when your life is hitting its sweet spot!
• So
IV.How does a life bring glory to God?
A. This is how I believe we do it: by reflecting the very life of Christ, by becoming
more like Jesus, and I will say even more specifically by living out a life where
grace and truth are one in your daily experience moment by moment in every
situation in every responsibility in every relationship!
B. Salvations goal is the same as creations goal – that man and woman would be
image bearers of God. Salvation restores what was lost by sin as God works to
make us more and more like Jesus!
C. You see God’s glory is displayed in His Son, He is the very radiance of God’s
glory! Remember? We learned that at Christmas time.
1. Read John 1:14
2. First of all, we see that Jesus is God’s word become flesh – He is the display
of what God’s written word looks like when it is lived out!
3. Then we see that in Jesus the fullness and uniqueness of God’s glory is put
on full display.
4. And in particular we see in that passage that the one aspect of His glory that
is highlighted is that He was full of grace and truth.
D. So bottom line the more we are like Jesus, especially in living out His grace
with truth and His truth with grace, the place where the 2 are 1, that is how we
bring praise to God’s glory with our entire lives! That is what we exist for!
E. So more important than what you do is how you be! I think the way
we do God’s will is just as important aswhat we do!
1. So what we do, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds per minute
is to be done in a way that reflects the very heart and character of God,
especially His grace and truth wrapped up as one!
F. This passage reminds me of Rom 8:28-29
1. Rom 8:28 speaks of Eph 1:11 of – everything that God does, He does in
light of His purposes Rom 8:28

2. Rom 8:29 speaks of v.12 – our purpose is to bring glory to God! Rom 8:29
– God predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son! Rom
8:29
3. And the more we are like Jesus the more glory God receives!
a) Like Jesus in our motives, our attitudes, our thought life, our words,
our purposes, our habits, our deeds, etc!

G. Our sweet spot in life is to wherever God has placed us, whatever assignment we
have in life, whatever job, whatever role, whatever position, whatever activity,
whatever relationship, whatever conversation we have, whatever work God has
given you to do, we glorify God by displaying the heart of Jesus as we live out
lives of grace and truth before the lost world and with each other!
V. Communion
A. Let me encourage you with this, this is not something any of us do perfectly but
we are all growing in it. God does not look for perfection but progress!
B. So as you go to communion this morning take a look at your progress in
becoming more like Jesus, in displaying His heart to those around you, to living
with both grace and truth as one!
1. If you are progressing in these, then thank God and ask Him to continue that
work.
2. If you are regressing or even stalled, then something is seriously wrong with
your spiritual life. Ask God to put His finger on it, confess anything He
shows you and then open your heart and ask the Spirit of God to go to work
on you so that your entire life and existence would be one of bringing glory
to God!
3. This is your purpose in life, this is your lot in life, this is your fate, this is
where you will experience living in your SWEET SPOT!