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Episodes
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Saved by Grace for Works
Ephesians 2:8-10 September 13, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. It was the first day of training camp. The year was 1961. Thirty-eight members of
the Green Bay Packers football team arrived to start a brand new season. The
previous season ended horribly for the Packers as they squandered away a lead
late in the fourth quarter to lose the NFL championship to the Philadelphia Eagles.
1. To open up the camp the coach, Vince Lombardi, stood up holding a football
and said this, “Gentlemen, this is a football!”
2. Lombardi’s methodical coverage of the fundamentals continued throughout
training camp. Each player reviewed how to block and tackle. Max McGee,
the Pro Bowl receiver for the Packers said, “Uh, coach, could you slow down
a little? You are going too fast for us!”
3. Six months later the Packers won the NFL championship 37-0
4. The Packers won five championships over a seven year period
5. This is an iconic story of the importance of fundamentals!
6. Knowing well the fundamentals, the basics, the ABCs of anything is
foundational to doing that thing successfully.
B. Today we are going to look at the fundamentals, the basics, the ABCs of our
salvation. The better we know that and the deeper it is engrained in our hearts the
more successful we will be in the Christian life.
1. Why is that? – Because the same way you are saved is the same way you
walk in the Christian life.
2. So if you get this one right, then your foundation will be right for your entire
Christian walk. If this fundamental is off your entire Christian walk will be
off.
C. So let me start with this: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Bible!”
1. Billy Graham said this, “God wanted to speak to us in words we could
understand–and the Bible contains those words.”
2. It is called the Word of God because that is what it is. It is not man’s words
or thoughts but it is God’s words and thoughts!
• So this morning turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:8 where we will see what God
says about another fundamental of the faith. That we are…
II. Saved by grace and not by works
A. To be saved means to be delivered from danger or suffering just like a fireman
saves a person out of a burning building
1. We learned last week in Ephesians 2:3 that before we knew Jesus we were
children heading for wrath, just like the rest of the world.
a) Read v3c
b) So mankind because of their sin is heading towards an eternity of God’s
wrath.
2. Then the most important three-letter word you will ever read, tells us about
the most important intervention that ever took place in mankind.
a) Read v4a
b) The word but introduces for us a total change of direction from what we
learned about ourselves in v1-3
c) It all happened not just because of the love of God but because of the
great love of God.
d) Listen as I read v3c-5
B. At the end here, there is a little parenthetical statement that is like a side bar that
departs slightly from the theme to further amplify or explain something regarding
it!
1. That little phrase, the fundamental we are going to look at this morning is this
(by grace you have been saved)
2. He picks up on the same idea and develops it further in v8-9. Read v8a
C. We are going to learn in this passage just how a person is saved and we will see
that our salvation is based upon grace (that simply means a gift that God gives us
that Jesus paid for with His life) it does not come from us or anything we can do.
1. Watch for all of this as I read v 8-9
D. Let me point out a few things in v8-9.
1. By grace you are saved – grace means gift! So to be saved is to receive a
gift from God.
2. Through faith – this is the way that a person receives this gift. Faith, belief,
trust and rely are all synonyms of each other when it comes to the Bible.
a) Just like I am believing, trusting, relying upon and having faith right now
that this stool will support the entire weight of my body
b) So biblical faith is when I am believing, trusting, relying upon and
having faith that what Jesus did on the cross paid for my personal sins
and not just the sins of the world and His resurrection gives me a brand
new life that is eternal
3. Then we see that this whole salvation through faith thing does not come from
yourself but it is a gift God gives us. It does not come from any good, moral,
or religious work we can do. reread 8b-9a
4. Finally, he says so that no one can boast.
a) One of the best explanations I ever heard on this came from my mother.
b) When I first came to Christ, I so badly wanted to share the gospel with
my parents. They backed me off very quickly by telling me this is just a
fad and if I am still walking with Jesus in twenty years then they will
listen to me.
c) Fast-forward twenty years later I reminded them of the conversation and
asked them if I could share the gospel with them. They said yes.
d) Both of my parents declared that day their trust in Christ. To seal the
fact that they understood this I asked my mom. Why do you think it
says, “so that no one may boast”?
e) She said if our salvation was based on anything we could do then we all
would brag about what we did to be saved, but since there is nothing we
can do but accept God’s gift by faith, then there is nothing we can brag
about! Bingo! Right on!
E. Opportunity to trust Jesus
1. How would you answer the question of boasting regarding your salvation?
2. If you were sitting around a table and people were talking about why they
should go to heaven – would your answer have anything to do with you and
what you have done either morally or religiously? Or would it be the
admission I have nothing to brag about except Jesus and what He has done
for me when He died to pay for my sins and rose from the dead to give me
eternal life!
3. If you and what you have done is your answer then you need to transfer your
trust and your bragging from yourself to Jesus and what He has done for you!
F. The start of the next verse he explains this idea that it does not come from
anything we do just a bit further!
1. Read v9 -10a – for/why because …
2. It is not our works that make us new creatures in Christ! We are not the
creator of this new life but the new creation! We are not the producer of it
but the product.
• Then he continues on in the rest of this verse to say that while we are not saved by
any good works we can do but that we are …
III. Saved for good works
A. Verses 8-10a go through great pains to let us know that our works have nothing to
do with why we are saved, but v10b makes it clear that we have been saved for
good works.
1. Read v9-10b.
B. So those of us that are saved feel like we just need to get out there and start doing
good works so our light will shine before a lost world. So we can do what we
were saved to do. So let’s brainstorm as a church, come up with the best ideas
and start doing them!
1. Watch for this in the text as I read v10
2. Did you see there the need to get out there and just start doing good works?
Reread v10b-c
C. God has already prepared beforehand for you and me, for us as a church; good
works that He wants us to do. We need to focus upon and walk in the very works
God has for us
1. Listen to what Jesus said about his own works, John 5:36
2. John 17:4
a) Jesus said He accomplished/completed the work the Father gave Him to
do!
b) This is true even though there were people who were not healed, saved
or helped! He helped some but not all!
c) He did the things God gave Him to do, He did not just go out and do, but
rather only did the things the Father had given Him to do
3. This should relieve guilt about not doing enough in a world full of pain and
restore the joy and excitement of seeing what good works God has prepared
for me and us to do!
4. That is why like Jesus we need to come to the Father in prayer daily so we do
not operate on our best ideas about what we should be doing but rather the
will of God!
D. Story of Beth
1. I remember a number of years ago praying specifically that God would show
me in the next five days any good works He had prepared for me
2. By the fourth day, a Saturday, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I
expected someone to have a flat tire or something like that. I had helped my
wife whose arm was hurting her that week and thought that maybe this is it.
3. Late Saturday afternoon I had to leave a family birthday party to go home
and prepare for my sermon the next day. As I got out of the car and headed
for the door the neighbor girl, yelled to me, “Mr. Peglow, can I talk to you?”
“Sure, come on over.”
4. We sat on our front stairs as she shared with me the deep hurt and confusion
she felt because of her difficult family situation.
5. I realized at that moment this was the work God had prepared for me, as I
was able to be Jesus to her by sharing love and encouragement with her even
though I had no answers to her hard questions about why her mom and dad
would abandon her at a very young age!
6. Eventually this young girl moved in with us and lived with us for two years!
7. This was clearly a work that God had prepared for me and for every one of us
in our family as we shared our house and life with her.
IV. Closing challenge
A. I want to challenge you to pray as an individual, family, and as small group
simply … “God show me/us the good work you have prepared for me this week.
B. Prayer -
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Surpassing Great Power
Ephesians 1:19-23 August 30, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. Difficult times and trials are used by God to not only build character but also to
reveal character.
1. Read Deuteronomy 8:2
2. This verse connects with where we have been living in 2020 with so many
big things hitting us one after another
a) Start with the closing down of everything from Covid 19 and the
changes, stresses and disruptions that it has brought in our lives,
communities and our church.
b) How about all the racial tensions and discussions that have happened
since George Floyd was killed!
c) How about all the tension and division in our culture because of deep
political differences and toxic statements thrown out from both sides of
the aisle to further their political agenda
d) Moms and young families can relate to this one – schools shut down and
go remote and now you need to be the teacher as you have your children
24/7
3. So what have you learned about yourself during this time: are you happy with
what you have seen in your heart and responses? Maybe to get a more
accurate read we ought to ask the people around us what they have seen and
experienced from us.
a) People are feeling Covid fatigue, some are emotionally exhausted, others
are feeling depressed, anxious, fearful, angry, impatient because of the
changes and demands this time has put on us!
b) The racial tensions and discussions are bringing responses to your heart
as a believer that may surprise you to see that you are more prejudiced
than you thought, more fleshly than spiritual.
(1) I was challenged personally by a question that Roy Patterson raised
when he asked, “Do you see the looters as uncaged animals that
need to be caged or as sheep without a shepherd?” Wow – guilty
as charged Pastor Peglow – Jesus give me your heart!
4. Add on top of this our own personal struggles, weakness and sins as we just
seek to live daily life as many of us move into this fall tired and exhausted
already!
B. I take this as a time of golden opportunity not only to talk to others about Jesus
but also to grow ourselves as things that have been hidden deep within our hearts
have come to a surface in a way we can no longer deny them or hide them!
1. Along with all these things comes the thoughts that I do not have enough, I
am inadequate, I do not have the strength, I am too weak, and I do not have
the ability to deal with the things I am facing!
2. Ephesians 1 is going to teach us this morning that those thoughts are
absolutely untrue! You have more power available to you, you have more
spiritual ability available to you than you ever thought, or you will ever need
to face these things that you wrestle with now or you will face in the future!
• Turn to the end of Ephesians 1.
II. Ephesians 1:19-23
A. The first thing we need to understand is the root idea behind the word “power.”
1. The first thing that comes to our minds is strength
2. But the key idea of power is ability – the ability to do something.
3. The word power and ability are synonymous and can be substituted for one
another
B. We learned last week that the key words in these verses are: “is” and “according
to”
1. Is means that God’s power is available for us believers right now
2. According to means that this power of God, which surpasses greatness and is
like, is in harmony with, and is consistent with the same power that was
operating in Jesus!
3. Watch for all this as I read.
C. He says this power towards us is the same power that God used at three major
events in Jesus life:
1. When He raised Jesus from the dead,
2. When He ascended Jesus from the earth to sit at the right hand of His throne
where everything and everyone in heaven and earth were put into submission
to Him!
a) Note the words “far above” that is not a phrase of geography but of
rulership, authority, power, and dominion. That the rule, authority,
power and dominion of Jesus is far greater, infinitely far greater than any
rule, authority, power or dominion of anyone in heaven or earth, past,
present and future!
3. Finally when God gave Jesus as head over all things regarding the church!
D. I love the two-sided coin of God’s power here.
1. On one side to raise the dead means He can bring something to life within me
that has died, produce within me something that has not been there,
2. But on the other side when Jesus was seated in power and authority far above
every other power and authority the result of that is that everything else is
brought into submission under Him. So this is the power/ability within me to
overcome the power/ability to break down, power/ability to destroy!
E. We see in Romans 8 the power/ability of the Holy Spirit, the powerful person
who lives in us both filling us with the resurrected life of Jesus and breaking
down the deeds of our flesh
1. Read Romans 8:11 - power to produce life
2. Read Romans 8:13 – the power to break down and destroy
• Note in the Scripture the different …
III. Areas of life where this power/ability works
A. Our first thought when we think of God’s power/ability operating is miracles!
Miracles of healing the sick or control over nature.
1. But my great need is a miracle of the heart to produce things in me that I do
not have and cannot produce for myself and to break down things in my life
that I do have that need to be dismantled. Things that only hurt me and
others and keep me from being a blessing to others and bringing glory to God
B. Some different areas of our life that Scripture says about God’s power/ability to
us
1. Acts 1:8 – tells me that God will give me the power/ability to tell others
about Jesus Christ. Power to overcome fear and produce boldness when
speaking of Jesus to the lost!
2. Colossians 1:29 - tells us His power/ability works mightily within us to give
us what we need to disciple and build up other believers
3. Colossians 1:11-12 – listen – steadfast and patient and joyfully giving thanks
4. We will learn in Ephesians 3 that it actually takes God’s power/ability to be
able to comprehend God’s love
5. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but
are divinely powerful/able for the destruction of fortresses, especially toxic
thoughts and lies that are in our minds
• So
IV. How can I experience this power?
A. Brothers and sisters what do you need God’s power/ability for today?
1. Seniors – you know more than anyone that growing old is not for sissies! A
lot of pain and losses both physically and emotionally in this stage of life!
2. Husbands and wives – living that close and that long with someone sure
reveals a lot we need and a lot we need to get rid of.
3. Moms and dads – living that close and that long with kids reveals our need
for self-control, grace towards the children, patience, more patience, more
patience and yes even more patience!
a) Coming into these times already on overload means, you need God’s
power/ability to do these and even find joy in parenting and delighting in
your children!
4. Ministry – I know of fewer things that raise up more of my sense of
inadequacies than when God calls me to do something for Him in both
witnessing to the lost and helping another believer grow in Christ likeness.
5. Character traits – almost all of us deal with deep hurts, hang-ups and habits
that hamper us and hurt others where we need God’s power/ability to walk
with our own flaws and weaknesses!
B. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9 the heart of the truth is that God’s power is perfected, it
comes to fruition, and it is realized in weakness and difficulties and distresses!
1. Now most of us try hard to resist, to get rid, to fix, or even deny our
weaknesses, difficulties or distresses, which only produces further weakness
and frustration!
2. Paul shows us here that the way to experience God’s power in these things is
twofold:
a) Boast about your weaknesses! Yes, face just how weak you are and
admit that before God and man. You can even brag before God just how
weak you are.
b) Be content with the weakness and difficulties that come into your life.
Accept them and rely upon God to express His power either to take care
of the difficulty or to fill you with the contentment and everything you
need to walk through this time!
C. Galatians 2:19 Christ in me and live by faith in the Son of God – depend on one
who lives in me and not myself
D. So I
1. Face my weaknesses and difficulties head on and admit, even brag to God of
my inability to fix these things
2. Then I place my faith in the indwelling Christ to live out His life and power
within and through me! I walk through the day moment by moment aware of
and rely upon both of these truths!
3. This prayer has become my daily prayer of declaration before God: I am
depending upon another person, one who is bigger, stronger, smarter and
able, who has resources I do not have, who can do things I cannot do! I yield
to the indwelling spirit of Christ and declare that all must come from Him!
E. Since all of this is found in the context of Paul’s prayer for the church of Ephesus
rather than his teaching them, we need once again to end this sermon with prayer.
Dave Parro
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Prayer to Know More of Jesus and These Blessings
Ephesians 1:15-23 August 16, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. We live in a day and age where out of the sincerity of our hearts to live out God’s
truth and not just study it the first question we ask ourselves is, ”What do I need
to do with this truth?”
1. We have been learning some of the most amazing truths in the Bible over the
past number of months, blessing upon blessing that God has given to us in
Jesus Christ!
2. This morning Paul answers for us the first thing we need to do with these
truths, and what he does with them may surprise many of us. Actually too
often, we skip over this crucial first step in the process as we rush to put
God’s Word into practice in our lives.
B. We find the answer to this starting in v15 of chapter 1 as he says, “for this reason”
1. Simply he is connecting what follows with what has gone before. He tells us
the very reason he is going to do what he does next is because of all these
blessings in Christ we just learned about in v3-14.
2. Just like v3-14 was all one long sentence closely tying it all together so v15-
23 is also just one sentence closely tying it all together.
C. Before I read, let me tell you what the heart of this section says so you can watch
for it as I read – simply he prays for them to know more of Jesus and these
blessings!
1. The structure to the prayer is as follows:
a) V17 he prays that God would give them a fuller, more practical and more
intimate knowledge of Jesus
b) In v18 -19a he prays that God would enlighten our hearts to fully see and
grasp three specific blessing God gives us – His calling, His inheritance
and His power
c) Then in v 19b-23 he shows us three ways in which His power towards us
right now is manifested and in agreement with the power that was
manifested in Jesus when He was resurrected, when He was ascended
into heaven and seated at God’s right hand and finally when He gave
Him as head over all things pertaining to the church!
2. Watch for these as I read
D. Paul’s first response to all these amazing blessings, the first thing he does is to
pray! Pray that we would know more of Jesus the one whom all these blessings
are in and that we would know more of the blessings themselves!
• Before I jump into the text I just want to say a few things about
II. Prayer in general
A. We have learned before that prayer is the means to receiving in God’s kingdom.
1. Often as a last resort we say to people in tough times, when there is nothing
else we can do we say, “All I can do is pray!”
2. Actually prayer should be the first thing we do and the best thing we can do
as prayer allows us to put one hand on the person and their situation and the
other hand on God and bring the two together!
3. Prayer is the first thing that Paul does with these amazing life-changing
truths! It really is the first thing we should do
B. We have been talking lately in staff about the restarting of our ministries here at
MVC in this unique day of restrictions and MVC scattered all over the place.
1. As we look at the way that Jesus did ministry we have been reminded how
Jesus started His ministry and daily met with the Father in prayer.
2. Jesus said He did nothing of Himself; His teachings and words were not His
own, His works were not His own, His will was not His own but they all
were from and initiated by the Father.
3. If we do not go to the Father first and regularly in prayer then at best we will
be working out of our best ideas or copying and pasting what others are doing
rather than hearing directly in a life changing and empowering way what God
wants us to do.
4. What we learn from this passage is that God does not want His truths from
the Bible just to go from our heads to our feet and hands but rather from our
heads, through our hearts where it is anointed by the Spirit then out through
our hands and feet!
C. Finally, we see in this passage that Paul prays God’s word and truth.
1. So often, we will read God’s word when we end with our prayer time, when
we begin to pray for our needs, friends, and ministry but never breathe a
prayer about what we just learned in God’s word.
2. It is like sitting at the breakfast table with Kim and she talks to me about
something on her heart she wants me to know then I respond by telling her
about what happened in the ballgame yesterday! There is no connection and
no two way conversation
3. Here Paul is praying about what we just learned in God’s word – to know
more about Jesus, the one in whom are all these blessings and to know more
of the blessings themselves in a life changing way!
4. This is the prayer we all should be praying for each other and ourselves in
these days.
• So the rest of today my goal is simply to introduce you to this prayer and then the
next two weeks we will look into it more specifically. In v17 Paul prays that we
would
III.Know more of Jesus
A. The key word here is knowledge – it is the Greek word “epignosis” which
indicates a personal, intimate, and progressively growing knowledge of Jesus!
B. As I reread this verse note three things:
1. This is something that God gives, something that originates with God, not
something we work out by our efforts
2. He wants them to know more in a practical way – that is what wisdom and
revelation basically means
3. Then finally that growing, practical knowledge is in the particular area it is
in. The area of a personal, experiential and intimate relationship with Jesus
4. Read
C. This same idea is pictured and the same word is used in Matthew 16 for us to get
a picture of what this is like.
1. Context, Jesus had been on the scene and doing amazing miracles and saying
things that amazed some and angered others.
2. Those whom He angered said He was from the Devil and those who were
amazed knew He was someone very special as they thought he was John the
Baptist raised from the dead or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other
prophets raised from the dead.
3. Then Jesus said this to Peter
a) Read Matthew 16:15-17
4. Like we see in this passage a growing more intimate, experiential and
practical knowledge of Jesus is not something that comes from man’s efforts,
observations, or even being around Jesus, like so many of them were.
Rather it is a supernatural revelation – an unfolding to us by God where God
discloses this to us in the core of our being!
D. This is not just head knowledge or even just Bible knowledge about Jesus but it is
the truths of the Bible coming to life within my heart by the power of the Holy
Spirit!
1. This is not just reading, studying, memorizing and knowing the big idea the
twenty third psalm that teaches us that God, specifically Jesus, is our personal
shepherd but rather it is the daily experience in the grind of real life on the
streets where we experience Jesus shepherding us through every situation we
face.
2. It is not just knowing about Jesus in my head but rather knowing Jesus deep
within the core of my being in a life giving, life changing way!
• The second part of this prayer is that we would
IV.Know more of these blessings
A. The key word here is know – it is the Greek word “oida” which indicates an I see
something and I get the significance of what that is. It is the knowing from
observation but knowing in such a way that you grasp the significance of what
you know!
B. Let me reread v18-19a
C. Again, we see these are things he does not just want us to have head knowledge
about but he wants it to go to the core of our being, so they flow out of our lives
as naturally as blood flows out of our hearts! When the Bible speaks of the heart
it is speaking basically of the inner person, that part of us that lies deep within us,
the immaterial part of our lives
1. In the Bible, it speaks of the heart as a place where we imagine, think and
reason, a place where we have desires, affections and grief, a place where our
conscience and will is, a place where faith resides.
2. Here it talks about the heart having eyes – figuratively speaking that means
the ability to see.
D. But like everyone who sees we need to have light to see – so his prayer is that the
eyes of our hearts would be enlightened. That the Holy Spirit would shine light
down in our hearts so we can see and know these wonderful blessings that God
gives us!
V. Application
A. So everything that follows are works of God deep within our hearts that come in
the context of prayer so that God’s Word would become a living reality in and
through us!
B. So from the core of our beings we would know and experience deeply the hope
that comes from His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us.
Close in prayer – John Hurley
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Guarantee of More Blessing to Come
Ephesians 1:13-14 August 9, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. I love things that come with a guarantee, especially if it is a lifetime guarantee.
1. For example, I had a foundation crack in our house fixed many years ago and
the person who did it gave me a lifetime guarantee to fix it if it ever happened
again. It did happen again a few years ago, I gave him a call and he came
and fixed it at no cost.
2. There are all kinds of guarantees, both those that protect us from anything
happening to what we have – those give us a sense of security and guarantees
that promise us that there is something we will get in the future – they give us
a sense of assurance and hope.
3. In one sense, a down payment on a loan is a guarantee that I give to the bank.
A sizable amount of money given to the bank to show my seriousness in
paying the rest! It is the first installment of more payments to come!
B. This kind of guarantee are pledges! Sometimes pledges can be made with our
words as we solemnly promise to do something, sometime pledges carry even
more weight as you give something to someone as a way to show that you will
keep your promise!
1. Bill Chibe, who works in banking and mortgages, said to me that they refer to
a down payment as a person having “skin in the game!”
2. Today’s passage teaches us God has given us something as a pledge, His way
to show us that He will keep all His other promises to us!
3. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 1:13-14
C. The structure of the passage is very simple
1. v13 tells us what happened to us, what God did to us when we first believed
the gospel message and put our faith in Jesus Christ
2. v14 tells us why this happened to us
D. Before I read this passage, I am going to tell you what I believe the heart of this
whole passage says, “The blessing of the Holy spirit guarantees more blessing to
come!”
1. Repeat! You repeat with me! Now say it as if you were going to preach it!
2. Read!
• Let’s start by looking at
II. The blessing of the Holy Spirit
A. Again we see at the start of this verse that what follows took place when we put
our faith in the gospel message about Jesus Christ
B. What happened is we were sealed in Christ!
1. We seal things all kinds of different things all the time – for instance watch
me seal this envelope!
2. To seal something means to close something to make it secure and tamper
proof. Often back then, when they sealed something there was a symbol of
who was doing the sealing to identify them as the owner of what was in the
thing sealed!
3. We have been sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit
a) Illustrate with envelope – Jesus, piece of paper – believer - seal – Holy
Spirit
b) We are now enclosed in Christ, secure and tamper proof because the
Holy Spirit is the seal, an indication that God owns us!
C. Note at the end here it says the Holy Spirit of promise
1. In the Old Testament, many promises were made about the day when Holy
Spirit would come and live in God’s people. We especially see that in the
new covenant in Ezekiel 36 where He says He will give them a new heart and
a new spirit to live inside of that heart.
2. Jesus referred to these promises in Luke 24:49 when he spoke to His disciples
about the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them soon.
D. What a gift, what a blessing the Holy Spirit is to us: He indwells us so the
presence of God is right inside of us, He is the one through whom God fills our
lives with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness
and self-control. He leads us, restrains us, breaks down the work of the flesh in
lives and fills us with the resurrected life of Jesus. He equips us with everything
we need to do god’s will in a way that is pleasing to him. The list goes on and on.
The promise of the Holy Spirit is truly a huge blessing in our lives!
• So the blessing of the Holy Spirit is God’s
III. Guarantee of more blessings to come!
A. Read v14a
B. He is given as a pledge! We already talked about that in the intro to this message.
The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee, His first instalment, His down payment, His
pledge, and His skin in the game!
C. But what is He a pledge of? Our inheritance
1. Reread v14a
2. In particular our future inheritance. Read 14a-c “with a view to”
D. Let me remind you of three things we have already learned as we put this part of
the verse together!
1. Inheritance – we learned last week that bottom line our inheritance is made of
all of God’s blessings that He has promised to us! –
a) That is why the word promise is so important in v13
b) The Holy Spirit was the first of many more promises yet to come! Our
future promised blessings!
2. Redemption –
a) We learned that there are three aspects to redemption – someone is in
bondage, a price is paid and the result of this is someone is delivered
from that bondage
b) We also learned there is a past, present and future aspect to our
redemption – past – set free from the penalty of sin, present – set free
from the power of sin, future set free from the – presence of sin
c) This passage is talking about our future deliverance from the presence of
sin in our bodies and our environment
3. The third thing we learned just a few minutes ago was that a seal is a sign of
ownership - read v14d – that’s us!
E. So as I reread these verses note that, “the blessing of the Holy Spirit guarantees
more blessing to come!” Read v13-14a-c
F. So why has God blessed us with the Holy Spirit? Why is He guaranteeing these
future blessings? Why is He going to bless us in the future? Why all these
promises? Why all these blessings? Why all this inheritance?
1. Read 14d and read 2:7
2. This is all about God’s grace, the great glory of His grace, and bringing
praise to Him because of it!
3. Last week it talked about our being, our entire existence and everything we
are and do being to the praise of His glory. Here it talks about us praising
God.
4. This section of spiritual blessings starts with saying the very nature of God
demands that we bless and praise Him especially for all the spiritual blessings
He has given us in Christ. Now He closes this section with telling us that all
of this is so we will praise the glory of His grace.
• So to prepare us to praise God. Let me
IV. Remind us of these promised blessings the Holy Spirit guarantees for us!
A. Read 1 Peter 1:3-5
1. In the future when we receive this inheritance, when we are delivered from
the presence of sin both in our bodies and in our environment. When we
experience all of God’s future promised blessing. Listen to my summary of
what life will be like as I try to summarize the heart of Scripture regarding
this!
2. In the eternal aspect of the kingdom in the new heaven and new earth
a) There will be no more funerals graveyards, or tearful goodbyes, no more
emotional pain and depression over rejection, separation, abuse or loss.
No more hospitals or cancer or deformities or diseases, no more migraine
headaches or need for painkillers and no more health insurance. No
more food pantries or food stamps. No more sin to affect people, their
relationships, their work or the earth. The earth will be fully productive
and beautiful.
b) That means we will never again suffer persecution, mocking or conflict
of beliefs or values with those who are unbelievers. Nothing shameful,
vile, detestable, unpleasant will be there, no news reports telling us about
murders that happened in the big cities, we can walk the streets safely
and without fear. No more adultery, rape or sexual abuse, no more
demonic influence through witchcraft or drugs. You can trust anything
and everything that is said. There will be no shaky deals or
misrepresentations. God will be the greatest love of everyone that is
there. No one will ever put anything or anyone above God and His will
for them. They will love Him with all their heart, all their soul, all their
mind and strength, and they will love their neighbor as themselves.
B. This is what receiving the Holy Spirit guarantees for us! Let’s praise the glory of
God’s grace!
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
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!
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
The Gift of Grasping the Relevance of God’s Program
Eph 1:8-10 July 26, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. The question that I received the most from people when COVID-19 first started
was always asked with a bit of panic in their voice. This was the question: “Are
we in the end times, are we in the book of revelation?”
1. My answer was always the same, this is not what we learned in the book of
revelation, if it was it would be way worse, way more people would die and
way more things would be going on!
2. But I went on to say there are many things going on in the world that the
scripture says are signs that the end is drawing near.
B. I could not help but think what stability, what peace, what wisdom comes from
knowing God’s word and especially what He has done, is doing and what He is
going to do in this world.
1. Then during this season I came across Eph 1:8-10 and I realized deep within
my heart and could not help but THANK God for the amazing GIFT God
has given us when He gave us HIS WORD!
2. Read Eph 1:8-10
3. My heart is burdened for how many Christians have all of this at their
fingertips and very seldom they open up this book, let alone read and study
it.
a) In Hosea 4:6 God said “my people are being destroyed because of a lack
of knowledge
b) Proverbs 19:2 says it is not good for a person to be without knowledge
c) Proverbs 14:33 says “Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has
understanding!”
4. Bottom line and this is true even for Christians, it is not good, actually you
could make decisions and react in a way that could destroy your life and
others, and you can lack wisdom on how to live in days like today, if you do
not know God’s word and what He is doing!
C. But Eph 1:8-10 tells us that God not only made His purposes known to us but He
actually did it in a way that was full of wisdom and INSIGHT, a way that allows
us to see the true nature of things and the ability to grasp the relevance for us in
this present time!
1. That is what it means when it says God did this in all wisdom and insight!
2. Read v8b-9a
• Let’s look at this a bit closer
II. Eph 1:8-10
A. Note something we learned just a few weeks ago in the middle of v9.
1. Read 9b
2. This will of God that He made known to us is according to the kind
intention of His purposes, kind intention of his will!
3. You all already know that the kind intention of God’s purposes and will
means that God delighted to do this, He wanted to do this, He took great
pleasure in doing this, it is well pleasing to Him
4. Simply it was well pleasing for God to build and fulfill all His purposes
and will in Jesus!
B. He goes on to explain this a bit fuller and clearer in verse 10a! Read
1. By administration He is talking about how God manages His affairs, how
He will carry out His purposes and will!
2. By suitable to the fullness of times He is talking about what God is going to
do in the future, in the fullness of times, at the consummation of the ages,
when the completion of what God has been pleased to plan, everything God
has been doing from Gen 1:1 through Rev 22:21.
C. Then He even explain this a bit fuller and clearer in verse 10b.
1. Basically He is talking about the time when everything will be summed up in
Christ.
2. Another way to say that is that it will be a time when the main point of
everything will be Jesus, everything can simply be summarized in Jesus, that
Jesus is the expression of all that God will be doing at that time.
3. Everything in history and everything that is going on right now is simply
moving this whole world towards a time when everything will be
summed up in Jesus, everything in the heavens and things on the earth!
4. It will be the time when God fulfills through Jesus every prophecy in this
book, Old and New Testament and all of His covenants He has revealed
in His Word!
a) At the heart of this is the covenant God made with David when He
promised him that one from his family line would be a forever king,
reigning forever over forever kingdom
b) Remember what we learned in rev 19:19 “for the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy!
c) Simply Jesus is the heart of and fulfilment of prophecy!
D. If you are familiar with your Bible you know this is where everything is moving.
Just listen as I read just a few passages to reinforce this:
1. Speaking to Abraham He says Gen 22:18,
2. In the blessing of Judah, Jacob says this Gen 49:10 (shiloh basically means
the one to whom it belongs) Reread 10c-d
3. Dan 2:44
4. Dan 7:13-14
5. Isa 9:6-7
6. Listen to what the Angel told Mary when He announced to her that she, a
virgin would have a child and just who this Child is! Read Lk 1:30-33
7. Rev 11:15-17
• So how does all of this
III.Apply to you and me?
A. REMEMBER these verses start with the fact that God made all of this known to
us with all wisdom and insight, or simply a way that allows us to see the true
nature of things and the ability to grasp the relevance for us in this
present time!
1. Knowing God’s Word, knowing prophecy, knowing God’s plan that is well
pleasing to Him and brings Him delight should help us understand the true
nature of what is going on today and recognize that ultimately it is not about
flesh and blood but an invisible war with demonic forces behind the scene.
Even deeper than that, like in the book of Job, God even uses Satan to carry
out His purposes!
2. Satan thinks he is winning as he divides people over viruses and over race
and over politics and morality but actually God is allowing him to do his
thing so as to move us to a time when everything will be fulfilled in Jesus.
3. Hard times in and with the world should not surprise anyone who
knows their Bible.
4. All of this has to happen so man can learn experimentally that true life
can only be found in Jesus and so things can move towards that time when
all of God’s purposes will be fulfilled in Jesus GOSPEL
B. Knowing this book shows us the end is near when we look at prophecy and
current events that are lining up with them
1. Alignment of nations we see in Old Testament Prophecies is happening
2. Catastrophic events happening in the world show us that the things to come
in revelation are not just figurative language but can be realities
3. Signs of the end of time Jesus spoke of in Matt 24 are happening
4. And the character of people today is just like it says it will be in 2 Tim 3.
C. But none of this should surprise us if we understand God’s WORD, PURPOSES
and WILL. Read 1 Thess 5:1-11