Sermon - Ephesians 1:8-23 - Littleby Baptist Church - September 9, 2018

Last week we started our walk through the Letter to the Ephesians. For me, the two biggest takeaways were that first we need to be blessing or praising God for the things He has done. With our focus being on the ‘spiritual blessings’, namely those that we have yet to experience. Regardless of what we are dealing with today we need to remember that God has given us an opportunity to spend eternity in His presence and that is worth all the praise in the world.

The other major point that I hope we all remember is that yes, Jesus died to forgive us of our sins but He also redeemed us. No matter what our sin has been, no matter how long we have been enslaved to it. Jesus has freed us from it. Jesus cut the chains that were holding you into a life of sin. Believe it, leave the sin behind, and live your new life.

This morning we are picking back up at:

Ephesians 1:8-10

“⁸ that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.”

If God chose to use Jesus to bring each one of us into His family. If He has forgiven us of our sins, no matter how bad they are, If He paved the way for us to truly be set free from the things that enslaved us.

Do you think He wants us to walk around this world aimlessly with no clear agenda?

Of course not. As these verses point out God has poured out His wisdom and understanding allowing us to know what He wants us to do.

I can almost hear someone thinking, but it is hard to figure out what God wants me to do. It can be hard to know exactly where you are supposed to serve, teach, or volunteer. There can be some uncertainty dialing in the details.

I want you to take a step back and look at it from a different perspective. It should help us to have a better understanding of what Paul was trying to tell us. Think about the answers to these questions.

Do you know what the Father wanted to accomplish when He sent Jesus to this earth?

Do you know that you are to Love God with all Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind?

Do you know that you are to Love Others as you love yourself?

Do you know that you are to take care of those in need, such as widows and orphans?

Do you know that you are to be witnesses to all the earth?

Do you know that you are to go and make disciples?

The details may be fuzzy at times, but if we look through God’s Word we can see that His plans for us are clear. As it says in verse 10 ‘to bring everything together in Christ.’

Everything we do should point towards the future where we get to spend eternity in Glory. If we are doing what God wants us to do, as in Loving Others, Being a Witness, and Making Disciples – we will touch others and they will be with us in Glory.

Colossians 1:20

“and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

The Father chose to send the Son to us so that our sins could be forgiven. Through that act we have been set free from the bondage in our lives. Which then allows us to go about doing His will, spreading His love to the those around us, so that one day we can all be united together worshipping our Lord for all eternity.

Ephesians 1:11-12

“¹¹ In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, ¹² so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.”

Romans 8:17

“and if children, also heirs-heirs of God and coheirs with Christ-if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”

The Plan has always been for you to be adopted into the Family of God. It was part of the Father’s Master Plan from the very beginning. He knew we were going to need to be saved when He created us. He knew we were going to need the ultimate sacrifice to be paid. He knew He was going to have to sacrifice His son to save us.

The Master’s Master Plan was to provide an inheritance for us, as co-heirs with Jesus, we get to spend an eternity with Him. Through our belief in Jesus and what He did for us, we are given a share of that amazing grace that makes us pure and holy. This is why we need to be praising our Lord always.

Ephesians 1:13-14

“¹³ In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. ¹⁴ The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.”

Should be no surprise that the Holy Spirit is a gift given to all who believe. He is our comforter, counselor, guide, and more. Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit seals us and is a down payment of our inheritance.

Back in the days when the King of England was one of the most powerful men in the world, they used to seal letters with wax and press in a symbol. This seal would signify who the letter was from and if it came from the King of England it would point out how important the message was.

The Holy Spirit is the seal God has placed on each one of us. It is His seal that signifies that we are His child. From the moment you accept Jesus as your Lord, you are sealed as a child of God. No matter where you are at in life, no matter how low you have fallen, the moment you say Yes to God you are sealed as His Child. You are that important to Him that He marks you as His.

The Holy Spirit not only seals you, but He is truly the down payment of those ‘spiritual blessings’ we need to be praising God for. His dwelling in you is God’s guarantee that more is to come. It is not some limited 30 day guarantee, it does not have any stipulations in it, it is a 100% Lifetime Guarantee that if you turn to Jesus, choose Him, and follow Him, your eternity in Heaven is going to happen. It is not some check is in the mail scam, it is the real thing. The deal is signed, sealed, and will be delivered with a 100% guarantee. All you have to do is believe. Believe it and receive it.

Ephesians 1:15-16

“¹⁵ This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.”

Paul is complimenting the Ephesians and the other churches in the area for their faith in Jesus and love for others, and says he is praying for them.

This is a great example for us. We tend to add people to our prayer lists that we know are struggling with something, or have a decision to make, or have a need in one form or another. In this letter and the letters to Colossians, and Philemon, Paul is modeling for us to pray for those who are living the life God has called them to live. We don’t know what is going on, but we need to be in prayer for pastors, worship leaders, Sunday school teachers, musicians, missionaries, and every other person who is serving God in one form or fashion. We should be praising God for their willingness to serve God and Love others. Another way of looking at it is, that every person here, should be praying for every person here.

Ephesians 1:17-19

“¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”

Paul then shares what he is praying for.

Verse 17 tells us he is asking for God to grant wisdom so that the believers would develop a deeper understanding of who God is. In verse 18 Paul is asking for the them to be fully aware of what God expects from those who follow Him, but also for them to understand how ‘glorious’ it will be to spend eternity in the presence of the Lord. In verse 19 Paul is wanting to make sure that his audience truly understands how powerful God is.

This is a great prayer, that we should be praying for others and ourselves.

Wisdom so that we could better understand who God is. Knowledge of the mission God has put before us. An understanding of how amazing eternity is going to be, to help encourage us as we struggle on this side of Eternity. And then there is verse 19.

“¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”

We need to be praying for a better understanding of how great our God is. How immeasurable His power is. Too often we limit our actions, desires, or dreams based on what we think is ‘reasonable’ for God to do.

Luke 1:37

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Nothing is impossible for God. There is absolutely no limit to what He can do.

Think about it for a moment. When Jesus walked this earth He rebuked the wind and waves, He fed thousands on 2 separate occasions when He started with next to nothing, He cleansed lepers, blind were made to see, and He raised his friend from the dead. There are absolutely No limits on what He can do, if you believe.

Ephesians 1:20-23

“²⁰ He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—²¹ far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.”

Is there any limit to God’s Power? He raised Jesus from the dead. He appointed Him over all of creation and everything that is still yet to come. There is no limit to what God can do.

His Master Plan is accomplished by His limitless power.

Our prayer needs to be that God opens our eyes to see our part in His Amazing Master Plan. We need to be pray that we do not limit Him by our lack of understanding of who He is or what He is capable of. We need to pray that He works in us to grow our faith in His limitless power and that He works through us.

Pray that you will be a faithful saint, Loving God and Loving Others.

God Bless!

Robert