God Rescues Me Series

“God Rescues Me”

Ephesians 2: 1-7

July 30, 2006

Intro: Anytime you watch television you’re going to see commercials for certain diets and exercises that are going to “revolutionize your life.” Aren’t you amazed at how incredibly fit the people they show on these commercials are? I’m always amazed that they got to look that way just by taking “one pill a day.” Or just by using the ab cruncher, their arms, shoulders, and thighs can be used to crack pecan shells.

-Of course I’m always a little skeptical and I’m thinking, “I’d like to see what this guy looked like before he started taking that little pill.” B/c my guess is he looked that way long before he started taking that pill. My guess is he started looking that way b/c he started working out when he was 6 months old.

-Before and after photos are always a pretty good way to market b/c they give a person a visual to see how much a person has changed since they started using a certain product. And any time you see a lot of change in someone, you’re a little more drawn to the product.

-Today we’re concluding our series “On Star/On Board.” This month we’ve seen that God gives us freedom. He speaks to us. He is w/us. He works thru us. And today we’re going to see that God also rescues us. One of the more incredible features of “On Star” is that if you get lost, you can just push a button, talk to an operator and thru satellite he can locate where you are.

-Then he can tell you where to go in order to get back on track again. My guess is some of you are off track, and you’re ready for the “after” portion of your photo in life.

Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see the Apostle Paul sharing w/us several different ways God brings change into our lives. Paul demonstrates this by pointing out that we’re all in need of a makeover, we’re all in need of being rescued. The good news is that this is precisely what Jesus does. He offers to rescue us to bring @ a new life for us.

TEXT: EPHESIANS 2: 1-7

Bckgrd: In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul told the people of the great riches they have in Christ. Unfortunately, many of them were living as though they were spiritually bankrupt when in fact they had a spiritual fortune at their fingertips. It’d be like a person having all the latest fashions, all the latest exercise equipment to stay in shape and look good, and yet they chose to wear their old, worn-out clothes and never touch the exercise equipment.

-What’s really scary is when people don’t know how bad they look; when people don’t know how bad they’re in need of being rescued. You may not recognize you need to be rescued; you may not recognize you need to undergo a major spiritual makeover.

-The good news is that Paul explains to us why we need to be rescued by God and how He’s willing to rescue us. The 1st way God rescues us is:

DIV. 1: BY RESCUING US FROM HIS WRATH (vv. 1-3)

Exp: I’ve grown up in the church my whole life. I’ve been in Royal Ambassador’s. I’ve been in youth choir. I was involved in our church youth group. To top it off my dad’s a pastor. Some of you have similar backgrounds. So when you read that you need to be rescued by God, it’s very easy to think, “Well maybe Bill needs to be rescued, but not me. I’ve been involved in the church my whole life.”

A. While that’s a great place to be, it doesn’t exempt us from our need to be rescued. Paul tells us in v. 3 that at one time ALL of us followed after our sinful nature and desired the things of this world. Then he says something that’s shocking. He tells us that we are by nature objects of God’s wrath! That’s a little disconcerting, isn’t it?

1. It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve gone to church. It doesn’t matter how many good things you’ve done for others; how long you were involved RA’s or Habitat for Humanity. By our very nature, we’re objects of God’s wrath. Why? B/c we naturally crave sinful things. We naturally go after things that are ungodly. And God will judge sin.

a. You see, sin puts us at odds w/God. Unless we turn away from our sinful inclinations, we’re never going to be all that we can be. We’re going to be perpetually stuck in that “before” photo never getting to enjoy the “after.” There’s nothing we can do on our own to change our state of being. That’s why we need to be rescued.