Five Promises To Those Who Are In Christ

February 25, 2012

Morning Worship

Text: Ephesians 1:3-14

Subject: Spiritual Blessings

Title: Five Promises to Those Who Are In Christ

Today is National Women’s Ministry Day in the Assemblies of God. It is a day that we recognize the women of the church for the work they do and really, just for whom they are. The theme for this years Women’s Day is from 1 John 3:1 “Love Revealed”. 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! That thought fits right in to what the Lord would have me preach today.

Have you ever noticed that you are closely associated with those whom you chose to be around? Sometimes that is in a good sense, but not always. For instance, when I was in high school I chose to hang around those kids who were radical. We didn’t want to be like all the other kids. We didn’t want to be associated with the jocks or the rich kids or the “clique”. And speaking for myself I can say that I just wanted to be different than the popular kids. Unfortunately, my association with that group connected me with the “radicals” in other areas of life, whether or not I was involved with any of their other activities. For instance, I was always an obedient child in school. I never gave the teachers any grief. I wasn’t as good a student that I could have been but I was very compliant. But, because many of the students I associated were viewed as troublemakers, I was also lumped into that group. Guilt by association…

It doesn’t matter what age you are, you will be connected by association to whatever group you chose to be with. Sometimes it can be a good thing. If I hang around good musicians then people might think I am one of them. If you spend time with sports enthusiasts you be seen as one of them. If you go to church you will probably be thought of as a Christian. We know that is not always the truth, but that is the perception that others will have. Sometimes it may not be such a good thing. Many people have been accused of crimes because they were connected to criminals. Though the connection is not always an indicator of who you really are, the perception is always there.

Now I said all that in order to say this; you are in a Pentecostal church today, but not everyone is Pentecostal. The Assemblies of God is a Pentecostal fellowship, but not all A/G churches are Pentecostal. The bible promises us many blessings for those who believe, but not everyone believes. Isaiah prophesied about those who were connected by association but the Lord had this to say in Isaiah 29:13, The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

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Today, as we read our passage, I want you to pay close attention to the phrase “in Him” or “in Christ” because it is this association that tells you what God sees through that association.

Let’s look together today to see 5 things that God’s word promises to those who are “in Him’.

Read Ephesians 1:3-12…

I believe this is God’s word…

I believe it is for me…

I accept it as mine…

And I appropriate it to my life today…

5 things that are promised to those who are “in Him”.

1. YOU ARE BLESSED… 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. #1 mention of being “in Christ”. Before we look at what it means to be blessed with every spiritual blessing I want you to see the purpose of the blessing - 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… our blessings should invoke praise to God. Notice that Paul specifically tells us that this is not just any god. This is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let’s talk about the blessings. How many of you know that God, first of all wants to bless His people? It says here that He has blessed us… What does that mean? eulogeo (yoo-log-eh’-o) v. Where we get our English word eulogy. 1. to speak well of… For those who are In Christ, God speaks well of you. As a matter of fact, If you are born of the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ the Son of God, God cannot say anything bad about you. 2. to bless, (thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper) Psalm 25:12-1412 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. 13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. God has spoken well of us or has prospered us… Where? … in the heavenly realms… What does that mean? When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be…? I mean the "heavenly realms" is referring to heaven right? The word means “above the sky”. That is true but what did Jesus, in agreement with the message of John the Baptist, says, (Matthew 4:17) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” These heavenly blessings are not for the eternal life we will spend with Jesus, but they are for this life as well. Matthew 6:9-10, “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How has He blessed? …with every spiritual blessing in Christ… Pay close attention to the word that is translated “spiritual”. It is the same word that is used in 1 Corinthians 12:1, 1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. Pneumatikos… from the Holy Spirit. So God wants to speak well of you and prosper you with a blessing from the Holy Spirit. Not just in heaven but on earth as well.