Seven Spiritual Blessings
Part 2
“Holy and Blameless”
Foundational Text: Eph. 1:3-14
Text: Eph. 1:4
Have you ever heard about a person who did not trust banks, so he hid his money some place in his house? Story after story is told about large sums of money being found in mattresses or hidden under floors. More than once, we have heard of people who went lacking in meeting their basic needs during their life. After their death, fortunes were found that had never been touched. Do you own treasures that you do not use? Many Christian believers do. Many believers live in spiritual poverty when God intended them to live like royalty. Practical Illustrations
Intro: Last week we looked at spiritual blessings
- we forget them many times
- no problem seeing the financial blessing
- but the spiritual is less visable so many times it is overlooked
- spiritual blessings are only for the believer
- these are not blessings that are available to the world
- the reason God blesses us spiritually is because we are ruled by our spirit
- if our spirit is strong then we will be better equipped to make righteous decisions
- material blessings can be lost but spiritual blessings are ours for all eternity unless we give them away
Read foundational text:
Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
We want to focus on verse 4 our text for tonight
Text: Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
I. Holy
What a wonderful text
Think about this with me for a moment
- God determined before the world was ever created
- He made up His mind a long time ago
- He decided before we were ever created
That He would have a people that would be holy and without blame
He had a plan of redemption before we had ever sinned
- He made a way for us
- He had a plan for you and I to be justified before He ever even new us
- He had a plan before the beginning of time for you and me to be able to stand before Him without blame, holy
Can you begin to grasp the love that God has for us
- He wasn’t surprised when man sinned
- He wasn’t caught off guard when Adam and Eve fell in the garden
- He did not begin to run around heaven wringing His hands saying what will we do now
- How can we redeem man?
- How can we keep him from hell?
He wasn’t stunned or shocked in fact He had already made a plan
There is a good lesson here if we can lay ahold of it
God is never surprised
When you face a trial or difficulty of life
- God is not surprised
- He is not caught off guard
- He is right there with a solution
- In fact He has the solution to your needs
- He has the solution to your problems
Before you ever need them
- He has the answer to your questions
Before you ever ask them
- He has everything you need
Before you ever need it
BELIEVING IN THE UNSEEN
It seems the pastor’s small son was told by his mother that he should wash his hands because there were germs living in all that dirt. He refused and complained: "Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear around this house and I’ve never seen either one."
Illustrations Unlimited
Many times we have a difficult time seeing the answer to our need or problem
- all we can see is the mess we are in
- all we can see is the bills
- all we can see is the sickness
Yet Jesus has the answers before we ever need them
What all of this proves to us tonight
What our text proves to us is
- Jesus wants us to be with Him
- His desire is that we spend eternity together
- He doesn’t want us to be separated from Him
- He doesn’t want us to remain bound by our sin
- He doesn’t want us to have to spend eternity in hell
His desire is that we spend eternity with Him
In fact if you notice in our text He has chosen us
- He has chosen His believers
- Those who accept His son Jesus
- To live with Him
God has a plan He has a purpose in the earth
- God will have a people
- He will continue to save
- He will continue to redeem
As many as will come to Him
This word “Holy” in our text means to set apart
This what God has done for us
- He has set us apart
- He has consecrated us
What a blessing He has set us apart made us Holy That we might be able to fulfill His will and purpose
Ephesians 4:24 (NKJV)
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV)
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
1 Peter 1:15-16 (NKJV)
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
II. Blameless
Notice in our text it says Holy and Blameless
This means that Jesus has made it possible for you and I to be above reproach
- it means we can be without sin
- without blemish
- without guilt and shame
- without fault
when we accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour He has ade it possible for you and I to become spotless and clean
- we are innocent
What this means to us is that the devil no longer has claim on us
- he can no longer approach God and accuse us of our past sins
- they are no longer there
- he can no longer point out our faults because they are no longer there
this not mean that we all become perfect and no longer have any problems
What it does mean is that whatever we place under the blood
- what ever we place on the alter
- what ever we place in the hands of God
- is covered forever
the devil can no longer point at it and bring accusation against us and claim as as his own
when we accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour in the eyes of God we become perfect, blameless, without spot or wrinkle
- we are above suspicion
- the devil can no longer cast doubt on your character before God
Philippians 2:15 (NKJV)
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Colossians 1:21-22 (NKJV)
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--
the only way the devil can lay claim to us once again is to get us to soil ourselves
- he can’t do it
- he can’t soil us
- he can’t make us sin
- he can’t even bring suspicion upon us
- there is nothing he can do to remove us from the grace of God
we are the only ones who can do that
That is what temptation is all about
- he is trying to draw us out of Gods grace
- he is trying to ensnare us
- tempt us away from God
are you getting the picture here
- he can’t make us do anything
- he can not even approach us
- he has to stand afar off and try to lure us away
- lure us to him
Do you see how protected we are
Do you see what a blessing this is
There is nothing that the devil can do to remove us from the hand of God
- if anything is going to be done to remove us from the hand of God we must do it ourselves
Isaiah 54:17 (KJV)
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
This is our heritage
- this is our birth right
- this is our inheritance
- this is our blessing
Jesus made it possible for us to become Holy and Blameless
- as a result there is nothing that can be done to us or against us unless we open the door to it
- the only power the devil has against us is the power we give him
Romans 8:35 (KJV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Romans 8:37-39 (KJV)
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What all of this is saying is that God has chosen us to be perfect
- He made it possible
This doesn’t mean that we are going to live a perfect life
- that we will never make a mistake
- in fact the we know the bible says that there are none righteous no not one
but as long as we remain in Christ
- as long as we keep our hearts right with God
- we are above reproach
Jesus was they only one who was ever perfect
- He never sinned
- He never made a mistake
- He lived a perfect life
Because of that He made it possible for you and I to make heaven our home
Our only hope of escaping hell and making heaven is in Jesus
This is the Gospel
This is what it is all about
He takes our faith in Jesus His son and counts it as righteousness
- we become acceptable to God because of Jesus
- our faith and trust in Him
this is what justification is all about
it means to count someone as righteous
- it doesn’t mean that we actually are righteous
- it means that our faith in Jesus is credited to our account as righteousness
What a tremendous Blessing God has made available to us
By acceptance of Jesus we can become Holy and Blameless in the eyes of God.
