God Chose Me
Jeston Bennett
Bible Baptist Church
700N. Tucker
Shawnee OK 74840
Ephesians 1:1-6
True story... A 12 year old girl in rural Ethiopia was kidnapped from her family. Her captors yelled at her, beat her, and almost raped her during her 7 day ordeal. They wanted to force her into marriage by selling her to the highest bidder who knows what kind of situation she would have ended up in if that would have happened. But before here captors could sell her, 3 lions miraculously showed up from out of the jungle, chased her captors away, and guarded her until help showed up. When her family and the police showed up, the lions disappeared back into the jungle, never to be seen again TRUE STORY Now you can’t tell me that God wasn’t looking out for that little girl But He did why? She was so valuable to him that He set her free from captivity in a miraculous way. (Sermon Central illustration)
Ephesians 1
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4According 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:
5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Guess what? You are here this morning because God wanted you here. Why?
Well for lots of reasons.
Well according to this scripture 1. VS 5 For Gods own pleasure!
Think about the way you worshipped God so far this morning. Did your worship please Him?
I’m sure it pleased him a lot more by you being here in His house with others believers worshipping, than if you would have stayed at home!!!!!!!
It brings God pleasure when you take time out of your busy lives to worship him.
So on behalf of God I want to say thank you for being here.
I hope you received a blessing from God this morning, and rest assured he brought you here today to receive a blessing. If you look in verse 2 Grace be to you and Peace.
Grace is no small thing. (Definition) A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
b. Mercy; clemency.
5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
a. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.
b. The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.
c. An excellence or power granted by God.
Grace it’s not just that little prayer you say and meal time to thank God for his blessing
After looking at these definitions you may ask yourself, Why would God choose me?
1. A sinner: You’re not the first person to feel that way, IN Luke 5:8 when Peter saw what
Jesus had done, Peter Said Depart from me Lord for I am an evil man.
How many of you set right were you are and have said the same thing!!!
A. Jesus Know we are all evil that’s why he came to save us from ourselves.
a. we are just helpless babes in the eyes of the Father of all creation.
2. I’m a nobody: I’m just an insignificant spec on this obscure plant in the outer reaches of space. Why would God care about me?
B. To God you are special- Psalm 139:14 you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
b. With the advent of modern science we can see just how complex we really are…..
b1. I believe when God breathed the breath of life into Adam in the garden. He gave a part of Himself to Humanity. And that makes our souls eternal and special.
Considering the Vastness, Greatness and Awesomeness of God that makes you very special indeed.
God wants you to see that He Loves you
VS 3 God has blessed us with all spiritual blessing.
If you are here this morning God wants you to receive a spiritual blessing. Here it is……….
When you are born you are spiritually blind, and that spiritual blindness has made blind beggars of us all. No matter how much light you give to a blind person they still can’t see the light.
I can preach the truth over and over again, but you still won’t get it. Why? Because until God opens your eyes by the power of the Holy Spirit you can’t see the light, it takes more than just LIGHT it takes SIGHT!!!
Until God opens your eyes your like that blind puppy! Eyes closed to the real world. Stumbling around in darkness you can sure smell a little bit of Heaven and Love and Peace that God has for you. But still you can’t see the truth that can set you free.
I believe until a person prays; God if you are real (Ha Ha I love that one…) please reveal you’re self to me I’m missing something in my life, is it you?
That’s when the Holy Spirit goes to work on your heart revealing God to you in a Miraculous and wonderful way.
As a Christian, God recognizes you as one of His own children
And with that designation, you become an heir of His Kingdom.
What does 1 Peter 5: 10 say? As His child, God has called us to eternal glory with all its glory, magnificence, and splendor We’ll be living with, serving, and worshiping with Him there for all of eternity
What a time that will be We’ll join with all the angels in doing so We’ll join with all the saints of old We’ll join with all those loved one who have gone on before us All because God has a recognizing grace That’s what makes it so amazing
A long time ago, a man truly experienced God’s grace His name was John Newton. Though he was brought up in the church as a child, he became a calloused man full of anger, pain, and uncertainty. Because of that, He experienced many troubles. At one time, he was a commander of a slave ship. He would anchor his ship off the coast of Africa and pack it with slaves They were ruthlessly chained side by side, row after row, one after another just like a can of sardines Many slaves died on the long voyages and were thrown overboard for the fish to eat. During a raging storm at sea, John Newton finally gave his life to Jesus Christ. Over the next few years, God brought people across his life in order to disciple him. He later became one of Brittan’s most powerful evangelists Feeling guilty about his past slavery involvement, He triumphantly fought against the slave trade. He wrote many hymns during his ministry years but one has become his most famous one. Maybe you’ve heard of it, it’s entitled - Amazing Grace. If there ever was a man who experienced God’s Amazing Grace
CONCLUSION
In closing I am so glad that the Lord loves me so. Even when we prove to be unlovable, He love us with no conditions added to it. I want you to know that just because there is a world out there that has yet to love our Christ that does not mean that He does not love them. I’m reminded of what happened on the day when they crucified our Savior.
He was betrayed by a kiss.
Taken to a judgment hall and was falsely accused.
My Savior was beaten beyond recognition.
Forced to carry His own cross to Calvary’s hill.
They drove nails and spikes in His hands and feet.
Marked and laughed at.
But there was one thing that I vividly remember, and that was a question that was sarcastically asked of Him. They asked, “If you be the Son of God, come down from the cross and save thyself.”
My brothers and sisters that is when I realized what love was because He did not come down from the cross to save Himself, but He decided to die just to save me.
And by God’s wonderful grace I am saved and you can be to if you trust Him.
