This morning just for a short time I would like to draw your attention to the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1-10 Focusing on verse 4 Paul says Eph 2:4 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (repeat slowly 2x)
That is what I would like to just for a few minutes talk about BUT GOD.
In the second chapter of Ephesians Paul goes to great effort to tell or show us the damaging and dangerous effects of Sin and the effects on our lives and the redeeming and lifting power of God grace.
Paul puts us between Despair and Hope and Death and Life
I.Paul uses this text to show us what we were before we accepted Jesus Christ
II.And what we have become by the grace of God
Paul uses the first three verses to tell the Ephesian Church what they were before Jesus came into their Lives as their saviour
Then he turns the conversation in verse 4 and Paul tells them what God had done in their lives because they had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
So this morning I would like to examine Paul’s words to see what it is that Paul s trying to get us to understand through this text
First of all I believe this morning that Paul is trying to tell us what our condition is without God
Because he tells us that our condition without God is bleek.
Paul is so very serious and so very concerned that speaks as though he were a coroner and he speaks as though he is observing someone who is dead and telling why they have died.
He reminds us of our past condition Look at how he begins verse one and his careful choice of words.
Notice what Paul sys he says you he. He says you because he was speaking to the gentile church, He was speaking to people who were not Jews were to brought up according to Jewish customs People who did not grow up living and repeating the Jewish Torah or Pentateuch,
He was speaking to those who had been outside of the Jewish family who did not originally belong to the Jewish faith but because the had
received Jesus Christ they were now adopted into the family of God…You me us (somebody ought to be Glad about adoption)
Listen to what he says He says you were dead in trespasses and sin. He says the condition of man of human kind without Jesus in their lives is they are dead.
And this morning brothers and sisters just incase someone case in here this morning thinking that everything was alright between you and God. Listen if you don’t know Christ you are dead (do I have a witness)
Without life, without hope, and without peace dead we were enemies of God shut out from a relationship with God strangers to the
covenant and promises of God without hope without help and on a one way ticket fast track to hell.
Listen without Jesus Christ in your life you are dead spiritually dead
I don’t care what Kind of car you drive you can have the finest car you are simply a dead man driving a car
I don’t care how much bling bling you have around your neck and on your fingers it can be 4 karats you are still dead
I don’t care what kind of clothes you wear the can be the nicest clothes you can be suited and booted and popping your collar you are simply a dressed up dead person.
Because if you don’t have Christ in your life he text says you are dead You may be in the best physical shape you may be have a six pack but you are just a walking dead man.
You may be have the right curves and the right shape and be built like a model or actress you may be a movie star but you are dead
You may have everything going for you may have the finest house the best job but if you don’t have Jesus you are ……..dead
Paul not only tells the us the condition of man without God but he also tells us the cause of death.
See it is not just the job of the coroner to determine of a person is dead but it is also the job of the coroner to determine the cause of death.
So what was the cause of our death watch this now he says you were dead in trespasses. The word trespass means to cross the line trespass
means to wander away from the path it means to break the law
Paul is saying that there was a time in all our lives when were in trespasses
We all crossed the line we all wandered away from the path, He says you were dead in trespasses and sin. Now that word sin means to miss the mark
Its just like a quarter back who throws to his receiver but throws to wide or to long he misses the mark.
And Paul is saying to all of us there have been times when we have wandered off the path. There have been times in al out lives when we
have gone places we should not have gone done things we should not have done times when we have though some things that we shouldn’t
have thought we have missed the mark of God’s standard for our lives and brothers and sisters if we would be honest their have been sometimes in all of our lives when we have messed up.
When we have missed the mark that is why Paul says all have sinned and not yall have sinned.
He says we we have all sinned and come short of the Glory of God he
says we were dead in trespasses and Sin.
Well Pastor what sin well whatever type of sin you can think of. We have all been guilty of the sin,
The sin of lying, gossiping, covetous, lust, adultery, stealing, Jealousy, disobediance evilness meanness. Hard heartedness
Whatever it was all of us have been guilty of trespasses and sin and
were all dead that is why David says in sin did my mother conceive me I was born in sin and shapen in iniquity. He says we were dead
Look at verse 2 he says there was a time when the walked according to course of this world. That word world means according to this age in
other words he says there was a time when you walked according to the influences of this sinful world.
Is there anyone here who will be truthful with me this morning and testify that you not always been in the church.
Can anybody testify when you look at your watch that there was a time when the church was not on your mind a time when the world had…..you
Not only did you shut the club down but you were there when the lights came on the world had …you. A time when the party didn’t jump until you walked in.
A time when you use to drink so much stuff and smoke so much stuff and snort so much stuff ad hang with so much stuff a time when the world had …you not only the world but he says there was a time when
the prince of the air had us now he starts talking about demonic forces see there was a time when the devil had us you may be in church now but you wasn’t always in church there was a time when the church was far from you you might have been in the church but the church was not in you and just in case there is someone in here where the church is far from I need to tell you the devil still got you cause there was a time when the devil had us, But God Sinn had us bound sin had us hook line and sinker
Look what he says in verse
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Look at what Paul did in verse 1 he was talking to them to saying we now he says he says we had now Paul says not just you but now he says ther was a tie the devil had us
You know sometimes people are so quick o point their finger at you and forget their own sin but Paul says we
Look at what he says eh said the flesh had us from within the world had us from without and the devil had us from beyondHe says we were caught up there was no hope if you look at verses 1 2 3 there was nothing good happening for us. He says the wolrd had us our flesh had us and the devil had us
Paul makes sure we understand that we were dead the flesh had us from within the world had us from without and sin had us from within
We were dead I don’t care who you are there was a time in your life when you were dead if you look at the first 3 verses there is nothing good in it
I am so glad that he did not stop at verse 3 as a matter of fact it was the first two words in verse 4 that changed my life around
He says but God can anybody say but God I don’t know how you feel about it but that gives me life.
That is what gives me hope for tomorrow even though I had so much working against me even though it looked like I wasn’t going to make it But God.
Even though I was on my way to a burning hell.But God
I wander if there is anybody. else in this place,
that has ever had your back up against the wall.
Didn’t think that you would ever make it but God
When it looked like the devil had you in check mate but God
When it looked like you would be dead sleeping in your grave but God.
Can I get somebody who will say that God.
showed up just in the nick of time.
Do I have a witness is there anybody in this place. who knows had it not been for God. That you would have never made it anybody have a but God Praise.
That you would .still be in your sins do I have a witness?
Is there anybody in here who can testify that had it not been for the grace of God that you would not be sitting gin here today
Oh Lord I stopped by the morning to shout with somebody else when I said But God. When I wasn’t fit to live. and I wasn’t good enough to die But God.
Who was rich in mercy who was rich in grace but God
Looked beyond my faults and saw my needs but God do I have a witness?
Is there anybody else in here that can testify there was a time in your life when you had bills due didn’t know how you were going make it But God showed up in the nick of time
