Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
March 31st. 2014
Ephesians 1:3–14
The Benefits of the Cross
Goal/message series/Hope/Cross/Today
• Learn/surpassing greatness, power/authority/cross
• So we can respond in praising God/defeating Satan
• Giving us access/Christ’s rule/authority as heirs/eternal inheritance.
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Certain advantages/come/being/platinum flyer.
• When/accrue/large number of miles/airline company
• They/send/book/benefits/significant opportunities for you to take advantage of.
• Upgrade options/priority access options/other benefits.
But in order/use them you must know the privileges of what your platinum level relationship with the airlines company affords.
• Failure/understand your “inheritance” of benefits
• Results/not enjoying/significant opportunities available for you to enjoy.
Many Christians also fail to know all the rights and privileges that the cross has afforded them.
They fail to utilize/benefits/God has ordained for His saints.
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Let’s look/INHERITANCE Eph. 1:14 “our salvation”.
• Greek/word “pledge” mean a “down payment.”
• God/set aside “down payment” heaven/you/receive/earth
• A deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.
• As a believer, you/on your way to heaven.
However, God does not want you to have to wait to get there in order to feel and experience what heaven is like.
There/piece/heaven/has been allocated to you right now.
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• Unfortunate/Christians come/church/every Sunday/Wednesday
• Still functioning w/o knowing all/rights/privileges/cross has afforded them.
• Fail/maximize/utilize/benefits/God has ordained and bequeathed for His saints.
Knowing about/cross w/o knowing the authority/benefits of the cross will keep you from experiencing all God has in store for you.
What/cross provides to you/me/opportunity to see what God can do beyond the normal, everyday routine of life.
• Cross/key/God invading/difficult or mundane circumstances of life
• just like He invaded the tomb/Jesus after He died/cross
• Flipping things around in order/reveal His power/authority.
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A lot of Christians sing about God’s power
• Talk about God’s power
• Can never testify to experiencing God’s power since they have never accessed God’s power
• They have never seen Him turn
• Twist/tweak things beyond their human comprehension.
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Ever watched an action-adventure film
• Hero/story is trying to locate a special artifact or treasure?
All along the way, he/she faces opposition after opposition coming from the enemy who is trying to divert him or her from reaching their goal and benefiting from their prize.
• Films remind me/what Satan attempts to do/lives/believers.
• you and I have a precious treasure
• a unique possession/our enemy doesn’t want us to discover
• Things available to us that he doesn’t want us to get.
He will use no limits to stop you or I from picking up the treasure that God has for us.
Paul gives us some insight into the benefits and authority the treasure/cross has to offer when he writes/church at Ephesus.
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CROSS DISPLAYS GOD’S SURPASSING GREATNESS
• Believe/greatness/God’s power
• Resurrection/Christ demonstrates God’s power Eph 1:19–21)
• God raised Christ from/dead/seated Him in/heavenlies
“Friend, not only does Jesus Christ have a chair in heaven to sit down in………………..you have a chair there as well.
• You have been “seated … with Him”
• Above all rule and authority.
• You have been spiritually relocated.
• Believe God provides power to you
• God’s power/raised Christ from the dead
• Is also available to you
God/enough power/turn even/worst scenario/your life into victory
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• President/United States sits/Oval Office/White House
• what he decrees there can impact you wherever you are
• Can even impact people halfway around the world.
Because where/president sits/powerful location above all other powers in our nation.
• If one man in one city can affect an entire nation
• or even the world, politically
• What do you think/King/kings/Lord/lords can do sitting far above all rule and authority?
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2. THE CROSS DEMONSTRATES CHRIST’S AUTHORITY
• Believe Jesus/supreme authority
Jesus:
• ascension placed Him above all rule/authority
• disarmed sin’s power over you Col 2:14–15
• sits far above any situation you are dealing with
Believe Jesus imparts authority to you
• Authority/the right to use/power you possess
When you identify with Christ’s cross, resurrection, and ascension
You identify with His authority that overrides Satan’s power
• Believe Jesus’ authority rules over Satan
• Although Satan is more powerful than you
• he is not strong enough to overcome Christ’s authority
• Jesus disarmed Satan (Col 2:15)
Satan doesn’t have the last word because Jesus now sits high above all rule and authority
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Referees are not the strongest men/football field
• In fact, they are older, slower and heavier
• Referee throws out a yellow flag
• Player who is much bigger/him/has to yield.
• Faster player has to slow down.
• stronger player has to do what ref says
• referee has a greater power called authority.
• Authority overrules power.
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3.CROSS AUTHORITY/POWER/ACCESSED THRU/COMMUN
Take communion to access the authority/power/cross
Communion:
• Ushers in both a physical and spiritual reality
• allows you full entry into/cross’s accomplishments
• provides/blessings attached to Christ’s death/resurrection
• reminds us Satan no longer holds authority over us Col 2:13–15
Proclaim the Lord’s death by taking communion
Eating/bread/drinking/cup proclaims/Lord’s death
When you take communion you are proclaiming/preaching/evil principalities/Christ has defeated Satan
Through communion we proclaim/regaining/victory/authority originally lost/garden of Eden
• Communion/your time/preach/evil principalities
• remind them they have been defeated
• That you know it.
• It is your turn to serve notice on Hell
• Based on the cup/bread, that Hell has already lost.”
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“When you take the bread and the blood
• Can tell Satan/go/hell
• because it is by virtue/bread/blood
• body/blood/Jesus Christ
• You have/abil¬ity to piggy-back/authority/Christ over Satan.”
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4. CROSS GIVES US REASON FOR PRAISE
Praise God for His authority
• Friend, whatever it is that you are dealing with
• whomever it is that you are dealing with
• It or they do not have the last say.
• No matter how big, mighty, powerful or pushy they are
• Or it seems to be, Jesus Christ is sitting far above all of it.
He is positioned higher than all rule, authority, dominion/power.
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Because of our relationship with Him
We are seated with Him
Have access to His rule/authority in our life Eph 2:6
You must approach your life spiritually in order to attain spiritual authority.
• If all you see is what you see
• Than you will never see all there is to be seen…
• Earth’s seat doesn’t give you authority.
• Only heaven has access to that authority because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.”
When you live in light of Christ’s authority, gained for you at the cross, it will change how you walk, talk and think
• Friend, before you give up, look up.
• Fix your eyes on Jesus
• see yourself seated with Him in the heavenlies
• granted full access to His rule and authority
• According to the power of God that works in you.”
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Praise God for His triumph over Satan
• blood/lamb overcomes Satan Rev 12:10–11
• cross has conquered Satan
• granting us access to an authority higher/Satan’s authority
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What Satan does is similar to a man holding a gun on you.
• At first, you may feel afraid/at this man’s mercy.
• Someone were/point out/you/man’s gun did not have any bullets in it, he would no longer control you.
• That’s the difference between power and authority.
• See, at/cross, Jesus Christ “disarmed” Satan Col 2:15.
• Jesus Christ removed/bullets/Satan’s gun.
Satan still likes to play like a tough guy
• Try/intimidate everyone with his power, but ultimately, Jesus Christ has stripped him of his authority
• His power is only as strong as he can persuade you to believe that it is.
• In and of itself, it is not strong enough to overcome Christ’s authority.
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5. CROSS PROVIDES VICTORY OVER YOUR ENEMIES
“…the surpassing greatness of God’s power that worked to raise
• Christ from the dead, turning death into life
• Same exact surpassing greatness/power available to you.
God flipped the script with Jesus/He can do the same with you.”
• Believe you are spiritually seated in heaven
• God seated us with Him in the heavenly places Eph 2:5–7
• Understanding where you are seated
• what that means provides access to Christ’s authority
Believe your spiritual inheritance affects your physical reality
Connecting with Christ’s authority changes your fear levels, worry, dread and all else
Living in light of Christ’s authority changes how you walk, talk, and think because you remember He is ultimately in control
Jesus was crucified, and nailed to a cross on Friday.
• Friday was a bad day.
It was a bad day:
• Physically – Jesus was beaten to a pulp.
• Emotionally–Scripture says Christ cried tears/blood.
• Spiritually – He was separated from God, the Father.
However, Friday did not determine where Jesus would wind up.
What started off bad on Friday wound up being awesome on Sunday.
This is because God reversed the effects of Friday, raising Christ from the dead and seating Him in the heavenlies
And that’s where you are today.
Eph 1:19–21
