SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). These Blessings Are from God.
(2). These Blessings Are Spiritual.
(3). These Blessings Are Conditional.
SERMON BODY:
“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”
Ill:
• A mum had been teaching their three-year old daughter the Lord's Prayer,
• The mother would say a line of the prayer and then the daughter would repeat it after her,
• After a few days, the little girl said, she wanted to go solo.
• The mum listened with pride as she carefully articulated each word,
• But then as she got to the end of the prayer she concluded with the words,
• "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from E-mail."
• TRANSITION: We often recite or hear sermons on the Lord's Prayer,
• And we know Jesus often prayed!
• We don’t often think of the apostle Paul as an outstanding man of prayer.
• We don’t often think about the prayers of the apostle Paul.
• We would put him at the top of the list as a great missionary or evangelist,
• Or Bible teacher or Church planter, leader etc.
• But don’t forget that the apostle Paul was also a great man of prayer,
• That is revealed to us in the New Testament letters that he penned.
• We have many of his prayers recorded (one scholar says, “over 20”).
• And we have chosen to focus in, to look at five of them.
• This mini-series is designed to pull out a five key themes,
• That we find in the prayers of the apostle Paul.
• And for this first talk I have chosen a short and simple prayer,
• A prayer of praise from Ephesians chapter 1 verse 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”
Note:
• In the past we have studied the whole book of Ephesians,
• And those talks are on the website if you want to listen to any of them.
• This mini-series is designed to pull out a few key themes,
• That will help us during our time of adjustment,
• As some of us go back to the building after the Covid-19 lockdown.
Today the theme is praise.
• If you ask any midwife,
• They will tell you it's a bad sign when a new-born babe fails to cry.
• Equally, it's a bad sign,
• When a child of God cannot praise there is something wrong.
Ill:
• You might be surprised to know that our English word 'praise'
• Has a French origin, 'preisier',
• And 'preisier' means 'to prize'
• TRANSITION: That gives us an insight as to what the word 'praise' really means.
• To praise God means to prize God.
• The word 'prize', of course, means.
• 'To value', 'to esteem', 'to cherish' something or someone,
• But it also means to estimate of worth.
• So, when we praise God, we are valuing him,
• We are esteeming him; we are estimating his worth.
• In other words, in praise what we actually do,
• Whether you realise it or not,
• Is that mentally we gather together all the facts that we know about God,
• And we put these into words, and they become prayers or songs of praise.
• Now it follows that the less you know about God,
• The less you'll be able to praise Him - that's where the Bible comes in.
• So, if you want to praise God more,
• You need to have a knowledge of God,
• And the best way we get that knowledge is through his word.
Question: Does anyone here have a problem?
(Tongue-in-cheek: “oh, just a few people!”) Ask again, until every hand is raised.
• Now it might surprise you to know, that I came across a group of people this week,
• And not a single one of them had a problem!
• I know what you are thinking, ‘surely not!’ but it’s true!
• In fact, if you want to you can go see them and check it out for yourselves.
• You go down to St Johns Road. And there you will find St Johns Cemetery.
• It is full of people who don’t have any problems.
TRANSITION: The point I want to make is this,
• If you are alive, then in a fallen world we will have problems.
• Those problems can vary from the size of a mole hill to the size of a mountain.
• But we will all have them, that is the price of being alive!
• If we only praise God when life seems good and fair,
• We will not be praising him very often!
• We need to get to know who God is and what God has done for us,
• Then we will always have a reason to praise him,
• And our circumstances (good or bad) will not affect that action.
Verse 3 begins the first major section of this letter and it continues through to verse 14.
• In this section the apostle Paul speaks about,
• Predestination, adoption, God's will, grace, redemption, and God's glory,
• All themes connected to God Himself,
• And when reflected on they will cause us to praise or bless him.
Question: What does it mean to bless God?
Ill:
• Whenever somebody sneezes,
• You probably utter the expression, ‘Bless you’ without even thinking about it.
• The origins for this occurrence vary,
• But the most popular agreement comes from Pope Gregory I,
• Who lived during the plague of AD 590.
• He suggested that anyone who sneezed.
• One of the plague’s main symptoms – should be blessed immediately.
• It was, in short, a tiny prayer to help protect one from death.
• Today, we might also say “God bless you”
• A similar way to invoke divine favour upon someone.
• But what exactly does it mean to bless God?
• Obviously, the creator of all living things does not need anything from me.
Answer:
• The word “blessed” In the Greek text is ‘eulogetos’ — like our word “eulogy.”
• It means, “to speak well of.”
• e.g. When a person dies family members and friends often give a short speech,
• The tribute normally praises or points out the deceased persons good points.
• In the New Testament this Greek word, ‘eulogetos’ is used only of God,
• So, it is the idea is of honouring, praising, declaring the qualities of the Lord.
• e.g. In the Psalms we are told to bless or praise the Lord for:
• e.g. His counsel (Psalm 16 verse 7)
• e.g. His holiness (Psalm 103 verse 1)
• e.g. His dominion over all things (Psalm 103 verse 22)
• e.g. His honour and majesty (Psalm 104 verse 1)
• Note: when God “blesses” people, they are improved, helped and strengthened,
• In other words, they are better off than they were before.
• But when people “bless” God he is not helped or strengthened or made better off.
• Rather we bless or praise him for who he is,
• We glory in his nature and in his attributes.
• We are speaking well of his greatness and goodness.
• So, we do not add anything to God when we bless Him,
• We simply worship him as an appropriate response to his greatness and his love for us.
(1). These Blessings Are from God.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us “
• God is the object of the praise expressed by the apostle Paul in this verse.
• Whatever blessings we learn about in this verse and in this chapter,
• God is the ultimate cause, the source.
• He is the giver, the provider of what we need to receive and keep.
Just scan through the chapter:
• Verse 3: “He has blessed us”
• Verse 4: “He chose us…”
• Verse 5: “He predestined us”
• Verse 7: We have redemption in “accordance with the riches of God’s grace”
• Verse 9: “He made known to us the mystery of his will”
• Verse 14: “To the praise of God’s glory.” That we are guaranteed an inheritance!
• So, God is the ultimate cause, the source.
• He is the giver, the provider of all that we need.
(2). These Blessings Are Spiritual..
There are many earthly blessings that we want and some we may need.
• e.g. We need or want good health, we want food, water, shelter,
• e.g. We want money, possessions, job, career, holidays, enjoyable experiences.
• e.g. We want family, friends and deeper relationships.
• But they are physical or material blessings,
• And you will not find them in this verse or in this section of the book!
God is the great dispenser of gifts and he has blessed us according to his nature and will.
• Because God is eternal, his blessing will also be eternal.
• Because God is good and perfect. his blessing will also be good and perfect.
Question: What are some of those blessings?
Answer:
• I found at least eleven of them (you may find some more as you look),
• At least eleven of them are mentioned in this section (vs 3-14):
• In Christ you were chosen before the foundation of the world (v.4)
• In Christ you are holy and blameless in his sight (v.4)
• In Christ you stand in his love (v.4)
• In Christ you were predestined to adoption (v.5)
• In Christ you are accepted in the one he loves (v.6)
• In Christ you have redemption through his blood (v.7)
• In Christ you have forgiveness of your sins (v.7)
• In Christ you have the riches of his grace (v.7-8)
• In Christ he has made known to you the mystery of his will (v.9)
• In Christ you have an eternal inheritance (v.11)
• In Christ you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (v.13)
(3). These Blessings Are Conditional.
• Scan this section (vs 3-14) and see how many times the phrases,
• “In Christ,” “in him,” or “in whom” occur.
• These blessing come with a condition they are only for those “In Christ”
• Just as God alone is the source of spiritual blessings,
• So, Christ is the only access to them.
• Now don’t miss that!
• You cannot earn them by living a good life or by doing good works,
• These blessings are a gift from God, the condition they come with is they are “In Christ”
• Therefore, if you are “In Christ” you can enjoy the blessings,
• And if you are not yet “In Christ” then you need to put that right ASAP!
Ill:
• Imagine a marriage between a prince and a pauper,
• She is filthy and poor with a shameful name and a hopeless future,
• Yet the Prince loves her and offers himself to her in marriage.
• Now as soon as they're united in marriage, the prince takes all her debts,
• And she gets all his riches.
• He covers over her shameful name and gives her his name,
• She is invited into his life his family his inheritance,
• And through her prince,
• She can call the King, Father and all because of their marriage Union.
• TRANSITION: If we are “In Christ” (we take him as Lord & Saviour),
• He takes away our debt of sin and our spiritual poverty,
• And he replaces them with his righteousness and riches.
• We are adopted into his family we have his spirit as our spirit,
• We have his Father as our Father,
• We belong to his family (brothers and sisters in the church).
• These are our spiritual blessings and privileges now!
• They meet are deepest needs and are a gift from a loving God.
• But…they are all “In Christ”
Question: Where are the blessings found?
Answer: “In Christ!”
• Scan through chapter 1 verse 1b, “the faithful in Christ Jesus:”
• Verse 3b, “with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
• Verse 4a, “For he chose us in him (Christ)”
• Verse 6b: "Freely given us in the One he loves (Christ)"
• Verse 7a, “In him (Christ) we have redemption through his blood.”
• Verse: 9b, “Which he purposed in Christ”
• Verse 11a, “In him (Christ) we were also chosen,”
• Verse 12a, “In order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ,”
• Verse 13a, “And you also were included in Christ”
• Verse 13b, “You were marked in him (Christ) with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
• 10 times in the first 14 verses,
• Now let repetition be a good teacher!
• I am trying to drive home and emphasize that point!
• These blessings are not found in the Church, they are not found in taking communion.
• Note with care that little word, that little preposition "in."
• In this chapter it carries great meaning.
• In some passages, that little word "in"
• Belong to a physical or geographic location (e.g. verse 1, "in Ephesus").
• But here in verse 3, it is not a physical location but a spiritual location: "in Christ."
• This is where God put every spiritual blessing.
• And in order to participate in these blessings (receive them, use them, have them),
• You need to be in this place, in this relationship: "in Christ."
Question: How can I be “In Christ”?
Answer: He tells us in chapter 1 verse 13:
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,”
He expands on that in chapter 2 verse 8:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”
N.L.B.:
“Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God.”
Ill:
• Remember the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty?
• A princess is cursed into a deep sleep,
• And nothing can wake her but a kiss from the prince.
• Let’s imagine you’re the princess and you’ve been awakened from a deep sleep.
• It’s a huge story.
• It is all over the news both TV and the papers want an interview,
• Now the first question they ask is, “What did you do to break the curse?”
• Question: What would you say?
You may have a verity of answers:
• But you could not say; “Well, I just thought about it & I decided, ‘It’s time to wake up!’”
• You could not say, “I asked the prince to come and he came.”
• You could not say; “I made a wish and it broke that curse.”
• You couldn’t say any of those things,
• Because you were asleep! You were cursed! You were powerless to help yourself!
• Here is what you would have to say:
• “I didn’t break the curse. The prince did.”
• TRANSITION: That’s what the apostle Paul is saying,
• (Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8-10.)
• When we were asleep in fact dead in our trespasses and sins,
• Unable to help and save ourselves.
• Our prince, our rescuer, our saviour Jesus Christ,
• Gave us the remedy of life, to spiritually waken us up!
• God saves us by grace through faith in Christ (vs 8)
• God saves us by Christ’s merit, not ours (vs 9)
• God saves us by making us a new creation in Christ (vs 10)
• And if that does not cause us to praise him, then nothing will!
Ill:
• Charles Wesley wrote his first hymn just three days after his conversion.
• That hymn was “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.”
• What a testimony to his salvation!
• As the years passed, he is said to have written 6,500 hymns and gospel songs.
• I am not sure if he ever wrote a better one than that!
O for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad
the honours of thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
that bids our sorrows cease;
’tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
he sets the prisoner free;
his blood can make the foulest clean;
his blood availed for me.
He speaks, and listening to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
the humble poor believe.
Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
your loosened tongues employ;
ye blind, behold your saviour come,
and leap, ye lame, for joy.
In Christ, your head, you then shall know,
shall feel your sins forgiven;
anticipate your heaven below,
and own that love is heaven
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=36NWKjiLlMEiqY9SCnE3n885fJs6onqC
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/5V_T1b8z4Q0
