We’re Blessed
GNLCC 3/9/2003 Psalm 1:1-6 Ephesians 1:3-10
Special Thanks To John Stevenso For His Help In Preparing This Message Through His Sermon.
There was a family in which the mother and the father played favorites with their children. The children were twins, but the father liked the son born first the best, but the mother she really liked the younger son. Let’s call them Ahmad and Rashad. Ahmad the, oldest twin grew up with muscles, and a very hairy body. Ahmad loved to hunt, and work out in the fields.
You could tell when he walked into the room, because there was an odor that he always brought with him. Ahmad and his father loved each other tremendously. His father loved the meat that his son would bring back from the hunt.
The younger twin Rashad, was more into music, painting, and art. He never had the body of his twin brother. He grew very little hair on his arms and neck and his skin was very smooth. He enjoyed being around his mother, and they had a great relationship with each other. The years passed, and the two guys became adults.
Their father went blind, and wanted to do something special for his oldest son, Ahmad. He said, “ now Ahmad, you know I can’t see any longer, but I sure still enjoy eating. I want you to go out and hunt me some meat, come back and cook it for me, and when you get back I’m going to give you something.”Ahmad was thrilled and went out hunting.
Now the mother heard what her husband had told Ahmad, but she wanted Rahsad to get what the father was going to give Ahmad. So she told Ahmad, “look I’ve got a plan. I want you to go and pretend you are your brother. Your father is blind so we can pull this trick off. First of all wrap some goat skin with the hair on it on your arms, your hands, and your neck.
Get one of your brothers smelly shirts and jackets and put it on you. Then take this food that I’ve cooked just like your father likes it, and give it to him and say, you’re ready to receive what he promise.”
Rashad was scared to do it, because his voice was not like his brother’s, but he went ahead and tried it. His father didn’t trust his voice, so he told him to come closer. When he felt the goat skin hair, and smelled the shirt and the coat, he said, this must be Ahmad, and he mistakenly gave what he had to Rashad.
What was it that the father had to give Ahmad, that his wife and son conspired against him to trick him out of it. Was it power? Was it money?, Was it land? Was it the family’s Lexus? Now you may know this story in the bible as involving Isaac, Rebekkah, Esau and Jacob.
The thing they wanted to get out of this elderly blind man was “a blessing.” They wanted to hear the words, “May the Lord do such and such for you. May the Lord bless you.” Today we use the word bless or blessed so easily that we can forget the real meaning of it.
Today we sang Blessed Be The Lord God Almighty, Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty, Blessed Be The Rock Of My Salvation, and we will end with Count Your Many Blessings. But who are we talking to when we say “bless the Lord and what do we mean.”
What do we mean when we say to someone , “the Lord bless you”? Is it just a Christian way to goodbye "; are we using it as a sort of prayer that the Lord will do good things for the person? Have you thought about just what is it that you are expecting, or hoping that the Lord will do?
Or, when we "count our blessings," what are we counting? Is it our health, our money, our parents, our children, our church, our spouse, or our situation. If we lose some of these things, are we will still blessed?
But then what about the unpleasant things in our lives? Are they blessings? Do we think of trials and tribulations or testing as blessings? If the Lord allows the testing of our faith, is that a blessing? If the Lord allows a situation into our lives that is very painful, but uses it for His glory months or years later, is that a blessing? If God says no to our prayer request, “is that a blessing.”
The word "bless" in translated from the Greek term eulogetos. It is a compound word, made up from joining two words together.(1) Eu is the word "good." (2) Lego is the verb, "to speak."
The resulting compound means "to speak good toward someone." Today we are going to look at our New Testament reading Ephesians 1:3-6. We find that the Apostle is good to speak good toward and of the Lord. He is going to praise the Lord and exalt His goodness and His power and His grace. When we say, “I will bless the Lord at all times,” what we are declaring is “I will speak good of God where ever I find myself, whatever the circumstances, regardless of who might be with me.”
One key insight from this passage in Ephesians, is that when we come to church, not only should we come seeking a blessing, we should come with the specific intent of blessing God. We have testimonies because when they are done right, they bless God. When someone asks you, “what do you do on Sundays, instead of telling them you go to church, tell them, “I go and bless God.” That can lead to an interesting discussion.
Now when someone asks you the questions, “Why do you serve the Lord? or Why do you seek to obey His command, or Why are you foolish enough to pay tithes,” I want you to refer back to this passage in Ephesians and you will discover at least four good reason you can give. Today though we are only going to look at two of them.
Let’s read in unison from your sermon outline, Ephesians 1 verses 3:6 in the New American Standard Version which is the most literal translation of the passage.
Ephes. 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
The first reason we do what we do for God is that our God has blessed us completely. The verse declares “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Do you see how loving and generous God is toward us. The passage does not say, God gave us one or two or at the most three spiritual blessings. It says God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
. This is not praying that we might one day be blessed spiritually, this passage is saying, we are blessed spiritually in Christ. Every spiritual blessing in heaven is available to us. The good news also is that sense they are in the heavenly places, nothing anybody does on earth can take them away from us.
What are some of the spiritual blessings we have received. First there is the gift of God’s eternal salvation. We are not saved just for the day. We are saved for all eternity. When we come to Christ, we no longer need to wake up scared of what might happen to us this day. Why? Because Jesus has promised us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
That means if bad news is coming for us today, He’s waiting with us. It means, if we really screw up and fall into sin, He’s waiting to help us get back on track. It means if death is going to snatch us today, He’ll be there to take us to the place He has prepared for us. We do not have to live in fear of hearing God say at the judgment “depart from me because you do not measure up to my standard.”
We are in Jesus, and if we are in Jesus, that’s the only standard God requires and the only standard that will get us in. Whether we know it or not, we are blessed.
Another spiritual blessing is the grace of God. God’s grace is God’s generous and loving positive attitude that we do not deserve and cannot earn. Have you ever had somebody do something nice for you, that you know you didn’t deserve it, they just did it.
I remember as a little boy, we were going to Ga from New York for Christmas in an old gray beat up station wagon. It was about 9:00pm that evening. While my cousin Stevie and I were sleep in the back somebody crashed into the back of our car. We were somewhere in either Virginia or North Carolina.
A couple stopped, and took all 8 of us into their home and fed us. They did not know us from anybody, but they showered us with grace until our car was repaired.
God’s grace is likewise poured into our lives. We may think we cannot hold out any longer because our patience is gone and our nerves are worn thin , but God’s grace comes in at just the right moment. We make it through the situation, and do so in a way that God is pleased.
We may feel as though some temptation is too much for us to handle. We are right at the point of giving in, but God’s grace comes and provides a door of escape. How many of you today know that you came so close to making a major mistake with your life, but God’s grace saved you out of it just in the nick of time. You might have thought it was you who did it, but I’m telling you God did it. We are blessed people.
When it says God bless blessed us it literally means God has spoken well of us, God has called us to benefit or God has God called us to prosper. We are blessed today whether we appreciate it or not. We do not need to pray for more grace or for more mercy.
We need to pray “God how do I put into action the grace and mercy you have already made available to me in this particular situation.” As we wait on God, the Spirit begins telling us, now here’s the attitude I want you to adopt first. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
The mind that was in Jesus Christ was a mind which humbled itself and willingly endured suffering in order to be obedient to God. Whenever we choose to adopt the mind of Christ, we and somebody else is about to be blessed in that situation.
A second reason that we do what we do for God is that God chose us to be holy and blameless. One of the most backward phrases we often used as Christians is “when I found the Lord.” It is as though we chose to go after the Lord.
Has anyone here ever lost some money. Can you imagine yourself looking for that money because you know you need it. There you are tearing up the house, looking under every pillow, going through every pair pants , purse, or coat pocket and then finding the money . What would you say if the money screamed out loud, “thank God I finally found you.” You’d say “what do you mean, you found me. If I had not of gone through all that I did tearing this house inside out, you would still be lost.”
It’s interesting to see, when it was that God chose us. You might think, if you’ve been saved 7 years God found you 7 years ago or if saved 20 years, God found you 20 years ago. But that would not be biblical. The Bible says there in verse 4 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” God chose us before even our mother and father were born. He chose us when we were just a thought in His mind, long before God created the world, even before we had a chance to impress Him with how good we are.
He chose us long before that big sin that we did or that terrible thing that happened to us when somebody sexually abused us. He chose us knowing it would happen, but He still made up His mind to hang on to us with His love.
After we were born, His Spirit went searching for us following behind us, determined to bring us home. Sometimes pushing us this way, other times pushing us that way. We didn’t even know why we made some of the decisions that we did, but all the time God was maneuvering us in such way that we thought we had found the love of God, when in reality it had been pursing us the whole time and finally had caught up with us.
In one of the testimonies shared from last week as Pastor Toby and I were in bed reading through them, we came across one from Kacie Armstrong. When Alan and Kacie were dating. Neither of them were serving God. But Alan had a kid in the Headstart program. They were not going to anybody’s church and God was not high on their agenda. But they needed a minister for their wedding.
Alan had met Pastor Toby while picking up his kid. He told Kacie, I know the perfect pastor to do our wedding. She wrote, little did he know that one little decision about a pastor he didn’t really know would forever shape their marriage and their lives. You see it was God going after them, before they even knew it. Why, because from the foundation of the world, He had said, they are mine. We are blessed people. The longer we are saved, the further we can look back in our lives and see how God was shaping us to be called into His Kingdom.
Now when God chose us, God had a particular purpose in mind. He chose us to be holy and to be blameless in his sight. Now the moment some of us here that God has called us to be holy, we start thinking of being real religious and not making any mistakes, and trying to be perfect.
If being holy to you means a list of things you can’t do, then you have missed the point of why God called you. If all God wanted was perfect holy individuals, God would not have wasted His time calling any of us. I have yet to meet a believer who was perfect.
The Greek words for "holy" and "sanctified" and "saint" are all taken from the same root word. The word is hagios. Usually we think of the word "holy" as being equal to having no sin. It sometimes carries that idea, but there is more to holiness than not having done anything wrong. Holy describes one who has been set apart for a special purpose. That which is holy is separate, distinct, different and special. Tell your neighbor, “God called you to be special.” “Step up to the challenge.”
The utensils in the temple in the Old Testament were considered to be holy. They were set apart in a special way and for a special usage. They were no longer to be used for ordinary things. They were now to be extraordinary. It was an insult to the honor of God, to use holy utensils in an ordinary manner. You were not to eat out of gold bowl that had been declared holy. That bowl could now only be used in a specific manner.
Just like God said, use that bowl in this way because it is holy, God says we are to be used in a certain manner, because He has set us apart to be used by Him. We do what we do, because God chose us to do it. In setting us apart, God makes it clear that He expects something differently out of us. For after all, He has equipped us with all spiritual blessings.
We’re seeking to live holy lives, not for me to brag about how much better I am than you are in my lifestyle or to compare ourselves to those outside the church. We do it so that we can be prepared to be used by God in whatever situation God wants to use us, be it on the job, at work or at school.
For instance suppose God wants to use you to speak to a group of teenagers about the value of keeping yourself pure before God in relationships with members of the opposite sex, but you’ve moved in with your boyfriend or your girlfriend. You’re not equipped to be used by God in the manner He had chosen. Some person who needs that message may end up with AIDS because you were not prepared to be sent by God with the truth.
Or what if the Lord wants you to tell people about the attitude of Christ and how it works in a believer’s life, but you’ve got the reputation on your job or at school of just having a bad attitude all the time. Well even though God set you apart for His work, you’re not prepared for the task. The moment you start speaking, people would say “you’re the last person that needs to be talking to anybody about attitude problems. Check yourself first.”
God called us to be blameless. We live in a world when everybody is seeking to put the finger of blame on somebody else for the mistakes they make. If they can’t find a person to blame, then they blame a sickness, or disease, or mental state at the time. Can you imagine having broken your mother’s most prized plate and know that you were in big trouble?
Can you then imagine your mother seeing it and saying who is going to be punished for this and while you’re shaking in your pants, your brother or sister opens his or her mouth and says, “I should receive the punishment for the broken plate.” At that moment, you become blameless in your mother’s eyes.
When God called us, God knew all about our mistakes and our failures that we have made and will yet make. Now God is holy and righteous, so God cannot simply say at the judgment, “oh well. no big deal. Nobody’s perfect. No God is going to require us to give an account for the wrong we have done.” At that moment when God says here is your punishment, Jesus steps forward and says, “I’m responsible for paying whatever debt he owes. I’m the one who is to suffer.”
Now God is not limited to time. God can see the past, the present, and the future all at once. We are blessed because of this ability of God. So when we sin, God does not get all angry with us and get ready to throw us out. At the moment we have sinned, God can also see us standing at the judgment and hearing Christ say, “I’m responsible for whatever debt he owes. I’m going to pay it.”
So because God sees Jesus standing up for us, God continues to see us as blameless in His sight. It’s not that God is blind or lenient to what we have done, but because God sees all knows all that God can continue to declare us blameless even though we know we have blown it. This is why God is so quick to grant us His forgiveness.
Some of us might try to do good things to get back on God’s good side, but that’s not what makes us in right standing with God. It is us standing in Jesus Christ that allows God to say, “Satan, I’m not listening to anything you have to say about this one, this one is holy and blameless in my sight.”
Satan starts, “but God didn’t you see what I tricked her into doing? Let me tell you again what he was doing Saturday night, and how I got him to go against your word.” God says, “what I see is that He or She is in Christ, and in Christ they are blameless in my sight because the penalty has already been paid. I will not charge anybody payment for a debt that my son Jesus Christ has already paid in full.” Now that’s a blessing.
Saints it is a blessing to know Jesus Christ. When we share in the Lord’s supper today, recognize that a price was paid for you and me to be in right standing with God today. Jesus put it this way, “this is my body which was broken for you. Take and eat of it remembering me. This is my blood which was shed for you. As often as you drink it, remember me.
Join Us For The Concert
This Afternoon At 5pm
In Memory Of Lucille McHam
To Establish A Scholarship For Young People Interested In Music!
Remember,
No Life-Sharing & Pioneers This Week. All Pioneer Teachers, Please Take Your Lessons With You After Church Today
House For Sale
Pastor Rick & Pastor Toby Are Selling Their Home. There are 13 large rooms, including 6 large bedrooms, 3 ½ bathrooms. The home is carpeted throughout with plenty of natural wood in the . dining room. The home is located at 12806 Forest Hill Avenue East Cleveland. The asking price is $85,000. At today’s rate of 5.9% with 3% down of $2550, that would be a monthly payment of $490 plus taxes of $140 per month for a total payment of $630.00. If interested, give the pastors a call at 216-798-2712 or 231-6133.
Sermon Outline Pastor Rick 3/9/2003 GNLCC
Psalms 1:1-6 Ephesians 1:3-10 Text Ephesians 1:3-4
A. A Family That Played Favorites Between The Twins
1. Meet Dad, Mom, Ahmad, And Rashad
2. Dad & Ahmad Mom & Rashad
3. Ahmad-Outdoor Rashad- The Arts
4. The Mission For Meat—The Deception
5. Why The Trick
6. May The Lord Bless You, May The Lord…
B. What Do We Do When We Bless
1. Today’s Chorus Of Praises
2. The Lord Bless You?? What’s Being Counted
3. Is It A Blessing Or Is It Not Good-Bad
4. Eulogetos---Eu—good Lego—To Speak
5. I Will Bless The Lord At All Times Means
6. We Come To Bless & To Be Blessed On Sundays
7. Why Do You Serve The Lord—What’s The Deal
Ephes. 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
C. First Reason—God Has Blessed Us Completely
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
1. Seeing The Mercy And Generosity Of Our God
2. Not Somewhere Tomorrow But Now,
& God 3. Gift Of Eternal Salvation
4. Saved For All Eternity
5. What About Fear, Problems, Death
6. Jesus- I Will Never Leave Nor Forsake You
7. Screwing Up, Judgment Day, The Word
D. The Blessing Of God’s Grace
1 Not Deserved-Just There For The Giving
2.An Accident At Christmas & Grace
3. Can’t Go On, Temptation To Great
4. Bless—To Benefit Or To Prosper
5. No Need For Prayer For More—Receive
6. The Mind Of Christ—Humble—Obedient
E. God’s Call To Be Holy & Blameless
1. Nobody Has Found The Lord
2. Tearing Up The House Looking For Money
3. I Found You—You Did What?
4. When Did God Do It? 7 Years, 20 Years
4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5. Long Before The World Began
6. Before The Big Sin—Before The Tragedy
7. God Still Chose To Choose Us
8. Love That Will Not Let Go.
9. The Holy Spirit On A Mission To Get Us
10. Alan & Kacie Armstrong—Before Marriage
F. God Always Has A Purpose
1. Holy—Sanctified—Saint---Word Hagios
2. Holy Equal To No Sin—Yes & No
3. Holy—Separate, Distinct, Different, Special
4. Utensils IN Temple –Holy The Holy Bowl
5. God Declares Us Set Apart—His Plan
6. Reason For Living Holy—Not To Brag
7. God Wants Us To Be Prepared For The Mission
8. Address Purity In Relationships –Attitudes
9. Check Yourself First
G. God Calls Us To Be Blameless
1. The Eagerness To Blame Others
2. Nobody There—Blame The Condition
3. You Broke It—But Your Brother Takes The Blame
4. What Happens At The Judgment When We Speak
5. God Won’t Say “Oh Whatever” About Our Sin
6. Jesus Steps Forward And Offers Relief
7. Jesus—Put It On My Account
H. God Is Not Limited By Time & Space
1. The Past, The Present, The Future
2. God Sees Our Sin—Our Judgment- Our Savior
3. We Are Constantly Seen As Blameless
4. God Is Not Blind Nor Lenient
5. Attempting To Pay For What’s Been Paid
6. Satan Wants To Prove His Point
7. Let Me Tell You What He/She Did
8. God Refuses To Listen
9. Satan Tries Again
10. I See Them Only In My Son Jesus Christ
11. No Need To Pay A Debt A Second Time
12. A Blessing To Know Jesus Christ
Special Thanks To Rev. John Livingston for some of his research in the preparation of this sermon.
