TELLING SECRETS
Eph 3:1-13
The Duke of Wellington is best remembered as the general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. During his earlier service in India, Wellington was in charge of negotiations. The emissary of an Indian ruler, anxious to know what territories would be ceded to his master, tried in various ways to get the information. Finally, he offered Wellingtron a large sum of money. ¡§Can you keep a secret?¡¨ asked Wellington. ¡§Yes, indeed,¡¨ the man said eagerly. ¡§So can I,¡¨ replied Wellington. Today in the Word, July, 1990, p. 35
The difference between private enterprise and government? The formulas for making Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken are still secrets. How to make a hydrogen bomb is on your newsstand. - Robert Orben, in Reader¡¦s Digest, March, 1980, p. 57.
My dad is not known for his ability to keep a secret. Every Christmas he would give hints until we would guess what our gift would be. I remember one year I had asked for a record player all year. He said ¡§I won¡¦t tell you what your getting for Christmas but it goes round and round and plays music.¡¨
Some secrets should be kept. But the truth of God¡¦s Word is a secret to many and we should do everything we can to tell it.
I. TELL THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO THE WHOLE WORLD. 3:1-6
A) A mystery in the Bible was not something of Hitchcock proportions. It was a truth that had been hidden by God until a specific time when He revealed it to believers.
B) The mystery Paul was talking about was that the Gentiles would be offered a place in the family of God. That they would be offered equal place.
C) There is a mystery or secret to many today.
1. It is not a mystery because God wants it to be. Romans 1:18-20
He reveals it through a natural longing and creation.
He reveals it through believers. Romans 10:13-15
II. TELL THE GOSPEL MESSAGE IN HUMILITY. 3:1; 7-8
A) True humility will bring us to total submission. Paul was a prisoner of Christ.
1) Paul was a prisoner because of Christ¡XBecause he preached the Gospel and was arrested.
2) Paul was a prisoner of Christ in the sense that he was totally surrendered to the will of God. That is what he meant when he said I am a bondservant.
B) Paul says I was made a minister¡XServant, one that carries out the commands of another.
„Y Given by the gift of Grace of God.
„Y This grace was given & I am made a minister by the ¡§effectual working¡¨ or ¡§superhuman power¡¨ of God.
„Y Paul sees being a submissive servant as such a privilege because he focuses not on the hardships of delivering the Word but on the majesty of the one giving the order.
C) What a tremendous privilege¡XGod has chosen me to be the one to deliver this Gospel to the gentiles. We have that same privilege. We have the opportunity to be the first one many times to deliver the Gospel to individuals.
III. TELL THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AS GOD¡¦S PLAN FOR MANKIND. 3:9-11
A) Paul had an opportunity to tell the Gentiles that salvation was not only for the Jews. Every where he established a church it was filled with Jews and Gentiles alike.
B) II Peter 3:9-10 is our message to the world. God does not want any to perish, but judgment is coming.
