“Knowing The Hope Of His Calling”
Pastor Gary L. Smith
Text: Eph. 1:15 - 23
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Introduction:
Here the Apostle Paul writing to the Church at Ephesus says; I am praying for you that; “…the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:..”
“I pray that God may give you his Holy Spirit, by whom His will is revealed to men, that he may teach and make you wise unto salvation, that you may continue to acknowledge him, Christ Jesus, as your only Lord and Savior.”
Verse 18 is my main text this morning:
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[A] The oldest manuscripts read "heart."
Translate, "Having the eyes of your heart enlightened"
(1) The heart is the very core of life and it is from our heart that
our thoughts flow.
“Inward Vision”
(2) The eye is symbolic of intelligence.
(3) Why we need the eyes of our heart enlightened by His Word;
Prov 4:23 (KJV) 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life.
We are commanded to guard our heart lest our affections
go astray.
Tim LaHaye says “Ignorance has never been a virtue”
[B] Paul wanted his readers to understand the things of God.
(1) He wanted his readers and all that he preached and testified to,
to know the Hope or “Confidence” of salvation and life after
death.
I. We Can Know What Lies Ahead
[A] I want to take a look at what is waiting for us in Heaven.
1 Peter 1:3-4 (KJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
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[A] “An inheritance incorruptible”
(1) It is called an inheritance because it belongs to the children of
God.
(2) Eternal life cannot be a gift to anyone except the children of
God.
(3) In Heaven, the lot is dealt out according to law: if children, then
heirs; if not children, then not heirs.
[B] Incorruptible -- Our inheritance will never decay, never dissolve,
never fade, never rust, never give way to the
elements.
(1) The splendor and the luster of Heaven will never fade away.
(2) The passing of time means nothing.
(3) There is no sun to bleach away the luster.
(4) Jesus is the light of Heaven, a light that will never go out.
(5) No night fall over there. Darkness represents evil.
(6) No evil over there.
[C] We as Christians have a glorious future ahead of us!
(1) You can know a little about that future by studying the Prophetic
Scriptures.
(2) If you don’t study them for yourself, if you never hear them
preached on or taught on, you will never know for certain.
(3) Being sure of our future helps us hold on today!!
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II. There Will Be A Separation Of The Good From The Evil.
Matt 13:36-43 (KJV)
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
[A] The One Sowing The Seeds Is “The Son Of God.”
[B] The Good Seeds Represent The Righteous.
[C] The Field Is The World.
The good seed is planted in the same field that sometimes grows
weeds.
[D] The tares or weeds are the wicked.
[E] Notice The Difference In Their Futures.
(1) The harvest is going to take place.
(2) During the harvest time the weeds or tares will also be gathered
but will be separated from the righteous and cast into the fire.
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(3) I like what the Bible says next;
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father.
Picture a beautiful field with wheat shinning under the bright
Sun, one that has no weeds mingled in to spoil the picture.
It will be all people who have been cleansed.
It will be all saints who love God with all of their hearts.
They will shine, beautifully, because of their righteousness or
Christ likeness.
Nothing mingled in among them to mar the picture!
[F] While the saints are shinning like the sun, the tares, the children
of the wicked one (Satan), will be separated for all of eternity.
(1) The enemy sowed that seed.
(2) The harvest is the end of the world as we know it now.
(3) The reapers are the angels of God.
[G] We find this in The Revelation
Rev 14:14-20 (KJV)
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over
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fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
(1) This is a picture of the final judgment
(2) Notice that there are actually two different harvest taking place
here.
1st the harvest of God’s people
2nd the harvest of the wicked
(3) John said the one who harvested the good seed appeared to be
The Son of God, for he was crowned with a golden crown.
“Royalty”
He was riding on a cloud.
(4) In the second harvest it appears that this group never has the
Opportunity to see the Son of God.
One Angel had the sickle and another angel controlled the fire.
The angel with the sickle swung his sickle and gathered the
grapes from over the earth.
Grapes -- symbolic of the wicked, those who have rejected
Christ as Savior.
They are cast into God’s Winepress.
Winepress -- Symbolic of God’s Wrath crushing the haulty
and prideful spirits of the wicked.
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The blood flows out -- pictures the horrifying act of God’s
Judgment upon the wicked.
[H] No one can overpower that angelic army that comes to gather in
the final harvest.
(1) The nations and rulers of nations will all be gathered up.
(2) It will be the end of this age.
(3) No wonder Satan is referred to as the enemy.
The nations that forget God
The tares -- Satan’s Children
All things that offend God & His followers
The branches that bare no fruit and have been cut off the vine
They will all be cast into the “Lake Of Fire”
Hell, Second Death
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Not death, but eternal and bitter remorse & pain.
[I] Now Contrast this with what is going on with the righteous.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
(1) The Righteous will take over the Kingdoms of the World.
(2) The World will be rebuilt by God and put back in a state
of perfection.
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(3) We will shine in righteousness and inherit all things.
The new earth will have No grave yards
No prisons
No Battle grounds
No Land Fills
No Oil Spills
No Posted Signs
III. When Will All Of This take Place?
[A] It is impossible for anyone to predict exactly when Christ will
return.
(1) Anyone who does go around making those predictions is a false
prophet.
(2) Know one knows that date, not even the Son of God.
[B] But God did say that we could know and should know the signs of
His coming.
(1) The prophetical signs of our times indicates that His return
could be soon!
(2) NOT ONE OF US KNOW WHEN WE WILL DIE.
(3) Know this: There will be some who will die and suddenly
discover that it’s too late to receive Christ and
be saved from eternal punishment in the Lake Of
Fire.
There is no such place as purgatory. It is never mentioned in
all of scripture.
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No one can pray you in after you die.
This is an individual matter and you alone must make your choice!
Tim LaHaye “Bible Prophecy promotes an Evangelistic Church that is
Genuine & Passionate for the lost.”
[C] When we realize that such sever judgment could come at anytime
we are more motivated to share the Gospel.
[D] We are more motivated to live a life of personal purity.
1 John 3:3 (KJV)
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Titus 2:11-12 (KJV)
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
(1) The Grace Of God teaches us that we must deny all ungodliness &
worldly lust.
(2) We must live Soberly
Righteously
Godly In This Present World.
[E] We are to live like people who are awaiting “That Blessed Hope”
“The Glorious Appearing of The Great God and Our Savior Jesus Christ”
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Closing:
Will you be ashamed when Jesus returns?
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What have you been doing for God?
How much time have you been contributing to Kingdom Work?
How have you been treating those around you?
What have you contributed to His Church?
Are you doing what you know you should be doing?
If Not Who Did Hinder You That You Should Not Obey?
