Born to be Wealthy
Pastor Glenn Newton 1-23-05
Ephesians 1:3-14 Read
Planned Giving experts project over the next five years in the US nearly 7 Trillion dollars will be transferred to the next generation. It will be the largest transfer of wealth in the history of America. Many people will get unexpected checks as a part of their inheritance. Now before you get to excited about inheriting money, Remember someone has to normally pass away before you get an inheritance.
If you’re a Christian this morning, you don’t need to feel left out! There isn’t a Christian here who hasn’t been born into great wealth! The apostle Paul says it this way, “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.” Eph. 1:3
By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have become a direct heir of the riches of heaven. An inheritance, the Bible says, “that can never perish, spoil or fade.” 1 Pet. 1:4
No matter what the balance, or lack of balance in your checkbook this morning, you will never be a pauper. Imagine the wealth of every kingdom on earth -- the holdings of the richest rulers -- and it would be on the poverty level in comparison to the riches you already enjoy. Every Christian ought to understand the wealth that is already theirs. Let me give you the Keys to your spiritual safe-deposit box, the riches that you have in Christ. Didn’t think you had a safety deposit box did you? Well, lets look inside and see what’s there.
1. You are rich in your Relationship to God (v.4-5)
You are loved. God has chosen you. He has called you by name. You are His child. You have been born into the family of God. Before the light f the first sunrise, the God of the universe saw you, and loved you, and claimed you as His own.
Most of us know what it’s like to be unwanted to some degree. Whether it was the humiliating experience of being the last person chosen at recess for the game, or the painful rejection of a broken relationship, everyone has had the experience of feeling unloved.
For some of us, that feeling goes very deep. Divorce, rejection by a parent, verbal or physical assaults; these things drive deep wounds into the soul. Those feelings of worthlessness are not isolated in the heart. Often, they show themselves through our behavior. Many believe that the crime and violence in this country is directly related to the feelings of worthlessness that plagues many in our society. Satan surely wants you to feel like your worthless, then he would persuade you to do things that you would not think about doing otherwise.
But the good news for every one who belongs to the Savior is that we are loved. We are chosen by God. We are precious. Repeat after me…. “I Am Loved”. “I Have Been Chosen”. Now believe that with all your heart.
God wants you! You are always the first pick on His team. The one who created you -- the one who knows you better than any human being, the one who knows you even better than you know yourself -- has chosen you. He has made a choice, out of His love for you, to enter into a relationship with you. He wants you for His own.
Love is a powerful object. Knowing that we are loved should make a difference in our lives -- promoting inner peace and tranquility in our souls.
What difference does the riches of God’s love make in our lives? There should be at least two results. First, since you are heir to the riches of His love, you should love yourself. “Low self-esteem” is not just a psychological buzzword. It’s a very real condition for many people. Since others don’t seem to love us, we don’t love ourselves. But God loves you.
Spiritual victory comes to our life when we choose to have a wholesome, positive image of ourselves. You are a person of worth, of dignity, of value. The search for self-esteem ends at the foot of the Cross.
Second, because you are rich in God’s love, you are free to love others. There’s no need to prove your worth against someone else. Jealousy, envy, competition: these things don’t make sense unless we have something to prove. Our Master showed us that the one who is most in touch with God is the one who is most able to sacrifice himself. That’s what He did for us! Because God loves us, we are free to love others. What a rich relationship. Related to God through Faith in His Son. Are you enjoying the riches of your relationship to God?
The Second Key to your Safety deposit Box is this:
2. You are rich in the resource of your redemption. V.7
Let me explain, Not only has God chosen you, He has also redeemed you. We are not the same as we were before. We are changed people because of God’s grace. Amen?
Guilt is a powerful force. Nearly everyone feels guilty at some time because everyone is guilty. The Scripture tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23 But we don’t need that reminder do we? Each of us knows the ways in which we have failed God and others. We are a guilty people.
And each of us has probably tried a different means f coping with guilt. There are many of them. Probably the first defense is self-justification. We simply deny that we are guilty of anything. “Well, nobody’s perfect,” we say. “And it wasn’t that bad. If you saw the circumstances, you’d see that I really had no other option. So really, I’m not guilty of anything because I had no choices.” But self-justification doesn’t work. Forgiveness must come from someone else.
Religion is another remedy for guilt. We do all of the things that seem to be holy. But there never enough. Religion - or, more accurately, religious behavior -- is no cure for the guilty conscience. No rituals bring forgiveness -- only through relationship.
Good Works is another home remedy for the soul. If we’ve done wrong, we figure that doing right will make up for it. No good work, however noble, can make up for the least sin. Forgiveness is simply not something that we can earn, or something we can buy.
But the good news is that we don’t have to buy or earn forgiveness, or make ourselves worthy so that God will forgive us. The incredible blessing that God has given us is this: He has redeemed us! It’s a wonderful, rich gift that God has freely given to us. John 3:16 reminds us of God’s gift. What we could never have done for ourselves, He did for us.
Notice the term that Paul uses here: redemption. That term has a unique meaning. It means to “buy back”. It implies that we were once the property of someone else, but that God has “bought us back.” In Pauls day that word was used in connection with the buying of slaves. It’s a word picture that graphically illustrates what God has done for us: He has set us free from sin.
We are no longer living under the condemnation of guilt. We are free from that judgment. Rom. 8:1-2 tells us about this freedom “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
And there’s more. God has also broken the power of sin in our lives. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Cor. 5:17 We are not the same as we once were. We are free from the power of sin, free to become new people in Christ. The riches of redemption is our Freedom!
That kind of freedom should make a tremendous change in our lives. Of coarse, it’s possible to receive a wonderful gift and not be changed by it at all. Do you remember when Publishing Clearing House started selling magazines and promising a dream home to the winning entry. People all over the country thought it would change their lives, but I was skeptical. On one occasion I said to a friend, “Nobody wins anyway.”
That’s not true, he replied. “ A fellow around here won the sweepstakes a couple of years ago. He took the cash instead of the dream home and became rich overnight. I was curious, “Tell me about it,” I asked.
Well, he used to be very poor. He had a home, but he would often be seen pushing a shoping cart around town. He used to go to the discount store to buy things once in a while.”
“Well, what happened after he won? Did it change his life? “Where is he now?”
“Oh,” he’s still around. He still looks a little sloppy and dirty. In fact, he still pushes his shopping cart around, back and forth to the store…. But now he buys a lot more stuff.”
Becoming rich didn’t change his life at all. Some Christians are like that.
They have received the marvelous blessing of forgiveness. Yet they continue to live like they were in spiritual poverty. They behave as if their lives are worth nothing.
Jesus Christ gave his life to win your redemption; you are a valued person in God’s sight. Live the life of the Rich and Forgiven. Jesus Christ has broken the power of sin in your life. Be free from the wasteful, unproductive behaviors. Like a young person who has put away childish toys, be done with anger, unforgiveness, self-indulgence and pride. Grow beyond those things. Grow into your inheritance as a child of God. Think of yourself as the invaluable person you are to God!
Do you know what your Inheritance is? Redemption. Receive the gift.
The third and final key this morning to your safety deposit box…
3. You are rich in the results of your faith.
Many people are worried about the future. An entire industry has arisen to help people plan their financial security. Financial advisors and retirement planners offer their advice on how to prepare for tomorrow so that you can sleep well tonight. We have great anxiety about the future. But there’s no need for that. As a Christian, your inheritance is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Your future is secure.
We have a sealed promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. What a difference that should make in our lives. Since our inheritance is secure, we can be content with today and at peace with our future. And this gift of security can have direct results on the life of the believer.
First, we can be free from worry. So much energy is spent on worry. We worry about our own security, about our families, about our finances, about the future. But there’s no need. The clear message of Scripture is that God not only loves us, He provides for us. Our future is secure with Him. Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” Matt. 6:25 Because we have a great inheritance, we can be free from worry.
We are free from Greed. Jesus advised us not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth. But it’s tempting. We invest in earthly things in an attempt to control our future. Why bother? God has already promised us a secure future with Him. We have no need to hoard things now. What effect does this inheritance have on the here and now? It means that we are free to be generous, free to give to others, free from the desire for control, free to be content.
We are free from want. There is no guarantee in Scripture that a believer will never experience hardship. Quite the opposite. In fact, the Bible reminds us that suffering can be God’s instrument in our spiritual development.
But because we have a secure future with Christ, we can be free from the want of things that we don’t have.
Like Paul, we can learn the secret of being content in any and every circumstance. Because we trust the Father to provide for us and to protect us, we can be content with who we are, where we are, and what we have.
Are you living like a pauper or a King’s child? What kind of difference would it make in your life, if you understood all that God has given you in Christ? He has chosen you. He has redeemed you. And He has guaranteed your inheritance. Go, then, and live like a wealthy person. Be generous. Be noble. Be courageous. Be Free. Live as if you were born rich…. You have been.
