"HEY!, YOU’RE RICH!"
TEXT: EPHESIANS CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
MONEY, WE ALL NEED IT -- AND MOST OF US WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE OF IT.... I DON’T THINK THAT MANY HERE WOULD REFUSE TO HAVE A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS ADDED TO THEIR WALLET OR BANK ACCOUNT.
PEOPLE INVEST, START THEIR OWN BUSINESSES, PLAY THE LOTTERY AND SEND IN THOSE LETTERS TO PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE, ALL IN AN EFFORT TO GET MORE MONEY, TO BE RICH....
AGAIN MOST HERE, MYSELF INCLUDED WOULDN’T MIND BEING A LITTLE OR A LOT, RICHER....
TODAY, WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN OUR STUDY OF THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS -- AND WHAT I WANT TO TEACH YOU TODAY IS NOT HOW TO GET RICH, BUT RATHER THAT "IN CHRIST" YOU ALREADY ARE RICH.... MY GOAL IS FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN TO LEAVE HERE TODAY WITH THESE WORDS ON THEIR LIPS... "HEY, I’M RICH!"
BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO OUR TEXT TODAY WE NEED TO DO SOME BACKGROUND WORK...
AS PAUL PENS THIS LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS HE IS IN JAIL... IN A ROMAN PRISON... AND A COUPLE OF BROTHERS FROM NEAR EPHESUS WERE IN ROME VISITING PAUL... THEREFORE PAUL FIGURED IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO WRITE SOME LETTERS SINCE HE NOW HAD SOMEONE WHO COULD DELIVER THEM.. AND WHILE THERE, HE NOT ONLY WROTE A LETTER TO EPHESIANS BUT ALSO TO THE PHILIPPIANS, THE COLOSSIANS AND TO A WEALTHY MAN NAMED PHILEMON...
AND AS PAUL LEANED AGAINST THE COLD DAMP WALLS OF HIS PRISON CELL, AS HE PENNED THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS, HE NO DOUBT MUST HAVE REFLECTED ON HIS OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH HE CHURCH THERE...
PAUL FIRST WENT TO EPHESUS DURING HIS SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY, BUT HE DIDN’T STAY TOO LONG...
EPHESUS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY IN THE ROMAN PROVINCE OF ASIA, IT HAD A POPULATION OF OVER 300,000 -- A LARGE OUTDOOR THEATER THAT SEATED 25,000 PEOPLE... IT WAS LOCATED ON THE EDGE OF A GREAT HARBOR AND IT WAS HOME OF THE GODDESS ARTEMIS (DAUGHTER OF ZEUS/SISTER OF APOLLO).
THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS TOOK 220 YEARS TO BUILD, IT WAS THE LARGEST BUILDING OF THE GREEK WORLD, AND WAS 1 OF THE 7 WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
NOT ONLY WAS THIS TEMPLE A CENTER FOR IDOLATROUS WORSHIP BUT IT ALSO WAS A DEPOSITORY OF GREAT WEALTH. THE BEST PAINTINGS AND STATUES WERE KEPT THERE. THE TEMPLE OWNED LANDS AND CONTROLLED THE FISHERIES.... IT’S PRIESTS WERE THE BANKERS OF IT’S ENORMOUS REVENUES... AND BECAUSE OF THESE ENORMOUS REVENUES PEOPLE THROUGHOUT ASIA STORED THEIR AT THE TEMPLE MONEY FOR SAFE KEEPING. EPHESUS WAS CONSIDERED THE BANKING CENTER OF ASIA AND THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS WAS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD WHAT THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS TO THE U.S. TODAY... ONE WRITER SAID THAT EPHESUS WAS RELIGIOUSLY LIKE ROME AND COMMERCIALLY LIKE NEW YORK CITY.
DURING HIS 3RD MISSIONARY JOURNEY THAT PAUL ONCE AGAIN CAME INTO EPHESUS, THIS TIME STAYING FOR 2-3 YEARS.
AND HE HAD A SUCCESSFUL MINISTRY THERE...
IF YOU WOULD PLEASE TURN IN YOUR BIBLES TO
ACTS CHAPTER 19
AND WE WILL QUICKLY HIGHLIGHT THAT MINISTRY.
ACTS 19:11-20 -- READ
ACTS 19:23FF -- IN THESE VERSE WE SEE A RIOT STARTING BECAUSE OF THE EFFECT THAT PAUL’S MINISTRY IN EPHESUS AND IN ALL OF ASIA WAS HAVING ON ONE OF THE LOCAL TRADES IN EPHESUS. A TRADE THAT MADE REPLICAS OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF ATREMIS FOR HER LOYAL FOLLOWERS TO TAKE HOME WITH THEM AND OUT ON THEIR COFFEE TABLE... YOU SEE, PAUL WAS TELLING THE EPHESIANS THAT MAN-MADE GOD’S ARE NO GOD’S AT ALL... CAUSING MANY PEOPLE TO STOP BUYING THE IDOLS. AFFECTING PEOPLE’S POCKET BOOKS.
ACTS 20:1FF -- PAUL’S STAY IN EPHESUS ENDS WITH A DRAMATIC SCENE ON A BEACH AS PAUL SETS OUT BY SHIP FOR JERUSALEM; BUT BEFORE HE LEAVES HE CALLS THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS TO MET WITH HIM.
HE CHALLENGES THEM TO DO THEIR JOB OF KEEPING WATCH OVER THE FLOCK THAT GOD HAS MADE THEM OVERSEERS. HE TELLS THEN THAT DANGERS AWAIT HIM IN JERUSALEM AND THAT HE WILL PROBABLY NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN... IT WAS AN EMOTIONAL SCENE AS THE GREAT APOSTLE SAYS GOOD BYE TO THOSE HE LOVED AND HAD BROUGHT UP IN CHRIST...
AND PAUL’S LAST MINUTES IN EPHESUS ARE SPENT ON HIS KNEES WITH THESE ELDERS OF GOD’S CHURCH; PRAYING, WEEPING AND EMBRACING EACH OTHER... IT WAS HARD FOR HIM TO LEAVE BUT PAUL KNEW HE HAD TO GO...
WELL, IT’S BEEN TEN YEARS SINCE THAT DRAMATIC MOMENT ON THE BEACH --AND PAUL IS IN A ROMAN PRISON. WRITING TO PEOPLE HE KNEW, LOVED AND HAD A HISTORY WITH. PEOPLE, WHO WERE BEGINNING TO FEEL THE GROWING FLAMES OF THE ROMAN PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS UNDER NERO.
AND PAUL IS WRITING TO TELL THEM THAT THEY (EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY NOT FEEL LIKE IT) THEY ARE RICH "IN CHRIST" AND HE ENCOURAGES THEM TO BOTH REALIZE AND TO USE THIS WEALTH WISELY.
PAUL’S MESSAGE TO THEM AND US IS:
I. YOU’RE RICH!
EPHESIANS 1:1-3
NOW, IF PAUL’S MESSAGE TO HIS BROTHERS IN EPHESUS IS THAT THEY ARE RICH -- (AND AS WE STUDY THIS BOOK YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS IS INDEED THE MAIN MESSAGE) -- WHAT DO YOU THINK THEIR REACTIONS TO THAT MESSAGE, "YOU’RE RICH," WOULD BE?
THEY MAY HAVE LIVED IN A CITY FULL OF WEALTH BUT MOST CHRISTIANS IN THAT DAY DIDN’T HAVE VERY MUCH OF IT).. "YEAH SURE WE’RE RICH PAUL..."
WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THAT STATEMENT -- "YOU’RE RICH!"
MANY TIMES WE DON’T FEEL RICH, DO WE? BE HONEST...
WE COULD USE MORE MONEY, A NICER CAR AND A BIGGER HOUSE. AND LESS ANXIETY ABOUT PAYING THOSE BILLS. A LITTLE MORE BREATHING ROOM EACH MONTH.
IT’S BALL PLAYERS, ACTORS AND THE BILL GATES OF THIS WORLD MAKING MILLIONS EACH YEAR THAT ARE RICH, NOT US...
"PAUL, IF YOU THINK I’M RICH YOU MUST NOT HAVE LOOKED INTO MY WALLET OR BANK ACCOUNT LATELY (NOT MUCH THERE)... IT LOOKS AN AWFUL LOT LIKE POOR OLE’ MOTHERS HUBBARD’S CUPBOARD, EMPTY AND BARE."
IF WE ARE SO RICH HOW COME WE DON’T KNOW IT, FEEL IT OR SEE? IT’S BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING IN ALL OF THE WRONG PLACE FOR OUR RICHES.... LISTEN AGAIN TO 1:3;
"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."
WHERE ARE OUR GREATEST RICHES? IN THE HEAVENLIES
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
IT MEANS THAT THE GREATEST, THAT THE BULK OF OUR RICHES "IN CHRIST" ARE SPIRITUAL, NOT MATERIAL; ETERNAL NOT TEMPORARY.... THAT THEY ARE LOCATED IN THE HEAVENLIES NOT HERE IN THE EARTHLIES...
NOW IT IS TRUE THAT THE LOST AND "SOME" CHRISTIANS ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE "EARTHLIES" -- WHAT THEY HAVE OR DON’T, HAVE IN THE "HERE AND NOW.."
AND YOU KNOW, I FIND IT QUITE INTERESTING THAT MANY WHO CLAIM TO BE SO SPIRITUAL ARE IN REALITY MORE TIED TO EARTHLY BLESSINGS THEN REJOICING OUR HEAVENLY ONES... THEY WANT HEALTH AND WEALTH AND RICHES IN THE HERE AND NOW -- AND DON’T CONSIDER THEIR SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS TO BE THAT BIG OF A DEAL..
AND WHEN OR WHERE DO WE RECEIVE THESE BLESSINGS?
"IN CHRIST." (164 TIMES IN PAUL’S LETTERS)
AND HOW DO WE GET IN CHRIST?
THE BIBLE WAY....
ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE A PERSON WHO:
BELIEVES - REPENTS OF THEIR SINS -- CONFESS JESUS AS LORD
IS THEN IMMERSED INTO CHRIST... (RM 6:3/GAL3:27)
ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD
THE BAPTISM OF A REPENTED BELIEVER IS THE ONLY WAY
TO GET "IN CHRIST"
AND WHEN WE ARE IN CHRIST THE HEAVENLY FATHER BLESSES US WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING THERE IS...
THESE BLESSINGS ARE IN HEAVEN... WHERE MOTH & RUST DO NOT DESTROY AND THIEVES DO NOT BREAK IN AND STEAL....
LIVING IN THIS WORLD IT IS SO EASY TO GET CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT IS REALLY VALUABLE...
THE STORY IS TOLD OF A VERY WEALTHY MAN WHO DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN... AND HE WAS REALLY EXCITED AND GRATEFUL ABOUT BEING THERE... SO GRATEFUL THAT HE WANTED TO GIVE A GIFT TO JESUS TO SHOW HIS APPRECIATION... SO AS HE STOOD BEFORE THE LORD HE HAD A BIG SACK WITH HIM... AND HE SAID, "JESUS I BROUGHT YOU SOMETHING VERY VALUABLE TO GIVE YOU AS A CHRIST... TOT HANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE" THEN THE MAN REACHED INTO HIS BAG AND PULLED A HUGE HUNK OF SOLID GOLD...
JESUS LOOKED AT THE MAN WITH A CONFUSED LOOKED, POINTED DOWN AT THE STREETS OF HEAVEN AND SAID, "YOU BROUGHT PAVEMENT"
EPHESUS WAS A WEALTHY CITY -- MANY OF IT’S CITIZENS HAD FINE HOMES; THEY ATE AND LIVED IN LUXURY.. AND MOST OF THE CHRISTIANS WHO LIVED THERE WERE POOR... THEY ONLY SAW THOSE HOMES FROM A DISTANCE AND ONLY DREAMED OF FEASTING AT TABLES WITH FINE FOOD..
TODAY, EPHESUS IA AN ARCHAEOLOGISTS PARADISE, BUT ALL IT’S WEALTH AND SPLENDOR ARE GONE, COVERED BY YEARS OF TIME AND DUST. THE GRETA HOMES AND WEALTH SO MANY EPHESIANS TOOK PRIDE IN HAS BEEN GONE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS... MERE DUST IN THE WIND..
HOWEVER, THE CHRISTIANS WHO ONCE LIVED IN THAT CITY ARE TODAY IN HEAVEN.. WALKING STREETS OF GOLD, FEASTING AT A HEAVENLY BANQUET, BASKING IN THE LORD’S GLORY...
WHO HAD THE REAL WEALTH....?
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE CARTOON STRIP WITH A POMPOUS LAWYER READING A CLIENTS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT TO A GROUP OF GREEDY RELATIVES, EAGERLY EATING TO HEAR OF THEIR NEW WEALTH. THE CAPTION READS "I JOHN JONES BEING OF SOUND MIND - SPENT IT ALL!"
WHEN JESUS CHRIST WROTE HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT FOR HIS CHURCH, HE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO SHARE IN HIS SPIRITUAL RICHES. INSTEAD OF SENDING IT ALL - HE PAID IT ALL!
AND PAUL IN THE NEXT SEVERAL VERSES OF OUR TEXT GOES ON TO LIST 7 OF THOSE SPIRITUAL RICHES THAT ARE OURS "IN CHRIST.
THESE VERSE ARE A SPIRITUAL STATEMENT
A BLESSINGS PORTFOLIO OF THE CHRISTIAN...
EPH 1:4-14
1. WE ARE CHOSEN (VS 4)
DO YOU REMEMBER THE PICK UP GAMES YOU HAD WHEN YOU WERE A KID... 2 TEAM CAPTAINS STOOD OPPOSITE A LARGE GROUP OF KIDS AND BEGAN CHOOSING PEOPLE. IT WAS AN HONOR TO BE CHOSEN FIRST OR NEAR THE TOP (I’M IMPORTANT STRUT) -- AND IT FELT REAL BAD NOT TO BE PICKED AT THE BOTTOM OR TO NOT BE PICKED AT ALL, TO BE THE LAST ONE STANDING -- WHICH MEANT THAT YOU WERE NOT REALLY CHOSEN -- THE TEAM WAS JUST STUCK WITH YOU...
AND THE REASON YOU WEREN’T CHOSEN IS BECAUSE THE ONES PICKING THE TEAMS DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE VALUABLE ENOUGH TO PICK.
IN THIS LIFE NOT MANY ARE CHOSEN NEAR THE TOP FOR HONOR....
MANY MORE ARE LEFT STANDING ON THE SIDELINES, FEELING LIKE A LOSER.... HOPING THAT SOME DAY THEY WILL BE PICKED TO BE ON SOMEBODY IMPORTANT’S TEAM... THAT SOMEONE WILL THINK THAT THEY ARE WORTH CHOOSING.. "I WANT HIM/HER ON MY TEAM..."
WELL, IN CHRIST ONE OF THE BLESSINGS WE HAVE IS THAT WE ARE CHOSEN. THE ONE TRUE GOD -- THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE -- THE ONE WHO WAS AND IS, AND IS TO COME -- HAS PICKED US TO BE ON HIS TEAM.... WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY THE GREATEST -- TO BE PART OF THE GREATEST TEAM EVER ASSEMBLED.... WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY THE ONE WHO MATTERS MOST.... AND HE SAYS WE ARE VALUABLE... IN CHRIST GOD SAYS I WANT HIM/HER TO BE ON MY TEAM...
THERE ARE NO LOSERS ON GOD’S TEAM, ONLY WINNERS...
TO BE CHOSEN IS ONE OF OUR SPIRITUAL RICHES...
GO AHEAD AND STRUT A LITTLE -- IT IS QUIT AND HONOR.
2. WE ARE HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN HIS SIGHT....
"IN CHRIST" WE ARE HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN GOD’S SIGHT....
NOW AGAIN THIS IS NOT AN EARTHLY BLESSING -- YOU CAN’T PUT IT IN A BAG AND USE FOR A DOWN PAYMENT ON A HOUSE...
BUT IT IS A TREMENDOUS BLESSING/AWESOME BLESSING!....
ESPECIALLY, WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE -- NOT BEING HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN GOD’S SIGHT...
BECAUSE OUR GOD IS HOLY -- HE WILL NOT HAVE ANY UNHOLINESS IN HIS PRESENCE. AND AT THE FINAL JUDGMENT GOD WILL DIVIDE ALL MANKIND INTO 2 GROUPS (MATT 25) MATTHEW CALLS THEM, "SHEEP AND GOATS." THE GOATS ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT IN CHRIST... THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN GOD’S SIGHT... AND THEY WILL BE SENT TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT... THEY WILL BE SENT TO HELL.
AND A HUGE HOUSE AND AN IMPRESSIVE BANK ACCOUNT WILL NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
BUT "IN CHRIST" -- WE HAVE THE BLESSING OF BEING HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN GOD’S SIGHT....
I LOVE THESE VERSES
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
GAL 3:27
3. WE ARE ADOPTED AS HIS CHILDREN
ADOPTION WAS A COMMON ROMAN PRACTICE WHEREBY A CHILD WAS LEGALLY TRANSFERRED FROM ONES FATHER’S POWER TO ANOTHER. AND OFTEN IN THIS ADOPTION A "NOBODY" BECAME A "SOMEBODY" SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE STATUS OF THE ADOPTIVE PARENT...
AN ADOPTED CHILD HAS ALL OF THE SAME RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND PRIVILEGES AS A CHILD NATURALLY BORN... IN LIKE MANNER CHRISTIANS HAVE THE SAME STATUS IN GOD’S SIGHT AS JESUS, NOT DEITY, BUT THEY ARE ELEVATED TO SOMEBODIES...
UNDER THE RULES OF THE "EARTHLIES" NOT EVERY ONE IS A SOMEBODY.... YOU’RE A SOMEBODY ONLY IF YOU CAN SMACK A HOME RUN, THROW A TOUCHDOWN, SLAM DUNK A BASKETBALL, HAVE A DR BEFORE YOUR NAME OR MAKE A 7 FIGURE SALARY... BUT "IN CHRIST" YOU ARE A SOMEBODY...
YOU’RE NOT JUST A KING’S KID -- BUT YOU ARE THE CHILD OF THE KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS..
I JOHN 3:1-3
4. WE HAVE REDEMPTION AND FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS
TO REDEEM MEANS "TO PURCHASE AND SET FREE BY PAYING A PRICE." THERE WERE 60 MILLION SLAVES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND OFTEN THEY WERE BOUGHT AND SOLD LIKE PIECES OF FURNITURE. BUT A MAN COULD IF WANTED TO, PURCHASE A SLAVE AND SET HIM FREE, AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS CHRIST DID FOR US... AND THE PRICE HE PAID WAS HIS OWN BLOOD... THE PRICE TO FREE US FROM OUR SINS WAS SO HIGH THAT SILVER, GOLD AND ALL THIS WORLDS RICHES COULD NEVER PAY IT...
I PETER 1:18,19
5. WE HAVE THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE LAVISHED ON US
HOW SAD IT MUST MAKE OUR GOD WHEN WE MOAN AND GROAN ABOUT SOME MATERIAL THINGS WE DON’T HAVE AND DON’T APPRECIATE THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE THAT HE HAS LAVISHED ON US...
WHAT IS GRACE?
IT IS GOD’S UNMERITED FAVOR....
IT IS GETTING WHAT WE DON’T DESERVE...
WE DON’T DESERVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS AND ACCEPTANCE.
WE DON’T DESERVE TO SPEND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN
WE DON’T DESERVE TO WALK THOSE STREETS OF GOLD NOR TO GATHER
WITH THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS IN JOYFUL ASSEMBLY AROUND HIS THRONE, WE DON’T DESERVE TO BE HIS CHILD, WE DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE FOR ALL ETERNITY IN A WORLD FREE FROM PAIN, DISEASE, HEARTACHE, SORROW AND SIN... BUT "IN CHRIST" GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE.
6. WE ARE IN THE KNOW (9,10)
DON’T YOU HATE BEING SOMEWHERE AND NOT KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. PEOPLE ARE TALKING AND DOING THINGS AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S UP. IT UNCOMFORTABLE TO NOT KNOW WHAT’S GONG ON AROUND YOU...
PAUL IN VERSE 9, 10 TELLS US THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THIS LIFE AND TO THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT WE ARE IN THE KNOW... WE KNOW THE WHOLE STORY -- WHO WE ARE, WHY WE ARE HERE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING...
TO BE IN THE KNOW ABOUT LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IS A GREAT SPIRITUAL BLESSING... DON’T OVER LOOK IT..
THE LAST BLESSING PAUL TALKS ABOUT HERE IS THAT:
7. WE ARE SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED...
EPHESIANS 1:13-14
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE -- WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW RICH YOU ARE -- THERE IS BUT ONE RESPONSE TO MAKE -- THERE IS BUT ONE THING FOR GOD’S PEOPLE -- FOR THOSE IN CHRIST TO DO! PRAISE HIM!!!!
THE MESSAGE OF THE 1ST SEVERAL VERSE OF EPHESIANS IS YOU’RE RICH -- POINT
2. SO WHY THEN ARE YOU LIVING LIKE A PAUPER
HETTY GREEN WAS POSSIBLY AMERICA’S GREATEST MISER. SHE DIED IN 1915, LEAVING AN ESTATE VALUED AT OVER 1 MILLION DOLLARS, BUT ALWAYS ATE COLD OATMEAL BECAUSE IT COST TOO MUCH TO HEAT IT UP. HER SON HAD TO SUFFER THROUGH A LEG AMPUTATION UNNECESSARILY BECAUSE HETTY WASTED SO MUCH TIME LOOKING FOR A FREE CLINIC THAT HE WASN’T EXAMINED EARLY ENOUGH.
HETTY GREEN WAS WEALTHY, BUT SHE CHOSE TO LIVE AS A PAUPER. ECCENTRIC? YES. CRAZY? PERHAPS, BUT NOBODY COULD PROVE IT. SHE WAS SO FOOLISH THAT SHE HASTENED HER OWN DEATH WHEN SHE SUFFERED A STROKE BY BECOMING TOO EXCITED OVER A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE VALUE OF DRINKING SKIMMED MILK.
WE LAUGH AT THE FOOLISHNESS OF THIS ECCENTRIC OLD WOMAN, BUT THE FACT IS THAT THIS IS A TRAGIC ILLUSTRATION OF MANY CHRISTIANS. WE HAVE LIMITLESS WEALTH AT OUR DISPOSAL, AND YET WE OFTEN CHOOSE TO LIVE IN SPIRITUAL POVERTY..
WE HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED TODAY THAT "IN CHRIST" WE ARE RICH. BUT SIMPLY HEARING THIS TRUTH IS NOT ENOUGH, FOR WE MUST GROW IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF OUR RICHES IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO USE THOSE RICHES TO THE GLORY OF GOD. FAR TOO MANY CHRISTIANS HAVE NEVER READ THEIR BANK BOOK TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE VAST SPIRITUAL WEALTH THAT GOD HAS DEPOSITED INTO THEIR ACCOUNT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
THEY ARE LIKE THE LATE NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARTS, WHO INVESTED A FORTUNE COLLECTING ART TREASURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. ONE DAY MR HEARST FOUND A DESCRIPTION OF SOME VALUABLE ITEMS THAT HE FELT HE MUST OWN, SO HE SENT HIS AGENT ABROAD TO FIND THEM. AFTER MONTHS OF SEARCHING, THE AGENT REPORTED THAT EH HAD FINALLY FOUND THE TREASURES. THEY WERE IN MR HEARST OWN WAREHOUSE. HEARST HAD BEEN SEARCHING FRANTICALLY FOR TREASURES HE ALREADY OWNED! HAD HE READ THE CATALOG OF HIS TREASURES, HE WOULD HAVE SAVED HIMSELF A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY AND TROUBLE.
MANY CHRISTIANS ARE JUST LIKE THAT, FRANTICALLY LOOKING IN THE WORLD FOR THINGS THEY ALREADY HAVE "IN CHRIST." (MAYBE YOU ARE ONE OF THEM). THE APOSTLE PAUL MADE THIS A MATTER OF PRAYER -- AND NOTICE THAT IN THIS PRAYER PAUL DOES NOT ASK GOD TO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY DO NOT HAVE, BUT RATHER HE PRAYS THAT GOD WILL HELP REVEAL TO THEM WHAT THEY ALREADY POSSES "IN CHRIST!"
EPHESIANS 1:15-23
IF WE WANT TO REALIZE AND EXPERIENCE THE RICHES THAT WE HAVE "IN CHRIST" -- FIRST THERE ARE
1. 2 ACTIONS WE NEED TO TAKE
WE NEED TO OPEN OUR EYES;
PAUL PRAY’S THAT THE "EYES OF OUR HEART MAY BE ENLIGHTEN OR OPENED" SO THAT WE CAN SEE OUR SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS.
AND THE REASON PAUL PRAYS THIS IS BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ARE UNABLE TO SEE THE THINGS OF GOD....
JESUS WHEN EXPLAINING TO THE DISCIPLES WHY MANY OF THE MULTITUDES WERE UNABLE TO SEE WHO HE WAS QUOTED ISAIAH SAYING, "THOUGH SEEING, THEY DO NOT SEE; THOUGH HEARING THEY DO NOT HEAR OR UNDERSTAND.... YOU WILL BE EVER HEARING BUT NEVER UNDERSTANDING; YOU WILL BE EVER SEEING BUT NEVER PERCEIVING. FOR THIS PEOPLE’S HEARTS HAS BECOME CALLOUSED; THEY HARDLY HEAR WITH THEIR EARS AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYE..."
WHY ARE SOME EYES NOT OPENED TO THE THINGS OF GOD/WHY ARE SOME HEARTS CALLOUSED TOWARDS GOD?
THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS FOUND IN 2 CORINTHIANS 4:4
"THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED, THE MINDS OF UNBELIEVERS, SO THAT THEY CANNOT SEE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST..." YOU SEE, SATAN HAS CONVINCED MANY IN THIS WORLD THAT THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD; RICHES AND PLEASURE ARE OF GREATER VALUE THEN THE THINGS OF GOD.... MANY THINK THEY ARE CHOOSING THE BETTER, WHEN IN REALITY THEY ARE CHOOSING DEATH... IF WE WANT TO OPEN OUR EYES TO THE THINGS OF GOD, WE FIRST MUST CLOSE THEM TO THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD....(ARE YOU WILLING TO DO THAT?)
AND AFTER OUR EYES ARE OPENED WE NEED TO/AND WE NOW CAN
KNOW GOD BETTER....
HOW DO YOU GET TO KNOW GOD BETTER?
WELL, HOW DO YOU GET TO KNOW ANYONE BETTER?
>>> BY SPENDING TIME WITH THEM....
WE GET TO KNOW GOD BETTER, BY SPENDING TIME WITH HIM -- HE WILL ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES...
THROUGH REGULAR & CONSISTENT BIBLE READING AND PRAYER WE WILL GROW IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, & WE WILL GROW IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW GOD WANTS US TO LIVE OUR LIVES.....
ONE GREAT WAY YOU CAN DO THIS IN 96’ IS TO TAKE PART IN THE 260 DAY CHALLENGE -- BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER YOU CAN SPEND 260 DAYS IN GOD’S WORD....
IF YOU HAVEN’T, SIGN UP IN THE BACK TODAY -- LET’S SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON TO GOOD DEEDS!!
2. WHEN YOUR OPEN YOUR EYES -- WHEN YOU KNOW GOD BETTER; 3 RESULTS WILL FOLLOW:
. YOU WILL KNOW THE HOPE TO WHICH HE HAS CALLED YOU...
THE WORD FOR HOPE IN THE BIBLE DOES NOT MEAN HOPE SO; LIKE A CHILD HOPING FOR A NEW BIKE OR DOLL FOR CHRISTMAS -- THE WORD MEANS A SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE.
THE HOPE TO WHICH GOD HAS CALLED YOU IS A POWERFUL HOPE/AN AWESOME HOPE -- IT IS A HOPE THAT CAN KEPT YOU GONG DESPITE LIFE’S OFTEN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES.... IT WAS THIS HOPE THAT KEPT THE GREAT MAN OF THE PAST LIKE: MOSES, ISAIAH, ABRAHAM, DAVID PAUL AND SO MANY OTHERS GOING... AND THE HOPE GOD HAS CALLED US TO IS NOT A DEAD HOPE -- IT IS A LIVING HOPE... 1 PETER 1:3 (PG 857)
THE 2ND RESULT OF OPENING OUR EYES AND KNOWING GOD BETTER IS SO THAT...
YOU WILL KNOW THE RICHES OF HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE
1 PETER 1:4
YOU WILL KNOW THE INCOMPARABLE GREAT POWER FOR US WHO BELIEVE. DO YOU SEE WHAT PAUL IS SAYING HERE?
WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US THE SAME MIGHTY POWER THAT RAISED JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD.... NOW THAT’S POWER! AND IT’S AVAILABLE TO US.
PAUL IN EPHESIANS AND ESPECIALLY CHAPTER ONE, IS TELLING CHRISTIANS THAT THEY ARE RICH IN CHRIST... AND HE IS ALSO WITH MUCH REGRET DECLARING THAT MANY CHRISTIANS DO NOT REALIZE OR COMPREHEND THOSE RICHES AND ARE THEREFORE LIVING LIKE PAUPERS (JUST LIKE HETTY GREEN) WHILE SURROUNDED BY GREAT WEALTH...
WHEN WE REALLY GRASP OUR SPIRITUAL BLESSING "IN CHRIST"
THIS WORDS TAKE ON A POWERFUL MEANING;
I’D RATHER HAVE JESUS THAN SILVER OR GOLD; I’D RATHER BE HIS THAN HAVE RICHES UNTOLD; I’D RATHER HAVE JESUS THAN HOUSES OR LANDS.. I’D RATHER BE LED BY HIS NAILED SCARED HAND.. THAN TO BE A KING OF A VAST DOMAIN OR BE HELD IN SINS DREAD SWAY. I’D RATHER HAVE JESUS THAN ANYTHING THIS WORLD AFFORDS TODAY.
DO YOU HAVE JESUS?
