As Found in Eph 1

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace,

Eph 1:3-6b

WE ARE BLESSED: AN INTRODUCTION

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:3

Paul begins a discourse of doctrines by beginning to thank God for his blessings, namely all spiritual blessings. The doctrine of election, which is the first part of his discourse and the focus of our study, is part of that, God’s blessings on his children. It magnifies the sovereign will of God and the depravity of man. It should comfort us and encourage us that a self-sufficient God save sinners, unworthy as they are. It should also humble us, for it was nothing that we deserved, or earned. It was nothing that we could do or would have done. It was totally God and him that deserve all our worship and praise for it. Let us look further at what God has revealed about this blessings focusing namely on it’s relation to his election.

The Disposition of God’s Blessings

God has blessed us “with all spiritual blessings” describes the disposition or nature of our blessings. It stands in stark contrast to the typical notion blessings, that of the material or the physical character. We need to thank God not only what he has done for us physically and materially but also what he does for us spiritually. We get it backwards most of the time, but we need to major on the spiritual and minor on the others. Paul said all, which we can understand as every sort of or every kind of. There is no need in our spiritual life that God cannot meet. There is no want that God cannot fill. There is no lack God cannot supply. He has given us every spiritual benefit. Moreover, the entirety of the Godhead had blessed us. It was the Father that selected us, the Son that saved us, and the Holy Ghost that secures us.

The Department of God’s Blessings

Next, we see the realm of these blessings that they are “in heavenly places”, and to understand this more fully we would have to look at how Paul uses this phrase. It is found only in this epistle and only 5 times (1:3,20,2:6,3:10,6:12). It has to do with the idea that we are “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Eph 2:6). We may not be physically in heaven, but spiritually we are already there. We are citizens of heaven, we may live in this world but it is not our home.

The Derivation of God’s Blessings

All our blessings are “in Christ”, and are from our relationship in him. He contains them all and they all come from him. Notice in the first fourteen verses how many times the thought of “in Christ” or “in Him” occurs. It is only due to Christ that we are blessed. We are not blessed in ourselves, but we are blessed in him in spite of ourselves. All we are and have should be tied up “in him.” Christ is the source of blessings. It is this thought of our blessing and union with Christ that leads Paul on to reveal that we are elected, redeemed, and secure.

THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION: WE ARE CHOSEN

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Eph 1:4-6a

The Details of Election

Election is God’s divine and sovereign choice of individuals to salvation. That is what Paul is saying here when he says, “he hath chosen us”. It is “in Christ”. Election took place in eternity past, “before the foundation of the world”. It intention is for us to be consecrated, or “holy and without blame”.

Person of our Election – It’s Author

Christ Jesus is the Head of our Election. It is in Christ that we are elected and it is our election that we are in Christ. We are “chosen in him”. We are elected into him. We were in ourselves but now we are called out of ourselves by the Grace of God and called in to Christ. In ourselves, we were wicked and depraved in darkness and sin. In ourselves we had no desire for God or the things of God. But now we are in Him. Now we have his righteousness. Now we have his desire for God and the things of God. Notice also the,

Place of our Election – It’s Advent

Our Election was established “before the foundations of the world”. It happened before the sin was conceived, before man, before Christ, and before the gospel. God doesn’t just to things by chance. Things didn’t just end up this way by happenstance, but God is his infinite wisdom and foreknowledge saw what would be needed and made provisions.

Purpose of our Election – It’s Aim

We were chosen that we “should be holy and without blame before him in love”. “Holy” conveys the thought of being different and being separate. We should be different from other men, and we should be separate. “Without blame” refers to the sacrificial animals that were without blemish or defect. We are called to live a spotless life. Since the aim of election is us being holy and without blame it is not the cause of it. For it is not in anything God saw in us that we are elected, but that he might make us holy who were before sinners.

The Design of Election

Now Paul focuses on God’s basis in our election, “Having predestinated us”. First it is the God wanted a people for himself. Secondly that God is pleased to do his will. And thirdly, that God’s grace is glorified in it.

People for himself – His Assembly

God desires to bring sinners into a relationship with himself through Christ. This is the idea of “unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself”. Adoption implies a legal relationship.

Pleasure of his will – His Authority

Election is “according to the good pleasure of his will” or his own benevolent sovereignty. It is wrapped up in the character of God. What he did, he did because it seemed good and right for him to do.

Praise of his grace – His Attribute

And he did it “to the praise of the glory of his grace”. When we look into election, we can’t help but marvel at his grace. Election so magnificently manifests his grace that it is praised and extolled. We should celebrate his electing-grace.

What is Total Depravity

John Piper defines it as, “man’s natural condition apart from any grace exerted by God to restrain or transform man.” J. William Kanoy said, “Depravity does not mean that a man is as bad as he can be, but that a man is as bad off (spiritually) as he can be (dead). Depravity is the description of our nature and it effects on our lives. To fully understand Depravity one must study the Doctrine of “Original Sin.” Summed up it is the teaching that the Adam acted as our covenant head, when he sinned we sinned in him, therefore we inherit his guilt and it’s consequences. With that in view we realize that we are born depraved that we are so “by nature”. It was also universal, meaning all are depraved.

Why should I study it?

This doctrine’s importance cannot be overstated. We will never be able to appreciate so great a salvation until we understand depravity. We will never realize our need for redemption until we see our total lost-ness. We will never see the depths of God’s love for us until we realize how wicked we were. We will never understand the workings of life until we realize that all men are evil. We will never be zealous in sound evangelism until we come to the understanding of this vital doctrine.

Moreover, when we fully realize these things we will see our devotion grow. It will drive us to worship when we see what Christ did for us as unworthy as we were. It will help us to be humble and give us zeal to witness to others. The knowledge of depravity will help our understanding and rightly dividing of the Scriptures.

Disclaimer: This is written to the Christian. If you are not saved, you are still in this condition and need to seek God now for your salvation.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others

Eph 2:1-3:

Our Condition Was Dead

Paul here calls us “dead.” He did not say that we are dying. He said dead. Completely, utterly, without any life, we were dead. Martyn Lloyd-Jones phrased it like this, “Life for the non-Christian is a living death.” What is man without Christ and his power? DEAD. The word has the idea of a corpse. Man is spiritually dead.

What is this thing of spiritual death? It is the opposite of spiritual life. Spiritual death is separation from God. Death in this sense is to not know God. It is to have no fellowship with him. If life is “that they might know thee, the only one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent,” (John 17:3) death then is the contrary.

There is no knowledge of God in death. We could not understand the things of God. We had no grasp of spiritual truth. Nor do we have a desire for them. Our separation in death means that we were without anything that makes life worth living. We had no love for God in death. We had no ability in death. We were totally reprobates without any means in which to instill life into ourselves. We were corrupting in death. We were decomposing, and growing to be worse than we were. In summary, A. W. Pink powerfully stated, “Natural death divests man of all those characteristics which are proper to him as a man; but spiritual death makes him worse, without any comeliness in the sight of God, and a stench in His nostrils.” We were dead.

We have seen that our condition was dead. Now let us notice:

Our Condition Was Dominated

Our death brought us under dominion. We were controlled not by the Spirit of God but the spirit of the world. We were not serving the Lord of Lord and Kings of Kings, but the prince of the power of the air. We were not walking on the narrow way, namely the way of Christ, but we walked according to the broad way, the course of the world.

Verse One expresses our Death while verse two expresses our domination. The word walked means to conduct one’s self and order one’s behavior. It signifies the whole of the activities of life. “According to” adds the thought of being by. We ordered our behavior as controlled by external influences. We put ourselves under theses influences.

First notice that:

We Were Dominated By The World’s System

The “course of the world” is view and frame of mind of this present world. Trench states on the use of the word “course” that it is “all that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which is impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power…” It is the urrent philosophy of the world. The course is its system. The word kosmos in Greek / world in English is used in several different ways always discernable by it’s context, in this passage it refers to man living in alienation from God. It is his outlook and his attitude apart from God.

The whole of anything cannot be any superior to its parts.

If the parts are evil, the whole is evil. The nature of those who make up the world determines the course of the world. The course of this world is what other people think or say or do. We were controlled by the opinions of others. We were dominated by the fashions of this world, with the desire to fit in, to be part of the group. We were controlled by conformity. What the world said, we echoed. What the world did, we mimicked.

Not only were we controlled by the world’s system but also because of its influence of the world’s system:

We Were Dominated By The World’s Sovereign

The “prince of the power of the air” controls the world system and he controls us thereby. He orders the things of the world, and continues to mold it and shape it contrary to the delight of God. Satan is the God of this world. He is the one setting up false religions, dictating false viewpoints, and working accord to his evil ways. It is him that is so subtle and so sneaky that most people are unknowingly moved. They think that they are in total control of their self and don’t realize that Satan is dominating their thoughts, and deeds. He is in control of the powers of evil. More over His is in control of “the spirit which now worketh in the children of disobedience”.

We are dominated by the world’s system, by the world’s sovereign, and by:

We Were Dominated By The World’s Spirit

There is an evil principle that in working in this world. It is this principle, this power that which we were controlled by. Satan is its prince. It is operative, and effectual as expressed in that word “worketh”. In some places it is even translated effectual and mighty in some places. And it is by that which is active in the “Children of Disobedience”.

Not only are condition was dead and our condition was dominated, but we see also:

Our Condition Was Disobedient

“Children of Disobedience” is an idiom. It falls along the same lines of “Sons of Belial”. It refers to the nature as that of disobedience. We were in total rebellion to God and everything we did was against God. It is a common falsehood that men without grace in their natural state seek God genuinely. They may call on him in a pinch, but they don’t seek him as he is. Even outward compliance is not true righteousness. It is not done in submission to His authority and reliance on Him.

We see our disobedience in two areas. First notice that:

We Were Disobedient In Our Actions

We were “in trespasses and sins”. These were our actions, which were disobedient. Our very deeds were evil and wicked.

“Trespasses” is the idea of trespassing. If we were to walk through the woods we might come across a sign that says “NO TRESSPASSING.” If we moved into the area marked off as off limits we’d be in violation of the law, and we’d be worthy of punishment. God set up boundaries and we marched right past them in open defiance and disobedience.

“Sins” comes from the thought of a Greek spearman when he missed the target at which he aimed at. It carries the idea of failing in one’s purpose and to miss the mark. Even if we try to living pleasing to God we will always fall short; we will always miss the mark.

Our actions are disobedient, and:

We Were Disobedient In Our Attitudes

Without the right attitudes we will never have the right actions. Our actions express our attitude. We are told that our mode of living, tenor of life, or our “conversation” was “in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind”. We lived not to please God, but to please ourselves. The lusts of the flesh are seen in two areas, “the desires of the flesh” and “the desires of the mind”. It is these in these area’s we see the inward principle that is articulated in our actions.

What is a desire in contrast to a lust? The lust of the flesh is it’s strong, ungodly cravings while the desire carries the idea of a command. Desire has the idea of a will. It has the idea of an urging to action, the driving force to action.

We see that we fulfilled the “desires of the flesh”, such as hunger, thirst, pleasure, contentment, sleep, sex, happiness, etc. These in themselves are healthy and good, but what is expressed here is that they have taken control and we are being commanded and driven by these desires of the flesh. We begin to live to eat, or live to seek pleasure, or live to sex. God never intended us to be controlled by these things.

We also fulfilled the “desires of the mind”. The mind is his process of thought, including emotions. These are the things that controlled our attention. These include envy, pride, jealousy, bitterness, as well as the being controlled by the attainment of wealth or success, power or social status. Moreover, you can add a lust for learning or knowledge. These things may be good things in themselves, but not when they drive you. Not when they become your life.

We have looked at the truth that our condition was dead, that we were dominated, and that we were disobedient. Now let us focus on the fact that:

Our Condition Was Damned

We were “children of wrath”. We were totally deserving of eternal punishment. We were deserving of hell. The intensity of the punishment is a indicator as to the intensity of our transgressions. Since Hell is a total sentence of condemnation, we can see that we were totally deserving of eternal punishment. Since we are totally dead, totally dominated, totally disobedient, we are totally blameworthy. Many today say that God is a God of Love and therefore there is not hell, but wrath is not uncontrolled anger. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “Wrath is a demonstration of indignation based on justice.” It isn’t against the Love of God, but it is the other side of God’s love. The world we be judged in righteousness, and we were totally deserving of the wrath of God. God’s loathing of sin is manifested in his wrath.

Title: “He pays attention to detail”
Text: Matt 10:29-31
Subject: God’s Providence
Theme: Comfort from Providence
Proposition: Every Christian can find comfort in God’s Providence.
Proposition Interrogative: How can every Christian find comfort in God’s Providence?
Keyword: Truths
Transitional Sentence: Once we realize these truths, we can find comfort God’s Providence. The first of these is the truth that…

1. God’s hand of providence reaches the seemingly frivolous.
2. God’s hand of providence reveals his care as our Father.
3. God’s hand of providence relinquishes our greatest fears.

I recorded me playing Sweet Hour of Prayer. I played the guitar about 3 or 4 times, then I played the bass guitar, finally I added a little keyboard to it.

Listen to just the strings.

Listen to it with the keyboard.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up

Psalms 27:10

The Psalmist’s Condition

Forsaken, Alone, without help, stripped of all worldly comforts, without the providence of his father, without the tenderness of his mother, when there is no one to turn to, no where to go, no protection to be found, no friend who can aid, when the one’s closest to you are far away, when destitute and orphaned, abandoned and forsaken, when all the world seems against you, outcast and wandering, no one to embrace, no one to defend, no one to succor, no one to strengthen or encourage. When every other tie that binds hearts are dissolved. When it is all just more than you can take. When, “I’m sorry” and “I’ll pray for you” are just quaint gestures.

We notice the:

The Psalmist’s Comforter

The Ability of the Comforter

When no one else could be there, God can. Where no one else could be, God can. He is able to minister to you when others cannot. He can speak to you in that still small voice when the world around you seems to be crashing in. He can uplift you when the world says that there in no help for him. In the darkest valley, he is there. In the roughest of Life Sea’s, he is there. In the strongest of storms, God is there. Nevertheless, he is able to calm, able to comfort. God is able! Thank God for the ability of the comforter! No matter the circumstances, for he is the master of the circumstances.

The Love of the Comforter

It is one thing to have the ability and it is another to exercise it. I may have the ability to give you $20, yet it doesn’t mean I am going to. But thank God for his love, for it allows us access to his ability’s. By his grace, he desires to comfort me. He is that friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is that Shepherd meets my every need, who leads me to the places of refreshment and rejuvenation. The one who anoints my cuts and sores.

Oh I say with the song writer:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

When Abraham sent Hagar out with Ishmael and the water was spent. Even Hagar left Ishmael, and sat away from him a good way off. BUT GOD heard the lad, even when his mother couldn’t help, his father could help, God did! O what love!

When Pharaoh said every son should be cast into the river, Moses mother and father set him in a basket and left him in the bulrush! The cries of Moses were not answered by his mother! Nor by his father, But God heard Moses and seen a Egyptian woman, who just happened to be Pharaoh’s daughter! God took a boy left for dead, and led out the nation of Israel!

Thanks to the Love of God we can see the:

The Psalmist’s Consolation

The bible says, “He will take me up.” More than just comfort and protection is the psalmist speaking of here his destination. I’m glad for the saved that we have the promise of eternal life with him in heaven. No matter what this world may bring with eyes on heaven I can ever shout and sing.

Ephesians 2:19-21

In our last study we touched on the Body of Christ is the Church and how by grace we are part of it. Today we are going to look at the Church as a Building. In a body all the members are complete at birth, but must be developed. Conversely the way a building grows is it must be added upon.

The Foundation of God’s Building

Every building must be built upon some foundation; To use an example from scripture, sand or stone (Matthew 7:24-27). We are not built upon religion or rituals. We are not built upon philosophies or ideologies. No, all that is but the sinking sand of the world. We are built upon the only true and sure foundation! We are built upon the Stone! We have that sure cornerstone which is Christ.

The corner stone is the first to be hewn, and last to be placed. Its corners, angles and faces are all carefully made square. It is the stone that secures the foundation in place and insures that the whole building fits together right. It was considered the most important part of the foundation. If the corner stone was right the whole foundation would be. The cornerstone sets the standard for the walls. It ensures that everything lines up right! What a cornerstone we have!

Christ is our Cornerstone,
On Him alone we build;
With His true saints alone
The courts of heaven are filled;
On His great love our hopes we place
Of present grace and joys above.

CHRIST IS OUR CORNERSTONE, Unknown.

Another aspect of our foundation is the “Apostles and prophets” which were the writers of Scripture. No longer do they operate in the Church, but job was through when the foundation was laid. Paul called himself a master builder (1 Corinthians 3:10). What a sure foundation that is! I can’t think of anything more sure than the Stone or the Incarnate Word of God and the Scriptures or the Inspired Word of God. If our doctrine doesn’t line up with these then we need to fix it. If our lives don’t line up with these we need to fix them. Let us build upon the true foundation.

The Framework of God’s Building

God in his infinite wisdom has decreed that we should be his building and what is the first step in building a building before you ever even break the ground? You have to set out a plan and blueprints (Luke 14:28-30). The Great Architect of the heavens, the Grand Builder of the Earth, the Divine Designer has plotted out His Building. Heaven and Earth are called His handiwork, but the Church is called His workmanship (Ephesians 2:9). By grace He has carefully chosen each part of His building before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Unlike architects and builders of this day who use the best materials for their work, God desiring to show of the riches of His grace (Ephesians 2:7) chose the foolish and weak things (1 Corinthians 1:27).

If will submit to the will of God we will find we are in the right place and doing the right thing. We are to be fitly framed which can only happen if we yield to the Spirit, line up with Christ or cornerstone and dwell in the unity found there. We notice too that we are to be growing into a holy temple. Before we can grow together we must learn how to fellowship together. We will not be able to do either without allowing the spirit to control our lives.

The word Paul uses, fitly framed together, is a compound word. It is three words in one. To translate it literally it is the “together – binding – choice.” We are going to look at three things about these stones, namely the individual choice, character, and conformity of the stones.

The master builder will take a pile of stones and search through it until he finds the right one for the job. There is a personal and a particular choice involved. The builder individually selects each one. So it is true in the Church. There is only enough room on the narrow way for single file line. We don’t get saved corporately but individually, and that based on the choice of God and His grace!

These stones are not bricks. They are stones. They are in no way equal in size or shape. They vary one to another and some a great deal. There is no cookie cutter stone, or postage stamp stone; No one size fits all. Each stone is individual in character. The same is true in the Church. God didn’t call everyone to the same thing. We are not all preachers, we are not all singers. We all are individual in character and ought to understand that, and live up to the area in which God has called us.

The stones-man will sometimes have to get out his chisel and conform the stone to be fitly framed. He might have to smooth an edge or take off a corner. It is his masterful touch and his work that when the stones are put together that they are fitly framed together. In the Church God conforms and molds us into the person we ought to be by the Holy Spirit to accomplish his will. If it were not for this work in our lives we would never be fitly framed together and unable to live holy and for His glory.

The Focus of God’s Building

What is the reason that God is framing us together? We find in our text that it is His will that we are to be a Holy Temple and His Habitation. A Holy Temple is a separated place build to glorify God. Notice that we are not to be a ornate temple, nor a large temple. Paul focuses on that we are to be HOLY. We are to be set apart. We are to live with all godliness. If we are every going to find unity in our fellowship it will have to proceed out of holiness. Our holiness will produce unity, not vice-versa. Great revivals of the past were started by people with a dedication to holiness. Remember the Great Awaking of Wesley and Whitfield who were in the “Holy Club.” We need holiness. Churches have forsaken the power of God for programs that are more concerned about numbers that nearness. Although we grow by additions, getting folk on the roll of a church doesn’t mean that they become part of the Holy Temple which is the Church.

We are also to be a Habitation of God! This is not just the fact that He indwells every believer, it more than that alone. This expresses the thought of a permanent home where you feel at home. It is not the idea that He is just staying for awhile and doesn’t have access to the whole building, but that he owns the building and is comfortable with every part of it. It is the place where we can experience the Shekinah Glory of God and Hs abiding presence. Wouldn’t it lead to the conclusion that if He is in it that it will manifest His fruits?

2 Peter 1:3-14

Introduction

I’m glad to report to you, I have nothing new to tell you. I am not here trying to tell you something no one has ever heard. No, I am here to repeat what has been said over and over. It is the same old truth that has been preached down through the ages. I’m not here preaching my own thoughts either, simply what thus saith the Word of God. In our text Peter advises us that it is good to be reminded of some things, and that is exactly what he does. He even tells us that these are things we already know. Why is it then that he reminds us of these things? Why are these things important? To understand this, let us first look at:

The Purpose Why It Is Reminded (12-14)

1. His Duty (12) “I will be not negligent”
2. His Desire (13) “to stir you up”
3. His Death (14) “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle”

Now that understand his purpose for reminding us, what is it exactly that he is reminding us of? He reminds us of:

The Prerequisites That Is Revealed (3-7)

1. Our Ground is our Faith (3-4) :
2. Our Graces is it’s Fruit (5-7)

1. Virtue (5)
2. Knowledge (5)
3. Temperance (6)
4. Patience (6)
5. Godliness (6)
6. Brotherly Kindness (7)
7. Charity (7)

Not only does Peter make known his Purpose in Reminding, and the Prerequisites that are Revealed, he shows us:

The Produce That Will Result (8-11)

1. Fruitfulness Described (8)
2. Forgetfulness Depicted (9)
3. Faithfulness Demanded (10)
4. Fullness Destined (11)

Conclusion

In view of the fruit that will result and his purpose in reminding, let us strive to realize and perform the prerequisite that are required.

Genesis 35:1-5

Introduction

Tonight I charge you sir, you madam to “Put away the strange God’s that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.”

This is where I want to get to tonight, but for the sake of those who are not familiar with the life of Jacob, let me recap his life and let’s look at what brought him to this point, and caused him to say this. (Genesis 25:19-32)

Jacob’s Pattern Set

32-33 Jacob twice experience’s God, yet fail to live the victory, stops living by faith and living in fear. Stops living in the What God Said, and started living in What He could Scheme.

33:17: Calling Sin sojourning.

Jacob’s Pattern Spread

When we live a live of sin…

1. We bring the judgment of God in our lives.
   34:1: Dinah — Judgment – Why was she in the world
2. We teach our children to follow our ungodly example
   Simeon and Levi — where did they learn to scheme
3. We blaspheme the name of Christ

We are the only Bible some people may ever read and the only Christian some people may ever know. (Story about the waiter! SALT AND LIGHT!)

We lost the fear of God! If we have lost it, then why should a pagan world have it?

Jacob’s Pattern Severed

God brought Jacob to a point of brokenness, and spoke unto him. Aren’t you glad when God guides you!

Gen 35:2

1. Put away the strange gods — We need to rid ourselves of idols and false God’s of this world, we need to honor God first. Be it with our Time, Tithe, or Talents.
2. Be clean — We need be Holy and Pure and Right, and be like Christ. We need to be humble and meek, and longsuffering
3. Change you Garments — We need to live as salt and light and exhibit all the fruit of the spirit, when need to live blameless and above reproach.

Gen 35:5 and the Fear of God returned!

• Text: John 12:1-11
• Subject: Worship
• Topic: High Cost of Worship
• Proposition: Every Christian can pay the High Cost of Worship.
• Proposition Interrogative: How can every Christian pay the High Cost of Worship?
• Keyword: Cost
• Transitional Sentence: There is a cost to worship God, the first once we want to notice in the text is,

The High Cost of Finances: Willing to Give All

• 300 Pence was a years wages, ($20,000)
• 1 lb of spikenard now sells for $862.00

The High Cost of Faith: Willing to Believe it All

The High Cost of Feelings: Willing to Suffer All

The High Cost of Fellowship: Willing to Lose All

• She was Denounced
• She was Defamed
  • “let her alone” — Singular – speaking to Judas
  • “the poor ye” — Plural – speaking to all
• She was Defended

So I ask you,

WHAT IS IT THAT IS KEEPING YOU FROM WORSHIP?

1. Lazarus was Sitting
2. Martha was Serving
3. Judas was Sinning
4. The Disciples were Snickering
5. The Jews were Sight-Seeing

Ephesians 2:12-13

We are Reconciled to the Bridegroom

Before we were without God and without hope in this world, but now we are in Christ Jesus. It is this position in Christ that is the foundation of all our riches. The book of Ephesians is bursting at the seams with treasures that are for those in Christ. We are Blessed in Christ (Ephesians 1:1), Chosen in Christ (Ephesians 1:2), Adopted (Ephesians 1:3)… What “unsearchable riches”! (Ephesians 3:8). We now even “have access by one Spirit unto the Father”!

We haven’t always had this position, we were “in times past” without Christ! We had no claim to him. We had no life with him. We were at enmity with him, but he provided a way of reconciliation. Praise His Blessed Name! He made a way that we might be in Christ. What depths of Grace! We are now reconciled to the Bridegroom, and we are…

We are Received in to the Body

Not only were we without Christ we were without citizenship. As “Gentiles in the flesh” we had no right to any of the “covenants of promise.” We were “strangers” and “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel”. We were just Gentile dogs. We were nobodies. We had no hope to become anybody either. We were hopeless.

Yet God in his Mercy and Grace saw fit to “reconcile both unto God in one body”. Now we are part of the Body of Christ, which is his Church! This is “the mystery of Christ…That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs and of the same body”. We were strangers but now we are saints. We were “alien from the commonwealth”, but now we are “fellowcitizens”!

Thank God the he “so loved the world”! That no matter if I am Jew or Gentile I can by trusting in Christ become part of the Family of God and reconciled unto God. How is it that we get such riches of His grace?

We have these Riches by his Blood

Nothing we did was to merit this. It’s not be works or anything within me deserves such, but contrary I am wholly undeserving. How is it that a thrice Holy God can reconcile unrighteousness and such vile sinners such as we are?

It was by the shed blood of Christ that for his elect purchased such privileges! It is by that ultimate work of grace that reconciliation was made for his people. It is the cross that is the fountainhead of all our riches. For it was there that Christ became sin for us; it was there that Christ gave his life a ransom for many! It was there by his blood we are made nigh and are now part of the family of God, the Body of Christ and that we are reconciled unto Christ, our Bridegroom. Bless His Name forever for WORTHY IS THE LAMB!