SERMON – June 2019
Series: Growing in Liberty
Title: Keys to All Blessings
Main Texts: Ephesians 1:3-10 (NIV)
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
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. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Intro to the Series
- The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Ephesus at a time that there was disunity in the body of Christ.
- Ephesus was a commercial city during this period and there was a need to remind the people that Christ has redeemed everyone with His blood and each Christian is expected by God to represent Him as His hand and His leg. This was for the purpose of showcasing the glory of the Lord, even as all the spiritual blessings have been given unto us all as partakers of the grace that is found in Jesus Christ.
- We are the Jesus the world is seeing now: Therefore, we are to display the wisdom of God in everything we do.
- We are to love everyone, even our enemies.
Illustration
- A story is told of a very wealthy man who on his sick bed, requested that his servants and maids make a choice of one thing they would love him to give them as he was about to die. He was childless and he loved all his servants and treated them like his children.
- Some chose cars, and some, property, while some also chose money in the bank. He gladly accepted to give them all they requested for.
- One of his servants waited till everyone had chosen what they wanted, and he then asked his master to offer him AUTHORITY AND OWNERSHIP OVER ALL HE OWNED, INCLUDING ALL THE SERVANTS AND MAIDS.
- This wise request gave him ownership of all his colleagues and all they own automatically…because he who owns the servants own all they have.