ABCs of Being In Christ - Accepted in the Beloved

[0:00] All those who are in Christ. And what does being in Christ mean?

[0:20] ! Being in Christ. Ephesians 1, from verse 1 through 6.! Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,! to the saints which are at all the will of God, Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

[0:34] Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace. We could do with a bit of that in the world today, couldn't we?

[0:48] A bit of grace, a bit of peace. Grace and peace, how we need that in our world, how we need that in our lives today. It goes on in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

[1:10] Blessed us in Christ. Verse 4. According as He has chosen us in Him. Chosen in Christ. 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.

[1:32] According to the good pleasure of His will. Verse 6. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Accepted in the Beloved.

[1:43] Accepted in Christ. Accepted in the Beloved. Isn't that wonderful? You, me, as Christians are accepted in the Beloved. Accepted in the Beloved.

[1:55] I want to talk to you about some ABCs of being in Christ. ABCs of being in Christ. Firstly, verse 6.

[2:06] In Christ you are accepted. You are accepted in the Beloved. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In Christ, God accepts you.

[2:19] God accepts you. The Beloved. In the Beloved. The Beloved Son of God. Through life, we sometimes go through rejection. Who's ever been rejected?

[2:30] You know, you apply for a job and you're number 2. You know, you're rejected. You might be number 100. But God accepts you. The Beloved.

[2:41] In the Beloved. Though life seems to bring rejection. Rejection and put downs. There is one who accepts you. Amen. One who accepts you.

[2:54] The one who was despised and rejected. Of men. Rejected. The one who was rejected accepts you. The one who was hated and hatefully murdered loves you.

[3:08] He is the lover of your soul. That's love. Love indeed. And he receives sinners. He was told off for that. They said, this man, this man, this man receives sinners.

[3:24] He still does. Praise God. He still does. Amen. Otherwise, there would be no hope for any of us. He receives sinners. He accepts you. Undeserving as we are. Grace and peace. He extends to you. He extends to me.

[3:35] You are loved. This morning. You are loved. With an everlasting love. You are loved. You are accepted. Accepted. In Christ. In the beloved. In Christ. In the beloved.

[3:46] A. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us. Who hath blessed us. You are blessed. You are blessed.

[3:57] You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed.

[4:07] You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed. Blessed. Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:18] Who hath blessed us. Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. In heavenly places in Christ.

[4:28] It says number 2 here. In Christ you are blessed. Blessed with all spiritual blessings. You know it's abundant isn't it?

[4:39] It's all spiritual blessings. And one of the greatest blessings we can know. The greatest spiritual blessing that we can know. Is to be in Christ.

[4:51] To be in Christ. It means to trust Him. And to receive Him. As He receives us. One of the greatest spiritual blessings is.

[5:05] To find where we belong. Though you feel like you don't fit. You know when I came to Australia. I felt like I didn't fit. I used to talk funny.

[5:18] I used to talk like that. And everybody used to laugh at me. And they called me names. Polly. You know. And I think some of them used it as a bit of a derogatory term too.

[5:29] Because I didn't fit in Australian. Now I'm a bit more Aussie now. So I fit a bit better. But sometimes we feel like we just don't fit. You feel like you're a bit different.

[5:41] You feel like you don't belong. But there is a place we belong. There is a place we can belong. In the heart of God. Amen. In the heart of God.

[5:53] You are blessed. Truly blessed. You have a father. You have a home. You have a family in God. You are blessed. Blessed with God's grace.

[6:04] You are blessed with Christ living and breathing in your heart and your life. You are loved. Beloved in the beloved himself. You are blessed this morning. And that's why we think we want to spend time in meditating on what he's done for us.

[6:21] You are blessed with the gift of his salvation. You that trust him. And we have access. Access. Ephesians 3 verse 12. It says in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

[6:37] There is a wonderful access this morning. It means he's flung the door wide open. He's flung his arms wide open. As he laid his arms wide open. And he said I love you this much.

[6:49] This much. This much. We have access today because of the blood. He was hated. Yet you can be blessed. You can be blessed today. You can be blessed.

[7:00] Blessed with all spiritual blessing. He has laid it on. He's held nothing back for you. With all spiritual blessings. He's held nothing back. All that we can ever need we find in him.

[7:14] All spiritual blessings. Brothers and sisters. You are accepted. You are blessed. You are beloved by the beloved. And the third point.

[7:25] We sing the A. Accepted in Christ. B. Blessed in Christ. Three. Chosen. You are chosen. You are wanted. You are wanted.

[7:37] He wants you. He's chosen you. Verse 4. According as he hath chosen us in him. Before the foundation of the world. That we should be holy and without blame.

[7:49] Before him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children. By Jesus Christ in himself. According to the good pleasure of his will. He hath chosen us in him.

[8:01] Before the foundation of the world. Before he laid the first building blocks of planet earth. He has chosen you. And you are chosen in him. You know we may feel refused.

[8:12] And unwanted. But God wants us. God wants us. He picks us out from the crowd. You know have you ever been in those schoolyard places. Where they pick the team.

[8:22] He wants you. He wants you on his team. He picks us out from the crowd. He picks us out from the vast humanity that is all around us. And he picks us out. He selects us.

[8:33] He chooses us. He picks us. And he wants us to be his precious people. We are his family. God has chosen you. God has adopted you. You know the great thing.

[8:43] I don't know if there's any here today. Who are adopted. But the great thing about being adopted. About being a stepson. Or a stepdaughter. Is that you are chosen.

[8:56] You are chosen. And that's the same with God isn't it? You are chosen. He was rejected for you. In Christ you are accepted. He was hated for you.

[9:08] In Christ you are loved. You are blessed. He was refused. You are chosen. You are chosen. You belong. Accepted. In the beloved this morning.