Reading this morning is from Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 to 10.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,
following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,
among whom we all once lived in the passion of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved.
And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing.
It is the gift of God,
not a result of works,
so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.
This is the word of God.
Thank you,
Angie.
Well,
I want to encourage you,
if you've got a booklet,
to grab it,
and we're going to be working through this passage.
If you don't,
there are a few up here,
but let's pray firstly,
and then we're going to look at this passage together.
So why don't you join me as we pray together?
Heavenly Father,
Lord Jesus Christ,
as we come to this passage of scripture,
which is one of the most wonderful and amazing passages in the entire Bible,
God,
we again pray that you will speak to us.
God,
come and open the eyes of our hearts to see you.
Come and open our ears to hear from you.
Lord,
we want to encounter your presence and your grace through your living word.
And so God,
again,
we pray that my words will fade into the background and your words will be loud in our ears.
God,
come and speak to us.
Come and give us clarity.
God,
come and help me to bring clarity to this passage and speak to us from your word.
We pray this in your wonderful name.
Amen.
Well,
over the last few weeks,
we've been looking at Ephesians and which talks about this great big cosmic plan that God has for the whole world.
What the Bible calls his great plan of salvation.
And if you've been here the last few weeks,
one of the things you would have learned is that the gospel is not just good news for us as individuals.
It's not just me and you.
It's true.
But actually,
the gospel is a cosmic good news.
It's a good news for all of creation.
It's where the world is headed.
That God is going to vanquish all that is broken and evil at the world and unite all things under Christ.
Things in heaven and earth and the new creation.
And this is what we heard last week,
that Christ is seated in the heavenly places above all rule and authority and dominion and power.
And the church,
amazingly,
is included in this plan.
God has included us in his great big cosmic plan.
And that's why Paul prays and says,
this is the hope to which you've been called.
The hope of Christianity isn't just that one day you get to,
you sit on a cloud in the heavens and play on a harp with a robe.
No,
there's a new creation.
This is the hope to which you've been called.
And we heard about this last week.
But one of the problems is that,
I mean,
that's all good and well here in church.
But five minutes out of the building,
you face the reality of life,
right?
Maybe last week you heard Neil's preaching,
second half,
Infusion's one.
You thought,
this is amazing.
This is so wonderful.
I can't believe it.
And on Monday morning,
you open up your laptop,
you read the news,
and you find 400 mass graves found in a forest in Ukraine.
Ah.
And you're reading about the war.
And then you change pages,
and you're reading about some racist event somewhere in the world.
One group of people attacking another group of people,
just because they don't like their beliefs,
or their ethnicity,
or the color of their skin.
Or maybe you page through the news,
and you read about human trafficking.
50 million people a year.
And you just think,
oh God,
this world is so broken,
such a mess.
And it feels like all the good news we heard in church
just quickly evaporates.
And so how do we reconcile these two realities?
The Bible talks about this amazing cosmic hope.
It's wonderful.
And yet,
our world is so broken,
and it's so messy.
And how do we bring these two things together?
Well,
the passage that Angie read to us today,
and we're going to look at,
talks about this in some way.
And so let's look at this together.
These 10 verses
are some of the most wonderful and important verses
in the entire Bible.
And I've got a challenge for you.
I want to encourage you to memorize these verses.
Of the next few weeks,
sit on the MTR,
pull out your phone,
and learn off by heart these verses.
Because if you get them into your heart,
they will change your life.
And the big idea is this.
This is what Paul wants us to get.
Mankind,
by nature,
is more depressing
than what you think it is.
Our situation is worse
than what we think it is.
But what mankind can be,
by grace,
is infinitely more wonderful
than what you can hope or imagine.
That's the big idea.
That's what Paul wants us
to get in this passage.
What mankind is,
by nature,
on our own,
left to ourselves,
it's depressing.
In fact,
it's more depressing
than what we think.
But what mankind can be,
by grace,
is infinitely more wonderful
than what you can hope or imagine.
So let's look at the first few verses.
Ephesians chapter 2,
verse 1 to 3.
And let's look at
how Paul describes
our natural condition.
He starts off,
and he says,
As for you,
you were dead
in your trespasses
and your sins.
The Bible's assessment
of the world
and humanity
is pretty stark.
It's pretty bleak.
Paul isn't coming
with just face-saving niceties.
He tells it as it is, right?
Niels,
a few months ago,
spoke about he's Dutch.
You know,
he says things as it is.
Ecclesiastes tells us
how it is, right?
Well,
Paul does the same thing.
As for us,
we were dead
in our trespasses
and sins.
And we think
the world is bad.
The Bible says,
no,
it's actually worse
than what you think.
And what does the Bible mean
when it says
we are dead?
Well,
what it means is
that we are cut off
from true life.
In chapter 4,
Paul writes,
and he says,
you are alienated
from the life of God.
You're cut off
from the life source.
You look alive,
but there's something
inside of us
that isn't
the way it's meant to be.
I don't know
if you go to
the wet market
in Hong Kong.
We,
our family,
we love calamari,
so we often go down
to the fish market
and we'll buy some squid
and take it home.
And one of the things
you see
is these fish
that have been like
filleted,
right?
Cut off half the body.
And yet the other half
that's there,
the heart is still there
and the heart is still beating.
You seen that?
Or the gills
are kind of breathing in and out.
And it looks alive.
I mean,
it looks like it's got a heartbeat.
But you put that thing
in the water,
it's not alive.
It's not going to swim anywhere,
right?
And that's what Paul says.
We look alive.
You take your pulse,
and I'm still pretty alive
and well.
You do some sport,
you run up the mountain,
you start a new business.
But actually,
Paul says,
no,
underneath the surface,
all is not well.
No,
we're in trouble.
Paul says,
we are dead
in our trespasses.
Remember,
Jesus says,
this is real life,
that they may know you,
the only true God
and Christ whom you sent.
But the problem is,
in our natural state,
we don't know God.
We can't find our way to Him.
That's why He had to come to us.
That's the problem
with the world.
The world is full of
dead men walking.
And Paul goes on,
and he says,
not only that,
we are slaves
to our desires
and our spiritual forces
and ways of thinking.
We're like prisoners
that are just marching
on the way
that's set before us,
and we're just slaves
following the ways
of the world.
Look at how he says it
in verse 2.
He says,
you are following
the course of this world,
following the prince
of the power of the air,
that means Satan
or the devil,
following the passions
of our flesh.
Why do we do
the things that we do?
Why do we often
act irrationally,
hurting ourselves
and hurting others?
Why do we say things
that are just
so unnecessary?
It just causes hurt
to others
and hurt to ourselves.
Well,
Paul says actually,
we are in bondage.
We're not as free
as we think we are.
We often talk about
the fact that we have
free will.
The Bible says
even our free will
is in bondage.
We are slaves
to our desires,
to the ways of this world.
Paul says we are like addicts,
right?
I don't know if you've ever,
someone that is a slave
to an addiction,
first they have control
of their addiction
and then their addiction
has control over them.
And you end up doing things
that you don't want to do,
but you just can't help it.
Paul's painting this bleak picture
of our condition.
And he says,
all of this leads to the fact
that we are under God's judgment.
He says,
in verse 3,
we are under wrath.
Prior to Christ coming,
we weren't just lost,
we were rebels.
We were going against
God's plan for the world.
Rather than living
for the praise of His glory,
we were living
for the praise of ourselves.
I don't know if you know
that very famous book,
The Lord of the Flies,
by William Golding.
You read it, Michelle?
I can see.
I had to read it at school.
It's the story of
some children from the UK
or some people that evacuate
because they think
there's a nuclear war coming.
So they're on this airplane
evacuating.
And they crash land
in an island
in the Pacific somewhere.
And pretty soon,
these very upper class,
well-educated,
smart,
sophisticated people,
society starts to disintegrate.
And they start to act brutish.
They're like beasts.
They gang up on one another.
They start acting irrationally,
not thinking straight.
They become like animals.
And they start killing one another.
And someone eventually
comes to rescue them.
And his shock and horror
is that these sophisticated,
civilized people
are acting like animals.
And William Golding's point there
is when you peer off the veneer,
you know,
we all act very civilized
towards one another.
But when you peer away the veneer,
peer back the curtain,
actually underneath,
all is not well.
And that's what Paul's saying here.
He's saying,
we know how to speak well
and act very civilized,
but underneath,
behind the curtain,
looks what lies beneath.
And Paul's point is,
that's true of all people.
At the time of the New Testament,
the Jews,
if they'd read this,
they thought,
yeah,
the Gentiles,
those people,
those pagan,
barbarians,
those guys,
yes,
children of wrath,
uncivilized,
good for nothing Greeks,
right?
Those Romans,
those Babylonians.
But look at what Paul says here,
verse one,
he says,
and you,
verse three,
he says,
and we all once lived like this,
following the passions of our flesh.
We were by nature
under God's judgment,
like the rest of mankind.
And like Paul does in Romans three,
Paul's painting this very bleak picture.
He's showing how all the world,
all humanity,
irrespective of your culture,
your background,
I'm sorry,
this thing is crackling.
I hope,
I'm going to just keep on going.
He's saying,
irrespective of your ethnicity,
your language,
your education,
you study at an Ivy League university,
or you haven't finished high school,
actually,
this is true of all of us.
By nature,
we're in a dire,
dire situation.
And Paul could have said,
listen,
you were bad,
but God loved you,
right?
But actually,
he wants us to see the totality of our brokenness.
It affects every area of our lives,
our hearts,
our minds,
our worlds,
our conscience,
every area of our lives.
Paul's point is,
what mankind is by nature
is far more depressing
than what we think.
Well,
let's say the benediction and go home.
I hope you've enjoyed the sermon today.
No,
no,
that's not where we end,
because actually,
that's not Paul's main point.
I know that's depressing,
but verses 1 to 7
is one sentence in the Greek Bible,
and the way grammatically it's written,
in Chinese and English,
we don't see this,
but in Greek you see it.
Actually,
the climax sentence is verse 4.
This is his main point.
So,
look at verse 4 with me.
Paul says,
listen,
things are bad,
but,
I have some good news for you.
Imagine you go to the doctor,
and he says,
listen,
I've got some bad news.
We ran some tests,
your cancer markers are very high,
I found a tumor,
but,
I've got some good news.
You're going to be sitting on the edge of your seat.
You're going to say,
give it to me,
okay,
I'm all ears.
Paul says that,
that's what Paul's saying.
He's saying,
I've got some bad news,
but,
I've got some good news for you.
And what is his good news?
He says,
but God,
Paul doesn't start with ourselves.
He doesn't say,
listen,
things were really bad,
but then you sorted yourselves out.
And well,
thank goodness it all,
things are going to be okay.
Or,
things were bad,
but finally you came to your senses.
Or,
things were bad,
but then you grew up and started acting mature.
No,
he doesn't say anything about you.
He says,
things were bad,
but God,
he's got some good news for us,
and it all starts with God.
But God,
what about God?
Being rich in mercy,
because of his great love,
with which he loved us.
Friends,
can I just say,
I know for a fact that many of us,
because I know this is true for me,
struggle with the fact that God actually loves you.
Maybe you grew up in a home,
where your parents never told you once,
that they loved you.
Maybe you grew up in a home,
that there wasn't much love,
and you kind of wonder,
or maybe you think,
God loves me,
I know God loves me,
that's his duty,
he's God,
right?
Of course he loves everyone,
but he doesn't actually like me.
Friends,
but God,
in his great mercy,
because of his great love,
with which he loved the world,
made us alive with Christ,
verse 5.
Friends,
Christianity is not,
he says,
we are dead in our sins,
and now we are alive with Christ.
Christianity is not self-help,
it's not self-improvement,
it's CPR,
it's dead being made alive,
it's revitalization.
He goes on,
he says,
we were dead,
we've been made alive with Christ,
verse 6,
we've been raised with Christ,
we've been seated with Christ,
in the heavenly places.
Now,
if you were here last week,
that should jog your memory,
right?
Neil spoke about that last week.
Remember,
chapter 1,
verse 19,
what does it say?
God shows his immeasurably great power,
in this,
that he raised Christ from the dead,
he seated Christ,
in the heavenly places.
Well,
what does he say about us?
We were dead in our sins,
and God made us alive with Christ,
he raised us with Christ,
he seated us with Christ,
in the heavenly places.
Just as Jesus was raised from the dead,
so we have been made alive with Christ.
Jesus was raised to glory,
we've been raised with Christ to glory.
Jesus was seated at the right hand of God,
we've been seated with Christ in glory.
What happened to Christ,
for those of us that are in Christ,
has now happened to us.
You were dead,
and you've been made alive,
you were slaves of this world,
you're now seated in glory in heaven,
you were following the ways of this world,
and now you reign with Christ.
It's amazing.
And look at verse 7,
he says,
what is the end goal of this?
So that in the coming ages,
that means both now and forever,
both now and next year,
and in a decade from now,
and a billion years from now,
God might demonstrate,
or put on display,
the immeasurable riches of his grace,
and his kindness towards us.
I know that's big language,
but what it means is this,
picture this,
you get an award at work,
greatest bond trader ever,
in the history of the world,
Oscar,
okay,
get some award,
Celeste is laughing,
not so sure about that.
Greatest partner in the firm,
okay,
whatever it is,
and you get this award,
what do you do with that award?
You put it on display,
you show off,
or greatest rugby player ever,
in the history of the universe,
Dan Tillis,
okay,
you put this award on display,
or you win the Nobel Prize,
or something,
or maybe,
you've got this,
incredible heirloom,
that's been passed around,
for four generations,
and now it belongs to you.
You put it on display,
so that when people come to your house,
they see,
look at what God is saying here,
so that in the coming generations,
he might put on display,
the immeasurable riches,
of his grace towards us.
F.F. Bruce put it like this,
throughout time,
and into eternity,
this society of pardoned rebels,
called Watermark Church,
and every other church,
is designed by God,
to be a masterpiece,
his trophy of goodness,
and grace.
So for that all eternity,
angels,
and saints,
and all creation,
will be able to look at you and I,
and say,
oh my goodness,
isn't God's grace amazing?
Right?
God took those of us,
that were dead in our sins,
lost,
slaves to the devil,
and our desires,
and the ways of this world,
and now he's saved us,
he's forgiven us,
he's raised us,
made us alive in Christ,
and now you and I,
are trophies of his grace.
And why does God do this?
Well maybe God looked down,
the corridor of time,
and he saw this person,
called Tiffany,
or Walter,
and he thought,
there's a good guy,
right?
I mean I know Walter's,
going to have such a good heart,
he's got such good intentions,
I will save him,
and redeem him.
No, no, no,
look at what verse 5 says,
it says,
God being rich in mercy,
because of the greatness,
of his love,
even when we were dead,
in our trespasses,
and sins.
Friends,
God acts like this to us,
not because we've got it all together,
even in our former state,
when we were rebels,
and had nothing to commend ourselves to God,
God looked down the corridor of time,
and said,
there's some rebels,
that I will be gracious to,
and though they did in their sins,
I will breathe my life into them,
and raise them with Christ,
and pour my favor upon them.
Friends,
you see what Paul is saying?
He's saying,
a Christian is not just someone,
who's had their sins forgiven,
so they can one day,
you know,
not go to hell.
He's saying,
we're dead in our sins,
we've been raised with Christ.
Once walked the ways of this world,
now we are seated in glory with Christ.
Once by nature,
under God's condemnation,
now by grace,
a trophy of his kindness.
What mankind is by nature,
is more depressing than what we can imagine.
But what mankind can be by grace,
is infinitely more wonderful,
than you can hope,
or imagine.
Now we could just stop here,
and say,
best of luck,
go and do that.
Okay?
But the problem is,
there's this thing called,
works righteousness.
I know that's a big term,
I'll explain in a second.
Works righteousness,
is deep in the human heart.
Works righteousness means this,
you and I tend to think,
what makes us righteous,
or acceptable,
or loved by God,
is our good works.
How good we are,
how faithful we are,
how much we've read our Bible.
And so,
no matter how well you know the gospel in your head,
or sing in your heart,
right,
it's easy to sing,
Jesus paid it all,
all to him I owe.
How did it go?
Sin had left a crimson sand,
he washed it white as snow.
We sing this,
but deep in our hearts,
I tend to think,
that if I'm a good Christian,
and I do all the right things,
God will really love me,
and accept me.
Works righteousness runs deep.
And Paul,
who writes Ephesians,
wants to take a shotgun,
to works righteousness,
and blow it to pieces.
So look at what he says here.
He says,
verse 8,
for by grace,
you have been saved.
Okay,
it's by grace that this has happened.
Grace is the opposite of deserving something.
Because imagine you,
you have work,
and you're working really hard on a project,
and you pull off this great project,
and you win a client,
and your company makes tons of money.
And your boss comes to you and says,
here is a reward for your work,
right,
here's a check,
commission for what you did.
Okay,
that's not grace,
that's a reward,
that's commission.
But imagine you've got this project,
and you mess up the project badly,
and you lose the client,
and your company doesn't make any money,
but your boss comes to you and says,
I know you were really looking forward to that commission,
because you wanted to bless your parents,
well,
here's the check anyway,
right?
That's grace.
It's the opposite of deserving it.
You don't deserve it.
You lost the client.
You messed up.
That's grace.
Look what Paul says.
By grace,
you have been saved.
By grace,
this has happened.
So how do we access this grace?
I mean,
if it's not through good works,
how do we access it?
He says,
by grace,
you've been saved through faith.
It's the small hinge of faith
that opens the massive doors
into God's vault of grace.
Well,
what is faith?
Faith is putting all your weight on Jesus.
I think Alan told this story a little while ago.
There was a missionary called John Paton,
150 years ago.
He goes to Vanuatu Islands,
okay,
once upon a time called the New Hebrides,
and he's translating the book of John's gospel,
and he stumbles
because he doesn't know
what the word trust is
in their language.
In fact,
they don't have a word trust
because they're cannibals.
They eat one another.
They don't trust one another.
There's no word for trust
in their language.
But John's gospel
is all about believe on Jesus,
have faith in Jesus,
trust in Jesus.
So he's translating John's gospel,
and he stumbles in chapter one
when it says,
believe in Jesus.
And at that point,
a villager walks into his house or whatever,
and he says to his villager,
what am I doing now?
He's sitting at his desk.
And the villager says,
you're sitting at your desk.
He says,
okay.
He leans back on his chair
so that he's rocking on his chair.
And he says,
what am I doing now?
And the villager says,
you are putting all your weight on the chair.
And he took that verb
and he translated it in his Bible,
put all your weight on Jesus.
That's what faith is.
It's to put all your hope,
all your confidence,
all your weight on Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved
through faith,
through putting no confidence in yourself.
Now you may say,
okay, but at least I put my faith in Jesus.
I mean, Jesus didn't put faith in Jesus for me.
I mean, at least there's a little bit of something I did.
I mean, can't I get a little bit of credit
for my faith at least?
Right?
Well, look at what Paul says.
He says,
even this is not your own doing.
It's a gift of God.
So even your ability to trust in Jesus
is God's gift of grace to you.
You can't even put your faith in your faith.
It's all God's gift of grace.
For by grace you have been saved.
Through faith,
this is not your doing.
It is the gift of God,
not a result of works,
so that no one can boast.
Friends, this Christian hope
to which you've been called
and which you've been given
is all of God,
100% of God.
It is God's initiative,
even when we're dead in our sins.
It is God's doing,
not a joint venture,
a little bit of God,
a little bit of me.
It is God's gift,
not a reward for good works.
It's all His grace.
It is God's kindness,
not His duty or His obligation.
It is to the display
of God's praise and glory
so that no one can boast.
It is all God's doing.
And so Paul starts off
this great letter saying,
Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
because of all the spiritual blessings
He has given us
in Christ.
Here's his point.
Friends,
you were in a worse condition
than you realized
by nature.
By grace,
you have been infinitely more blessed
than you can ever hope
to imagine.
Does that make any sense?
Now,
there's one last question
before we get to some
practical applications.
One last thing
in this passage.
And that is this.
If it's all by grace,
I mean,
if this great gospel message
is true,
does that mean
we just get this free pass
to live however we want?
Hey, Catherine,
great to see you.
Welcome back.
Just noticed,
Catherine.
Sorry.
Does this mean
we just get a free pass,
right?
Like,
live however you want.
I mean,
you are dead,
you've been made alive,
you're seated with Christ.
It's just free for all.
Do whatever you want
because you've all been forgiven.
Well,
look at what Paul says
in verse 10.
He says,
for,
so he's continuing
his same train of thought,
same logic,
for,
we are God's workmanship.
We are His workmanship.
Okay,
that's what he's been saying
all along.
This gospel salvation
isn't our workmanship.
My new creation
isn't something that I did,
it's something God did.
We are being made alive,
raised with Christ.
It's not my work,
it's God's work,
not a result of works
so that I can't boast.
It's His workmanship.
For we are His workmanship,
which God created
in Christ Jesus
for good works
that we should walk in them.
And that makes complete sense.
In verse 7,
he said,
we are trophies
of God's grace.
One day for all eternity,
the angels will look at
rebels like you and I
and say,
man,
look at what God did
with those people.
I mean,
they were dead in their sins
and now they're alive in grace.
That's amazing.
But trophies of grace
don't then go and live
as if grace is not true.
It's actually,
the way God has saved us,
He's also changed us
and now we walk
in the new life
that He's called for us.
Imagine,
a patient
wheeled into hospital
and Dr. Joyce
revitalizes them,
does CPR,
saves their life,
they're flatlined
and suddenly
they've become alive again.
Right?
And then,
a week later,
Dr. Joyce says,
okay,
you're good,
you can go home.
And the patient says,
no,
I actually quite like
just lying on the Guernsey here.
I think I'm just going to live
like I'm dead
the rest of my life.
No,
no,
when you've been made alive,
you live like you're alive.
Imagine a prisoner
is set free from jail.
They once were slaves
to the ways of this world,
kept under bondage
and lock and key
and their liberator comes
and sets them free
and says,
no,
I think I'm just going to sit in jail
for the rest of my life.
I just like,
actually,
can you put the handcuffs back on me?
I just like being in bondage.
No,
no,
you've been made alive,
you've been set free.
Imagine somebody
once under God's judgment,
the judge looks at them
and says,
you are condemned.
Oh,
but then a new piece of evidence
comes in
and the judge says,
you are acquitted,
you are free.
You can go,
you can get free.
So,
no,
actually,
I like being condemned.
Can you actually just,
just write to my record
that I am guilty?
I like having a record
on my name.
No,
don't live like that.
He says,
you are God's workmanship.
God has saved you,
He's changed you,
He's redeemed you,
He has created you
for good works.
Now go and walk in them.
Friends,
those that have received
the immeasurable mercy of God
live differently
because we live from grace,
not trying to earn it,
we are saved.
So,
how should we respond to this?
Friends,
Paul is trying to show us here,
mankind by nature is,
our state is more depressing
than we realize.
but oh,
mankind by grace
is infinitely more wonderful
than you can hope
or imagine.
For all eternity,
be seated with Christ,
reigning in the new heavens
and new earth.
Like Niels told us last week,
Christ is the head
of raw creation
and what are we?
We are His body,
creation under His feet.
Amazing.
So,
how should we respond?
Well,
I've got four very quick thoughts.
First one is this,
rejoice in the rich mercy of God.
Paul starts off Ephesians,
praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places.
Friends,
imagine you go to your doctor
and he comes
and previously,
you have cancer
and he comes and he says,
I've got great news for you.
Cancer is gone.
You are free.
Changed.
Nothing.
It's all gone.
And you respond saying,
very well,
chap.
Good news.
Thank you.
Appreciate that.
No,
no,
he says,
it's amazing.
Praise God.
Bring out the champagne.
Pop the cork.
I mean,
I once,
I had cancer.
I was dead.
I'm alive again.
You don't just say,
oh,
good news.
No,
thank you.
I appreciate that.
No,
you rejoice in the good news.
Friends,
delight in the rich mercy of God.
And don't just do it on Sunday.
We're going to do that in a few minutes.
Leo's going to lead us in a song of celebration.
Monday,
Tuesday,
Wednesday,
Thursday,
when you go to work,
you uncork the champagne bottle of delight in God's rich mercy.
Celebrate in what he's done for you.
Secondly,
flood your heart with the riches of his grace.
Friends,
this week,
something is going to happen
that is going to convince you
that God doesn't really love you
and you don't really sit under his mercy
and God is not pleased with you
because you're such a rebel.
And Satan is going to come
and try and convince you
that you don't deserve God's mercy and grace.
And do you know what you do
on Thursday afternoon
when you're feeling like that?
You preach to yourself.
You say,
once I was dead in my sins,
following the ways of this world
and the prince of the power of the air,
once I was a son or a daughter of God's wrath
under his judgment,
but God who is rich in mercy
because of his great love with which he loved me,
even when I was dead in my sins,
made me alive together with Christ.
It is by grace that I am saved
and raised me up with Christ
and seated me with Christ
in the heavenly places
so that in the coming ages
he might show the immeasurable riches
of his grace and his kindness towards me,
making me a trophy of his grace.
And this is all by grace,
not by works,
so that no one can boast
through simple faith
that God,
that I might walk
in the plans that God may have me.
Friends,
this week you preach that message to your heart.
And when you feel like,
surely God doesn't love me
and God must be disappointed with me,
you preach to yourself the riches
and you flood your heart
with the riches of his grace.
So believe it.
Here's a third way we can respond.
Beware of self-righteousness
or judgmentalism.
Friends, how do we know
that we truly understand the grace of God?
Well, one of the ways
is that we can't stand
self-righteousness
and self-sufficiency
and judgmentalism.
You know,
Jesus has pretty strong words
for the Pharisees
and the religious leaders.
And you know why?
It's not because
they didn't have their Bible reading
or their devotions.
It's not because
they didn't follow the rules.
They knew the rules.
It's because of their self-sufficiency
and their self-righteousness.
Friends,
Ephesians 2 is meant to vaporize
any sense of self-righteousness
and self-confidence.
How can those of us
that are recipients
of this incredible grace and mercy
then be self-righteous
and self-sufficient
to those of us
that are still struggling around us?
And so,
when in our hearts
we feel that sense
of looking down
on our nose at others,
let's just remember
the great mercy
and kindness of God
that I was an object of wrath.
I was dead in my sins.
I was following
the ways of this world
and God in His grace
rescued me
and redeemed me
and let me extend
that grace
to those around me.
Ephesians is going to
again and again and again
wash us with this.
As you have received
grace,
so extend grace
to one another.
And then the last thing
is this,
make sure you're in Christ.
Friends,
this is unbelievable
good news
but it's only good news
for those that are in Christ.
Are you in Christ today?
Friends,
are you still dead
in your sins?
Are you still a slave
to the ways of this world?
Slave to your own desires?
Friends,
are you just,
you think you're free
but actually
you can't help yourself?
Friends,
are you in Christ?
Christ,
have you come to Christ
in simple faith
and repentance?
Ask Him to save you,
ask Him to redeem you,
ask you to make you alive
in Christ?
Dear friends,
come to Jesus,
come and surrender to Him,
come and put all your weight
on Him.
Come put all your trust
in Him.
Abandon your self-sufficiency
and come to Jesus.
Come make Him your Lord,
come make Him your King,
come and bow down to Him,
come and say,
Jesus,
have your way in my life.
Friends,
Ephesians 1 starts off
and says,
Praise be to God
and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
All these spiritual blessings
are for those
who are in Christ.
Let's come to Him
now.
Friends,
what mankind is by nature
is infinitely more depressing
than what you could think.
But what mankind can be by grace
is infinitely more wonderful
than you could hope
or imagine.
Let's come to Him
and rely on His grace.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus Christ,
this morning we have not even begun
to scratch the surface
of the riches of Your grace.
Last week we heard about
the immeasurable greatness
of Your power
raising Christ from the dead.
God, this morning You've washed us
with the immeasurable greatness
of Your grace
towards rebels like us.
Jesus,
I pray for each one of us individually
and I pray for us as a church
that this will be our anthem,
this will be the song of our hearts,
that God,
when we feel condemned,
when we feel without hope,
when we feel like the world around us
is falling apart,
God, may You remind us
that there is hope
for those that are in Christ.
God, for those of us this morning
that come and feel like
how could God ever love me?
Those of us that doubt God's assurance,
that doubt the goodness of God,
Father, I pray,
open the eyes of our hearts
that we may see
the riches of Your grace.
We pray this in Your wonderful name.
Amen.