WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.460 Good morning. I remember when my brother and I were younger and being the older sibling by 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:16.879 two years, my brother Ben would often be the one who was in charge of the TV remote, 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:22.539 hiding the sweets we'd been given to share, stopping me from getting into a room. And he'd 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:29.539 be like, what's the special word? And I would go through all the annoying things that he might 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:36.979 have chosen to be the special word, such as Bath City football is the best, Emily smells. Honestly, 00:00:37.100 --> 00:00:43.619 I really had to get into the mind of my big brother. And then eventually, worn down, he'd go, 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:52.039 duh, the special word is please. The special word was as simple as that. And really, it should have 00:00:52.039 --> 00:01:00.740 been quite obvious to guess. Now, the more I read through Paul's various letters in the New Testament, 00:01:00.939 --> 00:01:09.200 the more I think that if he had a motto or a tagline or even a special word, it would have been saved 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:18.519 by grace through faith in Christ. Saved by grace through faith in Christ is, at least for me, 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:25.659 the overarching message that comes through any of Paul's writings. And for good reason, it's gospel 00:01:25.659 --> 00:01:33.599 truth. We are indeed saved by the amazing grace of God, as demonstrated in the death of Jesus 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:43.539 and our faith in the truth of that sacrificial love. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, Paul reminds us that 00:01:43.540 --> 00:01:53.080 we are saved by grace through faith, not by our own effort or work, but as a gift from God. And as we read 00:01:53.080 --> 00:02:00.580 Romans, we see the constant reminder that none of what we have received in Christ is by our own works, but by the 00:02:00.580 --> 00:02:09.900 great love of God. The fact that we are saved by grace through faith and blessed by grace through faith in 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:19.540 Christ is huge. It means that we cannot and do not have to earn or deserve the blessings of God. We just 00:02:19.540 --> 00:02:28.060 have to be fully persuaded that Jesus Christ is Lord and he came to save us. A couple of years ago, I came 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:35.819 across a book called Sit, Walk, Stand by Watchman Nee, a book that reflects upon our position in Christ 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:43.819 as explored in Ephesians. The title Sit, Walk, Stand refers to us sitting with him in the heavenly realms, 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:51.340 walking with him in our lives in the world, and standing firm with him in spiritual battle, in the 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:57.019 spiritual realm. Now, when I pulled the book off my bookshelf in the hopes that it would have something 00:02:57.019 --> 00:03:03.359 profound for me to share this morning, it became apparent that I didn't actually make it even halfway 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:09.920 through the 83 page book, which I actually do really recommend. But as I started to read it, 00:03:10.640 --> 00:03:16.200 I found what I was looking for straight away, because these words from Watchman Nee are so good. 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:22.860 He says, most Christians make the mistake of trying to walk and able to be able to sit, 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:30.680 but that is a reversal of the true order. Our natural reason says, if we do not walk, how can we ever 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:37.500 reach the goal? What can we attain without effort? How can we ever get anywhere if we do not move? 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:44.800 But Christianity is a strange business. If at the outset we try to do anything, we get nothing. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:52.120 If we seek to attain something, we miss everything. For Christianity begins not with a big do, but with 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:58.760 a big done. Thus, Ephesians opens with the statement that God has blessed us with every spiritual 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:06.239 blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And we are invited at the very outset to sit down and enjoy 00:04:06.239 --> 00:04:14.759 what God has done for us, not to set out and try to attain it for ourselves. I love the line, 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:21.959 Christianity begins not with a big do, but with a big done. Our walk with Jesus and the blessings that 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:27.799 we receive in him aren't about going and doing things that will earn us points to get into heaven. 00:04:28.799 --> 00:04:35.079 It's what he has already done for us. To go back to the story of my brother and his special word, 00:04:35.599 --> 00:04:43.659 to get access to all that God has to offer us is as simple as to say, yes, please. 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:54.080 So our passage today comes from Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 to 14 and is titled Every Spiritual 00:04:54.080 --> 00:05:00.260 Blessing in Christ. I'd love to encourage you if you have your Bible or the internet to keep the 00:05:00.260 --> 00:05:06.620 passage open in front of you because we'll be referring back to it today. But before we launch 00:05:06.620 --> 00:05:12.260 in, I just want to briefly unpack what we mean when we're talking about the word blessing. 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:16.759 To me, this is one of those words that we often use in church, but if I was 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:21.500 asked to define the word blessing, I'm not quite sure how I would do that. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:29.839 Now, I'm really in awe of those preachers who can whip out their Greek to English dictionary and 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:35.980 tell you what something means when we look at the original Greek translations. So I am delighted to 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:42.159 take this opportunity to take the moment to unpack my very, very limited understanding. 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:48.560 of the original Greek when we look at the word blessing. Blessing is a direct translation of the 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:54.860 word eulogia, where we get the word eulogy, a speech or a piece of writing containing great praise 00:05:54.860 --> 00:06:03.680 for a person, most often after they've died. The word eulogy comes from the word logos, 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:14.879 the word for word. In the case of our passage today, eulogy is God, the act of God speaking good things over us. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:22.280 We only have to look as far as the creation of the world in Genesis 1 to see that there is immense 00:06:22.280 --> 00:06:29.639 creative and loving power in the voice of God. And if God is speaking good things over us, as he is in our 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:35.759 passage today, then we can know with absolute certainty that these things are going to be very, 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:39.839 very good. Verse 3 says, 00:06:40.099 --> 00:06:45.519 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:54.740 with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Praise be to God who has spoken good things over us in the 00:06:54.740 --> 00:07:03.740 heavenly realms with every good thing in Christ by grace through faith. And let's note here that Paul 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:10.060 writes that we have been blessed in the heavenly realms. The really cool thing about this is whilst, 00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:16.740 yes, we will experience the fullness of these blessings in the eternal life in heaven, God 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:24.340 couldn't wait till the end of time. So he's given us a foretaste of them now. The message translation of 00:07:24.340 --> 00:07:31.720 verse 3 says, He is the Father of our Master Jesus Christ and takes us to the high places of blessing in 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:39.560 him. He doesn't wait, but he takes us there now. So that his blessings can be a reality, 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:47.420 for us now. And how do we know this? Because in chapter 2 verse 6, it says, 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:54.600 God raised us up with Christ and seated him with the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Hear the use of 00:07:54.600 --> 00:08:03.500 the tenses. This is not just a future eternity thing. This is a now thing because that's how much God loves us. 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:12.480 But what are these blessings, these good things to which we have alluded? Well, if we look at the 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:18.279 passage, we see that he chose us to be holy and blameless. He's adopted us as sons and daughters, 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:24.279 giving us belonging in his family. He's freely given us grace. He's redeemed us and forgiven our sins. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:30.740 He's given us wisdom and understanding, included us in his plans and purposes, included us in Christ. 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:39.340 He saved us, marked us with his seal, and he calls us his. And all of this is according to his good 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:47.840 pleasure. And that's a lot, isn't it? So let's just take a little look closer at some of these things. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:56.720 Now, I'm not an especially competitive person. I am about as sporty as a cucumber. And I'd much 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:02.899 rather have a fun time than focus on a win. But get me playing articulate, which is a taboo-like game 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:09.379 where you have to explain words without using the words. And my competitive side comes out. Rules will 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:16.139 be adhered to. I will do anything I can do to be on the winning team. And in fact, I will most of the time 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:22.299 try and choose my team to be the one that I think will win. I love the game. But when Paul talks in 00:09:22.299 --> 00:09:28.080 verse 4 about God having chosen us, this isn't a, I choose you because you'll be a success, or you're 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:33.899 not going to mess up as much as her. So you can be on my team. I choose you to have my spiritual blessings. 00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:41.939 This is Jesus at one in the beginning with God the Father and the Holy Spirit choosing humanity, 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:49.780 hoping that humanity will choose him in return. And that's why verse 13 talks about being included 00:09:49.780 --> 00:09:56.760 in Christ when we heard the gospel and being marked when we believed with a seal. In Christ, 00:09:57.140 --> 00:10:03.700 through the Holy Spirit, we receive spiritual blessings when we respond to Jesus by choosing him 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:12.560 with our own yes. And verse 11 talks about being chosen, having been predestined according to the 00:10:12.560 --> 00:10:22.620 plan of him who works everything in conformity to his will. To me, this is a reminder that God chose me, 00:10:22.780 --> 00:10:29.600 chose us, knowing that we would make mistakes, we would mess up, and we would cause his plans to go skew with. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:39.600 He chose us before the creation of the world, knowing that on the cross he would still choose us to be, 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:49.379 as verse 4 says, holy and blameless in his sight. The cross is a symbol full of emotion and meaning, 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:59.259 and it's Jesus saying to each of us, I choose you every day. And so he freely gives, 00:10:59.259 --> 00:11:06.340 freely lavishes on us his spiritual blessings. And as he does so, perhaps a helpful picture for you is 00:11:06.340 --> 00:11:12.740 Jesus patting the seat next to him saying, come on, this one's on me, and the next, and the next, 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:16.399 for eternity. You can have it all. 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:24.039 And you might be asking yourself, but what does he want from me in return? 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:30.799 Well, we've already noted that we can't earn these gifts, and we know that we don't deserve them. 00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:40.559 Jesus wants our yes. He wants our love. John 3 16 says, God so loved the world that he gave his one 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:46.459 and only son, so whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life with him. 00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:54.660 God so loved the world that he gave himself in Christ so that we could have a relationship with him, 00:11:55.160 --> 00:12:02.879 so that he could give freely and lavishly. We know from all the rom-coms, all the movies, all the books, 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:09.600 that reciprocated love has a much more powerful effect in the world than unrequited love. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:17.420 A love that goes both ways and is an unstoppable force. It gives to the world around it. It changes 00:12:17.420 --> 00:12:24.779 the atmosphere and the dynamics within relationships. Reciprocated love is powerful, and it's what Jesus' 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:33.320 heart longs for. He longs for us to love him back, to acknowledge what he's done for us, what he's given 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:39.040 to us, to use it, to move in it, and to share it. 00:12:42.820 --> 00:12:48.820 I was recently, actually just last week with the youth, reading the story of the prodigal son in 00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:56.520 Luke 15. This is a parable, or a story with a meaning, that Jesus tells about a father and his two sons. 00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:04.379 The youngest son asks for his inheritance early, effectively saying, I wish you were dead, to his 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:12.460 father. And he goes off squandering his newly acquired riches in biblical days of Vegas until 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:20.799 there is nothing left. A famine comes upon the land, and in his poverty, the youngest son lives in envy of 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:27.299 the pigs that he's feeding. Eventually, he realizes that he'd be better off returning home to his father 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:34.299 and his older brother. So with his tail between his legs, he goes home practicing his speech, which we 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:41.659 can find in Luke 15, verses 18 to 19. He says, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:47.479 I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Make me like one of your servants. 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:55.980 As he's walking home, his father sees him in the distance. He picks up his robes. He runs towards 00:13:55.980 --> 00:14:00.740 his son. The son starts his apology speech, but the father doesn't let him finish. 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:09.240 He takes him home, puts a ring on his finger, marking him with that Ephesians 1 verse 13 seal, 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:17.440 saying that he belongs home. And he prepares a fattened calf for the celebrations that his son is now home. 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:24.860 Home where he can share in the blessing of belonging, of being forgiven, being called a son, and being 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:32.300 given security once again. And doesn't that sound a bit like our passage from Ephesians today? 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:40.340 See, the prodigal son or the lost son represents each of us before we turn to Christ. 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:49.720 And he received his inheritance in Christ, the riches of Christ and the blessing of the celebration of 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:56.960 coming home to Christ. The older son couldn't see it. He was crossed because he believed that he'd been 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:03.759 remaining there all along. And that he didn't think the younger son deserved the blessing or the 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:10.659 celebration. The older son felt that he'd earned it. But the spiritual blessing that we find in Christ 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:16.039 aren't about earning or deserving. They're about what Jesus has already done for us. 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:24.240 The special word to receive the father's love and blessing for the younger son wasn't, 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:29.259 I've sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy of being called your son. Make me 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:38.100 like one of your servant. It was simply, can I come home? And when we ask that of Jesus, 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:43.960 he will always open up the door, open up his arms and say yes. 00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:50.600 Jesus' words are echoed in the father's words in the parable. 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:58.439 Let's have a feast and celebrate for this son of mine was dead and now is alive again. He was lost and is 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:06.620 found. Isn't this amazing grace? That we can be certain that even though we daily play the part of the 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:14.640 prodigal son in the ways that we speak and act in ways that go against God's will, God daily chooses to 00:16:14.640 --> 00:16:22.380 play the part to be the father who welcomes us home again, open arms and full of his blessings. 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:31.879 And he does this because he loves us, because he delights in lavishly blessing us, his beloved 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:40.919 children in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In Christ, our inheritance is 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:49.799 guaranteed, verse 14, despite our mess because Jesus, in Jesus, we are chosen to be holy, blameless, 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:58.120 redeemed and restored children of God who are blessed freely and lavishly because we have been saved by 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:11.740 grace through faith in Jesus. So every spiritual blessing in Christ, what does that mean for us? Well, 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:18.480 what good news we have, what good news we have, that our faith begins not with a big do, but with a big done. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:26.680 That in him is grace and freedom, that all we have to do is say a special word. 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:31.319 Jesus, I love you and I am all in. 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:39.419 Father God, we thank you for these spiritual blessings that we receive in you. Thank you that 00:17:39.419 --> 00:17:45.079 you love to lavish these blessings on us, even though we don't deserve and cannot earn them. 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:52.759 Would you stir our hearts this morning to turn once again to you, to receive your ring, your seal of 00:17:52.759 --> 00:18:00.539 belonging, knowing that you are celebrating over each and every one of us. Thank you that the blessings 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:06.359 you freely give us are not because of who we are or what we've done. In fact, they're despite that. 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:12.460 Thank you that you give them because of who you are and what you've done. Amen.