What a joy it is to be with you this morning.
I bring with me the greetings, the love and the prayers of the congregation at London City Presbyterian Church.
It's been great to get to know your minister, Paul, as I've settled into life in London.
As I was thinking about coming here this morning, I was thinking, what would be good for a congregation I've not met?
And what would be good for all of our souls together?
And so I thought, what about the Apostle Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus?
You know, Paul planted a church in Ephesus.
We don't believe that this is the congregation he's writing to here in Ephesians chapter 1.
This is most likely a circular letter for the presbytery, the churches in the area of Ephesus.
And if you know anything about the letter of Ephesians, you'll know Paul is writing to tell them about the glorious gospel of grace.
The first three chapters unpack the theology of grace.
And the final three chapters apply it to our lives as individuals, as families, as workers.
It's an amazing letter that unpacks the amazing theology of the gospel.
And as we come to this section in chapter 1, there's that breathtaking beginning where Paul says in verse 3,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
Have you ever wondered, what are the spiritual blessings that are yours in Christ, who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ?
Well, Paul unpacks them.
Verse 4,
You are chosen before He laid the foundation of the earth to be holy and blameless.
In love, He predestined you to be adopted as His sons and daughters in His Son.
You have redemption, the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus.
You have been lavished with the riches of God's grace.
And in verses 13 and 14, He says, He has filled us with His Spirit, the deposit and the guarantee of our inheritance.
Now, it's in light of this amazing beginning that Paul the pastor says, let's pray.
And he prays that the eyes of the heart of these Christians in Ephesus would be wide open to what they have in Jesus.
And so, brothers and sisters, this morning, that's what I want us to focus our attention on.
Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus.
Before we begin, let's just bow our heads and let's just pray and ask for God's help.
Lord, may the words of my mouth, may the meditation of all of our hearts,
be pleasing and acceptable in your presence.
And we pray this in the name of our rock and our redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Have you ever heard the name William Randolph Hearst?
He was the Rupert Murdoch of the early 20th century.
He was a media mogul.
He actually, his company put into way the way that newspapers are published.
And as a result, he became a multi-millionaire.
And one of his favorite pastimes was collecting antiques.
He loved to come to Europe and collect 14th, 15th, 16th century paintings.
He loved to come to Britain for grandfather clocks.
He would visit Syria for rugs, China for vases.
You name it, he had it.
He had many mansions.
He had acquired so many antiques that he literally had to build storehouses to keep all that he had.
One occasion, he was sitting in his mansion and he was reading a sort of art dealer's magazine.
And it mentioned a painting that everyone was searching for.
And he thought, I want that.
So he picked up his phone and he phoned one of his agents and he said,
Listen, I'll give you all the money, all the time it takes, but you're going to get me this painting.
I want it for my collection.
So offset his agent.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
And then finally, there was a knock at the door of Mr. Hearst.
It was his agent.
And he was beaming with a smile.
So Mr. Hearst said to him, Did you manage to get this piece of art for me?
His agent said, Yes.
And Mr. Hearst, as he was bringing them into the home, said,
Now tell me, where did you find it?
His agent said, Well, sir, you are never going to believe this.
I've spent a lot of your money.
I've taken up a lot of your time.
When all along, that piece of art was in one of your storehouses.
That true story is a modern parable of what you and I are like as Christians.
You see, in our union to Jesus Christ, we possess every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.
But like Mr. Hearst, we sometimes fail to take the time to enjoy and appreciate what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And why is Pastor Paul so conscious that believers, the eyes of our heart often get filled with the worries of life and the anxieties of life,
praise for these Christians, that the eyes of their heart would be wide open to three things.
Look down at verse 16.
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that is opened, that you may know,
number one, what is the hope to which He has called you?
Number two, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints?
And then number three, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe?
So three points this morning, that the eyes of our hearts may be wide open to our hope in Christ,
to our riches in Christ, and to the power that is ours in Christ.
So first of all, hope.
And let me begin by asking you this question.
Those of you who are Christians, do you live as a person of hope?
Do the eyes of your heart see the hope to which you have been called?
Or have you taken this amazing blessing, this amazing treasure that is yours in Christ,
and have you stored it away in the storehouse of your heart and head,
never to consider it afresh again?
Well, Pastor Paul prays here,
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
in order that you may know the hope to which you have been called.
Do you know what biblical hope is?
It's different from worldly hope, if I can put it like that,
which is wishful thinking, I hope it's not going to rain today,
I hope it's going to be gloriously sunny.
Biblical hope is a confident expectation of a guaranteed result.
Christ means what He says.
He says what He means.
He makes promises and keeps promises.
We've just been celebrating Easter.
Easter is where we see our hope in all of its glory.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
He said He would come, live for us, die for us, and be raised for our justification.
Because He has finished the work, because He's been victorious over death,
all who trust in Him have that future hope.
We will never die but live forevermore.
Our hope as Christians is rooted in the past work of Christ's life, death, and resurrection.
And it impacts our future, because we know where we're going.
But Paul would also, and Peter, in his writings say,
our hope in Christ ought to impact us also in the here and now.
So the apostle Peter speaks about our living hope.
A hope that is alive, that animates us, that energizes us,
because we trust in a living Savior.
When I think about illustrating what hope is,
biblical hope versus worldly hope, if I can put it like that,
I think of when I was 18 years old.
I used to work in a pharmacy.
It puts the chemist on a Saturday.
And across the road from the chemist I worked in,
my late grandfather was a resident in a nursing home.
And so on my lunch break, I'd go across to the nursing home.
And I'm sure you've all been in old folks' home.
When you walk into the lounge, it's always sweltering hot.
And you've got all these old buddies,
and they're sitting around tables playing dominoes,
or doing crosswords, or watching the TV.
And I'd often find my grandfather nestled in among some of the old ladies.
So I'd pull up a chair, and they would see that I worked in the chemist,
and so they would engage me in conversation.
Oh, you work in the chemist?
Well, do you know, when I was a little girl,
that chemist used to be a flower shop?
And it turned out that they'd grown up in this village,
and so they would then go on and tell me,
I went to school along the road,
and they would just begin telling me their life story.
And I married John, and John was an engineer,
and we've had five children.
John passed away many years ago.
And our five children, only one of them lives nearby.
The rest are all across the world.
We've many grandchildren, some that we've never met,
because my children don't come and visit anymore.
I've been in here for many years, Andy.
In fact, Andy, as I think of you working in the chemist,
I keep boots in business because I'm in so much medication.
And you know, when I was speaking to them,
you know, the feeling that I felt inside,
as they walked me through their life story,
and they even brought it right up to the present,
was a feeling of hopelessness.
They could never speak about the future.
Contrast that with those moments
where a carer would clock
that I had come to see my grandfather,
who was a retired minister,
and they would come over,
they would say,
listen, you should spend some time with your grandfather.
So they would wheel him into his room.
He was an old man in his mid-80s,
frail and fragile.
And every time I visited him,
he would never let me leave
without reading the Bible and praying.
He could barely lift his head,
but every time he did lift his head
to look at me in the eye,
he had this glint of excitement,
and he loved to say,
now, Andrew,
I cannot wait to see my Savior.
I cannot wait to get to glory.
That, my friends,
is a picture of hope.
That is a confident expectation
of a guaranteed result.
And if you are united to Christ,
that is what you possess in Christ.
A living hope.
Based on the past work of Jesus
that has secured your future,
but should impact you in the here and now.
We have a hope,
says the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 5,
that does not,
that will not put us to shame.
Have you ever put your hope
in a person,
a loved one,
maybe a parent,
maybe a sibling,
maybe a child,
maybe a colleague,
a boss,
a pastor,
and they've let you down?
Have you ever put your hope
in circumstances,
wishing,
hoping,
they'll all work out for the best,
and it's let you down?
Here's the thing,
if you place your hope firmly
and securely
in the Lord Jesus Christ,
He will never,
ever let you down.
He means what He says,
He says what He means,
and you can trust Him
for all that He has done for you.
I wonder,
do you take this blessing
that you have in Christ,
have you stored it away
in the storehouse of your heart?
Well,
it's Pastor Paul's prayer
that the eyes of our hearts
would be wide open
to the hope
that we have
in Jesus Christ.
You know,
right now in 2023,
nationally,
globally,
there is a lot of hopelessness.
Locally,
I suspect,
Ealing is just like
the neighborhood
I now live in.
There's a lot of people
without hope.
And as Christians,
we have a deep
and unshakable hope
because of what Christ has done.
And so,
brothers and sisters,
we've got every reason
to make known
that hope.
Those of you in this church
who've got children
and you're raising them
in the fear and admonition
of the Lord,
your confidence
is not in what you do.
Your confidence
ought to be
in the God
of hope.
The God
who has made promises
to His people
and loves to make good
on His promises
to His people.
We have
an incredible God
who wants
the eyes of our hearts
to be wide open
to that which is ours
in Jesus Christ.
second thing Paul
prays for
is that the eyes
of our hearts
would see the riches
that we have
in Jesus Christ.
Just look at what
he goes on to say.
What are the riches
of His glorious inheritance
in the saints?
And that begs the question,
what does Paul mean
when he says riches?
Well,
he's just made mention
of them back in verse 7.
He says,
we have been lavished
with the riches
of God's grace.
That's God's undeserved
love and favor.
And He's lavished it
on us
with all wisdom
and insight.
My professor
at seminary
used to speak about,
you know the verse
in Corinthians
where Paul says
that God's grace
is sufficient for us?
He used to say
that God's grace
is tailor-made for us,
like a tailor-made suit.
When God bestows grace
on His people,
it's done with wisdom
and insight.
He knows how broken,
He knows how flawed,
He knows how sinful we are,
and He gives grace
upon grace
perfectly for us.
Now,
the grace of God
is most clearly seen
in the gift
that is His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
And brothers and sisters,
whether we realize it or not,
we are rich
beyond anything
we can imagine
because we have been given
the most incredible gift
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I know that many of us
as Christians
know how spiritually
bankrupt we are.
We look in
and we see this in.
But I think that many
of us as Christians
don't realize
that when you trust
in Christ,
when you're united
with Christ,
your bank account,
spiritually speaking,
is filled with
the infinite wealth
of the undeserved,
unmerited love of God.
such is the grace
and the mercy of God
that we wake up
every morning
and we receive
daily grace
and mercy
for each day
because great
is His faithfulness.
You know,
in the run-up
to this coronation,
I've been reading
a little bit
about the royal family
again,
and it was quite
striking to note
that King Charles,
on the passing
of his mother's death,
inherited all of our estates
and all the assets
are worth billions.
And into his bank accounts
has come hundreds of millions.
And upon him coming king,
he will receive gifts
from other royal families,
relations,
as he takes up this role.
And as I was reading
these articles
and learning more of this,
I had the thought
cross my mind,
why in the world
was I not born
into that family?
And then,
I had to remind myself
that I have been born again
into the family
where I have
a glorious inheritance
that cannot perish,
spoil,
or fade
because it's kept
in heaven for me
and it is shielded
by God's power.
And I am written
into the will
of Almighty God.
and I am an heir
of Christ.
And all that is Christ's
is mine.
He is mine.
And that is the most
incredible inheritance.
And I am His.
And so are you
if you're a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Paul here prays
that these Ephesian Christians,
that all Christians,
we would have
the eyes of our hearts
wide open
to the riches
and the inheritance
we have in Christ.
What would the church
of Jesus Christ
look like
if we stopped
pretending
that we were poor
because we're not poor?
We're rich
in the love of God.
And we started
living as we are.
Maybe you're
in a difficult marriage.
Maybe you've got
difficult children.
Maybe you've got
difficult neighbors.
Maybe you've got
a difficult
boss or colleague.
Do you know
that God
is so gracious
to you?
He lavishes you
each and every day
with love
that you don't deserve
in order
that you who realize
that you need grace
can show grace
to those that you
live with,
work with,
serve with.
In the economy
of grace,
God makes us
trophies of grace
that we might be
those who are so rich
and overflowing
with our riches
that we want to
share it with everyone.
The most glorious
privilege of standing
here today is that
I have the privilege
of preaching
the unsearchable riches
that are ours
in Jesus Christ.
And the most glorious
privilege we all have
as Christians
is that we get
to share that
as we live our lives.
What would the church
of Jesus Christ
be like if we started
to realize
what we have in Christ?
How rich we are
in Christ?
You know,
you will inherit the earth
if you're a believer.
It's your inheritance.
Blessed are the pure
spirit for they
shall inherit the earth.
The glory of the gospel
is that Christ's
inheritances are
inherited.
So,
are you like Mr.
Hearst?
You take the treasure,
the blessing you have,
you store it away,
you forget you've got it.
Paul prays here
that the eyes of your
hearts would be
wide open to see
the riches
that are yours
in Christ.
Now,
I would say that
hope in some ways
is enough.
I'd say that
the riches
and inheritance
is enough.
Paul doesn't stop.
He says,
there's one more thing
I pray that these
Christians would have
the eyes of their
hearts wide open to
and it says
power.
Look at verse 19,
and what is the
immeasurable greatness
of his power
towards us
who believe?
And do you see how
he layers word upon
word there?
He says,
immeasurable greatness
of his power.
Every single person
who is in Christ
has immeasurably
great power
at work within them.
This is the most
mind-boggling truth
that we'll ever
try and understand
that if you're a believer,
if you're united to Christ
this morning,
the third person
of the Trinity
has taken residence
in your life.
In chapter 1,
verse 13 and 14,
he says that the deposit
and the guarantee
of our inheritance
is the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit.
In chapter 3,
verse 20,
in his benediction,
now to him
who is able
to do immeasurably
more than all
we can ask
or imagine
and according
to the power
that is at work
within us.
So try and get
your minds
around this, right?
God,
the third person
of the Trinity,
is within you
and is powerfully
at work within you.
So I know
that as a Christian,
we face temptation
day in,
day out,
and we find ourselves
succumbing
time and time again.
And I know
that we can feel
in a sinful world
powerless,
incredibly weak.
And Satan
would definitely
want us to believe
that that is true
of us
and there is a true
sense that that
is true of us.
But,
brother,
sister,
the Scriptures
tell us
we are indwell
with the Holy Spirit,
the same power
that raised Jesus
Christ from the dead
and we are empowered
to live the Christian life.
So look at verse 19,
what he says,
and what is the
immeasurable greatness
his power towards us
who believe
according to the
working of his
great might
that he worked
in Christ
when he raised him
from the dead
and seated him
at his right hand
in the heavenly places
far above all rule,
authority,
power,
and dominion
above every name
that is named
not only in this age
but also in the one to come.
Here,
Paul illustrates
this is the power of God
that is at work within you.
It's the same power
that raised Jesus
from the dead.
It's resurrection power.
It's the power
of the new life
in Christ.
And those who are united
to Christ,
the living,
risen Christ
who is seated
above all powers
and dominion
and authority
is him
who we live
in relationship with.
This is the blessing
that is ours in him.
And it is truly
mind-bending
and astonishing
because when I look
at my Christian life,
I don't sometimes feel
as if almighty God
is living within me
and is powerfully
at work in me.
But here's the thing,
it's not about my feelings,
it's about the facts
of the gospel.
When I was a minister
in Cumbernauld,
one of the great privileges
I had was
shepherding the old,
preparing them for glory.
I sat next to many
a hospital bed
and many
next to an old saint
on their deathbed
and they were weak
and they were fragile
and they were fading away,
outwardly wasting away.
You know what was glorious?
I learned more from them
than they ever learned
from me
because inwardly
they were being renewed
day by day
and they had something
that money can't buy,
they had something
that you can't have
unless God gives you
and that is
they had the power
and the love
and the grace
to share with me
to say that Christ is king
and we're going to be with him.
Paul prays here
that the eyes of our hearts
would be wide open
to the blessing
of God's power
that is in us.
Now,
as we bring this
to a conclusion,
let me give you
an illustration
that might tie
all this together.
I grew up
just south of Glasgow
but about 100 years ago,
north of Glasgow,
there was a little boy
called John.
When John was a little boy,
he stumbled into a field
and he heard
a field preacher
and he became a Christian.
And John grew up
and he became
a Baptist minister.
He married
and him and his wife
had a little girl
and then sadly
his wife passed away.
And so John's sister
moved in
to his man
so she could help him
pastor.
And John was a very
gifted preacher,
so much so
that he got an invitation
to go and preach
in America
at Moody Church
in Chicago.
And so John
bought three tickets,
one for him,
one for his sister,
one for his daughter,
for the maiden voyage
of the Titanic.
You know the story
better than I do.
It crashed
into the iceberg
and the unsinkable ship
would be sunk.
But it is recorded
for us
what happened
when the alarm
was raised.
Pastor John Harper
was heard saying this,
all women,
children,
and unconverted men
aboard the lifeboats
now.
All Christian men
stand back.
This ship
is going down.
Brothers,
we are going up.
Do you know
what that is?
That is a man
whose eyes
of his heart
were wide open
to the hope
he had in Christ.
Pastor John Harper,
as the Titanic
was beginning
to plummet
into the icicle
trees in the Atlantic Ocean,
was heard shouting
to the orchestra
aboard the ship,
play nearer,
my God,
to thee.
That is hope.
That is a confident
expectation
of a guaranteed result.
He jumped
overboard,
landed into
the water,
and he had
his life jacket on
and so he managed
to grab a piece
of debris
and whilst he was
in the water,
the man who had
been converted
by a field preacher
became a sea preacher
because he started
to proclaim
the unsearchable
riches of Christ
there in the
freezing cold
water.
How so?
By the power
of the Holy Spirit.
This was his
deathbed moment
and yet he felt
enabled to proclaim
the unsearchable
riches that were
in Christ.
There was a man
who jumped overboard,
he didn't have
a life jacket,
he sunk for a moment,
came to the top
and Pastor John Harper
was able to grab him,
bring him onto
the piece of debris,
he took off his
life jacket
and put it on him
and in that sense
he saved this man's life
and he turned to the man
and he said,
have you believed
upon the Lord Jesus Christ?
And I can't believe this
but there
around the night
they had a gospel
conversation
and that man said
no and Pastor John Harper
said,
you must believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ
and be saved.
Pastor John Harper
went to glory
that night.
Six years later
there was a reunion
of all of the survivors
of the Titanic
in Ontario,
Canada
and a man stood up
and he said,
I am the last convert,
Pastor John Harper.
That night
in the freezing
ice cold water
he proclaimed
the unsearchable
riches of Christ
to me
and I was saved.
That friends
is because
John Harper
lived with his eyes
wide open
to the hope,
to the riches
and he lived his life
in dependence
upon the power
of Almighty God.
And as believers today
Paul's prayer
for us
is that you and I
would not take
the blessings
that we have
in our union
with Christ
and store them away
in the storehouse
of our heart
but instead
that the eyes
of our heart
would be wide open
to that which is ours.
If you've never
trusted in Christ
believe upon
the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved.
You'll experience
a love that you don't deserve,
a love that you'd never merit.
You'll be given
an inheritance
that's so glorious.
You'll be written
in the will of God.
If you are a believer
in Christ
as you step into
this week
you've got grace
for your marriage,
grace for your children,
grace for those
you work with.
Grace to share
in the gospel.
You've got hope.
Live as a person
of hope
in a world
filled with hopelessness
and do so
all independent
confidence
on the power
of almighty God.
Let's pray.
Okay.