And turn if you will to Ephesians chapter 1.
And we're going to look at verses 11 to 14.
You might think it's a bit strange to just jump into a chapter and look at those three verses in the middle of Ephesians 1.
And it is.
The reason is I'm speaking at a conference in June.
I wanted a dry run before it.
And so, Ephesians 1, 11, 14.
It turns out that the little church in Ephesus were a little bit discouraged.
They had heard they had been told they believed that Jesus was the Lord of the universe.
And what Jesus was going to do was absolutely huge.
He was going to make the whole world new.
And now they'd heard that the Apostle Paul was in prison.
Just flick over the page to chapter 3 and verse 13.
And Paul says to them,
And so this little church in Ephesus is thinking,
how come Paul, Jesus' apostle, the great preacher of Jesus, is in prison?
It doesn't look good, does it?
The world around them was starting to feel very, very big.
It was not just the Roman authorities that seemed so big.
They put Paul in prison.
But there were these pagan gods that seemed enormous.
And so if you were a member of the little IPC church in Ephesus,
every morning on your way to work,
you would pass this huge temple to the goddess Artemis.
You'd actually be jostled by the crowds of people who every day made their way to this temple to worship.
And day by day you would see this enormous building, crowds of people,
and then you think of your little tiny church gathering,
15 of you squashed into someone's front room,
drinking instant coffee, eating custard creams.
It just feels that the gods around you, that you used to worship,
were somehow much, much bigger than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who you worship now.
And those gods seem to have more of a hold on people's imagination.
The world felt big to the church in Ephesus, and they felt very small.
And it's interesting, isn't it, when Paul prays in his letters for them,
verse 19, he prays a load of things,
but the prayer kind of comes to a climax,
and he prays, I think really interestingly,
which unlocks the book of Ephesians,
is that they would know his incomparably great power,
for us who believe.
Because that power is like the working of his mighty strength.
And so he goes, I want you to know that
the God who's at work in you, there is great power.
And I take it he says that, and he prays that,
because they were feeling powerless, kind of weak.
And he ends the letter, doesn't he, famously,
by saying, stay strong, keep fighting.
And I take it that he says that,
because they didn't feel strong, and they didn't feel like fighting.
And I'm guessing it's not just the church in Ephesus, isn't it?
For us, the world feels big.
It's not just hostile media.
It's not just friends and colleagues
who can't believe that we take the Bible seriously,
they think it's a joke.
It can be work where it's unhappy.
It can be a marriage that's difficult.
It can be a long-term illness,
or the long-term illness of a family member.
And those things loom large.
Or maybe it's just that life is hard.
Or for you, it may be that life is lovely.
And the world around you is so attractive,
and you can feel it pulling you in,
and your career is going well,
your family is happy and healthy,
you are making money,
and you would quite like to make more money,
and get more power.
It's great.
You've got a good social life in London,
and it makes you want more and more,
and you feel those things are just very, very big.
And they've got something of a hold on your heart,
and they seem more powerful in your life than God.
And more grip on your imagination than God.
And the world feels big,
and we're quite small.
And when we think of our prayer lives,
they're weak.
And maybe you sit here,
and you're not as excited about Jesus as you used to be,
and you're painfully aware of your failings.
The plan climaxes, doesn't it, in verse 10,
where Paul talks about Jesus bringing all things
in heaven on earth together
under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Big, big plan.
And we don't doubt the plan,
but we doubt ourselves.
We wonder,
I'm just not sure I've got the strength
to stick with the plan.
And do you feel that?
I feel that sometimes.
These are great verses in verses 11 to 14.
Because what Paul is rejoicing in,
in these verses,
is that the plan of salvation
does not depend on us
with all our frailties.
It depends on him.
It all depends on God.
And so, yes, we are very small.
And yes, the world is big.
But God is bigger still.
So, four reasons tonight
for you to be confident.
The first is that God has chosen us
to be his.
God has chosen us
to be his.
Paul is saying that God,
in Christ,
has unfolded,
has revealed
his great plan of salvation.
And one day,
Jesus will make all things new.
And on that day,
we will be there,
he says,
because, verse 11,
in him,
in Christ,
we were also chosen.
In him,
we are going to be part
of this big thing.
And the word he uses there
is a little bit different
from the word he uses
in verse 4.
It has the idea
of being chosen
to be an inheritance.
So, if I was writing up my will,
I might say,
I've chosen to give this watch
to Noah.
Which means that one day,
when I die,
it will be Noah's.
And the language
that you find here
is also the language
of the Old Testament,
which is used
when the promised land
was divided up.
When the people of Israel
went into the promised land,
do you remember,
the land was divided up
amongst the tribes of Israel.
And you read there
that the territory of Edom
is chosen for Judah
to inherit.
See,
what that means is
one day,
that plot of land
will be theirs.
And more incredibly,
it's language that God
uses of his people Israel.
They are described
as people chosen
to be his inheritance.
He looks at his people
and he says,
one day you'll be mine.
See what he's saying?
God has chosen us
as his inheritance.
One day we will be his.
Do you see the wonder of that?
We want to be wanted.
We want to be included.
We want to be part of the gang.
We want to be invited.
There are times, aren't there,
where there are things
going on socially
and we tag along.
But we don't know
whether the other people
actually really wanted us there
or whether they intended us
to be there.
But here is the God
of the universe.
I want you for myself
forever, he says.
My precious possession.
Mine.
And do you see how Paul
reassures his readers
that they're part of that?
They may be thinking,
okay, Paul,
you're an apostle,
of course.
You're from a Jewish background.
You were one of the elite
of the elite.
But what about us?
We're not part of
the Jewish elite.
We have got a pagan background.
We're from the wrong side
of the sticks.
We have a shaky faith.
Has he chosen us
like he chose you?
And just look at verse 13.
There's a slight change
in the wording.
He adds in a you also.
In him, you also.
The sort of overview is
we've been chosen.
And they're thinking,
Paul, that's fine.
That's fine for you.
But verse 13,
he makes it explicitly clear.
He says,
in him, you also.
When you hear the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation,
when you're included in this,
he says,
when you hear the word of truth,
when you hear what God
had done for you
in the Lord Jesus,
that God is calling you
to be part of his plan,
and when you believed
and when you came
to put your trust in him,
you were given an inheritance.
Left to your own devices,
you would never have done that.
And so Paul says to you tonight,
if you are trusting him tonight,
it is not because
you're kind of tagging along
that you've kind of
invited yourself
and you're hoping
he won't mind,
if you're trusting him tonight,
it's because of his work in you.
He has chosen you
like he has chosen us.
And we are all in this
as his people.
That is what we share.
He wants us for himself.
You might feel tonight
that no one wants you.
But Ephesians 1 tells you
that God wants you.
Of course,
in some of our minds,
there will be a little bit
of a worry, won't there,
about this language
of God choosing people.
It raises so,
so many questions.
Why does God choose
some people
and not others?
And we can be tempted,
can't we,
to say,
well, let's say,
it's not God that chooses us.
Let's say we choose God.
That's much easier
to stomach, isn't it?
There's a kind of
democracy about that.
But it raises a whole
set of different problems
and questions.
Because if we are saying
it is not God
choosing,
it is us
who chose God,
well,
think of the sort of God
you end up with.
we end up with a God
who doesn't want us
very much.
You end up with a God
who puts a notice
in the church email,
says,
I'm organising a trip
to the West End
to see a play
and if you want to come,
sign up,
sign up on the link.
Sign up by the end
of the month.
How bothered is he
if I come on the trip
or not?
He's leaving it
down to me.
If you fancy,
sign up to the end
of the offer.
If you don't fancy,
don't sign up.
It's your choice.
And if no one signs up,
well,
the new creation
is empty.
That's how it goes.
Nobody fancied it.
But God,
who is the Father
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
is very bothered.
And he is not just
leaving it up to you
whether you fancy it
or not.
in his love,
God comes to you
in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and he gives you
a personal invitation.
He gives you an offer
you can't refuse.
And through the gospel,
he is calling us
to come and be part
of what he's doing.
And he does love us
and he wants us
to be in on the trip.
He wants us
to be his forever.
And if it is all
about our choosing God,
you end up with a God
who doesn't want us
very much.
And I get a salvation
which is not very safe.
Look at verse 11.
In him,
we have obtained
an inheritance
having been predestined
according to the purpose
of him
who works all things
according to the
counsel of his will.
And so my place
in God's plan
turns on his will.
And the point is,
he is working everything,
everything,
everything out
in conformity
with his will.
In other words,
God wills
what happens
and nothing
can stop it
from happening.
If my salvation
depended on my will,
well, my will
is pretty flaky
and so is yours.
I resolve
to give up chocolate.
How long does that
resolve last for?
Well, about two and a half days
is the average.
If my place
in God's will
hinges
on my resolve
and my power
to see it through,
that is terrifying.
And I think
this is why the Ephesians
are feeling so daunted.
I think
it's why they're so daunted
because the world
feels so big
and we feel so small
and we are not sure
whether we can hold on.
But what Paul wants you
to see
and wants you to know
and wants you actually
to feel
is it's not about
how we hold on
to him,
but it's about how
he holds on to us.
when I walk
with Phoebe
down
Greenford Avenue,
it's quite a main road,
and she will say,
hold my hand.
And I do this little
maneuver like you do
if you're a parent
or you're walking
with a small child.
She puts her hand
in mine
and then I twist my hand
and I hold her arm
because Phoebe's hand
is not very big,
is it?
Phoebe's fingers
are not very strong.
And if she tripped,
she would go flying
if she was just
holding on to me,
but because I am
holding on to her,
she doesn't go flying.
And that is the first reason
why we can be confident
because God has chosen us
to be his
and he has got hold of us.
And when we think
of our weaknesses,
we often think naturally
that the answer is
get a grip.
Get a grip.
But the answer is to remember
that he has got his grip on us.
And when I trip,
he will not let me fall.
He will hold me fast.
And so how do I know
he won't let me go?
And there's a second reason
for us to be confident
because he's got hold of us
and here it is
to the praise of his glory.
That's the reason.
To the praise of his glory.
Do you see the goal of it all?
Why is he working out
his plan of salvation?
Why has he got hold of us?
Can you see it at the end
of verse 12?
To the praise of his glory.
The end of verse 14,
to the praise of his glory.
If I can put it like this,
God is committed
to showing the world
how brilliant he is.
And the world is meant
to look at his salvation.
It is meant to look
at his church
and his people
and say,
wow, God is brilliant.
And that is not because
God is some kind of show-off.
If you're praying
for someone that you love,
somebody who's not
a Christian believer,
what is the best thing
that could ever happen
to them?
The best thing
that could ever happen
to them is that
they would come to see
how brilliant God is.
Because for as long
as they think
that God is
not much good,
they won't give him
the time of day.
And they are missing out.
No, God is committed
to his glory.
And the world
seeing how brilliant
he is.
And that is what gives us
such confidence
in his plan.
Once you see
what is at stake,
his glory is at stake.
And so he will keep you.
You see,
he will never let
his plan
depend on people
like me.
And the reason
God will not
leave his salvation
down to people
like us
is because
the stakes
are too high.
His glory
is at stake.
God is not
going to let
his glory
depend on
weak,
feeble
people
like us.
And that is why
he will not
let us go.
The third
reason to be
confident
is that the
Holy Spirit
is a seal.
Look at verse 13.
The plan
is for the
praise of his glory.
So why
doesn't he leave
it down to us?
That is why
he gives us
his Holy Spirit.
Verse 13.
Look at verse 13.
In him also,
you also,
when you heard
the word of truth,
the gospel of your
salvation,
and believed in him,
were sealed
with the promised
Holy Spirit.
When you heard
the gospel,
and believed,
you were marked
as being in Christ
by a seal.
There was
a mark of ownership.
And you're
driving along
the road,
and you see
cattle,
and branded
into the sign
of the cattle
is a seal
to show you
who the cattle
belonged to.
In school,
having a school
uniform,
do you remember
that?
And your mum
or your dad,
before you went
to the first day
of school,
would sew those
little labels
onto your school
uniform.
Do you remember
those labels?
And they were
kind of sealed,
weren't they?
Those labels
were a seal
to show
it was yours.
And so if you
find a pair
of shorts
that says
Paul Levy
on it,
you would know
it is Paul
Levy's shorts.
It belongs
to him.
But the language
has biblical
connotations as well.
In the Old Testament,
the high priest
was marked
with a seal.
So we read
of how the high priest
wore a seal
on his forehead.
a plate
with it
made of gold.
A plate
made with gold
and on it
the plate
said
holy to the
Lord.
It was a mark
of ownership.
The priest
belongs to God.
But the wonderful
promise
in the Old Testament
is that one day
all of God's
people would
be sealed.
all of God's
people would
know that
they belong
to God.
Let's do one
cross reference.
Come with me
to Isaiah
chapter 44.
It's worth it.
Isaiah chapter 44.
Keep a finger
in Ephesians
chapter 1.
Isaiah 44.
And Isaiah
44 and
verse 3.
The end
of verse 2.
Isaiah 44.
In verse 2
it says
fear not.
The Lord
says
fear not.
And then in
verse 3
into that fear
he says
for I will
pour water
on the thirsty
land
and streams
on the dry
ground
and I will
pour my
spirit upon
your offspring
and my
blessing on
your descendants.
They shall
spring up
among the
grass
like willows
by flowing
streams
and this
one will
say
I'm the
Lord's.
and another
will call
on the
name of
Jacob
and another
will write
on his
hand
the Lord's
and name
himself
by the
name of
Israel.
It's
prophesying
there that
everyone
will one
day be
able to
say I
belong to
the Lord
not because
of some
gold plate
on their
head
but because
of the
spirit.
The spirit
in their
hearts
that God
will pour
out on
his people.
Do you
see what
the apostle
Paul is
saying in
Ephesians 1?
let's go
back there.
He's
saying this
the Lord
does not
want you
to say
tonight
I hope
that I
am his.
He does
not want
you to
say I
hope
that I
am his.
The Lord
wants us
to be
people who
say I
know I
am his.
I belong
to him.
You
might be
thinking how
do I
know that
I belong
to him?
That I
am his
and I
am in
Christ.
Paul says
God has
marked you
by his
spirit.
Do you
remember
Toy Story?
Have you
watched the
film Toy
Story?
Have you
watched that
one?
It's good
isn't it?
Alright.
Do you
remember the
story Toy
Story?
And so
do you
remember
Woody?
Woody was
the cowboy
wasn't he?
And Woody
had a pair
of boots
on and
what was
written on
the bottom
of Woody's
boots?
Okay.
Pardon?
Andy.
Who was
Andy?
Do you
remember?
Yeah.
The boy
who owned
Woody
wasn't it?
And when
Woody was
unsure or
when Woody
was frightened
he would
look at
his boot
and remember
I belong
to Andy.
In fact
I think
wasn't it
if I remember
rightly
in Toy
Story 2
Andy is
about to
be sent
to Japan
is that
right?
By some
evil toy
dealer
and there's
a moment
in the film
where Woody
looks at his
boot
and he
remembers
I belong
to Andy.
He's
marked
sealed
and what
Paul is
saying is
that God
has marked
us by
his Holy
Spirit
and every
time we
see the
mark of
the Spirit
in our
lives we
ought to
say I
belong to
God.
So the
question in
our mind
is this
what are
the marks
of the
Spirit of
God?
What is
the sign
of the
Holy Spirit
working in
our lives?
Well do
you trust
and rest
and rely
and depend
on the
Lord Jesus
tonight?
Do you
say before
God what
is my
only comfort
in life
and death?
That I
am not
my own
but belong
body and
soul to
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
Jesus is
my only
hope
and if
that is
what you
believe
that is
a sign
that the
Holy Spirit
is at
work in
you.
You
would
never
say
that.
What do
you pray?
What do
you call
God?
Do you
pray my
Father,
our
Father,
that God
is not
just a
God to
you but
you marvel
that he
is your
Father who
is in
heaven?
That is a
sign of
the Spirit
being at
work in
you and
the Spirit
gives us a
love for
the Lord
Jesus that
we didn't
have before.
There was a
time when
we weren't
interested in
reading the
Bible but
now we've
got an
appetite,
we're
hungry to
know more
of Jesus.
That is a
sign that
you belong
to him,
a sign that
the Spirit
is at
work.
The Spirit
gives us a
love for
God's
people that
we never
had before.
He longed
to be with
God's
people and
to belong
to the
church.
That's a
sign of
God's Spirit
being at
work.
God's
we fight with sin,
we didn't have that before,
we didn't used to fight,
we just used to go with the flow,
we still struggle,
we still fail,
but now we fight,
and every time we fight,
if you are fighting tonight,
you might feel you're losing,
but you're fighting,
that is a sign that you belong to him,
and when you mess up,
like you often do,
you don't shrug your shoulders,
and think well that's the way it is,
it hurts,
and there's times when it breaks your heart,
and it never used to,
and there's a sorrow over your sin,
which shows that you have the spirit,
and that you belong to him,
Spurgeon,
the great kind of Baptist preacher,
he described the Christian life,
as feeling like a young bird,
fighting to get out of an eggshell,
he says,
I wasn't yet flying,
but I'm fighting,
and the fact that he felt constrained,
and he longed for something better,
showed that he was alive,
and he had the spirit,
the mark of having the spirit,
is not perfection is it,
it's certainly not perfection,
but it is progress,
I'm not what I will be,
but I'm not what I used to be,
the Ephesians are afraid,
and discouraged,
and losing heart,
and they look at the culture around them,
and the spiritual forces around them,
that it's a negative world,
and it seems to have so much of a grip on them,
and Paul says,
look at the Holy Spirit in your lives,
the spirit,
he is God's seal,
and God is saying,
fear not,
and I think it's the kind of temperature in our culture,
kind of rises a little bit,
we're getting slightly tempted to fear,
and God says to us,
fear not,
you are mine,
and you do not belong to any other God,
or force,
or power,
or authority,
you are my precious possession,
and if you know you are his,
then you are safe,
of course you're weak,
of course you're frail,
but the Lord says you are mine,
and I've got hold of you,
and I'm never going to lose you,
the fourth and the final reason we can be confident,
is that the Holy Spirit is a deposit,
it's a deposit,
the promised Holy Spirit,
so verse 14,
who is the guarantee,
the Holy Spirit,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance,
until we acquire possession,
to the praise of his glory,
and last year,
I bought a car,
with the help of John Silver's car services,
and we went around different,
kind of random,
Japanese and American importers,
looking at cars,
and then we found one that,
John said he thought was good,
and I just agreed and bought it,
and to buy it,
I had to put down a deposit,
I can't remember what it was,
I think it was 20%,
and so,
I put a deposit on the car,
at that point,
John stopped sending me adverts,
on auto trader,
by WhatsApp,
incessantly,
I wasn't searching anymore,
I wasn't thinking about it anymore,
because I'd paid the deposit,
and it guarantees it,
and so that when I ring up,
and say is it ready,
they'd say well it's ready for you,
I wouldn't say well,
actually I've changed my mind,
and they would say well tough,
you're committed now,
I'd paid the deposit,
it belongs to us,
and one day,
I would complete the deal,
I can't remember,
was it four weeks later,
I went back with the rest of the cash,
and I completed the deal,
and I took it home,
and so God has put down a deposit,
look at verse 14,
and I think the footnote helps as well,
look at the footnote,
if it's I haven't got the same Bible as you,
he is the guarantee of our inheritance,
or he is the down payment,
he is the deposit,
guarantee our inheritance,
so I want to say this,
I think one of the big problems,
we worry about whether we are gods or not,
is because we forget,
that the Holy Spirit is described as a deposit,
he's a down payment,
we forget don't we,
that the down payment,
the deposit is not everything,
so the people in that garage,
when I put down the deposit,
would they look at the deposit,
and say well is this all we're going to get,
after all the work we've done,
shipping this thing in from Japan,
and doing all the work,
is this all we're going to get done,
we worked hard to fix up this car,
and do we just get this,
no because it's the deposit,
the deposit isn't everything,
but the deposit does guarantee,
that there's more to come,
and sometimes maybe you tonight,
are going through a period in your Christian life,
where you feel it's hard,
and dry,
and you feel thin,
and stretched,
and you worry,
I don't feel like I once felt,
and the truth tonight is,
the deposit is not everything,
there's much much more,
but the deposit is a guarantee,
everything,
all that is to come,
he guarantees our inheritance,
and we have seen,
that God is going to inherit us,
and now Paul is talking about,
what we are going to inherit,
well remember we are in Christ,
he's the son of the father,
we are his brothers and sisters,
and we will inherit,
all that he will inherit,
what will he inherit,
do you remember what he'll inherit,
everything,
life with his father,
in a world made new forever,
you see the Christian life,
it's not a kind of fingers crossed,
we're hoping,
we'll inherit if we're lucky,
the deposit has been paid,
and the deposit guarantees,
our inheritance,
until the redemption,
of those who are God's possession,
we are God's possession,
and we belong to him,
and he wants us for himself,
and there will be,
a final redemption,
when he finally comes,
to set us free,
and claim us,
as his own forever,
my car,
and when I bought it,
it was actually delayed,
for a couple of weeks,
so to fix something,
it was delayed,
for a couple of weeks,
I don't think,
that my car,
was worrying,
and fretting,
but if I could have,
I would have reassured,
my car,
and I would have said,
you car,
are ours,
and one day,
I will come,
to complete the deal,
and take you home,
and that is what the Lord,
says to each one of us,
but for some of us tonight,
our inheritance,
can feel a very long time coming,
and the Lord is saying,
to you tonight,
I'm,
I'm not still,
making up my mind,
I've put down,
my deposit on you,
and that is the guarantee,
in the face of whatever,
this world throws at you,
God says,
I will come,
I will complete the deal,
I will take you home,
I will,
let's pray,
and that is the ending of the ending of the ending of the ending of the ending of the ending of the ending of ending of ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending