Well, good morning, church. We are continuing our series in the book of Ephesians today.
So if you'll take the word of God with me and turn to the book of Ephesians, we are
completing chapter one today, Lord willing, beginning in verse 15, Ephesians chapter one
and verse 15. As you turn there, I want to remind you of a little bit of background on
the book. Ephesians has two themes. The first half of the book talks about who we are. The
second half, how we live, who we are, and how we live. Much of our content from this
series was drawn from the Christ-centered exposition series of commentaries, a book on Ephesians
authored by Pastor Tony Merida. And the background of the book of Ephesians is it was written by
Apostle Paul around the year AD 62. And the setting, he was under house arrest and Roman
imprisonment far away. But he was very familiar with this church in Ephesus. He had been a
pastor with them for about three years. You can read that account in Acts chapter 19.
The breakdown of the book, again, chapters one through three, who we are in Christ, our identity.
And actually this corresponds well with what the youth are studying on Wednesday nights.
They have a series going on studying our identity in Christ. And that is exciting when that overlaps
with what's going on here on Sundays. The second half of the book talks about how we live for Christ.
So who we are and how we live. Part one, we're in right now, who we are in Christ. So today we'll
be reading from primarily the Christian standard Bible, Ephesians chapter one and verse 15. If you're
able to, would you join me in standing? If you need to remain seated, that's fine. But if you're able
to join me in standing, we'll read together Ephesians chapter one and verse 15. This is why,
since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving
thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the glorious Father, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his
calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the mighty working of his strength.
verse 20. He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his
right hand in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion and every title given,
not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet
and appointed him, Jesus, as head over everything for the church. Remember that? Church is not about me.
Church is about Jesus, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. You may be seated.
Lord, I thank you for this time. I thank you that you've given us this letter to this church in Ephesus that is still 100% relevant
for our church in Henrietta. I ask that you would move in our hearts this morning. Let the light of your word reveal
the truth about us and help us to walk out of these doors today, knowing you more intimately. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
All right, this chapter
is broken down to two sections. We covered
two weeks ago, the first half and the second half here.
Man, that first half was powerful.
Absolutely powerful.
It's really hard for Paul to improve on what he did in that first chapter, the first half of the first chapter of Ephesians,
talking about who we are in Christ, the redemption that we have through his blood, the inheritance that we have received,
that we were chosen by God.
And being chosen by God motivates us then
to love him, to worship him, to give him praise.
And now he closes this chapter with a prayer.
A prayer for the church.
A magnificent prayer
that you and I can latch on to
and be grateful
that this is in the scriptures
meant for our edification today.
So what is he talking about in this prayer?
Let me ask you this question.
Does anybody know who these people are?
Good guess.
It took us a minute to even identify the type of jerseys, but we got there.
These are arguably the top five soccer players in the world right now,
arguably the best at their positions, according to the main soccer publications out there.
I dare say that if any one of these guys walked into our church this morning,
there's not one person in this room who would have a clue who they are.
However, if they went in just about anywhere else in the world,
they would be mobbed.
Paparazzi would be following them everywhere.
There'd be crowds thronging them
because those people know these guys.
These guys are worldwide celebrities,
except in the United States.
We're the only ones who don't play football with our feet.
And so there is a little disconnect there
between knowing who these people are
and knowing who these people are.
Now take a minute and let's hear some names, all right?
Who do we have up here?
Troy Aikman,
Roger Staubach,
Tony Romo,
Zach Prescott.
My wife even knows who a couple of these guys were, man.
Listen,
if any one of these guys walked into our building this morning,
we might have to cancel the service
because y'all would be so starstruck, right?
Who am I kidding?
I would be too.
Yeah, you walk into a town in Texas
and throw some Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks up there,
absolutely people know who they are.
For those of you who didn't have a clue,
those are Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks, okay?
It's all in the context of what you care about,
what your interests are,
what you spend your time learning about,
and around the world, soccer is king.
But here in Texas,
the Dallas Cowboys are king.
They may not always be king on the scoreboard on Sundays,
all right?
But we're going to win today,
and they kick at noon,
so we need to hurry up.
But y'all don't rush off.
We got to help get ready for Drunkertreat, okay?
So let's wrap this puppy up.
All right, here we go.
So the idea here is
we need to reflect and consider
how well we know God
because there are certain things
that we know very well.
And a lot of it depends on context.
And the truth is,
how well you know God
depends on how much time
you've spent studying Him,
how much time you've spent with Him,
how much time you've spent learning about Him,
how much of a nerd you are about God.
How many Star Wars nerds we got in here?
Yes?
Some of you, like, hesitantly.
I'm not proud of it, but yes.
I did.
I did say yes.
I did.
Star Trek?
Anybody Star Trek?
You got some Trekkies?
Wow.
The age of some of those, like,
okay.
Some younger people who are Star Trek fans.
All right.
What else?
Marvel?
DC?
Marvel and DC, Jessica.
Wow.
Okay.
Amazing.
We're bridging gaps here in this church, man.
Well, listen.
How many of us nerd out
for holy God
as much as we do
for these other areas of entertainment
in our lives?
Now, look.
I can tell you every single member
of the Dallas Cowboys this year.
I love them to death.
I love my Texas Rangers.
Let's not talk about last night.
But how much of our time,
how much of our interest
is spent knowing more and more
about these things
that matter in the here and now,
but in the scope of eternity,
they don't matter a bit.
They don't matter at all.
But we oftentimes
know far more about that
than we do
the one who bled and died for us,
rose from the grave victoriously,
and offers life-changing power
to us every day.
So there is a revelation
involved in knowing God.
Let's look back at verse 17
of chapter 1.
Verse 17 of Ephesians chapter 1.
I pray that the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the glorious Father,
would give you
the spirit of wisdom
and revelation
in the knowledge
of Him.
That you would get
to know God better,
and then you would experience
this divine revelation
that comes with knowing God.
What are we talking about
when we say revelation?
That God reveals things to you.
God reveals the truth
about Himself.
God reveals His true nature.
Do you realize
that if you grow up in church,
oftentimes,
you can get a distorted view
of who God is?
You understand that?
You can all of a sudden realize,
especially growing up
in Baptist churches,
that God is not just
a bunch of rules.
Because sometimes
that is what we portray,
and that is what we emphasize,
that if you do this,
if you check these boxes,
if you live according
to how we say
you ought to live,
then you are good,
you are fine,
and God is happy with you.
That is not an accurate view
of God.
God knows the truth
about you.
He knows the truth
about me.
He knows we are
far worse
than the image
that we portray
on Sunday morning
in church.
Whether you're standing
in a choir
or sitting out here,
we try to portray
the best version
of ourselves,
don't we?
Of course we do.
God knows that
you're not really that.
He knows that
those people,
young people
who post on Instagram,
their lives aren't
really like that.
They took that picture
25 times
to get it just right
to portray
this certain image.
And we do that
in our day-to-day lives.
When people are coming
over to our house,
what do we do?
We try to straighten
it up real quick.
We try to clean it.
We go,
oh man,
I've got to throw
the dishes
in the dishwasher.
I've got to go
make the bed real quick.
Or at least close
the door to the bedroom
so they don't go in there.
We try to portray
an image
that we have it
all together
when God knows
we don't have it
all together.
We are a mess.
But God is revealed
when we get to know
Him better,
we realize
those aren't the things
that He prioritizes.
Remember what we talked
about in our series
on the church?
Don't make the
secondary stuff
primary.
Primary
is what God
really cares about.
He cares about you.
He cares about your heart.
He cares about rescuing you.
He cares about changing you.
He cares about saving you.
He cares about redeeming
your life.
So there is a revelation
in knowing God.
Now man,
we care about how you
have it all together.
Mankind,
our fellow neighbor,
we are judging.
We talk back.
We talk bad about you
behind your back.
That's what people do.
God doesn't do that.
So we reveal
the real God
when we get to know
Him better.
How do you get to know
God better?
You spend time with Him.
You pray.
You talk to Him.
You actually spend time
in your day
talking to the one
who wants to hear from you.
You actually spend time
reading the instruction
manual for life
that He left behind here.
and we've got Him
so nicely bound
in leather and all that.
That is God.
He's revealed Himself
to us.
I'm not talking about
getting some vision
because you ate too much
Mexican food the night before.
I'm talking about
real,
genuine learning
of who God is.
He's told us exactly
about His nature.
He's told us everything
we need to know
about Him.
and it's all there
for the taking.
And God reveals
Himself to us.
You know what else?
He reveals us
in Him.
It's like a mirror.
When we look at God,
we see how fake we are.
When we look at how real
and genuine His love is,
we see how poor of an excuse
our love is.
And then we're just astounded.
Why would God love me?
I'm a mess.
I can't measure up.
That's what grace is all about.
That's what salvation
is all about.
That's what God
is all about.
So we need Holy Spirit glasses.
We need Holy Spirit glasses.
These are not
rose-colored glasses.
This is not looking through life
that everything's okay.
It's realizing
that everything is not okay,
but it can be well
with my soul
despite all the mess around me,
despite all the mess
within my own heart.
It can still be well
with my soul
because God loves me,
He cares,
He sacrificed everything,
and He wants and desires
above everything else
a relationship with me
because that glorifies Him.
That brings glory to Him.
So we have an opportunity
to worship our God,
praise Him,
bring honor and glory
to His name every day
by working on our relationship
with Him,
seeing us as He sees us,
seeing Him as He truly is.
We can only do that
by looking through
these Holy Spirit glasses.
So if you have put your faith
in Christ,
repented of your sins,
turned from them
and turned to Him
as your Savior
to become His child,
then you have
the Holy Spirit with you.
And the Holy Spirit
can reveal
who God is
and who we are
to us.
2 Corinthians chapter 4
kind of talks about this.
We are not proclaiming ourselves,
but Jesus Christ
as Lord.
God, who said,
let light shine out of darkness,
has shown in our hearts
to give the light
of the knowledge
of God's glory
in the face
of Jesus Christ.
That is a revealing light.
It is an illuminating light
that shines on our hearts
through the power
of the Holy Spirit
and it allows us
to see clearly.
Until then,
we're seeing a distorted view
of the world.
And that's why
we're so easily swayed
by things we read online,
by things we watch online,
by things we hear
other people say,
things we hear people say
about us.
We are so easily swayed
by everything
except what God says.
So we must get
to know Him better.
We've got to look
through His Holy Spirit glasses
and then see
who we really are
and who He really is.
Number two,
the blessings
of knowing God.
The blessings
of knowing God.
Did y'all notice today
in your bulletins
you've got some work to do?
Anybody notice that?
Good.
Y'all doing the work?
Y'all writing it down?
Alright, here we go.
We told you for a little while
this was coming.
We're going to be
active participants today.
Fill in those blanks.
Alright, so number one,
the revelation
of knowing God.
Number two,
the blessings
of knowing God.
Boy, the blessings
of knowing God
we could spend
the rest of the day
talking about them
and still not
scratch the surface.
But let's give
a little overview here
beginning in verse 18.
Ephesians 1.18,
I pray that the eyes
of your heart
may be enlightened.
Talking about that revelation.
So that you may know
what is the hope
of His calling.
There we go,
the hope of His calling.
What is the wealth
of His glorious inheritance
in the saints.
The wealth
of His inheritance.
And what is
the immeasurable
greatness of His power
toward us who believe
according to the mighty
working of His strength.
Did you catch those
three key words
that were in there?
Hope,
inheritance,
and power.
Hope,
inheritance,
and power.
These are three blessings
of knowing God
that the text reveals to us
here in Ephesians chapter 1.
So,
let's look first
over Jeremiah.
We're looking at hope.
Hope number one.
Hope.
Then Jeremiah 29.11,
I know the plans
I have for you.
Plans for your well-being,
not for disaster,
to give you a future
and a hope.
That is why
Christians can have
such a positive outlook
on life,
even when things
aren't going well.
It's because God
gives us a future
and a hope.
He promises that.
So,
it's like,
it doesn't matter
how bad the here
and now gets,
I know that there's
a future,
and I know my future
is secure.
I know there's a hope
for today.
I know that even
though I mess up,
God's love for me
wasn't contingent
on me not messing up.
God loves me
despite my mess ups.
So,
I can have a hope,
and I can still
have a future.
My future is secure.
There's nothing
that I did
to inherit God's presence.
There's nothing
I did
to inherit God's love,
and there's nothing
that I can do
to lose it.
I have a future,
and it's secure,
and I have a hope,
and it's real,
and it's unshakable.
You know what the
enemy of hope is?
Fear.
The enemy of hope
is fear.
How many of us
struggle with fear
on a daily basis?
You don't have
to raise your hand.
We know you do.
You know I do.
We all do.
Every one of us
struggles with fear
because we are
living in this flesh,
but that's why
we must remind ourselves
continually who God is.
We've got to get to know
Him more intimately.
That's where that hope
comes from.
Look through those
Holy Spirit glasses,
and remember
that we have a hope,
and it's alive.
1 Peter chapter 1,
Praise be to the God
and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
In His great mercy,
He's given us new birth
into a living hope.
There's a song,
a Christian song
that's written about that.
It says,
Jesus Christ,
my living hope.
He is our living hope.
He's alive.
That's why the resurrection
of Jesus from the dead
is the one thing
that we can rest
all of our hope on.
It's the one thing
that we can build
our hope on
because if He died
and He didn't come back
to life,
then He wasn't God.
The things He said
weren't true,
and this is all
an exercise in futility.
It's all worth nothing.
But He did rise from the dead.
He is alive today,
and He is our living hope
through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ
from the dead.
You and I have hope.
Well, we can only have hope
when we get to know God better
because otherwise,
we can't battle that fear
that surrounds us.
Yes, our destiny is secure.
We should have that hope
and carry that with us,
but we're too caught up in fear.
We're too caught up
in getting to know
everything else around us
except the God
who loves us
and can transform our lives.
1 Peter chapter 1
and the next verse.
We read verse 3 a moment ago.
Into an inheritance
that can never perish,
spoil, or fade.
Did you get that?
His great mercy,
He's given us new birth
into this living hope
because Jesus rose from the dead
and into an inheritance
that can never perish,
spoil, or fade.
How many of you guys
have like a $100 million inheritance
waiting on you
whenever so-and-so does?
I didn't think so.
If you are,
you need to tie it on that, okay?
Our inheritance
is so much better
than $100 million.
Our inheritance
can never perish,
spoil, or fade.
It can't be wasted
on something else.
It can't have its value
decrease through the stock market.
Our inheritance
is so much better
because it is eternal.
It is forever.
You know what the interesting
part in that?
This is another blessing
of knowing God.
It's understanding
that He is our inheritance.
You know what the crazy part is?
We are His inheritance.
Did you see there
in verse...
Where was it here?
Ephesians chapter 1
and verse 18.
That you may know
what is the hope
of His calling,
what is the wealth
of His glorious inheritance
in the saints.
Do you know what
Scripture teaches here
and it alludes to it
right here in Ephesians 1?
We are His prize.
Isn't that weird?
It is easy for us
to recognize
how great and good God is.
How He is our inheritance.
He is our treasure.
He is our prize.
He's so much greater
than we are.
That's not hard
to wrap our heads around.
But it's a little wild
to consider
that God looks at us
as the big prize
that He won.
We are His inheritance.
And He can't wait
to get us home.
He is so looking forward
to this joyous reunion
in heaven someday
when He gathers
all the children
into the fold.
So we can take comfort
in knowing
that God's going
to take care of us.
We are His inheritance.
God's got us.
He loves us.
He values us.
He treasures us.
But that's a blessing
of knowing God.
That's a blessing
of being familiar with Him.
That's a blessing
of knowing His heart.
Knowing His mind.
Spending time with Him.
Then you see
how God sees you.
And you see
who He really is.
And then finally,
it talks about
the blessing
of knowing God
is His power.
The immeasurable greatness
of His power
toward us
who believe.
Folks,
do you know why
you may not
have experienced
the power of God
in your life?
because you may
not really believe.
You might not
really be saved.
If you died today,
you might head
straight to a burning hell
because you've never
turned from your sin
and put your faith
in Jesus.
I'm dead serious.
I will give that invitation
every time I preach.
and 99.9% of the time
nobody walks down here
but I guarantee you
there are people
sitting in this Sunday
under the sound
of my voice
every week,
week after week
after week
and they refuse
to repent of their sin
and put their faith
in Jesus for salvation.
I promise you
that is true
in our church.
Don't start looking around
and wondering who it is.
Look in your own heart.
Say, God,
am I your child?
Have I truly
repented of my sin
and put my faith
in Jesus?
Has there been
visible evidence
of that in my life?
Do I see evidence
of the Holy Spirit
in my life?
Because otherwise
there's no power.
Did you see
what it said?
The power is there
for you who believe.
believe.
If you don't believe,
you don't get the power.
If you don't believe,
you don't get the inheritance.
If you don't believe,
you don't get the hope.
That is the blessing
of knowing God.
Please don't leave
this room today
without meeting God
and getting to know Him.
That's what this is all about, y'all.
We can sing the songs
and the choir sounds great
and we can dress up nice
and come and be friendly
to everybody,
but that is all worth nothing
if you don't know Jesus.
You gotta know Jesus.
You gotta meet Him
for the first time today.
For those who do believe,
we have access
to unlimited power.
I talked about it
with the teens
on Wednesday night.
Jesus said,
all power is given unto me
so you can go
with all that power
because I am with you.
So we have access
to all His power.
2 Peter chapter 1.
His divine power
has given us
everything required
for life and godliness.
Watch this.
Through the knowledge
of Him
who called us
by His own glory
and goodness.
Knowing God better
gives you access
to His power
and that's all you need
for life.
Everything required
for life
and for living
how God wants you to live,
living godly,
is found in knowing God.
You gotta know Him better.
That's why we study
His word.
That's why we gather together.
That's why we have
Sunday school classes.
That's why we have
small groups.
That's why we have
ministries throughout the church.
To get to know God better.
We know God better
by obeying Him.
We know God better
by coming to church,
by fellowshipping
with the believers,
by singing songs
that praise Him
and talk about His goodness.
We know God better.
that gives us access
to His power
which is all we need
for life.
So,
finally,
the victory
of knowing God.
Those blessings
of knowing God
are amazing
but I can promise you
there is a victory
in knowing God.
There's a victory
awaiting us.
It's this theological idea
of already
but not yet.
You understand
what I'm saying?
God has already
sealed us.
He's already secured us.
He's already forgiven us
and made us His children.
We just haven't
realized that yet.
We're still trapped
in this body.
We're still living
on this wicked earth
surrounded by sin
all around us
but the victory
is already won.
Look at verse 20.
He exercised this power
in Christ
by raising Him
from the dead
and seating Him
in His right hand
in the heavens
far above every ruler
and authority
power and dominion
and every title
given not only
in this age
but also
in the one to come
and He subjected
everything under His feet
and He appointed Him
as head
over everything
for the church.
You want to know
who's in charge
of this church?
Jesus is in charge
of this church.
He's the head
of this church
which is His body
the fullness
of the one
who fills all things
in every way.
can I clue you in
on something here?
This is one of my
favorite resources
Wilmington's Guide
to the Bible
and the man
who wrote this
said the believer
is fighting
from a victory
not for a victory.
The victory
is already won.
That's the good news
for you this morning.
Jesus already beat death.
He conquered death.
1 Corinthians 15
says thanks be to God
who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are living this life
fighting this spiritual battle
from a place of victory
not trying to win the victory.
God's already won it.
It's here.
It's here for us
to live in
enjoy claim
every time Satan
comes after you
every time he tries
to discourage you
or attack you
with fear
or tempt you
with something
you know you shouldn't do
you can say Satan
you're a beaten enemy.
God has won.
I'm not going to give in
to a loser.
So the takeaway this morning
is my confidence grows
as my intimate knowledge
of God grows.
My confidence grows
as my intimate knowledge
of God grows.
What do we mean by this?
How does knowing God
give me confidence?
One,
I see more clearly.
We talked about
that illumination
that revelation
of seeing us
as God sees us
and seeing him
as he really is.
I can see more clearly
that gives me confidence.
I have hope.
A living hope.
Jesus is alive.
My hope is real.
And that gives me confidence.
And I have
and I am
God's inheritance.
Boy, that should give you confidence.
You have inherited
all that God is.
We are joint heirs
co-equal
with
the Son of God himself
Jesus.
We are joint heirs
with Christ.
And then God
sees us
as his inheritance.
Talk about a confidence builder.
God values you so much
and then I have power.
I have all power
that God has.
The Holy Spirit of God
walks with me,
prepares the path for me,
protects me,
guides me
if I'll listen to him.
I have all that power
and I already have the victory.
These are confidence builders
that can go with us
every step of the way.
2 Timothy chapter 2
the last book of the Bible
that Paul wrote
that we have record of.
He says,
I'm not ashamed.
It's toward the end of his life.
He said,
I know whom I have believed
and I'm persuaded
that he is able
to keep
what I have committed to him
until that day.
You see the confidence
oozing through that?
You see the confidence
that Paul had?
I know
who I've believed in
and I am absolutely
persuaded
that he will keep
what I have committed to him
until that day.
What kind of confidence
do you have?
Here's the real question.
How well do you really know God?
There is a direct link.
There's a direct correlation
between how well you know God
and your confidence level
as a Christian.
If you're shaky,
you're beaten up by fear,
tossed to and fro,
insecurity,
uncertainty,
you need to get to know God better.
God is the answer to that.
His power,
his hope,
his inheritance,
all these
can soothe those fears.
All these can reassure you.
But you've got to get to know him.
You've got to spend time with him.
You've got to get to know him intimately.
And you can recognize him in the world.
You can see,
that's from God.
That's from God.
Hebrews 4,
let us then approach
God's throne of grace
with confidence
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace
to help us
in our time of need.
We can approach God
with confidence.
Okay?
We're talking about a daily activity,
a daily approach.
Getting down on your knees,
maybe even lying prostrate
if you need to,
on your face
before God.
spending time
getting to know him.
Sometimes just being quiet
and listening to him.
Waiting to see
what those thoughts
and burdens
and prayers
that he puts into your heart.
Opening up his word
and seeing
what he's already said to us.
And then rising up
and walking with him
in confidence.
We can daily approach him
with confidence.
We can run into the king's court.
We can run up to his throne
and take
all of his time
at any moment.
You understand?
My confidence grows
as my intimate knowledge
of God grows.
Would you bow your heads with me?
God, I ask that you would
increase our confidence,
that you would increase
our knowledge of you.
There might be somebody
in here this morning
who needs to meet you
for the first time.
So right now,
while our heads are bowed,
I'm going to ask this question
like I do every week.
If you don't know Jesus
as your savior
and you know today's the day
you need to repent of your sin,
turn from it
and turn to Jesus,
would you slip your hand up
real quick, please?
Would you slip your hand up?
Thank you.
Let me ask this question.
How many of you might say
that
I need to be a more
confident Christian,
which means I need to get
to know God better?
I need to change my view of God,
get to know him
in the way that the Bible
actually portrays him,
not other people.
Tell me what he is.
I need to get to know him
for myself.
How many of you would say
that's me,
I need to build my confidence
and get to know God better?
Thank you, thank you,
thank you.
How many of you would say
that fear has been attacking me?
And that's something
I need prayer for.
Fear has been coming
after me.
Would you slip your hand up
real quick?
I'll pray for you.
Thank you, thank you.
God, you see these hands
and you know every other question
that I could have asked
and you know the answers.
I pray that you would work
at our hearts this morning,
that nobody would leave this room
having a false relationship with you,
that nobody would leave this room
still trusting in themselves,
that nobody would leave this room
thinking that you don't love them,
you don't care about them.
God, you've told us
exactly the opposite
and you prove it time and time again
in our lives
and those who haven't experienced that,
I pray that they would get
to know you better,
that they would learn
what is that power,
what is that hope,
what is that inheritance
that is found in you.
It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
We're going to have just a moment.
Amen.