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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com. The book

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Speaker 1: of Ephesians is the type of thing that if you

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Speaker 1: actually make a pattern of reading it with regularity, you

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Speaker 1: will come to understand Christian doctrine in a much deeper way.

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Speaker 1: And it's not a very long book. And so just

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Speaker 1: by reading it with some regularity, there are a variety

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Speaker 1: of things that you can learn that I think will

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Speaker 1: really improve and deepen your faith And in this book,

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Speaker 1: you're going to see that among the specific subtopics that

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Speaker 1: are spoken of, one of the big things that you're

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Speaker 1: going to be able to see is that God has

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Speaker 1: an eternal purpose for His church. And that runs like

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Speaker 1: a theme throughout the course of this book. Now, today,

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Speaker 1: we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 14.

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Speaker 1: And in verses 1 through 14, we're going to be

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Speaker 1: shown that in Christ, we are made part of a

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Speaker 1: new family. So if you would take your Bibles and

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Speaker 1: turn there with me. Ephesians chapter 1, starting with verse 1,

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Speaker 1: and I'm going to read down to verse 14, and

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Speaker 1: you could even keep your Bibles open after I finish reading,

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Speaker 1: as long as you don't mind doing that, because I'm

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Speaker 1: going to keep referring back to these verses and rereading

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Speaker 1: portions of this as we work our way through this

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Speaker 1: part of chapter 1. But this is what it says,

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Speaker 1: starting with verse 1 of Ephesians 1. It says, Paul,

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Speaker 1: an apostle of Christ Jesus... by the will of God.

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Speaker 1: To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful

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Speaker 1: in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God

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Speaker 1: our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the

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Speaker 1: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has

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Speaker 1: blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the

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Speaker 1: heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before

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Speaker 1: the foundation of the world, that we should be holy

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Speaker 1: and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for

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Speaker 1: adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to

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Speaker 1: the purpose of His will, to the praise of His

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Speaker 1: glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.

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Speaker 1: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness

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Speaker 1: of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,

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Speaker 1: which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight,

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Speaker 1: making known to us the mystery of His will, according

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Speaker 1: to His purpose. which He set forth in Christ as

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Speaker 1: a plan for the fullness of time to unite all

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Speaker 1: things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

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Speaker 1: In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined

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Speaker 1: according to the purpose of Him, who works all things

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Speaker 1: according to the counsel of His will, so that we

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Speaker 1: who were the first to hope in Christ might be

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Speaker 1: to the praise of His glory. In Him you also,

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Speaker 1: when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of

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Speaker 1: your salvation, and believed in him were sealed with the

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Speaker 1: promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance

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Speaker 1: until we acquire possession of it to the praise of

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Speaker 1: his glory. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: giving us the opportunity this morning to be able to

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Speaker 1: come together under the teaching of your word and to

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Speaker 1: look at what you've revealed to us here in this

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Speaker 1: passage and to begin thinking about the ways in which

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Speaker 1: you have clearly enunciated that you have an eternal purpose

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Speaker 1: for your church. And Lord, we're grateful that we have

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Speaker 1: the privilege to be able to look at these opening

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Speaker 1: verses of the book of Ephesians and see the nature

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Speaker 1: of this new family that you have been creating. Lord,

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Speaker 1: it's fascinating to see it and to think about the

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Speaker 1: implications of being part of this family. So Lord, we

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Speaker 1: pray that as we begin this study and as we

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Speaker 1: spend the coming weeks looking through the book of Ephesians,

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Speaker 1: we pray that you would deepen our understanding of what

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Speaker 1: you've revealed to us here. We pray that our doctrinal

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Speaker 1: understanding would grow, but we also pray, Lord, that our

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Speaker 1: appreciation for who you are and what you've done and

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Speaker 1: how we're to live in response to what you've done

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Speaker 1: would also grow and would also mature and that you

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Speaker 1: would be honored and glorified in the fruit that comes

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Speaker 1: forth from our lives as you deepen our understanding and

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Speaker 1: likewise deepen our faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. So

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Speaker 1: we thank you, Lord, for this privilege. We thank you

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Speaker 1: for your word, and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: So I've mentioned this before, but one of my favorite

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Speaker 1: weeks of the year, and in fact, I think at

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Speaker 1: this point I would just say it's my favorite week

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Speaker 1: of the year, happens at the very end of July, typically,

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Speaker 1: and that is the week that my family goes camping

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Speaker 1: with our extended family. So my siblings and their spouses

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Speaker 1: and their children go They all come, and my wife's

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Speaker 1: sister and her husband and all their children come, and

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Speaker 1: we all go camping together, and it's a lot of fun.

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Speaker 1: And there's even a couple other families that historically have

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Speaker 1: joined us, and because they've spent so much time camping

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Speaker 1: with us over the course of the years, at this point,

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Speaker 1: even though we are not blood relatives, they also feel

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Speaker 1: like family. And it's a very enjoyable week as we're

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Speaker 1: camping together at the end of July, and most evenings...

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Speaker 1: We end the day a very particular way. Now, tell

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Speaker 1: me if this wouldn't be the ideal way to end

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Speaker 1: every day, as long as the weather cooperated. We end

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Speaker 1: the day around a campfire. Wouldn't that be nice? I mean,

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Speaker 1: isn't that so much better than some of the other

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Speaker 1: options we have? Just ending the day sitting around with everybody,

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Speaker 1: essentially almost everybody you're related to, or at least your

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Speaker 1: closest circle of relatives, all sitting together in the same

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Speaker 1: place around a bonfire. It's really exciting. We make a

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Speaker 1: big circle of chairs and you have all the adults

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Speaker 1: sitting around and talking and then all the kids join us.

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Speaker 1: And as we're talking, usually someone brings out snacks and

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Speaker 1: there's a snack tray that gets passed around and people

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Speaker 1: are toasting marshmallows and doing all sorts of things like that.

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Speaker 1: And it's so unique because it's the only time of

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Speaker 1: the year where essentially all of our family is together

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Speaker 1: in one place. And for Andrea and I, it's really

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Speaker 1: special because it's both sides of our family together in

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Speaker 1: one place. That's very unique. I'm glad they get along

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Speaker 1: with each other. You know, there's no guarantee that they would, right?

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Speaker 1: But they all get along, all enjoy each other. And

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Speaker 1: without fail, every year when I'm looking around that circle,

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Speaker 1: one of the things that amazes me, and I think

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Speaker 1: about it all, I think about this frequently. When I

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Speaker 1: look around that circle, I'm looking at the group of

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Speaker 1: people that I consider my closest family. My wife, my children,

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Speaker 1: my siblings, my nieces, my nephews, my in-laws were all

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Speaker 1: around that circle. And other than my two sisters, so

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Speaker 1: then other than two people, you know, that circle's kind

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Speaker 1: of big, it's like 30 people. Other than two of

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Speaker 1: those people, the rest I've only known for just a

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Speaker 1: segment of my life. You know, including my wife and

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Speaker 1: my children, right? I've only known them for a segment

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Speaker 1: of my life. And yet I look at them and

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Speaker 1: I would say, this group of people, this large circle

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Speaker 1: of people that I've only known for, we'll say essentially

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Speaker 1: half my life, are my closest family in the world.

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Speaker 1: And some of them I've only known for a few years,

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Speaker 1: some of the younger ones. And I bring that up

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Speaker 1: because when you look at Paul's letter here to the Ephesians,

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Speaker 1: as he starts off this portion of Scripture, he begins

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Speaker 1: to explain to us that we have been made part

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Speaker 1: of a new family. This is one of the major

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Speaker 1: blessings that comes to us as we trust in Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 1: And I think that's a great way to begin this

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Speaker 1: letter because that's what Paul's talking about as he works

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Speaker 1: through this letter. He's talking about the church. He's talking

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Speaker 1: about this new family that we've been part of, this

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Speaker 1: new family that has wonderful eternal implications. And this is

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Speaker 1: something that I think can bring encouragement to us each

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Speaker 1: and every day. Now, let me give you some context

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Speaker 1: even before we get into the details, because I think

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Speaker 1: it's actually helpful to understand a little bit of the

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Speaker 1: background of this book before we actually dig into the content.

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Speaker 1: When Paul wrote this letter, he was actually under house

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Speaker 1: arrest in the city of Rome. And it's very likely

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Speaker 1: that this imprisonment lasted about two years. Some people speculate

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Speaker 1: that it actually could have been a little bit longer

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Speaker 1: than that, but there seems to be general consensus that

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Speaker 1: that this imprisonment lasted roughly about two years period of time,

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Speaker 1: but he made great use of this time as he

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Speaker 1: was in prison. And I often think to myself, it

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Speaker 1: must have frustrated him to no end when he was arrested,

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Speaker 1: because he was arrested for proclaiming the gospel. And when

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Speaker 1: you look at Paul's activity through the book of Acts,

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Speaker 1: and when you see some of the things that he's

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Speaker 1: written in his letters, you can see that Paul was

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Speaker 1: a man of action. And I don't know about you,

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Speaker 1: but I don't do too well when I'm cooped up

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Speaker 1: for too long. And I kind of get the impression

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Speaker 1: that the Apostle Paul was one of those guys that

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Speaker 1: didn't like to be cooped up too long. So I

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Speaker 1: imagine initially, even though he trusted the Lord, he was

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Speaker 1: probably wondering, why is the Lord allowing this to happen

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Speaker 1: to me? Like, why am I imprisoned for this period

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Speaker 1: of time? I need to be out there starting churches.

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Speaker 1: I need to be out there raising up leaders and

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Speaker 1: training leaders and preaching and doing different things. And yet

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Speaker 1: he's got me cooped up here in this home imprisonment

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Speaker 1: in Rome. But he made good use of the time.

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Speaker 1: And I think the Lord wanted Paul to sit down

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Speaker 1: for a little bit because there were some things that

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Speaker 1: the Lord was going to communicate to Paul through the

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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit that Paul was to write down. And so

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Speaker 1: during that imprisonment, Paul wrote this letter. But he didn't

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Speaker 1: just write this letter. He also wrote his letter to

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Speaker 1: the Philippians. He also wrote his letter to the Colossians.

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Speaker 1: He also wrote his letter, it's a brief letter, to Philemon.

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Speaker 1: So they were all written during this time. So this

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Speaker 1: wasn't a wasted period of time. But for those letters

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Speaker 1: to get written, I suspect that the Lord was like,

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Speaker 1: you know what, Paul, you got to sit down for

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Speaker 1: a little bit. And I'm going to clear your schedule.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to clear your schedule for you. And then

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Speaker 1: we're going to have you write a few things down.

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Speaker 1: So have a pen ready. Now, this letter to the

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Speaker 1: church at Ephesus is a little different than those other letters.

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Speaker 1: You know, some of the letters that Paul wrote during

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Speaker 1: the course of his ministry, he wrote to individuals, some

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Speaker 1: letters he wrote to churches, but this one in particular,

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Speaker 1: it's a little bit different. It's widely believed that this

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Speaker 1: letter in particular was intended not just to be sent

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Speaker 1: to the city of Ephesus, although Ephesus was certainly an

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Speaker 1: influential city, but many people believe that this was a

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Speaker 1: letter that was actually intended to be what they call

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Speaker 1: an encyclical. It was written, but it was meant to

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Speaker 1: be spread around. It was designed to be spread around

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Speaker 1: right from its very inception. So you have Paul thinking,

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Speaker 1: all right, this needs to be shared where all the

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Speaker 1: believers are gathered in this region because I want them

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Speaker 1: to understand better doctrine. I want them to be able

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Speaker 1: to fend off false teaching. I want them to understand

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Speaker 1: the nature of the gift of salvation that we have

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Speaker 1: through Jesus Christ. And so when you read through this book,

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Speaker 1: what you discover is that this is a doctrinal book

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Speaker 1: that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write in order

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Speaker 1: to help the church understand foundational areas of doctrine and

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Speaker 1: faith and how those concepts were to be applied to

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Speaker 1: our daily living. Now, when you look at this book,

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Speaker 1: it's typically, you know, the way we divide it, we

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Speaker 1: chop it up really into six sections. We like to

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Speaker 1: chop it up into six chapters. And there's a very

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Speaker 1: simple way to outline this book in your mind. You

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Speaker 1: can look at the first three chapters in a general

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Speaker 1: way as a summary of what God has done for us.

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Speaker 1: So if you ever want to just kind of sit

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Speaker 1: back for a little bit and meditate on the concept

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Speaker 1: of what has God done for me, read the first

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Speaker 1: three chapters of the book of Ephesians and just note

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Speaker 1: all the different things that God has done for you.

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Speaker 1: So that's how the first half of the book in

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Speaker 1: general could be summarized. And then the next three chapters

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Speaker 1: you could look at And basically, look at those three

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Speaker 1: chapters as, so what am I supposed to do with this?

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Speaker 1: How am I supposed to live this out? What am

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Speaker 1: I supposed to do, or how am I supposed to

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Speaker 1: respond to what God has done for me? So you

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Speaker 1: have half the book focusing primarily on what God has

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Speaker 1: done for us, and half the book primarily focusing on

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Speaker 1: how we can live in response to that. But God's

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Speaker 1: eternal purpose for the church is explained here in this

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Speaker 1: brief book, And like we already mentioned, this new book here,

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Speaker 1: it begins by helping us to see that through Christ,

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Speaker 1: we have been made part of a new eternal family.

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Speaker 1: And that allows us to enjoy eternal blessings that are

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Speaker 1: far beyond anything that we could naturally imagine. So let

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Speaker 1: me show you a few very significant things in the

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Speaker 1: book of Ephesians right here in this opening chapter. And

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Speaker 1: one of the things that we could see, if you

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Speaker 1: look at verses three through six, and I'm going to

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Speaker 1: reread these for us in just a second here. But

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Speaker 1: here you have Paul demonstrating for us and explaining to

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Speaker 1: us the benefits of being part of this new family.

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Speaker 1: What does it look like for you and me to

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Speaker 1: be part of this new family? Let me read verses

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Speaker 1: 3 through 6 again. He says this, Even as he

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Speaker 1: chose us, it's kind of interesting, by the way, as

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Speaker 1: I'm reading this, you can almost make a list. You

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Speaker 1: could treat this like a list, right? He says, even

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Speaker 1: as he chose us in him before the foundation of

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Speaker 1: the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

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Speaker 1: In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as

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Speaker 1: sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

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Speaker 1: to the praise of his glorious grace with which he

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Speaker 1: has blessed us in the beloved. Very powerful statement there. Now,

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Speaker 1: when I was a small child, I thought it was

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Speaker 1: the coolest thing that my family owned a grocery store.

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Speaker 1: I thought it was the neatest thing. Many of my

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Speaker 1: favorite stories from my childhood come from days that I

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Speaker 1: had the chance spending with my grandfather and my father

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Speaker 1: at Stonge's Market on Cedar Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania. And

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Speaker 1: when I would pull up there in my parents' car

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Speaker 1: and I'd look at that building, I always thought it

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Speaker 1: was the coolest thing to see our family name on

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Speaker 1: the sign outside that building. I always enjoyed it. I

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Speaker 1: thought it was pretty special when I would walk around

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Speaker 1: that store as just a young boy for people to

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Speaker 1: know that I was the owner's son, because that's typically

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Speaker 1: how people would refer to me as a kid walking

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Speaker 1: around that store. It's like, oh, his dad owns this place. Oh,

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Speaker 1: he's the owner's son. He's the owner's son. And in

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Speaker 1: my mind, I was like, that's right. I'm the owner's son.

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Speaker 1: And I have the same name as my dad and

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Speaker 1: the same name as my grandfather. So if you say

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Speaker 1: John Stonge, you could be talking to any one of

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Speaker 1: the three of us and we share authority equally here. Right, dad? Right, grandpa?

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Speaker 1: Not quite. But I thought it was pretty special. And

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Speaker 1: you know what else was pretty special? And you're going

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Speaker 1: to appreciate this a lot. And you don't even know

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Speaker 1: why yet. But I've heard you tell me that you

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Speaker 1: enjoy deli meats like I do. All right. So when

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Speaker 1: I was at that store as a young child, still

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Speaker 1: in my single digits, they taught me how to work

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Speaker 1: the slicer and all that. You could never get away

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Speaker 1: with this now. OK, it's a different era. They taught

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Speaker 1: me how to work the slicer because they were tired

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Speaker 1: of having to do it for me all the time.

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Speaker 1: And they're like, listen, your hands work, your eyes work.

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Speaker 1: Work the slicer. Stand on a milk crate and cut

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Speaker 1: meat for yourself if you need to. So I got

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Speaker 1: good at slicing meat at a young age. And one

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Speaker 1: of the benefits of being the owner's son in that

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Speaker 1: store is that whenever I wanted, I could go behind

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Speaker 1: that counter and select whatever deli meats I want, whatever

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Speaker 1: topping I want. I could take the meat, put it

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Speaker 1: on the slicer, and I got good at slicing it

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Speaker 1: paper thin. You know how you like it? I mean,

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Speaker 1: I like it that way. I don't know if you

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Speaker 1: like deli meats thick, but I like it just paper thin.

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Speaker 1: And my sisters and I, we would kind of compete

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Speaker 1: to see who could make it almost invisible, who could

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Speaker 1: make it almost see-through. What child wouldn't love playing with

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Speaker 1: a meat slicer? You know what I mean? This was

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Speaker 1: a good experience in my childhood. And then whatever, toppings.

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Speaker 1: I could make giant deli sandwiches. And can I tell you,

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Speaker 1: my wife is downstairs, I think, for Children's Church. She

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Speaker 1: will confirm that this is a true statement. She said

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Speaker 1: to me when we first got married, she said, do

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Speaker 1: you have any requests? When I go grocery shopping and

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Speaker 1: and get foods. What do you think you would want

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Speaker 1: to eat with regularity? And I said, I'm not super picky.

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Speaker 1: I really like very basic things. But I said, there's

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Speaker 1: one thing I am kind of picky about. I said,

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Speaker 1: please don't buy the junk lunch meat. Buy the good

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Speaker 1: lunch meat. And I still remember the first, you know

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Speaker 1: how you argue about really stupid stuff when you're first married?

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Speaker 1: Like really stupid stuff. I remember one time she bought

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Speaker 1: the not so good lunch meat, and I took a

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Speaker 1: bite of my sandwich, and I was like, the world stopped.

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Speaker 1: I was like, I was like, I'm sorry, but my

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Speaker 1: palate has been trained to appreciate a higher caliber of

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Speaker 1: deli product than this. And she's like, okay, it was

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Speaker 1: on sale. I won't buy it again. But I thought

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Speaker 1: it was pretty special as a child walking around that

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Speaker 1: store and being able to then walk behind the counter

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Speaker 1: and be able to use that slicer. It was all

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Speaker 1: part of just like the benefit of being part of

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Speaker 1: our family. I was thinking about that a little bit

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Speaker 1: when I was thinking about this concept of the benefits

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Speaker 1: of being part of this new family that we're part

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Speaker 1: of through Jesus Christ. Because that's what the scripture is

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Speaker 1: illustrating for us. You and I, we have walk behind

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Speaker 1: the counter, use the slicer privileges. If I could use

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Speaker 1: a deli analogy for an eternal benefit. But that's the nature.

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Speaker 1: This is how my mind thinks. So please work with me,

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Speaker 1: all right? Apply it how it makes sense to you.

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Speaker 1: But that's how it makes sense to me. Through Jesus Christ,

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Speaker 1: we've been made part of the family of God forever.

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Speaker 1: And he doesn't want you at a distance. He doesn't

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Speaker 1: want you on the other side of the counter. He

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Speaker 1: wants you right where he is. And he gives you

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Speaker 1: access to where he is. And in fact, he gives

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Speaker 1: you the privilege to walk right where he is and

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Speaker 1: to spend your time close to him. These blessings aren't

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Speaker 1: earthly in nature. They're beyond earthly. They're beyond material things.

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Speaker 1: But in Christ, God the Father has granted us spiritual

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Speaker 1: benefits and has lavished things upon us that are so

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Speaker 1: significant that the Apostle Paul thought, I need to make

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Speaker 1: sure that the church at Ephesus and and all the

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Speaker 1: people that this letter gets shared with, that they understand

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Speaker 1: these things. And the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write

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Speaker 1: these things down. And Paul reveals some of these blessings

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Speaker 1: here in this passage. And he tells us, first of

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Speaker 1: all here, he tells us that we have been chosen

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Speaker 1: in Christ to be part of the family of God

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Speaker 1: even before the world was formed. Now, I don't know

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Speaker 1: what you think of yourself. I'm assuming there's probably a

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Speaker 1: few things you like of yourself and a few things

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Speaker 1: you don't like about yourself. And knowing how the human

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Speaker 1: mind works, we tend to focus on the negative more

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Speaker 1: often than we should. And I don't know how often

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Speaker 1: you preach the message to your heart that reminds your

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Speaker 1: heart that you have been chosen by God before the

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Speaker 1: foundation of the world. But I have to tell you,

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Speaker 1: if you have a habit of beating yourself up about

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Speaker 1: worldly things, I hope your mind can come back to

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Speaker 1: even just that statement for a moment. Because you're not

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Speaker 1: part of God's family by accident. You're not somebody that

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Speaker 1: he's like, well, I made them. I might as well

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Speaker 1: make them part of my family. That's not how it works.

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Speaker 1: Scripture tells us that if you know Jesus Christ, the

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Speaker 1: spiritual implications of that taken all the way back to

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Speaker 1: the beginning means that God chose you in Christ before

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Speaker 1: the foundation of the world. You think you chose God.

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Speaker 1: And then he's like, that's cute. I chose you. And

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Speaker 1: the only reason your eyes were even open to see

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Speaker 1: your need for me is because I opened them. That's

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Speaker 1: what he's done for us. We didn't choose him. He

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Speaker 1: chose us. We responded to what he initiated to begin with.

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Speaker 1: And so Paul talks about the fact that we've been

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Speaker 1: chosen in Christ to be part of the family of

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Speaker 1: God even before the world was formed. And then he

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Speaker 1: also tells us that we've been set apart as holy

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Speaker 1: and blameless in God's sight. Do you think of yourself

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Speaker 1: as holy and blameless? How do you see yourself? Do

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Speaker 1: you see yourself as holy and blameless? I already know

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Speaker 1: the answer to that because I know how I frequently

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Speaker 1: see myself. And I have to remind myself that in

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Speaker 1: God's eyes, I'm seen differently than I frequently see myself.

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Speaker 1: And one of the parts of spiritual maturity that I

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Speaker 1: think that the Lord wants us to attain is that

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Speaker 1: we start seeing ourselves the way he sees us. And

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Speaker 1: when he looks at you and when he looks at me,

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Speaker 1: if we are in Christ, he's not looking at you

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Speaker 1: and me for every mistake we've ever made or every

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Speaker 1: error we've ever made or all the things that we

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Speaker 1: tend to goof up day in and day out. He's

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Speaker 1: seeing who he has made you to be. He knows

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Speaker 1: the end result of your salvation. And in Christ, he's

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Speaker 1: seeing you as holy and blameless, meaning when he's looking

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Speaker 1: at you, he's not looking at you as one who

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Speaker 1: remains condemned He's looking at you and he's seeing his

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Speaker 1: son within you. And in Christ, you are holy and

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Speaker 1: blameless in the eyes of God. And that's what Paul's

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Speaker 1: trying to help the church to understand. How about this?

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Speaker 1: He's also revealed to us here that we have been

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Speaker 1: adopted into God's eternal family through Jesus Christ. Now, there

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Speaker 1: are several families in our church family who have adopted children.

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Speaker 1: Several of my good friends have been adopted. Adoption is

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Speaker 1: one of the most special and beautiful things The Christian

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Speaker 1: church through the centuries has elevated and shown to be

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Speaker 1: the beautiful thing that it genuinely is. In fact, some

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Speaker 1: of our good friends, Seth and Becky Richardson, who are

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Speaker 1: part of our church family here, are in the process

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Speaker 1: now of beginning an adoption. So pray for them and

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Speaker 1: support them if you're able to do so. Support them

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Speaker 1: financially if you can. But they don't know if they're

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Speaker 1: going to have a new son or a new daughter,

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Speaker 1: but they know that the Lord's impressed upon their heart

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Speaker 1: to adopt a child and bring that child into their home,

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Speaker 1: and think about that. That child, and I don't know

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Speaker 1: where that child's going to be born, and I don't

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Speaker 1: know all the details about that child, God knows, but

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Speaker 1: think about the blessing that that child is going to have. Now,

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Speaker 1: Seth and Becky are going to be highly embarrassed when

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Speaker 1: they hear this, all right, because I'm saying this not

431
00:21:58,220 --> 00:22:00,090
Speaker 1: in their hearing, but those of you that know Seth

432
00:22:00,130 --> 00:22:02,730
Speaker 1: and Becky, think about it. Aren't they not two of

433
00:22:02,770 --> 00:22:05,230
Speaker 1: the nicest people you've ever met in your entire life?

434
00:22:06,390 --> 00:22:10,010
Speaker 1: So there's some kid somewhere that's going to have the

435
00:22:10,070 --> 00:22:15,250
Speaker 1: privilege to grow up in that home. Tell me that

436
00:22:15,390 --> 00:22:18,340
Speaker 1: isn't one of the biggest advantages that that child is

437
00:22:18,380 --> 00:22:23,899
Speaker 1: going to receive ever. Some child somewhere is going to

438
00:22:23,940 --> 00:22:26,379
Speaker 1: be adopted into that family and have the privilege to

439
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,240
Speaker 1: grow up in that home and to have godly parents

440
00:22:30,290 --> 00:22:32,909
Speaker 1: who model the love of Christ, who love that child,

441
00:22:33,150 --> 00:22:35,290
Speaker 1: who raise that child up to know Jesus. And then

442
00:22:35,330 --> 00:22:37,070
Speaker 1: I look at this portion of scripture and it says

443
00:22:37,090 --> 00:22:40,010
Speaker 1: that we have been adopted into God's eternal family through

444
00:22:40,030 --> 00:22:43,850
Speaker 1: Christ Jesus. You've been adopted into the family of God.

445
00:22:45,550 --> 00:22:49,450
Speaker 1: He wants you as part of his family. And think

446
00:22:49,470 --> 00:22:52,050
Speaker 1: about the blessings and the privileges that come to you

447
00:22:52,170 --> 00:22:56,290
Speaker 1: forever because you're part of it. So these are pretty

448
00:22:56,530 --> 00:23:00,300
Speaker 1: eternally significant blessings. And these are things that far outweigh

449
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,399
Speaker 1: the material blessings of this world. But most people, what

450
00:23:02,420 --> 00:23:05,899
Speaker 1: do they do? Most people spend their lives completely enamored

451
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,450
Speaker 1: with the material blessings of this world. And they don't

452
00:23:08,510 --> 00:23:11,110
Speaker 1: think a whole lot about spiritual blessings because those aren't

453
00:23:11,150 --> 00:23:13,850
Speaker 1: the things that we see with our natural eyes. Those

454
00:23:13,890 --> 00:23:16,580
Speaker 1: are things we learn to appreciate when the Holy Spirit

455
00:23:16,650 --> 00:23:19,700
Speaker 1: opens up our eyes to begin seeing them. And even

456
00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:23,460
Speaker 1: in the city of Ephesus, where this letter was initially shared,

457
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:25,859
Speaker 1: that was something that was very much a priority, to

458
00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 1: see things from an earthly standpoint, to see things from

459
00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:31,780
Speaker 1: a material standpoint. That was the culture of the city.

460
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,139
Speaker 1: That's how they saw just about everything. In fact, in

461
00:23:34,180 --> 00:23:36,530
Speaker 1: that city, there was a large temple. And it was

462
00:23:36,590 --> 00:23:40,280
Speaker 1: a temple to the goddess Artemis, also referred to as Diana.

463
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,700
Speaker 1: So this large temple was there in the city. It

464
00:23:42,740 --> 00:23:44,260
Speaker 1: was a temple that took actually, I don't know how

465
00:23:44,300 --> 00:23:47,060
Speaker 1: long you think a long building project is. That temple

466
00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:51,000
Speaker 1: took 220 years to build. And it made Ephesus a

467
00:23:51,060 --> 00:23:54,250
Speaker 1: city that people would travel to from all over the place.

468
00:23:54,730 --> 00:23:56,429
Speaker 1: And people would spend a lot of money when they

469
00:23:56,470 --> 00:23:58,650
Speaker 1: were there. It was a tourist destination. And they would

470
00:23:58,690 --> 00:24:01,230
Speaker 1: come and they would worship Artemis. They would come, they

471
00:24:01,270 --> 00:24:05,580
Speaker 1: would worship Diana. Artemis was a fertility goddess. So what

472
00:24:05,619 --> 00:24:09,570
Speaker 1: are people worshiping when they're worshiping a fertility goddess? Basically

473
00:24:09,609 --> 00:24:13,909
Speaker 1: what they're saying is they have the desire to prosper

474
00:24:14,050 --> 00:24:18,530
Speaker 1: in an earthly way. So fill me with abundance of

475
00:24:18,790 --> 00:24:23,370
Speaker 1: earthly things. That's what they're basically coming to Ephesus to worship.

476
00:24:23,830 --> 00:24:27,389
Speaker 1: The goddess that they believe will ultimately give them an

477
00:24:27,470 --> 00:24:30,790
Speaker 1: abundance of earthly things. And when I look at that,

478
00:24:30,810 --> 00:24:33,750
Speaker 1: when I think about the historical context... that the Apostle

479
00:24:33,790 --> 00:24:36,689
Speaker 1: Paul was writing this letter in. I think, you know,

480
00:24:36,730 --> 00:24:38,649
Speaker 1: it's sad to think that these people were so wrapped

481
00:24:38,750 --> 00:24:42,070
Speaker 1: up in what they thought earthly benefits might be or

482
00:24:42,109 --> 00:24:44,030
Speaker 1: what earthly benefits might look like, and they weren't really

483
00:24:44,070 --> 00:24:47,930
Speaker 1: thinking about supernatural benefits that come, and that was, you know,

484
00:24:48,250 --> 00:24:49,730
Speaker 1: an issue in the city. And then I think about

485
00:24:49,750 --> 00:24:52,490
Speaker 1: the fact that, isn't it sad to consider, even in

486
00:24:52,570 --> 00:24:55,270
Speaker 1: our day and age, how many people, which would be

487
00:24:55,330 --> 00:24:59,250
Speaker 1: most people, really just prefer material blessings over spiritual benefits?

488
00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:02,540
Speaker 1: And isn't it doubly sad when that creeps into our

489
00:25:02,580 --> 00:25:04,679
Speaker 1: mind as believers in Christ who have been blessed with

490
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:06,879
Speaker 1: so much more, and yet we spend so much of

491
00:25:06,940 --> 00:25:09,040
Speaker 1: our time and our life thinking about things that really

492
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,800
Speaker 1: are just temporary things? It's like worshiping a popsicle on

493
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,470
Speaker 1: a hot day. It's like, you got it. Oh, it's nice. Yeah,

494
00:25:16,490 --> 00:25:18,429
Speaker 1: it's good. It's enjoyable. It's going to be gone in

495
00:25:18,470 --> 00:25:20,530
Speaker 1: five minutes. You really want to give your life for that?

496
00:25:21,430 --> 00:25:24,869
Speaker 1: You really want to devote your life to that frozen

497
00:25:25,150 --> 00:25:28,470
Speaker 1: treat on a hot day? It doesn't make any sense,

498
00:25:28,530 --> 00:25:30,689
Speaker 1: but yet that's what we so easily do because it's

499
00:25:30,810 --> 00:25:34,330
Speaker 1: easier to gravitate toward what we've seen than to gravitate

500
00:25:34,369 --> 00:25:36,170
Speaker 1: toward what we haven't seen. And that's why the Lord

501
00:25:36,210 --> 00:25:38,530
Speaker 1: tells us that the essence of faith is trusting him

502
00:25:38,570 --> 00:25:40,730
Speaker 1: for the things we haven't yet seen with our eyes yet.

503
00:25:41,850 --> 00:25:44,090
Speaker 1: But for those that have come to faith in Jesus Christ,

504
00:25:44,330 --> 00:25:45,930
Speaker 1: we don't have to try and find our sense of

505
00:25:46,020 --> 00:25:48,419
Speaker 1: identity or a sense of value or a sense of

506
00:25:48,540 --> 00:25:52,840
Speaker 1: worth in temporary things. In Christ, think about the eternal

507
00:25:52,900 --> 00:25:55,900
Speaker 1: benefits that Paul already listed for us here. In Christ,

508
00:25:55,940 --> 00:25:59,260
Speaker 1: we've been chosen. In Christ, we've been adopted into the

509
00:25:59,300 --> 00:26:03,300
Speaker 1: family of God. In Christ, we're seen as holy and blameless.

510
00:26:03,900 --> 00:26:08,399
Speaker 1: And these blessings remain true of you in Christ, regardless

511
00:26:08,420 --> 00:26:12,320
Speaker 1: of how your present-day circumstances may change. Your job title

512
00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:14,720
Speaker 1: might change, but that doesn't change the fact that you've

513
00:26:14,740 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 1: been chosen by God. Your income might change. Your location

514
00:26:20,260 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 1: might change, but that doesn't change the fact that you've

515
00:26:22,540 --> 00:26:27,630
Speaker 1: been adopted into God's family. Your perception of your personal

516
00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:31,830
Speaker 1: abilities might change, but that doesn't change the fact that

517
00:26:31,910 --> 00:26:35,060
Speaker 1: you are seen as holy and blameless through Jesus Christ

518
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,800
Speaker 1: in the eyes of God the Father. Don't wrap your

519
00:26:39,900 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 1: identity around anything that won't be true of you forever.

520
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 1: If it's not going to be true of you a

521
00:26:46,820 --> 00:26:49,580
Speaker 1: thousand years from now or a million years from now,

522
00:26:50,020 --> 00:26:52,440
Speaker 1: Don't adopt it as part of your identity now. Your

523
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,960
Speaker 1: job title is not who you are. It's just a

524
00:26:55,020 --> 00:26:58,200
Speaker 1: temporary stewardship. The amount of money in your bank account

525
00:26:58,300 --> 00:27:00,689
Speaker 1: is not who you are or what your worth is

526
00:27:00,750 --> 00:27:04,669
Speaker 1: wrapped around. It's just a temporary circumstance. Your circumstances are

527
00:27:04,710 --> 00:27:07,030
Speaker 1: so temporary right now that we should not be wrapping

528
00:27:07,390 --> 00:27:10,369
Speaker 1: our identity around anything that won't last forever. But the

529
00:27:10,410 --> 00:27:12,210
Speaker 1: things that will last forever are the things that are

530
00:27:12,260 --> 00:27:15,100
Speaker 1: true of us in Christ Jesus. You've been chosen. You've

531
00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,700
Speaker 1: been adopted. You are holy. You are blameless. That's who

532
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:23,840
Speaker 1: you are. Forever. That's the kind of identity we have

533
00:27:24,180 --> 00:27:28,350
Speaker 1: in Christ. So there's great benefits in being part of

534
00:27:28,430 --> 00:27:31,090
Speaker 1: our new family. But there's something else the Apostle Paul

535
00:27:31,130 --> 00:27:32,890
Speaker 1: brings up in this portion of Scripture when you look

536
00:27:32,910 --> 00:27:35,949
Speaker 1: at verses 7 through 10. And he explains to us

537
00:27:35,990 --> 00:27:38,629
Speaker 1: so that we don't devalue what's been done for us.

538
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,699
Speaker 1: He explains that the highest price possible was paid to

539
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,740
Speaker 1: purchase your freedom, to make you part of this family.

540
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:47,020
Speaker 1: Look at what he says in verse 7. He says,

541
00:27:47,810 --> 00:27:51,010
Speaker 1: In him we have redemption through his blood. So he's saying,

542
00:27:51,170 --> 00:27:54,310
Speaker 1: in Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness

543
00:27:54,350 --> 00:27:57,830
Speaker 1: of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

544
00:27:58,230 --> 00:28:01,440
Speaker 1: which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight,

545
00:28:01,859 --> 00:28:04,540
Speaker 1: making known to us the mystery of his will, according

546
00:28:04,580 --> 00:28:07,439
Speaker 1: to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, as

547
00:28:07,500 --> 00:28:10,330
Speaker 1: a plan for the fullness of time to unite all

548
00:28:10,380 --> 00:28:14,630
Speaker 1: things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

549
00:28:15,730 --> 00:28:19,990
Speaker 1: The highest price was paid to purchase your freedom. This month,

550
00:28:20,330 --> 00:28:22,040
Speaker 1: and it's not even over yet, there's still a couple

551
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:23,760
Speaker 1: days left in this month, so I don't know that

552
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:25,899
Speaker 1: I should speak quite yet, but I'll tell you what,

553
00:28:25,980 --> 00:28:30,479
Speaker 1: this month has been a very expensive month for my family,

554
00:28:31,060 --> 00:28:34,500
Speaker 1: much more so than I anticipated. This is the month

555
00:28:34,540 --> 00:28:38,480
Speaker 1: that our property taxes were due. Yay. So we paid

556
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,550
Speaker 1: our property taxes. Isn't that so fun? Everyone also enjoy

557
00:28:41,570 --> 00:28:46,290
Speaker 1: paying their property taxes? I heard that, right? Right? We're

558
00:28:46,310 --> 00:28:49,890
Speaker 1: in agreement, right? Not fun. We also paid for an

559
00:28:49,930 --> 00:28:52,470
Speaker 1: upcoming vacation. That's fun, but we're paying for it ahead

560
00:28:52,510 --> 00:28:54,370
Speaker 1: of time. And so I was like, well, let's reserve

561
00:28:54,410 --> 00:28:57,030
Speaker 1: it now so that we've got our spot. We also

562
00:28:57,070 --> 00:28:59,900
Speaker 1: had to pay for car inspections this month. That's fun too, right?

563
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,380
Speaker 1: Paying for car inspections. How about school shoes for the kids?

564
00:29:04,300 --> 00:29:06,160
Speaker 1: That's fun too. Well, we got to pay for that.

565
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,630
Speaker 1: Paid for airfare because we traveled down to Nashville a

566
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,480
Speaker 1: few weeks ago. So that was fun. We also paid

567
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,500
Speaker 1: tuition for two of our children to attend summer camp.

568
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,660
Speaker 1: Also a blast. This week we had a chance to

569
00:29:19,700 --> 00:29:23,380
Speaker 1: pay for some college fees. Love that. Amen, college students?

570
00:29:23,780 --> 00:29:27,260
Speaker 1: Love paying those college fees. That's right. Paid that this week.

571
00:29:27,740 --> 00:29:32,250
Speaker 1: And then just a few days ago, I noticed something

572
00:29:32,270 --> 00:29:34,510
Speaker 1: when I turned on the water in my house. I

573
00:29:34,510 --> 00:29:36,110
Speaker 1: was like, this is weird. I was like, why won't

574
00:29:36,130 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 1: it heat up? And I was like, oh, no. Our

575
00:29:39,620 --> 00:29:41,880
Speaker 1: water heater is 16 years old, so I knew in

576
00:29:41,940 --> 00:29:43,260
Speaker 1: my heart what I was about to see. And I

577
00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:45,680
Speaker 1: go downstairs, and I see rusty water leaking out of

578
00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:47,720
Speaker 1: the bottom of our water heater. And I was like,

579
00:29:47,820 --> 00:29:51,480
Speaker 1: why this month, water heater? Like, just one more month.

580
00:29:51,580 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 1: Why this month, right? So I called my good friend Frank.

581
00:29:56,460 --> 00:29:58,760
Speaker 1: I said, Frank, I need a favor. Can you come

582
00:29:58,780 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 1: and replace my water heater? And within four hours... I

583
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,360
Speaker 1: had a new water heater installed. So that was great.

584
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:06,520
Speaker 1: And he said, well, I've got good news and I've

585
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,380
Speaker 1: got bad news for you. And I said, what's that?

586
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,540
Speaker 1: And he goes, well, the good news is you have

587
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:13,570
Speaker 1: a new water heater. And the bad news is those

588
00:30:13,610 --> 00:30:17,050
Speaker 1: cost money. So I was like, I know. And I

589
00:30:17,090 --> 00:30:19,670
Speaker 1: paid that. But I looked at that and I was like,

590
00:30:19,690 --> 00:30:21,970
Speaker 1: all right. So in one sense, I thought, all right, well, Lord,

591
00:30:22,010 --> 00:30:23,570
Speaker 1: I'm grateful that I was able to pay for all

592
00:30:23,610 --> 00:30:27,190
Speaker 1: of that. I'm also grateful that not every month is

593
00:30:27,250 --> 00:30:28,989
Speaker 1: like that. Because what I was looking at, I was like,

594
00:30:29,580 --> 00:30:30,980
Speaker 1: It just, it's just one of those days. It's like

595
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:32,680
Speaker 1: when you move into a new house and every time

596
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,220
Speaker 1: you go out of the house, you're spending a hundred

597
00:30:34,260 --> 00:30:37,140
Speaker 1: dollars at Lowe's. You're like, why does it cost? Nobody move.

598
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,330
Speaker 1: We are not walking out of this house, right? If

599
00:30:39,380 --> 00:30:40,790
Speaker 1: we walk out of this house, it will cost us

600
00:30:40,830 --> 00:30:45,190
Speaker 1: a hundred dollars, maybe 200. Don't move. Nobody move, right?

601
00:30:45,610 --> 00:30:47,870
Speaker 1: Kind of an expensive month. And then you look at

602
00:30:47,910 --> 00:30:51,420
Speaker 1: what's said here about our redemption through Jesus Christ. When

603
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:53,380
Speaker 1: I look at what the words that Paul shares here

604
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 1: in this passage, We realize that the price we may

605
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:58,980
Speaker 1: pay on this earth during our most expensive month, it

606
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,640
Speaker 1: could be the most expensive month you've ever had, it's

607
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,380
Speaker 1: nothing compared to the price that God paid to redeem

608
00:31:04,420 --> 00:31:07,220
Speaker 1: you from your sin and from your condemnation. It is

609
00:31:07,380 --> 00:31:09,920
Speaker 1: nothing compared to the price He was willing to pay

610
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:11,980
Speaker 1: to do that. Scripture here tells us that we have

611
00:31:12,060 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 1: redemption through the blood of Christ. So Jesus redeemed us

612
00:31:16,700 --> 00:31:20,520
Speaker 1: from sin. He paid for our freedom with His own blood.

613
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,080
Speaker 1: Through Him, Scripture reveals to us that we are released.

614
00:31:24,510 --> 00:31:27,020
Speaker 1: And we are delivered from our slavery to sin, from

615
00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,760
Speaker 1: our slavery to Satan, from our slavery to death. We've

616
00:31:29,780 --> 00:31:32,750
Speaker 1: been delivered from these things. That means that God was

617
00:31:32,810 --> 00:31:36,670
Speaker 1: willing to pay the highest price possible to secure your freedom.

618
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:40,740
Speaker 1: And now through Jesus Christ, what the scripture here is

619
00:31:40,810 --> 00:31:43,550
Speaker 1: revealing to us is that we are forgiven of our sins.

620
00:31:44,090 --> 00:31:47,489
Speaker 1: We are no longer chained to our rebellion because we've

621
00:31:47,510 --> 00:31:50,910
Speaker 1: been redeemed. Our freedom has been purchased. We've been graced

622
00:31:51,210 --> 00:31:53,670
Speaker 1: with a new life. We've been graced with a new

623
00:31:53,710 --> 00:31:57,230
Speaker 1: way of thinking. The wisdom and the insight of God

624
00:31:57,290 --> 00:32:00,930
Speaker 1: has been lavished upon us. We've been made capable to

625
00:32:00,990 --> 00:32:05,460
Speaker 1: see things from God's perspective. and to operate with divinely

626
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,700
Speaker 1: empowered insight into God's perfect will. Is this not a

627
00:32:09,740 --> 00:32:14,300
Speaker 1: blessing of our redemption through Jesus Christ? Isn't that amazing?

628
00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:16,610
Speaker 1: I mean, we could spend a long time just kind

629
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,210
Speaker 1: of listing all these things out as Ephesians chapter 1

630
00:32:19,210 --> 00:32:21,870
Speaker 1: makes them plain to us. And just as we have

631
00:32:21,890 --> 00:32:24,270
Speaker 1: been brought under Christ's authority, when you look at what

632
00:32:24,290 --> 00:32:27,090
Speaker 1: Paul's telling us here, he's basically saying so too will

633
00:32:27,250 --> 00:32:31,470
Speaker 1: all creation. Heaven and earth will be united under the

634
00:32:31,590 --> 00:32:35,270
Speaker 1: lordship and leadership of of Jesus Christ, all things will

635
00:32:35,290 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 1: be united under his leadership. And the impact of sin

636
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,320
Speaker 1: and the division that it's caused throughout history will be

637
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:46,860
Speaker 1: forever eradicated by Jesus. But the highest price was paid

638
00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:49,740
Speaker 1: to secure our freedom, to purchase our freedom. It was

639
00:32:49,790 --> 00:32:52,670
Speaker 1: paid with the blood of Jesus Christ. And Paul wanted

640
00:32:52,730 --> 00:32:54,410
Speaker 1: us to make sure that we understood that. But there's

641
00:32:54,450 --> 00:32:56,930
Speaker 1: one other thing he points out in this passage, and

642
00:32:56,950 --> 00:32:59,950
Speaker 1: this is where I want to finish up today. And

643
00:32:59,970 --> 00:33:04,250
Speaker 1: he shows us here that our eternal inheritance... is something

644
00:33:04,690 --> 00:33:07,530
Speaker 1: that has been secured for us and will also bring

645
00:33:07,590 --> 00:33:11,190
Speaker 1: God glory. Let me reread verses 11 through 14, because

646
00:33:11,230 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: in those verses it says this. It says, In him

647
00:33:14,020 --> 00:33:18,760
Speaker 1: we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to

648
00:33:18,780 --> 00:33:21,880
Speaker 1: the purpose of him who works all things according to

649
00:33:21,900 --> 00:33:24,380
Speaker 1: the counsel of his will, so that we who were

650
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:26,420
Speaker 1: the first to hope in Christ might be to the

651
00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:29,400
Speaker 1: praise of his glory. In him you also, when you

652
00:33:29,460 --> 00:33:31,980
Speaker 1: heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,

653
00:33:32,340 --> 00:33:36,740
Speaker 1: and believed in him, we're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

654
00:33:37,220 --> 00:33:40,960
Speaker 1: who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire

655
00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:45,390
Speaker 1: possession of it to the praise of his glory. Have

656
00:33:45,410 --> 00:33:47,350
Speaker 1: you ever been given something that you don't know what

657
00:33:47,410 --> 00:33:50,550
Speaker 1: to do with and you feel compelled to take it

658
00:33:50,590 --> 00:33:53,820
Speaker 1: just because you're being polite? Do you ever have something

659
00:33:53,910 --> 00:33:57,100
Speaker 1: like that happen? Bob's smiling. He's thinking something specific. You

660
00:34:01,260 --> 00:34:02,680
Speaker 1: Have you ever had that happen? Where someone gives you

661
00:34:02,700 --> 00:34:04,000
Speaker 1: something and you're like, I have no idea what to

662
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:05,160
Speaker 1: do with this, but I feel like I need to

663
00:34:05,220 --> 00:34:07,340
Speaker 1: be polite. I need to be polite and I need

664
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 1: to accept this. I'll tell you something. I am not

665
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,280
Speaker 1: someone who prefers to have a lot of things. I'm

666
00:34:13,300 --> 00:34:17,129
Speaker 1: not a stuff person. If I don't have a use

667
00:34:17,170 --> 00:34:20,270
Speaker 1: for something, you know what I typically do? If it's useful,

668
00:34:20,310 --> 00:34:22,009
Speaker 1: I try and find someone who can use it so

669
00:34:22,050 --> 00:34:24,710
Speaker 1: I can give it away. Because I find a lot

670
00:34:24,750 --> 00:34:26,650
Speaker 1: of joy in that. I think that that's very enjoyable.

671
00:34:27,030 --> 00:34:29,880
Speaker 1: But that becomes particularly tricky when someone leaves you something

672
00:34:29,910 --> 00:34:35,020
Speaker 1: in their will. So a couple times recently, I've had

673
00:34:35,060 --> 00:34:37,620
Speaker 1: that experience where things have been left to me in

674
00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:42,180
Speaker 1: wills that I had no idea what to do with

675
00:34:42,260 --> 00:34:45,810
Speaker 1: because I had no use for these specific things. But

676
00:34:45,830 --> 00:34:48,830
Speaker 1: then you start to feel like an emotional obligation. What

677
00:34:48,890 --> 00:34:51,590
Speaker 1: am I supposed to do with this? What am I

678
00:34:51,650 --> 00:34:54,589
Speaker 1: supposed to do with these dishes? What am I supposed

679
00:34:54,630 --> 00:34:56,870
Speaker 1: to do with these books? What am I supposed to

680
00:34:56,910 --> 00:34:59,690
Speaker 1: do with this credenza? What am I supposed to do

681
00:34:59,790 --> 00:35:04,290
Speaker 1: with this very old baby stroller. What am I supposed

682
00:35:04,330 --> 00:35:08,350
Speaker 1: to do with this? And admittedly, and this could get

683
00:35:08,390 --> 00:35:10,110
Speaker 1: me in trouble, so this is why I'm glad I

684
00:35:10,150 --> 00:35:13,140
Speaker 1: have a church family, because sometimes I irritate my biological

685
00:35:13,180 --> 00:35:16,239
Speaker 1: family without intending to do it. But I think, and

686
00:35:16,260 --> 00:35:20,720
Speaker 1: I discovered, that I actually bruised a few feelings toward

687
00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,580
Speaker 1: my extended family, not intending to, but unfortunately I did it,

688
00:35:25,020 --> 00:35:28,420
Speaker 1: by choosing to not take some things that were given

689
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:32,420
Speaker 1: to me as an inheritance. Is that bad? Don't tell

690
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,450
Speaker 1: me if it's bad. They already did. But what I

691
00:35:36,510 --> 00:35:39,350
Speaker 1: did was, instead of accepting these things and just letting

692
00:35:39,390 --> 00:35:41,310
Speaker 1: them collect dust in an attic or take up room

693
00:35:41,330 --> 00:35:43,270
Speaker 1: in a home and knowing that I really wasn't going

694
00:35:43,310 --> 00:35:46,089
Speaker 1: to use them, I gave them to family members that

695
00:35:46,130 --> 00:35:49,410
Speaker 1: I knew either wanted them or needed them. So in

696
00:35:49,450 --> 00:35:52,969
Speaker 1: my mind, I did a good thing. But I don't

697
00:35:52,989 --> 00:35:56,800
Speaker 1: know if everyone agrees. And earthly inheritances can be a

698
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:58,940
Speaker 1: little tricky when it comes to things like that. Here's

699
00:35:58,980 --> 00:36:01,259
Speaker 1: the other thing. All right. I was really tight with

700
00:36:01,300 --> 00:36:02,940
Speaker 1: my grandmother. And there was a couple of things she

701
00:36:02,980 --> 00:36:05,040
Speaker 1: left me. I thought, oh, that's awesome. I'm glad she

702
00:36:05,060 --> 00:36:06,739
Speaker 1: left me that. And then a couple of things I

703
00:36:06,739 --> 00:36:09,180
Speaker 1: was like, Grammy, what am I supposed to do with this?

704
00:36:10,180 --> 00:36:13,400
Speaker 1: And here's how I console myself. I know that in heaven,

705
00:36:13,620 --> 00:36:16,120
Speaker 1: she literally does not care. You know, she's like, oh,

706
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:17,339
Speaker 1: I cared about that on earth. Do you think I

707
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:19,660
Speaker 1: still care about that? You should see the stuff here.

708
00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:22,299
Speaker 1: You know, it's like, don't even care about that. I

709
00:36:22,340 --> 00:36:24,859
Speaker 1: know she cared about it on earth. I'm certain, 100% certain.

710
00:36:26,140 --> 00:36:27,940
Speaker 1: that she does not still care about those things. So

711
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:29,779
Speaker 1: that's how I consoled my conscience when I gave some

712
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:32,060
Speaker 1: of those things to my cousins and my sisters. I

713
00:36:32,060 --> 00:36:34,150
Speaker 1: was like, I think Grammy would understand. She has a

714
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,489
Speaker 1: different perspective now. But I look at this sort of

715
00:36:36,510 --> 00:36:38,069
Speaker 1: thing and I think, all right, in Christ, we have

716
00:36:38,110 --> 00:36:40,540
Speaker 1: an inheritance that we would never want to give up.

717
00:36:41,390 --> 00:36:43,150
Speaker 1: That's how Paul ends this section. He's talking about this

718
00:36:43,190 --> 00:36:45,689
Speaker 1: inheritance you have. You have an inheritance you would never

719
00:36:45,730 --> 00:36:47,890
Speaker 1: want to give up. He talks about it here a

720
00:36:47,910 --> 00:36:50,859
Speaker 1: couple times, right? We have a place in his eternal

721
00:36:50,890 --> 00:36:53,620
Speaker 1: kingdom that And we have the internal presence of the

722
00:36:53,660 --> 00:36:56,739
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit who seals us. And scripture here tells us

723
00:36:57,020 --> 00:37:00,430
Speaker 1: that the Holy Spirit, he guarantees that inheritance. You have

724
00:37:00,450 --> 00:37:03,569
Speaker 1: been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, meaning it is

725
00:37:03,610 --> 00:37:06,230
Speaker 1: a guarantee that you will be there. If you've trusted

726
00:37:06,270 --> 00:37:08,370
Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ, you have been sealed with the Spirit

727
00:37:08,989 --> 00:37:11,880
Speaker 1: and that inheritance is guaranteed. So I might not get

728
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,480
Speaker 1: very excited about furniture. I might not get very excited

729
00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:17,000
Speaker 1: about dishes or other items that get left to me

730
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:18,359
Speaker 1: on this earth. But I'll tell you what, I get

731
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,719
Speaker 1: very excited about the incorruptible inheritance of that has been

732
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:23,660
Speaker 1: divinely promised to me when I look at a portion

733
00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:25,380
Speaker 1: of scripture like this. And keep in mind, do you

734
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,180
Speaker 1: remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter six? My favorite

735
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:31,980
Speaker 1: part of the entire Bible is Matthew five and six, Jesus'

736
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:33,870
Speaker 1: sermon on the mount. I come back to it time

737
00:37:33,890 --> 00:37:35,950
Speaker 1: and time again. And there's so many quotable things from

738
00:37:35,969 --> 00:37:38,069
Speaker 1: that portion of scripture. But I love what Jesus says

739
00:37:38,130 --> 00:37:41,870
Speaker 1: about this concept of a heavenly inheritance. Very well-known portion

740
00:37:41,890 --> 00:37:44,500
Speaker 1: of scripture, Matthew six, starting with verse 19. He says,'

741
00:37:44,430 --> 00:37:47,400
Speaker 1: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth' where

742
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,360
Speaker 1: moth and rust destroy' and where thieves break in and steal.'

743
00:37:50,930 --> 00:37:53,820
Speaker 1: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither

744
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,600
Speaker 1: moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break

745
00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:59,899
Speaker 1: in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your

746
00:37:59,940 --> 00:38:03,580
Speaker 1: heart will be also. Where your treasure is, there your

747
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:05,899
Speaker 1: heart's going to be also. If your heart's latched onto

748
00:38:05,940 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 1: things of this earth, you're going to end up doing

749
00:38:09,140 --> 00:38:10,940
Speaker 1: what the people of Ephesus were doing. Many of the

750
00:38:10,980 --> 00:38:13,820
Speaker 1: people in Ephesus just worshipped and idolized the things of

751
00:38:13,860 --> 00:38:17,000
Speaker 1: this world, and they prayed to Artemis for more prosperity

752
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,069
Speaker 1: and more earthly life. riches and more earthly fertility and

753
00:38:20,110 --> 00:38:22,770
Speaker 1: all sorts of things like that. And here, what does

754
00:38:22,830 --> 00:38:24,870
Speaker 1: Jesus tell us? He's like, look, where your treasure is there,

755
00:38:24,890 --> 00:38:26,330
Speaker 1: your heart's going to be also. So do you want

756
00:38:26,350 --> 00:38:30,790
Speaker 1: an earthly-minded heart or a heavenly-minded heart? Do you want

757
00:38:30,810 --> 00:38:32,770
Speaker 1: to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven that can't

758
00:38:32,790 --> 00:38:34,910
Speaker 1: be corrupted or ruined? Or do you want to lay

759
00:38:34,969 --> 00:38:36,989
Speaker 1: up for yourselves treasures on earth that are like that

760
00:38:37,070 --> 00:38:41,029
Speaker 1: melted popsicle that goes away after five minutes? I have

761
00:38:41,050 --> 00:38:45,750
Speaker 1: to say, I'm looking forward to that heavenly inheritance. And

762
00:38:45,770 --> 00:38:48,660
Speaker 1: I'm grateful scripture tells us about it. Because that's something

763
00:38:48,700 --> 00:38:50,339
Speaker 1: the Lord tells us about ahead of time so that

764
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:53,420
Speaker 1: our hearts will look forward to it. It's a peek

765
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:56,359
Speaker 1: into your future. And he's trying to encourage your hearts

766
00:38:56,420 --> 00:38:58,779
Speaker 1: right now by giving you that peek. He didn't have

767
00:38:58,820 --> 00:39:00,319
Speaker 1: to tell you about that. He didn't have to tell

768
00:39:00,340 --> 00:39:02,520
Speaker 1: me about that. He told us about it because it

769
00:39:02,580 --> 00:39:05,420
Speaker 1: actually does something to your quality of life now and

770
00:39:05,460 --> 00:39:08,989
Speaker 1: helps us set our hopes not on earthly things. But

771
00:39:09,010 --> 00:39:12,290
Speaker 1: there's something I've learned to value about that inheritance in

772
00:39:12,330 --> 00:39:17,540
Speaker 1: many respects, even more so than the inheritance itself. And

773
00:39:17,580 --> 00:39:19,640
Speaker 1: Paul illustrates that here in this portion of Scripture. I

774
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,680
Speaker 1: love the fact that the Scripture tells us that our inheritance,

775
00:39:23,219 --> 00:39:26,529
Speaker 1: that the way it was obtained, and the matter in

776
00:39:26,590 --> 00:39:30,250
Speaker 1: which it's guaranteed through the Holy Spirit, all of that

777
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:34,899
Speaker 1: brings glory to God. Isn't that pretty cool to think?

778
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:37,860
Speaker 1: Not only are you blessed with an inheritance, you're blessed

779
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,700
Speaker 1: with an inheritance that was obtained and given to you

780
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,240
Speaker 1: and secured in such a way that also gives God glory.

781
00:39:44,620 --> 00:39:47,930
Speaker 1: It gives God honor. The chief reason you and I

782
00:39:47,969 --> 00:39:50,870
Speaker 1: were created was to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

783
00:39:51,390 --> 00:39:56,480
Speaker 1: That's why you exist, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

784
00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:01,980
Speaker 1: And this inheritance is something the Scripture tells us glorifies God,

785
00:40:02,580 --> 00:40:05,759
Speaker 1: the way it's given, what it is, how it's secured.

786
00:40:06,180 --> 00:40:10,810
Speaker 1: He bestows it upon us, and He allows us right

787
00:40:10,890 --> 00:40:15,880
Speaker 1: now and in eternity to to honor him and glorify

788
00:40:15,940 --> 00:40:18,640
Speaker 1: him in the way that he deserves. I'll tell you what,

789
00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:22,650
Speaker 1: as we finish up today, it is not a trivial

790
00:40:22,690 --> 00:40:25,009
Speaker 1: thing to be part of the family of God. That

791
00:40:25,070 --> 00:40:31,649
Speaker 1: is not a small thing. It has eternal significance, eternal consequence.

792
00:40:32,150 --> 00:40:34,410
Speaker 1: So I just want to ask you the question, is

793
00:40:34,469 --> 00:40:37,770
Speaker 1: that something that you have learned to develop a deep

794
00:40:37,930 --> 00:40:43,430
Speaker 1: appreciation for? Do you appreciate this concept of being part

795
00:40:43,489 --> 00:40:46,910
Speaker 1: of God's eternal family through Christ Jesus? And maybe I

796
00:40:46,930 --> 00:40:50,680
Speaker 1: could even ask this. Are you living with certainty that

797
00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:54,680
Speaker 1: you are part of that family? So I'll say this

798
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,899
Speaker 1: two ways as we finish up. If you are not

799
00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,500
Speaker 1: yet living with certainty that you are part of that family,

800
00:41:00,580 --> 00:41:02,919
Speaker 1: very simply let me encourage you to place your full

801
00:41:02,980 --> 00:41:07,850
Speaker 1: trust in Jesus Christ, who paid the highest price to

802
00:41:07,910 --> 00:41:13,859
Speaker 1: redeem humanity. to purchase your freedom with His blood. Don't

803
00:41:13,900 --> 00:41:15,719
Speaker 1: look at that and take it for granted. There is

804
00:41:15,780 --> 00:41:18,020
Speaker 1: no greater price that could have been paid to secure

805
00:41:18,060 --> 00:41:20,719
Speaker 1: your freedom from sin, Satan, and death. That is a

806
00:41:20,780 --> 00:41:22,819
Speaker 1: gift that's being offered to you, and He invites you

807
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,940
Speaker 1: to accept that gift, to trust in Him and experience

808
00:41:25,980 --> 00:41:29,779
Speaker 1: that blessing. And if you have experienced that, if you

809
00:41:29,820 --> 00:41:33,320
Speaker 1: have trusted in Jesus Christ, my encouragement for you is

810
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:36,920
Speaker 1: to live today, and to live this week, and to

811
00:41:36,980 --> 00:41:40,489
Speaker 1: live every day as a man or a woman, who

812
00:41:40,570 --> 00:41:44,660
Speaker 1: is grateful for the blessings of being part of God's family.

813
00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:49,540
Speaker 1: Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for the privilege

814
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:50,620
Speaker 1: that it is to be able to look at a

815
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:53,299
Speaker 1: portion of Scripture like this and to think about the

816
00:41:53,390 --> 00:41:56,730
Speaker 1: implications of all these different things that you've revealed to

817
00:41:56,830 --> 00:42:00,669
Speaker 1: us here. Lord, it truly is significant to be part

818
00:42:00,710 --> 00:42:02,489
Speaker 1: of your new family, and we're grateful that as we

819
00:42:02,530 --> 00:42:05,299
Speaker 1: begin our new study of the book of Ephesians, that

820
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,360
Speaker 1: you're allowing us to see these things and to be

821
00:42:07,420 --> 00:42:11,690
Speaker 1: able to perceive things The eternal benefits you've given to

822
00:42:11,850 --> 00:42:15,339
Speaker 1: us through your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we don't deserve

823
00:42:15,380 --> 00:42:18,440
Speaker 1: these things. These aren't blessings that we secured through our merit.

824
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,640
Speaker 1: These are things that you granted to us by your

825
00:42:21,700 --> 00:42:24,500
Speaker 1: grace and that you purchased through the shed blood of

826
00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:28,890
Speaker 1: your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, please help me to live

827
00:42:28,989 --> 00:42:31,210
Speaker 1: as someone who is grateful for these things. Please help

828
00:42:31,370 --> 00:42:33,270
Speaker 1: all of us to live as people who are grateful

829
00:42:33,330 --> 00:42:36,569
Speaker 1: for these things. And Lord, I pray that if there's

830
00:42:36,610 --> 00:42:39,069
Speaker 1: anyone in my hearing who as of yet has not

831
00:42:39,150 --> 00:42:43,759
Speaker 1: experienced the blessing of becoming part of your family through

832
00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,560
Speaker 1: faith in your son, Jesus Christ, that today would be

833
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,120
Speaker 1: the day that you would awaken their spirit, that today

834
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:50,560
Speaker 1: would be the day that you would open up their

835
00:42:50,739 --> 00:42:52,660
Speaker 1: eyes and that you would help them to see their

836
00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:55,540
Speaker 1: need for your son, Jesus Christ, so that their mind

837
00:42:55,560 --> 00:42:58,260
Speaker 1: wouldn't be continually consumed with the things of this world

838
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,339
Speaker 1: and placing their hope in the things of this world

839
00:43:00,380 --> 00:43:03,239
Speaker 1: that will be gone in five minutes. but that their

840
00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:07,259
Speaker 1: hope and their perspective would be beyond all of this.

841
00:43:08,820 --> 00:43:10,820
Speaker 1: And that you'd give them that peek into the future

842
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:13,489
Speaker 1: that you give to your children. Lord, thank you for

843
00:43:13,530 --> 00:43:16,390
Speaker 1: allowing us to join you behind the counter. Thank you

844
00:43:16,410 --> 00:43:20,310
Speaker 1: for giving us your name. Thank you for all the

845
00:43:20,350 --> 00:43:22,730
Speaker 1: blessings and all the privileges that we experience as being

846
00:43:22,770 --> 00:43:24,940
Speaker 1: part of your family. And again, as we study this

847
00:43:24,980 --> 00:43:26,859
Speaker 1: book together in the coming weeks, we pray that we'd

848
00:43:26,900 --> 00:43:29,400
Speaker 1: be encouraged and challenged each and every week as we

849
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:33,180
Speaker 1: look at this scripture. And that we'd find ourselves saying, Lord,

850
00:43:33,340 --> 00:43:36,060
Speaker 1: we're amazed at what you've chosen to do on our behalf.

851
00:43:36,900 --> 00:43:38,779
Speaker 1: And we're just so grateful to be the recipients of

852
00:43:38,820 --> 00:43:41,180
Speaker 1: your blessings. Help us to live out our lives in

853
00:43:41,239 --> 00:43:44,390
Speaker 1: such a way that we show that gratefulness. We thank you, Lord,

854
00:43:44,430 --> 00:43:46,430
Speaker 1: for all of these things. And we pray this all

855
00:43:46,550 --> 00:43:49,209
Speaker 1: in Jesus' name. Amen.