Remember Who You Are | Ephesians 1

[Music] before I read to you from the book of Ephesians I want to just give you a little snapshot into what is gonna happen throughout this series this series is called God's plan and we couldn't think of a more appropriate title for the book of Ephesians than God's plan the book of Ephesians is six chapters and it masterfully unfolds right before our eyes the mystery the awl and the wonder of God's planned from the very beginning for Humanity this is an incredible book just to give you a little context it's a six-week series so each Sunday we're gonna take one of the six chapters of the book of Ephesians this morning we are starting out on chapter number one and there is no way in the world we're gonna even get close to capturing everything in the fullness of Ephesians chapter one because it is far too rich for that but we're gonna do our best to do through about fourteen verses alright and I promise you will beat the Baptist's to the steakhouse so don't get nervous all right look at your neighbor and tell them don't get nervous before I read Ephesians chapter one I want to paint the picture for you a little bit clearer a lot of times when we read the Bible we do so without seeing the proper context and it is vitally important as believers that we number one think about who wrote this book number two who did they write it to and number three what is the Spirit of God saying to those people and what is he saying to me as a result of it this the book of Ephesians is also called one of the prison epistles because the Apostle Paul wrote it from a jail cell he didn't write it in some luxurious paradise he wrote it from a filth infested dungeon under the threat of his life at this imprisonment Paul did not know whether or not he would survive another day so as he penned the book of Ephesians he was writing out of the spirit of urgency to the church at Ephesus to which he was deeply and greatly invested the Apostle Paul took many missionary journeys throughout his life but he spent more time in the city of Ephesus than virtually any other place throughout his missionary journey he spent three years in Ephesus his heart was deeply rooted in Ephesus and he had been raising up Timothy and evangelist pastor to lead the church at Ephesus as Paul writes from a prison cell I want you to imagine and put yourself in the place of Paul for just a moment imagine that you are on death row that your sentence is coming and you don't know whether you'll live another week or another day or hour and as you begin to pin this letter to the church at Ephesus what would you say to them in your final moments you would say and you would write what is the most important thing you wouldn't use that moment to say hey you know how's your weekend you know how's that how's that how the Panthers doing like you would be you would not waste any motions you wouldn't waste any words everything that you say would be acute and it would be intentional because you know that these may be the final words that you ever write so it is with that urgency and with that mindset that we read the book of Ephesians chapter 1 beginning in verse 1 this is the letter of Paul chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus who are the faithful followers of Christ Jesus may God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ give you Grace and peace all praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ even before he made the world God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ this is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure so we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belonged to his dear son he is so rich in kindness and grace he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sins he has showered us with his kindness along with all wisdom and understanding God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure and this is the plan at the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ everything in heaven and on earth furthermore because we are united with Christ we have received an inheritance from God for he chose us in advance and he makes everything work out according to his plan that's all I want to read to you right there from the book of Ephesians these are the words of the Apostle Paul to the church at Ephesus he is writing to believers he's not writing to unbelievers don't get this mistaken alright now one other thing you've got to understand before we start going in this is the city of Ephesus was a huge city it was one of the capital cities of Asia Minor which is modern-day Turkey a great and prosperous very wealthy City but Ephesus was known above all things for one thing idolatry it was known as the epicenter of the idol worship of the goddess Diana of fertility and as Paul writes Ephesians chapter one I pray if you're taking notes you write this down I pray that you did this the main message of Asians chapter one is the Apostle Paul wants to remind you who you are in Christ Jesus he wants you to remember who Christ says you are he wants your identity to be solidified in the person of Christ Jesus that's the reason he pins Ephesians 1 is that you would know who you are in Christ it's about your identity look at your neighbor help me preach and tell him it's about your identity do you know about Satan do you know what the Bible calls him one of his names throughout scripture is the accuser of the Brethren read the book of Job he stands before the presence of God night and day day and night accusing you before the father he's an adulterer he's full of lust he's a liar he's agreed he's greedy he's envious prideful Satan is always accusing God's children before him and he also accuses you within your own mind and within your own heart the enemy is always throwing your past back up in your future he's always reminding you of the mistakes that you've made the failures that you've experienced in life he wants to label you an addict he wants to label you a failure the accuser of the Brethren is always at war with your identity because who you are it's strictly manifests through your behaviors through your actions into your decisions the reason the enemy wants to warp your perspective of yourself is because from your from your own perspective flows your behaviors and your decisions if he can keep you convinced that you are an addict a failure a liar if he can keep you cloaked in the guilt and the shame of your past he will shackle you from moving forward into the person that Christ has made you to be that's why he accuses you and that's why the Apostle Paul rohde Ephesians one in his most dire hour he said I've gotta let my church know who they are I've got to remind the people at Ephesus who they are in Christ because if they know and live with the awareness of who they are in Jesus their behavior will reflect that the way they treat other people will reflect that their heart their desire will emanate and manifest or the way they perceive their own identity your identity matters that's why Paul is crying out to us in Ephesians 1 who you are it affects the way you live the way you behave and the decisions that you make he wastes no time reinforcing your identity I'm gonna read it to you in the King James Ephesians chapter 1 verse 1 Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the Saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus Paul calls you a saint now a disclaimer before we go any further in this sermon Paul is writing to the church he's writing to Christians he's writing to people who have repented of their sin and given their lives to Jesus Christ this is not calling anybody out in the world a saint he's calling you who are purchased by the shed blood of Christ Saints look at your neighbor and tell him you're a saint a saint is somebody who is holy somebody who is set apart distinguished for the service and the purposes of God that's how he begins the the letter is that you're a saint I need you to remember who you are I know the enemy is reminding you of all your failures he's labeled you with all of your mistakes but I say you are a saint because of Christ Jesus and what he's done for you now Catholic Church if you want to be a saint there's a lot there's a stringent amount of requirements that you have to go through in order to achieve sainthood first of which being you got to die that's not fun but in order to be a saint in the Catholic Church you got to be dead for at least five years or have a special waiver okay so if you want to be a saint you got to die second thing in the Catholic Church you have to prove that you've lived a heroic virtuous life of good works it's got to be documented if you want to be a saint and in third and lastly the Catholic Church says that if you want to be a saint you have to perform verified miracles we have to verify that you have worked public miracles and then die and then maybe you'll be a saint being a little facetious here but this is true and in our mind we think that in order to be a saint in order to be holy in order to be righteous we have to adhere to all of these stringent regulations requirements be dead five years whatever but Paul says the moment that you were born again the moment that you believed the moment you repented you were taken out of sin and placed as a saint in the kingdom of our God and now when heaven sees you it sees the redeemed you're a saint according to the Apostle Paul this is amazing the only way to be a saint is to be born again in Christ Jesus the Lord now look at me at verse look at verse 3 here he is chapter 1 all praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly realms because we are united with Christ out of the gate in Ephesians 1:1 Paul says I need you to remember who you are you're a saint in verse 3 he looks at you and he says you are blessed beyond all comprehension you are blessed with every spiritual blessing because you are in Christ now I just got to get you to see this for a minute because you are richly blessed and favored of God every saint every child of God the word says in Ephesians 1 that every spiritual blessing in heaven is yours what Paul is really saying if you strip it down he's saying that Christ Jesus is your reward he is the most beautiful thing in the highest heaven and all of his blessings are now yours for you are in Christ Jesus he is your reward he is worth living for he is the one that satisfies the soul you are on earth and your reward is with you it's the presence of God Almighty in Exodus chapter 33 Moses caught a glimpse of this and he understood it in Exodus 33 Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land there was promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob a land flowing with milk and honey but in Exodus 33 an interesting conversation happens between Moses and God Moses says I don't want to take another step towards the promised land unless your presence goes with me I don't want your promises without your presence I don't want your blessing without your spirit because Moses understood that the highest reward was not the possessions and the things that God would give him but the highest reward as a saint is the very presence of the Living God Himself it would do us really good to just to value the presence of God as our reward anybody believe what I'm saying today anybody thankful that he is your reward verse 4 even before he made the world God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes Paul says here in verse 4 that you are loved you are chosen and you are without fault I'm gonna say it again over you you are loved Church you are chosen and you are blameless in the eyes of God this is the book of Ephesians reminding you who you are in Christ you are loved you are chosen and you are without fault now obviously we all have faults we're all sinners we've all fallen short of the glory of God but the moment we are in Christ by faith his righteousness covers us and God sees Christ no longer us apart from Christ you are wicked you are broken and disheveled but in Christ you are loved you are chosen you are spotless and forgiven this is the miracle of the gospel it's the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Bible says something incredible here as he writes this from this jail cell he reminds the church at Ephesus that from the foundations of the world before the world ever began God chose you and God loved you now there's a powerful principle and I pray that you do not just check out like another Sunday morning but you lean in right here Paul is saying this from the beginning of time before time space and matter ever existed God for knew he saw the end from the beginning he saw every moment every detail of your life he saw every good day every mistake every sin every wicked evil thought that traversed through the crevices of your he saw every detail of your life he saw your end from the beginning yet from the beginning having seen it all all of your mistakes all of my brokenness from the beginning seeing it all he still chose me he still loved me in spite of my pre imperfections in spite of my shortcomings this should set you free today let the peace and the mercy of God let it rush over your soul you have nothing left to prove God has seen every detail of your life even the decisions you have yet to make he's already seen them and from the beginning he chose to love you my god it's a miracle because it's one thing for you to love me at my best it's one thing for you to love me when everything looks great and right but it's a whole nother depth of love to see my imperfections and choose me anyway there is nothing that you could do in your life that would cause God to love you any less than the day he first breathed life into you and there's not one thing you can do I don't care how many churches you plan sermons you preach how many people you lead to Jesus there's not one thing you could do that would cause him to love you one ounce more than he loved you the day he first breathed the breath of life into you that's what Paul's saying Church I need you to remember who you are because if you know who you are if you know you're loved if you know you're a saint if you know you're chosen the way you behave the way you live your life the way you treat other people will drastically change if you catch a glimpse of who you are one half people getting excited with me on that so all right I'll get hide by myself it's fine my god my god there are some of you in this stream today and you still wrestle with the question how could God forgive me how could God forgive me for the mistakes of my past there are some of you in this place God has forgiven you but you have yet to forgive yourselves and I would say to you this morning that he who the Sun sets free is free indeed and in Christ former things passed away and all things are made new can I just break from the script a moment tell you what I'm telling you is the best message the world will ever hear it is the greatest news the corners of the earth will ever hear we must share it we must preach it I don't care how unpopular it is how could it be unpopular Jesus Dodd for you to save you and redeem you so your sins would be counted against you no more this is incredible church let's shout it from the rooftops let's tell everybody you have been there's a way for you to be forgiven it's incredible it's the best news we've ever heard verse 5 currently to verse 5 don't worry you will beat the bad news to the steakhouse and no we will not get through ephesians 1 today we will not but we'll try to get you through 13 verses 14 verse 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ this is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure this is incredible I want to read to you Ephesians 1:5 from the King James I'm gonna go old-school on you for a minute because there's a word captured in verse 5 that I think is very important for you to hear this morning if he's in chapter 1 verse 5 having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will now really quickly that word that I want you to catch his predestined predestined there are multiple facets of Christianity today that are divided over that word right there predestined and I just wanted it's right here in Ephesians so I just want to break this open for you really quickly some people preach Ephesians 1:5 this way God has three destined some of you to be in the family of God to be adopted as his children and others of you he predestined for hell if you haven't heard it because I don't preach it that's funny to me anyway preachers preachers preachers would laugh at that anyway but this is taught that this that God is sovereign and he preordained everything the sound going out was God's plan from the beginning that God chooses people from the beginning of time for heaven or hell to be his children or to be his enemies to be adopted into his family or not people preach Ephesians 1:5 that way can I show you the truth look with me well even if you don't want to hear it I'm going there anyway if you turn with me really quickly to first Peter chapter 1 verse 2 I want you to watch this by the way you'll never hear somebody preach predestination that way and ever think they're not the chosen ones it's that theology is very convenient so long as you are on the right side of his choosing but if he didn't choose you then it's must be somebody else and I'm not trying to get doc I'm not trying to indoctrinate you this morning but I am trying to preach the Word of God to you and bring clarity you need to see this first Peter chapter 1 verse 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and the sprinkling of blood of Jesus Christ grace unto you and peace be multiplied once you pay very close attention to that first sentence elect according to the foreknowledge of God that word elect means chosen adopted righteous selected elect according to the foreknowledge of God look at your neighbor and say according to the foreknowledge of God y'all will be alright you're smart group people the nine-thirty handled it just fine y'all are sharp you'll be all right now listen yes Ephesians is saying God predestined people from the beginning of time yes God is sovereign and yes God chose you from the beginning yes he did but he did it not by random choosing like okay this row you go into heaven this row well good luck you know it wasn't randomness it was not random he predestined us the elect are according to the four knowledge of God and here's what this literally means it means from the beginning of creation God who dwells outside of the parameters of time saw your end from the beginning he saw every decision you would make he watched how you would respond to the message of the gospel and the free gift of salvation and he knew from the beginning who would choose him in the end and according to his foreknowledge every one of you who chose the gospel by faith to you he predestined to be adopted into the family of our the elect are not according to a random process of choosing which would be unjust from the beginning how could you be condemned to hell if you never had free will and a chance to choose and obey is this making any sense to you here's how I know it here's how I know it the Bible ways is profound 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 4 says that it is the will of God that all should be saved and that none would perish i'ma go one step further John 3:16 the most famous verse in all of the Bible for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in him whosoever would believe in him would not perish but find life everlasting that at least deserves like at least a brace and look thank you lord thank you Lord God has chosen to adopt you he has chosen to love you from the beginning he has predestined a position in his family for you yes he has and he did so by the foresight of your response to his son Jesus Christ God is sovereign but he does not violate our free will by the way on this I'm still in this passage if you were adopted into his family somehow in our thinking we think biological birth is like up here and like adoption is like the next plan a to not true at all not true at all couldn't even be further from the truth adoption is not any less legal adoption is not any less spiritual it's not any less powerful than biological birth it's not I'm going to show you when your parents had you they just had to deal with whatever God gave them my dad is here he can tell you hey he didn't he just had to deal with whatever the Lord gave him but in adoption you choose that child in adoption out of all the rest you choose I want that one you've been adopted you've been invited into the family of God he has chosen you he has selected you and his will is that all of you would come into the family of the Almighty God adopted more than anything else says you were wanted you were wanted now while I'm here in Ephesians 1 and we're looking at the main emphasis being God's plan God's identity for all of us I want to take a moment really quickly to touch on something that is an absolute epidemic in our world today and it ties directly into Ephesians 1 and that is the epidemic of suicide that is rampant in our world today the church has to speak on it and the reason I believe that it fits perfectly with Ephesians 1 is because I truly believe that the route of suicide is that we do not understand who we really are in Christ we don't see ourselves the way he sees us we don't see ourselves as worthy we don't see ourselves as truly forgiven and redeemed we don't see ourselves the way heaven sees us I pray for just a moment this morning that you would catch a glimpse of how valuable you are to God Almighty I pray that you would see how precious the gift of life truly is suicide is never God's plan for you I'm gonna say that one more time suicide is never God's plan for you I recognize that difficult things happen in your life I recognize that you cannot control your circumstances you cannot always control your environment I get that but what you can control is how you respond to it it's not your plan it's not God's plan for you in fact first Corinthians says don't you know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit that the excellency of God treasure is hidden in earthen vessels you are valuable beyond all imagination jesus said it this way what would it profit you if you gain the entire world but you lost your own soul in other words your singular soul is more valuable than all of the wealth and all of the resources this world could ever contain that's how priceless your life is now I want to say to see really quickly suicide is never God's plan for you and it is not it is not ever the way out suicide is a sin it is a sin now I know that some of you are gonna get offended with me and you're gonna send me an email later but that's never stopped me before and you don't come to this church to hear my opinion you come to hear the Word of God and that's what I'll give you recently there was a well-known pastor about a week ago who took his own life in California absolutely heartbreaking and devastating and my heart goes out to him his family his precious children my heart breaks I've seen Christians and even pastors applaud him for his decision I saw one pastor quote/unquote well done now I know this is a sensitive topic but I have to speak truth to you that is not God's plan for your life never it's self murder self murder God is the author of life the enemy comes to steal kill and destroy I believe it is well scripture is profoundly clear to sin you're destroying the temple but let me say this suicide is not listed as an unforgivable sin it's very important that you hear this I'm not condemning people who have committed suicide to hell so what I'm doing the Bible is very explicit and very clear so there is one sin that is unforgivable and it is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that's a whole other sermon okay but if suicide were automatic hell it would also be listed as an unforgivable there'd be two unforgivable sins not one God is just he is loving he is merciful and people with mental illnesses and conditions when they're not in their right mind God is merciful he's more just and holy than we will ever be will not the God of all creation do what is right he will but I must say as rich as he is in mercy that is a sin that is not God's plan for your life do not believe the lies of the enemy and if you're having those thoughts I want to encourage you this morning read Ephesians 1 let it wash over your soul believe it ask the Holy Spirit to let it be sealed within your heart but you are a saint you are chosen you are adopted you are valuable beyond measure don't believe the lies of the enemy God has given you life and life abundantly don't let the enemy talk you out of it and young people young people teenagers taking their life at an unprecedented rate we've never seen anything like it God have mercy have mercy and churches applaud it and glorify it and I'm gonna say this one more thing and I just have to say this to you again there are many other topics I would like to talk about and get you hyped over but I have to be God's messenger to you I don't know who I'm talking to this morning if you're a minister you have a calling on your life and you struggle with suicidal thoughts I don't preach this to condemn you but I implore you and I beg you step down from your ministry seek help be whole find rest stop pressing on with the ministry while you inside are suffering the Word of God is crystal clear church it's crystal clear that if you are going to preach and you're going to teach and you're going to be used of God you must live with self-control and you must be an example to other believers doesn't mean that you're perfect it means that you must have self-control and be an example I don't know who that's for but I say that with all love in my soul God's plan is for life not death as I wanted this sermon down today look back with me at verse 8 of Ephesians chapter one Ephesians chapter one verse eight he has showered us in his kindness along with all wisdom and understanding this is absolutely incredible as they faint as a born-again child of God all wisdom is yours all understanding is yours you say how could that be because all wisdom and all understanding is in the person of God and the person of God is revealed through his word and through his spirit when you have the Word of God and you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you you have access to all wisdom and all understanding doesn't mean all knowledge but all wisdom and understanding I'm gonna put it to you this way I heard an old preacher say this way one simple man someone simple-minded man with a Bible holds more wisdom and understanding then all of the greatest minds on earth combined and I believe that to be the truth even the greatest philosophers the greatest minds on earth can't tell you how it started can't tell you how it will all end they cannot explain the mysteries of life but the word of the Living God brings wisdom and understanding to all who believe Paul saying to you you're not just a saint you're not just loved you're not just chosen you're not just worth it you're not just forgiven but you have been equipped with all wisdom you've been equipped with all understanding and when you find yourself at a crossroads in life and you don't know which decision to make run to the word pray and rely on the Holy Spirit for you have been given all wisdom you've been given all understanding it is in you through the word and the spirit of god ephesians chapter 1 verses 9 through 14 I got two more things to tell you and then I'm stopping Ephesians chapter 1 verse 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure and this is the plan at the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ everything in heaven and on earth furthermore because we are united with Christ we have received an inheritance from God for he chose us in advance and makes everything work out according to his plan God's purpose was that the Jews who were the first to turn to Christ would bring praise glory to God and now you Gentiles have also heard the truth the good news that God saves you and when you believed in Christ he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit whom he promised long ago the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he was purchased he purchased us to be his own people he did so so that we would praise and glorify Him you've not only been given all wisdom and all understanding but Ephesians 1 9 through 14 says that you have been given revelation into God's mysterious plan this is incredible right here Paul is literally peeling back the veil of history and he's pointing forward telling you Saints you are privy to this knowledge I want to tell you I want to show you the mystery of God's plan here it is he says every nation every tribe in every tongue will one day come under the authority of Jesus Christ the word goes on to say at the mention of his name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord of lords and the king of kings in other words what he's telling the church at Ephesus your government your stability your life may seem out of control right now but take heart for in the end we win he's overcome the world and he will reign forever he is on the throne victory is in his name so Paul saw that's a paraphrase but that's what he's saying he's pointing to the millennial reign of Christ saying that Jesus is coming again if you don't know what the millennial reign is sign up for school of discipleship we're running it again this fall all throughout the month of November you can go to vision Church comm and sign up for that get in there it's amazing I don't have time for that today because it's awesome but one other facet of the mysterious plan Paul says not only as Jesus going to win and rain but he also says the gospel is not just for the Jew but also for the Gentiles now to you on this side of history you're like well yeah I mean we're Gentiles so we get it but when he said it it was earth-shattering revelation at the time because the Jewish people believed they were the only ones who could be saved they thought they were the only chosen ones they were the only ones who could be redeemed but God says or pulses I got a mystery the gospel is for all anybody thankful that the Gospels for everyone thanks be to God [Applause] last point final one and I really do mean it this time in verses 13 through 14 Ephesians 1 says something incredible I want to read it to you in the King James just really quickly just verse 13 in whom you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and whom also after that you believed you were sealed with that holy spirit of promise look at your neighbor and tell'em sealed the word sealed sealed with the Holy Spirit now when we read that today in 2019 we're like cool like we read we sing songs about it were like were sealed by his spirit and we're just like awesome whatever that means sounds great I'm with it but to the audience at Ephesus it made perfect sense it was vivid imagery to them because they knew exactly what he was speaking of in this time period when they would make an official sales transaction and by the way Church I pray that if anything else out of this message you leaned in right here I know it's the end and you're thinking about the Panthers and all that but I just need you real quick don't miss this look at your neighbor tell him don't miss this please don't miss this because this is one of the most powerful truths in the book of Ephesians why here what I'm about to show you Paul says you were sealed by his spirit in this culture if you were going to make a sales transaction if you were gonna buy a piece of property if you were gonna buy something expensive they would write out the document and then they would roll it up and then they would take hot wax and they would drip it into a puddle on the document and then they would take a stamp with an image that was unique to its owner and they would stamp it into the hot wax and that was the seal of its validity it was the notary of the day if you will its certified that that document was legitimate and it more importantly signified who owned it Paul is saying to the church at Ephesus you're not just Saints you're not just blessed you're not just chosen forgiven redeemed you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit now here's the power you and I are the wax moldable and pliable and His Spirit is the stamp that has His image you need to him and when that seal embeds in plants deep within that wax what is left is an impression a seal a certificate of validity that you are saved you are his he is yours and heaven certainly is your inheritance I haven't even got to the awesome part yet you're clapping already that's good here's how that translates to your life here's how this translates to your life and I promise y'all really in closing I pray you receive this this will change your life when he says you are filled by the Holy Spirit Church he's saying that when you repented of your sin and you asked Jesus to forgive you and be your Lord you became that wax his spirit made its mark on you and that you are becoming more and more of His image that His image is now seen in your heart your behaviors your attitudes your decisions now reflect his image for now your heart is no longer your own but you have been sealed by his Spirit and here's how you know and if you are a saint in here you're gonna know exactly what I'm talking about when I got saved I wasn't perfect afterwards still far from it but when you go back now as a believer and you try to sin like you used to there's someone your heart it's like ah this isn't working anymore there's something that's been imprinted on your heart but you can't enjoy saying like you used to you can't you can't jump into it without conviction anymore see you used to sin you used to fill in the blank whatever your sin was and you did so freely with no conviction no no condom no conviction whatsoever you did it freely but now when you do it something has been imprinted on your heart you had been filled with the Holy Spirit Saint that is the evidence that you are his and he is yours that's the evidence right there it's the evidence and if you have no idea what I'm talking about and use we'll live like you are the god of your own life without any conviction without any drawing back to God I would say to you that you are not his you are not sealed by his spirit but here's the good news there's an open invitation for you to come just as you are to Jesus Christ by faith he says if any of you will confess your sins I am faithful and I am just to forgive you and to heal you and to wash you white as snow come on vision Church and erupt in praise and thank the good Lord for the gospel of Jesus Christ I'm about to pray over you right now and I'm gonna pray to prayers the first one I'm gonna pray over the believers over the Saints just like Ephesus one is a charge to the believers that Ephesus I'm gonna pray over you and in the second prayer is gonna be an invitation for those of you who maybe you've never asked God for forgiveness you've never given your life to Jesus Christ everything you've just heard about this morning doesn't belong to you until you repent of your sin and give yourself over to Jesus in Christ you are forgiven holy and acceptable on your way to heaven filled with blessing on this side outside of Christ you stand on the side of judgment this is just the Bible let me pray father right now I pray over your church and I thank you so much for the book of Ephesians chapter one that it reinforces who we are in Christ it speaks to our value and our Worth and everything that we are is all because of you thank you for the cross thank you for your mercy thank you for your love thank you Lord that from the beginning of our life you saw the end and you chose us anyway what a God you are greatly to be praised we worship you if there's anybody in this room today that's struggling with suicidal thoughts thinking that their life is not worth it I rebuke that spirit I rebuke those lies in the presence of the Lord and we speak life we speak wellness we speak wholeness over you not death God has a plan for you don't give up there's greatness that God has in store for your life and now if you're in this room and you've never given your life to Jesus you are outside of Christ I want to invite you to come into Christ just like those Souls came into the ark that day that Noah and and the ark it filled with water and destroyed the earth we are coming in to Jesus he is our rock he is our Ark our safety our refuge father right now we come to you and we repent we acknowledge that we have sinned against you father forgive us for living life ourselves for ignoring you for ignoring your word we believe in this place that Jesus died on the cross for me he rose on the third day defeating death hell in the grave and because he lives I will live - father I give you my life my past my present my future I want to be your child I want to be adopted into your family I want to be called a saint even though I'm undeserving thank you that salvation is not a reward for the righteous but it is a free gift to the sinners have mercy Lord in Jesus name we pray amen [Music]

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Keywords: Tyson Coughlin, Vizion Church, Vizion, Ephesians 1, Sermon about Ephesians 1, message about Ephesians, sealed with christ, what does it mean to be in christ?, Ephesians chapter one, the book of Ephesians

Id: XRvbZd9Oizc

Length: 52min 42sec (3162 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 25 2019