THE ABC OF OUR GLORIOUS STANDING

Note: As you can see, this sermon was preached in 1999 or eleven years ago. I preached it as one sermon but you can divide it into 2, 3 or even four sermons. In that case, you may want to do a series. Ejoy

THE ABC OF OUR GLORIOUS STANDING
Eph. 1:1-8
Sunday, September 05, 1999
CTC
Introduction:

A girl of 18 years old was scolded by a younger brother. She, out of that encounter, made the conclusion in her mind that it was a very painful experience for her. The Newspapers reported that she killed herself as a result.

Friends, most people’s reaction is that the scolding was not big enough of a reason to kill one’s self. Is it? For some people, it is not big enough. For some, like that girl, it was big enough to push her to end her own life. Whether it’s big enough or not depends, in the end, on the conclusion that one makes in his or her mind. You see, the behavior, like the act of killing the self, is always an extension or a product of the mental conclusion that was previously made. An act or a behavior does not just happen. Any act is committed because of a conclusion. When we conclude that we itch, we scratch. When we conclude that we are hungry, we look for food, or smell for the whereabouts of food and eat when we find some. Any act is always a product of a mental conclusion. So, happiness in life, or the sadness of the same is principally dictated by the kinds of mental conclusions we make about our life, about others, and even about God.

Ephesians is a book on Spiritual Conclusion. Paul guides us through his letter to the Ephesians and reminds us of the wonderful love that the Father has for us. He is in fact, saying to us, when we come to know the greatness of God’s love for us, there is nothing that this world can do to make us kill ourselves. When we come to really understand the greatness of God’s love for us, there is nothing in this world that can make us grovel in hopelessness, or whimper in our misery.

Please note very carefully that Paul begins his letter with a very clear and precise discussion of our spiritual identity. He wants his readers to be sure of who they are before God. The reason is that he will explain to them towards the end of his book that they are and will always be engaged in a very fierce and difficult combat against Satan and the primary way of standing firm against his attacks is to know our spiritual standing and spiritual heritage. To who were are means to be victorious over Satan. To be ignorant of who we are before God means defeat in the hands of someone who is crafty and wily.

Let’s remind ourselves as to who we really are before God. Right conclusions means strength. Hope is a product of right conclusions. Happiness is a product of right conclusions. Victory over Satan is a product of right conclusion and not matter of using the cross, or oil, or anything else. Let’s talk about the ABC of our glorious standing before God. Satan’s nightmare is that we will discover this and use this against him. His wonderful dream is that the Christians will remain ignorant about their rightful and glorious standing before God. The lack of assurance is a product of ignorance. Ignorance making wrong conclusions from lack of correct knowledge.

A. ACCEPTED BEFORE WE WERE BORN.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Paul says that God accepted us before we were born. He did this when He chose in Jesus Christ before the creation of the world. Let’s note 3 things about this acceptance. This means that we were:
 Chosen for a Distinct Relationship. He predestined us to be adopted as his sons (or daughters) through Jesus Christ.

 Chosen for a Distinct Lifestyle. He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.

 Chosen for a Distinct Purpose. To the praise of His:
Glory. His unique being as God. (Also in verse 12)
Grace. The favor he bestows on people.

The phrase glorious grace really has two words: Grace and glory. Imagine. God has chosen us even before we were born to become instruments for His grace and glory. In other words, He has said, through you, my glory, my uniqueness as God, my grace will be recognized and honored in the sight of heaven and earth.

B. BLESSED WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

The nature of our blessing:
 Comprehensive. Every spiritual blessing.

 2.2. Completely Safe. In Heaven. Safety Deposit Box is still a box. It is not safe enough. Safety is found not in a box but in a place. Heaven is a very safe place. That where our blessings have been deposited with an AND Account. You ask in Jesus name. He fill up, both of you sign. The Father will give it.

 2.3. Certified to be available. In Christ. As long as one is in Christ, the blessings are available. The presence of Christ assures the blessings. The absence of Christ assures the absence of the blessings. Lord, send it through DHL- Divine Holy Line.

The main signatory of the withdrawal slip is in heaven.

C. CLEANSED BY HIS BLOOD.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

 C. THE ESSENCE of this Cleansing. Redemption. Paying for the freedom of the slave. Our cleansing was never cheap nor easy. It required blood, which symbolizes life and suffering.

 C.2. THE EFFECT of this cleansing. It deals effectively with our sins so that forgiveness becomes possible. Therefore, the end result of this cleansing is forgiveness of sins.

Note that this redemption or cleansing is given out of God’s
riches of God’s grace. The phrase to receive wealth is not the same as to received according to his wealth. When someone gives you a wealth, that is normally measured as wealth in relation to your poverty. It is wealth to the receiver. To receive wealth according to the rich man’s wealth is something else. That means to receive wealth by the standards of the donor. It means to be really wealthy not in comparison to your former poverty but in comparison tot he donor’s status.

We receive redemption or cleansing according to the riches
of God’s grace. Meaning, the forgiveness of sins that we have received is not measured according to the seriousness of our sins but according to the kindness of God. Because of that, our forgiveness is complete and without limits of any kind.

 C.3. THE EXCLUSIVENESS of this cleansing. It is limited to
those who are in Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ is applied only to those who have received Him as Lord and Savior.

Friends, the danger in life are not the big wrong doctrines for we can easily spot them. The more dangerous ones are the small doubts. The minor dissatisfaction. The small and insignificant neglect of our time with the Bible. These are dangerous.

Six Slits Sink Ship
Scientists now say that a series of slits, not a giant gash, sank the Titanic. The opulent, 900-foot cruise ship sank in 1912 on its first voyage, from England to New York. Fifteen hundred people died in the worst maritime disaster of the time.
The most widely held theory was that the ship hit an iceberg, which opened a huge gash in the side of the liner. But an international team of divers and scientists recently used sound waves to probe the wreckage, buried in the mud under two-and-a-half miles of water. Their discovery? The damage was surprisingly small. Instead of the huge gash, they found six relatively narrow slits across the six watertight holds.
Small damage, invisible to most, can sink not only a great ship but a great reputation.
--USA Today (4/9/97)

Let not Satan deprive us of our joy. Let the problems of life terrify us. Let not the difficulties steal from us our God-given confidence and strength. Remind ourselves again and again. I have been ACCEPTED. BLESSED WITH EVERY BLESSING. CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD.

Satan says: God cannot accept you anymore because of your very rotten life. Satan, I was accepted before I was born. He has already accepted me for a distinct relationship with him. A distinct lifestyle for him and a distinct purpose for his glory.

Satan says: Yes, God may have accepted you but He will deprive you of blessings. He will not cause your business to prosper. He will bring you poverty and extreme suffering. You say. Satan, I have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing. The spiritual blessings for me are Comprehensive, it covers every need. It is Completely safe in heaven- away from your stealing hands. It is certified to be available because I have the Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan says: Yes, but your sins will bring you down. Your sins are too big and too much for God to handle. You will die in your sins. You say: Satan. I have already been cleansed. My cleaning in essense, is Redemption. Its effect is on all my sins. They have been fogiven. And the cleansing is exclusive, for me yes, for you no.

I have my ABC, you have yours. Your ABC IS . A-Alienation from God. B. Babanatan ka ng Diyos. C. Combustible material for hell.

Alam mo Satan, kahit sa Taglish, maganda and aking ABC. ANG BLESSINGS CONTINUING.