Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Connection with the song, the verse who was read in the prayer meeting. Keep thyselves from idols like to look at the positive side of that. Deuteronomy chapter 33. Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 23 is the blessing of Naphtali.
This phrase satisfied with favor.
And full with the blessing of the Lord, possess thou the West and the South.
We know that we've been blessed with all spiritually blessings in heavenly places in Christ. I think this full of the blessings of the Lord has to do with the complete enjoyment of them and satisfaction with what He has. Let's ask for His help for these meetings.
Hemorrhoids and soon shall we enter our own promised land? Makes me wonder, brethren, if we could consider Ephesians chapter one. I'm not sure if that would be suitable to all, but I've had that on my heart and I suggested.
We've been over it many times, but there's always more in it, isn't there?
Ephesians, chapter one.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, the Saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as you have chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself.
According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace we're in, He hath made us accept it in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, where any other bounded toward us, in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself.
That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, you might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him, the work of all things, after the council of His own will. That we should be to the praise of His glory. Who first trusted in Christ, in whom He also trusted, After that He heard the word of truth.
The gospel of your salvation, and whom also after the evil age, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
Which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the Saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
That you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us, were who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world.
But also in that which is to come, and have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
Thoughts and the prayers and the verses that were read.
About idols and we read in First Thessalonians chapter one that these Thessalonians Saints had turned away from idols to serve the free, true and living God and to wait for His Son from heaven.
So they had their hearts turned away from idols, and they had an object for their hearts, which was the Lord to come from heaven.
00:05:08
So we read in first John chapter 5. Our brother read that verse. Children keep yourselves from idols. So they turned away from idols. And yet we're being warned.
Might take to later later time to keep ourselves from idol and so.
Here we have Ephesians. We have.
The highest truth, you might say, that we can be brought into and.
When the Lord writes to the churches in Asia in Ephesians chapter one, he reproaches to Ephesus that they had left.
Their first love and so I just challenges my heart and I said what can come into our lives, our affections, our service that displaces the person of the Lord Jesus and.
And we can look at that on a personal level and we can look at that.
On a collective level. And so I trust that the Lord will center our hearts on Him individually and collectively as we read this chapter.
I find that traveling through different countries rather and it's interesting to see where the Lord has.
Awaken fresh interest in the scriptures and especially the truth that we find so precious as gathered to the Lords name.
And I must say that perhaps one of the idols that has hindered here in North America is materialism.
And material things. And in many Christian circles, it's positively taught that God's blessing is shown in the abundance of material things.
But that is not the teaching of this chapter. We have spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, and I often find that those who are poor in this world have less distraction in occupation with the spiritual realities. The end of the chapter here. The apostle.
Praise and he prays that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened.
He does not pray that they might have more blessing because we have it all, brethren. What he prays is that our eyes would be unopened to understand and enjoy the blessings that are already ours.
And I do want to appeal to the young people to say that true, lasting blessing is not in material things.
We do have material things, and we're responsible as stewards to use them for the Lord. But the apostle Paul lost everything. Did that mean he was not blessed? Yes, he was blessed, brethren. And material blessing or material things are not the character of our blessing in this present dispensation. It is spiritual blessing, as we have in verse 3 here.
In heavenly places in Christ. So may the Lord help us as we consider this chapter to see how blessed we really are versus read in Deuteronomy of that one of the tribes full of the blessing of the Lord. Brethren, we are blessed. Do you understand that? Do you enjoy that? That's the challenge that comes to our hearts.
And it is the enjoyment of what we have in this chapter and in this book that is going to wean us unconsciously from the things of this world. It's interesting the verse brother quoted, it doesn't say in with the Saints in Thessalonica that they turned from idols to God. That's not what it says. It says they turn to God from idols. And what they found in the true and living God was so much greater.
That they, I suppose, perhaps even unconsciously gave up those idols, those dumb idols. And I'd like to read a verse before we get into this chapter in connection with the comments that have been made in Isaiah chapter 2, just so we understand what we're talking about when we talk about idols in the context of the Western world.
00:10:19
Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 8. Now this is speaking again, I realize, of Israel and idols of wood and stone and other commodities. But notice what it says. Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. Now when we talk about idols, we see the folly of bowing down and worshipping or looking to a.
Idol of wood or stone, or iron, or brass, we we see the folly of that looking to them for deliverance.
But brethren, aren't there many things in our culture that we've made with our own hands many inventions and we're looking to them for deliverance. We think they're the answer to societies problems and so on. And so we want to be careful that we're not looking to those things that those inventions. And again, we can utilize those things in business and at school and and so on, and we can even use them for the Lord's glory and the furtherance of the gospel and the truth.
But let's not have them before our souls as idols just say to in connection with what we have in Ephesians. Here Ephesians opens to us this vast panorama of spiritual heavenly blessings. And it is figured to us in what we have with the children of Israel going in to possess the land of Canaan. In some of the old hymns. Not ones we sing, but in some of the old hymns.
We find that Canaan is referred to as something as to heaven, not which we can have an enjoyment of after death, after we leave this world and so on. But Canaan is a picture to us of the spiritual heavenly blessings that we have in Christ now. And brethren, every believer here, young and old, has been blessed equally. If you've been saved for one day, you have as many spiritual blessings.
As the oldest brother or sister in Christ here and I'd like to introduce this by going to the book of Joshua and reading 2 verses.
In this connection, that seemed to be a contradiction, but when you take them up in their context, I believe they're very precious. The first one is in the 11Th chapter of the book of Joshua.
And remember that Joshua was the one who was raised up to lead the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, into their inheritance. His name means Jesus, and he's a picture of the Lord Jesus. And notice what it says in the last verse of the 11Th chapter of Joshua, verse 23. So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord said unto Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel.
According to their divisions by their tribes, and the land had rest from war. Now before I comment on that, turn over a page to the 13th chapter and the first verse.
Now Joshua was old and stricken in years, and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years. Now notice this. And there remaineth yet much, very much land to be possessed. You say, what's the difference? It almost seems like a contradiction. On the one hand, Joshua takes the whole land. On the other hand, there's very much land to be possessed. Well, I believe it's just what we've been saying, The Lord Jesus, because of the mighty work of Calvary.
And the fact that he has risen from the dead and ascended back to the right hand of God, He secured all the blessing for us. He's taken the whole land, Brethren, it's all ours in Christ. But how much do we really possess? And I think each one of us have to say in our own souls that while our Joshua has taken the whole land, it's all been been secured for us. How much have we really possessed?
How little I have to say in my own soul I have really taken hold of every place that the soul of the foot, your foot is tread that have I given you for an inheritance. How much have we enjoyed and walked in the good of all that is brought before us here in the book of Ephesians?
00:15:05
I might make a suggestion as we pick up this first chapter. You know, we often talk about Ephesians of representing what is our our blessing, our highest blessing in Scripture, but our blessing isn't the highest.
The blessing is it's God the Father's blessing is the highest. Might just suggest this in.
Later on in in verse four, it says, according as he hath chosen us in him now he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Who's blessing, who's who is the what's the desire there?
It was the desire of God the Father that we would be there. It's that's the highest blessing in Scripture is that God purposed in his heart that we should be there. And so we get later on in in chapter 5, Christ died for the church. Why that he might present it to himself so we we might look at the Godhead as that it was their highest desire. Oh, it's true. It's our blessings.
But this really represents the idea of what God has done for himself and blessing us in the process that it might be so.
So that's very true, and that's presented later in the chapter, isn't it? That is that the mystery or the secret consists first of all of God's purposes in Christ, and then secondly, bringing you and me into blessing with Christ. That's what you're bringing before us. And that's very, very true. However, it does not, of course, take away from the fact that.
All of these spiritual blessings are ours, and you and I are given the opportunity to enter into them and enjoy them, even down here. Doubtless we'll enjoy them, won't we? Far more in a coming eternity. We'll enjoy them for all eternity when there's nothing to distract. Nobody will have a bodily ailment in that day that hinders their enjoyment. No one will have to be looking at his watch and saying, I have to go to work today.
Nobody will have to be concerned about the things that are in this world.
But it's very, very precious, isn't it, to the Lords heart to see you and me in a world where there are many distractions, difficulties and problems.
Coping with the world as we have talked about, coping with bodily aches and pains and difficulties, coping with the old nature within each one of us that continues to oppose and yet enjoying heavenly things down here.
And if I may suggest, among other things, that was really the downfall not only of Ephesus, but of all those in Asia of whom Paul had to say at the end of his pathway. All they which are in Asia be turned away from me.
They hadn't turned away from Christianity, they hadn't given up Christ in one sense, but the enjoyment and walking in that heavenly calling here in this world was not very palatable to them, and it isn't today either.
Many years ago and I only read this.
But in a reading meeting.
Some of these things were being discussed.
And a brother said something along these lines, he said. I find that sometimes there are dear believers who don't want to hear about these things.
And the reply of a respected brother was very, very good. He said they will probably listen to you until you try to take them to heaven.
Did he mean that?
We would go to be with the Lord in heaven at the end of our lives. No, that's not what he meant. He meant that to live down here with a heavenly calling, enjoying heavenly blessings.
00:20:11
And yet living through this world, walking through it, coping with all of the difficulties and problems down here.
But having the reproach of the world, and even the reproach, sad to say.
Sometimes of those who profess to be believers, and many of them are real believers.
It's not an easy path, is it? Is that right, Bob?
There are two spiritual powers greater than ourselves, or they're not.
And either we're subject to the one or were subject to the other. If we're not subject to the to God and the heavenly blessings, we will be subject to earthly idols. That's important to understand, isn't it? We've been speaking about materialism and it says covetousness, which is idolatry. But we also know from Scripture that the power behind idols were was demons. They weren't just pieces of wood, were they?
But the power behind idols was demons, and I believe I've been very exercised to realize that. I believe many of the addictions today have a spiritual dimension to them, a demonic dimension to them. Again, if we're not taken up with the Lord and our heavenly blessings, we will be subject and overcome by the idols of this world. It's that simple.
In Africa, when somebody converts to Christianity and been anyway you're involved in sorcery, often they will bring all these all these idols that they have and, and whatever they use for casting spells and stuff and they burn them. They just burn them. And so it's something that Tim will be addressing, I'm sure with some of the cultures there in Africa. There's fear of this other world as you're mentioning those powers that keeps them in fear. And so they are delivered from that and they just burn them up, you know, and as you say with wood and.
It is that they used to make the idols. There's demons behind that and as you suggest.
In Ephesus, when they converted in Ephesus, and I think it's Acts 19 there, they took all these books that they had and they and they burned all these books, you know, so.
But you know, devil is so smart, he, he puts in our hands technology like you have a whole library there, you know, on your phone you can have a Hebrew dictionary, a Greek dictionary and with all sorts of books to read. And you can look at the news and you can look at this and you can look at that, you know.
So we'll be ready to burn our iPhones, iPads and computers. You ready to throw them out and live without them? No, I, neither would I, I, I think they're wonderful tools, but you got to keep them clean. If you look in your library and say these books shouldn't be in there, you throw them out and you burn them. And there are things on your computers, iPads, iPhones that you're looking at, you should be looking at. Get rid of that. Get rid of the applications. Don't let that subsist there because the enemy's going to use that. So he's put those devices, the Lord allows us to use them, but no, the enemy behind them.
Is quite powerful and you know, technology can be a good servant in the gospel. They can also be poisoned to our souls and so, and I'm sure we all have these struggles with that, but let's be reminded that this is from the enemy to distract us from that which is the Lord Jesus Christ and his truth.
As we consider the 1St chapter, one thing that comes before us is in the first verse, the will of God.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
Notice in verse five at the end, according to the good pleasure of his will.
Notice verse 9 having made known unto us the mystery of His will.
Notice verse 11, the end of the verse.
Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. So in the first chapter it's God that is doing everything. You don't have man's activities until the 1St 3 verses of the second chapter. And there you have man's will addressed.
But I think that is really important. Like what you say, Brother Michelle, that in the idols of the Western world, and they are very real and there is demonic power. But it's because man's will is exalted. I have the right to do what I want to do. And who are you to judge me? I have my rights. And so man's will runs rampant.
00:25:19
In fact, the Antichrist in the Book of Daniel is called the Willful King.
He's one who exercises his own will and that is the spirit that is running rampant in our world today. Children are not to be corrected because you might damage them.
Damage what damage? That sinful nature, That's what they're afraid that will happen. Oh, brethren, it's a reality in our world. But what we're talking about in this chapter is God's will. And that's why the whole chapter is full of positive blessing. And it seems to me that we have to come to a point in our Christian lives of recognizing.
Belonging to the Lord, I renounce my own will, and I'm here because of His will. How important that is to keep in mind in our Christian lives.
So these blessings that we have enumerated, for us, they are very real.
We've never seen them with the eye of faith because they're spiritual. We've been talking about idols, which you see with the natural eye, but we see these. I'm sorry, we've never seen our spiritual blessings with the natural eye, but they're very real to the eye of faith. We've been talking about idols, which you see with the natural eye. You, you, you feel them, you handle them, and so on. But these blessings, though we've never seen them, they are very, very real to the eye of faith.
And they are something, brethren, that are not. God hasn't made it difficult for us to enjoy. These are things we can enjoy now if we set our will aside and set our mind on things above, if we have our reading our Bibles, if we're occupied with Christ where he is now, we're going to enjoy these things. I was thinking when brother Bill was telling his little story of another little story. And again, it's a story that was related to me.
Some years ago, about a young man who was visiting in a chronic care hospital and he was giving out some gospel tracts and he was speaking to patients about the need for salvation. And he came to one lady and she had evidently been on that bed for long time. She was chronically ill and really couldn't move or do anything for herself. And so he came to her bedside and he offered her a gospel tract and he said.
You on your way to heaven? And she looked up from her bed and with a glad smile she said, I've been there today. So he thought, well, she's hard to hearing. So he leaned a little closer and he said, I asked you, are you on? Are you on your way to heaven? She said, I've already been there today. So he was sure she was really deaf. He got right close to her ear and he shouted in her ear, I asked you, are you on your way to heaven? She said, I know what you said, but she said I've been lying here today.
Enjoying what I have in Christ and that my Lord Jesus is there at the right hand of God and that he's blessed me with spiritual blessings, she said. I've been there today and brethren, that's what we can be to heaven today. We can have an enjoyment of heaven and these things before we get there because we have been given divine life.
We're connected with the Lord Jesus as our head. By the Spirit of God we have it. The mystery open to us in Paul's ministry.
The mystery in the New Testament context is not something that is hard to look into or can't be solved. I used to like to read mystery stories when I was a boy, but this mystery is simply that which was hidden in the past. It was a secret when the councils of God and the Godhead. But now it's been fully open to us. It's been revealed, and we have all things to pertain on to life and godliness. Brethren, it's all there. How much I say again.
Have we enjoyed it? How much are we enjoying all that we have? As to our blessings in Christ, I say this is what is going to wean us from this world. This is what is going to take our hearts affections from the things of earth.
00:30:03
And it's going to set them on those things that have to do with what is ours, not just for time or in a temporal way, but which is ours for eternity.
It's often been noticed that the book of Ephesians is divided into two parts. The 1St 3 chapters give us what God has done for us, the last three what we can do for Him. And that's true. The 1St 3 chapters can be summed up and have been summed up in one word. Might just call attention to that word. It's only used twice in the New Testament. It's a beautiful word. Chapter 2, verse 10.
For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Now let me read another verse in Romans chapter one and verse 20.
Where we get the other use of that word? It's only twice in the New Testament.
Romans one and verse 20.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.
Being understood by the things. That's that word again, same as workmanship.
By the things that are made, even his eternal power and should read divinity so that they are without excuse. What is that word? Well, I don't know anything about Greek, but I can read people that do. They tell us that word is a Greek word Poema where we get our word poem. And so some, some have described the 1St 3 chapters of Ephesians as God's masterpiece or God's home.
There was a poem. God first wrote his poem in creation.
That's what we read in Romans chapter one, and we can enjoy the first creation. And God has the Angel saying at the beginning of the first creation, did they not? And we can enjoy that. But now we're speaking about new creation. That's God's poem, God's masterpiece. That's what we have in the first three chapters of Ephesians, and he brings us into the blessing of God's eternal masterpiece.
It's vital that we get a hold of it. It's God's home, let's get a hold of that. It's for our blessing. It's for his glory.
What to mention before we go on down in the chapter in verse one?
He addresses the Saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Both things are characteristic of real believers. Saints are sanctified ones, set apart ones. And if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, He has set you apart.
For His purposes of blessing, and that's really important to get a hold of when you are saved. You are not here in this world any longer to do your own will. You are here for His purposes. To understand. That is really important. But then some have felt that the second part to the faithful in Christ Jesus is another group, those that are especially faithful. That is not the case here. It is what is characteristic.
Of those that are Saints, they are those who have faith in the Lord Jesus. And so it may, it may be that some have more faith than others, but still it's characteristic of those who are believers in the Lord Jesus.
Saints and faithful.
This is provided into three parts. If you look in garbage translation, it's actually only three sentences. Sentences continues into the second chapter.
First he greets them, but this book is talking about this highest blessing that we have in Christ, and so he dives right into it with the third verse on down to the end of the 14th verse and then from the 15th verse on.
To the.
End of the tenth verse of the second chapter we have.
What the Apostle Paul is directly?
00:35:01
His opening statements to the Ephesians, so to speak. But it's very, it's just very precious to my soul. There's been those that have said that I really enjoy my hymn book and they when they say that they're talking about the Bible because it's all about him.
Take some time some time and go through this chapter.
We got 23 verses in this chapter. Take some time and go through and see how many mentions both directly and indirectly. There are the Lord Jesus Christ. I've counted over 40 and I'm not I'm not very clear on it, but He is the center of this.
He's the center of God's plans, he's the center of our blessing, and as we've had mentioned, our occupation is to be with him.
Perhaps we could make a remark on the practical side here.
I don't know if others have raised this question in their own hearts, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a number in this room who are listening to these comments and say yes it all sounds very good, but tell me how to do it in the modern world.
Somebody made a remark in the news media a while ago, which is probably true, saying that the average individual in Business Today in the modern world.
Processes as much information in one week as the average working man in the 1800s did in a lifetime.
Sounds exaggerated, but I don't believe it is.
You and I are facing real difficulties if we want to enjoy our spiritual blessings, aren't we? The world is difficult.
For young people, in order to get anywhere in this world, it seems that you need an education, and there's nothing wrong with that. If I said there was, I'd be condemning myself.
Others are in the business world and finding it very, very difficult. And I would suggest that some of the remarks that have already been made have to be applied to us in a very real way. I have to look at my life. I have to look at where it's headed, and then I have to look to the Lord and say, Lord, show me how to have the time to.
Enter that land where those blessings are relating it to the Old Testament, possessing that land and then enjoying it.
And I'd like to read one verse, if we could, in Deuteronomy Chapter 7 in that respect. Again, just to make this practical, this has often been an exercise to my own heart. Deuteronomy Chapter 7.
On the one hand, we have been saying, and very, very truthfully.
That every Christian is equally blessed. All these blessings are ours by title, as soon as we're saved.
And as Jim has been reading, Joshua took the whole land. But then later on, at the end of his life, he had to remark that there was much that needed to be possessed.
The notice in verse seven of Deuteronomy and Chapter 7 I beg your pardon and verse 22.
And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee.
By little and little.
Thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
How do the beasts of the field increase on land?
It's land that has been possessed and yet is not being cultivated, not being fenced in, not being looked after, not being used properly, and pretty soon the animals start to encroach on it. That's normal.
What are the beasts of the field? The beasts of the field, I would suggest, are the activity of the flesh that results from too much head knowledge and not enough practical walk. Is that? Does that commend itself? Too much head knowledge in the blessings that we have, and not enough practical walk. And so the Lord gives it to us little by little.
00:40:13
Yes, we can read it, we can say it's all mine. But then little by little I come into the possession and the enjoyment of it, and in walking in it I find that.
And I think you put it very well there. The idols are forced over the picture, aren't they? The old sinful self is kept more in the place of death. As that I enjoy more and more of those blessings that God has given me. And I don't have any secret formula and I don't think anyone else does either for saying how can we find the time to do this? But it can be found by going to the Lord.
Seeking his help and perhaps even cutting off some of those things that maybe I think are so necessary and so needful naturally. But I have to say, if I want to enjoy those blessings, that's going to have to go.
The Lord will look after me if I do that. He'll make sure that I'm looked after down here.
In my everyday life and in Havering the food and covering that we need.
In the prayer at the end of the chapter of Brother Bill, I find something helpful. Verse 18 says the eyes of your understanding. It's really the eyes of your heart.
Being enlightened that you may know, and I suggest, brethren, that when we.
Speak about these things. We not only speak about them in a way to understand them, but.
Let it sink down in the soul, in enjoyment. That's where you really possess these truths in your heart. The mind is necessary to take them in, but it is only a channel and that's been said. It goes through the conscience to the heart. And so in meditation when we take time to read the Word of God.
And meditate. It take time to do that, young people, make time. If you don't have time, make time to do it because it's worthwhile. It will have an effect on your life, a very real effect if you will do that and take time to let it sink down into the heart. And while we are here in the 18th verse, I want to suggest that we have.
An outline of the chapter, chapter one in the three things that the apostle desires that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened. Notice the first one is that you may know what is the hope of his calling, our heavenly calling, the heavenly blessing. And that's what we get from verse three down to verse 9 perhaps.
The second one, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints? And so you have in verses 10 and 11 where it speaks of the inheritance. Now inheritance, you can't say that you possess that inheritance, yet that will be possessed when the Lord Jesus takes his place of authority in this world and takes the inheritance that God's going to give him.
Then we will receive our inheritance, but God wants us to enjoy it now even though we haven't possessed it yet. And so that's the second thing that He asked that they would have their eyes enlightened about.
And then the third one is verse 19. What is the exceeding greatness of His power to us word who believe according to the working of His mighty power?
While he just seems like he runs out of adjectives to talk about the greatness of the power. You know, sometimes we say I don't feel up to that. Yeah, brethren, I don't feel up to it either. But it's not a matter of my power. It's the power of God. And so we have that in verses 1213 and 14. The Spirit of God that is the seal in our lives.
00:45:08
He is the power.
Of that new life. And so may our hearts be encouraged, brethren, in view of these three things.
There are two primary prayers in the book of Ephesians, aren't there? The first one is what we just mentioned. Bob mentioned starting in verse 15.
And that has to do with our standing. That's what we get in the first three chapters are standing before God and why is that so important? Why has what is God's purpose? It's for the satisfaction of his own heart and for our blessing so wonderful thing and then in the end of the.
3rd chapter, it's almost parenthetical because it introduces the last three chapters. But it's our state. That's the secret, isn't it? That we might walk in the good of these things. So that's a key to the book of Ephesians. And then following up on what you've said, Bob, again, the 1St chapter we have the purpose of the Godhead. And those three things are really what we have in verses 3 through 14, the three persons of the Godhead at work.
Each one is distinctly pointed out, and each one ends with praise. Notice that in verses 3 through 6 we have the work of the Father, and it ends with praise. Verse six, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. That's the first one you mentioned in verse 18, and then the second is the work of the the work of the sun.
Seven through 12, it's redemption. The work of the Father is election, the work of the Son is redemption versus 7 through 12. And again that ends in praise, verse 12, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. And then verses 13 and 14, the third person of the Godhead, the Spirit of God, who seals us, gives us the earnest and as you mentioned, the power.
So it's the Godhead at work to purpose that which is for His glory and for our eternal blessing.
There's a lot of different kinds of people here.
I don't want to take us off our chapter, but I want to make a comment about what our brother Bill talked about, how we practically to enjoy these things, we practically have to make some time.
If you're not going to make some time, you're not going to enjoy this even though it's already there.
There's a calendar verse a couple weeks ago.
We're going to read it in Luke chapter 10.
Going to read a couple verses. Bill used the word needful. This is the needful chapter. Luke chapter 10 verse 38. Now came to pass as they went and he entered into a certain village and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house and she had a sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word. But Martha was covered about much serving and came to him and said Lord just thou not care.
That my sister had left the assert alone Been her, therefore, that she helped me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful in trouble about many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary have chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
That hit me right between the eyes a few weeks ago. That was on a calendar. You can be doing good things, but there's better things to be doing. You can be doing good things. It doesn't say anything bad about Martha, but Mary had chosen the best part practically.
You might have to go to bed earlier to get up earlier.
You might have to sacrifice something. You might have to give up something. But let me tell you something and I, I, I'm learning this.
Set your alarm at 4:30 in the morning. If you are up at 5:00, then set it at 4:30. If you're up at 7:00, then set it at 630. Whatever you're doing, up your alarm clock 1/2 an hour and go to bed 1/2 an hour earlier.
00:50:05
This is the best part.
Set it 5 minutes earlier. Just give him 5 minutes before you do anything.
Tell me how it works for you after a year.
We need priorities and filters, don't we? We have them on our computers. If you read your junk mail, you're never going to be finished. You know, I could be going for those inheritances that I have in Nigeria every second week.
So you have a filter, say no, I'm not going to bother with that and that's good. And then you need a priority and my priority is him. I just say brother, 5 minutes, give him at least 5 minutes. He gave his life on the cross for you. You want to listen to him for 5 minutes, talk to him a bit. He's longing for you to talk to him. So just needs to be brought to our hearts and say do something about it. Be with half an hour, 5 minutes, throw things out, stop doing things, set your priorities right. Make sure you have a filter even in our service for Christ.
If our service for Christ keeps us so busy that we don't have time to sit and hear Him speak to us and enjoy these precious things, we are busier than God ever intended an individual to be. And I want to go back to a verse in Proverbs. I thought of it when Brother Bill was speaking earlier.
That I think is helpful in this connection. Before I read this in the 13th of Proverbs, I'll just say in another place.
The writer passes by the field of the slothful and what does he find? It's grown with thorns and thistles and it's not producing any fruit or anything that can sustain life or be enjoyed. But I've been exercised as to this verse in Proverbs 13, verse 23, just the first part of the verse. Much food is in the tillage of the poor. You know, we can come to meetings like this and, and we've sat here for an hour or so.
And we've talked about these things and that's good. We, we, I trust we've taken them in, in our minds and so on. But the real blessing for our souls is going to be in its tillage. You know, a farmer has to go out until the ground. It's hard work. If he doesn't go out until the ground and take care of the soil and, and the plants as they grow up and weed and fertilize and so on, there's not going to be a crop for the sustainment of himself and his family.
At the end of the of the growing season, it's, we won't turn to it. But it's put another way, I believe in Proverbs where it speaks of the one who roasts that which he takes in hunting. It's not just enough to go out and hunt for an animal and get that animal and drag it home and hang it up, but you got to dress it and you got to roast it if it's going to do you any good. And brethren, it's not even what we eat that does us any good. It's what we take in and digest.
And we can go over these things, we can enjoy them in an intellectual way. We can say wonderful, tremendous blessings that we have. It's so great to be here. It's so great to have a chapter like this. But if we don't roast what we take in hunting, if there isn't much, if there isn't tillage, we're not going to enjoy these things. And they're not going to, as we keep saying, weenus from the idols and the things of, of this world.
And if there isn't spiritual energy, as we've alluded to, with setting our foot on these things, walking in the practical good of them, we're not. That's not going to have the desired effect. One more comment in connection with what Ted read to us in connection with Mary and Martha. You know when the Lord came and Martha complained, you notice what she said? Mary hath left me to serve alone. I believe they were both busy when when the Lord came.
But Mary left Martha to sit at Jesus feet. And I've often said if you're going to take time to enjoy the precious things of Christ, you're always going to have to leave something. And I don't believe there'll be ever such a thing in the society in which we Live Today where we say I had plenty of time for the things of Christ. I had plenty of time to read my Bible. I had plenty of time to meditate. From the minute you get up in the morning and step out of your room till you go back to bed at night, the enemy is busy with every kind of thought.
Interject to keep you from enjoying these things. Not all bad thoughts, it's survival in the work a day world in which we live and at school and so on. But that's why, as the old hymn says, take time to be holy. And you're always going to have to let something go if you're going to take time to enjoy these things and get them down into your soul.
00:55:08
Could I make one more practical? I'm sorry, did I interrupt somebody?
I think it's very helpful for us to spend a little time on what it takes to to, as Joshua in his day was very forceful as to putting his foot on the land. This is not the only epistle to the Ephesians.
Evidently in the Ephesians struggled with these things as well.
And so we we go to Acts 20 and we see the apostle running to them, recognizing that they weren't doing that they've been written to and they and they had all these things that we have before us, and yet they were struggling with those things.
And if they had even taken heed to the things that they heard in Acts 20, then perhaps we wouldn't have the the exhortation that we read in Revelation chapter 2. And we read those things. We think, wow, where did Ephesians gone? These things that they had written to him that were so wonderful? Evidently they had no enjoyment of them whatsoever. And they lost those things. So I'm thankful for very thankful for these thoughts that we've had as to what it takes for us to be in the enjoyment of these things. Because if we're not.
Then we're going to need the expectation that we have in Acts 20, and if we don't take that expectation, then two, we're going to need the exhortation that we have in Revelation Chapter 2.
We're just going to make one more practical remark relative to what our brother Ted Sester said.
It's good to set your alarm early, I heartily agree with that.
But I happen to be a morning person and everybody isn't built that way. I've known superb students, superb students at university who did their best work about the time that I was ready to go to bed. So all I say is you need to do what works for you. Whether you work at the now I it's it's a wonderful thing to read the word of God at the beginning of the day. I think that's excellent. But if the best time for you to read and digest things is in the.
Late evening, Whatever works, that's what counts. Would you agree with that, Ted?
First Kings 20 We find that Ben Hey dad, king of king Assyria was making inroads against Israel, and there was a prophet of the Lord that came to him and said that the Lord would deliver him into his hands. And he said, Who shall order the battle? He said thou.
And so we have in this chapter is conflict, isn't it? That's what we have in the 6th chapter. These things are freely given to us of God, but it takes conflict, conflict to enjoy them. But in terms of that personal enjoyment, the personal responsibility to us, we have to each one individually order the battle.
That's good, because the real conflict for Israel never started till they got into the land. Yes, they had a skirmish with Amalek in the wilderness, a picture of Satan's working on the flesh, seeking to hinder our walk with God through this world. But the real conflict was in when they entered the land of Canaan. And I believe, as Bill has said, that the more you and I seek by the grace of God to enter in to what is ours in Christ and to enjoy our spiritual blessings.
The enemy is going to be right there in one way or another to seek to keep us from that enjoyment. And that's why at the end of the book, before he closes the book, he takes up the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil. So don't be discouraged, young people, you try, You take a little time to read your Bible in the morning or at night or during the day whenever you get opportunity. And it's been said, we're all different. We all have different schedules. You find the enemy is is, you'll find the enemy is going to be right there. It's going to try to distract you. He's going to bring in bad thoughts.
One way or another, the enemy is going to be there. But we have though we have a spiritual warfare. We have one who's greater than the enemy and the resources to meet that enemy and overcome and take possession of the land that is ours, the inheritance, the blessings that are ours.
337.