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9 on his father's strongest year.
Christ the Lord.
Swung his father.
Glory, thy glory.
Rise plus one.
Bless you, Sir.
#8.
Oh.
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I believe not my father.
Glory.
Our time.
Of.
Read before we pray. Read a few verses in the book of Esther.
Verse seven of chapter 6.
And Haman answered the king for the man whom the king divideth to honor.
Let the royal apparel be brought, which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon.
And the Crown Royal, which is set upon his head. And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the King's most noble Princess, that they may array the man with all whom the King delighteth to honor.
And.
If we.
Read further, we would see that there was one there.
There who the King delighteth to honor, and we're reminded of the Lord Jesus, the one who the Father has always delighted, that we just asked the Lord's blessing. Our loving God and Father, we thank Thee for these hymns of triumph that we have sung this morning. We think of that Crown Royal that is set upon his head. We think too of the man that the King delighteth to honor and the wizard.
None other that the Father delighted to honor.
But his well beloved Son. And so we would just ask thy help this morning as we would open Thy word.
We thank the poor of the ministry that thou has given us thus far.
And we pray that we may not only have intellectual knowledge of these things, but it might be transferred to our feet too. And so we seek thy help this morning as we open thy precious word. And we thank thee for the Lord Jesus, thy well beloved Son, the one thou didst delight upon. We give these things, Lord Jesus of my name, Amen.
Ephesians chapter one I think we got down in verse 11.
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Ephesians, chapter one.
Will begin reading from verse 7.
Ephesians one verse seven, in whom we have redemption through his blood.
The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He has purpose in Himself, that in the dispensation.
Of the fullness of times, He 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 who worketh 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 ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that ye believe, you were sealed with the 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 things, 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 the calling, and what is, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us word 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.
Before we start on the details of this chapter, I'd like to call attention to what I believe in false prayer. At the end of the chapter is a brief outline of this chapter. Notice in his prayer verse 18, he says the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know.
And there's three things that he wants them to know.
First, what is the hope of His calling? That's the spiritual blessings that we have from you verse three down perhaps to verse 9.
The second thing is what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints. He's talking about the inheritance now. That's a little different than the blessings. The blessings are ours right now.
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But we haven't gotten the inheritance yet because the Lord Jesus hasn't taken the arrogance and that's when He takes his inheritance that we will have an inheritance too. But we should enjoy these things now. And so I suggest in verses 10 and 11 we have detailed that inheritance. It does speak in verse 14 that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inherentness.
But the third thing is.
In verse 19 he says what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us were to believe according to the working of his mighty power. It seems like the fossil runs out of adjectives to describe the immensity of the power and here it is that works towards us who believe you notice in the prayer chapter.
Three.
It works in US who believe that Iris works towards us who believe, and so it's the power of God in resurrection because it was displayed when the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and he didn't quit raising Jesus until he as a man was sitting at the pinnacle of all authority in heaven. There is a man, there's one of the human race.
Sitting there in highest glory, head over all things to the church at the same time. Head of the church will comment on that maybe later on, but I I see that that's what we have in verses 13 and 14 when it speaks of the Spirit of God, which is now the the power of that new life.
Oh, brethren, we have no clue as to the immensity of that power.
We should never say if the Lord asked us to do something, I don't think I can because it's not a matter of our power, it's a matter of his. And so that kind of gives an outline of the chapter. Don't want to distract from the details of this chapter, but I find that so amazingly wonderful to see that it's comprehended in that prayer of the apostle at the end of the chapter.
It's interesting when you mentioned the Spirit at work, the chapter actually have the whole Godhead at work for the good for us as part of the church. So we can also look at it. We got through some of that. The chapter begin with some salutations, but then we find that in verses four to six that we gone through yesterday, how we were chosen and predestinated that I believe.
Is the example of how God is working for us and I don't want to go through that since we did already and it's interesting that it finished that in verse 6 by 6 when God do all this work for us. It is in verse six is to the praise of the glory of his grace that God's working that he what he has done for us and then what we are beginning at this section and verse seven perhaps to around verse 8 and we look at that there is really what our Lord Jesus Christ.
Has done for us so I'm not going to go into that because we are going to go into it as part of this meeting if the Lord leaves us here. So we find that at the end of verse 12 There or why and how and the result of the Lord Jesus working in US and for us is that we should be to the praise of his glory and then we find in verse 13 and verse 14 that is already mentioned about the Spirit really now is it revealed how the work of God.
Through the Holy Spirit is working for us and then it go on again. I'm sure we'll go into this into more detail how he become the earnest and so on and the result of that again is the end of verse 14 tells us we will be unto the praise of his glory and yesterday too, we mentioned a lot in us in him and we find that God.
Will for Men is throughout this chapter as well, isn't it?
Is Israel according to Israel.
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So verse seven is another of our spiritual blessings.
We have.
Redemption through his blood.
On the basis of that redemption, we have the forgiveness of sins. What a tremendous blessing to realize that we have the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
You know, I meet up with believers and I have no reason to doubt, but because of the lack of teaching.
They don't enjoy this precious fruit, I remember.
Visiting a home in the High Plains of Peru some years ago.
A brother, he was 87 years old and he sat as we sat down to visit him. I've been a believer for 43 years and I asked for the forgiveness of my sins every day of my life. I suppose he thought that one impresses a bit. So we read this verse 7.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.
Say we really don't need to ask for it any longer because we have it.
We need to do is give thanks for the forgiveness that we have already. It's on the basis of the redemption. Redemption is a price that has been paid to bring us back to God and it's on that basis that we have the forgiveness of wonderful, wonderful.
Blessing.
I think sometimes people are confused because in the gospels the Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray forgive us our sins as we also forgive our debtors. But remember that that was given before the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption on the cross and it was proper for them to ask for the forgiveness of sins at that time.
Would you look in your Bible? After that Jesus died and rose again.
And you will see that never again does it say we should ask for the forgiveness of sins. We.
Haven't and we need to thank God for it. Sometimes people say, well what do you do when you sin there?
Well, it says in first John chapter one and verse nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So what we need to do when we do sin as believers is to confess it. And confession goes a lot deeper than asking for forgiveness.
When I ask for forgiveness, I'm questioning the person against to my sin, whether his willing to forgive or not. We don't have to ask that of God because we know that He's willing to forgive because of what Jesus did. What we need to do is confess. When we confess we focus on what we have done. That bad thing I have done the Lord about. He knows about it, but He wants to hear it from your lips.
And that's the secret.
Confess, and that's the way there's restoration.
To fellow with the Lord. But forgiveness is a blessing that is ours now.
Sometimes we hear a verse given and we say is that interpretation is under understanding really correct? And it's nice to see when Scripture, one scripture backs up another and this verse here, Ephesians chapter and verse seven, it says we have redemption through his blood. We have the forgiveness of sins. Turn to Colossians chapter 2.
We find some wonderful complementary truths there.
Colossians chapter 2 and verse 10. I love this expression.
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And ye are complete in Him. Everything we need is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Go down to verse 13.
Lost Institute verse 13. And you being dead at your sins, and the uncircumcision of your blood hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespass. There it is again.
Second confirmation.
We are forgiven, we don't need to ask for forgiveness.
You know.
When we are continually asking for forgiveness for continually living in guilt, we need to live in redemption.
Brother Bob, does the forgiveness of sins in verse 7 depend on?
Depend on us in passing them.
If it did, I can't remember them all brother.
What do you say? Absolutely not. There are two different things, aren't they? The forgiveness of sins here has to do with our standing before God and it has to do with eternal forgiveness, whereas in first John 19 it has to do with communion and our walk in this earth and being restored to community God.
As governmental forgiveness, right? Right.
The expression in this verse also is through is blood. Today in many pulpits the blood of Jesus Christ is not even mentioned anymore a while ago.
I heard an account of.
The first Dean of Princeton Theological Seminary, which is one of the oldest in the United States.
And initially it was a very fundamental.
School of Theology.
And the first Dean would call in every prospective graduate just before.
The commencement and he would take them into his office and he would say to each one make much of the blood of Christ. And that's largely been forgotten today, how important it is to make much of the blood of Christ.
It's helpful to turn over to Colossians chapter one. We have a similar verse.
Just to fortify what you're saying, Brother Bruce Colossians chapter one.
Lost in chapter one and verse 14, we have this verse in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. And if you were to read that in Mr. Darby's translation, it leaves out the very point you're making.
Through his blood because this chapter is occupied totally with the person, not how he did the work. Whereas in our chapter the occupation is with the person and how he did the work and it's through his blood.
In the book of Judges, we have the person and work connected.
Look at a chapter.
In the 13th chapter of Judges. I know this is a slight digression.
But the award appears to Manoa and his wife. The Angel does.
And.
Verse 16 And the Angel of the Lord said unto Manoa, Though thou entain me, I will not eat of thy bread. If thou wilt offer burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Minoan knew not that he was an Angel of the Lord. And you know, I said unto the Angel of the Lord, What is thy name? And when thy Saints come to pass, we may do the honor. And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, Why ask us thou?
Thus, after my name, seeing it as secret for as the margin renders, it seems it is wonderful.
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So Menorah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock after the Lord.
And the Angel did wondrously, and Manoa and his wife worked on. So we have the privilege of looking on today. Looking.
At the finished work and yet at the same time.
Realizing we have a person whose name is wonderful today. So it's nice that you made that connection with this person and work in in Ephesians.
Romans 5 verse nine. Since that we are justified by the blood of Christ. We have here in Ephesians one verse seven never redeemed. In Ephesians 213 were made nine by the blood of Christ. In Colossians 120 we have peace because of the blood of Christ. In Hebrews 9/14 were purged. We have purged conscience because of the blood of Christ. In Hebrews 10/19 we enter the holiest because of the blood of Christ. And Hebrews 1312 were sanctified because of the blood of Christ.
In first John 17 were cleansed because of the blood of Christ. It was mentioned that this is a spiritual blessing. This redemption that we have is through His blood. Is it fair to say that all of our spiritual blessings are on the basis of the shed blood of Christ?
Redemption is the basis of all blessing, really. And you go up to Romans chapter 3, you'll see another.
Wonderful blessing.
Of the Christian era, that was not known in the same way it is known.
Romans 3 and 24.
Says being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So shedding of that precious blood, that redemption, that cost that was paid, is the basis not only of having the forgiveness of sins in our chapter, but here in Romans 3, it is the basis upon which we are declared righteous. We are justified.
By his grace.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So it's the basis of all blessing. And then the 5th chapter, verse 9. Much more than being now justified by his blood.
Is for the benefit of the sum here. Is there a difference then between?
Justification and forgiveness.
I think that's a good distinction to learn for us.
Perhaps I have trouble with that and I heard someone use the story because I find sometimes illustration seems to stay in our mind a little bit better. So the story was somewhat like this and I can tell it properly. So two young men who were taken to court.
I know some of you are looking at me saying not me, my parents are here while they were taken to court doing some silly things. And I don't think we need to know what those silly things are. Some of us can sort of guess what they are that ask you to get in trouble. So the first young man had a very good parents with rich lawyers. And I believe that's one of the nice thing in here in the United States of America. If you have a good lawyer, he can talk your way out of almost anything.
So after whatever the mediation that they gone through, they said OK.
We will just simply give this young man a warning and we won't put him in jail. So in the sense he's forgiven, but the act that he have done was still there. He didn't have to pay the price and case count the second young man.
It wasn't the fact that a good lawyer got him off of the fact that the evidence pointed the fact that young man didn't do whatever crime it was said to be committed, so he too was set free. So both young men were set free. One is forgiven, but the other one has been justified.
Justification goes far beyond forgiveness.
We are more than just forgiven sinners. God has.
Pulled us in the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It's a wonderful thing. We stand before God in all the righteousness of his own character because of the work of Christ. And that goes beyond.
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I remember another illustration that helped me to understand that Dave and it was of a young man who was very disobedient and his father said.
Said don't know how to get your attention, how disobedient you are. I'm going to put a post in the backyard and every time you do something bad, I'm going to put a nail on that post.
Well, it wasn't long before that post looked like a porcupine full of dance.
And when is finally looked at that post, that young man said, wow, I guess I am back. And so he saw his father, saw he was.
Repentant and reflective. And so he says. Now I'll pull all those nails out, since you've recognized that that you are.
And afterwards his son came back to him, he said, but dad, the nail holes are still there. The mark that he had sinned was still there. And that's what we can't do. We can forgive, we can never justify, but because of the work of the Lord Jesus, not only does God forgive us, but he gives us a perfectly righteous standing before God. That's justification.
Oh, how wonderful.
Brother Red, a verse yesterday, actually 2 verses in I think it's Acts 13. I'd like to turn to that because it's important to to know that in the I think it's the 13th chapter.
Of Acts where he mentioned the forgiveness of sins, but I was thinking more of the next verse. Acts chapter 13 verse 39.
We set here, this is a very fundamental principle that we hold dearly to verse 39 and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. That's a new ground that we're on, that the Israel of all could not, they could never by the law of Moses be justified.
And justifies our brother mentions more than you know I always thought and someone used to say that what justify means just as you didn't have any sin. What is more than that? Isn't it when we are justified, we have a life like our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what justification is.
Let's go on with our chapter, brother, because there's a lot here. Yeah, verse 8, wherein he has abounded toward us in.
All wisdom and prudence.
Interesting. This is one of our spiritual blessings. He's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. For what reason?
Verse 9.
Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself.
So He's come to us to share with us His eternal purposes.
A blessing. Isn't that amazing? I sometimes say, Supposing, Brother Jim, that one day you hear a knock at your door and you go there and you see.
President Trump, I don't think this is going to happen, but supposing it did.
And he says, can I come in a minute? And you let him in. And he says, I've chosen you because I want to share with you all the purposes I have in mind for the United States of America.
Why? He said. What in the world did he choose me for?
But, brethren, we're not talking about the president of the United States. We're talking about the God of the universe, and he's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence so that we can know it.
And brethren, there is a gift to teach the Word. Scripture teaches that, but there is no gift specially adapted to certain believers to learn the Word. That is something that is one of our spiritual blessings. He's abounded toward us in all all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. And so if you don't understand His will rather than when we look at this world.
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That's going on towards destruction. Lord, we see that the developments in Western Europe, we see the developments in Israel, we see the way the United States is going. We need to be instructed in the world to understand why this is going this way, and we can know it. God has made known of us these things. Sometimes I really believe we are.
Asleep, brother.
It's time to awaken, to realize that he's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. I love the Spanish translation here. It says he's super abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
I find sometimes the sisters are more alert than the brothers in learning these things. Brethren, let's be exercised to get into the Word. You young people, you take time to read the Word on your own.
Remember God has abounded toward us so that we can know the mystery of his will. What is the mystery of his will in verse 10 and 11 we have it so I'm going a little ahead rather than know what I negate anybody else that has thoughts, but let me just finish this that in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
That's the last dispensation, the Millennial day.
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. In other words, God's eternal purpose is that all things, all created things, are going to be gathered directly under the authority.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then we're brought in, in chapter in verse 11, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance. When the Lord Jesus inherits all creation, then we will inherit it with him. What a tremendous blessing. You got quite an inheritance there, Brother Tim.
He's not the only one we have at 2:00.
These things are very, very important to lay hold of. I think sometimes it's easy when you get saved, or especially the young person growing up in a Christian family to think, well, I've got the forgiveness of my sins and that's good enough. I'm going home to heaven. If there's more, I'll get it then. But that isn't the way these verses are written, are they? And I was just noticing in verse seven, it says at the end of it according to the riches of his grace.
And all of this continues on from then verse 8 says, wherein He hath abounded toward us, and all wisdom and prudence, and so on. It's that same grace by which God saved us that caused Him to share with us His what it calls here, the mystery of His will.
The.
His purpose, that which he had purposed in himself. How would we ever know any of these things?
We never could, but it's a really poor thing to say. I don't care. God loved me so much that he would save me, and after that I don't care about anything else that God wants to share with me. Only forgiveness of sins. Do we ever get in that way?
God didn't stop there and we shouldn't either. I was just thinking in regard to this, the mystery of His will and His purpose, that there is so much that we have in the Word of God that He is opened up to us.
I used to wonder when I was young, is there maybe more that God hasn't shown us? We only know a part of it. Well, these verses are telling us no.
He's made known to us the mystery of His will. There isn't some other part. He used to wonder, well, were there other creations of man or would there be in the future? That answer is no, This is what God is doing. Just turn for a moment to 1St Corinthians and chapter 15.
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As this ties together with what we've had in verse 22, it says as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. It's talking about.
Two races of men here, 2 heads those who are in Adam and the other one we've been taking up those who are in Christ. We all were born in Adam. That was the first and only other race of men that there is.
How do we know that? Well, if you go on a little bit here in First Corinthians 15.
Verse 45.
It says, and so it is written, the 1St man, Adam was made a living soul. It was no man before Adam and the purposes of God or in any other way. There's nothing outside the purpose of God. And so Adam was the first one. But then it continues on here.
It says the last Adam. It doesn't say the last man Adam, because there would be many more men just like him in his race. But the last Adam was a quickening spirit. And so the Lord Jesus is the head of that race, and he's called the last Adam because Adam was the head of the first race. The Lord Jesus is the head of the last race. There's nothing more on the purposes of God, and what God is doing, he's doing in Christ.
And the purpose of God in Christ is what we have in these verses. And just turn over to one more verse, Ephesians chapter 3.
And verse 11, it speaks about this purpose again, it says according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, it's the purpose of the ages, whatever ages there are.
That ever have been made by God. This is the purpose of them and he shared them with us so that we might know them. Are we going to stop just the forgiveness of sins or do we care? Something to know what God would share with us.
Mystery really was not a mystery at all. Really it's a secret that wasn't revealed to man before that. So we find the chapter the chapter begins by if you recall, it says apostle of Jesus Christ. It was by the will of God. And now in in verse nine, it was that mean no one to ask the secret or the mystery of the will of God. Isn't it nice to see that, but all that if you see everything is is seems to be interconnected.
Together because in the earlier verses that we had we had yesterday about what God has done for us. The first thing he did was brought us into the beloved. We have to give in to that family 1St and then today we have the work of our Lord Jesus Christ redemption through his blood. Now through all this we are shared. That's going to be this secret that there's going to be that time when the Lord Jesus.
Shall reign supreme.
By the way that that phrase dispensation of the fullness of times is it may reference to it under different names is repeated many times. We use the phrase the millennial Millennium that I don't believe that's in Scripture at all, but you'll find phrases like the times of refreshing being used, the restitutions of all things, the regeneration.
The Reformation.
The world to come, and these are the same time frame that is being referred to, that the Lord Jesus will reign. We don't see him reigning today.
But we will reign supreme. So for us, we need to understand that there will be a time for his reign, but we also need to understand that what is going to happen just before he came to take full power and majesty. And that should warm our hearts. And especially when we see all the problems and difficulties before us, sometimes our hearts get discouraged and say, look at what's happening. Look, it was, you know, it was so much nicer years ago.
I think to me we should rejoice knowing that the end of our time is coming near and that the Lord's coming is so ever near.
So the inheritance is not exactly.
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The same as the spiritual blessings which are ours right now because we have not received the inheritance, because Christ does not receive the inheritance yet. But that's his eternal purpose, that the Lord Jesus would have everything directly things in heaven.
And things on Earth, every created thing is part of the inheritance. You go back to Psalm 2, you'll find the inheritance mentioned. And there was a lot of references to the inheritance throughout scripture. Just don't have time to take it up now. But this is one place.
In verse seven it says, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, Thou art my son this day have I begotten thee *** of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of ironies. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a Potter's vessels. So that's talking about when the Lord Jesus comes back at the end of the great tribulation period.
To take his inheritance and God is going to give him the heathen for his inheritance. Everything is going to be brought directly under the control of the Lord Jesus. You know we live in a time called the times of the Gentiles, the time of Nebuchadnezzar. In the Old Testament, God took away the authority from Israel and He gave it to the Gentile powers and it continues to be.
The times of the Gentiles. Yes, Israel is over there, but if it were not for the sufferance of Gentile powers, they wouldn't be there. They'd get wiped out in no time flat. It's because of nations like the United States giving support to Israel that they can continue to be there. We are still living in the times of the Gentiles.
Times of the Gentiles ends when the Lord Jesus comes back in power and glory to take the reins of government, and then he will subject everything to himself in that millennial day. So that's what we have in reference here in verses 10 and then in 11-2 That we are brought in because we're going to reign with Christ in that millennial way. Oh, brethren, we're going to inherit all things in Christ.
I sometimes think that if we would enjoy this more, it would deliver us from materialism.
Boarding so much stuff in our lives. Brethren, materialism is a hindrance to our enjoyment of spiritual realities. May the Lord help us to have the right attitude. Yes, material things God puts in our hands and we are to use that for the Lord. We don't know how much time we might have it in our hands.
And we are to be faithful administrators of what God has put into our hands. But those are not our spiritual blessings.
And not our inheritance. We're going to inherit with Christ all things in that coming day.
Material entrances not the only thing we often think a man would seek riches rather than the Lord really is anything that divides our hearts from seeking the Lord. So sometimes we look at someone who is making money and we go, we know that he perhaps this person, Well, not always. But then there are also other things too and we see around us today. Sometimes it could be health. People are so conscious of being healthy.
They do various things without knowing and I'm not condemning anyone. I'm sure a lot of people have watches that count the steps and check the heartbeat and all that stuff. Why? Oh I don't we have good reasons. I have one too, but we occupy with health. Do you have to be so fit in order to do? I'm not sure. I just got to be careful how I say this. But where is the time to spend with the Lord and with spiritual things? Is it exercises?
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Is a special diet is it that list can go on and on and Satan knows how to devise our heart from enjoying the Lord. So sometimes it's easier to say no, I don't exercise, I don't spend all my time in the gym. Well, we all have certain things that we have to look into our hearts and and so the encouragement here is to be reminded that what we are reading these are certain.
That time of the Lords going to reign is certainty and the 1000 years, I was just thinking too, you know, we think that so far away, but that thousand year reigns could be as near as seven years or so from right now. Does that touch our hearts? Does it change our lives?
I'd like to, if I could just encourage each one here to take these things and to repeat them. Sometimes I think we're a little afraid of repetition, but anyone who's had a good children know if you don't repeat something again and again, it gets lost. The Word of God says God speaketh once, yet twice, and man perceiveth it not. And Peter says in second Peter, one. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting meaning of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you in remembrance of these things, though you know them to be established in the present truth. Yeah, I think it need, as long as I am in this Tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. And the book of Ephesians was written to the place where Paul spent the most time. Galatians. One says he he was in Arabia for three years, and then in Acts of 1819 and 28, he was in Ephesians for almost three years.
And at the end of that time with the Ephesians, it says in Acts chapter 20. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears. And our brothers have already reminded us there's things that are repeated here. Brother David mentioned the praise of his glory. We find in verse six to the praise of the glory of his grace, verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory, verse 14.
Unto the praise of His glory there's three repetitions. And then His will is mentioned in verse five it says, according to the good pleasure of His will, there's once verse nine it says, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. Then in verse 11 it says, Who worketh all things after the council of his own builders? 3 repetitions as well. And then it's been mentioned, inheritance we have in verse 11, and whom also we have an inheritance, verse 14 it says.
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Verse 18, it says the eyes of your understanding being enlightenment, you may know what is the hope of this cause of the virtues of the glory of His inheritance. There's three times to the praise of his glory, His will, the inheritance. There's a repetition. We have wisdom repeated several times. We have several other things repeated, and I don't think we should be afraid of repeating these things. It says even though you know these things that are established, we need that constant repetition. Recently someone said something to me and I realize, you know, I hadn't really heard that for like over 10 years.
And you know, we need to be reminded of these things. Sometimes they they slip from us and we once possessed them tightly in the the light burned brightly. And sometimes we have to be careful no matter where we are or what we do, we need to be constantly encouraged and nourished and refunded because we're then left there.
So brother was saying that I was thinking of the church at Ephesus. He just told us how.
Lest they were with all these, and then we read later on, The Lord hath against them.
That's somewhat yes, against them. What did they do?
That thou hast left thy first love, How much so should we take heed? It's so easy that we too easily thou has left thy first love.
Verse 12 our brother David yesterday mentioned.
That it refers to the Jewish people we should be to the praise of his glory who first or pre trusted in Christ. It's before the nation is brought into blessing. These Jewish believers trusted and they are part of the church. But then verse 13 it's ye, it's talking to the Ephesian believers and that includes us because we are Gentiles.
01:00:24
Ye also trusted. Notice this, after that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that he believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. So it's interesting when a person believes the gospel of his salvation.
Then he is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
A seal is put on something that is finished. You have a document, a title of a property, it'll have a seal on it that shows that it is an officially recognized document. And so when you rest where God rests in the finished work of Christ, and God puts his seal on you, he puts his Spirit into you. And this is a tremendously wonderful reality, too.
The Holy Spirit of promise, somebody has said the seal is.
For enjoyment.
But then we have, I'm sorry, it's for security that what we have for enjoyment is in verse 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance. So the seal in verse 13 is for security, and then in verse 14 the earnest is for enjoyment. And I enjoy that. The earnest is the Spirit of God. Somebody has given the illustration.
That I enjoy, he said, supposing there's a property.
In the Akron area and.
They're asking $100,000 for this property. I don't know what they go for in this area, but that's what the asking price is. Somebody comes along and says I would like to buy this property, but I'm going to give you a down payment of $1 million.
The property only cost 100,000. What are you giving a million for?
Because I want you to be so sure that you're going to that I'm going to get the whole.
Problem and so God says he wants you to be so sure that you're going to get the inheritance that he gives you something that is a far greater worth the Spirit of God. Think about it, young people, God the Holy Spirit dwells in this body.
Do I grasp that properly? I'm afraid I don't.
What a wonderful reality. I don't think we treat the Spirit of God very respectfully in our lives. All the reality of it. So the Spirit of God is the seal for our security so that we can know that we are, is, and He is the earnest of our inheritance.
So that we can enjoy the fact that we are inheritance inheritors even before we get the inheritance.
Still remember?
We have two some of the descendants of our late brother Harry Hagel, and the story is told.
He and his I, I was quite young when I still remember him at the Walla Walla conference when I was a boy.
But the way the enjoyment radiated, brethren, it's not what you know, it is what you enjoy that will form your life. And so it's so important to let these things get into our souls and enjoy them. But I remember the story told that he was on a train.
In Ontario, going somewhere, I don't know where, and the young man is sitting beside him and it was getting towards harvest time and he looked at the wind and said, young man, look at those wonderful harvests. It looks like it's going to be a great harvest, yes, the young man said.
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All that belongs to my father. That's interesting, a man said. Kept going hour after hour, and he said, look at this too. This is this belongs to my father.
Yeah, your father must be fairly wealthy. Yes, he is, and I'm an inheritor of it all.
And dear brother Abel lived that. But finally young man said that who is your father?
My Father is God and I'm an inheritor. Brethren, is this a reality to us or is this just something we know in our heads? We really haven't lived in enjoyment. We need to let it sink into our souls. The reality of the fact Spirit of God is the earnest of our inheritance until.
The Redemption.
Of the purchased possession, what is the purchase possession? And the Lord Jesus died. He purchased the whole field, the world. He purchased the whole creation. The creation is still not free from the ******* of corruption. And when the Lord Jesus takes it, He's going to free it from the ******* of corruption and be going to be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
That's the redemption of the purchased possession over other than let's understand these things, but let's let them sink into our souls and enjoy them as well.
Who believe that you can fall away, lose your salvation?
They believe you can grieve the Holy Spirit, but they forget the second part of the loose grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.
Is Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 3.
Brings it before us again the truth we just looked at. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed.
Unto the day of redemption there was no thought of these Ephesian believers. We might agree to the Spirit of God. There was no thought of their ever becoming unsealed.
At the end of our verse 13, we have an order of things be leaving and then the word after is there and then it says being sealed. The Holy Spirit of promise want to ask a question. It's not intended to gender strife, but every believer, every person who puts his trust in the Lord Jesus is he immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Believing many things what I've always heard, but the same thing as stealing. I guess it's a double question. Is it an immediate thing? Receiving the spirit after believing? And is receiving the spirit the same thing as being sealed?
By the Spirit.
Says in John chapter 3.
The wind blows were enlisted, and now hears the sound of it. But thou canst not know and whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. So there's such a thing as being born of the Spirit of God. Where does that start? Where does it end? We can't tell, but the end result would be when a soul rests in the work of Christ. Because when it says here.
The gospel of your salvation, it's the message that on the cross the Lord Jesus paid the price of redemption in full. And when a soul rests, there is when God seals that soul, he rests. Where God rests in the work of Christ then is the seal. So I think there are souls that perhaps haven't been sealed yet and.
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Cornelius In chapter 10 of the Acts, we have a man who.
God had begun to work in his soul, but it wasn't until he heard Peter proclaiming everyone that they leave us in his name shall receive the remission of sins. He heard that and evidently believed it because immediately the Spirit of God, thou impose that earth, that's considered.
So there is a difference.
When does it happen? I don't know, brother.
An interesting verse in Second Corinthians chapter one.
They can, the young people here.
How do we lay hold of this? We have it in our head. How do we get it in our heart? How do we get it down in our feet?
And I think First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, chapter one and verse 20.
Is what we need to lay hold of, and I trust you Will Young people for all the promises of God and Him.
Our yay, and in him Amen unto the glory of God.
By us now he which established us with you in Christ hath anointed us, who also have sealed us, given the earnest of the Spirit in our heart.
These are promises and realities given by God. We need to embrace them as all the promises of God and Him are. Yay.
God is going to test us. Everything we say in a public forum, everything we believe we speak to, our friends, our neighbors, God is going to test us to see if we really hold it in truth.
Striking as we've been talking about how they receive the gospel by the belief of the truth, those in Thessalonians Second second epistle find themselves in a lost eternity because they refuse the love of the truth.
And what I want to try to emphasize, dear young people, is that truth isn't ******** facts. It's Christ himself. It's the person. And I enjoyed the comments of brother Degraff made. And I think it's a real problem we have, brother.
That Paul labored with tears with these brother.
We do that.
Do we labor in tears for our brethren, our young people, our brethren at home, our various assemblies? When he writes to the Corinthians, he tells them how they poured out his heart for them. And he writes to the Thessalonians, He poured out his soul. They were affectionately desirous of them. And that's how we're going to embrace the truth of God. It's by love, the love of Christ constraining us.
Just one illustration to believe it's the key.
The Lord Jesus was sitting at Simon's house, and Mary came and anointed him and.
Simon was taken back, and the Lord asked him a question, gave him an illustration of dentures. 1 Owing a little, and some owing much. Which one do you think will love him much?
Or the one who has been forgiven much?
Young people, brethren, we learn what our hearts really are.
We've been forgiven much.
That's going to touch our hearts to love him more.
To Lufthansa and to realize the truth of this, that we can walk down the streets wherever you live. I'm a child of God. I'm redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. When I was a young person brought up, they always told us that redemption had two parts being bought with the blood of Christ and set at liberty. Now you have liberty to seek to please the Lord, but the promises of God are true, and you can rest on that.
01:15:02
You.
64.
#64 perhaps would be. We can begin at verse five. Starting at verse five of hymn #64.
Our goal of the.
And slides through all war, gracious, till that confusion.
I thought it all.
Just a quick word to this him, as many know that our brother Darby wrote this hymn and if you want to feel the sense of being in that heavenly places, follow his things. There you see that his heart, his thought is already there. At all times commend ourselves.
Blessed God, in our loving Father, we give thanks this morning for Thy grace toward us. How we have been reminded that we have been brought into the Beloved.
We have been redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.
And surely how blessed we are.
We have God as our Father.
Jesus as our Savior, you have the Spirit in dwell with us, and surely we know too. Thou has given us Thy word, and Thou has promised to be with us.
We know we're lack of nothing, but then we're reminded too that we need to be reminded often.
Because.
We're easily stray, easily stumble, easily get discouraged or get distracted in this world. So we pray one for another this morning that I will continue.
01:20:06
To help us, we think up the psalmist of all could say, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me to the path of righteousness for his name's sake.
So we look to the once more. We think of many children, young people, middle age, older ones too, Lord.
How much we need to ask for thy help that we may learn. Continue to learn.
To be dependent upon Thee. We thank Thee for the blessed hope before us, knowing that soon we shall be without sake. So we commit our time into thine hand once more, giving thanks in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.