MESSAGE BY PASTOR ROB INRIG
FROM BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC.
I invite you to pray with me, Father God hear our prayer, and we humbly cry to you as it is written in your word, Lucas 11:9:” Keep asking and it will give to you, Continue searching and you will find it, Keep knocking and it will be open for you)” We are requesting healing for our dear members of our family and also dear friends who are suffering from illnesses in their lives fighting and suffering under a lot of pain, You know them by their names; (Gaby P, Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Liz N, Gloria F, Stevie A, Les N, Miguel A H, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Sergei B, Margarita G, Fega G. Manuel D, Marlen C.) Also, some of them are tired of spiritual struggles, losing their faith in you, Strengthening their trust in you with a miracle in their lives, oh! Father God hear our prayer, and we also pray for all the people around the world especially the children, who are suffering from wars, devastation, hunger, pain, hate and disbelieve in you. Heal the Land of those Countries at war; you love them so much, oh Father God, hear our prayer, we ask you in the name of Our Lord of Lords and King of Kings, your beloved son Jesus Christ. AMEN!
Some years back the movie, Catch Me if You Can popularized the story of Frank Abagnale, the almost unbelievable account of a man who assumed no fewer than 8 identities, among them an airline pilot, a physician, a prison investigator and a lawyer. Abagnale’s ‘over the top’ scams were directed at organizations that he felt could absorb loss and so because individuals weren’t impacted, his crimes were viewed by many as good movie-time entertainment. Those who wouldn’t have been entertained were those whose lives have been destroyed by identity theft. Lifetimes of work stolen. Identities shattered. Futures gone.
Such is the true story of identity theft. A story that doesn’t entertain – it cripples and destroys.
Sometimes identity theft occurs because we get sloppy protecting what needs to be protected. A password not changed, a questionable purchase online. A random phone call believed. Most often our identity is taken without us being aware. Through no fault of our own, someone hacks into the legitimate and steals away what is ours.
Nowhere is this more true than what we will be looking at in Scripture in the coming weeks. When the identity we are meant to live in, has been stolen from us – most of the time with us blissfully unaware - unaware that the inexhaustible account open to us has been labelled closed or unavailable due to restricted access. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Because God’s word tells me this – that what God has for us is secured, “in the heavenly places”. His blessings are guaranteed. His blessings don’t have a termination date. His blessings never offered with warnings of insufficient funds. His blessings for now not just some time then. But the enemy’s strategy for identity theft tells me something other - that there’s nothing more to be drawn, nothing more to be had. Even if there were, it sure wouldn’t be for you and me. And sadly, this is how many of us live – Christians, not understanding the identity that is ours, failing to withdraw the resources we’ve been given – first and foremost because we don’t fully believe what God says about us. We may see what God tells us but we own these as theological truths not the lifechangers they really are. Owning but not claiming.
This morning I want us to take a close look at what Paul tells us here in the 1st 14 verses of Ephesians 1. But far more than a look, I want us to immerse ourselves in these words because if you and I own what is said, our lives will never be the same. In :3 Paul says – we are given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN Christ. For a moment – let’s set aside the spiritual blessings part because they pale in importance compared to something else Paul says that determines everything about how we are to live which is the expression IN HIM. When combined with the terms, in Christ and in the Beloved this is mentioned 11x in the 1st 14 verses. IN HIM tells me, everything about my life is found in Jesus – my salvation, my hope, my purpose, my strength, my future. None of this is based in me, not one thing - not my emotions, not my capacity to remain stoked, not how many times I read the Bible or how zealously I pray.
It is guaranteed by Christ. This is essential to grasp that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are placed IN Him. Tho we ask Jesus into us, the greater truth is that He puts us into Him. That’s not only great news, it is ESSENTIAL news! Listen to what this means: And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me. Jn 6:39; My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand Jn 10:27,28; contrast this with, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, “depart from Me, ‘I never knew you Jn 7:22,23 which tells us this, once known, always known. It’s impossible for Jesus to say, “I know My sheep” and then to say, “I never knew you”.
IN CHRIST tells me my life is SECURED in the heavenlies - my salvation is secured in Him; my righteousness secured in Him; my value secured in Him; my destiny secured in Him. Secured in a place – the heavenlies, no one can enter to dislodge. Not me, not anyone.
What this means, is that for those who have truly asked Jesus to forgive their sins and make them His child, they can’t slip away, walk away, storm away. It’s true we can live away, we can run away, we can disobey, we can live faraway BUT IF we have truly given our lives to Jesus, we can’t get away. We are His. Do NOT miss how important this is.
And here in these verses, Paul makes this abundantly clear, not for someone beside you to hear but for you to hear and truly understand. That as a follower of Jesus, you have been:
:4 CHOSEN IN HIM before the foundation of the world
Chosen. The Bible couldn’t be clearer that God saves those He chooses to save and that all who believe in Jesus will be saved Jn 6 or Rom 9-11. That in some inexplicable way the sovereign God chose us to be His own. Before the foundation of the world. That is to say, He didn’t look at us when we were born and decide we were some prize He couldn’t do without. He didn’t observe our growing up years and determine we had the personality to which He was drawn or possess stunning good looks that would reflect well on Him. He didn’t choose you knowing that you would always do things right.
As you sit listening this morning as a believer in Jesus, know this – you were chosen by God. It wasn’t because your parents had such a dynamic faith that you fell into belief. It wasn’t because someone shared the Gospel with you as you sat in a university class. Those may have been the means, but the reason you are here as a Christian this morning is because God chose you. Do I get it - do I understand it? NOPE and despite best efforts by a myriad of theologians and pastors, neither do they. But this I do know – I am unbelievably grateful. Sure some try to explain this with things like, God is omniscient all knowing so He knew what you would do. The only problem? Scripture doesn’t say God knew how you would choose, it says chosen.
Do you remember elementary school and lining up for the selection of teams? Hoping against hope – choose me! Choose me! At last, breathing a sigh of relief – I’m in. Knowing Jesus chose you, should give you an incredible sense of worth. You aren’t the last name lined up against some wall that He needed to fit in. You’re not a default selection because God had one last roster position to fill. He chose you before the foundation of time.
BUT there is another equal and seemingly opposing truth. That to be chosen you also must choose. You are chosen – YES! You must choose – YES! Confusing? You bet. But both are true whether we can explain it or not. Our requirement to choose means there is no drifting into God’s kingdom. We can’t just hang around with believers hoping God will turn a blind eye and let us enter His Kingdom as part of the flow. And there’s no ‘family and friends’ plan. No, we must decide and act to accept Jesus into our life.
That we all must choose is clear, that, If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Rom 10:9 For God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Jn 3:16 Whosever will may come. Act 2:21 God linking these 2 seemingly opposites into His Truth - there’s no chosen without choice - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name Jn 1:12.
:5 tells me we are ADOPTED IN HIM to the praise of His glory. Adoption is a heart action: of a heart that chooses to love, chooses to embrace. Adoption tells me that He sought you out and was delighted in adopting you. Delighted in giving you His name. By the kind intention of His will :5 naming you part of His family with all the rights and privileges as His child.
Understand, in ancient Rome, a biological child could be disowned but not if a child were adopted. Adoption meant that child was immediately and permanently part of the family; parents couldn’t disown a child they adopted.
In case you missed it, God wants us to know our adoption in Him is far more than some legal transaction where papers are signed and rights are awarded. No, this is described as, According to the purpose of His will to the praise of His glorious grace :5,6. In other words – you are a child of God according to God’s will planned out before the foundation of the world. Your adoption a time for celebration – a celebration of His glorious Grace.
In our celebration God gets His glory, we get His joy. God gets His praise – we get the full rights that belong to us His child. This grace is bestowed on us / placed on us:
:6 IN the BELOVED. In short, what this is saying is this – God does not see you, does not see me, without first seeing Jesus. Which isn’t a good thing, it’s a GREAT thing! And IN Jesus everything is covered: my sin, my unworthiness, my failures. Not dressed up neat and tidy before being accepted by Him but Jesus seeing us exactly as we are and He knowing this, allowing us to stand, dressed in the worthiness of Christ. Which means I don’t have to bring anything to God other than myself, made right in Christ. No list of accomplishments, no picture perfect life, no holding on to doing everything right. ACCEPTED in the Beloved, accepted as we are.
But ‘in the Beloved’ doesn’t just speak to what’s not seen and what is gone, it speaks to what is given: God’s riches, His joy, His love – not earned but given. What a contrast to religion
Listen to what U2’s Bono had to say – “At the centre of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or opposite one ….
And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “As you reap, so will you sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff…. I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge …. but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross because I know who I am, and I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point.
Bono captures it - God’s holiness makes it clear that God is unapproachable, my sin separating me from God. That no matter how good we think we are, how likeable, how moral, God’s holiness is unimpressed. That means the judgment of hell. But God offered us GRACE in Christ so we wouldn’t get what we deserve.
And we are given that in :7 we have
REDEMPTION and FORGIVENESS IN HIM
1 out of 3 living in the Roman Empire were slaves. We often think of the slave market being populated with peasants and the unskilled but as prisoners from conquered lands, they were a collection of status and ability as well as people of none. The wise and the strong, the beautiful and the wealthy but as slaves, their wealth, their beauty, their intellect gained them nothing. -
Unless someone stepped forward to purchase them, they were without hope. But if a redeemer stepped forward, everything changed. So too as Paul reminds, “In Him we have redemption through His blood...” Jesus stepping into the slave market buying us back so you and I can be made right with God. The blood bought forgiveness of God - everything made right. Paid for by God – Jesus taking your sins and mine as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world Jn 1:29. Contrast this to how Paul once lived, schooled in ‘religion’ that IF he: prayed enough, sacrificed enough, did enough, bled enough – God would be satisfied. But in all that, he was a self-righteous, driven man whose life had come up empty. And then Paul had an encounter that changed His life – discovering that GOD wasn’t just Someone to be served or obeyed. He was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and in that transformation, he would be embraced by Father God, Abba – daddy - who saw everything about him and yet despite what He saw, Paul was loved. As are we. But as he would come to know, His Father’s love that paid for redemption and gave forgiveness, didn’t end with warm emotion. Instead that love invites us into:
:9 the REVELATION we are given IN HIM - making known to us the mystery of His will .
God drawing close. God making Himself known. God revealing Himself. As the Friend of sinners – going after us in places no Holy God should have to go. But He does - in places you try to hide, in places you don’t want anyone to know, doing what you never t thought you’d do. Jesus coming to you there – calling you out, not to condemn but to free. As the Good Shepherd – rescuing, guiding, guarding - taking you through the hard times. You didn’t always see Him but He was there. Sometimes His presence with a thought that came, a friend provided, a choice encouraged. Our Bread of Life feeding us when we were empty and couldn’t see where to turn. As our Coming King, promising far more than we can possibly imagine. We of no account, being told of things reserved for us that will surpass the best of what the world wealthy will ever know.
The mystery – 1 Jn 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Lavished love as a Friend, Shepherd, Provider, King – as great as they are – are only reflections of His love. They illustrate, they uncover, they demonstrate but they don’t, they can’t fully unveil the radiance of His love, the magnitude of His love. The greatest revelation of His love in full display at the Cross.
Stuart Townend wrote of it well: How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss – the Father turns His face away, as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.
Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders; ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life – I know that it is finished.
The mystery of His will lavished on us that we should be called the children of God. Lavished on us at the Cross? Without question. Immeasurable love but think on this.
As a parent is your love for your child ‘one and done’ at birth? Or is your love ever increasing in the experiences you share, the adventures you take, the difficulties you fight?
So if this is true of us, why would we think it will be any less for God?
This to say, that the immense love Jesus demonstrated for you at the Cross will in no way be less than the things God has prepared for those who love Him. In fact that is exactly what we are told, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Cor 2:9
What is ahead, far greater than anything we have known. Given and guaranteed in Him.
All this and so much more because it’s been given us as our:
:11 INHERITANCE IN HIM Predestined – set forth in Christ - who works all things in accordance to His will. In other words, as a believer in Jesus, you are not a late addition to His plan. He didn’t have to make last minute adjustments to work you in with whatever He planned to do. There’s no rewriting the will. Instead you - planned for, designed, written in advance – IN Him :14 chosen to the praise of His glory. Inheriting all God has for us.
And in case you missed it, all we have, all we are :13 SEALED IN JESUS. This has also been translated as the ‘earnest’ of our inheritance. Earnest conveying that this is the downpayment, assurance that what has been promised will be completed. It is sealed with the marks of His ownership. Reserved. Untouchable. Unbreakable.
All of this given us IN Jesus. :10 We are Chosen in Him, Adopted in Him, Redeemed and Forgiven in Him, Recipients of overwhelming Grace in Him, Recipients of Revelation in Him, rich Inheritors of all God Promised in Him – for now and life for all eternity.
That my friends, is the identity Jesus calls us to possess. To know the great worth that is ours IN Christ. To know how much we are loved. To know how much we have been given. To know how much greater there is in store for us, His children.
t’s true, there will be many voices that will try to tell you something different. The loudest voice among them, often your own putting disclaimers and disqualifiers on what you will believe about yourself, about what you are worthy to receive and live in. But God’s grace, shown us in Jesus, tells us something different. Don’t let any identity scam tell you anything different. THIS is the life-changing truth every one of us as followers of Jesus are called to possess.
Many of us are familiar with the expression the real McCoy. Interestingly, the real McCoy wasn't actually a McCoy. His real name was Norman Selby, a farm-boy from Indiana who as a boxer took on the name, ‘Kid McCoy’.
In a day of bare fisted boxing, ‘The Kid’ was something. He said he'd fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. For years he averaged a fight a month, winning most by knockouts.
But as his popularity grew, so did the number of Kid McCoy imitators, who wanted to cash in on his fame and money.
That was until ‘The Kid’ agreed to a title fight with legendary boxer, Joe Choynski. With that fight, ‘The Kid’ ended the confusion of his identity once and for all. In a titanic slug-fest that cost him three broken ribs, Kid McCoy finished off the legendary Joe in the 20th round. After the fight, the San Francisco Examiner's boxing writer declared, ''Now You've SEEN the Real McCoy!''
In the overwhelming evidence of the real, the power possessed, the victory won, the name given - identity thieves fell by the wayside.
But the far more important question, God would ask of you this morning, have you truly seen the ‘real McCoy’ that He has said of you today? Your identity that He calls you to take hold of?
This morning where you can say, -
Now I’ve seen the real McCoy.
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