Weekly Sermons

Recalibration- Ephesians 1:1-14
Introduction
-    Thankful for this opportunity to study together
-    Why I love serving on the Tech Team?
o    We are the FILO (first in, last out) crew
o    We are invisible (if we do our job well)
o    We don’t seek any credit for anything that’s done – all the glory goes to God!
The Tech Team mirrors what Christ did for us in a beautiful way
Christ is the first and the last
-    After the 8 am rehearsal, we gather upstairs at 8:50 and pray together. We always pray that God would give Danny the words to speak, God would be glorified, and we would be invisible
-    In the Spirit of remaining “invisible” … the goal of today is for the Word to speak for itself
Pivot
-    Operating the sound console is one of my passions
-    Sound Equipment is incredibly complex, and incredibly cool

Sound energy is essentially rapidly changing air pressure that our eardrums detect as sound – microphones convert that energy into an electrical signal, which is sent down a cable or through Radio, converted to a digital signal (ones and zeros), processed by the soundboard, reconverted to electricity, amplified by a power amplifier, and sent down a cable to a speaker that then trades electricity for movement of several diaphragms back and forth to create sound waves, which travel to your ears at 1127 feet per second and resonate your eardrums, and then you hear the sound of my voice.

-    Sound systems are delicate and require precise calibration using experience, expensive software and expensive “reference” microphones
-    A small mistake during calibration can have large consequences, especially for a large system in a large building like this
-    Even the best sound systems change over time, and each component must be recalibrated every few years
-    Here’s the pivot:
I think today we need a little bit of a recalibration
We as Christians need constant recalibration (not yearly, but daily) back to the perfect reference signal – God’s Word
-    If we don’t take time to recalibrate
1. We are in danger of forgetting our first love for God
2. We are in danger of forgetting who we were before God saved us
3. We are in danger of worshipping God without intentionality, not remembering all He   
      has done for us
-    We need to know what we believe, which informs what we do
-    We need to be recalibrated today, together
-    I promise I need this sermon as much as you
Pray!
-    God, give us fresh eyes and ears to hear and understand this passage today
-    If we have lost our first love, if we have gotten off track and forgotten all you’ve done for us, forgive me…. Forgive us
Before we continue
-    Understand the phrase “In Christ”
o    In Christ / In the Beloved / in Him are said 11 times just in these 14 verses
o    Christ in the Greek means “anointed” or “chosen one”, referring to Jesus
o    The word “in” is the word en G1722, which can mean “by, with, through, because of, etc”
o    Perhaps “because of Christ”, or “Through Christ’s Work” is a more helpful way of reading it
o    We say “because of Christ” because of what He did on the cross for us, he was nailed to a cross and died in our place for our sins, and God raised him from the dead on the 3rd day
-    Understand the phrase “according to the counsel of His will”
o    In the Greek it can be translated “according to the good intention of His will”
o    God loves us dearly; God is also God, and we are not
o    God makes His own plans and owes no explanation to anyone
o    God is His own counselor and needs no other counsel
Read Ephesians 1:1-14
Why Ephesians?
-    The early manuscripts indicate that the letter might have been intended for Asia Minor (MACARTHUR) – since east section of the Mediterranean Sea
-    The Church of Asia Minor was surrounded by pagan religions and false gods/goddesses
-    This letter from Paul contains doctrine and commands for a church that had many former converts out of false religions
-    Paul knew that the Ephesians needed to understand The Faith (what we believe) more clearly before he could then move on to instruction (what to do)
-    Let’s study Ephesians together and be reminded of who God is and what He has done – let’s get recalibrated together

-    Verse 3 is the thesis statement for Chapter 1 - God has blessed us with EVERYTHING we need! But, how has He done this?
-    “…with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”
-    The word here is pneumatikos (G4151) which refers to the Holy Spirit
-    In short, God has given us everything we need including the Holy Spirit
-    2 Peter 1:3 (CSB)
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through [because of] the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.”
-    Verse 4 -> “Even as” = “since” … Paul is going to prove his point!
-    
1.    God, through Christ, chose us – V4
-    We don’t have time today to dive into the study of “Election” … rest assured that today, if you believe in Christ that He is God and He died for you, and He is Lord of your life, you are one of his children
-    We all know that no one can save himself – it’s through an act of God that we are saved (Eph 2:8)
-    God has saved us for His purposes:
a.    So we would be holy and blameless as He is
i.    The phrases refer to unblemished / perfect sacrificial lambs
ii.    God desires that we be holy as He is holy
a.    And one day we will be
b.    We were sinners before God saved us, but God saved us anyway
b.    So we would be His adopted sons and daughters - adopted into His family! 
i.    “…in love” from V4 really belongs in V5
ii.    God has adopted us into His family!
a.    We were lost in our sins, but God found us and adopted us!

2.    God, through Christ, has freed us - V7
A.    We have redemption because of Christ – V7
-    Greek word is apolytrosis (G629) which translates to “a releasing brought about by payment of ransom”
-    Christ paid the ransom – by laying down his life
a.    You were captured by your sins, but Christ paid your ransom
B.    We have forgiveness because of Christ - V7
-    Greek word is aphesis (G859) which translates to [paraphrase] “release from imprisonment and the wiping clean of the crime record”
a.    You were guilty of your crimes but Christ served your sentence for you and wiped your Crime record clean!

C.    Gentiles (we) have been brought into God’s family – V9-10
-    Christ is the perfect fulfillment of every Old Testament ordinance, has ransomed his chosen people Israel and has brought in us Gentiles as well

3.    God, through Christ, has given us His Riches of Grace – V7,11-14
A.    God has unlimited Spiritual resources/blessings for us
-    John MacArthur in his NT Commentary tells us that in Paul’s day, if something was so sure beyond doubt to happen, men would say “paraphrase,” that “it’s already happened”
-    God has given us everything we need now, with the promise of more to come!
-    “Riches” in V7 is a financial term referring to Abundance
a.    “Riches of Grace” = everything we need, including the Holy Spirit
-    Lavished = perisseuo (G4052) = “exceed[s] a fixed number of measurement”
-    Flipping over to V11, the word “inheritance” here is also a financial term referring to God’s Spiritual blessing (more on this in a few moments)
V12 teaches us that God has given us this inheritance to believers, not for us to be stagnant, but for us to give glory to God!
B.    The Holy Spirit is our "seal," our proof that we Believers belong to God
-    In ancient days, a ruler had a customized tool with an engraving on it, and would seal legislation and letters and such with wax using that tool – it was his way of saying “this letter is mine and has my approval”

-    Roman 8:16-17 ESV
The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

C.    The Holy Spirit is our "guarantee," the down payment of God's Spiritual blessings
-    “Guarantee” is another financial term used here in V14
-    The Holy Spirit is our seal and our downpayment, the guarantee to us that God will one day fellowship with us just as he personally, literally, physically walked with Adam and Eve!

In Conclusion
1. God, through Christ, chose us - V4
    - So we would be holy and blameless as He is
    - So we would be His adopted sons and daughters - adopted into His family!
2. God, through Christ, has freed us - V7
    - We have redemption because of Christ - V7 (RANSOM)
    - We have forgiveness because of Christ - V7 (CLEANED CRIME RECORD)
    - Gentiles (we) have been brought into God's family - V9-10
3. God, through Christ, has given us His riches of Grace - V7, V11-14
    - God has unlimited Spiritual resources/blessings for us
    - The Holy Spirit is our "seal," our proof that we Believers belong to God - V13
    - The Holy Spirit is our "guarantee," the down payment of God's Spiritual blessings

-    Read Ephesian 2:1-5
-    Maybe today you needed to be reminded of what God has done for you, who God is, and who you were before He saved you – maybe you’ve forgotten your first love for Christ – maybe you need to come forward and confess that to Him – ask him to help
-    Maybe today you’re here and everything I’ve said sounds strange – this Jesus person and death and blood and sin and judgment – maybe you’re not a believer. I ask you to consider what we’ve discussed. Romans 3:23 says we have absolutely NOTHING to offer God. We are completely and totally corrupted by our own sins from skin to core and we are NOT good despite what the world says.

The simplest sinner’s prayer is you must understand that you need God’s mercy to save you from Hell

Luke 18:13 13 … [he man] beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 
God, I know that I’m a sinner and you are right to judge my sin. I have absolutely nothing to bring to the table, no goodness or merit of my own. Have mercy on me, please forgive me. Use your Word to form me and shape me to be more like You in these days ahead.