Ephesians 1:3-4
(NIV) 3Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In
love 5he[c]
predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to
the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us
in the One he loves
In the Amplified Bible it says:
(AMP)4Even as [in His love] He chose us
[actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated
and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above
reproach, before Him in love.
We’ve
been talking about know our purpose and we will continue with
that on Sunday, but we have to know MORE than our purpose.
We have to
know GOD.
Those of us who have
received Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have studied His Word
KNOW WHO GOD IS. Of course, as we mature and read more and more
of the Word, we learn more and more about God’s character.
Knowing God is the most important thing there is to know.
We also have to know
OURSELVES.
If you want to lead a
full and happy life, you have to also know who YOU are—not just
in your human nature—but who you are in Christ!
(Message Bible) Ephesians 1:11-12It's
in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living
for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up,
he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living,
part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and
everyone
We’ve been studying
the life of Moses for the last few weeks (if you missed it,
check out the studies on Called for a Purpose). Moses grew up in
the palace of pharaoh and when he first tried to accomplish his
purpose, he did it in the strength of the flesh—because he only
knew who he was in the flesh. He thought he was “all that” but
none of “that” was going to accomplish what God wanted him to
do. He had to spend 40 years in the desert, finding out he
WASN’T all that. He learned the lesson so well, that when God
called him from the burning bush, he felt totally unqualified.
If you think you’re
totally unqualified, that’s a good place to start, because NONE
of us is qualified to do the work of God without God. That’s
when it was revealed to Moses who God was---and then who Moses
would be with God.
GOD WANTS YOU TO
KNOW WHO YOU ARE IN HIM!!
Moses looked back on
his life—he’s committed murder, he had run away in fear and we
also know that up till now, he hadn’t even given his son the
sign of the covenant. He was probably thinking some pretty
negative things about himself
It's easy to get
discouraged when the enemy whispers negative words in your ear
about your value, your performance---your very life. And,
when you’re sick, in pain, depressed, disabled—or when you’re in
prison you’re especially susceptible. The enemy will take
advantage of that.
He’ll also do it when
you’re grieving, or when you've had a disappointment. He’ll
pounce on you when you’ve been angry, hurt, or slighted.
AND HE'LL
DEFINITELY DO IT WHEN YOU'VE HAD A GREAT VICTORY.
In fact, that’s the
most dangerous time because he doesn’t want God’s beloved
children to succeed. He wants to steal your blessings—your
success—your joy and make it so you can never succeed again or
even try.
He doesn't want you
to succeed. He especially doesn't want you to know who you
are in Christ! He'll try to make you feel bad and then, when
you’re miserable, he’ll condemn you for feeling that way.
YOU CAN
DEFEAT HIM BY KNOWING WHO YOU ARE AND THROWING IT BACK IN
HIS FACE.
·YOU
WERE CHOSEN.
·YOU
WERE PREDESTINED
·MADE
TO BRING GOD PRAISE AND GLORY
·
YOU’RE MARKED AND SEALED
·YOU
ARE AN HEIR
·YOU
ARE GOD’S POSSESSION
EPHESIANS 1:11In him we
were also chosen, having been predestined
according to the plan of him who works out everything in
conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in
order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be
for the praise of his glory.13And
you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you
were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's
possession—to the praise of his glory.
You are
important---unique! You will affect and change people's
lives---sometimes with merely a smile or a touch—or even if you
can’t leave your house—with e-mails, letters, phone calls,
websites.
Those of you who have
known Jesus and served Him---do you realize what you've
already done? You've impacted thousands---and changed
families for many generations to come. Even if you’ve only
shared the Gospel with one person, who knows who that person has
shared the Gospel with. Or maybe you didn’t even share the
Gospel, but you did something kind and it is known that you are
a Christian. Maybe you just said “God bless you” to someone.
That could change that person’s life and the lives of everyone
he knows.
WHAT WOULD THE WORLD
HAVE BEEN LIKE WITHOUT YOU? You may never know the answer to
that while you are on this side of eternity, but the world minus
you would have been a much darker place.
Your life is a
treasure. You may not know how this could be possible. You might
be going through a hard time, and even feel the world would be a
better place if you'd never been born. But, nothing could be
farther from the truth. You are absolutely necessary, and God
has called you for a purpose.
The enemy would like
to rob you of that purpose. In fact, he doesn't even want you to
know you have one. He wants you to feel useless and worthless.
The enemy of your soul gets pleasure from your pain and
depression.
But God loves you and
wants you to know that you are special---to Him and to those
around you. Never give up, or give in to Satan's assessment of
your worth.
WHEN THE DEVIL TRIES
TO TELL YOU WHAT HE THINKS OF YOU---TELL HIM WHAT GOD THINKS OF YOU!
YOU’RE A NEW CREATURE!
2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore
if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new
creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral
and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and
new has come!
AND LOOK WHAT ELSE…
Romans 8:29-35 29For
those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. 30And those he predestined,
he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he
justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we
say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against
us? 32He who did not spare his own Son,
but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things? 33Who
will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is
God who justifies. 34Who is he that
condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised
to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for
us. 35Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As
it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we
are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. 38For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
