The Apostolic Church (Ephesians 3:1-13)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.759 Let's hear God's Word now from the EPHESIANS chapter three. If you happen to 2 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.070 have one of the black bibles that were on the cart, in the back, 3 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:13.750 the letter of Paul to the Ephesians is on page three hundred or a 4 00:00:13.990 --> 00:00:19.789 three hundred wow, nine hundred and seventy six and nine hundred and seventy seven. 5 00:00:19.829 --> 00:00:25.780 I'm going to be reading the versus, the first thirteen verses in chapter 6 00:00:26.059 --> 00:00:34.740 three. So Ephesians chapter three, versus one through thirteen. Let's give our 7 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:40.170 attention to God's word. For this reason, I Paul a prisoner for Christ 8 00:00:40.210 --> 00:00:44.450 Jesus, on behalf of you, gentiles, assuming that you have heard of 9 00:00:44.530 --> 00:00:48.210 the Stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the 10 00:00:48.289 --> 00:00:52.200 mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 11 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:58.479 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 12 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:03.079 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations, 13 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.150 as it is now been revealed to his Holy Apostles and prophets by the spirit. 14 00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:14.829 This mystery is that the gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same 15 00:01:15.069 --> 00:01:22.099 body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel. Of 16 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:26.739 this Gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's pace, 17 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:32.700 which was given me by the working of his power, to me though 18 00:01:32.859 --> 00:01:37.370 I am the very least of all the saints. This grace was given to 19 00:01:37.569 --> 00:01:42.290 preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for 20 00:01:42.450 --> 00:01:48.079 everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for Ages in God who created 21 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:51.959 all things, so that, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God 22 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:56.359 might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 23 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:04.469 This was according to the eternal purpose that has real that he has realized in 24 00:02:04.670 --> 00:02:09.150 Christ Jesus, Our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence 25 00:02:09.349 --> 00:02:14.710 through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over 26 00:02:14.870 --> 00:02:19.659 what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. You may be 27 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:23.860 seated. I think it's very easy to read this passage and not even realize 28 00:02:23.979 --> 00:02:30.449 that Paul is in a bad place. He only mentioned something right at the 29 00:02:30.490 --> 00:02:35.689 beginning and then right at the end the beginning, he calls himself a prisoner 30 00:02:35.810 --> 00:02:43.330 for Christ Jesus, which could perhaps be somewhat metaphorical. Someone who belongs is 31 00:02:43.930 --> 00:02:46.360 bound by Christ, Jesus. He uses the language and other places of being 32 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:51.639 a slave. But as we come to the end of those verses, in 33 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.080 verse thirteen he says, I ask you not to whose heart over what I 34 00:02:55.159 --> 00:03:01.310 am suffering for you. And then in chapter four we read I've I therefore 35 00:03:01.430 --> 00:03:06.150 a prisoner for the Lord. Urge you to walk in a manner worthy of 36 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:10.590 which you have been called. It's very likely that Paul was in fact a 37 00:03:10.789 --> 00:03:19.099 prisoner and was really suffering for these Christians. But I mentioned, you might 38 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:23.300 remember, I started by mentioning You'd almost hardly notice right because there's all this 39 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:28.250 wonderful stuff in between verse one in Verse Thirteen, that Little Ward at the 40 00:03:28.289 --> 00:03:32.210 beginning, prisoner, and a little word at the end suffering. Perhaps you've 41 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:42.879 met people who seem to suffer the smallest thing and their world just comes apart, 42 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.439 just opens up at the seams, and it's all terrible. It's all 43 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:53.439 horrible. And then maybe you've met other people where it really is all terrible, 44 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.550 it is all horrible, there's hardily a good thing going on that you 45 00:03:57.590 --> 00:04:00.870 can see, and yet they hardly mention it. It hardly seems to come 46 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:06.949 out. How do you account for those things? William Kepper reading that earlier, 47 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:13.699 singing this song earlier, or other examples of this? I think in 48 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:17.980 our own lives most of us can probably point to being both at one time 49 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:21.819 or another. And how do we think about this as a church Urch? 50 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:29.170 How do we think about it when, as it says, the promise of 51 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:34.970 Jesus Christ goes forth through the Gospel, that's verse six, or, as 52 00:04:35.050 --> 00:04:39.959 we read in verse ten, that through the church the manifold wisdom of God 53 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:45.240 is made known? How do we take into account that it's through the church, 54 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.360 the work of the Apostles and the Prophets in this gospel message that's being 55 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.870 preached the word goes forth and the gentiles are saved and all these wonderful things 56 00:04:54.910 --> 00:05:02.310 happen. And then yet here is this apostle, this mighty wonderful truth speaking 57 00:05:02.350 --> 00:05:13.379 apostle, sitting in a jail. How do you deal with that? I 58 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:21.209 had a pastor once who wrote something called the inefficiency of God, and it 59 00:05:21.329 --> 00:05:28.050 wasn't a blasphemous article. It was this wonderful little thing where he went through 60 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:33.889 various portions of scripture and asked sort of from a human perspective? Why this 61 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:39.399 like? Is this the way that you would sort of planet out as you're 62 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:44.040 getting from Point A to point b? Right? Would you take a man 63 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:50.829 like Saul, the this Paul's former name? Would you take someone like Paul, 64 00:05:51.709 --> 00:06:00.430 this murderous, hateful person, give him this amazing moment of revelation, 65 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:05.500 teach him, call him and to an Apostleship, equip him for this amazing 66 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:12.420 work, specifically, call him to go and preach to the gentiles and then 67 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:16.459 let him get locked up in jail. Does that make sense? Does that 68 00:06:16.579 --> 00:06:27.009 sound efficient? Doesn't to me and my pastor he pointed out a number of 69 00:06:27.449 --> 00:06:35.000 these examples. Joseph sitting in prison, Noah, toiling away, thing after 70 00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:41.480 thing after thing, where you think, what's going on here? Does this 71 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:46.120 make any sense? How do we not lose heart when it seems that the 72 00:06:46.589 --> 00:06:51.750 good things that were trying to achieve, the mission that God had himself has 73 00:06:51.870 --> 00:06:56.910 given to the church, his own plan that he has been revealed, is 74 00:06:57.069 --> 00:07:04.180 being locked up in prison, as being held in bonds, is being ignored, 75 00:07:05.139 --> 00:07:16.170 despised. How do you not lose heart in suffering, particularly and suffering 76 00:07:16.250 --> 00:07:24.689 for the possible and suffering for the things of God his kingdom. It's not 77 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:29.089 an easy question and it's not something that we can sort of give you three 78 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:32.279 or four bullet points and then everything's going to be okay. But there are 79 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:40.480 things here in God's word did are very helpful. There are things that God 80 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:46.509 himself says and ways in which we see the apostle thinking and acting that we 81 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:53.990 can genuinely draw from this and I think find a true help and encouragement because, 82 00:07:54.149 --> 00:07:57.189 and the reason I think we can legitimately do that is because that's what 83 00:07:57.910 --> 00:08:01.860 that's how Paul presents all of this. He begins at the Beg Verse One 84 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:07.100 and Chapter Three. For this reason, I and then he explains and then, 85 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:09.699 on the basis of what he says, he ends in Verse Three To 86 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:16.129 thirst. He ends in verse three and thirteen by saying so the words on 87 00:08:16.209 --> 00:08:22.009 the basis of what I've been saying. I ask you not to lose heart. 88 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:31.519 Right. So something he says between Verse One and verse thirteen is he 89 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:39.039 intends to have an effect on our hearts. He intends to encourage these EPHESIAN 90 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:45.029 Christians in a particular way so that when they think about Paul's suffering, his 91 00:08:45.350 --> 00:08:52.549 is being locked up, that they will not be overly saddened, that they 92 00:08:52.590 --> 00:09:00.179 will not take their sadness and move from your sadness or frustration, but will 93 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:11.490 move down even further into the depths of despair. So what does Paul say? 94 00:09:13.169 --> 00:09:16.850 What does he put in the minds of these ephesian Christians and in our 95 00:09:16.970 --> 00:09:24.639 minds as well, to frame our thoughts about the perceived inefficiencies of God, 96 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:33.000 about the things which we suffer which seem to not make sense? Well, 97 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:45.549 says several things, various pieces which fit together to frame our minds, to 98 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:48.990 move our hearts and and, I think, cause us to act as well. 99 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:54.940 One of the biggest things, or one of the main things, is 100 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:58.860 that he wants us, he calls us, to see the bigger picture. 101 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:03.259 All Right, a lot of times when we're suffering, when we think about 102 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:09.570 the again, quote unquote, inefficiency of God, we're so focused on this 103 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:16.250 tiny, tiny little now it's, of course, hard not to focus on 104 00:10:16.409 --> 00:10:22.039 that when you're in jail, when you're rotting in jail, when you're feeling 105 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:31.960 your chains and coldness and darkness and all the rest, literally even of course, 106 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:33.759 it's hard not to focus on that. But that's the thing. Paul 107 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:37.509 always is calling us to do. That's the thing the spirit of God is 108 00:10:37.590 --> 00:10:43.269 always calling us to do, is to see this life in perspective of the 109 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:48.470 life to come. Paul says and another place, that the things, the 110 00:10:48.509 --> 00:10:54.419 sufferings of this world don't even begin to compare to the weight of glory that 111 00:10:54.580 --> 00:11:01.940 is to be revealed. Don't even begin to compare. We struggle to see 112 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:05.690 how the parts fit into the hole, and so he helps us to do 113 00:11:05.889 --> 00:11:11.970 that. He reminds us of certain things. For example, in Verse Eleven, 114 00:11:11.049 --> 00:11:16.330 he tells us that this act of his being made an apostle in the 115 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:20.720 gospel, going out into the world, in verse eleven, this was according 116 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:28.120 to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus, Our Lord. 117 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:33.470 That's a bigger picture kind of perspective, isn't it? That the things that 118 00:11:33.509 --> 00:11:37.389 are going on here in the church right now, is Paul is speaking, 119 00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:43.149 and even right now today, as I am speaking, are predestined by God 120 00:11:43.350 --> 00:11:48.419 according to his eternal purpose. This plan of the for the Gospel to go 121 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:52.460 out into the gent go out to the gentiles, was not something that was 122 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:56.259 sort of thought up at the last minute. It wasn't a plan be or 123 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:01.570 a mistake or something that a committee put together and it sort of organize itself 124 00:12:01.649 --> 00:12:09.690 into something. It was the eternal purpose of God, who will not be 125 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:18.039 frustrated, a purpose, a plan that was realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. 126 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:22.440 Now we won't do this now. We've done it in other places, 127 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:26.799 but you can go back into the Old Testament and see how this plan is 128 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:33.269 developing, how various covenant promises, building one after another, brought these things 129 00:12:33.389 --> 00:12:41.789 into greater and greater fruition and how they ultimately flowered in Christ Jesus our Lord, 130 00:12:41.190 --> 00:12:50.740 realized in Him. This is an amazing thing to see that the things 131 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:56.340 that we were are experiencing now are part of a plan that came from the 132 00:12:56.460 --> 00:13:05.970 very beginning. I think is very valuable. We might also think about the 133 00:13:07.169 --> 00:13:13.080 source of this, of these things that are going on. Think of Paul's 134 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:20.200 apostleship. What does he say in verse seven? He says of this Gospel, 135 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:26.840 I was made a minister according to the Gift of God's grace, which 136 00:13:26.470 --> 00:13:33.309 was given me by the working of his power. This morning we considered the 137 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:39.830 power of God's grace in in surrounding the account of Jonah, God's Prophet Hey. 138 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:46.179 How the power of God's grace is very strongly demonstrated there in the sending 139 00:13:46.259 --> 00:13:52.299 of this person, that God made sure that the Gospel went forth to the 140 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:58.690 gentiles, to the Ninevites in that particular instance. Well, here God is 141 00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:03.210 doing it again, as he often does. He is he speaks to this 142 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:07.889 apostle on that road to the MASCUS. He shines down this light out of 143 00:14:07.970 --> 00:14:13.799 heaven. He Blinds Paul and says, why are you persecuting me, and 144 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:20.879 then he goes on to teach Paul directly these truths a concerning Jesus Christ. 145 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:26.470 He changes his heart and he changes Paul, somebody who was a Pharisee of 146 00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:33.070 Pharisees, one who is a persecutor of the Church of Jesus Christ, called 147 00:14:33.190 --> 00:14:41.820 that by Christ himself, one who was zealous for Selfjustification, for Selfrighteousness, 148 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:46.340 for earning one salvation according to the law, who is zealous for these things, 149 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:52.299 gave all of that up and was willing to suffer and die on the 150 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:56.090 side of the Church and on the side of Jesus Christ, for justification by 151 00:14:56.129 --> 00:15:03.169 faith alone. How does that happen? By the power of God, that's 152 00:15:03.210 --> 00:15:07.440 what he says, and that's what's obvious. Of this Gospel. I was 153 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:11.679 made a minister according to the Gift of God's grace. This is an amazing 154 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:16.840 thing that has happened in my life. He says, I didn't deserve this. 155 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:22.470 God gave this to me and it was given to me. This gift, 156 00:15:24.309 --> 00:15:30.629 this change in my life, this this call and vocation to be a 157 00:15:30.870 --> 00:15:35.860 preacher and Apostle of the Gospel and of Jesus, it was given to me 158 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:43.460 by the working of his power. All right, so Paul doesn't just sort 159 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:46.059 of wake up one morning and, you know, read something on the Internet 160 00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:50.009 and say, you know what, I'm going to do something different today. 161 00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:54.769 I'm going to turn my life around, pull himself up by his bootstraps and 162 00:15:54.809 --> 00:15:58.049 sort of move forward into the world and make a dent or something. Right, 163 00:15:58.929 --> 00:16:04.080 doesn't that what he does? Paul, this persecutor of the church, 164 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:10.080 one who was full of zero is a zealous and and in go get them 165 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:15.120 kind of spirit. But all pointed in the wrong direction, was shifted the 166 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:22.350 other way. Why? The powerful working of God and His grace, the 167 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:26.870 king's hand, like in the water, turning the water this way or that 168 00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:30.230 way, or the water in God's hand he can turn a King's heart. 169 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:37.500 So true with Paul. So as Paul thinks about his Apostolic Ministry, as 170 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:41.419 he sits there in jail, he is remembering the source of it, the 171 00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:45.659 powerful working of God, the Gift of God, the grace of God. 172 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:52.009 He is remembering that he is fitting into a larger plan and eternal purpose which 173 00:16:52.009 --> 00:16:57.929 heads, which God has realized in Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Paul's Lord, 174 00:16:59.289 --> 00:17:03.000 the one who has sent him into the world to preach this Gospel, 175 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:07.759 a Gospel that the Ephesians have heard and are benefiting from. And that's a 176 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:14.400 third thing to notice about this big picture perspective, about Paul sitting in jail, 177 00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:19.910 the purpose of all of this. What is God's eternal purpose realized in 178 00:17:19.990 --> 00:17:25.789 Christ Jesus? Well, he tells us in various ways. He talks about 179 00:17:25.789 --> 00:17:30.980 the mystery of being made known, in which the gentiles verse. Six the 180 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:36.220 gentiles. Here's the mystery that is revealed. They are fellow heirs, members 181 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:41.140 of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. 182 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:45.289 If you want to understand more about what that means, I'd encourage you 183 00:17:45.329 --> 00:17:49.130 to to read the end of chapter two and listen to my sermon last week. 184 00:17:49.170 --> 00:17:56.289 They're where Paul talks about how Jews and gentiles are being brought in through 185 00:17:56.369 --> 00:18:00.599 the preaching of the Gospel, through this Ministry of Christ, into one household, 186 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:07.559 one people under one promise, through faith. That's what he's talking about 187 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:11.240 here. This is the mystery that has been revealed and it's an amazing thing. 188 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.910 Notice in Verse Eight, how he puts it. He says to preach 189 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:22.750 to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Who's the richest person you know 190 00:18:23.589 --> 00:18:32.380 or can't imagine? How wealthy are they really? Right, no matter who 191 00:18:32.539 --> 00:18:36.900 you pick, eventually you're going to come to an end of that, to 192 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:41.569 something that is not owned, something that is not possessed by them, some 193 00:18:41.809 --> 00:18:48.809 amount which is beyond where they're at. Not so with God, not so 194 00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:55.960 with his Christ he has been called. Verse Eight, he says to me, 195 00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:00.519 this gift was given, though I am the very least of all the 196 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:08.359 saints. This grace was given to preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of 197 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:17.990 Christ. What a pleasure it is to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. 198 00:19:18.950 --> 00:19:22.789 What an endless thing list of things there are to say it's a dwell on 199 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:30.539 and to meditate on. Why is Paul not got his hands on his hips 200 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:34.220 and yelling at the wall while he's in jail? Because he's been given a 201 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:41.329 gift? WHO COMPLAINS ABOUT GIFTS? Who complains about being given unsearchable riches? 202 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:48.809 Not Many, and Paul Paul certainly isn't going to be the first one. 203 00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:55.920 Now he's been given that's how he sees what is happening. He has been 204 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:03.839 given this amazing task, this pleasurable thing, to preach to the gentiles the 205 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:08.910 unsearchable riches of Christ and verse nine, to bring to light for everyone what 206 00:20:10.109 --> 00:20:14.230 is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages and God who created all things. 207 00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:22.019 The benefits of this are applied in particular in verse twelve, so I'll 208 00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:26.180 read verse eleven first. He says this was according as I've read several times 209 00:20:26.180 --> 00:20:30.299 already, this was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ 210 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:37.289 Jesus, Our lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our 211 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:42.289 faith in him. This is helpful to see, because we might just we 212 00:20:42.569 --> 00:20:48.049 might be tempted to think, well, of course I'd be happy in jail 213 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:52.519 if I had also been called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ if I 214 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:57.400 had also been commissioned to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. But that's not 215 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:04.230 me. But notice what Paul does is he connects his ministry to their faith 216 00:21:04.750 --> 00:21:10.349 and the blessings of their faith. Right so he says, because of this 217 00:21:10.509 --> 00:21:14.589 gift that was given to him, because of Christ, Jesus, whom he 218 00:21:14.829 --> 00:21:22.140 preaches in this savior, through we in whom we hear in the word that 219 00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:29.859 is preached. He says, we have access in him with boldness, with 220 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:36.450 confidence, through our faith in him. In other words, the blessings that 221 00:21:36.569 --> 00:21:41.369 God has given to Paul did not stay with Paul. The blessings that Paul 222 00:21:41.410 --> 00:21:48.759 has sort of spread out. They they extended out into the world. That 223 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:52.440 is, he says, was the very plan of God, that was the 224 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:56.200 purpose empiss of this gift. That was the eternal purpose of this gift, 225 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.200 not to just not just to bless this one man in this one time, 226 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:07.390 in this one place, but to bless the whole world with this message of 227 00:22:07.430 --> 00:22:12.869 Jesus Christ, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith 228 00:22:12.910 --> 00:22:18.180 in him. What an amazing thing it is to be caught, to come 229 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:26.819 before the throne of God with boldness, to have access to him with confidence. 230 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:30.890 Do you remember what happened to Adam and Eve after they had sinned? 231 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:40.690 Do you remember, rather, what they did? Did they have boldness before 232 00:22:40.730 --> 00:22:48.000 God? Did they have access with confidence before God? Now, what did 233 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:52.720 they do? They realize they were naked and they sewed fig leaves from themselves 234 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:59.309 and they hid. They did not go toward the presence of God with boldness 235 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:07.589 and confidence. They ran away, they hid, they were ashamed. That's 236 00:23:07.670 --> 00:23:14.619 what happens when we try to when we find ourselves in the presence of God, 237 00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:19.500 standing in our sin. But when we're clothed in the righteousness of Chris 238 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:26.730 Lease, those unsearchable riches of His grace, when God's love is poured out 239 00:23:26.849 --> 00:23:33.250 on us, in him and he adopts us as his children, he calls 240 00:23:33.329 --> 00:23:41.369 US justified by his works, when he removes the stain of our sin, 241 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:49.559 the pollution that's in us, calls as saints. Paul says I am the 242 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:52.720 least of all the saints. He's not talking about five or six people, 243 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:59.109 it's talking about all of us. God calls us to be holy ones, 244 00:23:59.710 --> 00:24:04.710 sanctified ones, people set apart. When God does that for us, when 245 00:24:04.750 --> 00:24:12.980 he makes a sacrifice and clothes us, even as he clothed Adam and Eve, 246 00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:19.900 then things change and instead of hiding and instead of running, instead of 247 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:27.049 being afraid, we stand up and we walk into the very throne room of 248 00:24:27.170 --> 00:24:36.329 God in the name of Jesus Christ and say our father, who are in 249 00:24:36.490 --> 00:24:41.039 heaven, how would be your name? That's an amazing thing to be able 250 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:48.160 to do, to not run, to not hide, but to call him 251 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:53.950 father and know that he hears us and answers us and cares for us. 252 00:24:56.670 --> 00:25:06.509 This is the blessing that we have through the Apostolic Ministry. This is what 253 00:25:06.789 --> 00:25:12.220 Jesus Christ did when he established a church through his apostles, in his prophets, 254 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:19.779 including Paul. That is why the Church, with Jesus Christ as her 255 00:25:19.940 --> 00:25:29.490 corner stone, is able to make known the manifest wisdom of God, broken 256 00:25:29.690 --> 00:25:33.529 vessels, broken people with difficulties and struggles and not and on and on, 257 00:25:34.569 --> 00:25:41.160 that God is able to use. This is the bigger picture in which Paul 258 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:48.279 sees what he's going on. It's why he doesn't it's he's not ignoring his 259 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:55.789 situation right. He's not pretending it's not there, but he's not dwelling in 260 00:25:55.990 --> 00:26:00.230 it either. He's not sitting in it day after day, year after year. 261 00:26:02.069 --> 00:26:04.619 And it doesn't mean Paul didn't ever struggle. He certainly did. In 262 00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:11.380 various places. We talk about him with tears, with difficulties, with trials, 263 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:17.460 temptations, of struggles. Indeed, we see the church at various times 264 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:21.490 crying and weeping, and no doubt they were here too, which is why 265 00:26:21.529 --> 00:26:25.089 Paul tells them, why he tells them and he gives them this encouraging word 266 00:26:25.130 --> 00:26:30.609 and he says, brothers and sisters, don't lose heart, don't lose your 267 00:26:30.809 --> 00:26:36.319 hope, don't lose your confidence, because something is bigger going something bigger is 268 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:42.079 going on. Don't get swallowed up by the suffering that either I am facing 269 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:48.549 or that you are facing. Don't get swallowed up by the temporary things of 270 00:26:48.710 --> 00:26:55.869 this world when you have been given something much greater. Don't lose heart, 271 00:26:56.869 --> 00:27:07.980 because what I am suffering is for your glory. I want to mention, 272 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:15.329 Justin closing, the power of prayer. This thing that God has done, 273 00:27:17.769 --> 00:27:26.329 is this bigger picture in which we are called to see things in manifests itself 274 00:27:26.369 --> 00:27:30.279 in a life of faith through prayer. That's why Paul says in the next 275 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:33.000 verse, which we haven't read yet, but at first fourteen, he says, 276 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:40.119 for this reason, I bow my knees before the father. That's how 277 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:47.430 Paul Reacts, reacts to this. And then when we come in a chapter 278 00:27:47.670 --> 00:27:52.710 six, verses eighteen and nineteen, this wonderful section where he calls us to 279 00:27:53.230 --> 00:27:57.779 not just not to lose heart, but to be active and strong people, 280 00:27:57.819 --> 00:28:02.940 putting on the armor of God. What does he say? He says in 281 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:07.500 verses eighteen and nineteen, clowing closing that section, he says praying at all 282 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:12.569 times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication. That's because we have 283 00:28:12.690 --> 00:28:18.049 boldness and access with confidence. He says, praying at all times in the 284 00:28:18.130 --> 00:28:22.369 spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with 285 00:28:22.529 --> 00:28:27.240 all perseverance, making supplication for all the Saints and also for me, that 286 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:33.599 words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery 287 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:37.279 of the Gospel for which I am in them, for which I am an 288 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:45.269 ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. 289 00:28:48.309 --> 00:28:52.430 Prayer Right. That is the thing that God calls us to that's what 290 00:28:52.869 --> 00:28:57.500 Paul the applause. He's an ambassador in chains. What an amazing image. 291 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:06.539 How is it that the word of God can go forth when the king's ambassador 292 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:11.329 is in jail? How does that happen? Right? If we wanted to 293 00:29:11.490 --> 00:29:17.250 send an ambassador of our country, wanted to send an ambassador to another country 294 00:29:17.650 --> 00:29:23.170 to declare the word of our country, and our ambassador was put in jail, 295 00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:33.839 it would seem that that mission would be difficult. At least Paul doesn't 296 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:38.630 seem to be scared at all. He calls himself an ambassador and change. 297 00:29:38.670 --> 00:29:42.230 He says it with this kind of boldness. He says pray for me for 298 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:48.710 an opening for in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel, 299 00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:55.819 that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. If people 300 00:29:55.819 --> 00:30:00.019 are going to come around Paul, he's probably going to be talking. He's 301 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:03.059 going to declare this, he's going to proclaim this message. That's who he 302 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:11.009 is. That's the gift that God has given him. Again, that's Paul's 303 00:30:11.130 --> 00:30:17.569 particular gift, that's Paul's particular calling. But what is the connection he sees 304 00:30:17.650 --> 00:30:25.400 with these ephesian Christians and with us. It's that of prayer. Pray for 305 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:30.240 me, he says, and pray for each other, prayers of supplication. 306 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:37.470 Be Alert, persevere, making supplication for all the saints. This access that 307 00:30:37.549 --> 00:30:41.710 you have to God is not to be ignored. If you have access, 308 00:30:41.829 --> 00:30:45.589 with boldness and confidence, to the Heavenly Throne Room, are you going to 309 00:30:45.630 --> 00:30:51.099 just leave that on the table, or are you going to go, in 310 00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:55.259 the confidence of the things that God has spoken, in the Gospel that he 311 00:30:55.299 --> 00:30:59.019 has proclaimed to you, in the spirit who is empowering you and in the 312 00:30:59.099 --> 00:31:03.609 name of Jesus Christ, to speak to your father in heaven and ask that 313 00:31:03.730 --> 00:31:07.410 his will on earth would be done as it is in heaven, to give 314 00:31:07.450 --> 00:31:11.650 us our daily bread, to take care of us and keep us from temptation, 315 00:31:12.609 --> 00:31:18.369 to bring about his kingdom into this world, to sustain us in all 316 00:31:18.450 --> 00:31:22.000 things. Of course, that's what we did, ought to do, and 317 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:26.960 we do it because that is where our faith is right our faith is in 318 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:36.549 him, and that's why we pray and we respond in him. This is 319 00:31:36.589 --> 00:31:41.549 how we don't lose heart, this is how we persevere, how we continue 320 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:47.619 on even in the dark places. This is how we don't give up and 321 00:31:47.779 --> 00:31:52.940 how we continue on with bold struggle, with perseverance and with zeal. Not 322 00:31:53.099 --> 00:31:59.859 Every day looking the same, of course, but in our lives God has 323 00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:05.329 done something great. Let us learn to see it, let us pray