Ephesians 1:15-23

What a joy it is to be with you this morning.

I bring with me the greetings, the love and the prayers of the congregation at London City Presbyterian Church.

It's been great to get to know your minister, Paul, as I've settled into life in London.

As I was thinking about coming here this morning, I was thinking, what would be good for a congregation I've not met?

And what would be good for all of our souls together?

And so I thought, what about the Apostle Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus?

You know, Paul planted a church in Ephesus.

We don't believe that this is the congregation he's writing to here in Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

This is most likely a circular letter for the presbytery, the churches in the area of Ephesus.

And if you know anything about the letter of Ephesians, you'll know Paul is writing to tell them about the glorious gospel of grace.

The first three chapters unpack the theology of grace.

And the final three chapters apply it to our lives as individuals, as families, as workers.

It's an amazing letter that unpacks the amazing theology of the gospel.

And as we come to this section in chapter 1, there's that breathtaking beginning where Paul says in verse 3,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

Have you ever wondered, what are the spiritual blessings that are yours in Christ, who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ?

Well, Paul unpacks them.

Verse 4,

You are chosen before He laid the foundation of the earth to be holy and blameless.

In love, He predestined you to be adopted as His sons and daughters in His Son.

You have redemption, the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus.

You have been lavished with the riches of God's grace.

And in verses 13 and 14, He says, He has filled us with His Spirit, the deposit and the guarantee of our inheritance.

Now, it's in light of this amazing beginning that Paul the pastor says, let's pray.

And he prays that the eyes of the heart of these Christians in Ephesus would be wide open to what they have in Jesus.

And so, brothers and sisters, this morning, that's what I want us to focus our attention on.

Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus.

Before we begin, let's just bow our heads and let's just pray and ask for God's help.

Lord, may the words of my mouth, may the meditation of all of our hearts,

be pleasing and acceptable in your presence.

And we pray this in the name of our rock and our redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Have you ever heard the name William Randolph Hearst?

He was the Rupert Murdoch of the early 20th century.

He was a media mogul.

He actually, his company put into way the way that newspapers are published.

And as a result, he became a multi-millionaire.

And one of his favorite pastimes was collecting antiques.

He loved to come to Europe and collect 14th, 15th, 16th century paintings.

He loved to come to Britain for grandfather clocks.

He would visit Syria for rugs, China for vases.

You name it, he had it.

He had many mansions.

He had acquired so many antiques that he literally had to build storehouses to keep all that he had.

One occasion, he was sitting in his mansion and he was reading a sort of art dealer's magazine.

And it mentioned a painting that everyone was searching for.

And he thought, I want that.

So he picked up his phone and he phoned one of his agents and he said,

Listen, I'll give you all the money, all the time it takes, but you're going to get me this painting.

I want it for my collection.

So offset his agent.

Days turned into weeks.

Weeks turned into months.

And then finally, there was a knock at the door of Mr. Hearst.

It was his agent.

And he was beaming with a smile.

So Mr. Hearst said to him, Did you manage to get this piece of art for me?

His agent said, Yes.

And Mr. Hearst, as he was bringing them into the home, said,

Now tell me, where did you find it?

His agent said, Well, sir, you are never going to believe this.

I've spent a lot of your money.

I've taken up a lot of your time.

When all along, that piece of art was in one of your storehouses.

That true story is a modern parable of what you and I are like as Christians.

You see, in our union to Jesus Christ, we possess every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.

But like Mr. Hearst, we sometimes fail to take the time to enjoy and appreciate what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And why is Pastor Paul so conscious that believers, the eyes of our heart often get filled with the worries of life and the anxieties of life,

praise for these Christians, that the eyes of their heart would be wide open to three things.

Look down at verse 16.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,

may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that is opened, that you may know,

number one, what is the hope to which He has called you?

Number two, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints?

And then number three, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe?

So three points this morning, that the eyes of our hearts may be wide open to our hope in Christ,

to our riches in Christ, and to the power that is ours in Christ.

So first of all, hope.

And let me begin by asking you this question.

Those of you who are Christians, do you live as a person of hope?

Do the eyes of your heart see the hope to which you have been called?

Or have you taken this amazing blessing, this amazing treasure that is yours in Christ,

and have you stored it away in the storehouse of your heart and head,

never to consider it afresh again?

Well, Pastor Paul prays here,

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,

in order that you may know the hope to which you have been called.

Do you know what biblical hope is?

It's different from worldly hope, if I can put it like that,

which is wishful thinking, I hope it's not going to rain today,

I hope it's going to be gloriously sunny.

Biblical hope is a confident expectation of a guaranteed result.

Biblical hope is a confident expectation of a guaranteed result.

Christ means what He says.

He says what He means.

He makes promises and keeps promises.

We've just been celebrating Easter.

Easter is where we see our hope in all of its glory.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

He said He would come, live for us, die for us, and be raised for our justification.

Because He has finished the work, because He's been victorious over death,

all who trust in Him have that future hope.

We will never die but live forevermore.

Our hope as Christians is rooted in the past work of Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

And it impacts our future, because we know where we're going.

But Paul would also, and Peter, in his writings say,

our hope in Christ ought to impact us also in the here and now.

So the apostle Peter speaks about our living hope.

A hope that is alive, that animates us, that energizes us,

because we trust in a living Savior.

When I think about illustrating what hope is,

biblical hope versus worldly hope, if I can put it like that,

I think of when I was 18 years old.

I used to work in a pharmacy.

It puts the chemist on a Saturday.

And across the road from the chemist I worked in,

my late grandfather was a resident in a nursing home.

And so on my lunch break, I'd go across to the nursing home.

And I'm sure you've all been in old folks' home.

When you walk into the lounge, it's always sweltering hot.

And you've got all these old buddies,

and they're sitting around tables playing dominoes,

or doing crosswords, or watching the TV.

And I'd often find my grandfather nestled in among some of the old ladies.

So I'd pull up a chair, and they would see that I worked in the chemist,

and so they would engage me in conversation.

Oh, you work in the chemist?

Well, do you know, when I was a little girl,

that chemist used to be a flower shop?

And it turned out that they'd grown up in this village,

and so they would then go on and tell me,

I went to school along the road,

and they would just begin telling me their life story.

And I married John, and John was an engineer,

and we've had five children.

John passed away many years ago.

And our five children, only one of them lives nearby.

The rest are all across the world.

We've many grandchildren, some that we've never met,

because my children don't come and visit anymore.

I've been in here for many years, Andy.

In fact, Andy, as I think of you working in the chemist,

I keep boots in business because I'm in so much medication.

And you know, when I was speaking to them,

you know, the feeling that I felt inside,

as they walked me through their life story,

and they even brought it right up to the present,

was a feeling of hopelessness.

They could never speak about the future.

Contrast that with those moments

where a carer would clock

that I had come to see my grandfather,

who was a retired minister,

and they would come over,

they would say,

listen, you should spend some time with your grandfather.

So they would wheel him into his room.

He was an old man in his mid-80s,

frail and fragile.

And every time I visited him,

he would never let me leave

without reading the Bible and praying.

He could barely lift his head,

but every time he did lift his head

to look at me in the eye,

he had this glint of excitement,

and he loved to say,

now, Andrew,

I cannot wait to see my Savior.

I cannot wait to get to glory.

That, my friends,

is a picture of hope.

That is a confident expectation

of a guaranteed result.

And if you are united to Christ,

that is what you possess in Christ.

A living hope.

Based on the past work of Jesus

that has secured your future,

but should impact you in the here and now.

We have a hope,

says the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

that does not,

that will not put us to shame.

Have you ever put your hope

in a person,

a loved one,

maybe a parent,

maybe a sibling,

maybe a child,

maybe a colleague,

a boss,

a pastor,

and they've let you down?

Have you ever put your hope

in circumstances,

wishing,

hoping,

they'll all work out for the best,

and it's let you down?

Here's the thing,

if you place your hope firmly

and securely

in the Lord Jesus Christ,

He will never,

ever let you down.

He means what He says,

He says what He means,

and you can trust Him

for all that He has done for you.

I wonder,

do you take this blessing

that you have in Christ,

have you stored it away

in the storehouse of your heart?

Well,

it's Pastor Paul's prayer

that the eyes of our hearts

would be wide open

to the hope

that we have

in Jesus Christ.

You know,

right now in 2023,

nationally,

globally,

there is a lot of hopelessness.

Locally,

I suspect,

Ealing is just like

the neighborhood

I now live in.

There's a lot of people

without hope.

And as Christians,

we have a deep

and unshakable hope

because of what Christ has done.

And so,

brothers and sisters,

we've got every reason

to make known

that hope.

Those of you in this church

who've got children

and you're raising them

in the fear and admonition

of the Lord,

your confidence

is not in what you do.

Your confidence

ought to be

in the God

of hope.

The God

who has made promises

to His people

and loves to make good

on His promises

to His people.

We have

an incredible God

who wants

the eyes of our hearts

to be wide open

to that which is ours

in Jesus Christ.

second thing Paul

prays for

is that the eyes

of our hearts

would see the riches

that we have

in Jesus Christ.

Just look at what

he goes on to say.

What are the riches

of His glorious inheritance

in the saints?

And that begs the question,

what does Paul mean

when he says riches?

Well,

he's just made mention

of them back in verse 7.

He says,

we have been lavished

with the riches

of God's grace.

That's God's undeserved

love and favor.

And He's lavished it

on us

with all wisdom

and insight.

My professor

at seminary

used to speak about,

you know the verse

in Corinthians

where Paul says

that God's grace

is sufficient for us?

He used to say

that God's grace

is tailor-made for us,

like a tailor-made suit.

When God bestows grace

on His people,

it's done with wisdom

and insight.

He knows how broken,

He knows how flawed,

He knows how sinful we are,

and He gives grace

upon grace

perfectly for us.

Now,

the grace of God

is most clearly seen

in the gift

that is His Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

And brothers and sisters,

whether we realize it or not,

we are rich

beyond anything

we can imagine

because we have been given

the most incredible gift

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know that many of us

as Christians

know how spiritually

bankrupt we are.

We look in

and we see this in.

But I think that many

of us as Christians

don't realize

that when you trust

in Christ,

when you're united

with Christ,

your bank account,

spiritually speaking,

is filled with

the infinite wealth

of the undeserved,

unmerited love of God.

such is the grace

and the mercy of God

that we wake up

every morning

and we receive

daily grace

and mercy

for each day

because great

is His faithfulness.

You know,

in the run-up

to this coronation,

I've been reading

a little bit

about the royal family

again,

and it was quite

striking to note

that King Charles,

on the passing

of his mother's death,

inherited all of our estates

and all the assets

are worth billions.

And into his bank accounts

has come hundreds of millions.

And upon him coming king,

he will receive gifts

from other royal families,

relations,

as he takes up this role.

And as I was reading

these articles

and learning more of this,

I had the thought

cross my mind,

why in the world

was I not born

into that family?

And then,

I had to remind myself

that I have been born again

into the family

where I have

a glorious inheritance

that cannot perish,

spoil,

or fade

because it's kept

in heaven for me

and it is shielded

by God's power.

And I am written

into the will

of Almighty God.

and I am an heir

of Christ.

And all that is Christ's

is mine.

He is mine.

And that is the most

incredible inheritance.

And I am His.

And so are you

if you're a believer

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Paul here prays

that these Ephesian Christians,

that all Christians,

we would have

the eyes of our hearts

wide open

to the riches

and the inheritance

we have in Christ.

What would the church

of Jesus Christ

look like

if we stopped

pretending

that we were poor

because we're not poor?

We're rich

in the love of God.

And we started

living as we are.

Maybe you're

in a difficult marriage.

Maybe you've got

difficult children.

Maybe you've got

difficult neighbors.

Maybe you've got

a difficult

boss or colleague.

Do you know

that God

is so gracious

to you?

He lavishes you

each and every day

with love

that you don't deserve

in order

that you who realize

that you need grace

can show grace

to those that you

live with,

work with,

serve with.

In the economy

of grace,

God makes us

trophies of grace

that we might be

those who are so rich

and overflowing

with our riches

that we want to

share it with everyone.

The most glorious

privilege of standing

here today is that

I have the privilege

of preaching

the unsearchable riches

that are ours

in Jesus Christ.

And the most glorious

privilege we all have

as Christians

is that we get

to share that

as we live our lives.

What would the church

of Jesus Christ

be like if we started

to realize

what we have in Christ?

How rich we are

in Christ?

You know,

you will inherit the earth

if you're a believer.

It's your inheritance.

Blessed are the pure

spirit for they

shall inherit the earth.

The glory of the gospel

is that Christ's

inheritances are

inherited.

So,

are you like Mr.

Hearst?

You take the treasure,

the blessing you have,

you store it away,

you forget you've got it.

Paul prays here

that the eyes of your

hearts would be

wide open to see

the riches

that are yours

in Christ.

Now,

I would say that

hope in some ways

is enough.

I'd say that

the riches

and inheritance

is enough.

Paul doesn't stop.

He says,

there's one more thing

I pray that these

Christians would have

the eyes of their

hearts wide open to

and it says

power.

Look at verse 19,

and what is the

immeasurable greatness

of his power

towards us

who believe?

And do you see how

he layers word upon

word there?

He says,

immeasurable greatness

of his power.

Every single person

who is in Christ

has immeasurably

great power

at work within them.

This is the most

mind-boggling truth

that we'll ever

try and understand

that if you're a believer,

if you're united to Christ

this morning,

the third person

of the Trinity

has taken residence

in your life.

In chapter 1,

verse 13 and 14,

he says that the deposit

and the guarantee

of our inheritance

is the indwelling

of the Holy Spirit.

In chapter 3,

verse 20,

in his benediction,

now to him

who is able

to do immeasurably

more than all

we can ask

or imagine

and according

to the power

that is at work

within us.

So try and get

your minds

around this, right?

God,

the third person

of the Trinity,

is within you

and is powerfully

at work within you.

So I know

that as a Christian,

we face temptation

day in,

day out,

and we find ourselves

succumbing

time and time again.

And I know

that we can feel

in a sinful world

powerless,

incredibly weak.

And Satan

would definitely

want us to believe

that that is true

of us

and there is a true

sense that that

is true of us.

But,

brother,

sister,

the Scriptures

tell us

we are indwell

with the Holy Spirit,

the same power

that raised Jesus

Christ from the dead

and we are empowered

to live the Christian life.

So look at verse 19,

what he says,

and what is the

immeasurable greatness

his power towards us

who believe

according to the

working of his

great might

that he worked

in Christ

when he raised him

from the dead

and seated him

at his right hand

in the heavenly places

far above all rule,

authority,

power,

and dominion

above every name

that is named

not only in this age

but also in the one to come.

Here,

Paul illustrates

this is the power of God

that is at work within you.

It's the same power

that raised Jesus

from the dead.

It's resurrection power.

It's the power

of the new life

in Christ.

And those who are united

to Christ,

the living,

risen Christ

who is seated

above all powers

and dominion

and authority

is him

who we live

in relationship with.

This is the blessing

that is ours in him.

And it is truly

mind-bending

and astonishing

because when I look

at my Christian life,

I don't sometimes feel

as if almighty God

is living within me

and is powerfully

at work in me.

But here's the thing,

it's not about my feelings,

it's about the facts

of the gospel.

When I was a minister

in Cumbernauld,

one of the great privileges

I had was

shepherding the old,

preparing them for glory.

I sat next to many

a hospital bed

and many

next to an old saint

on their deathbed

and they were weak

and they were fragile

and they were fading away,

outwardly wasting away.

You know what was glorious?

I learned more from them

than they ever learned

from me

because inwardly

they were being renewed

day by day

and they had something

that money can't buy,

they had something

that you can't have

unless God gives you

and that is

they had the power

and the love

and the grace

to share with me

to say that Christ is king

and we're going to be with him.

Paul prays here

that the eyes of our hearts

would be wide open

to the blessing

of God's power

that is in us.

Now,

as we bring this

to a conclusion,

let me give you

an illustration

that might tie

all this together.

I grew up

just south of Glasgow

but about 100 years ago,

north of Glasgow,

there was a little boy

called John.

When John was a little boy,

he stumbled into a field

and he heard

a field preacher

and he became a Christian.

And John grew up

and he became

a Baptist minister.

He married

and him and his wife

had a little girl

and then sadly

his wife passed away.

And so John's sister

moved in

to his man

so she could help him

pastor.

And John was a very

gifted preacher,

so much so

that he got an invitation

to go and preach

in America

at Moody Church

in Chicago.

And so John

bought three tickets,

one for him,

one for his sister,

one for his daughter,

for the maiden voyage

of the Titanic.

You know the story

better than I do.

It crashed

into the iceberg

and the unsinkable ship

would be sunk.

But it is recorded

for us

what happened

when the alarm

was raised.

Pastor John Harper

was heard saying this,

all women,

children,

and unconverted men

aboard the lifeboats

now.

All Christian men

stand back.

This ship

is going down.

Brothers,

we are going up.

Do you know

what that is?

That is a man

whose eyes

of his heart

were wide open

to the hope

he had in Christ.

Pastor John Harper,

as the Titanic

was beginning

to plummet

into the icicle

trees in the Atlantic Ocean,

was heard shouting

to the orchestra

aboard the ship,

play nearer,

my God,

to thee.

That is hope.

That is a confident

expectation

of a guaranteed result.

He jumped

overboard,

landed into

the water,

and he had

his life jacket on

and so he managed

to grab a piece

of debris

and whilst he was

in the water,

the man who had

been converted

by a field preacher

became a sea preacher

because he started

to proclaim

the unsearchable

riches of Christ

there in the

freezing cold

water.

How so?

By the power

of the Holy Spirit.

This was his

deathbed moment

and yet he felt

enabled to proclaim

the unsearchable

riches that were

in Christ.

There was a man

who jumped overboard,

he didn't have

a life jacket,

he sunk for a moment,

came to the top

and Pastor John Harper

was able to grab him,

bring him onto

the piece of debris,

he took off his

life jacket

and put it on him

and in that sense

he saved this man's life

and he turned to the man

and he said,

have you believed

upon the Lord Jesus Christ?

And I can't believe this

but there

around the night

they had a gospel

conversation

and that man said

no and Pastor John Harper

said,

you must believe

in the Lord Jesus Christ

and be saved.

Pastor John Harper

went to glory

that night.

Six years later

there was a reunion

of all of the survivors

of the Titanic

in Ontario,

Canada

and a man stood up

and he said,

I am the last convert,

Pastor John Harper.

That night

in the freezing

ice cold water

he proclaimed

the unsearchable

riches of Christ

to me

and I was saved.

That friends

is because

John Harper

lived with his eyes

wide open

to the hope,

to the riches

and he lived his life

in dependence

upon the power

of Almighty God.

And as believers today

Paul's prayer

for us

is that you and I

would not take

the blessings

that we have

in our union

with Christ

and store them away

in the storehouse

of our heart

but instead

that the eyes

of our heart

would be wide open

to that which is ours.

If you've never

trusted in Christ

believe upon

the Lord Jesus Christ

and you shall be saved.

You'll experience

a love that you don't deserve,

a love that you'd never merit.

You'll be given

an inheritance

that's so glorious.

You'll be written

in the will of God.

If you are a believer

in Christ

as you step into

this week

you've got grace

for your marriage,

grace for your children,

grace for those

you work with.

Grace to share

in the gospel.

You've got hope.

Live as a person

of hope

in a world

filled with hopelessness

and do so

all independent

confidence

on the power

of almighty God.

Let's pray.

Okay.