We Were Raised and Seated: Experiencing the Resurrection Power That Transforms Life

One of my debated favorite books of the Bible that I try to

look at, which one I seem to cherish the most.

And the book of Ephesians is that way to me because of what it

contains in it.

The promises that Paul begins to talk about in it are so rich.

And its application for our lives there to our end have is.

Is just the.

The amount of application of how we apply that to our Christian

lives.

In our Christian life, we sometimes believe that we can live

it on our own, and that's just not the case.

We will try to do it in our own flesh and in our own power.

And we must realize and come to the understanding that it is Christ

who lives in us.

As Paul said over in Galatians, chapter two, it's not

I who lives, it's Christ who lives in us.

And in this very first chapter that we're going to look at today,

this chapter begins to talk about all of the benefits that we

have as Christians in Christ.

And in the first part of this chapter, he lists out many things

that we have as Christians, such as the sealing of the Holy Spirit,

the redemption.

That has come to us, the adoption, the amount of grace that

God has lavished on us as his children, as those in Christ, as

those who have been redeemed.

And then we come past those verses, those first verses, to verse

number 15, and Paul begins a prayer, a prayer for them, especially

look there in verse number 15.

It starts in 15, but the implications.

Extend even into the second chapter, even though there's a break

there.

But there's in chapter one of Ephesians, in verse number 15, Bible

says, wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord

Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks

for you making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our

Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit

of wisdom and revelation in.

In the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding, being

enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling,

what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us Word,

who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which

he brought in Christ when He raised him from the dead and set

him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all

principality and power, and might and dominion in every name

that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which

is to come, and hath put all things under his feet and gave him

to be the head over all things to the church which is his body,

the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

Chapter two it says, and you hath.

He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in times

past ye walked according to the course of this world, according

to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that now worketh

in the children of disobedience, among whom also we

all had our conversation in times past, in the lust of our flesh,

fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and.

Were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he

loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together

with Christ.

By grace ye are saved, and has raised us up together, made us sit

together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to

come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in

his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus Christ unto

good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk.

Let's pray and we will start this morning.

Our Heavenly Father, I pray that we would have an understanding

this morning of what your scripture says.

Lord, we know what Scripture says.

We know what your Word says about the promises given to us as

believers.

But Lord, that is not what today's message is.

That message that you've written plainly for us and what Paul

is praying for here is that we would not just know about these things,

but that our heart would be open to understand these things.

So we pray for that understanding.

We pray for that grace given to us, Lord, so that we would have

a closer walk with you, so that we would know you more intimately

and have a strong relationship with you that would change our lives,

not just affect our lives.

Where I pray and ask for these things in Jesus name.

In the first chapter here of Ephesians, Paul starts listing out

a lot of things that we have in Christ.

He talks about God, who's rich in mercy.

He loved us.

He's quickened us together.

This God.

This has given us His Son, Jesus Christ.

He's blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

He's chosen us in him before the.

Foundation of the world to be holy.

And without blame before Him.

He's done all of this stuff.

And so as we go through these,.

This sentence is what it is, verses 3 through 15 are all one sentence.

We get to the next sentence in Paul's letter here.

As we go through that first sentence, though, it's all about

what we have in Christ, and it lists out very plainly what we possess

as children of God.

But then as he comes here to verse 15, he changes his prayer.

The prayer goes, the letter goes from God's plan, redemption

accomplished, redemption sealed believers, to now, comprehension.

God wants us to know these things, yes, but more importantly,

God wants us.

To understand these things.

And what Paul is praying here is that our hearts would be open,

wide open to the things of God and to what he has actually given

us.

The chapter does break there in verse.

Number 23 and goes into chapter two.

But the understanding continues on past verse.

23 into that very first chapter, into.

That second chapter, he prays again that we would understand these

things about God, but then also understand our place, whereas

God has seated him in the heavenlies.

He wants us to understand that with an understanding that would

change us.

But then he wants us to understand that we also are seated

in the heavenlies with Christ.

Not just to know that fact, but to actually have our heart opened

to.

That understanding, to where we wouldn't just say, oh, I know

those things.

But say, oh, I know those things, to have our hearts wide open.

There in that very first, in verse 15, he says, Wherefore I also,

after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all

the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of

you in my prayers.

What a testimony to.

To tell someone that I've never stopped praying for you.

That's what Paul does here.

He says, I have heard of your faith and lungs.

I've heard about these things.

Now, this was a church that Paul was quite fond of.

This was a church that he had visited, that he had poured a lot

into.

And after leaving, he gets that good.

Report of they are continuing in faith and love.

Now, faith and love do not earn us participation in the great

work of God, but they are rather evidence of.

Our participation in the work of God.

Our faith confirms what is true in our hearts.

Our love for the saints, our love for one another.

It confirms what is going on in the inside.

The church of Ephesus was an active church.

You'll remember over in Revelation, how Jesus calls out to

them, saying, you've left your first love.

I know your works.

Jesus said to them, this was an active church.

This was a church that was continually doing the things of God.

The second part of that, though, he says, I know your Words

you busy.

Ephesus, but you've left your first love.

We see the end result in Revelation there.

But here, Paul, he knows their faith.

He sees their love.

An active church is not always an indicator of the work of God that.

Is being accomplished, but one of the.

Things that we can be sure is that where the work of God is being

accomplished, that church is active.

Just because a Christian does things that look good on the outside

doesn't indicate that you are growing in your relationship with

Christ.

Don't be confused by that, but know.

For certain that I've never seen a.

Christian who's growing with Christ that was not active.

There is an activity that is present.

But look here at his prayer.

Paul's overjoyed at their fruit.

He says in this prayer, this in verse 17, I pray that the God.

Of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father.

Of glory, may give unto you the.

Spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him,

the eyes of your.

Understanding being enlightened, that you may know what

is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his

in inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness

of.

His power to us who believe according.

To the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ

when He raised him from the dead, set him at his own right hand

in the heavenly places.

Notice what he says here.

I want you to understand.

He's not praying that they would have wisdom and revelation

to do stuff.

He's not praying for more inheritance for the saints.

He's not praying for more stuff.

We've already talked about the benefits.

He said, now I'm just praying that you'll understand all of that,

that you'll understand what you have, the spirit of.

Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Not so that they would be able to predict future events as a prophecy,.

But so that they would have that aha moment with God, that God

would reveal himself, that wisdom would enter inside of them

and they would say, I don't just know about God, I know him personally.

That's what he's praying for.

It's wonderful to know about the blessings.

That you have in Christ.

It really is.

It's one thing to be able to say I know what I have in.

Christ, but a completely another thing to entirely to understand

deeply and intimately what you have in God.

One is a knowledge that you have.

And it puffs you up to say, I have that knowledge.

The other actually changes how you live.

The other actually changes.

He says, I pray that your hearts.

Would be open, wide open Literally the.

Eyes of your understanding.

Being enlightened.

It means the eyes of your heart being enlightened.

You know, we believe something in our.

Heads at times that our heart doesn't affront with it.

And sometimes our heart leads us into places that is absolutely

wicked.

But your heart is what God changes at the moment of salvation.

And though our fleshly heart can lead us astray, it is with the

heart.

Man believes unto salvation.

It is with the heart that we.

Understand fully what the grace of God truly means.

It is with the heart that our life has changed.

Not with the knowledge, not with more learning, not with our

hands, but is with our heart that we come to the understanding

of what grace truly is.

And that's what Paul prays for.

Here he says, I pray that your heart would be open.

Literally open up your heart and receive Christ in all of who

he is.

And what that actually means for you.

As the eyes of the heart are.

Open, the spiritual things will be discerned.

This is the reason why people must be born again.

Otherwise they cannot understand the things of God.

It is impossible, the Bible says, for those who have not the

Holy Spirit to reveal these things, to be enlightened by these

things, it's rubbish to them.

It's gibberish, it doesn't make sense.

It's nice, it's fun on paper, it's smart, it maybe shows a display

of wisdom, but.

But it's foolishness to the world unless the Holy Spirit does

something in that person's heart.

You can't be saved without the Holy Spirit convicting you.

No man comes to a knowledge of Christ because he learned about the

Bible.

But because of the Holy Spirit convicting.

That individual, no man comes to the.

Father unless the Father draws him to him.

And it's the same thing with our hearts as Christians, you have

to have.

The Holy Spirit enlighten your heart.

That is the only way that you.

Will grow in Christ is because God does the work, not you.

That is what we pray for.

That God would give us the grace to understand him personally.

That is where our desire.

Some people are born into the world with remarkable talents.

Some people are born in the world having a remarkable sense of

music.

You know, we think of people like Beethoven, maybe for some of

the bigger artists in the music industry, you just know everything

about music.

It's amazing.

I was watching one person, he was a singer and I'm not going to

say who it was.

He was a singer and he was trying to conduct and get people

to do the music for him.

And he was like no, no, no, this, that's not what I'm talking

about.

He grabbed their instrument and he played.

Their instrument in the way he wanted.

Them to play it.

And it was kind of like, oh,.

This guy doesn't just sing.

He knows about music.

He knows everything about music.

That's why he's so good.

Some people born with musical sense and then others have none at

all.

Have you ever listened to a monotone person singing next to you

in church?

Don't look, don't look, don't look.

Just look down if you have to.

Tone deaf person doesn't know their tone deaf.

They cannot become a musician then no matter how others may seek

to instruct.

You're not the, you're way down here, you know that.

No, there's, it's over their heads.

Such a one might go and listen.

To the most wonderful music he played,.

But all of it would be meaningless to him.

He would really have to be born again with a new sense of music.

In order to appreciate that music.

So in regard to spiritual things, one must have a new nature

if he would enter into them appreciatively.

You must be born again.

Jesus says, if you're here today, you've never been born again

and never had that life change.

That's what Jesus calls us to.

He calls out today, have you been born again?

No, I've always had Jesus or I've always spent time with God.

I've always been the child of God.

No, that's not how any of us are.

We were born the child of wrath.

The Bible says we were born the child of Adam, not the child

of God.

And so a born again new nature, new creature has to be established.

And then he says, know the future hope.

He says, I want you to know.

What is the hope of your calling.

As Christians we must realize that we are pilgrims on this earth

fulfilling the mission of, of Jesus.

We only spend a few short years here and they are short, they

are painful and somehow they're long.

But at the end of our life we get to it and we say goodness that

went by so quick.

Eternity is before us.

There are heartaches here, depression we face to us important

races that should be one accomplishments that we believe to

be the greatest importance.

We have questions for God about what.

Happens here during our time.

Goodness.

Do we have questions, fears, Fears about losing family, fears

about failures in life,.

Fears of death itself.

All of this will fade the moment we cross into eternity and

behold our God face to face.

And Paul says, I want you to to know the hope of your call.

I don't want you to live as if you have no hope.

Live in that hope.

But then what does that hope mean?

Well, it says it right here in.

This next part, though it's not always clear to us.

He says, what I want you to.

Know is the hope.

What is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints?

This is not your inheritance.

He's already talked about that.

He's already said that we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit

promise we have.

The inheritance which is God dwelling among us.

This is not our inheritance.

This is God's inheritance.

Do you know what is God's inheritance?

It is us.

It is the people of God.

It is his children is those who.

He came to redeem.

It is those he came to save.

And Paul says, I want you to know that.

I want you to understand that the riches of the glory of his inheritance.

That word riches is wealth.

It's a favor to Paul.

It occurs in this letter five times.

He wants us to understand how rich we are in Christ, but understanding

exactly what it means and how that is such a good thing to know

that we are in Christ and this good thing motivates us in our relationship

with God.

The riches of his grace, God's grace in search of the unsearchable

riches of.

Christ, the riches of his glory.

On and on.

You can see he applies it to.

Something that is special.

He applies it to God and his.

Glory and how rich of an inheritance that that in of itself

is.

The people are God's inheritance.

Paul wanted them to know the greatness of God's inheritance in

his people.

Then he says in verse 19, know.

The power of God.

And it's interesting the way that Paul writes his letters.

You know, Greek is a language where there are many different terms

to help express it.

And you're.

You can only express yourself as much as language allows.

I kind of envy bilingual people because you have two languages

that you could figuratively express yourself in.

You know, if you don't have a.

Word for this in this language.

Well, there's a word for that in this language.

And in the Greek language, there are words that Paul begins

using here, as I anticipate or as I rather, as I look back on and

imagine in.

My head Paul getting excited as he writes this.

I see this so much of Paul's writings as he is, you know, penning

what God wants him to pen, getting what God wants him to write,

and almost discovering what God is having him write down.

He is getting excited.

It's the reason why he writes two.

Extremely long run on sentences which every.

Grammar teacher cringes at these sentences.

Then he starts using what is called Hooper nouns, where he's like

super.

This God is a super God with super greatness and super power and

super strength.

He's using these super nouns, if you will look at this verse.

He says, what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us Word

who.

Believe according to the working of his mighty power?

I don't know about you, but.

But that says the same thing a lot.

The words that Paul says here is surpassing greatness of his power.

He uses the word dynamis energy.

Kratos is because all of these words mean strength and power and

might and energy.

He's just building one upon the other to try to explain what

he thinks about God in his power.

It's not enough just to say God is powerful.

He says God is powerful.

He's got super strength, he's got super energy.

He moves stuff.

He has all power.

His past.

His surpassing power is greater than any power.

He's literally trying to outdo what language can do here.

This is God's power working through the course of salvation from

first to last,.

Bringing a person to faith, sustaining that.

Faith, carrying that believer onward and finally bringing him to

glory.

It is a power that is present.

In every single aspect of salvation.

It is power the of the Almighty God who split the Red Sea

that saves us.

It is power that created every single thing into an existence at

his word.

It is power that happens at the moment of salvation, all the

way through it.

This also goes into an understanding of.

What happens at salvation.

Salvation is a very powerful moment, as.

I like to say.

The spirit of God who is all powerful and the ultimate power comes

and.

Lives inside of a person.

That is a big deal.

Therefore, I totally believe that salvation is.

Easy, but I completely reject easy.

Believe is because when a person is saved, their life changes.

And without that change, without that power,.

Can a person really truly say that they were actually saved?

If their belief does no more in their life than make them say

a prayer and then they go on about their business and live as

if they never met Jesus at all.

They never met Jesus at all.

The power of God is so great and so mighty and we put such emphasis

on it and salvation, it is mighty as well.

No man gets saved by the Spirit.

Of God and the Spirit of God.

Almighty enters into them.

And that is a small thing.

No, it is a powerful thing.

It is a life changing thing.

If the death of Christ is the.

Supreme demonstration of the love of God.

The resurrection of Christ is the supreme demonstration of his

power.

And God compares that power of raising Christ from the dead to the

power that is used in our life.

He says to us were who believe.

This isn't merely theoretical power that is made available to Christians.

The the power is toward us.

For those who believe in Chapter two.

Shows precisely what that means as far as Christians.

But the the power makes them alive from the dead.

It raises them from Christ to be made alive from the dead again,

that's a big deal.

And then it seats them with Christ.

Salvation is not a small thing.

The believer does not manipulate the resurrection power.

The believer is the object of resurrection power.

And that's a significant distinction.

But look here, see the power in action and that is in the position.

Of Christ and the honor placed upon him.

First, it says in verse 20, when he wrought in Christ, when he

raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in

the heavenly places, far above all principality and.

Power and might and dominion, and every.

Name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which

is to come, and have put all things under his feet and gave him.

To be the head over all things to the church, which is the body

and the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

These next three phrases describe what God the Father's tremendous

mighty power has done for Jesus.

Number one.

It raised him from the dead.

We read about that, that this was the sign of his accepted sacrifice.

Raising Christ from the dead is the.

Same power that God uses in our lives as believers.

It then seated him on his right hand.

This was the place of exaltation and permanence.

This represented Christ's ongoing intercessory ministry that

that he has to us.

And that's important that we not just know about that ministry

and say, that's a wonderful thing, that's a nice thing.

But that we understand it.

In Romans chapter 8 it says, who is he that condemneth?

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is

even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for

us.

What shall separate us from the love of God?

Nothing.

No thing on this earth, no thing below the earth, and no thang

in.

The heavens can ever separate us from that great gift of God's

love.

Hebrews chapter seven says, wherefore he is.

Able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto him, seeing

he ever liveth, to make intercession for them.

There is nothing that separates us From God.

Not your sin, not the sin that you committed in times past, not

the sin that you are committing now, not the sin that

you will commit.

There's a continual intercession for us and people that

say, I don't know how God could ever save me.

I don't know how he saved any of us.

And I don't know why he's going to continue to save us whenever

we are going to continue to disobey him, continue to do things

that are against his will, do things in our life that we would

just deem that's horrible.

If any other person treated us like we treated Christ.

Goodness.

Christ has not entered into the holy place made with hands which

are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself now.

And the presence for God, for us, because we have an advocate.

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, righteous.

And then number three, it made him supreme head of the church.

The unique new people of God, which includes all who believe, Jews

and Gentiles.

That middle wall of partition, that barrier.

That separated us from God is broken down.

But then that middle wall that separated us from one another has

been broken down as well.

Christ is at the right hand of the Father.

He is far above all powers and.

Rulers, it says, and his name is above every other name in this

world and the next.

There is none greater than Christ.

All things have been put under Jesus, and he is now the head of

the church.

And that's where Paul begins to then transition from.

This is the power that was in Christ and made manifest to them.

This is now the power that is in us.

You see, it's not that Paul is praying that these believers would

receive something new.

And that's not what I pray for today, that I would present some

new thing to you, because this is not new.

You've read this passage many times, just as I have.

There's nothing new here, but it is.

Quite old to us.

It is the understanding of that thing.

That I want us to grasp.

It is the pure understanding of our hearts open to Christ that

says, wow,.

I don't just know about Jesus, but I know him personally.

And that's what Christ wants from us.

And as we come to the second chapter again, he wants us to understand

what this power has done in the life of a believer.

He says in verse number one of chapter two, you hath he quickened

who.

Were dead in trespasses and sins.

Get that you were dead to that.

Where in times past you walked according.

To the course of this world, according.

To the Prince of the Power of the air, the spirit that now worketh

in the children of disobedience, says among whom also

we all had our conversation in times past.

The lust of our flesh fulfilling the desires of our flesh

of the mind.

And we're by nature the children of wrath.

We did whatever we wanted.

We sinned and we had no choice in the matter because that was our

nature.

We could do nothing but sin.

If we tried to do good, it was as filthy rags.

The Bible says you followed the spirit.

Of the earth, the powers of darkness.

You were the children of disobedience.

You were the children of wrath, not caring about God, not

caring about what he did.

And then God died for you.

And when that understanding is opened up in your heart, then the

power of.

God was manifested in your life.

It he says, but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love,

wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins, have quickened

us together with Christ by grace you are saved.

Said he has raised us up together and made us sit in heavenly

places with Christ Jesus.

He made Jesus sit at his right hand throne.

And you who have been saved, you have been made to sit in heavenly

places as well.

And all of this is God's doing.

All of this is God's work in your life.

He was rich in mercy while you were dead in sins.

He quickened us.

And we were talking about this in heart, in, in.

In Sunday school.

This one about our wallish heart and God's lavish heart.

How so often we try to live our life as Christians with this

understanding that yes, God saved me, God redeemed me, but now

I need to go out and do something in order to earn that love.

I need to go out and do something to earn that acceptance.

And we live our lives as Christians, not from this truth.

We don't live our lives as Christians in our sanctification

from the truth.

That God's power is what's working in us, that God's power is

the thing.

That is changing us.

And just as Paul says in Galatia, he would say to us today,

how.

Foolish can you be?

Who has bewitched you?

Would you who were made perfect by the Spirit and justification,

would you be made perfect in sanctification by your flesh?

He says, this ain't the way it goes.

And what happens is we as Christians, we live in a place in

our life for God's acceptance, not from his acceptance.

You and I say I need to read my Bible because that will make me

accepted to God.

You and I say I need to Go to church, because that's going to make

me accepted to God.

I need to tell others about Jesus because that's going to make

me accepted from God.

I didn't read my Bible.

Oh, I'm guilty.

I'm not accepted by God today.

Don't tell me you haven't said that.

Day goes bad, you're thinking to yourself,.

I didn't read my Bible today.

This is the punishment for it.

Or then if you did read your Bible, it's the other excuse.

I didn't read my Bible.

Enough.

How much is enough?

How much is enough that you would be accepted to God.

The understanding that we as Christians must have is how much

God has lavished his love on us.

He loved you when you were dead.

He loved you at your most unlovableness.

There's nothing that you can do now.

That is worse than before you got saved.

And he loves you even then.

That says you are no longer the children of wrath.

But now you've been raised up and you are seated in the heaven.

You are accepted of God.

You are accepted of God if you are in Christ now.

I don't live for acceptance.

Instead, I live from acceptance.

I am accepted.

I'm going to read God's Word.

I am accepted.

I'm going to go to church.

I am accepted.

I didn't read the Bible today, man.

I missed out.

Not I'm not accepted.

Not I'm guilty.

You see, that is the idea.

There is the guilt of I am not a good Christian.

And then there is the disappointment of.

I have missed out on what was rightfully mine.

Because you do have something in Christ.

You have an inheritance in Christ.

You have the Holy Spirit.

You get to read the Bible.

You get to understand God's word.

You get to spend time with God.

There is now not a guilt because you didn't do those things,

but there is now a disappointment because you missed

out.

It's like whenever that one kid comes upstairs and all the other

kids have already gotten their ice cream.

Whoa, where's mine?

Where's my ice cream?

That's what it's like.

Not, no, I feel bad I didn't go to church today.

No, you missed out.

You missed out on what could have been yours, and you don't even

know it.

And we, as Christians, we live our lives not with an understanding

of the things that God has for us.

We live our lives knowing what's there, knowing that it's available,

but not really understanding why we shouldn't want it.

And that's what Paul is praying for here?

And that's what we should pray for here, that we would have our

understanding.

God, why don't I like reading the Bible?

Have you prayed that before?

Will you pray that now?

God, why don't I like going to church?

Why don't I like telling others about Jesus?

That is the question that we need to be asking and begging God

for the answer to.

Why don't I understand how much you love me?

Why don't I understand how much my salvation means?

Why don't I understand the relationship that we are supposed

to have?

What am I missing out on that other people seem to have?

What are they missing that they don't.

Even know about, that they clearly can be seen in scripture

that we don't understand?

What are we missing out on?

This morning he says he's raised us up together, made us sit

together in heavenly places, that in the ages to come he might

show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward

us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good

works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

This morning.

The.

The call is simple and yet it's complex.

That call is understated.

That's not something that I can just say.

Don't you just understand?

Just understand it.

What's wrong with you?

You know, sometimes in addiction ministries, we can be guilty

of that.

Well, let's see.

Your life is absolutely horrible.

You're deeply addicted to methamphetamines.

Your skin is oozing.

You've lost all of your teeth.

Don't you understand?

Just stop.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Now, all of us, I would assume all of us.

We could say that.

Simple enough.

In this room, maybe there's someone who can.

We could say, don't you understand?

And yet.

Not in an accusatory term.

Because Paul doesn't want to accuse the.

Ephesians of that he doesn't want to say to those at Ephesus and

to the churches, don't you understand?

Praise for that understanding, he says, I know it's hard.

I know it's difficult because you can't understand in your own

strength and in your own power.

I know that no Christian can.

Therefore I'm praying for it.

I'm praying that the God of our salvation.

I'm praying, he says there in chapter one, I bow my head.

I'm praying.

I'm ceasing not to give thanks for you.

I'm making mention of you in my prayers.

I am praying that the God who gave his great and mighty power on

display on the cross to save us from our sins, that has reached

out and has saved you.

I am praying that that power would once again be enacted in the

Holy Spirit in your heart so that you would understand what.

What grace really is.

And that's what I pray today, that you and I would understand what

that grace really means.

That we would have our understanding enlightened, that our

heart would be open wide to the gospel.

Now, if you're here today and you.

Have never even heard of this, you've never done this before, you've

never had.

Your heart opened up to the gospel,.

You've never understood how Christ could come into this world

to save someone like.

You, like me, like us.

Today is the day of salvation.

The Bible says today is the day.

Where we put off our pretenses, our.

Our own or old understanding, our old ways, our old things aside,

and become a new creature.

And for us as Christians, today is the day whenever we start

asking God to change us to where we start saying, God, I'm not

satisfied living at this level of my Christianity because I am missing

out on so much more.

That is what today is about.

Today is that moment if you will.

Not obey God at the height of his conviction in your life, when

will you ever obey God?

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, today

is that day.

It is the understanding that Christ has died for us.

And that means something because that means that the sin that

we have committed.

Doesn't have to be paid for by you.

It doesn't have to be paid for with your works.

It's not dependent on your power.

It's dependent on Christ's power.

And that change in the heart is what is needed for salvation.

The fact of I want that.

That is the salvation that we possess.

As Christians, and that is the salvation.

That calls out to us even as those who have been saved for perhaps

so long a time.

It's the same salvation that you had at the very beginning, and

it still persists even till now.

Have you lost the love in your life?

Have you lost the sparkle of salvation?

The.

The fascination with what God has done for us?

That is what God would ask us this morning.

Let us pray.

Our Heavenly Father.

Lord, we thank you for being a God who loves us and that died for

us on the cross and redeems us and desires for man to accept your

son.

You desire for all men to be saved, Lord.

And you desire for your people to.

Live in that salvation and to not live in the old life, the old.

Man, where you desire your people to desire you.

Wow, God, you want us to love you.

Wow.

Do you want us to want you?

Lord, I pray that you would change our hearts today.

That you would give us understanding in our hearts.

That you would help us to know what it means to have our inheritance

in God and what it means to be your inheritance.

Lord, I pray and ask these things.