Sermon: Good Things are Found in Christ Pt. 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 

 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. 

Ephesians 1:1-14

Introduction

I can’t stop mentioning our theme this year because of how concisely it the heart and vision of our church this year. Love • Christ • Unity is a continuation from our theme last year, which was “Christ, be the Center of Our Lives”. Without a doubt, by the grace of God, we have all lived out the heart of the vision where Christ is the reason, the pursuit and the director of our lives. The journey doesn’t end there, but with a renewed vision "Love • Christ • Unity", we seek to go even further. More than ever, God is calling us to grow IN CHRIST: to love like Christ, to live like Christ and to be united in Christ.

For those who are in Christ, God has promised tremendous reward and privileges. God promised that we will obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

But to remain in Christ is to be faithful to Him. These privileges are available only if we are faithful. In V1 Paul called the saints “those who are faithful in Christ Jesus”. Question is: is it easy to be faithful? The answer seems to be NO. As we live our lives in Christ, Satan has all sorts of ways to pull us away from Him. In every way as we strive to hold on to faithfulness, we are tested and tempted. And God allows us to be tested and tempted, so that our faith may be tested by fire and result in the praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7

I titled today's sermon as "Good Things are Found in Christ". As we live remain faithful in the face of temptations, God has promised us good things that are only found in Christ. To those who remain faithful, God gives them the right to BRAG!

B for Blessings (Ephesians 1:3-4, 11)
What?! To BRAG?! Yes, brag as in B.R.A.G. B stands for Blessings. For those who are in Christ, God showers them with blessings. In fact, V3 it says that God has blessed us in Christ with EVERY spiritual blessing.

Perhaps the first act of blessing was God chose us to be holy and blameless: Even though we were dead in sin, God extended His mercy and grace to us and offered us salvation.When we were dead, God blessed us with life; when we were in sin, God offered us forgiveness; when we were orphaned, God adopted us as sons and daughters; when we lived in shame, God crowned us in glory.

Contrary to popular beliefs, God does not withhold anything good from us, but instead He blesses us with EVERY blessing, providing with all that we need for our spiritual well-being.

Waren E. Berkley wrote:

Jesus Portrayed this picture perfectly in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. 

So he got up and went to his father.
 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 

Luke 15:20-24

This is the God that we worship and the Father we love. He does not just sit and do nothing as we return to Him. Instead He takes the initiative to run to us and He blesses us with everything. By putting the robe and the ring on us, he gave us salvation from sin and a covering for our shame. By putting shoes on us, he gave us instruction for life and leads us on our spiritual path. By bringing the fattened calf, he provided nourishment for our spirit. By celebrating, he prepared us for our victory in death.

This is our God. Question is: What are you going to do about it? For some of you, this is the God who is gracious and generous and eager to bless you with everything, will you go to Him? For the rest of us who placed our faith in Christ, this is the God who has not withheld any blessing. Will you turn your back against Him and return to our former life?

R for Redemption (Ephesians 1:7-10)
Another good thing we find in Christ is R for Redemption. Redemption from our sins. v7 says "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us."

How does this redemption work? Well redemption can be understood from how a Pawn Shop works. In order to a take a loan, we take something of value, for example, my grandfather’s antic pocket watch and we give it to the Pawn Shop. After determining the value, the Pawn Shop gives you a sum of money, usually lower than the value of the item and the pocket watch will remain in possession of the Pawn Shop for a certain loan period. In order to regain possession of the pocket watch, I must REDEEM it by paying the agreed price. If I do not redeem it in time, the Pawn Shop reserves the right to sell the item for profit.

When Christ died on the cross, he paid the price of our sins and paid our debt. Rom 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 1 Peter 1:18-19 “We were ransomed by the blood of Christ.”

We were deep in debt, a complete bankrupt, with no way of paying the debt without perishing. Like a poor man in a mud pit, with no way of escaping certain death unless someone comes along and pulls us out. In our most desperate state, Christ came along and turn this situation around by offering his very life.

Gambling is one of the subtlest kind of addiction. It keeps a gambler hooked without knowing it. And a certain gambler found himself in a gambling mess and had racked up huge amount of debt with the Ah Long. He has nothing else left to sell and has no way else to pay the huge debt. To make things worse, the loan sharks turned up their threat game to demand repayment. They splashed red paint all over his front door, harassed his family, threatened his life and neighbors start to voice their discontent and fear for their own lives. There is no rest, no peace ever since. He has became desperate, restless and helpless.

Just when he thought all hope is lost, a rich man unthinkably came and paid all his debt. With his debt paid, the threats and harassment stopped. Suddenly the gambler has no need to live in fear anymore. He no longer has to live in shame.

Continue in Part 2