Sermon Series: Ephesians: 

The Believer's Bank 

Know Your Treasure–Part Two 

Ephesians 1:18-23 

3/26/00 PSBC PM

In a nutshell: We ALREADY HAVE some incredible blessings because we are "in Christ". Some are readily accessible, and some require some commitment on our part. In Paul's prayer, he shows us that two commitments are needed from us, to experience four of our blessings. We must be committed to receiving the Holy Spirit's wisdom and revelation when we read the Word, and we must be committed to living that Word out in our daily routine. Then, we will experience 4 things: The Hope of Our Calling (last week); The Riches of His Glorious Inheritance; God's Power; and God's Authority.

I. Introduction

A. Washington Monument and the Little Boy

A Little boy came to the Washington Monument and noticed a guard standing close by.

The little boy went up to the guard and said, "I want to buy this building." "How much do you have?" Asked the guard. "Thirty-five cents." "You need to understand three things," the guard explained. "First, thirty-five cents is not enough to purchase the monument; in fact, thirty-five million dollars is not enough. Second, the Washington Monument is not for sale; and third, if you are an American citizen, you already own it."

B. Transition

And friends, that's the way it is with the blessings that come from God. You can't buy them, they are not for sale, but if you are a Christian–they're already yours.

Your job is to know what they are, and start living like they really are yours.

C. Today

Tonight we are going to look at three more things that belong to us. But like we discovered last week, the real power and significance of these blessings will only be realized if we are doing two things:

1. First, praying that God will give us His wisdom and His revelation as to what His Word means when we read and study it.

2. And second, that we are open and willing to experience those blessings by living them out in our daily lives.

D. Last Week

And last week we learned of the first of these blessings, and that is the Hope of Our Calling. I won't review it, but if you missed it, I'd encourage you to get the tape of view the message on our church web site.

II. The Next Three Blessings

A. The Riches of His Glorious Inheritance in the Saints

The next blessing is found at the end of verse 18. I'll read the whole verse to give us the context...

Ephesians 1:18 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you (last week), the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Now this is an interesting one. THE RICHES OF HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS.

1. Whose riches are they?

Now, the first thing I want you to notice about this blessing is whose riches Paul is talking about. He's not talking about our riches here. The HIS in that statement refers to God. In other words, we can paraphrase this blessing to read something like this..., "THE RICHES OF GOD'S GLORIOUS INHERITANCE, HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SAINTS.

2. Who are the saints?

So, who are the saints? The saints are not some special group of people in the church who are better than everyone else. I like what the devotional writer, Oswald Chambers says about saints...

A gilt-edged saint is no good, he is abnormal, unfit for daily life, and altogether unlike God. We are here as men and women, not as half-fledged angels, to do the work of the world, and to do it with an infinitely greater power to stand the turmoil, because we have been born from above. -- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

So, a saint is nothing more than a person, with all their problems and baggage and good points and bad points, but who has been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, and operates with God's power.

3. Putting it all together

Now, putting those two things together we see that this second blessing is that... We belong to God, and because of that relationship, God can use us to do God-sized work.

But friends, this blessing only comes to us, when we not afraid to let God use us. When we make ourselves available to Him, and allow Him to use us in His Kingdom objectives, this blessing literally says that, "God gets a cosmic kick out of using us, and we get a supernatural blessing from being used to advance His kingdom." But we miss it if we insist on staying in our comfortable ruts. And you know what a rut is, it's a grave with the ends kicked out.

-Ruts make Christianity dull, boring, lackluster, powerless, unexciting, drab, dreary and useless people. -Ruts keep churches from growing. -Ruts keep non-Christians from knowing Christ. -And Ruts keep the church impotent to change or affect society.

So, if you're in a spiritual rut, how do you break out? You take a chance that God will really do what He says He'll do. You pray to God and say something like this: "God you know me, you know my situation, you know the people I'm going to meet today. Here I am. Use me however you want." Then start looking for a nuance or a nudging or a situation that God orchestrates for you to be used somewhere in your daily routine.

When you offer yourself to Him in this way, and start getting more and more sensitive to how He wants to use you, you will be a rich inheritance to God, and receive the blessing of being used by Him to move His Kingdom along. And let me tell you, there is no more exciting experience than to be used by God in a person's life.

B. Great Power

Now, here's another blessing that is ours when we ask for God's wisdom and revelation and ask to experience Him at work in our lives? Look at verse 19...

Ephesians 1:19a 19a and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Illustration: On May 18, 1980, there was an incredible explosion which was estimated at 500 times more powerful than the force of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in World War 2. This explosion occurred in the state of Washington, and it was so powerful that it ripped 1,200 feet off the top of a 9,700 foot mountain known as Mount St. Helens.

Although the mountain volcano had been dormant for 123 years, within minutes, incredible power was unleashed. Thousands of tons of volcanic ash were thrust into the atmosphere. It was said that the cloud of ash literally turned day into night in the surrounding communities. Communities were virtually immobilized, because from 4 to 6 inches of the powdery ash fell like a winter snowstorm. What was once considered prime hunting and fishing country was decimated. Sports Illustrated reported that 26 lakes, 154 miles of trout streams, and 195 square miles of wildlife habitat were destroyed.

But Mount St. Helens was not very powerful compared to a volcano which erupted in 1883. Mount Krakatoa, in Indonesia, erupted with a force that was equal to 30,000 atomic bombs, while the power from Mount St. Helens was estimated at 500 atomic bombs. So, the explosion of Mount Krakatoa was 60 times more powerful than that of Mount St. Helens.

During the eruption of Mount Krakatoa, tidal waves killed 36,000 people in Java and Sumatra, and a cloud of ash cooled the earth's climate for almost two years.

But friends, what we have seen in natural eruptions of power is just a small example of the great forces at work in the universe.

Although we have come a long way in our understanding of the forces which shape our world, we still haven't graduated from preschool. From the time when dynamite was first produced in 1867 by Alfred Nobel until the time of the discovery of the power contained in the atom, we have learned much. But all that knowledge combined, only gives us a small clue to what the real power behind this universe is like.

George Lucas tried to describe the power contained in this universe. He called it The Force. But the "Force" he described in Star Wars is a paltry and inaccurate depiction of the powerful God who created and oversees all this power.

The truth is that human beings haven't begun to comprehend the limitless power of God. But we can see an even bigger display of His power that goes beyond even Mt. Krakatoa. That event was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that power is not a destructive power as in an earthquake or the eruption of a volcano. The resurrection is an example of God's creative power. And it is unlike any power you have ever experienced.

Look at your text again, and look at what follows this beginning statement in verse 19...

Ephesians 1:19b-21 19b That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. In other words..., ...the power that it took to raise Jesus from the dead goes beyond the power of the Roman Empire and every emperor who ever lived. ..It goes beyond the power of every king, queen, monarch or despot. ...and it far exceeds any legislative body, any president, any dictator or any society.

And our blessing..., -because we are in Christ, and -because we are willing to let God teach us what we need to know, and -because we are willing to let God work through our lives..., ...is that this power–the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and set Him up as the most powerful ruler in the universe by virtue of His position at God's right hand–is available to us in anything we are encouraged by the Spirit of God to attempt in the work of advancing the Kingdom of God.

But too often we're missing seeing that power at work, because we –only look at what we can do, –or only look at the money we are earning or have accumulated, –or only the potential or influence of the jobs we hold, –or only the circumstances or the make up of our church, right now. And we conclude that God is limited in what He can do.

I like what the old southern preacher, Vance Havner once said, "Too many times we miss so much because we live on the low level of the natural, the ordinary, the explainable. We leave no room for God to do the exceeding abundant thing above all that we can ask or think."

Friends, the blessing that belongs to us right now, is that God's power to use this group of people, called Palm Springs Baptist Church to advance His Kingdom, both individually and collectively, is already there.

–Our challenge is to start living on a new level–a level that is above the natural, the ordinary and the explainable–so God can do the exceeding abundant things that He wants to do through us.

C. The Supremacy of His Authority

The last blessing in this section is talked about in verses 22 and 23...

Ephesians 1:22-23 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Illustration: When the funeral of King Louis the XIV was held, the cathedral was packed with mourners who were paying their final tribute to the king. The room was darkened, except for one large, solitary candle. That huge candle illuminated the great casket holding the body of the dead king. As the minister stood to address the audience, he reached over the pulpit and snuffed out the large flame of that one candle, which symbolized the greatness of the king. And the room was suddenly enveloped by complete darkness. Then from the darkness, the minister said, "God only is great!"

And friends that's the final blessing in this section. God only is great! That means two things...

1. All things under His feet

The first part of verse 22 tells us that our Jesus is supreme over all Creation. There is nothing higher or greater or of more importance than Jesus. Look at what Paul writes to the Colossian church about Jesus...

Colossians 1:15-18 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Does your income deter Jesus from doing what He wants to do? Does the condition of your car or your house deter Jesus from doing what He wants to do? Does your health deter Jesus from doing what He wants to do?

Let's get real. What part of ALL THINGS don't you understand? It's all under His feet–under His control

2. He is head over all things

The second part of verse 22 and then, verse 23 tell us that Jesus is also the head over all things having to do with the church.

What that is saying is that... ...when God leads a group of people to be something and to accomplish something for Him, or ...when He directs a church to step out and attempt something that has to be done in order for that Church to make an impact for God's Kingdom..., .......what ever Jesus wants will take place– as long as the people of that church are staying connected to Him and His power. That's what that phrase, "...the fullness of him who fills everything in every way..." is talking about.

Friends, Jesus Christ has in His arsenal, all the power and authority that you or this church needs to advance His Kingdom. You are called upon to make decisions just about every day–whether or not you'll get involved in a co-worker or neighbor or friend's life to do what you can to tell them about God's love for them. Are you connected to the power and authority source?

III. Conclusion

The best way to wrap up this section, I think, is in the words of an old Methodist pastor and seminary teacher, by the name of Phillips Brooks...

Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger people. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.

I pray that Palm Springs Baptist Church will not be known in the Coachella Valley as the largest church, or the most entertaining church, or the best worshiping church, or even the church with the best preacher or youth program or Sunday School. I pray that as people look at us they will say, "That church is connected to Jesus Christ."

Amen.