Excited About Being a Christian |
December 29, 2013
Introduction
One of the funniest cartoons I ever saw showed a pompous lawyer reading a client’s last will and testament to a group of greedy relatives.
Misc. Sermon
Are You Excited About Being a Christian
Ephesians 1:3-11
(Advance Slide #1)
I am excites about a lot of things!
- Don’t you love to see people that are excited?
- Maybe you like to help the excitement in people.
- Satan tries to get us excited about the wrong things.
(Advance Slide #2)
What do you get excited about?
We all get excited about different things.
- Do you get excited about being a Christian?
- Do you get excited about living the Christian life?
- Some say it’s just a hard knock life…
- But IF your not excited about being a Christian, and worshiping God there is something wrong!
- There is something blocking the excitement that should be there.
- Things block our excitement…our focus gets messed up.
- We do not see the privilege and the honor that it is to praise and worship Him!
Maybe something has happened.
- Last week, this weekend, this morning, last month, last year
- What might be stopping you from getting excited like you should be?
We get excited about different things for different reasons.
- This life should be a place of promise in in your life.
- Think about why you should be excited about the "Christian life.”
- Think about why you should be excited about being a child of God.
GOAL - Try for us to pull through whatever is blocking if from the excitement we should have.
- What is pulling the excitement of Christ and the Church from your life?
(Advance Slide #3)
Text
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 places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:3-11- The caption read: “I, John Jones, being of sound mind and body, spent it all!”
- When Jesus Christ wrote His last will and testament for His church, He made it possible for us to share His spiritual riches.
- Instead of spending it all, Jesus Christ paid it all.
- His death on the cross and His resurrection make possible our salvation.
In this long sentence, Paul names just a few of the blessings that should make us excited!
(Advance Slide #15)
Lesson
Paul had several reason for why he was excited about being a Christian.
(Advance Slide #4)
- Read vs. 1 he begins by saying, "an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,”
- He was excited about his role as an apostle of Jesus.
- The text goes on to say that Before the world began
- God determined that all those who would be in Christ (united with Him) would receive the blessings of Christ.
(Advance Slide #5)
He Chose Us in Christ - vs. 4
(Advance Slide #6)
Some of us know what its like to be chosen.
- Some of us know what its like to not be chosen.
- Some even know what its like to not NOT be chosen
We need to be chosen.
- Because we are sinners, because we have fallen short.
- We need to be chosen so that God can work through us!
(Advance Slide #7)
Through Him We Have Redemption - vs. 7a
Through Him we have forgiveness through His grace.
- For forgiveness of our sins (the very reason that we need choosing).
- We need redemption not for eternal death but for eternal life.
(Advance Slide #8)
What is your greatest possession?
- We have so many wordily things….
- But our greets possession is that we have redemption.
- Paul calls redemption, forgiveness.
- He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1:13-14
- We have been saved from the wrath of God…this is personal!
In life some will withhold forgiveness from you.
- Some might escape you or run from you.
- However, through His blood God WILL NOT do that!
** It does not matter what you’ve done…there is redemption/forgiveness!
(Advance Slide #10)
We Can Be Excited about the "Door Prize” - vs. 7b-8
As a child of God we receive a lot of god things!
(Advance Slide #11)
- As a child of God we receive GRACE!
- The original language indicates that this is a prize.
- We receive the blessing of hope, family, the Holy Spirit, but we also received His grace!
(Advance Slide #12)
God’s grace IS His gift to ALL Christians.
- When we became Christians we received this grace!
- God has done everything necessary for you to be saved!
(Advance Slide #13)
We Can Be Excited about the “Grand Prize” - vs. 11
Paul was excited about the “grand prize”!
- If grace was the door prize then HEAVEN would be the grand prize!
- This is our eternal inheritance.
- 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3-4
- There are 3 ways in which this gift is grand!
- Imperishable - it cannot be destroyed!
- Undefiled - it will not tarnish!
- Unfading - it will not waste away!
This is not heaven!
- This is world is far from being these key things!
(Advance Slide #16)
Action Step
- Be excited about our chosen state, our redemption, His grace, and our eternal inheritance!
Conclusion
(Advance Slide #17)
Yes, in deed we have a great deal to be excited about!
- This life, at best, we have financial problems, health issues, family conflict.
- There will be conflict and strife.
But we have great blessings and gift in which we should be excited.
