Ephesians 1:1-14! ! From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by Gods will.

To the holy and faithful people in Christ Jesus in Ephesus.! ! Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.! Bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. ! God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in Gods presence before the creation of the world. God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves. ! We have been ransomed through his Sons blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overowing grace, which he poured over us with wisdom and understanding. ! God revealed his hidden design to us, which is according to his goodwill and the plan that he intended to accomplish through his Son. This is what God planned for the climax of all times: to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth. ! We have also received an inheritance in Christ. We were destined by the plan of God, who accomplishes everything according to his design. We are called to be an honor to Gods glory because we were the rst to hope in Christ. ! You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance, which is applied toward our redemption as Gods own people, resulting in the honor of Gods glory.!

Ephesians- God has Chosen You!

January 19, 2014 !

pg. "1 of 6 "

A month ago, I was in San Antonio, in my parents house where I grew up.

One by one my brother and sisters also came into town with their families. We had a great time celebrating Christmas and the new year. One thing we did together, was retell the stories of family christmases in the past. Many of them are about the surprising gifts that have been given and the tricky ways we often have given them. One story stood out. ! ! One Christmas, after all the gifts had been opened, we began to work on a big Christmas breakfast. My mother was in the kitchen and asked for my brotherin-law Nate to go get a 5-gallon water bottle for the dispenser. Nate looked from his place in the kitchen to closet where we kept those bottles and noticed that my brother and I were standing near the closet. Nate was upset that he was tasked with this chore even though my moms two sons were closer to the water bottles. He looked at my sister, his wife, with those looks that we give our spouses that says, You owe me. Its the look we give when we are enduring the in-laws. Its a you-gotta-be-kidding-me, this-always-happens, I-cant-wait-to-leave look. Nate begrudgingly made his way to the hall closet. He had spent alot money on Christmas gifts for his in-laws this year, and yet still he was being treated like the Cinderella; he was slaving away, while the real sons, relaxed and enjoyed the holiday. Nate opened the closet but couldnt nd a water bottle because there was a large set of golf clubs with a bow on it, taking up most of the space. It took Nate a moment but soon he realized that those golf clubs were for him. They were a gift from my mom and dad. Nate had been pouting, wondering why he was being singled out. But he wasnt being treated unfairly, he was in fact being led to a gift. ! ! Nate did not know what my parents were planning. He assumed it was either malicious, that they wanted him to do the work so the real family could enjoy itself, or they were capricious, they didnt have a plan and didnt care about him. But in fact there was a plan, a good plan, a plan that he would enjoy, he just couldnt see it. Our family loves to retell that story, because we can all relate to
Ephesians- God has Chosen You! January 19, 2014 ! pg. "2 of 6 "

that feeling that the world is against us, only to realize that perhaps we are right where we need to be. ! ! God too has a plan for us. Sometimes it can be very hard to see. Sometimes, we look around and it seems the world is against us. We can be tempted to think that God has forgotten about us, or is punishing us. We might think that we are on our own, that the world is against us and all we want to do is ght our way out this place. But what if we are actually in a place where God can use us? What if God has been watching us all along and has blessings in store for us right around the corner? What if we are right where we need to be? Sometimes it can be hard to trust that God could really have a plan for us, but when Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, that was the very rst thing he wanted them to know. ! ! Listen to how he encourages them: God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing...God chose us...God destined us to be his adopted children. Paul says this choosing was a part of Gods plan, a hidden plan, one that we couldnt see at rst, but that it was Gods will, Gods good will. Pauls words lift up the church to say, You matter. God sees a value in you and always has. God has chosen them and acknowledged their value. ! ! In Johnson City, I had a friend with whom I played alot of pick up basketball. As one of the better players he was usually a team captain. After picking his team, he would talk to the guys he picked (some times me) and tell them that he had picked them early on. He called them a rst round draft pick, the way you would describe a NBA player. He said this to afrm his teammates, his friends. It was his way of telling us that he was not stuck with us on his team, but that he had chosen us, that there were things we could offer our team to help us succeed. It was always nice to be told you were chosen and that you had a purpose, you were going to be a valuable part of the team.! ! Pauls words about God choosing us also indicate that God has a purpose for us. God is not just choosing us for nothing, but that we have been chosen for
Ephesians- God has Chosen You! January 19, 2014 ! pg. "3 of 6 "

a purpose. These gifts God has given us will fulll a purpose. There is a reason they were where they were. He said You were chosen to be holy and blameless and this was a part of Gods plan from the beginning, to bring all things together in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. God from the beginning has had plan to reconcile all of creation. And Paul tells the Ephesians they have been chosen to be a part of this plan. This plan has been made known to them so they can participate.! ! God has equipped them with spiritual blessings or gifts. And God ransomed them from their failings. Paul says that their redemption through Christs sacrice is part of this plan. What Jesus offered them on the cross was not just a pass into heaven, but a purpose in their lives on earth, the chance to participate in God mission of redeeming the entirety of creation.! ! Paul tells them that God has chosen them to be a part of his family, his team, his mission. The acts of Jesus, his death and resurrection, offer redemption and forgiveness which makes our adoption possible. And nally Paul says that the Holy Spirit seals this promise, this choosing. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance. The Spirit begins to give us things that one day will be fullled. That means that all that the hope we have in heaven, of that perfect recreation of everything, can begin to be given to us today. The Holy Spirit starts to give us our inheritance now, so that we can begin to participate as Gods adopted children. ! ! God chooses us, makes a way for us, and holds on to us. From the beginning of time God had a plan for them, he chose them, He provided a way for them and holds them, seals them to this promise, this plan.! ! Here is a special fact about this letter. It probably wasnt written specically for the Church in Ephesus. There is nothing in this letter about the specic people of the Ephesian Church. He doesnt mention any particular people or incidents. The oldest versions of this letter that we have on record dont even include the word Ephesus. It was most likely a letter written with a blank at the
Ephesians- God has Chosen You! January 19, 2014 ! pg. "4 of 6 "

beginning that could be passed around to Christians from a variety of areas, and they could put their home town in the top line: To the Saints who are in Ephesus, or to the Saints who are in Laodicea, or to the Saints who are in Sardis. This was a letter written to all of them. It was written to be true to all of those Saints, and that means that it is also true of the Saints who are on Lookout Mountain. ! ! You have been chosen. In our lives it is easy to think that you are on your own. That you are overlooked. That its up to you make yourself worth something. ! That is how the people to whom Jeremiah spoke felt.1 Babylon was drawing near.
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People were going to be shipped off, the temple would be destroyed. It was easy for people to say that God had abandoned them. They were on their own. It would have been easy to be hopeless. But Jeremiah tells them that God has a plan. God has a plan to bless them, even in the midst of great trial and pain, God still works for good.! ! Look around. Look at these empty seats. I am not telling you anything new when I say this church is going through a hard time. And its tempting to feel that we have been abandoned, that we have been forgotten. We want to ght hard against the state we nd ourselves in. We want to feel like we are too weak, too small, too alone to be what God wants us to be. But what if I told you that you Lookout Mountain that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in Gods presence before the creation of the world.! ! What if God can use us, just the way we are, to reach certain people that a big church couldnt reach? What if the struggles you have endured over the years have prepared you for a blessing that is right around the corner? Would you believe it? Could you believe that God has chosen us? What if God is calling us to embrace ourselves just the way we are? Why should we accept ourselves like this? Because God has chosen us. God has blessed us. God has a plan for us. God has plan for you. You might be looking at your health and think its all down hill from here. You might look at your family and think that yall have been
Ephesians- God has Chosen You! January 19, 2014 ! pg. "5 of 6 "

abandoned and left on your own. You might look to your future and not see anything that gives you hope. But God says, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.2!
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We might not see it today. We might be wandering around wondering why

we are going through this, feeling like we are forgotten and taken advantage of. We might be wondering why we are singled out for struggles when really we are being led to blessing. Sometimes its just a difcult walk to get where you need to be. But what if God really has chosen us? What if God has plan for us, that God has redeemed us and equipped us so that we can play a part in God bringing everything together? What if God has given us his Son and his Spirit so that we can have a purpose and future and hope? What if God is calling us to go carry that heavy bottle of water because there is blessing waiting for us in the closet? Will you trust that God has chosen you. Will you trust Gods plan? Will you go where he sends you? Will you stand on those promises? I pray that we will. In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
" 1 " 2

Jeremiah 29:10-14 Jeremiah 29:11

Ephesians- God has Chosen You!

January 19, 2014 !

pg. "6 of 6 "