John K. Jenkins Sr - 10 Spiritual Blessings - Part 3

Father, we honor you this day, this morning. We give you the praise, the glory, and the honor. We thank you for your loving kindness. Father, we thank you for the doors you’ve opened and the blessings you’ve provided. We intercede and pray for one another right now in the name of Jesus. We pray, God, that you would work miracles, grant breakthroughs, and provide answers and deliverance in Jesus' name. Save somebody today; this is my prayer. Reclaim a backslider. Father, I pray for those who don’t know where they’re going to spend eternity, that they would receive assurance today. I also pray for someone who isn 't planted, that they would be rooted. I pray that the saints would be strengthened and edified, and that the name of Jesus would be glorified. We thank you, Almighty God, for what you’ve already done and what you have ordained to be done. We give you the glory, the honor, and the praise in Jesus' name. Amen, amen.

All right, very quickly, open your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. We are continuing in part three today of the series we started on ten spiritual blessings. Say it: ten spiritual blessings. We’ve covered the first three, and I will be reviewing them in just a moment. We will pick up with two more today. Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 3, says this: «Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved.» Amen. You can be seated.

Allow me just a few moments to rehearse in your hearing what we have already covered for the benefit of those who have missed church for the last two Sundays. We desire to pray for God to raise up in our midst people who will get excited about the spiritual blessings that God has provided. I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we are unfortunately developing a culture in the church where people are getting motivated about things like houses, cars, clothes, and new spouses. Amen! People get excited about these things when God has given us blessings that don’t fade away-spiritual blessings! I am praying that God will raise us up to be people who are excited about spiritual blessings. These are things that Paul imparted to the church in Ephesus.

It was a powerful church; they were on fire for the Lord. They were filled with the things of God. They cast out demons and removed things from their homes that were not right. They caused local businesses that were selling ungodly items to riot against the church. It was a dynamic church, and they became that way because they embraced what Paul taught them. It triggered many profound and powerful things for them. Among those teachings, he shared their position in Christ, highlighting that we are blessed with spiritual blessings. This is something that many of us don’t recognize: how God has blessed us and the significance of those spiritual blessings.

Spiritual blessings are different from the carnal blessings that people get excited about. Your new car will fade away; it’s going to break down. Your new clothes won’t always fit. Look at your neighbor and say, «They don’t fit.» Your job may not be there forever. While all these things are nice, ultimately, God wants us to have a deep excitement within us because He has granted us spiritual blessings. We have already gone through the first three, and I want to reiterate those again for you. The first one is here in verse number four: He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. That 's enough to shout about right there! You didn’t choose Jesus; Jesus chose you! I should have received more amens on that point. God chose you. You were in darkness, lost in sin, and blinded without direction, but God picked us up, drawing us out of our darkness and into His marvelous light. He gave us His spirit and His joy. He chose us. Someone say, «Thank God, He chose us!»

He chose us before the foundations of the world. That is the first point: we have been chosen by Him. But He didn’t stop there. Secondly, not only did He choose us, but in verse 4 it says that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. I love that! God chose us and made us holy and blameless. I thank God because I look back over my life, and I have enough unholy moments to fill a book. But thank God, He has made us holy! So now, when God looks at us, He doesn’t see our mess-ups. The devil excels at reminding us of how we mess up. But when the Lord looks at you, He no longer sees your sins; He sees your redemption.