John K. Jenkins Sr - 10 Spiritual Blessings - Part 5

Bless Your name, O God. You are worthy to be praised and exalted. God, we glorify You; we honor You, we honor You, we honor You. Thank You for keeping us all week long. Thank You for giving us a heart and a mind to be in church today. Thank You for Your protection. We pray for each other right now, interceding for our brothers and sisters. We call their names out before Your throne. You are a miracle-working God, a promise-keeping God, a waymaker-that is what You are. God, we thank You, and we pray that as we support each other, You would step into the domain of their circumstances, step into their lives, and work a miracle. Father, in Jesus' name, grant them a breakthrough, healing, and whatever they need. We pray that Your perfect will would be manifested in their lives, that You would be in charge. We also pray that You meet every need, Lord, whatever it may be. Heavenly Father, we ask that You wash, forgive, and cleanse us from our sins and wrongdoings. We pray, Father, in Jesus' name, for someone today who needs salvation. Reclaim those who have drifted away from You, and we pray for those who are unsure and unchurched. Father, we intercede for the Saints all around this world who join us through technology. May Your name receive the glory. Let me be Your mouthpiece for these next few moments; I will say whatever You tell me to say and do whatever You tell me to do. Let us walk away with clarity about the Word of God. Let this word be fresh, rich, real, and life-changing. In Jesus' name, Amen, Amen.

All right, praise the Lord! You can be seated and grab your Bibles. Open your Bibles or your iPhone, your iPad, your notebook, your Android, or your Galaxy. If you don’t have a Bible, that’s fine; just look up at the screen right up here. Ephesians chapter 1 is the focus of our message today, which is part 5 and the final message in our series on spiritual blessings. We have been exploring this topic, and this is the fifth installment of discussing ten spiritual blessings. For the benefit of our guests sitting in, and those who are hearing for the first time, and for those who may have missed a few Sunday services- I shouldn’t call you heathens; I’ll just call you jokers and rascals-let’s briefly review what we’ve covered. Paul the Apostle writes this epistle to the church in Ephesus while in jail. From his prison cell, he writes them critical information.

In the first three chapters, he teaches them about their position in Christ, wanting them to understand and know their posture. It is important for you to understand your position, as living a victorious Christian life is difficult if you don’t understand who you are. This is why so many people feel defeated-they don’t know who they are or whose they are, amen? Next, he dedicates the second three chapters of Ephesians to discussing the Christian practice. Chapters four, five, and six deal with how to implement Christian principles in daily life. He talks about marriage and how to have a happy union. It 's interesting they didn’t say «Amen» when I said that in the 8 or 10 o’clock service! He offers guidance on raising kids and working on the job, providing practical applications for living a Christian life.

We have been focusing on the first fourteen verses of chapter one because, in those verses, he reveals and explains ten spiritual blessings. I find this crucial, as I’m frustrated with churches emphasizing carnal and material blessings. Yes, God wants us to understand that He did not die on the cross just for us to acquire a new car, amen? There’s no need to jump, shout, and run around just because one anticipates a new job, a new car, a new house, or a new spouse. Whatever you believe you’re receiving will ultimately fade away; even the new dress you got will, in a matter of months, not fit anymore! Come on, let’s be real. Did I say something untrue? [Applause] You can’t handle the truth. Paul discusses ten spiritual blessings that I have reviewed. I have covered seven and now want to discuss eight, nine, and ten.

For the benefit of those who haven’t been here, let me quickly review the first seven significant spiritual blessings that he outlines. The first is found in verse 4: «Just as He chose us in Him.» We talked about how God chose us. In verse 4, we see that we have been chosen; you didn’t choose God, He chose you, amen? You were lost in your sins, and He chose you. In fact, Paul states did He choose you before the foundations of the world-before the world was created, He chose us. That is the first blessing. Then, in verse 4, he mentions that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. God has empowered us to be holy and blameless-that’s the second blessing. You can live in holiness; you can walk blamelessly and have victory over whatever challenges or problems, whatever addictions you face.