WEBVTT 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:13.759 We're in a sermon series right now on the book of Ephesians called In Christ, and we are just desiring to understand more fully what it means to have our identity in Christ. 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:22.320 How many of you are thankful that we are we have been made whole by God through Jesus Christ and we are in Christ? 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.960 He is in us and we are in him. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:34.000 And so we're studying the first half of Ephesians right now and looking at the identity that Christ wants us to have and to understand more fully. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:45.280 And then once we understand our identity, next year we'll jump into the second half of Ephesians where we'll talk about the purpose that God has for our lives based on who he's made us to be. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:46.560 Does that make sense? 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:51.039 Let's get the right things first, and then the second things can come after that. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:54.960 The title of today's message is Sealed and Secured. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:56.320 Sealed and Secured. 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:04.319 So if you can turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1, we're going to read verses 13 and 14, and that's where our message will come from this morning. 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:25.599 It says, In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:27.519 Let's pray together this morning. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:32.640 Father God, in the mighty name of Jesus, we thank you that your presence is already here. 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:40.560 We thank you, Lord, for what you're already doing in the hearts and minds of every single person who is here and also those who are watching online. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:50.640 And Father, we just pray in Jesus' name that whatever is in your heart to do this day, that you would do it in perfection, Father. 00:01:50.640 --> 00:02:03.760 And in spite of my words or my ways, Lord, I pray that you would cause your word to come alive within all of our hearts, that we would understand this truth, and that the truth would make us free. 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:12.240 Father, we ask that you'd help us to understand what it means to have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling on the inside of us. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.599 And we thank you for this in Jesus' name. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:16.560 Amen. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:24.960 So most of us can probably quote the gospel message to some degree of precision, right? 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.439 Most of us have heard it many times. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:32.479 Those of us who've grown up in church have heard it over and over and over again. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:40.479 But as I was studying this week, I was convicted that there's a portion of the gospel message that I tend to leave out. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:42.719 And I don't leave it out on purpose. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:44.639 There's no intentionality at all. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:49.840 It's just that I forget the importance of it, and sometimes I don't say it out loud. 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:58.000 And so today we're going to be saying that portion out loud and we're going to be uh proclaiming it according to what the scripture says. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:04.000 So let me just give you a breakdown of the gospel message, and I hope that this comes alive on the inside of you. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:17.199 If you've never heard this message before, my prayer and hope for you is that the Holy Spirit of God will take it and breathe on you the breath of life and cause you to come alive unto God. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:28.719 If you've heard it many times before, I pray that you would be ignited, reignited with passion for what the gospel truly is and what it says and what it means. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:32.080 So we believe that God created the heavens and the earth. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:44.719 We believe that within the earth he created all kinds of living creatures, and on the sixth day, he created Adam, and then later he created Eve, and he put them in the Garden of Eden. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:49.840 And in the Garden of Eden, that says that God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:04:08.879 Can you imagine how beautiful of an experience that must have been for God to be with man in that close of a nature, to reach out and be able to touch and hear and listen and smell and all of the things that they must have experienced in the garden? 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:11.840 And God gave Adam and Eve one rule. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.759 They had one job. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.800 And how many of you know they didn't obey that rule? 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:18.000 They disobeyed that rule. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:26.480 And because God is holy, and in order for him to remain holy, he had to punish the disobedience or the sin that they committed. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:27.839 And so what did he do? 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:37.759 That they would physically die. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:40.399 Did you know that we were not created to die? 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.759 Death came as a result of sin. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:58.160 And then we also know that because of Adam and Eve and their sin, that every one of us that have been born since then, except for Jesus Christ, have been born dead in our sins and trespasses. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:02.720 All of us followed Adam and Eve's same fate. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:04.720 And you might say, well, that's not fair. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:06.240 Well, let me ask you a question. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.600 Is there anybody else that's ever lived that hasn't sinned? 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:16.160 The Bible makes it clear for us, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:28.000 And it also says that the wages or the payment for the sin that we've committed that we deserve is death, which is obviously physical death, but it's much more than that. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:31.120 It's eternal separation from God. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:41.920 That is what is deserved based on the sin that Adam and Eve committed, and that each one of us subsequently since then have committed. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:50.240 Let that weigh on us for just a moment and consider it deeply before I say these next two words. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.560 But God. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:06:05.759 But God, filled with loving kindness and mercy, looked out upon this world and he said, I'm going to send my only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:07.519 I'm going to send him to the earth. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.360 He's going to be born of a virgin. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.040 He's going to live a perfect life. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:16.639 He's going to be tempted in every way, just like Adam and Eve were, but this time he's not going to fail. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:18.639 He's not going to give in to the temptation. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:25.120 He's going to resist it and he's going to defeat Satan in the meanwhile, right? 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:30.800 Not only that, he's going to walk and talk and express who our heavenly Father is. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:40.240 He's going to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, that there's a chance, there's an opportunity for man to be reconciled back to his relationship with God. 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:53.680 Not only is he going to preach that, but it's going to be followed by signs and wonders and miracles and healings, all of the kingdom of God coming to earth and being expressed through the ministry of Jesus Christ. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:02.399 We know that he willingly took upon himself the sins of the world as he was nailed to an old rugged cross. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:08.560 And as he was on that cross, he cried out, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:14.720 The wrath of God was poured out upon Jesus as he was on that cross. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:27.680 And can you imagine for the first time in all of eternity, Jesus himself feeling what it felt like to be separated from his heavenly Father for just a moment in time. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:40.560 And then we know just before he breathed his last breath, he said, It is finished, declaring that the work had been done, redemption had been bought. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:52.399 And now all of those who put their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ can be born again, can be made right with God, can walk with God once again. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:58.319 Not only did he do that, he died, he was buried, and on the third day, what did he do? 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:05.360 He rose up from the grave, proving that he defeated sin, hell, and the grave. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:10.399 Jesus, the Almighty God, rose up from the dead. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:13.199 And not only that, but he ascended into heaven. 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:30.079 And when he ascended into heaven, he was seated at the right hand of God, and he was given the name above every other name, that every name, every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:37.120 And how many of you know he also said that if he was to leave, that he would also return one day? 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:42.799 And when he returns, he will make all things new and right. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:46.720 This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.159 And yet, I miss something. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:54.639 I missed something very important. 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:57.120 Can you think of what it might be? 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.919 Consider it for just a minute. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:11.759 Come on. 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:16.480 The gospel is not a complete message unless we add that in. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:23.759 He has poured out the promise of the Holy Spirit on those who believe. 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:32.240 We don't have to wait until we get to heaven to experience the presence of God. 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:34.879 The Holy Spirit has been poured out. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:42.159 He's been given to us as a gift from our Heavenly Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:10:02.720 So I want us to walk away from today's message with a higher estimation, with a higher understanding, a higher reality within ourselves of the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit, who he is and what he does, and how he wants to affect and influence our lives and the lives of other people around us. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:05.440 Are you ready to go there with me? 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:07.120 All right, let's do this. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.519 Have you noticed over the last few weeks? 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:12.240 Maybe you've seen this pattern in the verses that we've read. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.919 Remember, Paul starts this book out with this run-on sentence. 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:19.919 He obviously didn't have a mother that was an English teacher like my mom was. 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:23.279 But he just starts talking and he can't stop himself. 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:26.080 He just lets it, it just flows out. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:27.279 He can't stop. 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:29.519 There's a lot of commas involved, right? 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:34.879 But Paul, in this run-on sentence, he describes the work of each member of the Trinity. 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:37.279 See if you notice this or recognize it. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:43.440 In verses four through six, he talks about the fact that God the Father chooses and adopts us. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:44.960 That's good news. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:52.320 And then in verses seven through twelve, it brings out God the Son redeems and forgives us. 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:59.120 And then in the verses that we read today, we see that God the Spirit seals us and secures us. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:02.159 He seals us and secures us. 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:06.799 So Paul is praising God for all of the blessings he has bestowed on his people. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.000 Blessings that are ours because of what? 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.480 Because of our relationship to Jesus Christ and the work that he's done. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:20.399 And these things are activated in our lives by the person of the Holy Spirit. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:28.080 There is a reason that Satan fights so hard against the Holy Spirit in the earth. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:32.639 How many churches have been divided over this one subject? 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.440 And yet, how can you divide the Trinity? 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.399 Father, Son, and Spirit are one. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.240 They are one. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:45.440 So many people have made the Trinity Father, Son, and Bible. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.759 And Bible is essentially important. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:49.039 It is the Word of God. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.919 We don't look to denote it or to denounce it or to put it in a place that it doesn't belong. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:58.399 But let's not forget about the Holy Spirit of God. 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:02.639 Paul starts out this passage by saying, In him you also. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:11.519 Remember, last week Scott brought to our attention that Paul referred to the Jewish people as those who were first to hope in Christ. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:27.600 But now in this passage, he traces the step by which the Egyptians, sorry, not the Egyptians, the Ephesians, and some Egyptians over time, and the Gentiles have been brought into union with Christ. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:42.080 If you're a Gentile in this place, you should be thankful that Paul is expressing to us in the book of Ephesians the fact that Christ has made us one with him and brought us into the family. 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:45.679 We have been adopted into the family of God. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.559 So who did these, what did these people do? 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:49.759 How what did they experience? 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:50.879 How did they respond? 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:53.759 First of all, it says they heard the bot the gospel. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:13:02.960 When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, God has chosen to save people by using the word of God to call them. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:11.039 One of the things that I promise you, as the lead elder of this church, is that we are never going to move away from the word of God. 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:24.240 There are a lot of great things that we could talk about that may be helpful in your daily life, but I'm telling you, we understand that the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:31.120 It is the word of God, by the Spirit of God, that does the good work in each and every one of our lives. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.759 And we will never depart from it. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.639 Lord Jesus, help us in Jesus' name. 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.440 Romans 10 describes this beautifully. 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.440 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:47.360 And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.240 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.120 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.879 As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:05.840 But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:12.399 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:20.639 So the work of God, the work of faith within each of our hearts, comes by hearing the word of God. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.639 Don't stop reading the Bible. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:24.559 Don't stop listening to the Bible. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.240 Don't stop coming to church. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:30.159 Don't stop listening to sermons that are in line with God's word. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:35.759 It's important to us, not just for salvation, but for every aspect of our Christian life. 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:39.120 So not only did they hear the gospel, but what else did they do? 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:40.480 They believed. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:42.879 They believed in Jesus Christ. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:49.039 Having heard this message, they committed themselves to Christ by a decisive act of faith. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:52.480 They put their faith in the work of Jesus Christ. 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:55.759 The Lord Jesus is the true object of their faith. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:15:04.639 It wasn't their faith in their own ability to believe, or their own ability to change themselves, or their own ability to follow God. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.799 It was their faith in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:11.360 Salvation is found in Him alone. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:17.600 How many of you know you can talk about God all day long with almost anybody and never get in trouble? 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:25.120 But if you dare to mention the name of Jesus, demons tremble and people get nervous. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.720 There's a reason for that. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:33.360 In Jesus is salvation found. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:38.320 Now, if they believed, it presupposes that they must have repented. 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:41.440 Because in order to believe, you have to change something. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:42.559 There has to be a change. 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:49.600 There would be no need for salvation unless we needed to turn away from something and turn towards someone. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:51.039 Right? 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:59.519 Mark 1, Jesus himself says, as he proclaims the gospel of God, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.440 Repent and believe in the gospel. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.080 Repent and believe in the gospel. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.320 So let's just get down to the very base here. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:10.399 What does the word repent mean? 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:13.519 Yeah, you're saying it. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:19.600 It means to have a fundamental change of mind, heart, and actions. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:26.320 Turning away from sin and anything that separates you from God and turning toward God. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:41.360 How many of you can say this morning that you have repented, that you have turned away from the old way, from your old life, and have turned toward God through Jesus Christ. 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.279 And secondly, believe. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:44.399 What does it mean to believe? 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:51.200 It means to put your complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ and the good news of the gospel. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:57.279 Now, we can't even get past this point here without bringing the Holy Spirit into the equation. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:25.680 We believe that Scripture teaches that there is a moment when the Holy Spirit, like the paddles that are placed on a person's chest in order to bring them back after they've had a heart failure, we believe that the Holy Spirit hits the inside of us, the spirit that is dead to God, not just sick, but dead, and awakens that spirit so that we can then repent and put our faith in Jesus Christ. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:28.480 That awakening is called regeneration. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.559 That is a work of the Spirit. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:38.480 Even the faith that we exercise ourselves and the desire that we have to repent is a gift from God. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:43.920 How many of you tried to fix yourself before God got a hold of you? 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.079 And how did that work for you? 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.640 It didn't work so well for me. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:50.480 We need the work of God. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.519 We are made alive to God in order that we might believe. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:59.119 Our willing response is that repentance and belief, and that is called conversion. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:04.079 That's the theological term conversion, which includes repenting and believing. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:12.000 And we also believe that if you live any longer here on this earth, that it's good to be baptized as a part of that conversion story, right? 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:19.119 So not only did they believe, but they also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:21.920 They were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:26.640 The Holy Spirit seals us, marking us as children of God. 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:32.000 Sometimes I'll ask people, What do you think about Jesus? 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:35.680 And I'll get all kinds of varying responses from that. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:39.200 Well, he he was a he was a true historic figure. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:40.559 He was a great teacher. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:43.119 It seems like he was some kind of spiritual person. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:50.799 He was, and then some will say he was he, you know, he died or he was born on Christmas, all those things that people will say about Jesus. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:53.519 And then I'll ask them, what does Jesus say about you? 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:58.480 And that is a determiner right there. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:03.279 A lot of times, where a person is in their walk with God. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:07.119 What does Jesus say about you? 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:17.599 When a person trusts the Lord Jesus Christ through the gospel of salvation, he or she'll she is sealed through the Holy Spirit of God. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:26.960 Every true believer in Jesus receives the Spirit of God as a sign that they belong to God and are under his protection. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:28.720 Are you thankful for that? 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:32.559 He claims us as his very own. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.039 Like the indelible impression. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:40.960 Think about a king who has written a letter and he wants it to go specifically to someone else. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.839 And so he puts that letter within an envelope. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:50.400 He closes the envelope and he puts uh melts wax over that place where the envelope closes. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:51.440 And then what does he do? 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:54.400 He has a ring that he wears on his finger that's called a signet ring. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:56.160 And what does he do with that ring? 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:58.880 He presses that into that wax. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:06.720 And when he presses into that wax, and then that letter is taken from his presence and delivered to whom ever it was supposed to be. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:14.960 As long as that seal has not been broken and that signet ring mark is still in that wax, what does the other person know? 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:22.319 That this is a legitimate communication that has come from this king. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:24.559 And he's marked it himself. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:31.200 Friends, believers in Jesus Christ have been sealed by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:38.799 His signet ring has been built, has been placed upon our hearts, and we have been marked by him. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:40.640 We are his. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.480 Don't ever let Satan steal that from you. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:47.279 Don't ever let him lie to you about that. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.200 We have been marked. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:53.440 We have been sealed if we are true believers. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.839 When are we sealed? 00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:07.200 When we're good enough, when we change enough, when we uh you know act right enough when we when we've been saved for 10 years, when we've been saved 20 years, when are we sealed? 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:11.839 We are sealed at the point of salvation. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:25.599 At the point of salvation, 1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of what? 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:28.000 Of one spirit. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:34.160 We have been baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit of God. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:40.400 We have been set apart, we have been sealed, we have been made holy, and we are set apart for God. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:44.720 We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:47.839 This is good news. 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:53.759 Can you understand why we need to make sure that we're sharing this as a part of our gospel message? 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.519 This is where the power lies. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:58.240 This is where the change happens. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.000 In fact, that's our next point. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.440 The proof of being sealed is true transformation. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:19.680 How many of you know that there are many people who have prayed a prayer of repentance at some point in their life, but there has been absolutely no change, no sign of any kind of transformation within their hearts and their minds and their actions. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:24.160 They've spoken words, but nothing has been transformed. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:29.200 We cannot rely upon that for salvation, correct? 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:35.359 Our prayer should be a willing response to repentance and belief. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.200 Yes, we need to say the words. 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.799 Yes, we need to pray and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:47.519 Yes, we need to affirm that uh that the old man is passed away and old all things have become new. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:53.680 But we can't rely just upon a prayer to be the seal upon our hearts. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:57.440 We don't place the seal, God does. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.759 God does. 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:04.640 You see, the the proof of being sealed is true transformation. 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:13.920 Many times, rightfully so, I'm not saying this is wrong, but so many times we focus on the outward sign of the Holy Spirit's presence. 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:19.920 We want to see miracles, we want to see healings, we want to see signs and wonders, we want to see demons cast out. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:24.960 Well, maybe not like in our homes, but you know, somewhere else. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:30.880 We want to see uh, you know, speaking in tongues, we want to experience God, we want to feel God. 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:33.440 How many of you know all of those things are good? 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.920 They're good, and we should desire those things. 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:43.519 In fact, in 1 Corinthians it says for us to covet spiritual gifts or earnestly desire spiritual gifts. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.799 Nothing wrong with that. 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:46.559 We should long for that. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:52.480 But if that's all that we connect with concerning the Holy Spirit, something is wrong. 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.240 Something is wrong. 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:55.920 There's more than that. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:24:12.799 There's the inward working of the Holy Spirit, the work that he does on the inside of us, the work of transformation, the work of sanctification, where he convicts us of sin, where he changes us from the inside out, where we recognize our need to change and where we yield to him. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:18.240 We yield to him drawing us, calling us, changing us. 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:29.519 Both of these things are important, both of these expressions of the Spirit, both of these works of the Spirit are important, but only one of them is eternal. 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:33.200 Only one of them lasts forever. 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:52.640 As we remember in the Sermon on the Mount that we just finished coming through, Jesus Himself said that in the last days, that as people would stand before him, that there would be many who would prophesy and cast out demons who we would tell to depart from him because he never knew them. 00:24:52.640 --> 00:25:00.240 They weren't sealed with the promise, they weren't his own. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:05.920 Both are important. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:10.240 Please don't ever stop asking and desiring both. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:15.759 But don't neglect the work of the spirit on the inside of us. 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:22.319 Some of the greatest miracles sitting in this room had nothing to do with healing of the physical body. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:26.319 They had to do about who you once were and who you are now. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.799 You've been changed. 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:34.799 Don't forget, your testimony is laced with power. 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:47.119 Revelations, it says that they overcame the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives even unto the death. 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:51.440 What is the testimony of our lives? 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:54.000 It's not just that I've cast out demons. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:57.359 The testimony of my life is I've been changed. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.400 I'm not the man I used to be. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:02.559 I've been changed. 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:16.960 See, the proof of the Spirit's presence is his operation on the heart, which produces things like real repentance, like husbands that say to their wives, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have done that like that. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:17.920 I'm wrong. 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:19.839 Would you please forgive me? 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:23.839 It's it produces real repentance. 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:26.000 It produces the fruit of the Spirit. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:27.759 Galatians 5 22. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:32.400 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:36.400 I think that's all I'll have to check with my three-year-old granddaughter to confirm. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:38.559 She can quote them like crazy. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:42.240 But all of those things come from the inside. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:52.799 We can pretend them, can pretend to love, or pretend to have joy, or pretend to have peace, or try to work it up in our own strength. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:54.720 But how many of you know it's fleeting? 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.720 It's here today and gone tomorrow. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:58.720 The fruit of the Spirit remains. 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:08.319 And not only does it remain within our lives, the nations come to us and eat from the tree of the fruit that is growing in our lives. 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:16.160 Holy Spirit's operation conforms us to God's commands and his will. 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:21.839 He changes our desires, he changes our passions. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:34.400 Instead of uh the passions for the things of this world, he gives us passion for prayer and passion for praise, passion for worship, passion for loving God, and passion for loving people. 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:38.799 This is the work of the Spirit. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:42.880 This is the great transformative work of the indwelling of the Spirit. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:28:01.759 And Paul wanted these Ephesians, the the this church of Ephesus, and all of the churches that this letter would be distributed to, to understand the depths of the importance of the work of the Spirit in the transformation of their lives and of their city and of their nation. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:08.160 We cannot change the world around us without the Holy Spirit. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:16.960 Our Heavenly Father promised us that the Spirit would bring about this amazing transformation. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:19.359 Look at Ezekiel 36. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:31.279 And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit, and I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:38.480 And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:40.880 Why would he put his spirit within us? 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:43.119 So that we would be obedient. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:56.559 So that we would be obedient, so that we would change, so that the Ten Commandments would no longer be laborious or something that's difficult for us, but it would be something that that we lean into, that we desire. 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:06.400 Spirit of God does work that nothing else on this earth can do. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:11.839 Religion tells you grab a bigger hammer and break up the stones of your heart. 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:15.119 How many of you know that never works? 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:16.720 It never works. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:23.119 I don't care how finely dusted you create the stones within your heart, they're still stones. 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:27.200 They have to be made into flesh. 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:29.119 And what does God do? 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:45.039 God breathes by his spirit into that heart of stone and causes it to be transformed into a heart of flesh where we can live and breathe and have our being. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:51.359 Jesus made it clear that it was essential for the Holy Spirit to come in John 14. 00:29:51.359 --> 00:30:02.160 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither Neither sees him nor knows him. 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:08.480 You know him, for he dwells with you, and what will be in you. 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:16.799 The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us as believers. 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:26.079 This is the part of the gospel that we must remind ourselves of on a daily basis. 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:30.400 All of it, all of it, but don't leave this part out. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:34.559 John 16 7, Jesus goes on. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:38.480 I'm sure his disciples were murmuring among themselves, what is he talking about? 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.079 He doesn't need to leave us. 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:41.759 We need him to stay. 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:43.119 He needs to stay. 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:53.279 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, Jesus says, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:57.119 But if I go, I will send him to you. 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:09.920 Jesus told his disciples, it's better for you that I go away so that I can send the Holy Spirit, not just to be with you, but to live on the inside of you. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:14.960 Now here's the problem. 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:17.599 I'm sure you're all thinking it. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:22.079 Evan brought it up as he was talking about communion. 00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:26.160 We live in an already and not yet kingdom reality. 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:37.119 What I mean by that is we know that the price has been paid by Jesus completely for us to walk in freedom from sin and all of its horrible effects. 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:39.200 The price has been paid. 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:43.440 Jesus defeated sin, hell, and the grave. 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:44.799 We know this. 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:53.279 Believers in Jesus understand, we can understand in this life what it means to be free from the power of sin. 00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:56.240 Sin no longer has dominion over us. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:00.559 How many of you know we can say yes to God and say no to sin? 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:05.759 Not preaching perfection, but I'm preaching holiness. 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:10.960 We are to be holy as He is holy. 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:26.000 Our desire, the evidence of the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of us is to have a desire to continue to walk away from sin and to walk toward God and to be obedient towards Him. 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:37.519 How many of you know also we are now today as believers in Jesus, we exist in the reality that the penalty of sin has been removed. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:49.839 No longer are we destined for eternal separation from God, no longer are we destined to uh live out our existence for all of eternity in hell. 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:52.720 We have been born again. 00:32:52.720 --> 00:33:05.200 The penalty of our sin has been placed upon Jesus Christ, and He's given us as our substitute His life in the place of what we deserve. 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:11.279 We have by the ability of again to say no to sin and yes to God. 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:16.240 We still live in a fallen world where the presence of sin is absolute. 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:21.680 So we're free from the power of sin and we're free from the penalty of sin. 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:24.720 But how many of you know sin is still around us? 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:36.240 It creeps at our door, it knocks on the door, it's all around us, it screams at us, sometimes it whispers at us, it entices us, it tries to draw us in. 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:58.319 But we also realize that what the scripture is saying is that the Holy Spirit was given to us to be able to stand in the evil day, to be able to stand against temptation, to be able to stand and walk as believers in Jesus Christ until the point in time when Jesus will return. 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:00.319 We'll talk about that. 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:02.400 I don't want to get ahead of the story here. 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:08.079 So next, the Holy Spirit is our guarantee. 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:15.599 He is our security, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:26.239 The Spirit of God is not only a fulfillment of God's promise to indwell his people, but also is a guarantee that he will bring them to their final inheritance. 00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:28.320 Did you hear me? 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:40.320 The Holy Spirit and the seal that he places upon our life is a seal of security, it's a down payment of sorts or a first installment on our full redemption. 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:45.679 The Spirit is a foretaste of the glory of the age to come. 00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:49.119 It's good news. 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:52.800 I used to be in real estate. 00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:58.239 One of the things that you have to have in order to have a contract is you have something called earnest money. 00:34:58.239 --> 00:35:03.519 Earnest money is a money that is put forth as a down payment on a piece of property. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:09.199 It means that you want them to hold that property for you until the time that you close on that property. 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:12.559 It also means that you promise there's more money to come. 00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:19.199 How many of you know that earnest money is not the entire amount of the purchase of whatever it is that you're buying, right? 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:24.880 But it is saying, I am going to buy this piece of property, and here's the proof of that. 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:28.960 I'm giving you this deposit, I'm giving you this earnest money. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:32.800 The Holy Spirit of God is our down payment. 00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:34.960 He is our earnest money. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:42.239 He has been given as a pledge and a token that there is more to follow in the way of spiritual blessings. 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:48.400 This is good news. 00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:55.440 But there's much more to come. 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:57.599 There is much more to come. 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:02.880 You see, those who are truly sealed by the Spirit will endure to the end. 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:07.119 We will endure to the end if we are sealed by the Spirit. 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:09.679 This is God's work, not our own. 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:11.280 Aren't you thankful for that? 00:36:11.280 --> 00:36:18.320 If my salvation was based on my own ability, you might as well just give me a ticket to hell. 00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:22.000 I'm not even joking, I'm serious. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:25.199 I can't do it. 00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:28.639 I'm not I'm not capable of doing it. 00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:39.119 But how many of you realize that we can have blessed assurance based on the goodness of God and his ability in us to do what we can't do in our own strength? 00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:42.000 Philippians 1, 6 is such an encouragement. 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:50.559 And I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:54.880 God is not somebody who stops a project before it's finished. 00:36:54.880 --> 00:37:03.440 He's the beginning and the end. 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:07.440 He completes the work that he starts on. 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:13.280 If he has truly begun a good work in you, he will bring it to completion. 00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:16.880 Put your faith, hope, and trust in him. 00:37:16.880 --> 00:37:20.800 Our inheritance is eternal life with God. 00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:23.360 We shouldn't be looking forward to a destination. 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:27.360