Welcome And Belize Service Recap

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Amen. Good morning. If you're our guests, an extra special welcome. So delighted that you're here with us today. I'm Bark Kefo Segan, and I'm one of the pastors. We have a message that we're going to uh discuss today in Ephesians chapter one. But before we get there, a little over a week ago, there were some 35 men that gathered together, most of them from this very church, but there were others who came from three different states who met us there in Belize to do a service project where we worshiping God with our hands and our feet, serving those less fortunate than ourselves. And I promised you last week that would show a report. And so that's happening this morning. If you just look at the screen, we have a video I'd like you to see. What a day it is in Belize.

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It's been a great week working with 35 guys, very close, all price finding, and we're having a great time.

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We've been doing a drywall, learning how to cut the drywall and measure it, fit these in the obscure places. It just looks like an first guy. I came to Belize because I wanted to grow closer to the middle of the church. I go to Belize for two different reasons. Primarily pray with other million. Study with other men. I will start to come because my dad's been coming for a while before.

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You know, it's interesting that the ladies seem to have an easy time getting together. I don't know if you noticed that or not. They had this

Why Men Need Brotherhood

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thing called gallantine. Who what's a galantine? I don't know what that is, but it's something that all the ladies, all a bunch of them got together just to celebrate each other and their relationship with each other. Guys, for some reason, you know, we just don't do that. But we need to. Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. You don't have to be able to use a tool. Believe me, they'll give you one and they'll point you in the right direction. You want to sign up for next year. By the way, there is a men's Bible study that takes place on Friday mornings here in this building as well. And uh and they even do it online, so you can do it in your pajamas if you want. But if you want to come in person, you want to come to this back door, you'll see all the cars parked out here on Friday morning at 6.30. If you get a hold of Darren or Wayne, they will uh let you know exactly what you need to do. But you can just show up and follow the guys in to a Bible study, and that would be wonderful. If you're an early riser, 6 30 to 7 30 Friday mornings. But there's also a Wednesday night Bible study that happens upstairs here for the men. It starts at 6.30, uh, right about the time that the students are coming in for student ministry. You can come in and join that as well. Gentlemen, we need each other. And we're giving you opportunity to plug in. We'd love for you to do that. Now I'm gonna pray for us because we're we're about to step in to Ephesians once again. And as Michael shared with us two weeks ago, uh, this is an in-depth book, and we're gonna be in here for seven months because there's some deep stuff in here. And I want you to know, as we covered this morning, last week we covered the will of the Father. This week we're gonna cover the work of the Son. Next week we'll talk about the witness of the Spirit. And that all comes from this very long sentence in the Greek, chapter 1, verses 3 through 14. Scholars say this is the toughest sentence there is to translate from Koinai Greek, and it's because there's so much important information here. But here's what I want you to know. If you're new to this place, there's some things you're gonna hear perhaps for the first time, and I hope you'll really listen. Because there's a life of transformation waiting for you. And if you've been here quite a while, or if you're well studied in the scripture, I want you to know we're gonna rehearse some things that you already know. But you know what the apostle Peter said? He said, You know what? I'm not gonna shrink back from reminding you things that you already know as long as I'm in this earthly dwelling.

Setting Up Ephesians One Series

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Why? Because as we walk through this world, the truth is diluted and pulled right away from us. And we need to remember the reality of what it is God has done for you and for me. John 3, 16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The Father did not send a son into the world to judge the world, but that the world would be saved through him. If you've walked in these doors today and you're a little confused about whether or not you're gonna spend eternity with God, I hope that gets cleared up today. If you've long since placed your faith, your trust in Christ, there's some things to be reminded of today. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we love you, we praise you, we thank you for your love, and we thank you for this truth that you orchestrated by the power of your Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul to remind us of things that we so easily forget. Father, we praise you, we thank you for your love, for your truth. May we be transformed by the renewing of our minds even today. May those of us who've long since been in relationship with you through faith in Christ, may we be encouraged to walk in that truth, to your glory, to your honor, for you are worthy. In the precious name of Jesus, our Savior and our King, we pray. Amen. We are in chapter 1, verses 7 through 10. And the Apostle Paul is highlighting for us, reminding us of the work of Christ. And he highlights at least three things. He wants us to understand the price that Jesus paid for you and for me. He also wants us to know the pardon that Jesus gained for you and me. And he wants us never to forget to make sure that we know the plan that Jesus has revealed to you and me, the plan for the here and now, and the plan for eternity. We're in verse 7 through 10. In him that is in Jesus Christ, we have redemption through his blood. That is through his death.

The Price: Redemption Through Blood

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Whenever you read about the blood of Christ, it's a figure of speech, referencing his very death on our behalf. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, he made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his kind intention which he purposed in him, with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. There are three things he wants us to highlight here, and I want you to see it with me. First, he wants us to know the price that Jesus paid for us. He says this in that very first verse in him we have redemption through his blood, that is, through his death. It was used in the ancient Near East, it was used in Rome. The idea of making a payment, someone is on the slave block, and you make a payment to free them from their slavery, not so they can now be your slave. Oh no. No, the idea is that you're redeeming them to their freedom. He says, Listen, the fact of redemption, Jesus Christ has fully paid to free you and me from slavery and to sin. In fact, here's how Jesus puts it in Mark chapter 10, verse 45. For even the Son of Man, referencing himself, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus came to pay, to pay a price that we could never pay to free us from sin and its bondage. Romans 6, 6, and then IV puts it this way. For we know that our old self was crucified with him, with Christ, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Now the point is that before you place your faith, your trust in Christ, you are a slave to sin. You think you have thoughts in your mind you wish you never had. You say things that you regret. You do things that you wish you had never done, and you do it over and over and over again. You're slave. You can't get free. But Jesus, Jesus came to free us from our slavery to sin. That we would begin to think God's thoughts after him, that we would be able to say things that God Himself would want us to say to the person who dearly needs to hear it, that we would do such things that only those moved by the Holy Spirit of God would be so benevolent to do. That's God's desire for you and for me. We need to know first and foremost the fact of redemption that Jesus paid a price to free us from slavery. But he also wants us to know what that price of redemption is. What a price to be paid. The wages of sin is death. How are you going to be freed from sin? To die yourself? Well, you're still not free. Why? Because you deserve to die. As much as I love my precious bride, I can't die for her because I've got my own sin to pay for. What we need is one who is infinitely innocent. That's what we need. We need someone who's willing to step in and pay the price for us. That's what the scripture says Jesus has done. Romans 5.8. God demonstrates his own love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

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Glory. Glory be to the Father. Glory be to the Son.

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First Peter puts it this way in 1 Peter 1, 18 and following, knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the very blood of Christ. That's why in Second Corinthians it says this He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Listen, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. But who's worthy? Who's worthy? Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead, and buried. And on the third day, Heavenly Father raised him from the dead, demonstrated that it fully accepted Christ's payment on our behalf. And he's the firstborn of many brethren. Meaning all those who place their faith, their trust in Christ will one day walk in full orbed, eternal bodies, bodies that will never give out, never give up. No more sickness, no more pain, able to live with God forevermore. God's desire is that you and I would understand that Jesus Christ redeemed us from our slavery to sin, that he made the payment that no one else can make for you and for me. But he goes on. The idea of the finality of this payment. He didn't make a down payment, he made the full

Paid In Full: It Is Finished

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payment. Here's what John records in John 19, 30. When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine while he's hanging on the cross, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Ted Elistae is the word. It is finished, one word. It's been found on ancient papri. Those merchants, after someone has fully paid for whatever it is they're purchasing, they would stamp on that receipt telesti, paid in full. Jesus made the full payment. The final payment. He made the whole payment. God wants us to remember. He made this payment that we would be free from slavery to sin. He also wants us to know the pardon that Jesus gained for us, the release from guilt and shame. We see this in this next section, beginning again in verse 7. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished on us. This idea of trespasses, this word means sinful acts, deviations from the path of righteousness. That's what this word means. And we hear it echoed in Isaiah 53, 6. All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. How often do we stray from the path of righteousness? Perhaps you're not even on it yet. Perhaps you've yet to place your faith, your trust in Christ alone as Savior. If that is true, I implore you, do it today. But how many of us? How many of us have long since placed our faith, our trust in Christ, and yet we find ourselves deviating from the path of righteousness? You need to know Jesus paid it all. He paid for all your sins, past, present, and future. And he invites you at any moment, by his grace, to step back onto the path of righteousness. You can't lose your salvation. You can lose the joy of your salvation. That you can do. God's desires that we would understand we've been given a pardon. He's covered our trespasses and our sins with his precious blood. In Colossians 1:14, which is a sister letter to

The Pardon: Forgiveness Explained

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Ephesians, here's how it puts it there in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. Now, this is a different word for sin. This is Hamathiah. And the idea is it's an archery term that means to miss the mark. You miss the bullseye. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We missed it. If you could keep the whole law yet stumble in one point, James says you're guilty of all. God's got to punish sin. Listen, we understand justice. Did you know that? Whether you're a believer or an unbeliever, you understand justice. The reason is because every human being has the Imago Dei, the image of God imprinted upon them. You don't have a choice. That choice you do not have. You know right from wrong. In your heart of heart, you know right from wrong. God must punish sin. I read a news article this past week that was quite disgusting. A woman uh was taken at gunpoint and tortured, and unspecial things were happening to her, and they caught the s the assailant. And they tried him. He was tried by a jury and found guilty of all counts. In the courtroom, he continued to laugh as the counts were described. In the courtroom, in front of the judge, he looked at the female prosecutor and said, Your turn's next. I'm coming for you. The jury not only convicted him, they had the legal right to suggest the sentencing, and they suggested sixty years. And then the judge had the power to overrule. He said, No, he's only getting thirty years. The problem with thirty years is in ten years he can get out. That's a miscarriage of justice. Oh, I assure you, our judge is not that way. He's a righteous judge, and he must. Judge sin. And you know right from wrong. You say, Well, I don't know. I mean, I might not agree with what the Bible says. Really? Imagine you have a toddler, and you go to uh kid country here with your toddler, and you're just so proud of your toddler. You put him on the swing, and he's swinging on the swing, and he gets off the swing, and you're just watching him. You're just so proud he could swing himself. And a big kid comes by and knocks him down and just kind of runs away. And you run up to it and you see the father of the larger kid coming up and you say, Hey, did you see what your son did? Expecting, of course, a little justice, at least a little correction. And the father says, So what? Well, I assure you, you're thinking to yourself, I'll show you what. We all have it. We all know right from wrong. Scripture says we do. Oh, we can get training in fine-tuning our understanding of justice and right and wrong, but we are born knowing right from wrong. And when injustice happens, we know it and we squirm under it. Where is the justice?

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Jesus satisfies the justice.

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We've been pardoned, we've been forgiven. Aphasius is this word forgiven, and it means to loose someone from that which binds him. It's related to a word that means to send away, which is why in 1 John 2, verse 2, we hear this. He, Christ, died in our place to take away our sins. This is a picture of the scapegoat. If you go to Leviticus chapter 16, you find out the story of the scapegoat. On the Day of Atonement, part of the Day of Atonement would be that be two goats brought before the high priest, goats without blemish. And the high priest would lay his hands upon these goats, and then he'd cast lots, and one of the goats would be chosen to be sacrificed, and his blood would be sprinkled on the altar. The other goat, he would put his hands on him, and he would place all the sins of the nation of Israel upon that goat, and then that goat would be taken out to the wilderness and chased as far away as possible. That's why it's called the escape goat. The scripture says that Jesus played both parts. He both paid for our sins and he took them away. Which is why when John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to him, he says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Do you know that God has taken away your sins the moment you place your faith, your trust in Christ as Savior? They're gone. You're separated from them. You need not carry the guilt and the shame. Written to believers is 1 John 1, 9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and it cleanses from all unrighteousness. Oh, you can't lose your salvation, but you can lose the joy of it. But you can regain the joy of it. You confess your sins. Homo leguo, to say again, to say the same thing. The Holy Spirit says that was wrong. He touches your heart. You hear it, you say, I agree. That was wrong. Lord, forgive me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Isaiah puts it this way: Isaiah 44, verse 22, the New Living Translation. I, the Lord, have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have shattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. Believer, where are you? Where is the joy of your salvation? Would you have it return? Talk to God. Thank him that he's fully paid for your sins and for your shame. Walk well with him again. Here's what the psalmist says, Psalm 103 12, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Do you know if you travel north and you keep going, eventually you'll hit the North Pole. And if you keep walking, you start going south. Did you know if you go south and you hit the South Pole and you keep walking, you end up going north. Did you know that if you start walking east,

Justice, Sin, And A Righteous Judge

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you will always be walking east. You'll never hit west. Because east just keeps on going. What a picture. God has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. Men and women, boys and girls, I know for many of you, you've heard this before and you forgot it. Can you hold on to it? Shouldn't we rehearse it together and remember again this glorious reality that we get to walk in the grace, the mercy, the forgiveness, the full pardon of all of our sin? Would you not walk in the joy of your salvation? God's desire is that you would. Acts 10, 43 says this of him, Jesus Christ, all the prophets bear witness that through his name, his reputation about himself, I'm the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes of the Father except by me. His confession, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have currently possessed eternal life. John 5 24, Jesus says it this way Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word, my testimony, my message, and believes him who sent me, Heavenly Father, has carriedly possesses eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death to life. The moment you place your faith, your trust in Christ, you're his forevermore, and he's yours forevermore. It's not that your sins aren't judged, they have been judged. The story is told of a young man and his dad who loved to be in the woods. They were camping out in California in the woods, and they went on a big hike together. And as they're hiking, all of a sudden they realized there was a forest fire coming right at them. Dad knew what to do. He said, Son, come here, help me. And he lit the brush on fire, and they did their best to spread that brush as far as it could. And finally, there was this big circle of burnt-out brush, and they stood in the center of it and they watched the fire go around them. When you stand with the one who's already taken your judgment, you're free. You shall not be burned. God's desire is that we would hold on to these things. And by the way, it's been going on for two millennia that Christians have been forgetting these things. Sometimes they get under bad teaching and they forget these things and they get confused. In fact, 1 John is about that very thing that these believers are suddenly being swayed by bad teaching. So John writes to them, 1 John chapter 5, verses 11 through 13. He says, Hey, believers, don't you remember the testimony is this? That he who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things are written to you who believe, believers, in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have currently possess eternal life. Not hope, not wish, not think. Know with certainty. Hold on to the reality. Jesus paid it all. It's so easy to forget. We're looking at life in Christ. Know your Savior. Know the work of the Savior on your behalf. Know the price Jesus paid for us, the fact of redemption, the price that he paid, the full price he paid. It is finished. Know the pardon that he gained for you and me, forgiveness from our sins. We don't have to walk in guilt and shame. Know the plan that Jesus revealed to us, this last section, verses eight and following. Here's what it says. In all wisdom and insight, he made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his kind intention which he purposed in him, with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.

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Dr.

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Honer writes about these this phraseology, says he gives them wisdom, Sophia, objective insight into the true nature of God's revelation and understanding the subjective apprehension of it. God wants us to understand his plan. In fact, Jesus puts it this way in John 15, 15, talking to his disciples, no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things I have heard from my Father I have

Guilt Removed: Scapegoat And Grace

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made known to you. I wonder why in Acts chapter 1, when Jesus is telling them I'm getting ready to go to the Father, and they say, Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Lord, is now the time you're going to establish the kingdom? He says, Hey, that time is not for you to know. That's up to the Heavenly Father. But you, you go into all the world. Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them all that I've commanded you, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. This is not all there is. Why is it important that we hold on to these truths? Because this is not all there is. We've been given this high privilege to be used of God for his kingdom purposes, to walk well with him together as a community. Iron sharpening iron, encouraging one another. When we forget, when we begin the woe is me because we've tripped up again. Someone can come alongside and says, It's okay. You can have the joy of your salvation restored to you. I'll walk side by side with you. Let's just talk to God about it right now. You don't have to give up. You don't have to give in. You can put your eyes on Christ. If then you've been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is. Set your minds on the things above. It's Colossians chapter 3, 1.

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What about you?

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Your eyes on the things above. Do you realize that you're no longer a pauper? That you're a child of the king? Do you know that? You can be saved without embracing that reality, but that's not God's intent. He wants you to embrace that reality. If you embrace the reality that you are no longer a pauper, but a child of the king, you can walk well with him. I don't know how many of you have ever heard the uh the story of Little Lord Fauntleroy. Okay, you just aged yourself there. Thank you very much. I know exactly how old you are. This uh is a story about a young man from the 1800s, and um there was an earled of Darien Court, and uh and he had three sons, and his youngest son married an American, not so good. Dad was so upset he uh cut him out of the will, kicked him out of the family. He moved uh to America with his bride, and they lived a humble life, and they had a son. And uh unfortunately, the dad, the youngest brother of the earl, died tragically. So now we have a widow and a little fatherly orphan. Years go by, and uh the earl's other two sons also pass away. No man should ever have to bury his children. But now he's concerned. He's concerned that the inheritance and the succession of his estate is gonna disappear from the family name. So he decides he's got to go get little Lord Fontleroy. He sends his emissary to find Little Lord Fontleroy and says, Look, I need you to come with me. You have this beautiful estate, you're the son of an earl, uh the grandson of an earl, and all this is gonna be yours. The problem is that still the earl doesn't want anything to do with his mother. Little Lord Fontleroy ain't leaving Mama. That ain't gonna happen. Now, through the book and through the movie, if you watch the movie, eventually everything works out, and there's real reconciliation, and the mother does get to go live at Darien Court. But there's this moment in the story when the Earl's representative first comes to America and makes the proposal to the mother concerning the son. And I want to just read what Ron Ryder has said about it. When the Earl of Darien Court's representative first comes to America with a proposal, a circumstance arose, which is analogous to the life of a Christian. He describes what life will be like as Lord Fauntleroy. Wealth, power, honor, glory are his. He is a royal heir. Yet he will have to wait until he gets to England to experience it. For now, he will have some limited benefits, but for the most part, until he crosses the Atlantic, the life of Lord Fontleroy has to wait. Nevertheless, the representative stresses it is important to begin thinking and acting like Lord Fontleroy now. For three reasons. Because there are decisions and actions right now that require his attention. Second, because he needs to begin practicing now for the expanded role that will come to him when he gets to England. And third, because he is Lord Fauntleroy. And that reality itself should impress upon him the need to live like it. Do you know who you are? You're not a pauper.

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You're a child of the king. Let's live like it. Let's do it together.

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If you just stumble in our doors and you've never placed your faith, your trust in Christ as Savior, would you do it today? I don't doubt you know about Jesus, but you need to know something. Knowing about Jesus doesn't save anybody. A lot of people know about Jesus, and they ain't saved. Trusting Jesus saves. Believe him at his word.

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And he's fully paid for your sins. And you will

Assurance: Eternal Life Now

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be saved.

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Will you stand and pray with me?