"To The Praise Of His Glory! (Part 2)" Ephesians 1:13-14

Pastor Brian continues through Ephesians.

Honestly, Why Do we Write these Descriptions?

Transcript

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Would you stand now and honor reverence of the word of God that will be read? Pastor Bryan's preaching out of Ephesians chapter one this morning. Verses thirteen and fourteen. In him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory. You may be seated. Pastor Brian, please come.

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Oh, to glory in his holy name. Let's pray one more time and ask that this would be the case. Father, we are humbly excited, grateful, thankful to be able to come before you and worship in this way. We would ask you that as we dive into your word, that we uh dive into these two verses, that you would truly be glorified, that we would be changed, that we would be convicted, that we would be encouraged, and that it would transform our lives in Christ's likeness. And that you would be exalted. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, last week we were blessed by the Lord to see in his word the absolute beauty of what our redemption is ultimately for. And that is, of course, to the praise of his glory. Well, that's that theme is still our theme today as we dive into the second sermon titled and focused on this, the praise of his glory, part two, if you will. But really, that's everything we've seen so far in Ephesians, even the first message, by and large, as well. And praise God for that. If all things are for his glory or the praise of his glory, then what should each and every sermon lead us to? Praise of his glory. Last week we didn't spend a whole lot of time on the first part of verse 12, because we were diving into some other wonderful truths. Uh, and since it connects so well with 13, I actually want to start by having us briefly look at what Paul says there, uh, that I would say that if we didn't slow way down, we may miss. So look at verse 12 with me in Ephesians 1 here. At the beginning of verse 12, it says this. It says, to the end, that we are that we who were the first to hope in Christ. That we who were the first to hope in Christ. Who is that? Who's he speaking of when he says first? Well, Paul is speaking of first, of course, himself and his guys, the apostles, those intimate, close folks, but also he's uh more generally speaking to the Jews here. To those Jews who have believed upon Christ and therefore shown themselves to be the faithful ones of God Almighty. And so, just as we see in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16, Jesus clearly is stating uh the same thing in the Gospels. It is the Jews who were the first to have the gospel brought to them. They were to be the original recipients of the good news of Jesus Christ. Just like in the days of old, before Christ came when the Israelites received the law and the blessing of God, they were to be the first to do that, but they were also to do what? Proclaim that truth to those around them. The good news of Yahweh. So we see the Bible, Romans 1.16, to the Jew first, then to the rest, Gentiles or Greeks. The Bible uses those words most of the time synonymously to speak of those who are not Jewish. And so Paul mentions there in verse 12 that the Jews, him and his guise and the Jews, were the first to hear and be told the gospel with its command and call to repent. Unfortunately, as we know as we read Scripture, by and large, that didn't happen. But some did recognize Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. And then in verse 13 to our text for today, he says this. He says, You also. You also. Well, who's that? Well, of course, it's immediately directed at those who are in the church that are in Ephesus, that is primarily filled with Gentiles, those who are not Jewish. He says, the gospel came to them also. And so what we find in the whole of Scripture is that in the perfection of time, the gospel goes to all. Praise God. We wouldn't be here today if that wasn't true. So that's the thrust of what uh and and really who Paul is talking to here. To the Jew first, then to the Gentiles, like the ones in Ephesus, after God determined it was time. So let's dive into that a bit. What is this gospel thing? What is what is he getting at? Let's dive into that as we look at our first point. Again, you have that sheet in your bulletin uh for notes and to follow along. And the first point is the message of the gospel is to the praise of his glory and the blessing of his audience. Notice that word audience. There's something required of an audience. And so, in light of that, the first thing I need to say here as a reminder is that the gospel is spoken words. The gospel is a true historical account. It's a thing that includes, of course, its author, Christ, and the way that we hear that, the way that we know that, is through the message, spoken message. It is truth communicated by speaking or reading what has been written. You see, the gospel is not merely to be proclaimed by our actions. Why do I say that? Well, it kind of seems like a no-brainer, right? But in our day and age, we're bombarded all the time in the church, even with things like speak the gospel and if necessary, use words. Have you ever heard that? Or we just need to be. We just need to live the gospel and people will receive that so much better. Now, while our lives are a big part of the undergirding of our witness for Christ, our lives cannot communicate the gospel to people in and of themselves, can they? You see, for people to come to know about Jesus and the saving grace that comes through his blood, we're called to be bold enough to tell them. Now, if our lives don't line up with that proclamation, then yeah, our witness for Christ and his gospel will undoubtedly be hindered at best. But the point is, as Paul says here in verse 13, this is where I'm getting this from, verse 13, he says, In him you also, meaning the Gentiles, you also, after what? Listening. After listening to the message of the truth, i.e. the gospel. And he goes on from there. So after listening, Paul doesn't just show up and it's like, all right, I'm gonna help mow the lawn, I'm gonna I'm gonna go and I'm gonna, you know, build a tent for this guy. He does those things, I'm sure, maybe not mow the lawn, I don't think they did that, but but he he definitely builds tents and things like that. But his main mission is to proclaim and to project the gospel. And that's what we're called to do as well. That's why we can see here that he says, after listening to the message of the truth. And so for anybody to be able to respond to this message, the grace of Christ, it is gonna take somebody bold enough to declare it to their ears. Being nice and sacrificial to others is great. It's a good undergirding testimony of the gospel, but it cannot replace the message of truth. What does the Bible say? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. So here we go. Six thousand or so years ago, God chose to create a universe for his own glory. As he created all things, he chose to create what would be the pinnacle of his creation in mankind. An image bearing creation that would reflect who he is, and even be the ones to subdue and enact dominion over or rule over his creation under God's sovereign authority. All that God created was good, and God even says very good. But then one day the humans that were on this earth were tempted to do what their creator and Lord had told them not to do. They rebelled against God's perfect law, they rebelled against his truth, and they decided, I don't need God's law any longer. I want to be like him instead of who we were made to be. This, of course, introduced a curse into humanity from there on through this man's bloodline, which means everybody. And for the first time, death was now the lot of all people who are to be born. Punishment is handed down, things are never going to be the same again. But God, being rich in mercy, had already decided that when this occurred, he would show them great love, great grace, and he promised them that the seed of the woman is to come. This warrior Messiah would come, and he would crush that serpent who had tempted him. And in the fullness of time, the mystery of this Messiah and the ministry that he enacted came about. Jesus, the Son of God, second member of the Trinity in the Godhead, came to the earth, lived the perfectly obedient life that mankind could not and would not and did not, and he even took the wrath and the punishment meant for them so as to secure the hope and the possibility of redemption for these fallen creatures that God so loves. The only thing necessary for humans to do is respond to the message of the truth of this grace of God, by the grace of God, and be saved. Humans are all commanded to turn, not suggested, commanded to turn from their rebellion against his law, and to now a merciful Savior who has come and taken their place. They're to confess that he is king, that he is savior, that he is Lord of their lives, and therefore they're going to live for him with everything they are all their days until they go to be with him at the time of their earthly death, or he returns. That's the message, isn't it? That's the a short version of the gospel, if you will. What did that take me? A minute and a half? Two minutes, maybe? That's what people need to hear. Should it be back by our lives of holy obedience to his word along with merciful deeds of service? Of course. But think of it like a book. How can you know what's inside by just simply looking at the wonderfully illustrated cover without reading any of its contents? You ever been to a bookstore or a library and grabbed a book off a shelf that looked really neat and you take it home and like, this is garbage? Or you get that old book then on your dusty bookshelf that somebody handed down to your family and it's just got nothing on the cover, it's just basic and nothing, and you read it and it's like, this is awesome, this is wonderful. Great, great literature. It's that old saying. You can't judge a book by its cover, right? So how can people respond to a message if all they see is our cover of nice deeds? So, in light of that, you and I, if we're in Christ, we need to be so comfortable with the message of the gospel and the gospel's call that we wouldn't hesitate when the opportunity arises to present the beauty of Christ to a dying world. That's what Paul did. You see, that's what he's saying. This is precisely what happened to the Gentile pagans in Ephesus. Remember back to what we talked about in the first message. What's right there outside of the city gates in Ephesus? This enormous wonder of the ancient world. The statue to Artemis or Diana that they all worshipped. That's the context Paul jumps into there. But Paul shows up and he finds a way to proclaim Christ to them. As is his habit, he goes to the places, most likely, where we're not exactly told, you can read Acts for some of that, but he would go to the places where the people would gather to hear from their religious leaders. Sometimes there's a synagogue he would go to right off the bat. He would go to the marketplaces, and he would proclaim Jesus. He would talk about the glory of this Savior and what he has done, and he would call them to repent and believe. And guess what? It worked. There's a reason that Paul gets to write a letter to the church in Ephesus, isn't there? There's Christians there now. Some have responded to the message of the gospel. They are now in Christ. I love that phrase, in Christ. I would say it's the greatest way to describe a Christian, according to Paul, based on how often he uses that little phrase. And so what we find is that the thing that identifies a Christian from the rest of the world is that a Christian responds favorably to the message of the gospel from the first time the Lord penetrates his or her heart with it to the ten thousandth time. Respond with joy and adoration. Why? Because they have been changed. They can't help but be just thrilled over and over and over again at the message of the gospel. There may be times in their life of pain. Have you ever experienced that? Agony? Depression? There may be times where you hear the gospel proclaimed and you feel like you're just numb in life. Feeling like you've hit a plateau, maybe, in your walk with the Lord. But when the gospel is proclaimed to the Christian, they are always able to say, yes, amen. Through the tears, through the pain. And they're able to still resound confidently, this is my only hope. Is it? So the message of the gospel is the greatest blessing, the greatest news that will ever come to your ears. As wonderful as it is to hear the baby crying, cooing, laughing, whatever it is, is nothing to the gospel. Good news of Jesus Christ. It is all to the praise of his glory, since it is a message that speaks of his grace. Therefore, God is glorified in his gospel. Before we move on to the second point, as we think about who these people are, as they listen to the message of the truth, I'm gonna give you some homework. We have two weeks before a very important passage comes to be preached on at this church. June 7th. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 10. Please read that. Please study that. Please know that before we come to worship on June 7th. Be here to hear of God's great mercy. It is one of the greatest gospel treatises in the entirety of Scripture. That's what Paul proclaimed to them, is what he says in Ephesians 2, 1 to 10. I can guarantee you that. Point number two. After hearing the message of the gospel and receiving it as true, the one who is in Christ, okay, remember, you listen to the gospel, you receive it as true, you turn from your sin, you repent. Now you are, look at what he says here, sealed. Look at verse 13 again. In him you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed with the Spirit. To the praise of his glory. As was mentioned when I recounted for us the message of the gospel, we are all in rebellion against God and his law from birth. That's just what it is. This is our inheritance from Adam, and not only that, but it is also our nature in our willful disobedience. Therefore, we are sealed from conception unto a fate of condemnation, of eternal punishment and torment and hell, separated from God and all that is good. That is the lot of every human being from conception. That's what the Bible says. That's tough. That's tough to hear. But that's why this passage in the second part of verse 13 is so utterly profound to those who are in Christ. It says here, it literally says that we who are in Christ, those who have been saved, those who have responded to the message of the gospel, are now sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is God Himself. Sealed, stamped, owned. From the moment of our conversion, we received the Spirit and we're sealed as His. We were once sealed with a, you could call it a seal of condemnation, like to now sealed with a seal of eternal life. Think back to years ago, maybe some of you or his historians or history buffs, think back when there was kings, emperors, before modern technology and electronics, there were seals. Wax seals, usually, that would either be worn by a king on their hand or close by at all times. The king would issue maybe an edict changing the law of the land, like maybe recall back to the times of Esther, and it would be bound by this seal. Sometimes, when sending out an important message, a messenger would take this letter or scroll sealed by the king, and it would be vital that it was not open until it came to the intended recipient or recipients. In fact, there was a severe punishment for anybody who opened this letter that was sealed without being the intended recipient. And it was swift and severe. Why? Because this was the very word of the authoritative king or emperor. We even see some of this in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. Where Jesus is the slain lamb and he comes forward after John is weeping because nobody's worthy to open the scroll, and Jesus shows up and he's worthy. This sealed scroll. And so the sealed message is from the king and therefore indicated authority and importance. For us today, when reading Paul's words here, what we come to find out is that we are sealed. It's like an authoritative stamp by God Himself for God Himself. We didn't do it. We didn't seal ourselves. We already had a seal. A horrible one. But God graciously seals us with the power of his spirit and calls us his own. This means, yeah, we're owned by him. This means that we are his property. And before you respond to being called somebody's property, think of how God, the creator and sustainer of all things, regards his property, especially that which he loves. And please make no mistake, this is not some mere seal, like a mark on the forehead or a mark on the back of the neck or something. This is a seal that encompasses all of who we are inside and out. What this means is that his seal, most importantly, is actually on our very soul. Sure, our bodies, our brains are sealed by him for his glory, but the real beauty behind this is that our souls are now carefully and specifically sealed unto him. Not as with a hot branding iron, but as with a beautiful and comforting heavenly mark of being identified as God's and God's forever. And you can know confidently that if he seals us, then you're his forever. Did you know that? You see, we cannot be sealed and then have it wiped clean by some outside influence. It doesn't work that way. Or like a window cleaner with a smudge on the glass. No, no, no. We are etched, if you will, into the fold by the sealing of God Himself if we're in Christ. And get this. When something is sealed like this, as we spoke of, like with a wax seal, the sealer and the seal itself necessarily come into contact with that which is being sealed. Now that may not seem like much of a statement at first, but when placed in the context of God sealing us in this way unto salvation, that's eternally startling. We sometimes get kind of flippant about the fact that the Spirit of God indwells believers, don't we? Like, oh yeah, I'm indwelled with the Spirit of God. But make no mistake, this is a monumental truth that deserves careful study and worship. Think about it. The Holy Spirit comes into contact with your soul. So God Himself, the one who created everything, comes into contact with your soul, chooses to seal you unto Christ for eternal life, and this produces an everlasting and beautiful imprint on us. If you're in Christ. I say that because if the Spirit of God impresses a seal on us and therefore indwells in us, we will be changed. That's the beauty of what Paul is driving at here. You've heard the message of the gospel. You've responded to the message of the gospel. It says you believed. You're now sealed with the Spirit. That means you are no longer who you once were. Period. You have a new seal. Now you are being sanctified as you are being changed by his power and your new desire. Praise be to God. Praise be to God. You see, the Holy Spirit is the very seal himself. And if he himself is the seal, then we can no longer be who we once were, right? Makes sense? Because he's working in us, he's working through us. And the reason I say this is I think in our context it needs to be said. And here's what I mean. Here we go. You see, the Holy Spirit is God. He doesn't come to reside within people to then just remain dormant. Doesn't work that way. He doesn't just come and be like, all right, maybe one day they'll decide to follow me. When he comes to live within his people and seals us for heavenly realms, we are then changed, transformed, and reborn to then live for his glory alone. What a gift of grace. Therefore, this also means that this seal is not only displaying ownership, but also protection. The devil cannot snatch one of God's children out of his comforting and eternal grip. The devil has to even get permission to sift you, as with Job and Peter. Because you have been bought and permanently sealed, that can't go away. Now, I'm no rancher. I think you know this. But if you talk to one, I'm sure he would tell you that if you brand a cow, that's not going to just rub off with a little elbow grease, right? And so if you are his, then the spirit is your seal for eternal life and eternal protection. What protection indeed. Now, this also means that we have blessed assurance. You see, it's the past work of the Spirit in us at the moment of our conversion that then gives us the present assurance through his seal and in dwelling presence with us today. So what I'm saying is it's the seal of protection, of ownership, of love that comes about as we are saved, that then gives us the daily assurance of that salvation. So good. So here's the thing. If you want to know whether or not you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, chosen by God, predestined for his glory, ask yourself this simple question. Am I the kind of person that daily seeks to align myself in accordance with his word and will? Is that me? Not in perfection. Not that there isn't a day that goes by where you're not conflicted with all kinds of things. But do you do as Paul says, for example, in 2 Corinthians 13, 5, do you examine yourself before the Lord? It is the Christian and the Christian alone who intends to daily examine himself to see if he's in the faith, to see if he's aligned up with God. Or in other words, he daily examines himself to see if the truth is what is in him and he lives for. If not, if that's not you, you're in sin, you need to repent. And he's gracious to forgive. If you are not in line with his word, you are in sin. And if you refuse to repent, you are just revealing that you are not sealed with the Spirit. And you've been self-deceived. So the question is really this do you actually agree with God? Not just in word, but also in deed. Have you been sealed? Again, not unto perfection in this life. That doesn't happen. Even though that's our command. But do you agree with him to the point of obedience when his word comes to you? Again, I'm gonna read verse 13. In him you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed. Do you think that's just a mere mental ascent? Or is that a life transformation? It's a life transformation. He says, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise. That changes everything, doesn't it? So do you agree with him? Because that's what the sealed saint does. Our world has certain ideals and allowances, doesn't it? The world says whatever pleases you, right? Whatever works best for you, whatever makes you happy, whatever doesn't offend others. Whatever, here's this wonderful word from our world, whatever feels right. Just make sure you're doing whatever's right according to your conscience, and you're good, you're fine. Is that even remotely close to what the Bible teaches? The Bible, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, ends up searing our consciences and then redefines them so that we only acknowledge that what God has spoken as good. Again, the question is: do you agree with God because he has caused you to be reborn? And if you are, if you do, then do you do what his word says? It's really simple. Remember, we talked about this on Sunday school. What did Jesus say? If you love me, do my commandments. You cannot love God without the seal of the Holy Spirit. Do you do what His Word says, even if that means your life gets turned upside down? Or that thing or that activity or that living situation needs to radically be changed? Do you actually trust that God is good? And what he says and what he commands? Or do you trust that you're good enough to decide what's best for your life? Again, what I'm saying is, are you sealed by the Holy Spirit? If so, your life will show it. And the world's gonna see a vast difference in who you are versus who they are. If that's not you today, if your life doesn't line up with his word, if you are not following Christ, then most of what he's spoken, right? Some of what he's spoken? Probably all. So if your life doesn't line up with all that he has spoken, go to him now for grace and mercy. He is mighty to save, he is wonderful to draw you to repentance, and he will seal you unto eternal life as you call out to him as Lord and Savior if you're not saved. And so I'm just encouraging us to all just be honest. Just be honest with yourself before the Lord. Receive the message of the gospel. Don't be fooled into thinking that because you're saved based on something, you know, that sounds good to you or what you like, or this piece or that piece, uh, that you're saved, therefore, to something other than the Bible teaches. It's not salvation. It's wishful thinking. And we do this all the time as a culture, don't we? Even as a church culture. Think of how we tend to view our loved ones' eternal condition, for example. Many times we actually make it really difficult and we create all kinds of scenarios where we may even go so far as to say someone we love might actually be because or maybe might be actually saved because they've said this or said that. They're really nice. They're moral. So God understands. But really, that's for our own benefit. That comforts us. And so let's not be fooled into pretending that somebody has the spirit as a seal when their life shows that they do not. Let's be honest. Let us instead just pray diligently. Let's speak often of the grace of God and call them unto repentance. Let us love them enough to be honest with ourselves in recognizing that it is the natural response to being sealed that we are then immediately changed for his glory. Not changed in the immediate sense of perfection, but on a trajectory now. That's another identifying marker, by the way. This is a unique character trait of the sealed saint. Our sealing does greatly benefit us, but as with everything else we've studied so far in the book of Ephesians, the sealing and therefore securing of the saints is to the praise of his glory. So do you live your life to the praise of his glory? Is that you? If you wake each day and you give thanks to God for the gift of salvation, if you don't do that currently, I encourage you to start tomorrow. Or even after your nap this afternoon. If that is you, then that thanksgiving comes from that sealing of the Spirit. And it's for the praise of his glory. Now, if you wake each day and you think about you or what God is going to do for you, like he's a genie, then beg God to seal you by his spirit, or at least convict you to repent. Why? So that you would seek his honor and glory above everything. Because that's what a Christian does. The one who is sealed by the Spirit is known by God, and as God says in his word, he knows those who are his. Can you believe that? The God of the universe knows those who are his intimately, lovingly. He knows them because why? They're sealed. Because he sealed them. He sealed them with his spirit, and they are written in his book that will be brought out on that day. Praise God. So third. Here's something awesome. Those who are in Christ are given a pledge. It says here according to his praise, of his glory. Okay, so if you are a Christian, if you're in Christ, you've been sealed with the Holy Spirit, you have a divine pledge on your soul. This pledge is like a deposit that is given as a guarantee of what is to come. And that's the Spirit in His work. That's what this is saying. This is incredible. I want you to picture, if you would, the greatest day you can ever remember having on this earth. Or maybe it's the greatest day you can ever imagine ever having on this earth. Here's the caveat. In terms of your life with Christ. Okay? I'm not talking about the day he hit the home run. I'm not talking about the day that he got married. Christ, the greatest day you've ever had in the presence of Christ. Or could ever imagine having. Maybe it was a day of your salvation where you're just overwhelmed with joy that he would save you. Maybe it was a day after salvation where you're reading his word and you're just undone as you fall on your face in worship. Maybe it was as Jonathan Edwards speaks of, where you had a wonderful blessing of the Lord's mercy as you spent time communing with him in prayer in the Word. Listen to what this giant in the faith recalls one day in his walk with God. Listen to this. He says, As I rode in the woods for my health in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that was for me extraordinary. The glory of the Son of God as a mediator between God and man, and his wonderful, great, full, pure, and sweet grace and love and meek and gentle condescension. This grace that appeared so calm and excellent, with excellency great enough to swallow up all thoughts and conceptions, which continued, near as I can judge, about an hour, such as to keep me a greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud. I felt an ardency of soul to be what I now not otherwise know how to express, emptied and annihilated, to lie in the dust, and to be full of Christ alone. And to love him with a love that is holy and pure, to trust him, to live upon him, to serve him, and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure with the divine and heavenly purity. That's what he says about this time with the Lord. No, Jonathan Edwards is not saying he had a physical encounter with Jesus in the woods. Actually, what he's saying is far more profound than that. As he focused his attention on Christ in prayer and contemplated the truth of who the Savior is, he was blessed by God with an overwhelming sense of joy at the presence of Christ within him. And this is proven in how he responds as the end of that recounting. He wanted nothing more than to just lie in the dust, to serve Christ, to be full of Jesus Christ alone, to love him, to trust him, to be holy and sanctified by him. That's a joyful time with the Lord, isn't it? You see, it's not all about those mountaintop experiences that we think of where, you know, the Lord does these crazy miracles. It's just about the day in and day out times of study and prayer that cause the greatest obedience and the most heartfelt praise over who he is and what he has done. That's the faithful life that leads a joyful praise. And so, in that, what we see is the Lord does bless his people with these times of prayer and study that just blow us away at his marvelous mercy. Maybe you haven't had a time with the Lord like what Jonathan Edwards recounted. But have you ever had a time with the Lord where you're just reading his word and it just comes alive? And you just can't do anything else but just praise his name with tears of joy? Have you ever been in prayer with the Lord and you have this overwhelming sense of wanting nothing more than to honor and glorify him as those tears flowed? As you prayed and you were humbled by your life in comparison to his, and you just found yourself begging him to allow you to trust him all the more? You ever had that? I hope all of us have had some time in our life where we're just stunned by the Lord's grace in such a way it caused more and passionate worship. Maybe it's been in corporate worship in the church together with the other people of God. Why do I bring all that up? Because that time in your life, I want you to think of the greatest one. Remember? That time in your life, it's a foretaste. It's just a foretaste. It's just a deposit in light of what is coming. Maybe daily you have those kind of wonderful times with the Lord in worship through prayer and his word, and those times are true and a beautiful gift of his, but they're just a foretaste. I mean, think of it, joy inexpressible. It's coming for the sealed saint. Perfect gladness, sincerity of heart, flowing tears of anticipation, a constant flood of happiness as the deposit is one day fully known, as you and I lay at the feet of Jesus surrounded by myriads of other worshipers. This is glorious. We're near the end, brothers and sisters. For 2,000 plus years, God has put a deposit down on the souls of the redeemed, namely his spirit. He wouldn't do that if the church age wasn't the last age before he comes again. No one knows when that will be. Okay? Forget all the stuff you read and RC on TV. Could be today. Come, Lord Jesus. Could be tomorrow. Could be 500 years from now. No one has the date. But what we rejoice over and do know is this. One day when he comes for his bride, his church, his sealed saints, the heavenly deposit of our redemption will be fully paid and forever and fully known. For eternity, you and I, if you're in Christ, will be basking in the gaze of his glory. And those wonderful times that we have with the Lord now in this fallen world with distracted minds, they're just going to pale in comparison with the days and eternal years of undistracted and pure days of joyful praise. Our redemption will be fully known as sin is no more, and our hearts are made pure for the praise of his glorious grace. Just think of this beautiful pledge he's talking about here in verse 14. The Spirit is given as a pledge, it says. Just think of this pledge that we've seen so far in Ephesians as we look forward to heaven. This is amazing, by the way. Look at this, verse 2. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, therefore we have received grace and peace from God. Grace and peace from God. Do we deserve that? How about verse 3? We are sealed with the Spirit, therefore we have been given every spiritual blessing. That's yours if you're in Christ. Everything. What a heavenly deposit. Verse 4, we are sealed with the Spirit, thereby proving that we have been chosen in Him as a guarantee. We're sealed with the Spirit, who of course calls us to walk in holiness now. But just look at what is coming as a pledge. Verse 4 again, that we would be holy and blameless. Are you holy and blameless in and of yourself? Please don't raise your hand. What a joyful truth to know that he's going to do that. We're sealed with the Spirit, shown by His predetermined love toward us who believe. Verse 5. So what that means is the pledge has been before the foundations of the world. It was coming. We're sealed with the Spirit. This means that we have free and abundant redemption, as verse 7 says. The Spirit assures us of this and guarantees our placement with Christ as an inheritance. We are sealed with the Spirit, and this is all in accord with what he has spoken three times so far in Ephesians. If it is his will, then yes, that pledge, that deposit, will be made full one day. Point is the Christian has it all. Abundant joy. And eternal beauty. A life that is consecrated, body, mind, and soul, to God. What an eternal blessing. What a deposit. That's the one who's sealed. But there's a flip side to that. Well, we must recognize that this must mean that without this pledge being made known to you by the Holy Spirit, you will not enter heaven. You will not have life eternal. Being in Christ means that you are given a glimpse of heaven. Not literally. I'm speaking of the presence of the Spirit within you causing you to worship Christ. That's the greatest gift the Spirit gives. The ability to worship, which is the grand event in heaven, by the way. Only the sealed saint has this pledge. Only the sealed saint wants to worship Christ alone. So I just want to ask you again today: do you have this foretaste of heaven? Have you known in this life the first sprinklings of the blessing of God on your life? If not, then you have no reason to expect the showers of heavenly blessings to fall in the next day. The reason I say that is kind of a warning is examine yourself this day to see whether or not you are imprinted and stamped with the Holy Spirit of God. He will reveal it to you. Does your life line up with His Word? And where it doesn't, do you repent and change? And please remember, or else we fall into the snare of humanistic value. All of this is to the praise of His glory. Remember the context here at the end of verse 14. As we conclude, one thing that the one who is in Christ can tell you is this if you're not. The greatest blessing, the most exciting moments in life, the most profound and joyful days are those that are lived to the praise of his glory. I don't usually do this, but can the Christian say amen to that? That's the highest aim and goal for the Christian. When the follower of Christ hears about his or her sealing and redemption and the resulting pledge of what comes toward the next life, what else can be the result but just to say, back to verse 13, tell me again, I want to listen again. And then and then after that, tell me again. And then after that, remind me again. That's why we're here on Sunday mornings. I want to hear it song. Let's sing it. I want to hear it proclaimed with loud hallelujahs from the rooftops. I want to always remember the deposit so that I can every single day say, Lord Jesus, come. I can't wait to see what you have in store if you've given me this foretaste that's already marvelous. If it gets even better than knowing Christ in this life? Oh, I cannot wait to be in heaven worshiping with full redemption in the next. Is that you? Do you want God to tune your heart to sing the praises of the Lord Jesus only? Do you want to say day after day, thank you, God, for sealing me unto redemption and giving me the pledge of the Spirit until that day comes? Is that you? Do you have the foretaste? Are you sealed by the Spirit? Have you listened to the gospel and been changed? Father. I pray that you would rattle the walls of this church building. Not so that we can have some crazy cool events, but so that people would be changed right now. Father, bless us now with the presence of your Spirit in such a way that we would just marvel at your grace, that your sealed saints would just be overwhelmed with joy at the gospel. And that we would eagerly seek your abundant goodness each day. And that as we come together on Sunday mornings, that this gospel would be listened to heartily, fervently. And that the gospel would change all of us in such a way that it reverberates throughout this county. And we would see a great awakening. We would see many people come to repentance. Use us in this way. But first transform us first, Father. Change us in this way. Seal us unto redemption and adoption. Be glorified in this, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.