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SERIES: EPHESIANS: THE CALL AND CONDUCT OF THE CHURCH, WEEK 22

TITLE: THE MYSTERY REVEALED, PART I

TEXT: EPHESIANS 3:1-4

INTRODUCTION: (1) MOST PEOPLE LOVE A SECRET.

* SOME REAL BIG, JUICY FACT THAT NOBODY’S EVER KNOWN BEFORE ALWAYS TEMPTS US.

** WELL, THE WHOLE N.T. IS FULL OF SACRED SECRETS OR MYSTERIES.

*** IN FACT THE APOSTLE PAUL USES THE WORD MYSTERY 20 TIMES IN HIS WRITINGS, PLUS THERE ARE SEVEN ADDITIONAL OCCURRENCES IN THE GOSPELS AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION.

**** NOW AT THIS POINT THE QUESTION ARISES, WHAT IS A BIBLICAL MYSTERY, WHAT WE MIGHT CALL A SACRED SECRET?

(2) WELL, THE GREEK WORD FOR MYSTERY IS MOOS-TAY-RER-ON WHICH YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN.

* AND LIT. MEANS SOMETHING HIDDEN BUT NOW REVEALED, A HIDDEN PURPOSE OR COUNSEL, THE SECRET COUNSEL OF GOD AND SOMETHING KNOWN ONLY TO THE INITIATED.

** AND THIS LAST DEFINITION WAS USED THIS WAY IN THE ANCIENT MYSTERY RELIGIONS.

*** FOR PEOPLE IN GENERAL DID NOT KNOW WHAT WENT ON IN THESE RELIGIOUS CULTS, BUT THE MYSTERIES WERE REVEALED TO THE INITIATES, TO THOSE WHO WERE A PART OF THE CULT.

**** WELL, WHEN PAUL USED THIS WORD, IT WAS WITH SIMILAR MEANING.

(3) HE USED IT TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING THAT WAS UNKNOWN BEFORE THE COMING OF CHRIST BUT IS NOW REVEALED FULLY TO THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.

* IN FACT, IN EPHESIANS 3 THE APOSTLE USES THE WORD MYSTERY 4 TIMES; SO THE CHAPTER IS CRITICAL IN UNDERSTANDING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MYSTERIES THAT PAUL SPEAKS OF.

** AND THAT MYSTERY IS THAT THE GENTILES (WHO WERE ONCE OUTCASTS, OUTSIDERS, DOGS, KINDLING FOR HELL ACCORDING TO SOME JEWS), SHOULD BE MADE PARTAKERS ALONG WITH THE JEWS OF GOD’S GREAT BLESSINGS IN THE CHURCH.

*** BELOVED, THE CHURCH WOULD BE MADE UP OF JEW AND GENTILE, BOND AND FREE, MALE AND FEMALE, GREEK AND BARBARIAN – ALL ONE IN JESUS CHRIST. THAT WAS A MYSTERY!

**** NOW YES, IN THE O.T. SOME JEWS UNDERSTOOD THAT GENTILES WOULD BE SAVED AND WOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE KINGDOM.

(4) SOME UNDERSTOOD THAT GOD HAD PLANS OF GRACE TOWARD THEM AND ALL NATIONS, EVEN GOING BACK TO THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT IN GENESIS 12:3 (READ IT).

* YET THOUGH SOME UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY WERE TO BE A CHANNEL TO THE NATIONS, THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT JEW AND GENTILE WOULD LITERALLY BE ONE.

** THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE WOULD COME A TIME WHEN THERE WOULDN’T BE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM.

*** THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION WOULD BE ELIMINATED, REMOVING THE DISTINCTIONS AND MAKING THEM EQUAL BEFORE GOD. THEY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THAT!

**** BUT THIS MYSTERY IS CLEARLY REVEALED IN EPHESIANS 3:1-13, THE FIRST PARAGRAPH IN THIS CHAPTER.

(5) IN LIGHT OF THAT, I’VE TITLED THE MESSAGE TODAY, THE MYSTERY REVEALED, PART I.

* AND TODAY WE’LL START TO SEE THIS MYSTERY REVEALED BY STUDYING VERSES 1-4 OF EPHESIANS 3 WHERE WE’LL LOOK AT 3 THINGS.

** NO. 1 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD MANIFEST IN PAUL’S LIFE BY MAKING HIM A PRISONER, V. 1; NO. 2 THE STEWARDSHIP OF PAUL THAT WAS GIVEN TO HIM BY GOD, V. 2; AND NO. 3 THE SECRET OF GOD, AS PAUL USES THE WORD MYSTERY TWICE IN VV. 3&4.

*** SO WE’LL LOOK AT THE SOVEREIGNTY, THE STEWARDSHIP AND THE SECRET UNDER THE THEME OF THE MYSTERY REVEALED, PART I.

**** AND WITH THAT OUTLINE IN MIND, LOOK AT V. 1 WHERE WE’LL SEE OUR FIRST POINT TODAY, THE SOVEREIGNTY. LOOK AT EPHESIANS 3:1 PLEASE.

I. THE SOVEREIGNTY, (READ V. 1)

A. NOW THE FIRST 3 WORDS OF V. 1, “FOR THIS REASON” OR “FOR THIS CAUSE” IF YOU HAVE A KJV REFERS BACK TO THE TRUTHS PAUL HAS JUST DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER 2.

* TRUTHS THAT COMMUNICATE ONENESS IN CHRIST REGARDLESS OF RACE OR BACKGROUND. THAT IN THE CHURCH THERE IS ONE NEW MAN, EPHESIANS 2:15, THAT THERE IS ONE BODY, V. 16, THAT THERE IS NOW ONE ACCESS IN ONE SPIRIT TO THE FATHER, V. 18, THAT EVERY BELIEVER IS A PART OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD IN THE CHURCH, A FAMILY OF FAMILIES, V. 19, FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE SAME KINGDOM, V. 19, A NEW HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD AND THE DWELLING OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT, VV. 21&22.

** AND BEGINNING HERE AND GOING THROUGH V. 13, PAUL WILL REVIEW THESE TRUTHS AND EXPAND ON THEM SO THAT THEY ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR.

*** NOW BEFORE HE DOES THAT, HE IDENTIFIES HIMSELF AS THE PRISONER OF CHRIST JESUS.

**** AND PAUL HAD BEEN A PRISONER FOR SOME 5 YEARS NOW, TWO YEARS IN CAESAREA AND THE REST IN ROME.

1. AND HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED ON FALSE CHARGES MADE BY JEWS FROM THE PROVINCE OF ASIA WHO WERE VISITING IN JERUSALEM.

* AND THEY HAD ACCUSED HIM OF TAKING THE GENTILE TROPHIMUS INTO THE FORBIDDEN AREAS OF THE TEMPLE FOR GENTILES, THOUGH HE HAD NOT DONE SO.

** BUT ALSO, AS THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES, MANY OF THE JEWS DIDN’T LIKE THE FACT OF PAUL PREACHING TO THEM, AS A CONSEQUENCE OF HIS GENTILE MISSION.

*** IN FACT, IN ACTS 21:29 – 22:22 WITH THE ACCUSATION OF BRINGING TROPHIMUS INTO THE TEMPLE PAUL WAS ABLE TO MAKE A DEFENSE OF WHAT HE WAS DOING IN ACTS 22.

**** AND IT SAYS IN VV. 21&22: “AND HE SAID TO ME, ‘GO! FOR I WILL SEND YOU FAR AWAY TO THE GENTILES.’”

V. 22 – “AND THEY LISTENED TO HIM UP TO THIS STATEMENT, AND THEY RAISED THEIR VOICES AND SAID, “AWAY WITH SUCH A FELLOW FROM THE EARTH, FOR HE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO LIVE!”

2. NOW THE JEWS LISTENED TO PAUL UNTIL HE USED THE PHRASE “TO THE GENTILES” AND PAUL LOST THEM AFTER THAT.

* AND MY POINT IS PAUL WAS IN PRISON BECAUSE OF HIS MINISTRY TO THE GENTILES. SOME JEWS COULD NOT HANDLE THAT.

** AND PAUL WILL REMIND HIS GENTILE READERS, IT WAS OUT OF HIS LOVE AND MINISTRY TOWARD THEM HE WAS IN PRISON.

*** AND HE DOESN’T WANT THEM TO BE DISCOURAGED ABOUT THAT, FOR IN EPHESIANS 3:13 HE’LL SAY: “THEREFORE I ASK YOU NOT TO LOSE HEART AT MY TRIBULATIONS ON YOUR BEHALF, FOR THEY ARE YOUR GLORY.”

**** NOW AGAIN PAUL DOESN’T WANT THEM TO BE DISCOURAGED ABOUT HIS IMPRISONMENT FOR ULTIMATELY UNDER THE SOVEREIGN PLAN OF GOD IT IS FOR THEIR GOOD.

3. AND HERE IS A WONDERFUL TRUTH THAT CAN LEAD TO MUCH JOY AND PEACE.

* AND THAT IS, THAT ALTHOUGH ARRESTED ON JEWISH CHARGES, PAUL DID NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF A PRISONER OF THE JEWS.

** AND ALTHOUGH IMPRISONED BY ROMAN AUTHORITY, HE DID NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF A PRISONER OF ROME.

*** AND ALTHOUGH HE APPEALED TO CAESAR, PAUL DID NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF CAESAR’S PRISONER.

**** SO WHOSE PRISONER WAS PAUL? WELL, LOOK BACK AT V. 1, PAUL WAS THE PRISONER OF CHRIST JESUS!

4. AND THAT WAS ALWAYS HIS PERSPECTIVE. FOR IN EPHESIANS 4:1 HE SAID, “THEREFORE, I, THE PRISONER OF THE LORD”.

* IN II TIMOTHY 1:8 PAUL SAID: “THEREFORE DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE TESTIMONY OF OUR LORD OR OF ME HIS PRISONER.”

** IN PHILEMON 1:1 PAUL SAID: “PAUL, A PRISONER OF CHRIST JESUS.”

*** AND THEN IN PHILEMON 1:9 PAUL SAID: “YET FOR LOVE’S SAKE I RATHER APPEAL TO YOU – SINCE I AM SUCH A PERSON AS PAUL THE AGED, AND NOW ALSO A PRISONER OF CHRIST JESUS.”

**** AND BELOVED, HERE IS THE GREAT TRUTH OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, PAUL WAS NOT A PRISONER OF HIS CIRCUMSTANCE, BUT OF THE LORD WHO IS IN CONTROL.

5. WHATEVER PAUL DID AND WHERE HE WENT WERE UNDER CHRIST’S CONTROL.

* FOR WITHOUT HIS LORD’S CONSENT, HE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE PLANS, POWER, PUNISHMENT OR IMPRISONMENT OF ANY MANY OR GOVT.

** AND THE TRUTH IS, THE GREEK FORM OF THIS PHRASE ABOUT PAUL BEING A PRISONER OF CHRIST HAS BEEN CALLED A GENITIVE OR ORIGINATING CAUSE, TO IDENTIFY PAUL AS A PRISONER BELONGING TO JESUS CHRIST, WHO WAS THE CAUSE OF HIS IMPRISONMENT.

*** PAUL WAS A PRISONER OF CHRIST AND HIS PERSPECTIVE IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US. FOR HOW WE VIEW AND REACT TO CIRCUMSTANCES IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEMSELVES.

**** BUT IF ALL WE CAN SEE IS OUR IMMEDIATE SITUATION, THEN OUR CIRCUMSTANCES CONTROL US, POOR ME, WE HAVE A VICTIMS MENTALITY, NOT A VICTORS PERSPECTIVE.

6. BELOVED, HAD PAUL BEEN ABLE TO SEE ONLY HIS CIRCUMSTANCES, HE WOULD QUICKLY HAVE GIVEN UP HIS MINISTRY.

* HAD HE THOUGHT THAT HIS LIFE WAS ULTIMATELY IN THE HAND OF HIS PERSECUTORS, HIS JAILERS, HIS GUARDS OR THE ROMAN GOVT., HE WOULD LONG SINCE HAVE GIVEN UP IN DESPAIR.

** BUT PAUL’S PERSPECTIVE WAS A DIVINE PERSPECTIVE AND HE LIVED WITH TOTAL TRUTH IN GOD’S PURPOSES.

*** AND IT WAS NOT THAT HE HIMSELF KNEW HIS FUTURE OR FULLY UNDERSTOOD THE DIVINE PURPOSES BEHIND HIS AFFLICTIONS, BUT THAT HE KNEW HIS FUTURE, HIS AFFLICTIONS, HIS HEARTACHES AND EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF HIS LIFE WERE TOTALLY IN HIS LORD’S SOVEREIGN HANDS.

**** HE KNEW THAT ROMANS 8:18, 28, 29, AND 31 WERE NOT CLICHÉS OR PIOUS PLATITUDES, BUT PRINCIPLES AND TRUTH THAT GOD INSPIRED HIM TO WRITE, (READ THEM).

7. AND DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTER, IF WE APPLY THOSE TRUTHS OUR LIVES WILL BE TRANSFORMED, WE WILL NO LONGER BE CRIPPLED BY FEAR, LIVE IN DESPAIR OR FRET OR WORRY!

* PAUL WAS THE PRISONER OF CHRIST, NOT HIS CIRCUMSTANCES OR SOMEONE ELSE. HE TRUSTED IN GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY.

** AND SOVEREIGNTY IS OUR FIRST TRUTH TODAY, BUT MOVING ON THE 2’D ONE IS FOUND IN V. 2, THE STEWARDSHIP, LOOK AT V. 2 PLEASE.

II. THE STEWARDSHIP, (READ V. 2)

A. NOW THE PHRASE, “IF INDEED YOU HAVE HEARD” IN THE NAS AND NKJV AND “IF YE HAVE HEARD” IS BETTER TRANSLATED IN THE NIV, “SURELY YOU HAVE HEARD.”

* FOR THIS PHRASE IS A GREEK FIRST-CLASS CONDITIONAL CLAUSE WHICH INDICATES THAT THE CONDITION IS ASSUMED TO BE TRUE.

** SO IT WOULD BE BETTER TRANSLATED SINCE, FOR WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT A POSSIBILITY, BUT A REALITY.

*** AND THAT ABOUT WHICH THEY HAD HEARD WAS THE STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S GRACE WHICH WAS GIVEN TO PAUL ON THEIR BEHALF AS GENTILES.

**** AND THE WORD STEWARDSHIP IS A KEY WORD HERE IN THE NAS. IT IS TRANSLATED DISPENSATION IN THE KJV AND NKJV AND ADMINISTRATION IN THE NIV.

1. AND IT IS THE GREEK WORD OY-KOU-OM-EE-AH WHICH YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN.

* AND THE WORD COMES FROM TWO GREEK WORDS, OIKOS MEANING HOUSE AND NOMOS MEANING LAW, MEANING HOUSE LAW, THE LAW OF THE HOUSE.

** AND COMBINED THIS GREEK WORD SPEAKS IN GENERAL OF THE OVERSIGHT, MANAGEMENT OR ADMINISTRATION ONE HAS OVER SOMETHING.

*** IT HAD TO DO WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF A HOUSEHOLD, BUSINESS OR OTHER CONCERN ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE.

**** THEREFORE A STEWARD IN PAUL’S DAY WAS A PERSON WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE AFFAIRS OF ANOTHER.

2. A STEWARD WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING CARE OF THAT WHICH BELONGED TO SOMEONE ELSE, MUCH LIKE JOSEPH IN THE O.T. WHO WAS ENTRUSTED WITH TAKING CARE OF THE AFFAIRS OF POTIPHER’S HOUSE.

* JOSEPH WAS NOT AN OWNER BUT A MANAGER, A STEWARD, HANDLING THE AFFAIRS OF ANOTHER.

** NOW WITH THAT IN MIND, PAUL WAS A STEWARD OF GOD’S GRACE WHICH WAS GIVEN TO PAUL FOR THE SAKE OF THE GENTILES.

*** PAUL WAS APPOINTED A STEWARD BY GOD’S GRACE AND THEN BECAME A STEWARD OF GOD’S GRACE TO THE GENTILES.

**** AND SPECIFICALLY HERE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE MESSAGE OF GRACE, THE GOSPEL OF GRACE TO THE GENTILES.

3. PAUL WAS GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HAVING OVERSIGHT OR MANAGEMENT OVER THE GRACE OF GOD IN THE SENSE THAT HE WAS TO ADMINISTER IT FAITHFULLY.

* HE WAS GIVEN A TRUST, A TREASURE, A DEPOSIT. HE WAS GIVEN THE REVELATION OF THE GRACE OF GOD AS WE’LL SEE IN V. 3 AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPERLY PREACHING AND TEACHING IT, THE MYSTERY THAT IS REVEALED.

** PAUL WAS A STEWARD OF THE MYSTERIES OF GOD (READ I CORINTHIANS 4:1&2).

*** NOW WHAT IS THE KEY QUALIFICATION FOR A STEWARD? WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER QUALITY OF A STEWARD?

**** THE ANSWER IS THAT HE IS FAITHFUL, DEPENDABLE AND RELIABLE IN CARRYING OUT HIS RESPONSIBILITY.

4. AND PAUL WAS FAITHFUL IN CARRYING OUT HIS STEWARDSHIP, THE MYSTERY THAT HAD BEEN REVEALED, THE SACRED SECRET.

* WHICH LEADS US TO OUR THIRD AND LAST POINT TODAY, THE SECRET, THE MYSTERY THAT IS REVEALED, LOOK AT V. 3 PLEASE.

III. THE SECRET, (READ V. 3)

A. NOW BEGINNING IN V. 3 PAUL BEGINS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STEWARDSHIP OF GRACE THAT HAD BEEN ENTRUSTED TO HIM.

* AND THIS MYSTERY, THIS SACRED SECRET, HAD BEEN GIVEN TO PAUL BY REVELATION.

** FOR THE GOSPEL PAUL PREACHED AND TAUGHT WAS NEITHER A HUMAN INVENTION NOR A HUMAN TRADITION, BUT WAS GIVEN TO HIM DIRECTLY BY GOD THROUGH A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

*** IN FACT IN GALATIANS 1:12 PAUL POINTS THIS OUT WHEN HE SAYS: “FOR I NEITHER RECEIVED IT FROM MAN, NOR WAS I TAUGHT IT, BUT I RECEIVED IT THROUGH A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.”

**** AND THE WORD REVELATION IN GALATIANS 1:12 AND GOING BACK TO EPHESIANS 3:3 MEANS AN UNVEILING OF SOMETHING PREVIOUSLY SECRET.

1. AND PAUL PERSONALLY SAW CHRIST AND WAS GIVEN BY REVEALTION THE MESSAGE OF THE MYSTERY.

* AND PAUL WROTE BEFORE IN BRIEF ABOUT THIS ACCORDING TO THE END OF V. 3, WHICH MAKES REFERENCE TO HIS BRIEF INTRODUCTORY REMARKS IN CHAPTER 2:11-22 ABOUT THE MYSTERY THAT GENTILES ARE FELLOW-HEIRS AND FELLOW-MEMBERS WITH SAVED JEWS IN THE CHURCH.

** AND THIS IS REVEALED IN V. 6 OF THIS CHAPTER WHERE PAUL SAYS: “TO BE SPECIFIC, THAT THE GENTILES ARE FELLOW-HEIRS AND FELLOW-MEMBERS OF THE BODY, AND FELLOW-PARTAKERS OF THE PROMISE IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGH THE GOSPEL.”

*** NOW WITH V. 6 IN MIND, THE MYSTERY REVEALED TO PAUL BY SPECIAL REVELATION THAT HE HAD BRIEFLY WROTE ABOUT EARLIER IN CHAPTER 2 IS THAT GENTILES AND JEWS ARE ONE IN CHRIST IN THE CHURCH.

**** AND THAT IS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL FOR US BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN REVEALED AND BECAUSE WE DO NOT LIVE, AT LEAST IN OUR CULTURE, WITH THE GREAT HOSTILITY THAT THERE WAS BETWEEN THE JEW AND GENTILE.

2. BUT THIS WAS AND IS A WONDERFUL TRUTH, WHICH PAUL MAKES REFERENCE TO BY USING THE WORD MYSTERY AGAIN IN V. 4. LOOK AT V. 4 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 4. NOW WHAT PAUL HAS WRITTEN EARLIER IN CHAPTER 2, THEN, WILL BE THE YARDSTICK BY WHICH HIS READERS CAN DISCERN HIS INSIGHT INTO THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST.

* IN READING THESE THINGS – BY REFERRING TO THIS, BY READING THE TRUTHS HE HAS BRIEFLY REVEALED UP TO THIS POINT, YOU CAN HAVE UNDERSTANDING INTO PAUL’S INSIGHT INTO THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST.

** NOW WHETHER THIS READING HERE IS MAKING REFERENCE TO THE PUBLIC READING OF THE SCRIPTURE IN THE ASSEMBLY, IN THE CHURCH OR INDIVIDUALLY BY THE SAINTS, OR BOTH IS NOT THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO BE ARGUED.

*** THE IMPORTANT THING IS THE READING OF SCRIPTURE REVEALS THE MYSTERIES OF GOD. THE MYSTERIES OF GOD ARE REVEALED IN THE WORD!

**** AND SO READING THE WORD IS VITAL. FOR HOW DO WE KNOW GOD? THROUGH THE REVELATION OF HIS WORD, THE BIBLE.

1. SO READ IT, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND RE-READ IT FOR IT IS OR SHOULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK IN YOUR LIFE.

* AND AS WE GO BACK TO V. 4, WHERE THE EPHESIAN BELIEVERS WOULD READ THIS, AND EVERY SUBSEQUENT BELIEVER WOULD READ PAUL’S EXPLANATIONS, PAUL’S HOPE WAS THAT THEY WOULD COME TO UNDERSTAND HIS GOD GIVEN INSIGHT INTO THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST.

** AND A KEY WORD IN V. 4 IS INSIGHT OR KNOWLEDGE DEPENDING ON WHICH TRANSLATION YOU HAVE.

*** AND THIS GREEK WORD LIT. MEANS TO BRING TOGETHER AND METAPHORICALLY REFERS TO COMPREHENSION AND UNDERSTANDING, MENTALLY BRINGING KNOWLEDGE TOGETHER IN ORDER TO GRASP ITS FULL MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE.

2. SO IT WAS PAUL’S INTENTION NOT SIMPLY TO DECLARE THE MYSTERY BUT TO EXPLAIN AND CLARIFY IT.

* NOW WHY? WELL, SPIRITUAL INSIGHT MUST ALWAYS PRECEDE, COME BEFORE PRACTICAL APPLICATION, BECAUSE WHAT IS NOT PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD CANNOT BE PROPERLY APPLIED!

** AND THIS IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET THIS IN THE MIDST OF A SHALLOW CHRISTIANITY ON THE WHOLE IN OUR CULTURE TODAY.

* FOR PAUL DID NOT GET HIS ZEAL FOR THE GOSPEL AND HIS PASSION FOR SOULS FROM HIGH EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES, THOUGH HE MAY HAVE HAD MANY OF THEM.

** BELOVED, HIS LOVE, PASSION AND ENERGETIC ZEAL TO WIN THE LOST AND TO ESTABLISH THE CHURCH CAME FROM HIS GREAT INSIGHT INTO THE GOSPEL.

*** FOR THE MORE HE COMPREHENDED GOD’S FATHOMLESS LOVE AND GRACE, THE MORE HE WAS COMPELLED TO SHARE AND EXEMPLIFY THAT LOVE AND THAT GRACE.

3. AND WHEN WE COMPREHEND TRUTH, APPLIED TRUTH WILL EFFECT THE WAY WE LIVE.

* AND PEOPLE CANNOT BE EXHORTED TO LIVE A CERTAIN WAY UNLESS THEY ARE FIRST GIVEN THE TRUTH TO UNDERSTAND.

** AND PAUL WAS SO FILLED WITH UNDERSTANDING OF THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST AND THE GOSPEL THAT HE SACRIFICED HIS HEALTH, HIS FREEDOM, AND HIS VERY LIFE IN THE MINISTRY OF IMPARTING THAT UNDERSTANDING TO OTHERS SO THAT THEY, TOO, COULD UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERY.

IN WRAP UP AND APPLICATION TODAY (1) MAY WE TAKE THE TRUTH OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND APPLY IT IN OUR LIVES THAT WE WILL NOT BE PARALYZED BY FEAR, PRISONERS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES AND PERPLEXED BY WORRY.

* BELOVED, WORRY IS A THIEF! IT ROBS US OF JOY, PEACE, CONTENTMENT AND OF ENERGY.

** BUT SEE WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THE TRUTHS OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, YOU, LIKE PAUL, WILL NO LONGER BE A PRISONER OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

*** YOU WILL TRUST YOUR SOVEREIGN GOD IN THE MIDST OF JOB PRESSURES AND FRUSTRATIONS AND FEARS. IN THE MIDST OF GRIEF AND SORROW, IN THE MIDST OF PHYSICAL PROBLEMS AND IN THE MIDST OF WANTING THINGS THAT YOU THINK YOU LACK, READ PS. 62:8, PS. 34:1 AND JOB 13:15.

**** AND BELOVED THAT TRUST COMES FROM KNOWING GOD THROUGH HIS WORD AND WORK IN YOUR LIVES. HE IS FAITHFUL, HE CANNOT BE OTHERWISE, HE IS IMMUTABLE, HE DOES NOT CHANGE, HE IS GOOD AND GRACIOUS.

(2) AND WE TAKE THOSE TRUTHS AND TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES AND TURN OUR CARES INTO PRAYERS AND PRAISE, READ PHIL. 4:6&7, I PETER 5:7, PSALM 50:15 AND PSALM 55:22.

* BELOVED, MAY TRUTH TRANSFORM US.

** BUT LAST OF ALL I WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOU ARE A STEWARD OF THE GRACE OF GOD AND WHAT HE HAS GIVEN YOU.

*** AND EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS FROM HIM. SO WHETHER IT BE MONEY, POSSESSIONS, TIME, TALENTS OR SPIRITUAL GIFTS, YOU ARE TO MANAGE THOSE THINGS FOR HIM.

**** WE ARE NOT OWNERS BUT STEWARDS, WE HAVE BEEN PUT IN CHARGE, ENTRUSTED WITH GOD’S AFFAIRS.

(3) AND THE KEY ISSUE IS FAITHFULNESS. AND WHAT DRIVES US TO BE FAITHFUL STEWARDS IS GOD’S GRACE.

* GRACE MOTIVATES US TO BE FAITHFUL. READ I COR. 4:2, LUKE 16:10&11, PROVERBS 25:19 AND I PETER 4:10.

** BROTHERS AND SISTERS, MAY WE BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD, AND MAY WE BE FOUND FAITHFUL!