“To the Praise of His Glory”                                                 Calvary 071209
Text: Eph 1:3-14

I may have mentioned this before, but the letter to the Ephesians was a general letter written not only to one church but to the churches in an entire region called Ephesus. Which would be in the south west part of Turnkey today.

And the key verse for the entire letter to the Ephesians is the first sentence in our text for this morning which is
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (vs. 3)

1- vs 4-6 PAST, What God has done
2- vs 7-12 PRESENT, What God is doing
3- vs 13-14 FUTURE, How we can be part of what God is doing.

1- vs 4-6:
“Just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the beloved.”

Now we can get all caught up into this idea of predestination and loose the real point that I think the writer is trying to make. And that is that God has known us and loved us even before we were born.
God knew and loved each one of us even before we were ever aware of him.
God knew us before we were born, God was not surprised or shocked when you were born (even though some like to think so). I can’t imagine God looking down from heaven and seeing a new baby and thinking wow, I didn’t see that one coming, who’s kid is this?J God knew you before you were born.

Not only did God know you but God also loved you before you were ever aware of his love for you. and if you don’t believe it think of this, How many times did you see a parent, grandparent or anyone hold a new born in their arms and say, “Hmm interesting looking kid, I guess I’ll spend some time with him/her and see if I can love them.”

We immediately fall in love with a new born, we feel compassion and care for them even though we can’t really say we know them.
If we can say that and have these strong loving and compassionate feeling for each other, why is it hard to believe that God does too. Our love and compassion as human beings, as the created, as strong as it may be, can never compare or come even close to the love and compassion that God the creator has for us.

That is why at baptisms we hold the child walk around the sanctuary and often say “see what love the father has for us that we would be called children of the most high” and we welcome the child to our church family, promising to love and care for the child as a way of showing how much God cares and loves the child even before he/she can understand it.

Why all this? It says “to the praise of his glorious grace” so that God may be blessed and praise.

2- vs 7-12:
Then the text goes in to what God is doing and continues to do in the present.
It sais, “in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace.”

God forgives us and continues to do so every day. We are not forgiven because we come each week and confess our sins, we are forgiven because we are redeemed through the blood of Christ. It sais through the riches of his grace.
God loves us so much that he was willing to come, suffer and die on our behalf that each and every day of our lives we may be forgiven. Not because of any good in us but because of God’s grace and mercy.

Not only that, but God also lavishes us with wisdom and insight.

Pls 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go, I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

God provides guidance and council, we are not forgiven and left to fend for our own. Rather God promises to walk with us as we go through the ups and downs of our everyday life.

And again why all these blessings, not for us to boast or think more of ourselves than we should but it said again, “that we might live for the praise of his glory.”

3- vs 13-14:
Finally the last part of our text for this morning answers the question, How you and I can be a part of what God is doing?

It says, “in Christ you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as Gods own people, to the praise of his glory.

So now that we have heard the word of truth that is the gospel, the good news of Christ, and have believed in him. We are now blessed with the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, so that we may live each day doing the work of the lord, serving him and being led by him. And doing it all as the text ends again with “to the praise of his glory.” That God may be glorified and praised. That is the purpose and reason for all that we do.

And many are saying well this is all great, but how are we to live that way. How can all that we do be to the praise and glory of the lord. When will we have time to sleep, eat, work, spend time with our families and take care of the million other responsibilities that we have?

The answer is that giving glory and praise to God isn’t something that you take time away from your daily activity to do, but rather is something that you do in the midst and alongside your everyday activity.

We were made to live in God’s continual presence. That’s how everything we do can be to the praise of his glory.
Moses and Abraham were called “friends of God,” David was called “a man after God’s own heart,” and Job, Enoch, and Noah had intimate friendships with God.

That kind of relationship with God is only possible through a constant conversation with God.
Going to church on Sunday and having a daily quiet time is great. But we will never grow into a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or even having a few minutes a day for devotions. Friendship with God is built by sharing all your life experiences with him. And recognizing that everything you do is for his praise and glory.

There are times when you’ll get an opportunity to be intentional about serving the lord like with the youth who went on the mission trip this past week or the adults that are leaving this afternoon. I pray that you will take those opportunities and not run away from them.

But in our everyday lives, God calls us to live in his presence in the midst of everything that we do. Remembering that he knows you and loves you even before you exited or were even aware of him. And every day he continues to be present, forgiving us and guiding us. All God desires for us to do is to serve him, and allow him to be part of our lives, with the promise that he will guide and lead us and fill our lives with his strength, wisdom and love.
So that all we do may truly be for his glory and his praise.        Amen.