WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 If you've got your Bibles open at Ephesians 1, 00:00:02.580 --> 00:00:06.559 that'd be great. Let's pray. Let's ask God to 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:12.740 help us as we look at His Word now. Father, please 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:16.859 speak to us through Your Word. Please minister 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:22.600 to our pain. Please give us peace and lead us 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:27.420 to praise You. We ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen. 00:00:30.890 --> 00:00:34.549 Let me just sort this out, there we go. Well, 00:00:35.049 --> 00:00:38.969 can you think of the hardest year of your life? 00:00:39.950 --> 00:00:41.969 Can you think what would be the hardest year 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:47.670 of your life? For me, it was 2024. We were living 00:00:47.670 --> 00:00:50.770 in Broken Hill at the time, and in that one year, 00:00:51.009 --> 00:00:53.789 we had so much go wrong in that one year, I just 00:00:53.789 --> 00:00:57.439 couldn't believe it. So in that year we had Laura 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.159 had some really bad burnout where she was just 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:04.840 knocked around for weeks on end. It was awful. 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.599 I found out, I got a phone call later, a couple 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.159 of weeks later actually from my dad, that he 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.700 had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. That 00:01:14.700 --> 00:01:17.950 year both my grandparents died. And I remember 00:01:17.950 --> 00:01:19.790 later in the year Laura said to me, I think I've 00:01:19.790 --> 00:01:22.129 got a spider bite on my shoulder. Can you have 00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:26.069 a look at it? Turns out she had shingles. I then, 00:01:26.230 --> 00:01:28.969 because I'd never had chicken pox before, I got 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:32.609 chicken pox from that. Later in the year I went 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:35.870 to a conference. While I was away, Laura and 00:01:35.870 --> 00:01:39.670 the kids all got gastro. And then at the year's 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:42.469 end we had 13 people leave our church. When you're 00:01:42.469 --> 00:01:45.109 in a small country church of about 30 to 40 people, 00:01:45.409 --> 00:01:51.260 that's a big deal. And it was very hard. It felt 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:54.420 like a lot of straws on the camel's back and 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:58.260 that the camel's back was about to break. And 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:01.239 church sometimes can be especially rough because 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:04.040 you can share with other people how you're going 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:07.319 and sometimes people just don't get it. They 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:09.159 put their foot in their mouth and say the wrong 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:11.919 thing. Sometimes you're there and you're seeing 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:15.099 people praising God with full gusto and joy, 00:02:15.259 --> 00:02:17.740 and you're there going, I don't really want to 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:22.120 right now, I'm kind of angry. I don't know, have 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:26.159 you ever gone through seasons like that? How 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:29.300 do you cope? Not only how do you cope, how do 00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:33.439 you thrive? How do you thrive with joy? One man 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:38.129 who did was Horatio Spafford. He was living in 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:45.210 Chicago in the 1870s. In 1871, the Chicago fire 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:49.370 reduced a lot of his investments to ash. It was 00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:54.849 a big, serious thing for him. In 1873, his family 00:02:54.849 --> 00:02:57.210 decided to go on a holiday to Europe, and Horatio 00:02:57.210 --> 00:02:59.509 was going to go with them, but some work stuff 00:02:59.509 --> 00:03:04.539 came up, and so he ended up staying home. he'd 00:03:04.539 --> 00:03:08.159 go along later and catch up with them. Well, 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:11.659 sadly, the ship they were on crashed, his wife 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:16.620 survived, but his four daughters all died. And 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:21.240 so going on the ship to Europe to be with his 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:24.900 wife, to comfort her, he sat on the ship and 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:31.240 he wrote a hymn. It is well with my soul. and 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:34.840 amazing him, all about the peace and joy that 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:39.219 is found in Jesus that leads us to praise him. 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.520 And I sit there and I go, how do you do that? 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:49.819 To find such peace in such immense pain, to find 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:52.979 such peace and joy that it leads you to praise 00:03:52.979 --> 00:03:59.169 God. How do you do that? Well, we see the answer 00:03:59.169 --> 00:04:03.169 in our passage. As we read Ephesians, we've got 00:04:03.169 --> 00:04:06.530 to remember Paul isn't writing this letter at 00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:08.569 the, you know, Crystal Brook Riley or something 00:04:08.569 --> 00:04:11.270 like that, sitting there with cocktails beachside 00:04:11.270 --> 00:04:17.730 by a pool. He's in chains. He's suffering. It's 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:21.930 painful and shameful. It'd be very disheartening 00:04:21.930 --> 00:04:24.290 for him. I mean, he had a mission from Jesus 00:04:24.290 --> 00:04:27.689 to go take the gospel to the Gentiles. And there 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:32.029 he is now in chains. Be easy to feel pretty despondent. 00:04:33.310 --> 00:04:36.810 I mean, if I was in his situation and I was there 00:04:36.810 --> 00:04:38.709 writing to the Ephesians, I'd probably start 00:04:38.709 --> 00:04:42.790 my letter with, hey guys, pray for me and send 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:46.410 the extraction team, you know? I'd be like, please 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:50.310 do something. But that's not how Paul starts 00:04:50.310 --> 00:04:53.250 his letter. Look at how he starts the letter 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:58.430 in verse three. Praise be to the God and Father 00:04:58.430 --> 00:05:02.350 of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us 00:05:02.350 --> 00:05:06.209 in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing 00:05:06.209 --> 00:05:14.009 in Christ. How can he say that? He's been beaten, 00:05:14.550 --> 00:05:20.629 mocked, he's in chains, and he's praising God. 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:25.579 Lord, I bless you. That's what he's saying. He's 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:28.439 honouring God. He's praising God. He's delighting 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:34.279 in God. How do you do that? How do you do that 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:38.579 when you're going through such pain? Well, today 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:42.019 I want to show you it's by seeing this. It's 00:05:42.019 --> 00:05:45.120 by seeing that God's given us every spiritual 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:50.470 blessing so we should always praise Him. That's 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:54.089 what we need to see. God's given us every spiritual 00:05:54.089 --> 00:05:57.129 blessing. He's emptied out his wallet. There's 00:05:57.129 --> 00:05:59.670 nothing left spiritually that God can give us. 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:03.209 It's all been given to us in Christ. And that's 00:06:03.209 --> 00:06:06.709 why we should always praise Him. We've been blessed 00:06:06.709 --> 00:06:10.930 with the best. So these blessings, they give 00:06:10.930 --> 00:06:14.430 us peace and joy. And this peace and joy should 00:06:14.430 --> 00:06:19.870 go so deep that we praise God. even in the most 00:06:19.870 --> 00:06:24.149 dark and painful moments. We see this in the 00:06:24.149 --> 00:06:27.250 structure of our passage. So in our passage, 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:31.129 it starts with, praise be to the God and Father, 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:34.569 and as you go through, you notice that there's 00:06:34.569 --> 00:06:37.850 this little bit about praise as we hit each member 00:06:37.850 --> 00:06:40.790 of the Trinity. So it starts with, praise be 00:06:40.790 --> 00:06:42.970 to the God and Father, and then in verse six, 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:45.329 it's to the praise of His glorious grace, and 00:06:45.329 --> 00:06:48.980 then it shifts to the Son. And then it goes in 00:06:48.980 --> 00:06:51.379 verse 12 to the praise of His glory and then 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.220 it shifts to the Holy Spirit and then it finishes 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:56.459 with the Holy Spirit to the praise of His glory. 00:06:57.740 --> 00:06:59.980 So in the structure we're meant to be praising 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:03.220 the Trinitarian God. The Trinitarian God is working 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:08.180 as a team to bless us. And so that shapes what 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:10.160 this passage is all about. Here's what it's about. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:14.360 Three things. Praise God the Father for choosing 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:19.819 us. Praise God the Son for redeeming us and praise 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:25.300 God the Spirit for sealing us. These are the 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:27.240 three things we need to see, the blessings we 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:32.139 have in Christ that lead us to praise Him. So 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:35.920 let's look at the first one. Praise God the Father 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:39.959 for choosing us. Come with me to verses three 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:47.670 to six. who has blessed us in the heavenly realms 00:07:47.670 --> 00:07:51.670 with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For 00:07:51.670 --> 00:07:54.769 he chose us in him before the creation of the 00:07:54.769 --> 00:07:58.110 world, to be holy and blameless in his sight. 00:07:58.910 --> 00:08:02.509 In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship 00:08:02.509 --> 00:08:05.389 through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his 00:08:05.389 --> 00:08:08.850 pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious 00:08:08.850 --> 00:08:12.149 grace which he has freely given us in the one 00:08:12.149 --> 00:08:16.829 he loves. So it's saying that we've been chosen, 00:08:16.870 --> 00:08:19.810 we've been predestined and that this adoption 00:08:19.810 --> 00:08:24.269 we have is God's will. Christians were chosen 00:08:24.269 --> 00:08:28.949 by God before they ever chose God. Before they 00:08:28.949 --> 00:08:33.750 even contemplated choosing Him. He chose you. 00:08:34.769 --> 00:08:38.110 Your conversion, do you know who to blame for 00:08:38.110 --> 00:08:41.570 it? It's God's fault. It's God's fault that you're 00:08:41.570 --> 00:08:44.379 saved. It's God's fault that you're... converted. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:47.320 We were dead in our sins. We couldn't do anything. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.840 We couldn't even lift a finger to help ourselves. 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:56.879 It's God who chose us, who chose to save us. 00:08:57.539 --> 00:09:00.220 And it's not that God used a big telescope, you 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.940 know, that God looked down this giant telescope 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:05.820 of time and he went, oh, okay, they're the ones 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:08.299 who are going to choose me. I'll choose them. 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:13.519 No, it's that God chose us. before the world 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:18.860 began. He chose us so that it's His grace, it's 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:24.419 His mercy. I mean, what a privilege. We've been 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:28.440 chosen not just to be saved, but to be adopted. 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:32.580 Did you see that? We're adopted into God's family. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:39.279 We're loved by Him. He chose us to be part of 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.809 His family. It can't get any better than that, 00:09:42.990 --> 00:09:48.730 can it? A couple of years ago, we added two new 00:09:48.730 --> 00:09:52.269 members to our family. It was Jake's birthday, 00:09:52.710 --> 00:09:57.090 and we went out and bought two guinea pigs. I 00:09:57.090 --> 00:09:59.129 can't even remember their names. It shows that 00:09:59.129 --> 00:10:03.509 we're good parents. But we adopted them. And 00:10:03.509 --> 00:10:05.870 I remember I went to buy these two guinea pigs. 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:08.129 I think one of them was, what was it, fluffy? 00:10:09.060 --> 00:10:11.779 Snowy and muddy. There we go. Snowy and muddy. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.539 Here's my criteria. As we went out, we looked 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.179 around. This lady had like 60 guinea pigs in 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:22.960 her backyard. It was pretty hectic. But I'm looking 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:25.799 at all these guinea pigs and I'm trying to choose 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:29.679 which one would be fluffiest. That was the thing. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:31.620 That was my criteria. Which one would be the 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:35.179 fluffiest guinea pig, the most cuddly? Because 00:10:35.179 --> 00:10:37.659 then they can have the privilege of being ours, 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:40.980 you know, a nice cage and a playpen and food, 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.500 you know, but they had to be the fluffiest. We 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:45.700 didn't want any sort of shaggy raggy, no, you 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:49.860 had to be fluffy. But that's not how God does 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:52.940 it, is it? He doesn't go to the lady's backyard 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:55.720 and go, well, there's some people there. Oh, 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.600 yeah, they're really nice and awesome. I'm going 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:03.820 to choose them. No, he chooses the undeserving. 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:07.659 and then treats them as if they were his own 00:11:07.659 --> 00:11:12.940 son. His adoption is full of mercy and undeserved 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:15.360 love, and it's all his choice. He doesn't go, 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:18.200 who's the fluffiest? He goes, I will choose whoever 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:23.139 I want to choose. And it will always be by grace. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.860 Isn't that amazing? And here's the thing, when 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:32.899 you see that, when you take that to heart, it's 00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:36.779 so powerful. especially in our deepest pain. 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:43.580 I mean, let's say as a kid, you had your dad 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:47.200 abandon you as a kid. I mean, that's going to 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:52.000 take a psychological toll on you, isn't it? But 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.259 if you're a Christian, you have a father who 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:59.720 chose you, who loves you so deeply, who's adopted 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:03.820 you. That's so incredibly healing, isn't it? 00:12:05.549 --> 00:12:08.370 Or maybe you're there and you're plagued by doubt. 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:13.889 What if I fall away and your nails, you have 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:15.350 no nails because you've just bitten them off 00:12:15.350 --> 00:12:18.490 so much, you know, you're so stressed about doubt 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:23.009 and you know what? You've got a father who's 00:12:23.009 --> 00:12:25.309 holding onto you tighter than you're ever holding 00:12:25.309 --> 00:12:29.809 onto him. He's chosen you. He won't lose any 00:12:29.809 --> 00:12:34.330 one of his children. And it also keeps us humble. 00:12:35.179 --> 00:12:37.820 You know, some Christians have this arrogant 00:12:37.820 --> 00:12:41.419 swagger about them. Oh, yes, well, I chose Jesus. 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:43.799 You know, I'm better than that person down the 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:48.200 road because I chose Jesus. No, you only chose 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:51.820 Jesus because God chose you. You've got nothing 00:12:51.820 --> 00:12:56.059 to boast in. It keeps you humble and grounded. 00:12:57.899 --> 00:13:00.539 Now I know things like predestination and God 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:03.100 choosing us and Him being sovereign over everything. 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.539 There are tricky questions that flow out of this. 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:10.159 But I want to say to you, don't avoid the trickiness. 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:14.519 Thinking these things through is awesome. It 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.820 gives you great joy and security. Have a look 00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:20.019 at what Article 17 of the Anglican Prayer Book 00:13:20.019 --> 00:13:25.220 says. It says this, the godly consideration of 00:13:25.220 --> 00:13:29.429 predestination and our election in Christ is 00:13:29.429 --> 00:13:33.509 full of sweet, pleasant and unspeakable comfort. 00:13:35.230 --> 00:13:39.970 It's awesome to think these things through. So 00:13:39.970 --> 00:13:41.950 I want to ask you today, have you experienced 00:13:41.950 --> 00:13:46.730 this comfort? You won't if you never ponder these 00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:51.990 things and absorb them deeply within. Maybe as 00:13:51.990 --> 00:13:54.250 you're in the car sometime this week, why don't... 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:56.960 chew over these things, chew over these verses, 00:13:57.159 --> 00:14:01.419 maybe listen to a podcast on them and consider 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:07.919 how good it is to be chosen by God. But it's 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.720 not just the Father choosing us that gives us 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.360 peace and joy that leads to praise. The work 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.279 of the Son does that too and that's the next 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.899 thing we need to see this morning. Praise God 00:14:18.899 --> 00:14:20.580 the Father for choosing us but here's the second 00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:26.389 thing, praise God the Son for redeeming us. Have 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:32.210 a look with me at verses 7 to 12. In him we have 00:14:32.210 --> 00:14:35.509 redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 00:14:35.509 --> 00:14:39.090 of sins in accordance with the riches of God's 00:14:39.090 --> 00:14:42.549 grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom 00:14:42.549 --> 00:14:45.690 and understanding he made known to us the mystery 00:14:45.690 --> 00:14:48.889 of his will according to his good pleasure which 00:14:48.889 --> 00:14:52.100 he purposed in Christ. to be put into effect 00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:55.120 when the times reach their fulfillment, to bring 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:58.639 to unity all things in heaven and on earth under 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:02.919 Christ. In Him we were also chosen, having been 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.320 predestined according to the plan of Him who 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:07.620 works out everything in conformity with the purpose 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:10.220 of His will, in order that we who were the first 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:13.320 to put our hope in Christ might be for the praise 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:18.700 of His glory. Now, how rich a blessing is this 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:23.409 that we have in Jesus? We have redemption and 00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:28.970 forgiveness. Think Israel, when they're there 00:15:28.970 --> 00:15:32.889 in slavery in Egypt, slavery under Pharaoh, and 00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:36.870 what happens? God sends the plagues and the Passover 00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:39.909 lamb, the Passover lamb who dies, so that God's 00:15:39.909 --> 00:15:43.289 judgment would pass over Israel, and they end 00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:46.830 up being freed. And that's like what Jesus does 00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:50.629 with us. He's freed us from sin. He's our Passover 00:15:50.629 --> 00:15:53.549 lamb who's died so that God's judgment would 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:56.769 pass over us. He paid the ultimate price like 00:15:56.769 --> 00:16:00.929 a ransom to rescue us and He's forgiven us fully 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:05.649 of all our sins. And not only that, we know God's 00:16:05.649 --> 00:16:08.330 plan. If you're a Christian, you know where the 00:16:08.330 --> 00:16:11.830 universe is going. You know that all things are 00:16:11.830 --> 00:16:16.419 going to be united in Christ. We live in a fragney 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:20.120 verse at the moment, not a universe. It's fragmented 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:24.179 by sin and brokenness. But we know that it's 00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:30.059 all going to be united one day in Jesus. And 00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:33.740 we've been chosen, we've been made heirs, we've 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:38.409 got an allotment for an inheritance. Our inheritance 00:16:38.409 --> 00:16:40.909 is going to be that universe. That's our hope, 00:16:41.090 --> 00:16:44.169 is that we get to share in the new creation with 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:51.889 Jesus. Jesus, God the Son, won all this by His 00:16:51.889 --> 00:16:56.210 death on the cross. He suffered horribly. He 00:16:56.210 --> 00:16:59.269 suffered hell on the cross so that all this could 00:16:59.269 --> 00:17:04.630 be yours. I might have mentioned before about 00:17:04.630 --> 00:17:10.400 John Paul Getty. He was an oil tycoon and many 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:13.680 years ago his grandson got kidnapped and the 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:19.440 kidnappers demanded a $17 million ransom. He 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:24.039 refused to pay. John Paul Getty was a very stingy 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:29.559 man and so they sent the severed ear of his grandson 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:33.380 to him. You'd think at that point you'd go, all 00:17:33.380 --> 00:17:36.480 right, all right, I'll pay. No, he proceeded 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:40.299 to negotiate with them until he negotiated them 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:45.920 down to 2 .2 million dollars. That's just messed 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:52.259 up, isn't it? But contrast that with Jesus, who 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:57.339 gives his life as a ransom for us. He endured 00:17:57.339 --> 00:18:01.059 the worst pain imaginable. He was willing to 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:08.200 pay any cost. to bear God's wrath for us. You're 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:12.559 free from sin. One day you'll enter the promised 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:17.500 land and it's all because Jesus paid that for 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:23.759 you. Isn't that awesome? Now if you see that 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.819 Jesus has done that for you, if you take that 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:30.759 to heart, You're going to feel incredibly loved, 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:32.799 aren't you, no matter what circumstances you're 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:36.819 going through. Horatio Spafford, I reckon the 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:39.579 best verse in the whole hymn of It Is Well With 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:45.480 My Soul is this one. He says, my sin, oh the 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:48.980 bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:53.079 part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:56.480 I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:01.289 Lord, oh my soul. Despite everything he went 00:19:01.289 --> 00:19:04.789 through, in the horrors of the fires, losing 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:08.829 so much of his wealth, in the horrors of losing 00:19:08.829 --> 00:19:13.470 his four daughters, he could still write that 00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:18.210 and sing that. Because he could still see how 00:19:18.210 --> 00:19:20.710 loved he was in Jesus and how blessed he was 00:19:20.710 --> 00:19:26.529 in him. And it's the same for us. All our sin 00:19:26.529 --> 00:19:30.819 has been paid for. We have this glorious hope 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:35.940 in Jesus of eternal life. We know we're saved. 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:41.019 I want you to think of those dark times where 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:45.599 you've been crushed by guilt or overwhelmed by 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.779 the hopelessness and despair of horrible circumstances. 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:53.559 The sort of times that keep you up at 3 a .m. 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:56.740 at night and your hearts in absolute anguish. 00:19:58.509 --> 00:20:01.150 And it just feels like you've run out of tears. 00:20:03.809 --> 00:20:07.329 Well, it's these realities, these realities here 00:20:07.329 --> 00:20:11.130 that will comfort you and calm you in those times. 00:20:12.710 --> 00:20:15.450 It's when you draw to your mind, oh yes, I'm 00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:18.569 redeemed and I'm forgiven. I can't out sin the 00:20:18.569 --> 00:20:24.289 Saviour. When you let that sink in, it changes 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:28.440 your outlook. Or when something's going horribly 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:30.220 wrong with your health, with your work, with 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:32.059 your marriage, with your kids, whatever it is, 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:34.859 you can go, oh, that's right, I know where it's 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:39.559 all going. I know that one day I'm going to be 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:42.480 part of that united universe of glory in Jesus. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:45.440 I know where it's headed. This is not the last 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.619 word on things. I'm going to keep remembering 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:56.099 that. See, when we're in guilt, when our circumstances 00:20:56.099 --> 00:20:58.440 are, painful, whatever it might be, we've got 00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:00.960 to take our eyes off those things and lift them 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:05.680 on to Jesus. To see again the blessings we have 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:10.700 in Christ, not just the dark times, but to see 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:13.740 what we have in Him. And to see it not just in 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:16.299 the dark times, but all the time that we have 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:19.279 that in Him. That's the key to peace and joy 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:25.950 in the Christian life. But there's one more way 00:21:25.950 --> 00:21:28.769 in which we are incredibly blessed that we need 00:21:28.769 --> 00:21:32.869 to see. Here's the third way. Praise God the 00:21:32.869 --> 00:21:35.150 Son for redeeming us, and here's the third thing, 00:21:35.250 --> 00:21:40.329 praise God the Spirit for sealing us. Have a 00:21:40.329 --> 00:21:45.190 look with me at verses 13 to 14. And you also 00:21:45.190 --> 00:21:47.630 were included in Christ when you heard the message 00:21:47.630 --> 00:21:51.670 of truth, the gospel of your salvation. when 00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:54.349 you believed you were marked in Him with a seal, 00:21:54.789 --> 00:21:59.109 the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing 00:21:59.109 --> 00:22:01.990 our inheritance until the redemption of those 00:22:01.990 --> 00:22:05.329 who are God's possession to the praise of His 00:22:05.329 --> 00:22:10.069 glory." So you've been marked with a seal, you've 00:22:10.069 --> 00:22:13.170 got a deposit. It's trying to fill us with confidence 00:22:13.170 --> 00:22:17.470 here that these blessings are ours, that we belong 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:21.259 to God. And more than that, there are four tastes 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:25.160 of the spiritual blessings that are ours in eternity. 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:31.900 In Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit, and He transforms 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:35.400 us so that we more and more reflect heaven's 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:41.819 glory. God's Spirit is the entrée of glory. He's 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:45.220 the deposit that confirms that glory is ours. 00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:50.039 Over the years, Laura and I have bought and sold 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:54.839 a few different houses in Perth and then in Broken 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:58.160 Hill, and now we're living here. And you start 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.220 to get a feel for the whole process of buying 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:04.119 a house. When you buy a house, you get to that 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:07.960 watershed moment. I find it stresses me out to 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:11.259 no end. It's that point where you place the deposit. 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:13.920 Because when you place the deposit, it's kind 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:15.920 of like there's no going back after that, isn't 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:18.779 there? You only do it if you're really keen. 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:23.559 Here, take my $50 ,000, take my $100 ,000, because 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:27.680 we really want this place. And if you back out, 00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:31.019 oh boy, that's like, no, too much is invested, 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:33.420 I'm going to buy it even if it falls apart, you 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:40.500 know. Well, God's Spirit is like that. You know, 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.579 God giving you His Spirit shows that God is invested 00:23:43.579 --> 00:23:47.740 in you. that He's committed to getting you to 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:52.619 glory. He's giving you a taste, a down payment 00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:55.839 of glory in His Spirit so that you can know, 00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:01.640 yes, glory will be mine one day. And the amazing 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:04.180 thing God's Spirit does as we believe the Gospel 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:08.279 is He uses the things that we're going through 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:11.990 in our life, our suffering, to refine us. to 00:24:11.990 --> 00:24:15.269 make us more like Jesus, to make us more joyful. 00:24:17.630 --> 00:24:20.150 That's part of what the down payment is about. 00:24:21.549 --> 00:24:25.250 We can be heavenly people even in hellish suffering. 00:24:27.829 --> 00:24:31.210 I think back to a dear friend of mine in Geraldton 00:24:31.210 --> 00:24:34.849 who had one of the hardest lives I'd ever seen. 00:24:36.990 --> 00:24:41.509 Her daughter had been hit by a car. at a very 00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:44.430 young age and she spent much of her life caring 00:24:44.430 --> 00:24:50.170 for her daughter. And people, she copped it from 00:24:50.170 --> 00:24:52.829 people and people blamed her for that and all 00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:55.130 sorts of things. It was just horrible. It wasn't 00:24:55.130 --> 00:24:59.690 her fault at all. But this lovely woman was so 00:24:59.690 --> 00:25:06.130 caring and kind. Immensely generous. And you'd 00:25:06.130 --> 00:25:08.809 think suffering like that would make you bitter 00:25:08.809 --> 00:25:14.549 and resentful. But with her it didn't. It made 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:19.309 her loving and heavenly. Because God's Spirit 00:25:19.309 --> 00:25:23.170 kept her through that suffering and even used 00:25:23.170 --> 00:25:28.509 it to make her more like Jesus. And God's Spirit 00:25:28.509 --> 00:25:33.130 does that with all God's people. Sometimes our 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:35.369 suffering, especially chronic suffering, just 00:25:35.369 --> 00:25:39.849 tears us down and makes us want to give up. But 00:25:39.849 --> 00:25:42.289 that's why we need to keep our eyes fixed on 00:25:42.289 --> 00:25:45.690 the blessings we have in Christ. That's why we 00:25:45.690 --> 00:25:48.250 need to occasionally look in the rear view mirror 00:25:48.250 --> 00:25:51.170 and go, wow, I've been through this suffering 00:25:51.170 --> 00:25:54.009 for ages and God's Spirit has kept me through 00:25:54.009 --> 00:25:57.009 this and has moulded me into something different 00:25:57.009 --> 00:26:01.289 through this. Isn't that amazing? And that gives 00:26:01.289 --> 00:26:05.769 you the confidence to keep going, that God will 00:26:05.769 --> 00:26:11.019 lead you to glory. We need to try and see our 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:15.619 pain not just as an obstacle, but as an opportunity. 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.240 An opportunity to grow in Christ -likeness and 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.779 joy, and to grow in our confidence that glory 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:29.240 is truly ours. Do you stop and see things like 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:34.119 that when you're in pain? I find it hard. It's 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:38.309 so easy to focus on the pain, isn't it? But I 00:26:38.309 --> 00:26:43.769 forget to focus on the blessings in Christ. Well, 00:26:43.769 --> 00:26:47.670 let's wrap up. We started by asking, how can 00:26:47.670 --> 00:26:53.369 we have peace and joy in immense pain? Such peace 00:26:53.369 --> 00:26:57.150 and joy that it leads us to praise God in the 00:26:57.150 --> 00:27:01.329 pain. And the answer we saw was the blessings 00:27:01.329 --> 00:27:05.170 given to us by the Trinitarian God. We praise 00:27:05.170 --> 00:27:08.309 God the Father for choosing us. We praise God 00:27:08.309 --> 00:27:11.890 the Son for redeeming us, and we praise God the 00:27:11.890 --> 00:27:16.390 Spirit for sealing us. And here's the overarching 00:27:16.390 --> 00:27:20.390 thing, the big key to all of this. God's given 00:27:20.390 --> 00:27:25.089 us every spiritual blessing, so we should always 00:27:25.089 --> 00:27:29.589 praise Him. God's given us every spiritual blessing, 00:27:29.630 --> 00:27:34.599 so we should always praise Him. Now, how does 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:37.359 this apply to our lives, our daily lives, you 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:39.160 know, what you're going to do today and tomorrow 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:43.019 morning? Well, for some of us here, we don't 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:47.460 actually have these blessings. Some of us aren't 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:51.059 yet Christians. And if that's you, I want to 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:54.539 ask you, do you want to keep living without these 00:27:54.539 --> 00:27:58.539 amazing blessings? And I hope the answer is no. 00:27:59.730 --> 00:28:02.769 And if the answer is no, if you want these blessings, 00:28:03.109 --> 00:28:06.849 here's what you do. If you're ready to turn to 00:28:06.849 --> 00:28:09.150 Jesus, come have a chat with me after church. 00:28:09.410 --> 00:28:11.890 I'll pray with you. I'll be up at the info point. 00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:13.789 Come and pray with me and I'll walk you through 00:28:13.789 --> 00:28:18.609 it. And if you're not ready, go on a quest to 00:28:18.609 --> 00:28:22.150 work it out. Work out what you need answered 00:28:22.150 --> 00:28:26.529 to make a decision. It's the best decision you'll 00:28:26.529 --> 00:28:28.730 ever make. And again, you can come chat with 00:28:28.730 --> 00:28:31.690 me at the info point. I'm very happy to talk 00:28:31.690 --> 00:28:36.990 you through that. But for those of us who are 00:28:36.990 --> 00:28:40.829 here who already trust in Jesus, who received 00:28:40.829 --> 00:28:45.369 these blessings long ago, our danger is that 00:28:45.369 --> 00:28:50.630 we forget them. I mean, it's easy normally, but 00:28:50.630 --> 00:28:53.910 especially in suffering, it's just so easy to 00:28:53.910 --> 00:28:57.900 suffer from spiritual amnesia, isn't it? to stop 00:28:57.900 --> 00:29:00.759 remembering Christ and all the blessings He's 00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:04.200 given us, all the benefits He's given us, and 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:08.380 we rob ourselves of deep joy, peace, and security 00:29:08.380 --> 00:29:13.180 if we forget these blessings. Now if you had 00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:14.960 to remember something, if you had to remember 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:18.740 anything, how do you go about it? You know, Laura 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:21.420 often says to me, Can you go to the shops and 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:24.079 get, you know, milk, bread and cheese? And I'll 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:26.000 go to the shops and I'll go, what was I getting? 00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:30.140 Tacos? Meat? Like, I have a terrible memory. 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:33.279 So what do I have to do? I put reminders in my 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:36.319 phone. Sometimes to remember things I put a post 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:40.400 -it note on the mirror or on my desk. I rehearse 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:43.380 things in the car. I do those things so that 00:29:43.380 --> 00:29:48.240 I remember things that are important. Well, these 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:50.920 blessings are so important. We need to find ways 00:29:50.920 --> 00:29:54.440 to rehearse them, to remind ourselves of them. 00:29:55.700 --> 00:30:00.240 What way could you do that? See, we need to do 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:03.079 it because they change how we see everything, 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:06.180 how we see ourselves, how we see God, how we 00:30:06.180 --> 00:30:09.619 see our circumstances. And when we take them 00:30:09.619 --> 00:30:13.019 to heart, not only does it give us joy, peace 00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:15.940 and security, it makes us want to praise God. 00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:21.920 We need them to reshape our perspective. Will 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:27.440 you find ways to remember these blessings? Yet 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:29.019 with all that said, I want to give two words 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:34.960 of caution. We need to make sure we feel our 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:39.299 pain before we reframe things and see these blessings. 00:30:41.289 --> 00:30:44.130 If we don't feel our pain first, if we don't 00:30:44.130 --> 00:30:47.130 allow ourselves that process to feel the pain 00:30:47.130 --> 00:30:50.329 of our circumstances and our suffering, do you 00:30:50.329 --> 00:30:53.069 know what our feelings are like? They're like 00:30:53.069 --> 00:30:55.410 a tourist in another country who doesn't get 00:30:55.410 --> 00:30:59.650 heard. You know what they do? Do you take card? 00:31:00.190 --> 00:31:02.650 And they don't speak English, and so they go, 00:31:02.730 --> 00:31:05.650 I know, I'll just try louder. Do you take card? 00:31:06.349 --> 00:31:09.750 And that's what tourists in other countries do 00:31:09.750 --> 00:31:12.359 when they're misheard, don't they? Our feelings 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:17.059 are like that. If we don't let them be heard, 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:20.059 they will just speak louder and louder and louder. 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:23.339 So we need to allow ourselves to feel our pain, 00:31:23.579 --> 00:31:28.940 but then we reframe. We go to these wonderful 00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:31.700 truths and let them reshape our perspective. 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:35.940 So make sure you do that process. Allow yourself 00:31:35.940 --> 00:31:41.200 to feel the pain and then reframe. My second 00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:44.900 word of caution is we mustn't use this passage 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:49.420 like a baseball bat. Be very easy to go around 00:31:49.420 --> 00:31:51.660 with this passage and go, oh there's someone 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:54.859 suffering, I'm going to use it to remind them 00:31:54.859 --> 00:31:58.599 of their blessings, you know. No, we're to weep 00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:00.500 with those who weep, we mourn with those who 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:04.759 mourn. We need to use these truths but use them 00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:09.039 sensitively. Otherwise we might push people away 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:11.730 from the comfort. that these wonderful blessings 00:32:11.730 --> 00:32:15.569 give. So let's sit with people, let's sit with 00:32:15.569 --> 00:32:18.710 them in their pain and when the time is right, 00:32:19.210 --> 00:32:21.589 gently remind them of the blessings they have 00:32:21.589 --> 00:32:27.329 in Christ. And we need to because these blessings 00:32:27.329 --> 00:32:31.509 are so good. They were for me, especially in 00:32:31.509 --> 00:32:36.190 that awful year back in 2024. They were a lifeline 00:32:36.190 --> 00:32:40.220 when I was drowning in pain. And better than 00:32:40.220 --> 00:32:43.519 that, they've provided unimaginable joy, peace 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:47.380 and security throughout my whole Christian life. 00:32:49.140 --> 00:32:51.660 Actually, joy, peace and security that's so good, 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:56.180 it leads me to want to praise God. But again, 00:32:56.299 --> 00:33:00.539 I so easily forget. I suffer from spiritual amnesia. 00:33:01.500 --> 00:33:03.920 And so I need to keep these blessings at the 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:07.640 forefront of my mind. And I think we all do, 00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:13.609 don't we? So let's pray that we would. Heavenly 00:33:13.609 --> 00:33:16.250 Father, we thank you so much for the amazing 00:33:16.250 --> 00:33:20.069 blessings you've given us in Christ. Sometimes 00:33:20.069 --> 00:33:22.630 we don't have material blessings, sometimes our 00:33:22.630 --> 00:33:25.349 life and our circumstances are incredibly hard. 00:33:26.430 --> 00:33:29.230 But we thank you that if we trust in Jesus, we 00:33:29.230 --> 00:33:33.250 always have these spiritual blessings. And we 00:33:33.250 --> 00:33:35.690 pray, Father, that you would help us to fix our 00:33:35.690 --> 00:33:39.579 eyes on them. to find great peace, joy, and security 00:33:39.579 --> 00:33:44.400 in them, and that we would see how good they 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:48.119 are, how rich they are, so much so that it would 00:33:48.119 --> 00:33:52.279 lead us to praise, worship, and honour you. And 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:55.099 we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.