If you'd like to follow along, we're gonna be in Ephesians chapter one, one more time. And I'm just gonna read verses three and verse 10. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Verse 10. that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he may gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. All right, I'm just gonna stop right there.

Now in this first chapter of Ephesians, we've been told of the blessings that we believers, It's written to, what, the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. That's us. We fit right in there. We're not at Ephesus, but we are saints in Christ Jesus. We are believers, faithful, okay?

But we have these blessings in Christ Jesus, and here's the thing, folks, these blessings were purposed and planned by God the Father before the foundation of the world. And these blessings were given to us by and through the blood of the Lamb of God. The Lamb as it had been slain. It's what it says in Revelations. This is Revelations 5,

12. Saying with a loud voice, worthy. I like that word. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. And he's worthy what? To receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Because all of our blessings, whatever they are, are in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are given to us by his Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, I like that. Now here's the fifth one. This is the title, Paul, Blessings in Ephesians 1. Gathered, gathered. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. Oh, yeah. There may be a lot of gatherings around, but this is the only one that matters, right here, folks. This is the only one that matters. But I like this, how he starts this verse. He says, the dispensation of the fullness of time. You understand? We were just talking about it. When's the world gonna end? I don't know. I do know this. It's gonna be at the fullness of time. And it's gonna be at the fullness of his time, not ours. Oh, I like that.

And actually, this word dispensation is translated from the Greek word, and here's the word, the administration. You know what that means? He administers the fullness of time. What's that mean? The fullness of time is in his hand. He's got the power. He's got the power. The administration of the fullness of time, because here's the thing, God is in full control of all of his purposes, all of his blessings, everything, everything.

Oh, I like that. It made me think back to Ecclesiastes three, verse one. To everything there is a season. and a time to every purpose under the heaven. What's it say? A time to be born and a time to die. Time to plant, time to reap. A time to kill and a time to heal. And more. We've sung that song here. My times are in thy hands. And our times are in God's hands. in our being is in the fullness of His time. Oh, I like that, I do. All of our times are in God's hands, not just me, not just you. But here's the thing. I want my times to be in His hand. The world doesn't want it. The world doesn't wanna have it. Doesn't matter.

His purposes. happen in the fullness of his time, whatever that purpose is. Oh, I like it, I do. Because here's the thing, folks. If you trust God, he knows what he's doing. We don't. It's the fullness of his time. We pray, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Even so, come, come. That's what we want, we want him to come again. And here, we want him to come again in the fullness of time to gather us together.

Oh, there's a purpose, there's a purpose. Oh, I like that. Because I'm gonna tell you something, there's a time to every purpose under the heaven, and here's the thing, Ecclesiastes 3.14 says this, I know that whatsoever God doeth, It shall be forever. Oh, I like that, I do. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it that men should fear before him. Oh, I like God's purposes.

They're perfect, and they're forever. They're forever, oh, I like that. Let me be very clear here. I've covered this before. God has chosen his people from before the foundation of the world. That's forever. That's forever. God predestinated us to the adoption of sons. Guess what? That's forever. That's forever also. God has accepted us in the beloved. Christ Jesus and folks that's forever too. That's forever.

Oh, I like that. Oh And God's people have redemption through his blood the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ What That's forever That's forever. Oh, I like that Nothing can be taken from it. Nothing can be added to it. And you know why I Because it's perfect. It's perfect. It's God's work we're talking about.

I had a job at one time. I'm happily retired now. But I think I was pretty good in my job. When people left me alone, I could get it done. But my work was never perfect. His work is always perfect. His choosing is perfect. His, what, predestination to the adoption of sons is perfect. Oh. And His redemption is the most perfect thing we've never seen. But we believe. We believe. Oh, I like it. And nothing can be put to it. Nothing can be taken from it. It's God's work. And His work is forever.

Says what? In the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might. No, in this context, he will. Gather together in one all things in Christ. In heaven and in earth. Oh, I like that. I like that thought. I like that idea. Let me tell you something. Jesus Christ spoke about this himself. Let me see. Luke 13 and verse 27. That's what I got written here.

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not. Whence ye are, depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. Now, you understand? That's just as true as ye must be born again. But here, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God. You understand, there's a difference made between those chosen from before the foundation of the world and those not. Here it is. and ye yourselves thrust out.

But here's the part I want to get to. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall what? Sit down in the kingdom of God. Sit down, sit down. You know why we're gonna sit down? Because we're done, part of it, but no, it's time to eat. There's gonna be a feast. There's gonna be a feast. Our Lord's table up there, oh, we're gonna see it one day.

But it says they're gonna come from the north and the south and the east and the west. Where's that, from everywhere? What's it mean? He's gonna gather them together. All things, all people in Christ Jesus, he's gonna gather them together. Oh, from the east and the west, from the north and the south, I'm gonna tell you something, folks, the believers will come. They'll come, why? Because they're gonna be gathered together. Gathered together.

I'm gonna tell you something, and when God is pleased to do it, in the dispensation or the administration of the fullness of time, this is going to happen. This is going to happen, both in heaven and in earth. That's everywhere. That's everywhere, I like that, I do.

Because you understand, I want to be gathered. I want to be in that number. Because here it is, wherever you are, if you are his, you will be gathered together. You will be gathered together. And I'll tell you something, folks, that's good news. It's good news for me. And it's good news for you. And it's good news for you if you believe. if you believe the Lord Jesus Christ. Because right now, those in heaven are gathered with him.

But here on earth, we gather together in little assemblies like this, when we can, winter being what it is, in his name. And he says where two or three are gathered in my name, in my name, there am I, but in the midst of them. Oh, I like that, I like that. But there's coming a day, folks, when we're all going to be gathered together. Oh, I like that. There's a gathering coming in his day, in the fullness of time. And here's the thing, I love this statement. Walter and I talked about this decades ago. So shall we ever be with the Lord. I like that.

Dead in Christ are gonna rise first, and then we which are alive and remain are gonna be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. Oh, then we're all going up. And wouldn't you say, so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now, I'm gonna tell you something, folks. I wanna get to that spot. That's where I wanna be. That's when I wanna be.

And by His grace, we're gonna be His people, gathered together in one, even in Him. Oh, and I'm gonna tell you something right now, that's the gospel. It's all in Christ, it's all His work, and God Himself has performed this. And this part here about this gathering, God himself shall perform it. He's promised it. He's promised it. Christ said it himself.

They're gonna come from the north and the south and the east and the west. And you're gonna be sitting down in the kingdom of God. You're gonna sit there, and this is an amazing thought to me. You're gonna sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It's amazing. Wait a minute, aren't these guys Jewish? Yeah, they are. So is Jesus Christ. Oh my. It's gonna be a good day. And here's the thing.

We're predestinated to the adoption of what? Sons. He carries on, in whom we have obtained and inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. That's Ephesians 1 and 11. That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, but the gospel of your salvation. Oh, that's good stuff. In whom after that ye believed, You were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.

Oh, he sealed us. And he's gonna gather us one day, all together in Christ Jesus. And I'm gonna tell you something, there's no gathering of the body without the head. And with the head, there's gonna be a body. Oh my, it's his body. And finally gathered together in this.

Now, understand this. The lordship, the authority, the power has always been a problem for unbelievers. And I mean that. The lordship of Christ, the authority of Christ, and the power of Christ, people don't like it. They don't. You know why? Because they are unbelieving and they are rebellious. just like we used to be. We all know what that feels like.

I didn't want people talking to me about Jesus. I really didn't. And this is back when I was like 18 years old and in the army and in Germany. They tried to tell me about it. I said, listen, just. And the nice thing was I had a ready-made excuse. I'd say I'm Catholic. And they'd turn away. Well, I don't know, maybe they didn't know Jesus can save Catholics. He makes them not Catholic, but he can save them. You know why? Because we're all sinners. We're all ungodly sinners. Oh my. But at that time, I didn't want none of that.

And there are people who go to church every week, but they despise the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ. especially in salvation. Because I'm gonna tell you something, this first chapter, these first 10 verses here that I've been talking about, it's about the salvation of his people. It's about choosing, predestinated to the adoption of sons, talking about redemption, what? By his blood. We got a scapegoat, Paul. Not only that, he's not only our scapegoat, he's our substitute. He took our sins in his body on the tree. And now, by his grace, by his power, by his redemption, our sins are gone.

Like it says in the Old Testament, as far as the east is from the west. and there's no meeting there. You just keep going east and you keep going west and you're going away from each other. He's casting behind his back and never remembering him. Why?

Because of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the redemption. Oh, he made him to be sin. And he bore our sins in his body on the tree. And I'm going to tell you something, folks. They're gone. Justice is satisfied. The justice of God is satisfied. Oh, I'm going to tell you. But people hate that. They hate it. They want something to do. Walter talked a little bit about this last time. He wants something to do. God says it's done. It's in my son. This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. What's he say then? Hear him. Hear him.

What? The redemption through his blood. What? The forgiveness of sins according to what? Not your works. the riches of his grace. Oh, I like that too. I'm gonna tell you something. But our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was on this earth, he was mocked and crucified by men as king. They put that above his cross. Here's the king of the Jews, the king of the Jews. And he was, and he is. He's the king of all men. He's the king of kings and the Lord of lords. He was when he came, he was while he was here, and he is now. Oh my.

But men mocked him, men beat him, men scourged him, and then when they had him before Pilate, the Jews said, we want Barabbas. We don't want Christ, crucify him. Oh my, we're all guilty as sinners of the blood of Jesus Christ, of the death of Jesus Christ. But his people, that's the thing, those chosen from before the foundation of the world are all blessed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The redemption is through his blood. Oh, I like that.

All things were made by him, and by him, and for him, and they consist by him. Oh, his power. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not protest. The Lord Jesus Christ had done no violence, spoke no deceit, and men hid their faces from him. Hmm. Why?

Because he is, he was then, and he is now, the light. And men hate the light. Not only that, they love darkness rather than light. In the place of the light, instead of the light. Hmm. We're dumber than moths. Men flock to darkness and moths at least come to life even though they don't like it. You understand? That's what we were.

And that's what this world still is. And by God's grace, we are, have received the adoption of sons. Oh, and what's that mean? It means that we are accepted in Christ. in Christ. Oh, men hated Him. But we believers are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, and it's God that works in you, both the will and to do of His good pleasure. Here's the thing, folks. Salvation is, from beginning to end, the work of God. And that's what these first 10 verses of Ephesians tell us. What did it say? All blessings. All spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

And you know, I like that. That's the kind of salvation I need. That's the kind of salvation that a sinner needs. Oh my. If you know you're a sinner, and that means a lot more than most people think, they think that means, well, I do bad things. No, no, no. Being a sinner is in here. Yeah. It means I like doing bad things. I want to do bad things. That's what being a sinner and a true sinner knows that. And when God starts giving them a little bit of light, opens their eyes a little bit, they don't like that anymore. They don't like it anymore. They still sin. Believers still sin. But we don't like it like we used to. And I don't know how many times I've thought I should not have done that, I should not have said that, should not even look that way, but I did. But I don't like it. And why don't I like it?

Because it's God puts in you both the will and the do of his good pleasure. And that wasn't of his good pleasure. Oh, my. This is the plan of salvation, if you want to call it that. God does it. He chose. He adopted. He accepted. He redeemed, and He's gonna gather us all together.

And I'm gonna tell you one more thing. This is a blessing, but I'm gonna do it separately. Right here, in verse nine, just think about this for a second. What does it say? Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself. You understand? We get to know this thing. We get to know these things because we know him. Oh, I like that, I do. How many times did Paul say it? I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren. Don't be ignorant. Read this book. This book's got the truth in it. This book is the truth.

And I'm gonna tell you something, Ephesians 1, when I got into this and I started thinking just from the blessings point, you know, It carries on, what is it? Here, verse 18, that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of his calling. And what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, toward us, who believe, and how do you believe? According to the working of his mighty power.

I'm gonna tell you something, folks. Our salvation is sure. It's sure. What David said, the Lord hath made with me an everlasting covenant. Ordered in all things and sure I'm testing foot right here it is Right here in Ephesians 1 He chose us before the foundation of the world. He predestinated us unto the adoption of sons We are accepted in the beloved and we have redemption through his blood and We are made to know these things and and we're gonna be gathered together. That's the plan of salvation from beginning to end.

And Walter, it's a perplexing thing for somebody to walk away from that. I like that, I did. Because I can't conceive of it. Why would anybody want to leave this Lord to go hear a Lord who needs your help? God needs my help. I'm going to tell you something, folks. That's pretty sorry. That's pretty sorry. And yes, I'm mocking them. Because I'm going to tell you something, folks.

That's close to a fit of lunacy, to want to walk away from the God who holds the world in his hands, and he holds it in his hands right now. My wife watches too much news, and I see it. And with everything that's going on in this world, I'm glad the world's in God's hands because I have no idea what's going on. And I don't really care, to be honest, when you get down to it.

But here, I have a God to believe in. This God right here has revealed himself to me. And I believe he's revealed himself to you. And by His grace, we know Him. Oh, oh, and by His word, I can preach Him. Walter can preach Him, and Paul can preach Him. And we can hear and learn of Him.

And we're going to be gathered together today, one day. I'm waiting for it. That's all I'm waiting for right now. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful again for this time and this place. Help us, Lord. Help us, Lord, to lay hold of you and the blessings you've given us in our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to be faithful, to believe, to trust in our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen.