If you will, take your Bibles
and turn with me to Ephesians chapter 3. I was asked quite a while back
to serve, and I guess this is the right word as an interim
pastor. A pastor, I believe, is a man
who's joined to one church. He's been given by God to rule
over that assembly, not as a dictator, but as one of them. One of them. And God singled him out and gave
him the privilege to minister to his sheep. And I was asked
as an interim pastor to kind of oversee and watch out, if
you will, for this group. And so it's to that end that
I prepared my message this morning. And my subject is this. Six things
that I desire for you. I have six things that as I'm
in my study and preparing to minister to the little group
down there in Louisville, that I think about for them, that
I think about for you. Six things I desire. Now, Paul
began his ministry in Ephesus finding there twelve disciples. You ever wondered why he uses
that word disciples? It means follower. Follower. You know, Paul told the Thessalonians,
he said, I know your election of God. Because my gospel came
not unto you in word only, but it came in power and in the Holy
Ghost and in much assurance as you know what manner of man I
was among you. And you become followers of us
and the Lord. God gave you an understanding
that I was a messenger of His. If you didn't believe I was a
messenger of God, you wouldn't have me up here. You wouldn't
have asked me. to have the oversight and you certainly wouldn't have
asked me to baptize you. I've baptized more people in
this assembly than I have in my own. So Paul began his ministry in
Ephesus and he found there twelve disciples or believers and so
he continued there nearly three years. And he preached to those people
and he established those people and they become strong and grounded
and was an influential church over all that part of Asia. And
he loved the people there, and he expresses that love both in
his letter to them, and if you will this afternoon, you can
read Acts chapter 20 and see his love expressed to them in
his farewell address to the elders. He said, you're not going to
see my face anymore. I'm leaving. This is the last
time I'm going to talk to you. And he expresses that love to
them. And I'll tell you this, Ephesians may be one of the most
quoted of all the epistles in the Bible. I rarely preach from
Ephesians because I quote it all the time. And I believe I
can say in my heart that I love this assembly right here in Missouri. I believe I can say that without
any pretense in all sincerity. And I baptize quite a few of
you and I hear weekly of your meetings about the men that are
ministering to you and I'm encouraged for you and I hope that the Lord
will soon join you together with a pastor. But as I read through
this passage here in Ephesians 3 I felt led of God to preach
these things to you and I hope they'll be encouraging to you.
Six things I desire for you. Now the first one is here in
Ephesians 3 verse 16 and it's clearly stated This is his desire
for them, that he would grant you, according to the riches
of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the
inner man. To be saved and called out of
darkness necessitates a new birth. It's not just a convincing of
doctrine. I can sit any man down who's
willing to use this as a foundation, and I believe I have enough experience
and knowledge to convince him of these doctrines, because this
is what the Bible says. Now, anybody who says, well,
I just don't believe in election. You don't believe in the Word
of God. And I say, now wait a minute,
election's your interpretation. No, it don't need interpreting.
It's according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world. You don't need an interpreter
for that, do you? I asked one of our little children at the
service one day. I was talking about this very
thing. People coming back at me all
the time, that's your interpretation. And I said, now, honey, I said,
what does that mean? And I read that verse to her
and she said, that means God chose us. nine-year-old girl. God chose
her. Don't need interpreting. I don't need to get an interpreter
for that. But I'm going to tell you something.
To be saved and called out of darkness necessitates a new birth.
This carnal mind is enmity against God. It's hostility toward God. And it's not subject to the law.
And I believe if you look that word up, I hope I'm not wrong
here, but I believe if you look that word up, he's not talking
about the Ten Commandments here. And he's not talking so much
about the ceremonial law or the dietary law. When he uses that
word law here, he's talking about authority. The authority of God. It's not subject to the authority
of God, neither indeed can be. See, God don't make suggestions,
He makes commandments. He don't suggest that believers
be baptized, He commands it. And if you disregard that, you
disregard the commandment of God. He commands us to believe. He don't say, well, let me give
you some options. No, He don't say that. He commands
us to believe. And if you don't believe, You
do so in hostility or rejection of His authority. You're saying,
I'm not going to do what you commanded me to do. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. It manifests that enmity in its
rejection of anything God commands. Anything. And there's no amount
of persuasion, debate, or arguments that can bring about a willing
mind or submissive heart. Oh, I've had people in the past,
when the Lord first saved me, I wanted them to hear so bad
it was just eating me up inside. And I'd get the opportunity,
and I'd sit down, and I'd show them in the scriptures, and I'd
use illustrations, and I'd talk to them for hours on end. And
they just went in that ear and right out that ear. Just rolled
off of them like water off a duck's back. Had no effect whatsoever. And there's no amount of persuasion,
debate, or arguments that can bring about a willing mind or
a submissive heart. It takes the Spirit of God. The
natural man, it says, receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God. What are the things of the Spirit
of God? It doesn't say he won't receive the Spirit. It says he
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Here's the thing
of the Spirit of God right here. All Scripture is given by inspiration. of God. Spirit of God. These men of old,
they didn't write of their own free will. They didn't write
on their own subjects. They didn't get on their own
little soapbox and write down things that was bothering them
in that age. They wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit
of God. This enmity. He won't have it. He won't rest in it. What's another
thing of the Spirit of God? The preaching of the Gospel.
Paul said, we're not worthy of ourselves to receive any recognition
for this. There's nothing we can do that
we can be counted worthy of this. But God has made us able ministers
of the New Testament by His Spirit. By the power of His Spirit, He
takes these words. So that's the second thing of
the Spirit of God. The Word of God and the Gospel
of God and the preaching of the Gospel and the messengers of
God. That is another thing of the Spirit of God. The messenger. How is he going to preach if
God does not send him? They are to be believed and submitted
to and received as gifts of God. But no natural man will. Jesus came into this world, and
the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came
unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received
Him, why did they receive Him? Because He gave them power to
become sons of God who were born. They were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. That's John 1, 10-13. Salvation is a new creation.
We have the mind of Christ. That's how we view things. That's
what I told you before I started our study in Revelations this
morning. We're to view these things with the mind of Christ.
Believers have the mind of Christ. They have a new heart, a heart
of flesh, not stone. We've been made willing in the
day of His power. And if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creation. He's a new creature. Old things
are passed away and all things have become new. We view things
now with the mind of Christ. We didn't before. God was not
pleased to leave us to ourselves, but He's intervened with His
Gospel and with His Spirit. My Gospel, He said, came unto
you, not in word only. Not in word only. but in power
and in the Holy Ghost. And there is an assurance that
comes by the Spirit of God convincing us that the one speaking to us
is God's messenger. Listen to this. John was talking
to the people there about the messenger of God and the promises
of God and all these things in his first general epistle. And he said this in chapter 4.
He said, We are of God. He just stood up before that
little handful of people The whole world is against him. The
whole world is opposed to him. The whole world is preaching
something else. And he stood up before those people and he
said, We are of God. Now listen to this. He that knoweth
God, he that knoweth God, heareth us. See, God is on the same page.
He is on the same page with you as He is with me. If He speaks
through me, to you, it's the same God. It's the same Spirit. You understand what I'm saying?
And we recognize that. We have an unction of God. We
understand that. We understand that. But it's
an absolute impossibility for a natural man to come to saving
faith apart from the irresistible working of the Holy Ghost. Those
born of God We have an unction of the Holy One and we know those
sin of God and those who go out from us. We know that. And my desire for you is that
God would grant you according to the riches of His glory. He
has the power. He has the ability. He has the
purpose. He has the grace. He has the
love to do it. that He would grant you according
to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by
His Spirit in the inner man. Oh, that's what I want. Let others
chase after intellectualism all they want to. Let them chase
after this and that and fame and big multitudes and all this
kind of nonsense. Give me the Spirit of God. If I had the Spirit of God, it
would break my heart. If I have the Spirit of God,
He'll teach me of Christ. If I have the Spirit of God,
He'll call chosen sinners. If I have the Spirit of God,
He'll give me understanding. I read that passage in Revelations
and I just kind of broke down within myself in amazement of
what God teaches us. My soul, think about it. The
height and depth and width and breadth Think of that. Think of what God has said to
us. Oh, my soul. That He would strengthen
us with might by His Spirit in the inner man. And if He don't,
you're going to be caught up just like some have here recently.
You're going to find something that's going to draw you away.
Draw you away. But those that don't, they're
going to say, but by the grace of God, there I go. I'll be with
them. I'll be doing the same thing. Alright, secondly, Ephesians
chapter 3 verse 17. He said that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith. The working of the gospel in
the power of God's Spirit. How do I know as an individual
if God's Spirit is working in me? How do I know that? How do I know that? Listen to
this, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. The working of the gospel in
the power of God's Spirit is to reveal Christ in you. When you come to that place where
all of a sudden your mind reasons that everything's in the Savior,
everything's in this person, everything is in His accomplishments,
in His appointments, His glorious being. Everything
is in Him. That's faith. You don't have
to doubt any more. You believe. That's faith. And
you rest your soul. You are convinced. Paul said,
I am persuaded. Who persuaded him? God did. How did He persuade him? By His
Spirit. He said, I am persuaded that
He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against
that day. What did he commit to? Everything.
He can keep it. I can't keep it. I can't keep
it for a day. I can't keep it for an hour.
I can't keep a pure thought for a minute. But he can keep it. And he has. And he will. Oh, he said that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith. Christ in you. the hope of glory. Christ is more than a doctrine
to the believer. Christ is His life. Paul said,
for me to live is Christ. What is it for you to live? Paul
said, for me it's Christ. When Christ came into my heart,
He took it over. He spoiled Satan's house. He
took all the spoils. It all belongs to Him. For me to live is Christ. I'm
His. He's mine. Will He grant me a mate? Yes,
He will. And I love her. And by the grace
of God, I'll continue to love her. Did He grant me a family? Yes, He did. Did He grant me
a job? He did. He granted me a lot of
things, but I'm going to tell you something. They all belong
to Him. For me to live is Christ. Christ. And then my family's second.
Christ is first. What should I do? I don't know.
I'm going to go to Christ and figure this thing out. Then I'll
let my family know what I'm going to do. You see what I'm saying? For me to live is Christ. He takes over a man's life. I
was ministering to a small group over there and they used to call
me and they said well we got a reunion going on this weekend
and next weekend we got this and then the week after that
we got such and such a birthday and we planned on taking them
away and then on this weekend we're going to do that and I
said guys why don't we do this you all get together and decide
what day we're going to meet on and then we're going to meet
on that day and if you have a reunion that calls you away, go to your
reunion, but we're still going to meet on that Saturday. We're
going to meet on that day. And then you slowly start to
revolve all your schedule around this. Around this. That's what it means. Paul said,
for me to live is Christ. He's everything. What have you
gotten that you haven't received? Huh? Your faith of your own making,
your repentance of your own making, what have you gotten that you
haven't received? It's all been a gift of God's grace, every
bit of it. And what did that grace do? It shut you up to Christ,
in whose face is the very glory of God. Everything that your
heart could ever imagine to want is in Him. In Him. In fact is, he said, in him,
Paul said, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead,
bodily. And we're complete. That means
you filled it up. He's more than a doctrine. Christ
is our life. He's our righteousness, our wisdom,
our sanctification. He's our sovereign. He's our
friend. And for me to live is Christ.
And then he says this in Colossians 3.11, he said, Christ is all. And in all that believe. What have we got apart from Christ?
We don't have an election apart from Christ because we're chosen
in Him. We don't have a representative apart from Christ because He's
the head of the church. We have no substitute. We have
no atonement, no acceptance, no intercession, no reconciliation,
no rationing. We don't have anything apart
from Christ. And everything we have in this
world, you say, well, I have this and I have that. It's all
temporary. Everything you can see around
you is temporary. What is your hope? What is your
life? What is it that you live for? Paul said, My desire is that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. And that's all we have
here on this earth, faith. We believe God. I've never seen
God. I've never heard God. I believe. I believe God. And that belief consumes our
lives. It sets the tenor of our lives.
It establishes our motives and it gives us joy. And it gives
us purpose and direction. I'm telling you this, faith is
a precious gift, a gift of God's sovereign and immutable grace.
And he says that, by grace are you saved through faith. Without
faith, it's impossible to please God, and Christ is the object
of that faith. He said that Christ made well
in your hearts by faith. He lives there all the time. He abides there. He holds the
chief seat. He governs all things within. I preach Christ to my hearers
because I desire that He might dwell in their hearts by faith. And then thirdly, Paul said he
desired this of these Ephesians, and I think I can say that I'm
with him on all these points. And you'll find this in the second
half of Ephesians 3.17, being rooted and grounded in love. Now I'm going to tell you something
you may not know. Did you know that love is synonymous with
faith? Love is a product of understanding. Of understanding. All those rooted
and grounded in the faith are rooted and grounded in love.
It's the product of understanding. Listen to this, 1 John 5, verse
1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And every one that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that begotten of him. It's his understanding
and knowledge of Christ that brings this love to bear and
sheds this love of God on his heart. It's a product of the
understanding. Here's another one, 1 John 4,
verse 8, He that loveth not, now listen to this, knoweth not
God. That's the understanding, isn't
it? And this was manifested, the
love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten
Son into the world that we might live through Him. How do we perceive
this love? Through the sacrifice of Christ.
Love is a product of the understanding. And as we see and understand
His love for us, our love for Him grows. The more we know,
the more we love. And as our love for Him is rooted
and grounded, our allegiance for this world slips out away
from our hands because we love Him. And over time, it consumes
us. And when it does, it carries
out all fear. It motivates you. Paul said the
love of Christ constrains us. So both for our folks back home
and for you and for those that I have whatever little influence
over that I have, I desire for you, my prayer for you on your
behalf and my goal in my preaching is that you might with a clear
declaration of Christ be rooted and grounded in love. You can't find another reason
for God revealing his gospel to you except he loved you. He's going to make an example
of Jacob and he's going to establish his doctrine of election in him
in Romans chapter 9. He said, this is why I said these
things, this is why I picked this man according that election
might stand. He's going to establish this
doctrine of election there in Romans chapter 9. What did He
say? Jacob have I loved. Oh my soul. You mean He loved
me and chose me. That's what it says. I love them
with an everlasting love. I can't comprehend that, can
you? But as much as I can comprehend sheds love on my heart. Don't
yours? That you might be rooted and
grounded in love. And I tell you, any doctrine
that does not leave behind in its wake the love of God on a
man's heart is not true doctrine. All right, fourth thing, Ephesians
3, 18. I desire that you may be able
to comprehend with all the saints What is the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height? What a mystery is this gospel
we preach. What a mystery. Paul said in
I Corinthians 2, 7, But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world
under our glory. And one of the many glorious
things about salvation is the revelation of God's purpose of
grace and the salvation of His people through the person and
work of Jesus Christ before the world began. I tell you, when
I first read about the sovereignty of God and His grace and the
salvation of His people, and it really went home to my heart, All of a sudden, salvation wasn't
this little thing anymore. It wasn't this little decision.
It wasn't this, there's a good force in me and a bad force and
they're tugging, you know. All that went out the window.
I saw that this thing of salvation and the glory of God was infinite. It just stretched out forever,
farther than your mind could go. And these things that God
purposed to do, He purposed them from the beginning. From the
beginning. And I preached up at a church
here recently, up at Paul Mahan's church. There was a beginning
before the beginning. Before ever God created light
and before God ever created man and set the mountains and the
seas and did all the things that He did in His creation, there
was another beginning. And that beginning was in Christ.
And there's no way that He could even put it into words. He condescends
in His words for us to understand and just says, in the beginning.
Because there is no beginning to eternity. Oh, my soul. My dad joined the
church when I was about five years old. I had to go to everything
that they had in that church until I was graduated from high
school. I've made go to every event,
every service, every special meeting, every revival. We even
went over to mission churches during the week. And all that
time, not one man, not one evangelist, not one preacher, not one pastor
ever said anything concerning these great mysteries of God.
You know why they didn't say it? Because they didn't know
it. But God hath revealed them unto
us. Think about that. No eye, no man out here, no eye
has ever seen. Neither have it. It's never even
entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared
for them that love Him. But God has revealed them unto
us. You mean you think God singled
you out and revealed all these treasures, these heavenly treasures
to you and not to the world? That's exactly what I believe.
And that's exactly what this Bible teaches. You think about what you know
and then talk to your neighbors. You'll see exactly what I'm talking
about. I was watching the weather channel,
and people down in Florida kept talking about Andrew. And Andrew
was a fierce hurricane. It'd come across there, but it
was little. Thirty-five, forty miles wide. Just little. It gained
all its speed in the last couple of days, and it just busted Florida
and went across and did all kinds of damage. And then they was
talking about Irma. Still, the people that they were
trying to get to evacuate just kept talking about Andrew, Andrew,
Andrew. So finally, the Weather Channel
put on Andrew. They went back and got a copy
of the tape back when Andrew hit. And they brought it up,
and they put Andrew on it. It was about this big around.
Then they showed Irma, like this. But this is Andrew. This is Irma.
Now, get out. This is religion. This is God. Get out. See what I'm saying? That's my desire. That you know
the height and the depth and the width and the length and
the breadth. Oh, my soul. When you see what a salvation
this is and what glory is involved in it, you don't want that mess
anymore. I won't have to drag you out.
You'll go out. You'll go out. Eternity to eternity. Oh, when
I think of God's perfections and His glory and the glory of
heaven, and I think of how far down God came to save sinners.
Oh, my soul. We see of Christ eternal appointments
and of His future reign. God saved us, Paul said to Timothy,
and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. Think of the wonder and
privilege of being able to comprehend with the elect all these things,
and to see in our minds and see in our hearts God's holiness
and perfections, and to see Him in that place
of His abiding presence. Oh, that these things might be
established in your heart. And then fifthly, Ephesians 3,
19. to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. His love, God's love, the perfection
of God's love manifested in him. He said he spared not his own
son, but delivered him up for us all.
How shall he not also with him? freely give us all that. I tell
you, if we could just have a glimpse of that love, that love, we could
rest easy. I always rested in our house,
in our home, when I was little, because I knew my dad loved me.
I knew there was going to be a meal on the table, If I got
sick, he'd come in and pray with me and talk with me. He'd take me somewhere and get
me some medication. I took comfort in his love. But all to know Christ, to know
this love, it passes it. go out on the highway, and you're
going along, and this guy in front of you, and he speeds up,
slows down, speeds up, slows down, first thing you do is go
around him. The love of Christ passeth. It passeth understanding. It goes so far beyond your understanding,
this love of Christ. This love of Christ is infinite.
It's infinite. And that's that love that we
see. You can't be separated from the love of Christ. Paul said,
what's going to separate you? Huh? Distress? Persecution? What's going to separate you
from the love of Christ? I'm not talking about your love
for Him now, I'm talking about His love for you. He chose us in Christ that we
might be, now listen to this, that we might be holy and without
blame, now listen to this, before Him in love. Do you know what
that really says? Before Him Being loved. That's what that says. And that's
why you can take that little section there at the end of that
verse and put it on the beginning of the next verse. In love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children. Because in that
election, in Christ, and in that union with Christ, we stand before
Him being loved. And being loved He predestinated
us unto the adoption of children according to the good pleasure
of His will. All to know the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge, infinitely above our knowledge. As our Lord stoops in other areas
to give us some understanding of His glory, so He does with
His love. His love is discerned as it's
manifested in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God's love incorporates His eternal
election and His predestination of His people. And some preachers,
you know, they read that verse in love, having predestinated
us. But God's love is manifested in all Christ's eternal appointments.
God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. His
love is manifested in his death on the cross. Herein is love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his only
begotten son to be the propitiation of our sins. And then in Romans
5, 8, God commendeth his love for us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. His love is is manifested and
demonstrated in our conversion. Everyone that loveth is born
of God and knows God. Listen to this one here in Ephesians
chapter 2. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for that great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace
ye are. And His love is manifested in
its immutability. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And as we experience
in our souls that manifested love of Christ in our election
and redemption and calling and keeping, we're filled with a
sense of God's love that goes beyond knowledge. here in Ephesians 3.19, I desire
that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. I want you to turn with me to
Colossians chapter 2. I'm hearing a lot of hype today
from so-called preachers about Christians living the high life.
Walking on a higher plane. Rising above the world. And as
usual, they don't understand what they're talking about. Every
believer walks on a higher plane. Here he does. He walks in Christ. He walks with the mind of Christ.
He walks with a regenerated nature. Every believer walks on a higher
plane. He used to walk according to
the course of this world and according to the prince of the
power of the air. He was dead in trespasses and
sins and he walked in the vanity of his mind having his understanding
darkened. being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that was in Him. But God called
Him out of darkness into His marvelous light. God the Holy
Ghost gave Him a new birth, made Him a new creature, made Him
partaker of the divine nature, and truly enabled Him to be partaker
of the inheritance of the saints in life. And He now lives a life of faith
and love, walking, working, interacting with men, resting in the accomplished
redemption of Christ and His righteousness. Christ is all to Him. He is His
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He is His motivation,
His hope, His reason for living. Now watch this here in Colossians
2, verse 6. And you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord. Didn't you receive Him in those
capacities? Then you receive Him as your
righteousness, your redemption, your wisdom. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, now walk in Him. Walk that way. Rooted and built up in Him, established
in the faith as you've been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
But beware, lest any man spoil you. Take these treasures from
you. You beware. How are they going
to do it? Through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the basic principles, the rudiments
of the world, not after Christ. Now listen to this. For in Him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are
complete in Him. What did Paul say? He said, My
desire for you is that you might be filled with all the fullness
of God. How can that be? In His Son. In His Son, I have all the fullness
of God. I have the fullness of His mercy. The fullness of His grace. I
have the fullness of His power. He said, don't you know you're
going to judge the world with me? Don't you know you're dickering
about who you were saved under? Don't you know that all things
are yours? We have the fullness of God in Christ. Alright, very quickly, let me
sum this whole thing up, Ephesians 3 verse 20. He says, Now, having
read these things, taught you these things, now, unto him that
is able to do, exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the
church, by Christ Jesus throughout all ages without end. Amen. May the Lord be pleased
to enable us all to know and experience the unspeakable gift
of his son. That's my desire. You have that,
you have everything I pray for. You have everything I want. Our Father, we come to You this
morning and pray that You'll take this time
of worship and receive it and accept it
through the blood and righteousness of Christ. And we pray that You'll
take this message and that You'll write it upon our hearts and
upon our minds for Christ's sake. Amen.