Good morning. Good morning. I'll
start a minute early. I'm going to read from, this
is my text also. I'm going to read Ephesians 1.
I'm going to read through verse 10 of chapter 2 because it all
goes together real well. And I will not get to all of
this in the message, but I just think hearing it, hearing it
is a blessing to me. read many times and I believe
it's just, it blesses me just to hear it read. Ephesians chapter
one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you and peace from God
our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,
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. In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first
trusted in Christ. In whom you also trusted after
that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom after that you believed you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. which is the earnest of our inheritance, until
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
his glory. Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to
give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge
of him. The odds of your understanding being enlightened that you 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 us were to believe according
to the power according to the working of his mighty power which
he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above
all principality and power and might and dominion and every
name that is named not only in this world but also in that which
is to come and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him
to be the head over all things to the church, which is in his
body the fullness of him that filleth all in all. And you,
Hethy Quicken, who are dead in trespasses and sins, wherein
time past you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our
flesh. Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But
God, who was rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ by grace. By grace are you saved. You are
saved. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. that in the ages to come
he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved, through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained,
that we should walk in them. I ask the Lord to be with us. Our Heavenly Father, Lord, we
give You all thanks, all thanks, all glory to Thee for this time
that You've set aside for us, Lord, to come and worship Thee. And, Lord, I pray You'd give
us, that You would give us a word today in season, a word. Give us an understanding of Your
Word. Show us Christ. Reveal Him if
it hasn't been before to someone. Call out your sheep, Lord. We ask these things of you, Lord. We ask it for all your church,
those in other places, Lord. We pray especially for here right
now, Lord, that you'd be with us. That we'll feel your presence,
Lord. Pray for the sick, Lord. Be with
them, those who cannot be here. Whatever the reason, Lord, that
you would be with them. Be with our teacher downstairs,
teachers downstairs. Lord, pray your hand upon them,
our young children, young ones. Raise them up, Lord. Show them
Christ. We ask, Lord, for forgiveness from sin. We pray that you just
open your word to us now, Lord. In Christ's name, amen. I didn't really have a title,
but I believe the theme in this was, In Christ, be found in Him. So if I had
a title, I guess that's what it would be. When Paul asked us, he gave me
two weeks' notice, so I had plenty of time, but I had several things
I wanted several favorites. I was going by what our brother
John Sheasley said. He said, pick something you like. Pick something you like. And
every time I've heard this read, it's blessed me. And I'm not
sure, I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it might have been
one of the first messages I heard here. There was a lot of words that
I remember. And at that time, I didn't really,
I got mad. I've heard that sometimes When
you hear the gospel, it'll either make you mad, sad, or glad. Upon
first hearing it, I didn't like it. And I don't understand why
now. I love it now. And of course, feeling sad, you
feel sad of your sins. I'm just going to try to read
through and just comment in there. It starts off, Paul, an apostle.
An apostle this morning was called, sent forth, And the Lord called
the twelve there in the beginning while he was on this earth during
his ministry. And he called Paul afterward by the will of God, through God's
will, that he was to be called and teach and read and minister
to those that are found in Ephesus. And that could be Rocky Mount,
Kingsport, anywhere. He said to the saints, God's
people. He says grace and his faithful
found in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace comes first, then peace.
There's neither grace nor peace, except through Christ Jesus.
We're found in Him. You won't have grace. But the
word from, I know it's in italics, but it's from God. The first
farewell, the first one's not from God our Father and from
the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is from Him. This is His words, written down
by man, but written down for us to read, to hear from Him. But now that you can have no
grace, you can have no peace without the grace. Blessed be the Lord. Blessed
be God. I'm reading verse 3. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. I got this from Becca's Veil,
through Becca's Veil, and it's a good source of comfort. The book by J.C. Philpott says,
If you are blessed with all spiritual blessings, it is only in Christ
that you are blessed. If you are chosen for the foundation
of the world, it is only in Christ you are chosen. What we are,
we are only in Him. There is nothing in itself, no
fixedness, all uncertainty, if certainty is not with God. All
is uncertain, only certainty is with God. The world may be in chaos, but
the Lord is in control of all things. He's in control. And
these spiritual blessings come from Him, only in Christ. And according as he hath chosen
us in the end before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. And this is a Bible
study, so I want to look at Second Thessalonians chapter two. Verse 13. We are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brother and beloved of the Lord, because God has
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. And also 1 Peter 1. Try not to turn to too many,
but it helps me to see it. That pew longer than I've been
up here, so I know it helps. It helps me to see it. It probably
helps you to see it sometimes, too. Talking about the word chosen
there. 1 Peter 1, verse 2. Let me find it. Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father. through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Grace unto you, and peace from your Father's grace, and peace
again. And then over in chapter 2, verse
9 of the same book, 1 Peter 2, verse 9, he says, But you are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
peculiar, peculiar in the margin, it says, a purchased people.
that you should show forth the praises of him that hath called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which were in
time past were not of people, but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
And all this is in Christ. You have obtained mercy in him. Verse 5, back to our text. having predestinated us into
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will. In Romans 8, 28, we know it. I'll just read it. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them that are called
according to his purpose. For him he did know, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
And I told you, things that made me mad originally, they were
words like predestination. Now I love it. I love that word.
That's a glorious word. Like I said, it made me so mad
and sad and glad. He does the work in us. It may
take a while. Get back to where I was. And again, that's right here
called my eye, according to the good pleasure of his will. And
it refers you to Matthew 26. And for so it seemed good in
thy sight. That seemed like the best way
to say that the good pleasure of our Lord's will. For so it
seemed good in his sight. We ask a lot of questions. We
don't know. Like we should know, but we don't know his will. But
he's revealed it. And because it seemed good in
his sight. So don't question it. Just proclaim it. I didn't have to look at these
too much. I can't hardly read my handwriting. Verse 6. And I believe this is
what's on our sign here. To the praise of the glorious
grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. And
who is the Beloved? So I do want you to turn here
to Matthew 3. Matthew 3. Verse 16, and it's after the baptism of the Lord.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water. And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him. And he saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him.
And, lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased. He is the beloved. Lord Jesus
Christ, He's the Beloved Son, and we are found in Him by His grace. Verse 7 of our text, In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace, Romans 3, 23, and 24 say, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Verse 24,
being justified fairly by his grace through his redemption,
that is in Christ Jesus. Again, found in him. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention
his blood. There was blood. Hebrews 9. Let me turn there,
please. Hebrews 9, and I want to start
with verse 12. Neither by the blood of goats
and cows, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkled
in the unclean, sanctify to the pure front of the flesh, how
much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal
spirit offered himself without spot to God, purged your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God. Our Lord, he was
the sacrifice. And all the others were symbols,
and he was the sacrifice. In Revelation 1, verse 5 says,
And from Jesus Christ, who was the faithful witness, and the
prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood." It's covered in blood. This portion
of scripture here is rich, a lot of, for lack of better words,
because I got sidetracked a little bit, and probably not sidetracked,
I mean, it all pertains to Christ, I did this over a course of several
days. They said it gave me two weeks
to look at some things, so I worked on a little bit here and a little
bit there. And the word rich, riches of His grace, according
to the riches of His grace. I want you to turn to Proverbs
8. We think of riches, we think
of money, jewels, jewelry, the world anyway. In this day and age, current events and everything,
it's a big topic right now. But this right here tells what
riches really are, what it is to be rich. Proverbs 8, I'm just going to
read. down through verse 21 here. Does not wisdom cry and understanding
put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high
places, by the way in the places of the paths. She cries at the
gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man.
O ye simple, understand wisdom, and ye fools, be ye of an understanding
heart. Hear, for I will speak of excellent
things, and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For
my mouth shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination
to my lips. All the words of my mouth are unrighteousness.
There is nothing fraught or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that
understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive
my instruction, and not silver and knowledge, rather than choice
gold. For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that
may be desired are not to be compared to it. I, wisdom, dwell
with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear
of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogancy, and the
evil way and the foreign mouth do I hate. Counsel is mine and
sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles,
even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me, and
those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are
with me, yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is
better than gold, yea, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice
silver. I lead in the way of righteousness
in the midst of the paths of judgment, for them may cause
those that love me to inherit substance. And I will fill their
treasures. These are the things we should
seek after. The wisdom of God. He is wisdom. And the Lord says
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the riches are
all through here. Wisdom is better than fine than
rubies. And we desire things in this world. We go, we run
after it, seek after these things. They'll fail in the end. They'll
rust and fall apart. But Christ and His Word, that's
forever. Those are the things we should
seek after. So that was my message within a message, I guess. But
I think it all pertains to Christ and seeking Him, being found
in Him, Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24 says, Thus
saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither
let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory
in his riches. Verse 24, But let him that glorieth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the
Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, righteousness in the
earth. For in those things I delight,
saith the Lord. I'll continue in verse 8 and
we'll read in verse 7 again because it goes together. In whom we
have redemption through his blood, back in the text. In whom we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence. And I looked up these words.
I was hearing them a lot, but I didn't know. Abounding means
abundant. Just abundant, overflowing, fulfilling. Abounding towards all wisdom.
All wisdom comes from Him. He will give it abundantly. Abundantly,
plentifully. Great quantities of it. Prudence. I looked that word up. really
unsure about it. Prudence is caring for the future
or looking toward our long home. We're not looking for anything
here. Everything here, like I said, is not lasting. It's eventually
going to be gone. We're looking toward the home. I'm getting into things way over
my head. Verse 9, having made known unto
us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he
hath purposed in himself. He says it's mystery. This word
mystery, I listened to a message here recently by a pastor. It's
called mystery. And I stole some things from
him. I didn't think he was going to
be here, but I was still going to steal anything from him. The word mystery is, I think
he brought this out, the mystery of his will. He's made known
to us. He's made known to his word. It was a mystery. Well, going all the way back
even to Adam, when the Lord slew the lamb to cover them, they
knew something of that, but it was still a mystery to them.
Noah and the ark. He had to be in the Ark. Christ
is that Ark. He had to be in the Ark to be
saved or he'd drown or perish with the world. But it was a
mystery. He didn't know it was Christ or the Lord's Son at the
time. Abraham, when the ram was caught in a thicket, he knew that was Isaac's redeemer. He was going to go instead, Isaac's
substitute. And Job, he said, my redeemer liveth. Although
he didn't know his name, and it was a mystery to him, but he knew it was, and then
the prophets spake of him, even though they didn't know his name,
they didn't know, they prophesied of him, his coming. And that's
the mystery that's been made known to us. And again, according
to his good pleasure, for so he seemed good in his sight to
purpose it in himself for us to know Christ, to be found in
him. Now in the dispensation of time, dispensation of the
fullness of time, verse 10, he might gather together and want
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on
earth, even in him. That's when all things are said
and done. When we call together, you'll call
together all the ones who have passed on, all the ones still
here on earth. I left out something here, but
I'm going to look at Colossians 1 real quick, verse 13. I should have made better news. Verse 13. He who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated us unto the kingdom of his dear
Son. This is going back to verse When he called us in verse 10,
dispensation, the fullness of time will be found in him. And to the kingdom of his dear
son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. And in the margin it says the
son of his love. I thought that was good. Back in our text, back to verse
11. Verse 11. And whom we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
Heirs. We're heirs. Heirs with Christ.
It's Romans 8.20. He's chosen from the beginning,
being predestinated. It's according to his purpose.
Everything's by his purpose. that we should be to the price
of the glory of first trust in Christ. Trust in Christ. I think I'm going to stop there.
I have to lose. I'm pleased to bless you, Bob.
Just the reading of it is, like I said, it blesses me. Thank you.