Okay, if you'd like to follow
along I'm gonna be in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 And I'm not gonna preach on Ephesians
2 8 however, I might mention it you never know Ephesians chapter 2 I do want
to begin in verse 1 and you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye 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 conversations
in time past in the lust of the 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 is 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
ye 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 in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. And I'm gonna stop right there,
surprisingly. Can't help it. Arthur Pink once said, How blessed
to know that when the world hates us, God loves us. That's the way of the world,
folks. Seen it before, probably will
see it again. Hopefully you don't, but it comes
out in the oddest places and at the oddest times. Matter of
fact, it can come out in a Sunday night church fellowship. did
once some 40 years ago. I don't want to do that anymore
either, but it's okay. But I will add this to what Arthur
Pink said. How blessed to know that when
we hate ourselves, God loves us. Because that's true too. Now, I like the book of Ephesians. If you really want, I was thinking
about it the other day, I said, the book of Ephesians seems like
concentrated theology. There's a lot of stuff in this.
It's not a big letter, you know? It's not a big letter, but there's
a lot, a lot that the Holy Spirit gave to Paul to write down in
one letter. The hard part with the book of
Ephesians is narrowing down what you want to preach on. because
there is so much. Nice thing though is there's
no doubt as to who to preach. I wanna speak today on this subject.
And it comes from verse four, but God who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us. And that's my title,
Paul, his great love, his great love. I love verse four in this. It starts with those two words,
but God, but God. You understand, Paul's come,
he's written verses one through seven, plus he's written chapter
one, and specifically in this case, these first six verses
he's written there, the first three, and it's not good. Do you know why it's not good? Because it's about us. It's about
us. You were dead in trespasses and
sins. And not only that, you were happy
in trespasses and sins. You were living your life, walking
according to the course of this world. You were just like everybody
else. And I was no different. I'm not
blaming you, I'm blaming us. This is the way we are. We walked
according to the prince of the power of the air. And I still
remember Earl telling me this years ago. There was an old preacher
who was an Armenian and worthless as a $3 bill. His name was Harry
Emerson Fosdick. I read one of his sermons in
a book I had. That's how I knew him, because
Earl was surprised I'd ever heard of him. But anyhow, I do remember
the name. before that, but that's why I
read it. And I spent a whole sermon saying
absolutely nothing at all. But Earl told me he used to have
a radio broadcast and he was introduced on this radio broadcast
as, here he is now, the prince in the power of the air, Harry
Emerson Fosdick. And I'm thinking, that's not
a good introduction. You walked according to the prince
of the power of the air. Then Paul tells us what it is.
The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
This is where we were. Among whom also we had our conversations
in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were just like other people,
the children of wrath. We were, thank God it says we
were. Because this epistle is addressed
to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ
Jesus. But listen, remember the pit
from which you are digged. This is where we were. This is
where we were and Paul is very clear here, we were disobedient,
we were rebels, we were ungodly sinners. But God, but God. It's like that word nevertheless.
Nevertheless, this is what you were. This is what I was. But God, but God. Oh my, I like that. But God usually
comes after some pretty bad statements and these are about as bad as
it can get. What'd he say? You were dead. You were dead. What's the cure for being dead?
But God, but God, oh my. But God, because you were dead,
you walked. But you walked badly. You walked
badly. You walked in sin and trespass,
and here's the thing, you were okay with it. I was okay with
it. Didn't care. Didn't bother me. didn't know any better. Oh, I knew I probably shouldn't
do some things. That didn't stop me from doing
them. You know that whole saying about, yes, I feel ashamed, but
I wasn't ashamed enough to stop. That was the truth. Most people
won't admit it, but that's the truth. You were just like the
children of disobedience and wrath. By your very nature, that's
where we were. Oh, but then those words, those
gracious words. But God, but God. What about but God, who is what? Rich in mercy. Rich in mercy,
oh my. But God, what? For his great love Wherewith
he loved us. Now Paul just spent three verses
telling us we didn't love God. We didn't want God. We didn't
know God. And we didn't want to. But God,
oh, what, oh, and he's rich in mercy for his great love. He loved us. Oh, I like that. Now again, who was the us? It's
the saints which were at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ
Jesus. We're in that. We're in that
group, folks. This letter was written to us. This letter is written to every
believer in Christ Jesus. These words are for every child
of God in the world that's ever been in the world and that ever
will be in the world. These words are applicable. They're
appropriate. They're correct. Those chosen
and given to Christ Jesus before the world began. That's in Ephesians
chapter one. I know a lot of people don't
like that, but that's their problem. How though? In love, in love,
oh my. For his great love in which he
loved us. What does it say in verse four of
chapter one? 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, in love. In his great love, wherewith
he loved us. Oh yes, we were dead in trespasses
and sin. Oh yes, we walked according to
the world. Oh yes, we walked according to
the prince and the power of the air. The spirit that thou works
in the children of disobedience. And thank God you are not the
children of disobedience. But there's only one reason why.
But God, that's it, but God. But God, his great love in which
he loved us. This is the thing. His mercy is rich and his love
is great. Oh, I like that. Now, I'm not
gonna keep you too long here. But I do wanna tell you this,
and this is the strangest thing to me when you stop and you think
about it. God loved us when we were dead. But it's not too strange when
you think about what I just read in verse four of chapter one.
He loved us before we ever were. We were chosen in Christ Jesus
before the foundation of the world in love, in love. I'm gonna tell you something. That saying in Acts keeps coming
up in my mind. No none to God are all his works
from the beginning. What's that? His love toward
us. And what? Even you hath he quickened
when you were dead. That's love, folks. That's great
love. God loved us when we were dead,
not injured, not sick, not bruised and mangled by the fall. No,
you were dead by the fall. Now, I know that's what they're
meaning and it has to work so you can sing the song, but that's
the thing. You were dead spiritually. walking your own way, walking
my own way, and I'm, should I throw a grenade out now like Walter
does? You are walking your own way in the full, complete will
of God. Because he knew exactly where
you were, and he knew exactly what you were doing. And, but
God, with his great love, wherewith he loved us, what? Even while
we were dead in sins, When we were, I mean, dead, that's what
it means. You can look up the word. Dead
means dead. No life, no light, dead. What's he say? Hath quickened
us together with Christ, with Christ. And I'll add two words
on the end of that. In love, in love, his great love. Oh my, so what does this mean?
Well, if you look at verse four, then you look at verse five,
it says, God who's rich in mercy, God loved us, then what happened? God quickened us. The dead are no longer dead when
God quickens them. You understand? I know a lot
of people, If you come up to the front,
we'll give you an invitation. You come up to the front, you
pray the sinner's prayer, God will give you life. No. No. God's gotta give you life while
you're dead. And who shall call upon the name of the Lord? Not
dead people. Only living. Those living call
upon the name of the Lord. Oh my. Those who what? Have heard. How'd they hear? They're dead. The hearing eye, excuse me, the
hearing ear and the seeing eye, even both of them come from God,
but God. Oh my, but God. You understand,
God gave his people life. God gives his people life in
his good time. He chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. But we were out here walking
in this world our own way. Until. Until what? But God. What? In his great love, wherewith
he loved us, hath quickened us together with Christ. And I remember
Earl saying this. Paul couldn't hold it in any
longer. He put it in that little preface. By grace are you saved.
Know what that means? It's got nothing to do with you
and everything to do with God. That's just the truth of it.
It's got nothing to do with us. It has to do with God with his
great love, wherewith he loved us. Oh, I like that stuff. Not
in ourselves. Not because we made a decision
for Jesus. Not because we chose. No, this was in his rich mercy
and his great love that he loved us in Jesus Christ, in the Son. Oh, that's the thing where Paul
wrote it. By grace are ye saved. You wanna
know why he wrote that there? Because there is no other way. You are dead. in trespasses and
sins. I was dead in trespass. And here's
the thing, folks. I was fat, dumb, and happy. Just
like that. I shudder sometimes to think
how ignorant I was of God at that time. Talking back when
I was 22, 23 years old. My goodness, was I ignorant.
I'm not proud of it, but it's the truth. But God, wherewith his great
love, wherewith he loved us, what hath quickened us together
with Christ, by grace are you saved. By grace you are saved. God saves us by grace, and here's
the thing, it's his grace. His grace. Now I've heard all
kind of preachers preach about grace, but they're not preaching
his grace. Most of them are not. There are
some, thank God there are some. You understand, I heard Henry
Mahan on the way up here talking about God's got a message for
you. He always does, it's in his book all the time. And sometimes
he has his men preach a message. And this message is for you,
whether you're listening or not. Whether you understand it or
not. Because you might still be with
the children of disobedience today. But God, with his great
love, wherewith he loved us. What's he do? I'm gonna tell
you something. If God loves you, he is going to quicken you. He is going to give you life. And I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. It doesn't happen like that. And it does happen just
like that. His part where he gives life
is that. Your part where you have life
can be miserable at first. You understand? Because all of
a sudden, it'll start to bother you that you're hanging out with
the children of disobedience. That you're following what according
to the prince and the power of the air, the spirit that now
works in the children of disobedience. that you're walking according
to the world. And here's the thing, folks.
At first, you may not know why it bothers you. But you will. You will. God'll send you a message. God'll
send you a message, his gospel. Because here's the thing. The
shepherd sought his lost sheep. Now, they were his sheep when
they were lost. They were his sheep when they
were found. And they will always be his sheep. They're his sheep when he brings
them into the fold. Oh my, and how do those sheep
get to the fold, that lost sheep? He picks it up, puts it on his
shoulders, and he carries it in. It is the responsibility of the
sheep to find the shepherd. The problem is they lack the
capacity. They can't do it. You understand? And the good shepherd is not
the shepherd that's out there standing in the field whistling
for his sheep, saying, here sheep, here sheep. He goes out and finds
them. Why? Because they're his. And he wants
that sheep in his fold with all his other sheep. and there's
gonna be one flock, one fold, and one shepherd. Oh my. The other part of that parable,
that woman had a lost coin. What'd she do? She sought it
out. She sought it out. What am I
saying here? God, for his great love wherewith
he loved us, hath quickened us together with Christ. And by grace, you are saved. By grace, you are saved. Oh my,
that woman found that lost coin. She kept looking until she found
it. You know why? It was hers. It was hers and
she wanted it. Now listen, folks, when God hath
chosen you before the foundation of the world, any son in love,
you belong to him. wherever you are, you belong
to God, and he's gonna find you in his great love. He's gonna
look for you, he's gonna seek you, and he's gonna find you,
and he is going to, what is it Christ said? Bringing in many
sons unto glory. Oh my, hath quickened us together,
given life from the dead. You were dead in trespasses and
in sins. And if you're a believer, you are no longer dead in trespasses
and in sins. And it don't mean you don't have
trespasses and sins now, because you do. We still sin. But we're not dead in trespasses
and in sins. And I'll tell you this for a
fact, folks. I don't believe you're happy in trespasses and
in sins. Happiness comes from Christ,
because he is our happiness. He is our joy. Believers were
quickened when dead, and I'm gonna tell you, that's a result
of his great love. But he didn't stop there. Verse
six, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, the dead are raised together in Christ
Jesus. And it says like it's now. And
you know why? Because it is now. Oh my, all
believers are raised, what? You were dead and now you're
alive in Christ Jesus. Quicken together in Christ Jesus,
because here's the thing, there is no life without Christ Jesus. That's where we were chosen,
and that's where we are called to. The resurrection of Jesus
Christ secured the raising up of all of his people. You see,
I've been talking about it the past few weeks. The father gave
a people to the son. It's this people here in Ephesians
one and verse four. That he has chosen us before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy without blame
before him in love. Having what predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. By Jesus Christ. To himself. According to the good pleasure
of his will. You understand why God loves
us with his great love? Why God saves us by his great
power? He wanted to. He wanted to. According to the good pleasure
of his will. What's it say in Psalms? Our
God is in the heavens. What's he doing? He does whatever
he pleases. Whatsoever he pleaseth, that
does he. I'm gonna tell you. Everywhere,
everywhere. Oh my. The Father gave us to
the Son and he will not lose one, not one. He came to seek
and to save the lost and the good shepherd shall not fail. not fail, but God, my, for his
great love wherewith he loved us. You understand, the foundation
of God stands sure. That's scripture too. Having
this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. Whether they be
dead or alive. The Lord knows, the Lord knows
them that are his. And known unto God from the beginning
are all his works. Oh, I like that. We have been
given by Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, we have been given everlasting
life. hath quickened us together with Christ. Oh my. His people are loved by
him. His people are sought by him. His people are found by him. His people are raised by him. and his people are kept by him. Oh my. So what's it say? Where was it? Hath raised us
up together and made us, I like, sit. Sit down. Sit down. Sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. I think I said this this morning
on TV, you understand? Christ is acceptable to the Father. Christ is accepted by the Father. Now, you who believe, you who
believe, you're accepted in the Father even though you are not
acceptable. But Christ is acceptable. We're
accepted in Him. We're accepted in him. What? Has raised us up together and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He is our acceptance. He is acceptable. And we are accepted in him by
God for with his great love wherewith he loved us. Oh. What, that in
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
and his kindness, his kindness toward us in through Christ Jesus. Understand, God is glorified
in the salvation of his children. That gives him glory. To save
the unlovable. Christ died for the ungodly.
That's us, folks. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for the ungodly. And while we were yet sinners,
he quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved. God is
glorified in the salvation of his children, in his rich mercy
and great love in Jesus Christ. And when His called out people
stand here on the earth, they're gonna give God all the glory.
They're not gonna boast in themselves, because they know they got nowhere
to boast of. Where is boasting? It's excluded. You're gonna glory, glory in
God. But God, glory in His Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ. All the riches of his grace,
all the kindness, all the mercy toward us is through Christ Jesus
alone. We didn't deserve any of it.
We didn't earn any of it. And anybody that says any different
is a liar. It's by grace you are saved. In the ages to come, I'm gonna
tell you something, folks, you wanna know something weird? In
the ages to come, God's gonna show us off. And he's gonna say this, look
at my work. It ain't your work, it ain't
my work, it ain't anybody else's work, it's God's work that gives
God the glory. Oh my. I know the world thinks good
people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Well, there ain't
no good people. So God had to bring us. And that's
what he had to do. Understand? He had to bring us
in. We didn't want to come in. We
were happy walking according to the world. We were happy walking
after the prince of the power of the air. You understand? And the world
right now still knows no better. But by God, his people do. You
don't wanna go back to the pit. I don't wanna get back in the
miry clay. He took my feet out of that miry
clay, and he put my feet on a rock, and he put your feet on a rock,
and then he ordered your steps. Remember where you come from,
but don't hang out there. Don't look back on it with longing. Oh my. One day, one day, folks,
what does it say? He might show, manifest, the
exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. He's gonna show us off. And I'm
gonna tell you something. We are to boast in him. Give glory to him. Believers have been given his
grace, his mercy, his kindness, and his life through Christ Jesus. That's his great love. What? He loved us. He loved us. And I'm gonna tell you something.
This is why I wanna tell you this. We say it, I believe it. Whom
God loves, he saves. I mean, that's the truth of it.
Jeremiah 31, verse three, put it this way. The Lord hath appeared
of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee, with an everlasting
love. A perpetual love. No beginning,
no ending. An everlasting love. Why? Therefore, with loving kindness,
have I drawn, who? Thee. The one I love. Whom God loves, he saves. Let me read you this. I know
it's not exactly the most, the most wonderful way of, well,
let me get to the right place here. Something about God's love, his
great love, okay? This is in Hebrews 12 and chapter,
verse six. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth. He chasteneth and scourgeth every
son whom he receiveth. Now that's just not the best
joyful love message you ever heard, is it? But it's the truth. It's the truth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as sons, for what son is
he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not
sons. Whom the Lord loves, he saves,
and whom the Lord saves, he chastens. But what's it say about those
who aren't chastened? They're not sons. They're not
sons. That's what it says. Understand,
God's great love is active toward his people, toward his believers,
toward those who love him, toward those who don't know him yet. Those who are still dead in trespasses
and in sins. If God loves them, God's gonna
do something for them. And that's just the way it is,
folks. Now, here's the thing. Verse 11. Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous. It's not pleasant
to be corrected. And that's what the word chastening
means. It means to be punished, but
it means to be punished with correction. You are chastened
not to do the wrong thing, and you are chastened to do the right
thing. That's what chastening, the word
actually means. No chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grieveth. Here we go, folks. Nevertheless. Oh, I like that word, I do. Nevertheless,
it's not joyous, but it's grievous. Chastening hurts, all right? Nevertheless, afterward, it yields
what? The peaceable fruit of righteousness. Righteousness unto them which
are exercised thereby. Why? So if you're not chastened, it's
not exercising the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto you. God chastens in his great love
wherewith he loved us. God saves us in his great love
wherewith he loved us in Christ Jesus. That is his great love, wherewith
he loved us. Whom the Lord loves, he saves. Whom he saves, he keeps. Whom he keeps, he corrects. Come on, folks, let's be honest.
We need correction. We need to be corrected. Understand,
we still have our trespasses and our sins. I don't like them. I'd rather
not have them, but I know they're here. But thank God, God's not looking
In me, he's looking at his son, our Lord Jesus Christ. His great
love, wherewith he loved us, was what? In Christ Jesus. And believe it or not, even though
you don't feel like it, in him, we have the perfection of his
son. He's good to us. His great love,
what? The rich in mercy. And his great love toward us,
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ. His great love has quickened
us with Christ. And by grace, ye are saved. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
together for this time and this place. Lord, be with Walter as
he speaks this morning. Be with Paul as he comes to preach
your word. Be with all your men everywhere
to get forth your message of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ
out before men. We know we cannot convert the
soul, but we can preach the word. And we can preach your son who
saved his people from their sin. Lord, be with those who couldn't
be here. Help them touch their bodies,
ease their pain and their, the suffering. and the tiredness,
Lord, that we all feel on this world. Help us. In Christ's name we pray, amen.