Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20030622.htm

EPHESIANS: GOD'S SURE PLAN FOR INSECURE TIMES
Part III: Trusting God's All-Sufficient Power To US For THIS Life
(Ephesians 1:15-23)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In the last few weeks, a lot of believers we at Nepaug Church know have experienced circumstances that can cause any human being to feel anxious as a regular way of life:

(1) Two believers many of us know who have been battling cancer have learned the cancer they once felt might possibly have gone into remission has instead come back.

(2) Then, I received a call a week ago from a believer who shared he might have to do jail time for something that happened years ago. An entire family will be affected if this happens, and that naturally concerns this man and his wife and children.

(3) After typing up these sermon introduction notes on June 10th, a Tuesday, I checked the mail Wednesday morning, June 11th to find an ad from Radio Bible Class presenting its new Discovery Series booklet, When Fear Seems Overwhelming. Part of this publication's promotion read: "Fear can steal your joy, your peace of mind -- sometimes even your way of life. Many people are living in fear of terrorism, lost retirement savings, or losing a meaningful relationship. So how do you focus on God in such difficult situations?"

(4) Of course, later that same morning, my wife, Nadine called to let me know her Dad had passed away in Indiana. We found ourselves going through what we know many of you have experienced at the loss of a parent -- immersion not only into grief, but into having to make a host of critical decisions in the midst of your emotional pain that can leave you feeling vulnerable to a creeping anxiety.



Accordingly, convinced the LORD wants us to handle this subject TODAY, in view of the fact that many people "live lives of quiet desperation" as the saying goes, IS there a SENSIBLE solution -- a way to GET a GRIP on such ANXIETY so that we can live ABOVE fear?



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "The saying, Most people live lives of quiet desperation' fits me well, for nowadays, I nearly ALWAYS fret: financial, physical, mental or emotional issues I face seem too big for me EVER to be able to handle! What can somebody like me DO about this?!"
  1. When Paul wrote the Ephesian letter, he AND his readers had AMPLE HUMAN cause to LIVE in CONSTANT FEAR:
    1. Paul had cause to live in constant anxiety as he wrote as a prisoner for his Christian faith during his first Roman imprisonment, cf. Eph. 3:1; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV , 1978 ed., "Intro. to . . . Ephesians," p. 1672.
    2. Paul's readers had cause for constant fear relative to Paul's welfare:
      1. When Paul had evangelized at Ephesus, he was met by a stadium riot as the whole city became stirred up about the possible loss of sales in idol images due to the Gospel he preached, Acts 19:23-29.
      2. Later, Paul's ship made a stop at Miletus, a port near Ephesus where he met with the Ephesians elders to reveal they would see his face no more due to his coming imprisonment and death, Acts 20:25. This news caused these elders to weep, Acts 20:36-38.
    3. Thus, the history of Paul's ministry with these Ephesians had been marked by an extensive conflict between good and evil, and his martyrdom would leave a deep leadership vacuum for their Church.
  2. Yet, Paul COUNTERED such anxiety by writing of GOD'S ALL-SUFFICIENT POWER toward CHRISTIANS for THIS life:
    1. Upon hearing about their faith in Christ and love for all believers, Paul thanked God, and wrote that his Ephesian readers might be given spiritual insight for an intimate knowledge of God ( epignosis, v. 17) in their lives, Eph. 1:15-17; cf. Bible Know. Com., N.T., p. 620.
    2. Expressly, Paul asked that his readers come to realize three key facts:
      1. First, Paul asked God to give his readers a knowledge of the hope of their calling, a hope we found in Ephesians 1:3-14 was their gaining heaven separate from sin and the blame for sin, 1:18a,b!
      2. Second, Paul asked God to give his readers a knowledge of the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in them, that which Ephesians 2:7 shows is the glory of God's grace and kindness to us that will be revealed throughout eternity, Ephesians 1:18c!
      3. Third, Paul asked God to give his readers insight into the power God directs to ALL believers for ALL they need in THIS LIFE:
        1. Paul explained that when God raised Jesus from the dead, and set Him at His right hand of honor and majesty in heaven, Christ was put above every existing and future power (Eph. 1:19-20): (a) He is far above all angels (1:21a), (b) far above every human, both present and future (1:21b), (c) far above all creation (1:22a) and (d) far above the Church itself (1:22b).
        2. In this role, Christ fills every need of every person in His Church with blessing, Ephesians 1:23; Ibid., p. 621.
  3. Just HOW that power APPLIES to us in THIS life is explained in various passages in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, and we now BRIEFLY view various of these passages as SAMPLERS:
    1. As a sampler, God's all-sufficient power saved and keeps saved the believer, Ephesians 2:1-9 with Ephesians 1:3-14.
    2. As a sampler, God's all-sufficient power made and keeps adjusted every believer with every other believer a spiritual unity regardless of differing racial, ethnic or religious heritage, Ephesians 3:11-22.
    3. As a sampler, God's all-sufficient power equips every believer with a special spiritual enabling ("gift") for effective Christian service , Eph. 4:7-16. As this service was ordained in ETERNITY PAST (Eph. 2:10b), every physical, financial, mental, emotional, spiritual or any other NEED in THIS life was eternally planned to be MET by God so the believer could do that ministry all during his earthly life!
    4. As a sampler, God's all-sufficient power equips every believer with practical victory in the angelic conflict in THIS life, Eph. 6:10-20.
    5. As a sampler, God's all-sufficient power in the Holy Spirit's enabling equips us to live this earthly life righteously (Eph. 4:21-23): this includes victory over substance abuse (5:18), immorality (5:3) and sins of speech (5:4) along with power for true worship (5:19-21) and for all blessed marital, family, and social relationships (5:22-6:9).
Application: If living in quiet desperation,' we must (1) trust in Christ as Savior from sin and become a child of God, John 3:16 with Acts 17:30b. (2) Then, God calls us to LIVE by FAITH in Christ and in OBEDIENCE to His Biblical leading, and HE will apply His ETERNAL PLAN to provide ALL we need for ALL this life's events that arise so we can ACCOMPLISH His WILL! (3) This way, no matter WHAT we experience in THIS life, WE will have NO reason for FEAR as LONG as GOD wills us to live!

Lesson: As GOD has provided IN CHRIST ALL that ANYONE needs for godly living and effective Christian service, the BELIEVER who TRUSTS and OBEYS the Lord has NO NEED for ANXIETY, cf. Philippians 4:6-9.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 In our trips out to Indiana over the years, we have always taken I-81 through the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre section of Eastern Pennsylvania. That is the shortest way for us to connect from I-84 to I-80 west, but it's a hectic run; trucks speed along on your left and traffic is full around the towns, making it rather nerve-racking to drive until you rise up out of the long valley and head south over the ridge to link up with I-80 west.

Well, when we began our trip to Indiana on June 12th for Dad Anderson's memorial service, we arrived in the Scranton area in a pounding rainstorm. The trucks, traffic congestion and rain coupled with the emotionally-taxing cause for the trip all left me thinking about our need of "spiritual rest" in the Lord! When the traffic eventually came to a standstill, the Lord arranged for us to be able to make a break for the Pennsylvania Turnpike to connect much sooner to I-80 west!

Before taking the trip back from Indiana on Monday, I prayed, asking for God's help along the way. We then stopped for fuel just west of the intersection of I-80 and I-81 and found out from another customer there that the traffic had been tied up all along I-81 on the previous Saturday! That didn't "sell" me on taking I-81 at all!

Yet, that created another need: we wanted to eat lunch, but the "burger" chains were located almost solely on I-81; thus, we entered the sandwich store at the stop to see if we could find something decent for lunch. To our relief, they had salads laced with chicken or tuna!

We bought the salads and ate them in the sun-warmed picnic table outside. Then, we chose to bypass I-81 by way of another "rural" interstate run that came up from the south and linked I-80 to I-84.

That route was only a few miles longer than our usual one. It was easy to drive and ran by the Poconos where Nadine said many newlyweds from her high school had gone on their honeymoons. The "rest" I had wanted days before on I-81 had come by God's arranging for us to exchange the taxing I-81 run for a drive by the Poconos!



When we yield to the Lord's leading in our lives, HE invokes HIS eternal plan's resources, and causes us "rest" from our labors. May we believe in Christ as Savior, and rely on HIS provisions for ALL that ALL of us need to do His will in this life!