EPHESIANS 1:7-142006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ephesians 1:7-14

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. Last week we started the book of Ephesians and we looked at four things that God has done for us. Four things that are accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ.

And those four things, if you remember them, are that he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, that he chose us before the foundation of the world, that he predestined us to adoption, and then fourthly, that he made us accepted in the beloved. Now, as we continue on in chapter 1, going through verses 7 through 14, we'll be looking at

similar things, but something from a different perspective. We saw the four things that Jesus did last week, but today we will look at three things that we have received as a result of what Jesus has done. And as we begin the service this morning, I think it's important to be reminded that there is no reason to be afraid of God's will. So

Sometimes we can have that fear, that intimidation of God's will. You know, sometimes you talk to people and, no way, you want me to give my life to God? Are you crazy? You must be out of your mind. If I give my life to God, he's going to make me miserable. He's going to send me to Africa or someplace. I don't like bugs, so he's going to pick the bugs.

Place with the biggest bugs and he's going to send me there and just make me miserable. Sometimes we have that mentality or we have that attitude that we feel like, hey, well, careful what you pray for because, you know, it might come true. You know, you might not like the way that that prayer is answered. But we need to be reminded this morning that

Not to be afraid of the will of God. Not to be afraid of what God has in store for us. And a good way to be reminded of that is to think about eternity. Just think about eternity. Eternal life. Think about what God has for us for eternity. If you ever struggle with the will of God or meet someone who does and are ministering to someone who does, think about eternity.

I have this candle here on the pulpit just to use as an illustration. It's not any type of new ceremony that we're initiating or anything like that. But you ever seen this trick, you know, where you run your hand through the fire? It's a pretty cool trick. Amazes kids. You guys aren't too amazed by it though, right? But what happens if I hold my hand over this fire? Ow!

That kind of hurt. It was pretty hot. I can run my hand through it, no problem. But as soon as I just kind of stay there for a moment, it hurts. You know the feeling. You know what it's like. Now listen, if you ever doubt or question, if you're worried about the will of God, think about eternity. Just think about eternity for a moment, okay? You get where I'm going? Revelation 20, 15 says, "...whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Now, the lake of fire, it's not a candle. It's a lake. It's not somewhere that we want to be. As you can understand the feeling of this and how much that hurts. The lake of fire is going to be completely consuming, altogether horrible. And whoever's name is not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire at the end of days, Revelation 20, 15. Remember the story of Lazarus and the rich man that Jesus told us in Luke chapter 16?

It was the story of this rich man and Lazarus was a beggar at his gate and constantly begged, but the rich man paid him no heed and had no concern for the things of God.

Well, it says after they both died, the rich man was being in torment while Lazarus, the poor man, he was being comforted by Abraham. And in verse 23 of Luke 16, talking about the rich man, it says, being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. We understand that there is two options for where you want to spend eternity. There is spending eternity with God. It's called eternal life where you get to be in heaven and you get to spend eternity with him. But the only other option is

Is to spend eternity apart from him in the lake of fire. There's only two options. Now, we should never have to be concerned about God's will for us. Because in the eternal perspective, God's will for you is not that you would spend eternity in torment. Not that you would spend eternity in the lake of fire, but that you would spend eternity with him.

Here's the problem, though. Romans 3.23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So even though it's God's will that we be with him for eternity in heaven, the problem is that I fall short of that. I fall short of his glory. I can't make it. I sin. And Romans 6.23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

So the wages of sin is death. All have sinned. You do the math. We deserve judgment. We deserve the lake of fire. However...

God loves us so much that he made a way of escape for us. And it's John 3, 16. You know the verse well. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He made provision for us through his son so that even though that's what we deserve, even though we fall short of his glory and the wages of sin is death, he made provision for us.

As we looked at last week, he called us, he predestined us to be conformed into his image, to stand before him wholly and without blame so that we would not be worthy of the judgment in the lake of fire. So now if you say, or if someone says, I don't want God's will or God's purposes in my life, that's crazy because God, his will for you, his purposes for you are that you would spend eternity praying.

Experience the greatness of how awesome he is. That's God's will for you. That's God's purpose for you. And as we talked about last week, you can get all caught up into the arguments and trying to figure it out. But what we need to do is realize God is here before us and he's offering to us salvation. He's offering to us the most wonderful things that you could ever imagine and even beyond that. He says, just take it.

And here we are. I don't know if I want God's... I don't know, man. I don't know if I can receive God's will or I don't know if I want to receive His... I don't think I like the idea that God can purpose things in my life. I mean, I'm the master of my own fate. I'm the master of my destiny. I don't like this whole idea that God's in control and that God gets...

Hey, He has the best in store for you and for me. He has the greatest things. His will is for you to spend eternity with Him. So to say, I don't want God's will for my life, I don't want His purposes, that's insane. It doesn't make sense. That's crazy. Because God wants the best for us.

We talked about that last week in all that he has done for us and how he has blessed us and chosen us and predestined us and made us accepted. He did it. He did it all. And all we must do is receive it. Receive Jesus and what he has done for us. Now, as we receive Jesus this week, Paul tells us three things that we have received before.

The first thing we have received in him, we find in verse 7, it's we've received redemption through his blood. The second thing we find, we find it in verse 11, and it's that we've received an inheritance. We've obtained an inheritance. And then the third thing found in verse 13, we have received a guarantee. We've received redemption, inheritance, and a guarantee.

Verses 7 through 14, Paul astounds me again, are three sentences. Even though it's broken out into several verses, it's three sentences. If you try to get away with a sentence like this in school, they'll mark it off and put all the red marks all over the place and run on sentence and things. But Paul, he packs all these things, all these ideas together.

And to these three sentences that are just astounding, amazing. Each one beginning with, because the focus is on who? I could tell. The focus is on who? Jesus. So each of these three sentences, starting in verse 7, 11, and 13, begin with the words, in him. It's all about him. And it's in him that we receive the things we are about to talk about.

The first sentence, the first in him, the first thing that we have received, we find in verses 7 through 10. It says,

Here we see the first thing that we have in him. And that is redemption through his blood.

redemption through his blood. Now, it's easy to take all that we have in Christ for granted. It's easy for us to just kind of get used to it and ho-hum, yes, I've heard that before. We often, as a result, have the picture that, you know, we were pretty good. God's pretty fortunate to have gotten us. We just needed a little bit of help. And so God sent his son to help us.

And sometimes that's the picture, that's the idea that we have of ourselves. Some people needed a lot more help than we did, but, you know, we were pretty good. We were doing all right. We just needed that little nudge, you know. We fell short, but we just needed kind of like a little boost so that we could make it, that we could be the one that God has called us to be. After all, I'm pretty good, and I never killed anyone or did any of those horrendous things. And so, you know, I can have that mentality.

But that idea, that picture, is not the picture that the Bible paints for us. And I love it because words like this, words like redemption, help us to remember that. This word redemption, it means a releasing affected by payment of ransom. It's something that is released whenever a ransom is paid. The picture that the Bible paints of us.

We were bound. We were chained. We were taken captive and deserving of death. We were bound and chained. We were slaves. John chapter 8 verse 34, Jesus says, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. We were bound. We were slaves to sin. And the wages of sin is death. And so we were deserving of judgment because of our slavery to sin.

We were not innocent slaves. We were just, you know, captured and innocent in it. No, we were deserving it. We put ourselves there by our sinful nature. But what Paul is telling us here is that in him we have redemption. The ransom was paid and we are set free. No longer are we condemned to death. And so you see the picture. I was there. I was bound up. I deserved it. But...

God came in and he paid the ransom on my behalf in order to get me released. He paid the ransom in order to set me free so that I would not have to be bound in slavery to sin any longer. How did he pay this ransom? Through his blood. He says we have redemption through his blood. It was his blood that was shed that pays for sin.

The sin in my life and the sin in your life that we were bound to and held captive by. That was making us deserving of death and judgment. The lake of fire. It was his blood that paid for that, that took care of that. And the result was forgiveness of sins. That word forgiveness, it means to release from bondage or imprisonment. You say, well, that sounds a lot like redemption. Yeah, it's very close.

To release. He released us from the bondage and the imprisonment. He died for us to set us free from sin. From the penalty of sin, that we don't have to spend eternity away from him. From the power of sin, that we can choose to live uprightly, to walk with him, and not to continue on with sin in our lives.

And He will free us from the presence of sin when He catches us up and we get to spend eternity with Him. And sin will not be a part of our lives any longer. He has released us from the thing that was making us deserve the judgment of the lake of fire. He paid for it Himself according to the riches of His grace. He's very wealthy in this area. Grace. Undeserved favor and kindness. So in other words...

He didn't do it because we deserved it somehow. Oh, I see that you're bound. I see that you're taken captive by sin. But boy, you're a really good person. I'm going to save you. Boy, I really like your personality. I could really use your gifts. I could really use your influence. No, he didn't save us because of anything that we have to offer, but simply because

Because he is a gracious God. And he gives us things that we do not deserve. So he set us free. He paid the ransom. Even though we didn't deserve it, we didn't earn it. We couldn't earn it if we tried. He paid for it. He took care of it and set us free. So we don't have to die. So that we don't have to spend eternity in the flame. He set us free. He paid the price. He gave the ransom through his blood.

According to the riches of his grace. Now, the riches of his grace. And then verse eight says, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. And so he didn't just give us a little bit of grace. Let me just give you just just enough to set you free. No, but he made it abound overflow. We have more than enough grace through the payment of his blood. Now, how did he apply this payment toward us? How did he pay this?

How did we receive this grace? He goes on in verse 9. Having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. How did he make his grace abound toward us? Very simple. He revealed his will to us. See, his will is not something to be afraid of, to be worried about. No, the riches of his grace is given to us as he makes known to us his will.

The riches of His grace, they abound to us as we learn and discover what God has in store. Notice, though, it's all about Him for a moment. Verse 9, again, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. Talk about being self-consumed, right? God is, because He is what's best. He is what's loveliest.

He's the one who's worthy of all glory, honor, and power. He is the one who's worthy. He should be the focus. He needs to be the focus. And so, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. For us, that is wonderful news.

Because his will notice also his will. And according to his good pleasure, we see that also in verse five, it has the same connection. The good pleasure of his will. Verse five tells us his will. It's a wonderful thing. There's great pleasure in it. There's good things in it, which he purposed in himself. It's all about him.

And that is so wonderful because he paid our debt, releasing us from bondage by making his will known to us. God's will, it's not something to dread. It's something to enjoy. Oh, it's great pleasure. Good pleasure. Don't be freaked out about his will and his purposes, which he purposed in himself. No, that's great news because he's working it all out. We'll see that in a moment.

He works it all out according to his will, which is great for us. He works it all out for good, Romans tells us. Wonderful things that God has in store. So he makes his riches of grace abound to us by making known to us the mystery of his will. So what is the mystery of his will? Well, we'll really get into it in chapter 3, where Paul spends that whole chapter talking about the mystery of

But he gives us a preview here in verse 10. He says that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him. So here's the mystery that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ. I know it sounds a little confusing. Why does Paul have to use these big words anyways? Essentially, here's what he's saying. The end of all things.

That at the end of all things, after everything's been done, after everything's been taken care of, the times, all the times that he set aside, they've been fulfilled. Everything's been administered. Then he's able to gather together in one all things in Christ, both in heaven and which are on earth. When everything is said and done, all will be united in Christ, preserved from the fires of hell, because we have been redeemed.

And so the first thing that we see here that Paul says we have received as a result of God's work, what he has done in blessing us with every spiritual blessing and choosing us and predestining us and making us accepted is we receive redemption through his blood. We've been set free so that at the end we'll be able to be united in Christ. We'll be one with him for the rest of eternity. Incredible. Amazing. This work of God.

This grace of God. What he has done for us. To preserve us. To set us free. We couldn't do anything on our own. We needed a savior. And so he sent his son. And through the shedding of his blood, we've been redeemed. We've found redemption through his blood. Going on. Verses 11 through 12, we find the second sentence of Paul. And the second thing that we have received. It says, In him also we have obtained an inheritance.

Being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. The second thing that we have received, Paul shares with us, in him is we have obtained an inheritance. We've obtained an inheritance. Now, what inheritance have we obtained?

Well, what is an inheritance? We find this word 18 times in the New Testament. And unless Jesus is telling a parable, it's almost always referring to eternal life in heaven. The inheritance that he's referring to is eternity with God by believing in Jesus Christ. We become sons and daughters of God. Then now we are also heirs, which means we get to receive the inheritance forever.

When God dies. But, of course, God's going to live forever. But guess what? Jesus died. And the inheritance that we receive is eternity with him. Eternity with God. The inheritance, it will be given shortly. Just wait. Look up. The redemption is drawing nigh. Hebrews 9, verse 15. 1 Peter 1, verse 4. Talks about this inheritance. What we look forward to in heaven. I encourage you. Check it out. Look it up. How did we obtain this inheritance, though?

Well, very simply, he says, by being predestined. Well, how do I know if I'm predestined? And we had this discussion last week, remember? Just choose to believe in Jesus Christ and you'll find out you've been chosen before the foundation of the world, that you've been predestined to be conformed into the image of his Son. Notice again, here in verse 11, it's all about him. In him, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

It's all about Him. His purposes, His will. What are they for us? They're good and great, wonderful things. An inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, reserved in heaven for you. That's God's will for you. That's what God has in store for you. Wonderful things that we can't even imagine.

Predestined, man, sometimes we could freak out about it. But it's not a horrible thing. It's a wonderful thing. It's not something to shy away from just because some people debate it. No, proclaim it. I've been predestined because I've believed in Jesus Christ. I've been predestined. I know I'm predestined. God has great, wonderful purposes for me. His will for me is to spend eternity with Him. Man, the purposes of Him.

And he works everything out according to the counsel of his will. So it's God who's on the throne. It's God who's in control. He's the one working everything out. And he has purposes and he'll will for me, a plan for me. Romans 8.28 tells us, we know, not we hope, we're really wishing.

No, no, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. So in Ephesians, Paul tells us God works out everything according to the counsel of his will. And then in Romans 8, 28, it tells us, what is that like? Well, he works it out for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

So for me, to be predestined according to His purpose, that's not a bad thing. That's a wonderful thing. Because I love God. And I've been called according to His purpose. And so He's working it all out for good in my life. He's working it out for what's best with the eternal picture in mind. Understanding what's in store for me for the rest of eternity.

Now, some might ask, well, what if I don't love God? What if I'm not called? Then all things are not working together for good? No. If you don't love God, if you're not called, then no. Well, then what am I supposed to do? That's not fair. No, no, no. See, that's your choice. You choose. Will you love God? Will you choose him? Will you be born again?

Will you receive what God is offering to you? And as soon as you do, you'll find out you've been chosen. He's got great purposes and plans for you. And he plans to spend the rest of eternity with you. And if you choose not to be with him, well, you can just practice now. Just wave your hand through the fire. Because that's the truth. That's what decides where you spend eternity and where I spend eternity. But the wonderful news is that we have a choice. Prior to Christ, we had no choice.

We deserve judgment because of our sin. But now in Christ, we have received redemption through his blood. We've been set free. We don't have to spend eternity in the flame. But instead, we can receive an inheritance. We can spend eternity with God. Oh, we can experience his glorious grace. God's will, God's purpose is for you and I to receive his gift.

His salvation that he has provided through the blood of his son. Receive Jesus. Be born again. And then you'll find that you've been chosen before the foundation of the world. And you'll find that God is working on everything according to his will, which is for your good. According to his purposes, which he has for you. Amazing. God is so good. Verse 12.

That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. Now he gives us another hint, a little bit, a piece of our inheritance. Part of our inheritance that we have received in Christ is that somehow, some way, we will be on display for the rest of eternity. We'll be trophies of God's grace forever.

Paul will tell us later in Ephesians 2, 7, he says that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. See, what he's done for us in Christ Jesus is going to be evident. It's going to be apparent. It's going to be something to be in awe of, amazement of, and wonder about for the rest of eternity. We will all be instruments of praise for

For eternity. I find that amazing. You know, it's like we're going to be there in heaven. You'll be able to look at me and say, man, I can't believe God's grace in you. And it's going to cause you to praise the Lord. I'm going to be an instrument. I'm going to be something that causes glory and honor and praise to go to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords because of His grace in my life. That's just amazing. That's astounding. God is so good. He did it all through His grace.

And then for eternity, I will cause praise to him for the grace that he demonstrated toward me. We are all going to be just looking at each other in amazement. Wonder. I can't even believe what God's done. He saved you? I can't even believe it. It's amazing. God's grace. Incredible. Well, the third thing as we move on, verses 13 and 14.

The third sentence, it begins with the words, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory. The third thing that we have received, in Him, is a guarantee.

It's a guarantee. In him, we have a guarantee. Now, this is great news because the stakes are so high. We're talking about eternity. And eternity is a very, very, very, very, very, very long time. Eternity is eternity. It's forever. The stakes are incredibly high. And we have until our last breath to choose where we will spend eternity.

What we will do with God's gift to us. If we will receive it or if we will reject it. We don't get a sample. Can I just get a taste? Let me just spend a thousand years in heaven. Then I'll spend a thousand years in hell. And then I'll decide which one I want to stay at. No, it doesn't work that way. Right now, while you're alive, while you're breathing, we have the choice. We get to choose. Where are we going to spend eternity? But the wonderful thing is when we choose Christ,

When we're in Him, we have a guarantee. I mean, wouldn't you want some type of a guarantee? When you purchase a house or a car, you want a warranty, right? I want to make sure if something goes wrong, that I can bring it back. And it's a valuable thing. I'm going to be paying on this for a while. Well, you're going to be spending eternity somewhere. Don't you want a guarantee? Don't you want to know for sure beyond a shadow of doubt? I don't want to just say, I hope I make it to heaven. I hope? Hope? What are you, crazy?

What do you mean hope? Eternity is at stake here. It's not something to play around with. I would be crazy just to hope that I make it to heaven. Hope that I get to spend eternity with God. Because the alternative is not where I want to be. Hope of eternity in heaven. Without receiving Jesus Christ, it's like going skydiving without the parachute. And saying, well, I hope I can figure something out. I hope I can flap my wings hard enough and do enough good works that I won't hit the ground too hard.

That'll be all right. But hope of eternity in heaven by receiving Jesus Christ. It's like skydiving with a parachute, four spares, a team of angels and the almighty of God holding you the whole way down. It's a surety. It's not something. Well, I hope maybe if I really get lucky, I'll have a chance. No, no, no. God gives us, he tells us here, a guarantee.

You can be assured, confident, beyond all doubt. I need a guarantee that I'm not going to hell. I don't know if you need that guarantee, but I need that guarantee. I want to know. I want to make sure. I need a guarantee that I've obtained an inheritance, that I'm spending eternity with God. And Paul gives us this great news. I have one. I have one. Because Paul says, after you heard the gospel and believed it, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

That word sealed, it means to confirm, to authenticate, or to place beyond doubt. To place beyond, there's no question. You've been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who has been born again has received the Holy Spirit. Everyone who has been born again has received the seal, proving that you truly are born again. This seal is the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. The Holy Spirit's work in our hearts.

It's the guarantee that we are saved. The guarantee that we have received redemption and inheritance. It's a guarantee. Verse 14, who is the guarantee? The Holy Spirit is the guarantee. The Holy Spirit in our lives is the proof. It's what seals the deal beyond all question. I know I have salvation because the Holy Spirit is working in my life and working in my heart. Because I have the Holy Spirit.

He says it's the guarantee. Notice what it's a guarantee of. Our inheritance. We just talked about that. That was the second thing that he talked about. Inheritance. Spending eternity with God. So he gives us the inheritance, but he also gives us a guarantee that we will receive the inheritance. But also, he says, the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Now can I ask you, brothers and sisters, what is the purchased possession?

Okay, I see you need some help on this one. Me, say me. I'm the purchased possession. He's purchased me. And so I have a guarantee of my inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Until it's complete. Now, redemption, inheritance, we've received it. It's done. It's already taken place spiritually. But we're still waiting because we're still here. We're not in eternity with God in heaven yet.

And so until then, God's given us a guarantee. A guarantee. You can know that you've received redemption, that you've been set free from the penalty, from the power, from the presence of sin. You can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, stored up in heaven for you. You can know simply by the work of the Spirit in your life. How do I know if I've been redeemed? By the Holy Spirit in my life. How do I know if I've received an inheritance?

By the Holy Spirit in my life. So now the next obvious question is, well, how do I know if I have the Holy Spirit? Well, that's simple. I'm sure you know it. Galatians 5, 22 and 23. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no law. We just looked at it a couple weeks ago in Galatians 5. How do I know if I have the Holy Spirit? Well, is the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Is it increasing? Is it growing?

Are these characteristics of your life? Very easy to tell if you have the Holy Spirit in your life by looking at the fruit, by looking at what the Holy Spirit does and seeing if that's taking place in your life. Another scripture, John 16, 13 through 14, Jesus says, when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will do three things. Number one, he will guide you into all truth.

For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak. Number two, and he will tell you things to come. And then number three, he will glorify me. For he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Jesus says these are three things that the Holy Spirit is going to do when he comes. He is going to guide you into all truth. And so you can know if the Holy Spirit is working in your life, if you're being guided into all truth. He will tell you things to come.

If the Lord is speaking to your heart and giving you direction, if He's speaking to you about end times, about things to come, it's the Holy Spirit working. And if Jesus Christ is being glorified in you, and if in your mind and in your heart Jesus Christ is being magnified and lifted up, and you're falling in love with Him, that's the work of the Spirit because He will glorify Jesus Christ. So in Him, we have these wonderful treasures. We have redemption through His blood.

We have obtained an inheritance and we have a guarantee that those have taken place and will ultimately be fulfilled in him, in him. It's in him. It's in Jesus Christ. That's why it's so important. Jesus told us in John 15, 5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. We're helpless, we're hopeless without Jesus Christ.

Without Him, we're bound in shackles, being taken off to judgment. But all we need to do to escape that is receive what He's done for us and abide in Him and stay close to Him and walk with Him and worship Him and love Him. And we find redemption. We've been set free. We find inheritance, the promise, the hope of glory, the hope of heaven.

Not only that, we have a guarantee. I don't have to hope that I'm going to make it to heaven. I know because the Holy Spirit is working in my life. And everyone who is born again has received the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And so if you don't have that hope, you don't have that comfort, I can tell you what the answer is. Be born again. Receive what God has done for you. Receive the gift that He's giving to you.

He loves you so much, he sent his son to die on the cross, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He has great plans for you, great purposes for you. Rejoice in it, receive it, and glorify God. And then you'll spend the rest of eternity as an instrument to bring glory and honor to his name. Notice that.

Verse 14, the end, to the praise of his glory. Notice verse 12, the very end, to the praise of his glory. Then jump up to verse 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Our lives are to glorify him. That's our rightful place. It's what we will spend eternity doing. And he gives us the opportunity to do that by receiving what he's given to us. And we receive redemption, inheritance, and a guarantee.

Let's pray. God, you're so amazing. Lord, you're so good that you give to us these things. Lord, we thank you. We rejoice. We praise your name. Lord, there's none that compares to you. There's none like you. Lord, we love you. And so, Jesus, we receive what you have given to us. Lord, thank you for your redemption, for setting us free. Lord, I pray that you would teach us to walk in that, to hold on to it, not to be bound to sin any longer.

Lord, thank you for the inheritance that you've laid up and stored up for us that we have obtained by receiving what you've done. Lord, we look forward to spending eternity with you. And we don't deserve it, God, but we thank you for your grace, the riches of your grace that you've made abound towards us. Lord, we thank you that you don't just leave us in a state of doubt or hopefulness, but Lord, you give us a guarantee. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, if there's anyone here who does not have that guarantee,

Lord, I pray that you would speak to their heart. Lord, help us not to be afraid of your purposes and your will, not to be freaking out about those things, but God, just to simply receive them because you have great things in store for us. And your will for us is to be set free and to receive the inheritance and so much more beyond what we can even imagine. So, Lord, I ask that you would speak to us. Draw us close to you. We thank you for your work on the cross. In Jesus' name we pray.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.