SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1:1-14
Text: 2 Peter 1:3-4
OPENING: WIRED FOR VICTORY/ SUCCESS BUT PROGRAMMED FOR FAILURE. JESUS SAID YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE (John 8:32)
Just because you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior doesn’t mean that you have the right belief system. Your “GROWING UP IN CHRIST( maturity)” is determined by your willingness to believe Truth (not tradition, not culture, not man made theology, not your WORKS BUT TRUTH).
At birth, the new born person is a baby! Like new born babies, spiritually speaking, we are babies and we MAKE MESSES! That is why you buy diapers, burping towels, etc.
We have to grow – be nurtured – be taught. Some babies are not taught anything which others are taught wrong. But, some are taught CORRECTLY. So spiritually, at our spiritual birth, God wires us for victory!
EPHESIANS 1
CHOSEN (v 3-4, ‘Before the foundation of the world’): No one is an accident to God.
ADOPTED (v 5, ‘As sons by Christ Jesus’, according to His good pleasure): According to the praise of the glory of HIS GRACE.
ACCEPTED (v. 6, ‘In the Beloved’): In Christ Jesus, Jesus died for all our sins. Complete redemption, according to the riches of His Grace. If you don’t believe it was complete, you have a ‘Grace’ issue’.
SEALED (v. 13, ‘In Him you trusted after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel (Good News) of your Salvation; in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance’):
Who is YOUR GUARANTEE????????????????
That is Truth according to God’s Word. YOU HAVE BEEN WIRED !
But what does your program say? Do you say “I can’t help it, I am just a product of my environment, my upbringing, my parents”? What excuses do YOU use?
NO! You are a product of what you CHOOSE TO BELIEVE!
TRUTH THAT CAN BE TRUSTED IS TRUTH THAT TRANSFORMED!!
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We have been sealed by the Spirit.”
If you don’t believe you have been sealed then you don’t know liberty, and you’re not being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
That is why some Christians are so mean, they don’t know that they have been sealed. They have never manifested TRUTH.
FOUR WRONG PROGRAMS:
1) Wrong Country/Kingdom (Matt. 6:33): “But seek first the KINGDOM of God.” What KINGDOM are you consumed with? Colossians 3: 17: “SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE”
2) Wrong Consciousness (2 Cor. 4: 7-15): SELF-CONSCIOUS which makes you SIN-CONSCIOUS instead of GRACE-CONSCIOUS (His Righteousness)
3) Wrong Culture (Matt. 6:25): “FEAR CULTURE” and not “FAITH CULTURE” which causes you to be fearful about everything. WORRY – WORRY – WORRY! STRESSED – STRESSED – STRESSED!
4) Wrong Character (1 Cor. 3:18): BEING CONFORMED rather than TRANSFORMED. “You are being TRANSFORMED “from GLORY TO GLORY”.
CLOSING: What program is driving you today? God wants to transform us from Glory to Glory. FOR HIS KINGDOM, HIS POWER, AND HIS GLORY!