Father's Day Message

reading of the word of god i'll be reading the odd numbers odd number verses and pastor alan will be reading the even verses if you guys can follow on with pastor alan for the choir director a psalm of david the heavens are telling of the glory of god and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals knowledge there is no speech nor are their words their voice is not heard their line has gone out through all the earth and their utterances to the end of the world in them he has placed a tent for the sun which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber it rejoices as a strong man to run his course its rising is from one end

of the heavens and its circuit to the other end of them and there is nothing hidden from its heat the law of the lord is perfect restoring the soul the testimony of the lord is sure making wise the simple the precepts of the lord are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of the lord is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of the lord is clean enduring forever the judgments of the lord are true they are righteous altogether they are more desirable than gold yes than much fine gold sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honey moreover by them your servant is warned in keeping them there is great reward who can discern his errors acquit me of my hidden faults also keep me back keep back your servant from presumptuous

sins let them not rule over me then i will be blameless and i shall be acquitted of great transgression let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight oh lord my rock heavenly father we thank you so much for your word that is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword we thank you that we have the opportunity to come in fellowship and gather in your name we ask that you would speak to us today by your word in jesus name amen if you guys want to open up to the book of ephesians chapter one this is where we will be as i was trying to figure out what to teach um on father's day um i thought about coming at your dad's really hard um i thought about it i wasn't going to um but i really i

really felt led to focus on the heavenly father the good father the actual the one who's actually perfect and so here in the the first portion of of uh the book of ephesians from the first 14 verses we see god and his perfect plan and his planning and how he wanted to do it and and i really wanted to focus in on on him uh right there so the book of ephesians can be uh split up in two different ways uh the first three chapters are doctrine doctrine is what do you believe what do we believe it is the teaching of of about uh the faith and then the last three chapters are duty what are we to do in response to what we've just learned and paul spent a good amount of time when he's writing this epistle

to the ephesians on doctrine and i think it's a good idea to take note of what he wrote about the lord what he wrote about god the father what he wrote about the holy spirit what he wrote about uh jesus the son um and from that spurs on a good walk of faith once we've realized what god has done for us once we understand the the work that god has put forth for us it is not that we became we were good and god accepted us it's that he made a way for us by his son he's the one that did the work um with that being said let's get go ahead and get into it the first verse of ephesians says this paul an apostle is the one who did the gospel of jesus christ by the will of god paul who was once saul on the road to damascus

um saul being a very uh arrogant and prideful man in who he was he was very religious outwardly he was perfect inwardly he was prideful inwardly he wanted more um and it's very interesting how his name was changed from saul to paul one a man who was once arrogant his name was changed to little one and he was a very arrogant man and he was a very religious man and he was Paul the little one an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god when he met god when he met christ on the road to damascus his name was changed and he was no longer who he was before my question to you is have you had that same revelation have you had a real encounter with jesus christ of nazareth the same one who walked 2 000 years ago have you had that

revelation have you had that revelation have you had that revelation have you had that revelation like paul did and he was an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god it wasn't his doing that made him an apostle he didn't make a five-year plan to become an apostle or he didn't put being an apostle on his vision board god willed him to be that that was god's will for paul's life god had a perfect plan for paul and it included being an apostle who wrote half of the new testament this little one was used by god in such a mighty way and my question to you is what are you by the will of god do you know what god's will is for your life what your purpose is what your god-given purpose is

and then it says uh who he's writing to you do the saints who are in ephesus and the faithful in christ jesus grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ um pretty much the same opening as all of his other epistles um and we could definitely get into it but i really want to get into you um three uh verses 3 through 14 so starts off in verse 3 it says blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ he opens this portion of scripture with praise to god this god is the same god of the old testament this god is the same god of abraham of isaac and jacob this god is the same god who had a plan to bring his son from the beginning of time from before time began and this god happens to be the father of our lord jesus christ

i want to read to you guys john 3 16 maybe you know it it's kind of a famous verse but it says this for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life this is a word from jesus when he was talking to nicodemus a pharisee and here paul is making the same claim that god is the father of jesus christ and i want to take note of the title that jesus has right lord jesus christ and christ are both titles their identities his name is jesus but lord means he's king he has the ultimate authority is he the lord of your life does he have the ultimate authority over your life over every decision that you make or over every place that you go every

does he have the ultimate authority over your life over every decision that you make does he have authority in your life and then it says christ which means anointed in the greek but it alludes to the messiah who was spoken of from the beginning from genesis this is the christ this is jesus and i even want to take a note at his name right jesus is greek for the jewish name yeshua or jehoshua or joshua which literally means jehovah is salvation jesus's own very name was a prophetic to what he did he was god in the flesh and he was our salvation it was god who brought this christ so blessed be god the father of our lord jesus christ why is it addressed to god the father because god the father is the one who enacted all of these plans

right he set forth creation into motion he's the one who made the decision before creation started uh to to send his son so he's giving honor and praise to the one who did it all and then it says who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places what it doesn't say here is that he blessed us with every earthly blessing right he didn't bless us with every earthly blessing he didn't bless us with financial security a great 401k really good stock options he blessed us with every spiritual blessing what does that mean paul's going to explain a little bit of that uh here but spiritual blessing in the heavenly places uh it reminds me of of when when christ is talking to the disciples

he's constantly trying to get them to look past what they see And look towards eternity. Focus, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Don't lay up for yourselves treasures here on earth, which can be destroyed. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. And here, Paul is saying, one, you have these spiritual blessings. And make sure your mind is focused on

the heavenly things, not the earthly things. And then it closes, after heavenly places, it says, in Christ. This is the caveat. I want you to, if you're a note taker, highlight this, underline every time it says, in Christ, of Christ, in the beloved, in the Lord. Every time it says that. Because that's the caveat. Right? You can't enjoy or partake any of these spiritual blessings

if you have not entered through Christ. If you aren't in active fellowship with Christ. If you aren't abiding in Christ. John 14, 6 says, Jesus says this, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. He is the only way. And in Christ, the believer can be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. This is given to us by God the Father.

Verse 4 says, just as he chose us, in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Here, it speaks to God's omniscience. All knowingness, right? It speaks to God's omnipresence. All presence, right? He's outside of time and he knows everything that's gonna happen. He knew who was going to accept Christ

or even believe in Christ, right? Because we can have a concept of Christ of, yeah, I believe he existed. I believe he was a real man. I believe he was probably a good teacher. But really believe that he was the son of God in the flesh. Not just a man. Not just a prophet. But the son of God in the flesh. And do we believe that he died and rose again by the power of the Holy Spirit?

That is what we must, that is what we must believe. And so, God knows and knew, he foreknew who would be in Christ. Who would be in fellowship with Christ. Who would choose and accept Christ. And with that, he chose. If you're a believer here in Jesus Christ today, you are chosen. You have been hand-selected by the creator of the universe. He personally picked you.

This isn't an overall cover statement to the church as a whole, but to each individual of the church. That each individual of the body of Christ has been hand-selected by the creator of the heavens and the earth. That's better than getting drafted to the NFL. Right? And getting a $7 million deal, or however much they get paid nowadays. It's way better.

So, before the foundation of the world, that means before I knew who I was. Right? Before I knew how much of a dirtbag I am. Just to be honest. Right? Before I knew how wicked I was. He chose me. He made a way for me.

And I think it's really cool to know that before anything began, he already made his choice. He made his choice. To every believer in this room, every believer in this world, every believer who has ever been, every believer who will be, he's already made his choice. And his choice is final. He never makes a mistake. He doesn't make the wrong choice. He doesn't choose the wrong people.

If you're chosen, you're on the winning team. You're going to the championship. Congrats. Congrats. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. We are made holy in Christ. You can't attain holiness on your own. I don't know about you, but no matter what rules I follow, I'm never good enough.

I always feel like I'm messed up. I can set a standard for myself and I'll fall short nine times out of ten. Ten times out of ten, sorry. But in Christ, he sees us as holy. In Christ, he sees us without fault.

It's in his agape love that he has done this. His unconditional love. I really, I don't know if you guys have read the King James Bible, but I love the King James Bible sometimes. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the love chapter, in what we would read in, you know, our new King James or maybe the New American Standard Version, where it says, love is patient, love is kind.

In the King James, it reads charity. Charity. And when you imagine charity or see charity played out, or if you've, you know, partaken in charity work, right? Charity is doing for someone without expectation of receiving anything back. Right? At the root of the word, it's doing without expectation. Doing without expectation. Doing without expectation. Doing for someone

who can't return the favor. That's exactly what God has done for us. He has made a way for someone who can't return, for a whole people who can't return the favor to him. And he has made us holy. He has made us blameless at his cost.

John 1.2 says this.

1.12, sorry. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God. To those who believe in his name, who are born not of the blood, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Here, it speaks to God making the believer in Christ a son and daughter. Oh, sorry. I spoke a little too soon. My bad. That was for the next verse.

But I'll read the next verse. Verse five says, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ, to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. So, first it was chose, now it's predestined. Having predestined, he pre-appointed, pre-planned to adopt the believer as a son, as a child. He made that decision before the foundation of the earth.

He knew what was gonna play out and he made his plan. He predestined it. God is the only one who can do that. We can't, I can't predestine Scott Diddley. I can't, I'm the worst planner in general, I'll be honest. Horrible planning. But God was able and is able to, he pre-planned to adopt the believer as a son, as a daughter, as a child. And how do you do that?

Just believing in Christ. Jesus said this in John 6. This is the work of God, that you believe on him who he sent. You know what the work you gotta do? All you gotta do is believe. Believe in Christ. And you have been adopted, past tense, have been adopted as a son or daughter of God. And it's by Jesus Christ. All of these things, once again, it's in him, by him, through him,

by Jesus Christ. It's all done in Christ. Christ is the one that brings us. He is the, as it says in chapter 2, verse 18, for through him, Christ, we have both access by one spirit to the Father. It is Christ who is the bridge between us and the Father. It is Christ that brings us into the family of God to be the family of God. To be able to call ourselves sons and daughters of the King.

Sons and daughters of God. It is Christ who makes that happen. According to the good pleasure of his will. That means God just loves doing it. It brings God delight to bring us in. I wanna take note of the word adoption. Right? Adoption. That means you didn't have the kid, but you chose this. The child. Right? You went out of your way to choose the child.

God specifically chose us. The believer in Jesus Christ.

Verse 6. It says, to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved. You're gonna see this a couple more times, but to the praise of the glory of his grace or to the praise of his glory. That's the main focus here. All of these things that God has planned before, all of these things, these spiritual blessings that God has given us

are to bring him glory. All of these things bring him glory. He is glorified when someone believes in him. He is glorified when a life has been redeemed. He is glorified when his grace, his unmerited favor, is poured out on a believer by which he made us accepted into the beloved. Once again, in the beloved. You, me, we have been made accepted to God, acceptable to God in Christ.

Verse 7, it says, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. So in Christ, we have been redeemed. Amen. I want to focus on through his blood.

Your sins have been forgiven, but there was a price. There was a cost. There was a wage that must have been paid. Romans 6 says, the wages of sin is death.

Paul writes in the book of Romans how through Adam, we're all born into sin afterwards. We're not born in perfect communion with God. Not everyone is born good. Not everyone is inherently good. Each one of us are inherently evil, sinful.

We're inherently evil. And once again, before the foundations of the earth, God knew this was going to happen. He knew Adam was going to fall. He knew, you know, Jacob was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times.

He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. He knew Abraham was going to mess up a hundred times. mess up but he had a plan and his plan was his son dying on the cross right it was his blood that was

spilt that redeemed us from the sin that led to death in our lives from the blood he spilt when he was whipped with the cat of nine tails to the blood that was spilt when he was punched while he was being examined by the way he was found blameless they couldn't hold him guilty for anything to when he was on the cross i want to jesus said to take up your cross and follow me right he who desires to come after me let him die to himself pick up his cross and follow me you know how humiliating it is to take up a cross to die on the cross think about jesus alone right we're the crowd right here and he's walking in between us and we're all yelling at him spitting at him laughing at him if

a roman and then to go to the top of the hill where he's to be raised up on the cross in front of everyone dying and breathing his last breath before everyone i can't imagine a more humiliating death naked and open before everyone as they count down the time until i die this was the price that got christ paid to redeem us from our sins it wasn't for anything a price had to be settled a payment had to be made and this was the price christ was willing to do this because he knew the father he knew the father's love he spent time with the father with the father how many times do you read in the gospels where he's getting away to spend time with the lord how many times is he surrendering his will to the lord

all of this is doing all of this was planned pre-planned by god and so the believer has been redeemed through christ's blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace which he made abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence it's because of god's grace that we are redeemed and forgiven for the sins that we have we've born into and do it is god's grace and his abundant grace that he makes come towards us abound towards us and i love the part where it says in wisdom and in prudence the idea being perfect wisdom being perfect intelligence god the creator of the heavens and the earth perfectly knew every detail how bad i was going to be how bad you were going to be and still thought it was worth it

to send his son to pay the price for my sins and yours and then it says in prudence which means understanding he completely understood what was going he didn't make this decision quickly or rashly or impulsively like we do i do he thought this through and this is what he wanted to do he wanted to bring the people to himself first nine says having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of the earth he made known to us that he might gather together in one all things in christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him so saying god revealed what his mystery plan was

you know the plans that the prophets of old didn't know they prophesied about but didn't understand he's saying here now it has been revealed oh he made known to us that we might gather together and we might gather together in one all things in what that plan was which is verse 10 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 are on earth in him he desired to gather us up to himself this heavenly father this loving father this gracious father understanding and knowing us in our nature and our sin nature and still desiring to bring us in and bring us together in him this was his good pleasure in doing it this was his plan which he made within himself

God the father knew absolutely and completely knew verse 11 it says in him in Christ we have obtained an inheritance being called predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will I want to read to you guys first Peter chapter 1 verse 4 Peter speaks about this inheritance a little bit here this is how he describes it to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation to be ready to be revealed in the last time so this inheritance that Paul is speaking about that here Peter describes is reserved in heaven for the believer but it's not just that it's incorruptible it can't be messed with

it's undefiled it can't be made unclean this inheritance this wealth that can't be earned right because it's a given thing an inheritance it's worth far more than anything here on earth remember Peter says it's in heaven waiting for you reserved in heaven do you ever spend time thinking about the rewards in heaven do you ever meditate on what that would look like or think about you know the satisfaction that would actually come from an eternal reward that can't go away that doesn't fade away that isn't money which fluctuates right the dollar bill goes up and down all the time bitcoin goes up and down all the time it never loses its value there's an inheritance this is how gracious God is right he didn't just want you to know he didn't want to save us

he wanted to reserve for us a special allotment an inheritance for us I don't know about you guys but the gods that I think of like you know Thor and Odin and you know all of these pagan gods they're very selfish in nature they're very self-focused they're always trying to get theirs they're always trying to get theirs they're always trying to get theirs but this God the God of the Bible the God of Paul the God of Abraham the God of Isaac is not that way right he created a people who he knew was going to fall into sin who was going to rebel against him and he made a way for those rebellious people to come back to him should they so choose that I don't know about you but that makes absolutely no sense to me I'm a one-shot kind of guy you mess up once

bye I'm okay with saying you know breaking off relationships because you done messed up but God's like uh-uh this is the grace that I have this is the unmerited favor that I have towards you guys I know you're going to mess up I know you're going to turn away I know you're going to rebel but here's my son take him if you want he's a gift from the creator of the heavens and the earth should you choose to accept him there's not just a chance there's not just salvation for you but there's a heavenly inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will once again he didn't he knew he was going to do this from the beginning and he didn't make a mistake and you know

this is what his plan was he pre-planned it predestined it verse 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory once again the caveat trusted in Christ trusted in Christ do you trust in Christ do you believe in Christ and the main point to bring glory to God praise should be to the praise of his glory that's the point God is so good he just wants people to see it see how good that is wants us to see the glory of his goodness verse 13 it says in him you also trusted in Christ you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation the word of truth right and the gospel doesn't always feel good to hear it really doesn't feel good to hear at all if I'm being honest right to be told that I have a son

that I have a son that I have a son that I'm not inherently good inherently good what do you mean I'm not a good person right I don't like to hear that but in order to for me to become a believer in Jesus Christ that must be done John writes that Jesus came in grace and in truth right he didn't just tell people you're all going to hell he let them know that there was a way that he was the way and he came in the word of truth so Paul is just reminding the believer remember remember when you first trusted in the Lord the gospel of your salvation the gospel you heard the good news that you heard the real truth that you heard that brought you to trust him Romans 10 17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God someone spoke it

in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit a promise so you're giving given we the believer was given were given the Holy Spirit as a seal a promise of the guarantee of the the inheritance to come he's proof he I'm speaking of the Holy Spirit because he is a person is proof of the inheritance to come I want to read to you John 14 I know we're going to John a lot but John 14 25 through 27 this is Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit and he says this these things I have spoken to you while being present with you but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you peace I leave with you my peace I give to you

not as the world gives do I give to you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid do you have the Holy Spirit as a seal of promise on your life do you know that you know that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the Holy Spirit of promise on your life because this peace that Christ is talking about is reconciliation with God that me and God are good that no matter what's going on in front of me no matter what's going what happened behind me no matter what's going on over there me and the creator of the heavens of the heavens and the earth are good my debt was paid there is a peace that was given to me by the Holy Spirit also one more in Galatians 5 22 this is the fruit of the Spirit the fruit of the Spirit is love joy

long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control do you have those as fruits of your life do you see those aspects flowing out of your life I'm not patient so no but do you have love for the Lord and for people this agape love right what is this agape love not desiring anything in return but freely given do you have this love for people not for what you can get out of them a good friendship or a good conversation but unearned love for them that at the end of the day no matter who they are think about this way used to not have agape love for my mom right I loved her because she was such a great mom there was you know what if she wasn't a good mom would I still love her agape love is choosing to love her

whether or not she's a good mom or not do you have that kind of love pouring out of your life love it's an action my dad said this it's an action word love doesn't keep you stagnant if you really love someone or a person or a people it comes to you it causes you to move it causes you to serve causes you to go out of your way to do for others so do you have this the Holy Spirit of promise on your life he is the proof of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory until Christ returns he's the proof that we are good with the Lord and that there is an inheritance with him and once again it closes with to the praise of his glory not ours not mine not yours to his to God's

he's the only one who can handle glory that being said I just wanted to focus today on the Heavenly Father and I wanted all of us to recognize and to understand that he knows everything he knows what's going on he planned he knew that the enemy was going to be working hard even now to turn people away from him he knew that mankind was going to rebel and still he made a way through his son he made a way to us who could never pay him back this is the God that we serve and my prayer today is that if you aren't a believer in Christ that today that would change that you would you would you would understand and recognize God's love for you and that he does desire you he wants to bring you in hell is a choice it's choosing to put off the Lord

over and over and over again every time he reaches out saying maybe next time maybe next time until there isn't a next time no one anyone who has ever gone to hell or who will ever go to hell will be by choice I hope that's not a choice that any of us will make but this gracious this amazing this holy and pure God is who we serve that being said I'm going to go ahead and pray and we'll have some worship oh actually I want to encourage you guys real quick last thing I wanted to focus on this prayer in the end of chapter 2 of chapter 1 but I want to encourage you guys to read the prayer and to seek the Lord and pray this prayer for yourself pray this prayer for your brothers and sisters in Christ pray this prayer for anyone you come in contact with

it's a prayer to know the Lord and to know his will so encourage you to go back and do that on your own time Heavenly Father you are awesome and good and so mighty we thank you for the Holy Spirit you've given us as a promise Lord we thank you that you do all of these things to your good pleasure and Lord we ask that you would be glorified in us in Jesus name Amen

he's like a river wash over me as I worship your majesty I worship your holy name Jesus my everything that I am He is your Holy Spirit rain down on me break open the heavens and drench the unseen rain down on me and drench the unseen and drench the unseen

your presence as i pour out your friend come holy spirit as i worship your majesty i worship your whole jesus my everything the heavens fling wide the gates but your presence inhabit our thoughts and revival lord send it now heaven break out come now in power cover this land like you've done it before lord send revival lord send it now heaven break out come now lord send revival lord send it now a move of your spirit heaven break out come now in power cover like you've done it before what would you do and revival lord send it now like you've done it before lord send revival lord send it now spirit heaven break out come now in power cover this land like you've done it before

well heavenly father god i just pray that you do a mighty working in our lives lord not just in our lives but in our communities in our families in our schools in our governments in our country lord in our world lord just do a mighty work god god turn our focus back to you lord god we need you in a bad way lord god we love you lord and we thank you god we praise you lord we praise you because you are worthy of all praise i pray all these things in your precious and holy name amen you guys have a wonderful week happy father's day god bless you