God's Good Work

God's Good Work

Ephesians 2:1-10

    A lot of us, at times, don’t like who we really are!  Now before you attack that statement, listen to some statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: over the past twenty years there has been an increase of 444 percent in the total number of elective cosmetic procedures.  Surgical procedures have increased by 119 percent, nonsurgical procedures (mainly Botox injections) are up by 726 percent.

We, at times, don’t like who we really are.  We buy contraptions to make some curves smaller in certain areas and bigger in others. In 2006, the hair color industry garnered just over $1 billion.  People with brown hair want blonde and people with blonde hair want red and people with gray hair don’t much care what color it is as long as it’s not gray.  People with straight hair want theirs curly, people with curly hair wants theirs straight and people with no hair can spend all sorts of time and money attempting to get back something that resembles their hair.  And the list goes on and on proving that we really don’t like ourselves very well.  Otherwise, why would we want to go to such extremes to change our appearance?  But I don’t want to talk about our physical appearance this morning. I want to take a look on the inside. What do we look like there? When you look beyond the mirror and into your heart, do you like what you see there?  Do you like who you REALLY ARE?

      This morning we are going to be looking at the second chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, where he examines the process of becoming a Christian.  He writes about our condition before we come to know Jesus, and the work that God has done through Christ  In today's text you will gain an appreciation for your   … 

Past

Present   and …   

Future

1. Body
1. Past   (vv. 1-3)
1. Where have you been?  
1. Dead
1. in sins - not only at a loss to do righteousness -Adam's sin
2. in trespasses - our own willful bent towards transgressions
3. Dr. Ralph Sockman writes about an experience he had while standing on the edge of Niagra Falls one clear, cold March day. Wrapped in white winter garments, the falls glistened in the bright sun. As some birds swooped down to snatch a drink from the clear water, Sockman’s companion told how he had seen birds carried over the edge of the precipice. As they dipped down for a drink, tiny droplets of ice would form on their wings. As they returned for additional drinks more ice would weigh down their bodies until they couldn’t rise above the cascading waters. Flapping their wings, the birds would suddenly drop over the falls.
   d. And so it is with us, we keep coming back for more, all the while Satan is throwing ice on our wings. What can sin do to us?
   e. We need look no further than Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
2. Disobedient
1. enslaved by the ruling powers of this world
3. Deluded
1. Latin = "to mock" - forced to play
2. deceived, fooled
3. Why are some people the way they are?  Why have we struggled to know or do what is right or good?  Why does the drunkard return to his vomit?  Or the abused to the abuser?  Why do so many so often continue to trust the people, institutions and philosophies that have proven to be untrustworthy?  Why are the unsaved so immoral/foolish/sinful/ignorant?  Because it is the only way they can be!  We need to better understand and remember this and then show less condemnation and more love, sympathy, concern and grace!  Nor do we leave them to a living death.  We need to pray that the Spirit of God would use us who have been re-born by His grace to lead them to a new life as well!
4. We that know Jesus' new life need to heed the words of Warren W. Wiersbe — The past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you. We must learn from the past but not live in the past.
   Present   (vv. 4 - 6)
1. What has God done?
5. A Los Angeles Times Syndicate once wrote: “Life is trial and error, unless you’re an incompetent crook, in which case life is error and trial.”  If you have faith in Jesus Christ, then life becomes something else, it becomes more rich and fuller.
6. You are Loved
7. You are Saved
1. given you
2. New Status
1. Col 1:13 -- He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love
3. New Life
4. New Freedom
5. When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That’ll be ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit." Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. "You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be paid--but I am going to pay it for you." He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! "That," said Billy Graham, "is how God treats repentant sinners!"
   
8. Together with Christ,  You are
1. Alive
1. He makes us alive as a free gift that comes out of his great love and mercy. That’s what grace means: free, totally unmerited, favour. And it’s a good thing that it’s free because by our own efforts we’d be like the person becalmed in a sailing boat trying to move the boat by blowing on the sails; expending a lot of effort with little effect.
2. Raised
3. SeatedFuture   (vv. 7-10)
4. What do you expect?
9. Rich in grace and kindness
1. exceeding -- overpassing, transcending, surpassing
2. riches -- fulness, abundance
3. grace --  favor, loving-kindness
4. kindness  --  goodness
10. Walking in good works
1. being saved, we do good works 
2. In other words it’s as though God has already selected things for us to do. He’s got them ready for us. A bit like the TV chef who arrives at the studio to find that the kitchen staff have already chopped up the vegetables and the meat and got out all the utensils, all ready for the demonstration to take place. All we have to do is to be looking out for the opportunities that God has already prepared for us so we can do the things he desires.
11. Part of a larger story
1. the cosmic context for the Christian life extends from "the foundation of the world," that which "God prepared beforehand," to "the ages to come." Many, of course, do not think in terms of before time and after time, and they seem to function without this concept. But what such language seeks to convey is hardly a casual option. The life of the believer is set in a narrative far grander than the narrow parentheses of one lifetime. Faith says there is a meta-narrative, a story within which our stories make sense.
2. Conclusion 
1. I remember as a kid going to the Circus.  One day, when I was very young, the circus came to our town.  As I remember it, they set up in the field right behind the elementary school.
2. One of my absolute favorite acts was the trapeze artists.  Watching a trapeze show is breathtaking.  We wonder at the dexterity and timing. We gasp at near-misses.  In most cases, there is a net underneath.  When they fall, they jump up and bounce back to the trapeze. 
3. I think of the Christian life sometimes in the same fashion as a trapeze artist.  In Christ, we live on the trapeze.  The whole world should be able to watch and say, "Look how they live, how they love one another.  Look how well the husbands treat their wives.  And aren’t they the best workers in the factories and offices, the best neighbors, the best students?"  That is what it's like to live on the trapeze, being a show to the world. 
4. What happens when we slip? The net is surely there. The blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, has provided forgiveness for ALL our trespasses. Both the net and the ability to stay on the trapeze are works of God’s grace.   We are sinners in need of grace. And thanks be to God, He supplied our need. 
5. This morning we need to remember our past -- all that God has saved us from.
6. We need to be reminded of our present -- You are loved, saved and alive together with Christ
7. And we should also consider our future -- one rich in grace and kindness where you are a part of God's larger story, walking in good works.
8. If you are here today and you are not alive together with Christ, allow us to pray with you, that you may leave the past behind and enter into that joyous present and future with those of us who've been "made alive together with Christ."  This very day you can become a part of God's good work.