Sermon notes from 10 August 2018 New Horizon Ken Clarke
Ephesians 1 verses 3 - 14
The dominant culture today is "it`s all about me". We live in a me culture even in church life. If we are not careful church life can be more about me rather than him. It can be a private club for private members. Several times in this passage we have this phrase "to his praise and glory." Created by God for God through God and for him. The Psalmist said "not unto us O Lord but unto thy name give glory." (Psalm 115 verse 1) This is one of the secrets of life - for people to discover they are made by God for God. Until we understand that we will never really live, we will never really find out the purpose of life. The big question of life is who are we living for. We were made and created for God. Remember the building of the temple in the Old Testament. King David was told he would not be the one building the temple but his son Solomon would. 1 Chronicles 29 verse 1 this palatial structure is not for me, not for men and women, it is for the Lord God. David`s vision was clear - this temple is not for us primarily but for God to meet with his people there. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 19 - where is the temple now? Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. Every single Christian is a working temple. Too often we forget that. We are self focused and self centred even in our worship. We are looking for self praise and self glory. That is what Paul is talking about here. Are your bodies temples of the Holy Spirit? The purpose of our life is to live for his praise and glory. No fake news. Am I living for him and for his praise and glory? That is the key. To whom is this temple dedicated? Really for the Lord. As you search your heart and think of the big question who honestly am I living for? Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of holiness. What are we bringing into the temple? Jesus had to clear the temple in his day. Things were going on that shouldn`t have been going on. It is the pure in heart that will see God. What are we feeding our minds on? What habits are we secretly practising? Why are we poisoning his temple? With jealousy, hatred and foolish slander, bitterness, betrayal and gossip? What about our attitudes to others? Are we building them up or tearing them down? What are we polluting God`s temple with? The Lord is telling us to have done with it. Let`s live for his praise and glory. Verses 11 and 12. We are not to pollute his temple. We are to walk the paths of his holiness for our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 2 Paul goes through the things that used to mark their lives but by God`s grace they are saved from that. In chapter 4 he lists the things that are not appropriate to the child of God. We are to speak the truth to our neighbours, not to be angry, to live in the new life for his praise and glory. Our focus is different now. We are living for a different person - "for me to live is Christ, to die is gain." The work of the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. We are to focus on him. How often could it be written in our lives that we have no power. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." God is to be the one in charge. So many of us are running on our own power. The Lord is telling us to trust him, to lean on him, to start living his way. What Paul is saying is so relevant. The Lord wants us to rest in him. There`s more good news when we believe we were marked with a seal, the blessed Holy Spirit. We have been elected and saved - chapter 1 verses 13 and 14. Seals were important in the past - they guaranteed the authenticity of a document as to who it was for. This seal is for all eternity. We are his for ever. God has you and I in the palm of his hands. He will not let us go. An eternal security. He will hold us fast. We have a glorious indescribable inheritance. We have been purchased with the blood of Christ. That is how much worth we are to God. Purchased with his own blood. We are called to love one another, encourage one another. Despite all the mistakes there is no group of people on planet earth like the body of Christ. One of the things the Holy Spirit does is create a thirst in us to pray for revival - verses 12 and 14. Paul starts to pray for the people - verse 16. When the Holy Spirit moves in our lives we become praying people. How is our prayer life? Am I passionate about seeing God at work? "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." God wants to use the church to be a part of that movement today. Ephesians 4 verse 1. In Ephesians 5 we are told to be kind and compassionate to one another and follow Christ`s example. He gave everything, a fragrant offering. He wants us to be an aroma wherever we go. We need to spend more time with Christ, to bring the aroma wherever we go. You are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5 verse 18. What choices are we going to make? The Lord calls us to live for his praise and glory. When we do we will become agents of transformation.
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