Our Ultimate Safety

Paul's concerned for the Ephesian Church
we've been seeing in recent weeks is
that upon his departure savage wolves
from the inside and from the outside are
going to try to play havoc with a flock
and God's provision for that we saw last
week is to appoint local leaders who can
Shepherd God's people and keep watch
over them listen again to verse 28 Acts
chapter 20 he says to the elders keep
watch over yourselves and all the flock
of which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers be shepherds of the Church of
God which he bought with his own blood
overseers are to be shepherds of the
flock and just as a shepherd leads his
sheep to green pastures and beside quiet
waters and in the paths of righteousness
and and does all of the things that
sheep need so Shepherds or leaders in
communities of believers have a
responsibility to give of themselves to
be able to bless God's people Peter
echoes the very same thought in 1 Peter
chapter 5 in the verses two three and
four when he says be shepherds of God's
flock that is under your care serving as
overseers there you have that word again
linked with shepherds not because you
must but because you are willing as God
wants you to be not greedy for money but
eager to serve not lording it over those
entrusted to you but being examples to
the flock and when the chief Shepherd
appears you will receive the crown
of glory that will never fade away the
chief shepherd of course is the good
shepherd it's the Lord Jesus he has
ultimate responsibility for his people
but typically speaking he works through
under shepherds to keep God's people
safe and many of us here this morning
can testify that as we look over our
lives that God has raised up people
sometimes parents sometimes teachers
sometimes maybe a catechism teacher
sometimes an elder sometimes maybe even
a pastor or a good friend small group
leader who identified our needs loved us
to the core and helped us on our journey
we wouldn't be where we are today if it
wasn't for the people God has raised up
over the years in our lives isn't that
true and we can thank God for every one
such person that said and you know this
just as well as I do people are people
and people can't always be there
sometimes they're fallible sometimes
they miss us sometimes they are
preoccupied sometimes they have needs of
their own and the result of that is that
not infrequently in the course of life
to the degree to which we have looked to
other people sometimes we are
disappointed because they're not meeting
our needs isn't that also true the more
we open up our hearts the more that we
expect from parents from friends from
church leaders from political leaders
the more likely we are to be
disappointed and that produces for a lot
of people a cynicism that says who's
going to look after me
I believe Paul understands that and so
after all the things that he's talked
about so far in this particular passage
he takes us one step further back as to
where our ultimate safety lies and that
is with God himself listen again
- what he says in the words of our text
verse 32 I commit you to God and to the
word of His grace which can build you up
and give you an inheritance among all
those who are sanctified I commit you to
God and the word of His grace see while
it is true that typically the chief
shepherd the Lord Jesus will minister to
our needs through other people and we
can be grateful for people that God has
used in our lives he is not limited to
those people and there are situations
when those people fail us or when those
people aren't there for us then God
himself has promised to step in and be
to us what we need to be I love these
words in Isaiah chapter 59 59 of the
verses 15 and 16 this is in the context
of injustice in the land of Israel
and Isaiah says truth is nowhere to be
found kind of like in the world today
and however shuns evil becomes a prey
the righteous get persecuted the Lord
looked and was displeased that there was
no justice nobody to stand up for those
who were being treated unjustly he saw
that there was no one he was appalled
that there was no one to intervene so
what did he do his own arm worth
salvation for him and his own
righteousness sustained him when all has
been said and done our hope and our
confidence ultimately are not in the
buckets that God uses to purvey his
grace into our lives but to the fountain
itself or himself who is the Lord God
now I commit you to God to the word of
His grace which can build you up give
you an inheritance among all
those who were saying to fight and in
the time that we have this morning gonna
walk you through that verse a little bit
and or to highlight five words that I
think are significant in capturing this
process of what it means to be in the
hands of God and his promise to look
after us in all the years to come
first word I want us to look at is the
word inheritance I commit you to God to
the word of His grace which can build
you up and give you an inheritance among
all those who are sanctified over 200
times in the New Testament and in the
Old Testament you find the word
inheritance Paul himself uses it a
number of times in the New Testament and
he always uses it in the context of the
riches that God has given to us in the
person of Jesus Christ listen to these
familiar words Ephesians 1:3 praise be
to the God and father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing doesn't include the word
inheritance but read further down in
Chapter 1 of Ephesians the vs. 13 having
believed you were marked in him that is
in Christ with a seal the promised Holy
Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of
those who are God's possession to the
praise of his glory the Holy Spirit is
the deposit or the downpayment of the
inheritance that God has promised us in
Christ Jesus our Lord
now don't want to unduly belabor this
point but the theme of any
origins is of such huge importance in
the scriptures though and I just walk
you through that really fast from one
end of scripture to the other so that we
can get a handle on what is the
inheritance of which we have received a
down payment by the Holy Spirit and
inheritance is what you receive from
your forebears typically your father or
your mother dies and they leave
possessions or many and it becomes yours
by virtue of being their child you are
in the wheel it's not something you
necessarily work for it's something that
is given to you and when God first
created Adam and Eve and placed them in
the garden he gave them not only the
garden but the whole world as their
inheritance listen to how scripture puts
it Genesis 1:26 God speaking he says let
us make man in our image in our likeness
let them rule over the fish of the sea
the birds of the air over the livestock
over all the earth and over all the
creatures that move along the ground
rule over all the earth rule over all
the earth
he gives the earth as an inheritance to
Adam and Eve and here's the beauty of it
there is nothing they had to do to earn
it remember they were created on day six
and their first day alive was day 7 the
day when God rested the inheritance was
a gift of grace and if you want to and
I've often said this if you want to
understand what that looked like look at
Adam and Eve in the garden in the first
two chapters of Genesis relationship
with God of an intimacy that we can
hardly begin to imagine an intimacy with
each other that we can hardly begin to
imagine all their needs were met life
was truly
I lasted all of two chapters as you know
you know the rest of the story there was
a serpent in the garden he convinced
them to turn their backs on God and they
fell into sin and when they fell into
sin they were exiled from the garden and
here's what the Bible has to say about
that in words that you've often heard me
quote God says to them cursed is the
ground because of you through painful
toil you will eat of it all the days of
your life it will produce thorns and
thistles for you you will eat the plants
of the field we were originally designed
to be vegetarians much as I hate that
just so you know and it goes on to say
by the sweat of your brow you will eat
your food until you return to the ground
since from it you were taken for dust
you are and to dust you will return we
all know that from that day to this we
labor under the curse and it doesn't
matter how healthy we are how rich we
are how beautiful we are how gifted we
are how much power control we exercised
we all die and we all lose our
inheritance whatever we have in the
world gets lost it is perishable you
don't have to live very long before you
discover there's a lot of pain even as
there's a lot of joy in living but the
inheritance is perishable keep that in
mind because we'll come back to it later
now I've often said God could have left
us there could a send us all to hell
didn't want to do that wanted to regain
paradise for us and in the history of
salvation that begins to take a gigantic
leap forward in Genesis chapter 12 when
God calls Abraham for murder the Col
deze insists to him in Genesis 17 seven
and eight I will establish my covenant
as an everlasting covenant between me
and you and your descendants
to you for generations to come to be
your God and the god of your descendants
after you the whole land of Canaan where
you are now an alien that will give as
an everlasting possession to you and to
your descendants after you and I will be
their God now we know from the New
Testament that included in this covenant
old relationship with Abraham and his
offspring was the promise that Abraham's
inherit the earth you find it in Romans
chapter 4 that is to say God says to
Abram and his descendants you are going
to be set free from the power of the
curse you're going to be restored to
Paradise Regained you're going to
experience glory beyond imagination you
were tracking with me yes now when you
get to the New Testament you discover
that Abraham's descendants is who after
all these years you better know the
answer to this earth or I'm not gonna
quit next week I'm you're gonna be stuck
with me for another twenty years Jesus
Jesus is the son of Abraham who because
of his obedience to the Father not only
suffered our death but experienced our
resurrection ascended into heaven sits
at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty and the message of Scripture is
that God has given him the name that is
above every name and he is Lord of lords
and King of Kings both in this life and
the life to come the whole universe
belongs to Jesus belongs to Jesus and
belongs to Jesus now but more remember
we've talked about being heirs of God
co-heirs with christ what do you think
that means when by faith in Jesus we
become the children of God we become
heirs of the say it with me in heritance
listen to how Peter puts it if we can
get blessed be the God and father of our
Lord Jesus Christ by His great mercy
we have been born anew to a Living Hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead
now notice two an inheritance which is
imperishable undefiled and unfading kept
in heaven for you notice those three
adjectives imperishable it's never going
to be corrupted it's going to last
forever it is undefiled there is no
filth in it there's no sin in it there's
nothing that's going to make it rot and
it is unfading it will never lose its
splendor that's the inheritance that God
has laid up for those who are his
children and inheritance that through
Christ Jesus is made available to you
and real when he says that the Holy
Spirit is a down payment of that
inheritance what he means is that we get
the foretaste of the glory that is to
come through the inheritance of the Holy
Spirit today so he opens our minds that
we can turn our eyes upon Jesus and all
the things of this earth will grow
strangely dim in the light of his glory
and grace and the more we grow in Christ
the more we realize that blessed as this
life can be and wonderful it is to have
a great house and a wonderful mate and
beautiful children and and riches and
whatever it is that the world craves
it's temporary
it always has in it the seeds of
corruption your money fades your car
rusts your appliance dies your
relationships turns sour
and life can often be even with all of
its joy available anguish in tears but
God says these people you've been born
to a Living Hope through the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead he
is king of kings and Lord of lords he
sits at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty and what God has given him is
yours
that's what Paul says in the verse that
we're looking at
that's the inheritance that has kept
God's people going through wars and
famines and turmoils they know that no
matter how great the sufferings in the
urine now it is temporary compared to
the new heavens and the new earth that
God is going to create in which we will
be forever rejoicing in his presence and
in his glory seeing the problem with
this is we have no frame of reference to
even get excited about that because no
more than a baby in the womb can
understand what life looks like outside
the womb you and I can begin to
comprehend what this life looks like and
so we have Paul who got caught up in the
spirit and had a foretaste of the glory
that is to be revealed and he says he
wasn't allowed to talk about it couldn't
even put it into words that's how great
the glory that God has for his children
and so throughout scripture we have
images that God uses that try to amplify
the hopes and the dreams of people and
so the streets are paved with gold and
people live to be a hundred and they're
not sick and all their tears God's
trying to say your best dream your best
longing for a good life
fades in the light of what I have
promised for you more than that remember
the Holy Spirit is the deposit the
downpayment the guarantee that we're
going to receive the inheritance the
Holy Spirit communicates that life to us
in the here and now you've often heard
me call this verse I love it because it
is so powerful the verse from 1
Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 if we can
put that up what no eye has seen nor ear
heard nor the heart of man conceived
what God has prepared for those who love
him God has revealed to us through the
spirit I can tell you something that if
you're in Christ and you're walking with
him then the things of glory become
stronger in your life to the point or
you can say with the Apostle Paul for me
to die is gain to live is Christ I
prefer to be with him not because we'll
try to escape this world but because we
know we're made for something better and
we ought to pray for God the grant is
this Holy Spirit so that we are in a
healthy way other worldly minded because
it's been said that those who are most
other worldly minded are in fact most
earthly good because you can afford to
give your life as Paul does in this
chapter because you know you're laying
up for yourselves treasures in heaven
you with me all right do we need to move
on but we need to understand the
inheritance and we do pray for God to
reveal to us what that looks like
the second word then that I want to look
at in this passage is the word
sanctified I commit you to God and to
the word of His grace which can build
you up
give you an inheritance among all those
who are sanctified to be sanctified is
to be made holy and if you know anything
at all about Scripture and the history
of redemption then you will know that
the big problem in the universe from
God's perspective and from his holy
angels perspective is that God is holy
and you and I by nature are not holy
that's why Adam and Eve once they sinned
were cast out of the garden and away
from the presence of God and the angel
stood there with his sword so that they
couldn't come back
so for God and man to live together we
have to be sanctified we have to become
holy we'll talk more about that in a
moment or two happens by faith in Jesus
but we need to understand that the
inheritance that God has for his people
he has for those who through faith in
Christ have become holy whatever that
looks like at the very least it means
putting off sin and putting on
righteousness Ephesians 5 you've heard
me quoted before 5 and 6 of this you can
be sure no immoral impure or greedy
person such a man as an idolater has any
inheritance there you have that word
again in the kingdom of Christ and of
God let no one deceive you with empty
words for because of such things God's
wrath comes on those who are disobedient
the book of Revelation teaches us the
same truth 21:27 nothing impure this is
talking about the holy city our ultimate
destiny will ever enter it nor will
anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful but only those whose names are
written in the Lamb's Book of Life and
again that doesn't mean that unless
we've got it all together
we have no chance of going into the new
inheritance and I don't just say heaven
because heaven is not our eternal home I
renewed earth is our eternal Hall what
it means is that we need to always abide
in repentance in faith in the person of
Jesus because in him we are holy and
then as we yield to his word into his
spirit put off the old and put on the
new our lives will change so that when
we get to the new creation we will
actually fit in has it ever occurred to
you that people who don't like going to
church today but still want to go to
heaven are going to have an awfully
miserable time in a place where God is
the center of attention and not the
human heart that's like how if you want
to be the center of the universe because
God isn't going to move over and say
well I'll let you be God you see where
that got us
sanctified so sanctification is an
important part of the Christian life
Peter puts it this way in 2nd Peter
chapter 3 verse 11 and 12 since all
these things that is the whole universe
is going to be dissolved what sort of
persons ought you to be in lives of
holiness and godliness waiting for and
hastening the coming of the day of God
because of which the heavens will be
kindled and dissolved and the elements
will melt with fire so what are you
saying is this this whole present
universe is going to go up in smoke God
is going to make a new universe in which
righteousness dwells and because your
citizenship is already guaranteed in
that new world start putting on the
values of that
new world so that by the time it comes
you can live there and you can be
comfortable because God has increasingly
become here all in all that's what
you're committed to when by faith you're
joined to Jesus there's an inheritance
it belongs to those who are sanctified
and the next word for us to notice then
is the word build commit you to God and
to the word of His grace which can build
you up and give you an inheritance among
all those who are sanctified
sanctification is a process and to build
something is to take different parts put
them together and create the sum total
of those parts and the word build Paul
uses regularly in the New Testament to
apply not only to individual Christians
but the Christians together listen to
these verses he says since you are eager
to have spiritual gifts try to excel in
gifts that build up there you have that
word build up the church ephesians 2:20
1:22 in him that is in Christ the whole
building the spiritual temple joined
together rises to become a holy temple
in the Lord and in him that is in Christ
speaking to the Gentiles
you too are being built together to
becoming a dwelling in which God lives
by his Spirit Peter
same theme you also he says to believers
like living stones are being built into
a spiritual house to be a holy
priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ
you see there's an inheritance we have
to be sanctified to enter into that
inheritance and in order to be
sanctified we have to be built up and
when Paul talks about being built up he
talks about two dimensions a horizontal
dimension and a vertical dimension on
the one hand we are to be built up in
the faith that is to say in our
relationship with Jesus we get to know
him better we understand him better we
are filled with his spirit more we are
putting off old behaviors we're learning
to love him increasingly that is one
element of being built up in the faith
and the difference between a baby
Christian and a mature Christian is that
hopefully for the mature Christian that
relationship is deeper it is stronger it
is more profoundly rooted in who Jesus
is and what his grace is that's one
dimension and you can never minimize
that dimension but there's also a
horizontal dimension because it's not
only individual Christians that are
going to receive the inheritance God
makes his dwelling in the church and I
wish people could really understand this
it's my passion for the local church
because it's not only good enough to
have a relationship with God you know me
and Jesus it's also a relationship of
the rest of the body I believe with all
my heart that God's plan for the for the
world our local churches that are
passionately in love with Jesus and in
which each member of that body as they
grow in Christ learn who they are what
their identity is what their gifting is
and they learn what their place is in
the body and together they become the
hands and the feet of Jesus wood in the
world be revolutionized if we had
churches so alive with the presence and
the power of God's Holy Spirit but the
world would sit up a notice and they
would say look there's Jesus he's living
among those people look at how they love
God look at how they love each other
look at how they give themself
in service it's a process and often were
impatient with ourselves even more
impatient with other people because why
aren't they getting it together but it's
a process that God is committed to
because when Jesus comes back for the
church he's looking for a church that is
holy and without wrinkle or blemish or
spot welcoming home the bridegroom who
has bought them with his own blood I'm
glad you came to church this morning
yeah there's an inheritance the
inheritance is giving to those who are
sanctified sanctification is a process
of being built up which and of course
immediately raises the question is how
do you get built up how do you get
stronger with Jesus and how do you know
what your place is in the community how
do you you know get past the irritations
and the cultural differences and that
and all the things the the backbiting
that so often divides of God's people
well that's the next word actually it's
a phrase that Paul brings up and that
phrase is the word of His grace
now I commit you to God and to the word
of His grace which can build you up and
give you an inheritance among all those
who are sanctified how do we get built
up by the word of His grace that is to
say God's program of salvation through
faith in Jesus Christ appropriated in
our hearts by the word of His grace I've
shown you this before the whole message
of the Bible can be summed up in four
words creation fall Redemption
restoration God made us
we messed it up God comes to us he
restores us and one day he's going to
make
all things near and the summary of that
message is that when we own our sin and
put our faith in Jesus not only are our
sins forgiven but in Christ we are
declared righteous we are positionally
placed in God's kingdom we are citizens
of the kingdom of heaven and now as
citizens of the kingdom of heaven God
speaks to us his word and it's a word of
grace
it's a word that says once you were lost
but now you are found it's a word that
says in Christ you have been redeemed
it's a word that says because you are in
Christ Jesus he will give you whatever
it is that you need in order to be built
up in the most holy faith because when
God speaks the word is leaving and
active it divides soul from spirit it
lays bare our thoughts and our
motivations and if we will but yield to
that word of grace and allow God to
speak into our hearts into our lives
that word will cleanse us it will change
us it will transform us when we are out
of sorts living by the works of the
flesh instead of the fruit of the Spirit
the Word of God quick call the quickened
and activated by the Holy Spirit speaks
deep into the recesses of our arts and
it changes us and it finds its root
there and it shows us again and again
that the grace of God in Jesus is so
immense that it's bigger than all our
sin love these words in John's Gospel
concerning the Lord Jesus from his
fullness from the fullness of His grace
we have all received one blessing after
another the law was given through Moses
grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ
the law says do this and and you will
live doesn't give us any help always
brings condemnation grace and truth and
Jesus says yes this is the standard and
you'll never reach it on your own but
Jesus has already reached it for you and
he gives you the Holy Spirit as a
downpayment and if you will but abide in
Christ and rest in him and let his Holy
Spirit have his way in you then the Word
of God will transform you as it is
implanted in your heart you can never
remain the same when God's word starts
niggling away at you
convicting you a sin convicting you of
righteousness convicting you of what it
is that God's looking for and that's how
we're built up in the most holy faith
James talks about it he says therefore
get rid of all moral filth and the evil
that is so prevalent and he says humbly
accept the word planted in you which can
save you see that's why reading
scripture is so important
that's why coming to church or to Bible
studies and and listening to an
exposition of the scriptures is so
important because it cuts through the
fog and the confusion of our society and
the spiritual powers of wickedness that
are constantly trying to deceive us and
it shows us who God is it shows us who
Jesus is it shows us the provisions that
God has made in Jesus so that thank God
from glory to glory we can be
transformed until one day we stand
before him without any wrinkle blemish
or spot I think that is as good as it
gets one more word and then we'll be
done and that word you could imagine is
the word god I
commit you to God and the word of His
grace which can build you up give you an
inheritance among all those who are
satisfied who are sanctified much as God
uses people to help us grow the ultimate
responsibility for our growth lies with
the God and father of the Lord Jesus
Christ and a lot of people including a
whole lot of Christians sort of created
I caught a me between God the Father and
Jesus they say Jesus I like because he's
lovable and he's huggable and he
embraces the children and and and you
know what I'm saying right he's the Good
Shepherd at least now but God the Father
he scares the living daylights out of me
he seems angry he I'm afraid that he
will uncover my do you know what I'm
saying a lot of people are afraid of God
the Father and they forget that God the
Father and Jesus are the reflection of
each other Jesus says if you see me
you've seen the father and it isn't as
if you know Jesus is the one who says
well you know I'm gonna save everybody
so that you won't be mad at them anymore
I know the plan of salvation from the
very beginning was God's design he's the
one together with a father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit had this big
conference in heaven long before any of
this happened
and they said let us make man in our
image in our likeness we know they're
going to mess up but we've got a way
that is going to demonstrate our power
our grace our mercy and our love and
we're going to redeem them and Jesus
said this is my job to go down and live
and die and be raised from the dead and
the Holy Spirit says I will make it a
happen and God the Father God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit said good for us
we're gonna show that love triumphs over
evil and the grace of God triumphs over
the power
of how and so bond is the one who takes
ultimate responsibility for getting us
to where we need to go listen to these
couple of verses were almost done
however she knows so well John 3:16 God
so loved the world he gave his one and
only Son that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life
Fijians 1:5 he that is God destined us
in love to be his sons through Jesus
Christ according to the purpose of his
will and then 2nd Corinthians 1:21 22
Paul speaking he says it is God who
makes both us and you stand firm in
Christ he anointed us said his seal of
ownership on us that's the down payment
of the Holy Spirit put his spirit in our
hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is
to come what that means is this if
you're in Christ today you're child of
God and you're signed up to receive the
eternal inheritance which will come to
its ultimate fulfillment of course when
history ends and Jesus comes again and
he establishes as Everlast thinking if
you're in Christ then God chose you
before the foundation of the world do
you know that he had you in mind and
said such and such a person is going to
be born of such-and-such a parent in
such a such a time and space and I'm
going to write that person's book name
in my book of life and I will see to it
that in the proper time this individual
will get exposed to the gospel well come
to repentance and faith will give his or
her life to Jesus I will fill him or her
with the presence in the power of my
Holy Spirit I will orchestrate all the
this person's life so that they can grow
up to be built up and sanctified into
suitable inhabitants for my kingdom I
will determine what their gifting will
be I will determine how they will
function in the body of Christ I will
give them whatever it is that they need
for time and for eternity and when the
curtain falls in history I'm going to
say to them well done good and faithful
servant you've been faithful over little
welcome into my kingdom you're going to
inherit all the riches that I have
prepared for you from before the
foundation of the world and all the
angels are going to stand there and
they're going to applaud like crazy
because God has finally redeemed his
people and has conquered sin and death
and hell all of which will be thrown
into the lake of fire so that God's
people can live forever in a glory they
cannot yet begin to imagine that's the
message of Scripture that's the message
of Scripture and that's the inheritance
that we have if by faith were joined to
Jesus and let him do what he must do
what an end with these verses from
you know if you ever get a preach of my
funeral hopefully not for a while
yep but there's a passage that really
clinches everything that we've talked
about so I'm going to ask you to stand
and I want you to say these verses out
loud with me and then we'll be done this
morning Romans chapter 8 read it with me
Romans 8:31 239 if God is for us who can
be against us he who did not spare his
own son but gave him up for
so how will he not also along with him
graciously give us all things who will
bring any charge against those whom God
has chosen it is God who justifies who
is he that condemns Christ Jesus who
died more than that who was raised to
life is at the right hand of God and is
also interceding for us who shall
separate us from the love of Christ
shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or
sword as it is written for your sake we
face death all day long we are
considered as sheep to be slaughtered no
in all these things were more than
conquerors through him who loved us for
I am convinced that neither death nor
life neither Angels nor demons neither
the present nor the future nor any
powers neither height nor depth nor
anything else in all creation will be
able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord I think
we should give the Lord a mighty hand
yes
you