Sermon July 14- 15, 2012

Title: God has adopted you, and in Christ you are His child! Text: Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Dear friends, In 1952 a probation officer in New York City tried to find an organization that would assist in the adoption of a twelve-year-old boy. Although the child had a religious background, none of the major denominations would assist in his adoption. Said the officer later; “His case had been reported to me because he had been truant. I tried for a year to find an agency that would care for this needy youngster. Catholic, Protestant and Jewish institutions wouldn’t take him because he came from a denomination they didn’t recognize so I could do nothing constructive for him.” If the principles of Christian love had prevailed in the Bronx in 1952, perhaps a good home could have been found for that young, mixed-up boy. In fact, providing a better environment in which to grow up might have changed history. For, you see, the boy was Lee Harvey Oswald: The man who assassinated President John F. Kennedy. As today’s lesson begins, we learn from the Apostle Paul the great blessing of adoption, especially in light of sin and rebellion … and that God adopted, in Christ, those Christians in the church in Ephesus. He begins: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, Paul, who is speaking in his letter to the church in Ephesus, has spent close to three years, with this mission congregation during his third missionary journey, pointing them to the cross and to the reality that they have, in Christ. During his time in Ephesus Paul proclaimed the truth in and among the people and for some background we read in Acts 19: 8 And he (Paul) entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way (which is what Christians were call then) before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:8-10) The Jews had been and were a blessed people. God brought them out of bondage in Egypt. He promised to bless them: In Deuteronomy we read: 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. (Deut. 28:4) Paul in his letter here is not speaking of temporal blessings, house or home, children or family, things of this world or blessings of the earth, but is only speaking of spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. What is that … you might ask? We might listen to the words of Jesus to find out: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23.) …or, 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. (Matt. 7: 24-25) … And what is that rock but the rock of Peter’s confession: 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah; for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matt 16:16-17) God has adopted you, and in Christ you are His child! But what “IS” being in Christ? Is it something we do? Is it a decision we make? Is it a desire we have or is it something that is completely outside of us; something given as a gift? Paul continues: 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Being in Christ is, according to Paul, God’s work. He chose us in Him! (In Jesus) And, to be in Him is to be in Christ. So, when did this occur? How did this happen? The text tells us that before the foundation of the world; that before God said … “Let there be light.” You were chosen … you were called, you were set apart, but not like the nation of Israel … which in our Old Testament lesson today hear the word of the Lord’s condemnation through Amos: 9 “the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” It was a hard word given Amos to preach: King Jeroboam would “die by the sword,” and Israel would “go into exile away from his land” (Amos 7:10–11). And for this Word, Amos was hated and threatened. Do you ever see hatred and threat against Christians in this world? The news out of Kenya this month is alarming. This is from the Catholic World News from July 02, 2012: Kenyan Christians killed in terror attack on church At least 17 people were killed, and many others seriously wounded, in an armed assault on a Christian church in Garissi, Kenya, on July 1. Armed men killed two guards, and then threw grenades into the African Inland Church. When worshippers ran outside they were hit with a salvo of automatic gunfire. Although the perpetrators of the attack were not immediately identified, Kenyan authorities strongly suspect the al-Shabaab terrorist group, which is actively in neighboring Somalia. The truth is that while we still reside in the relative peace of being able to worship in a free country that honors religious freedom. And, just last Sunday we’re able to take our worship outside, gathered together in celebration corporately under the peace of the Lord’s blessed good weather in our pavilion. The truth is, as Pastor Merrell pointed out last week in his sermon, the symbol of the cross is an offence, causing condemnation and scorn by some, in our own country and violent actions by others, in Kenya and around the world. How long the Lord’s protection will remain on us in the United States? Only God knows … But, Paul tells the church in Ephesus and also us that: In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, A few definitions: Predestined: To fix upon, decide, or decree in advance; to foreordain. Adoption: To take into one's family through legal means and raise as one's own child or to take up and make one his own. Purpose: The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal. The Lord decided in advance and aimed as a goal to make you his own child. He predestined, preordained, called and chose … you! To be His child … you have been selected to be in Christ, and for some of you God called you in your Baptism when He marked you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. For others, you heard the word of truth preached and that word took seed in your heart and you, by the power of the Holy Spirit … believed. But this is not to your glory or for your glory … but only: 6 …to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved … And who is this beloved? Is it you or is it me? No! It is Him who came and took on sinful flesh that He might be made like you in every way, yet without sin, so that He might stand in your place and suffer God’s full measure of punishment for sin – for you - and pay the price and debt in full, so that: 7 In him (in Christ!) we have redemption through his blood; that flowed from Him and from the cross for you and for me, so that we would receive the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, John Chrysostom in his Homily 1 tells of this blessed exchange of being in Him when he says: He (God) hath given the Beloved, (Jesus Christ) for them (you and me) that were hated (and outside of His love in our sinful flesh). (But,) See, how high a price he sets upon us. If, when we hated Him and were His enemies, He gave the Beloved, (our blessed Lord and savior Jesus Christ), so what will He not do now (for you and me), when we are reconciled by Him through grace? 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ. God has adopted you, and in Christ you are His child! 10 …as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. God’s desire in Him … in Christ … is you; and all that are your neighbor, whether in this city, state, country or around the world. He desires and wills that all will be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Even those evil ones that threw grenades in to that church in Kenya, killing 17 of His children, He desires them too. Hard to believe, but so is the free grace given each one of us who when we look in the mirror and see the sinful flesh that is you and me and know, who we are and what we are capable of … and have done - we would all blush in shame to have anybody, fellow believer or not, know the truth of our sin. But: 11 In him, we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will, Inheritance (definition): which as many of you here know can come from hereditary succession to an estate or title or the right of an heir to succeed to property on the death of an ancestor or, something that may be legally transmitted to an heir. God’s will is your adoption in Christ, and the inheritance you receive and have already is every spiritual blessing in Him. It is the eternal blessed hope found only in Jesus Christ our Lord! 12 so that we, (Paul comforts the Ephesians) who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. But, we too receive hope and comfort because: 13 In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, and were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee, - which is a promise, an assurance, that attests to the pledge that something will be performed in a specified manner by which one person (Jesus Christ) assumes responsibility for paying another's debts or fulfilling another's responsibilities; in keeping the Law of God perfectly which we were unable to do. Christ Jesus is the Guarantee ...of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. God has adopted you, and in Christ you are His child! Adoption is a wonderful thing and can bring real blessings to our world. Some famous adoptive children that have risen to greatness in this life are Gerald Ford and  Bill Clinton, who were elected  President of the United States, Steve Jobs – of Apple fame and I would find it hard to imagine life in our world without many of his innovations also musicians Eric Clapton, and Faith Hill to name a few that have brought pleasure to millions but the adoption that means the most and brings the greatest joy is the adoption into God’s family for you and for me in Him! 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior! God has adopted you, and in Christ you are His child! In the name of the Father, and on the Son + and of the Holy Spirit, Amen