Your Past, Present, Future

Notes: Your Past, Present, Future

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Ephesians 2 

Pastor Greg Laurie

WORSHIP TEAM:

Harvest Worship Band

SERIES:

Live, Love, Fight

Thursday, January 22, 2015 — 7:00 p.m.

Greg is talking to everyone saying how some churches don’t do mid-week Bible studies but he loves the mid-week study. He says where on Sunday’s some come from obligation but mid-week we come because we want to.

From time to time we all wonder about our future. What might happen? Some funny fortune cookie sayings:

“You laugh now, but wait till you get home”.

“You will be hungry in one hour”.

“Help I’m being held hostage in a Chinese bakery”

“Confucius say if you think you can some up your whole life on this little piece of paper, then you are crazy.”

Greg Says he know our past, present and future:

1. Our Past:

Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,  among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

2. Our Present:

Ephesians 2:3-5 NKJV

among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

3. Our Future:

Ephesians 2:7 NKJV

that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The emphasis of scripture is not what I must do for God, it is what God has done for me.

1 John 4:19 NKJV

We love Him because He first loved us.

The more you know about God’s love for us, the more we will want to reciprocate that love for Him.

Is there enough power for us to live this Christian life that God has given us? More power than you will ever need.

Ephesians 1:18-20 NKJV

the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,  and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power  which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Our past, before we were believers:

Ephesians 2:1 NKJV

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

The “you” in this verse really sticks out.

We know that some people are wicked, like ISIS, or serial killers, or rapist.

But what about the rest of us, are we wicked?  Many of us want to make sure we keep that bad guys locked out, but are you looking at maybe there is a bad guy inside you.

We seem to get mad at other people for doing the same things that we do. Like texting at a stop light or waiting to long after the light turns green.

The 20^th century was the bloodiest century of all times. The Bible teaches that we are getting worse and statistics are proving it. Greg says, he doesn’t believe in evolution, but there might be de-evolution; many are appearing to be turning into monkeys.

Have you ever thought at church, I wish so-and-so was here listening to this message? The so-and-so that should be there is there.

It always seems to be others that are the problem. But that can’t be true, can it? God says it is us, we are the sinners, the problem.

We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. It comes naturally to all of us.

Trespass means to cross the line. In scripture it means to break a commandment.

Sin means to miss the mark, falling short of a standard.

So if you miss the mark one time or you miss the mark twenty times, you have still missed the mark.

God’s standard is that we are to be perfect. So that means we are all sinners.

There are two types of sins; commission and omission.

Commission is to do what you know you should not do.

Omission is not doing what you know you should be doing.

James 4:17 NKJV

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

When you fail to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit that is omission and is a sin.

1 John 1:8 NKJV

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

This is all very depressing information. What is the result of this?

Romans 6:23 NKJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ezekiel 18:20 NKJV

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Everyone who does not know Jesus Christ is dead in his or her own sin.

1 Timothy 5:6 NKJV

But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.

This is all hard for us to wrap our minds around. We all know nice people that we can’t imagine this happening too.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Everyone needs Jesus to save him or her. That is not to say they lead equally sinful lives, but they are equally in the state of sin, and equally separated from God and from spiritual life.

Luke 6:33 NKJV

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

Luke 11:13 NKJV

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

There are good people that do good things, but the problem is, is that they are not good enough because they are not perfect.

Ephesians 2:2 NKJV

in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

This verse means, we have drifted along the stream of what the world thought was good living. This is doing something with no goal in mind.

The word “course” in this verse, means weather vein, we turn to where ever this world is going.

Augustine said 1500 years ago that this world goes after three things, money, sex and power.

Any old fish can go down stream, but it takes a live fish to swim up stream.

Paul clearly identifies the three enemies the Christian faces: The world, the flesh and the devil.

Psalm 24:1 NKJV

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

Ephesians 2:3 NKJV

among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Psalm 19:1-3 NKJV

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.

A creator made this world, there is no way this is random.

When the Bible speaks of “the world” it is referring to a system of thought.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV

whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

The devil is evil and he is the prince of this world.

1 John 2:16 NKJV

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

The lust of the flesh:

Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

There is a difference between eating to live and living to eat. There is a difference between getting a good night sleep and being lazy.

The lust of the eyes:

Do you wish you did certain things that are sins?  Satan knows if he can get you to take a look then he can get you to bite. He knows how to make bad things look good and good things look bad.

2 Samuel 11:2 NKJV

Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.

The Bible doesn’t exaggerate, if it says a woman is beautiful, then she was.

The pride of life:

These are people that don’t do these sins, they want to help their fellow man, and they may even be religious. They also think they don’t need Jesus Christ.

The “world” and it’s sins are all around you, and we used to live that way.

Ephesians 2:3 NKJV

among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

God is just and God is righteous and God is fair. You don’t appreciate the good news if you don’t first hear the bad news.

Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

“But God”, God will always have the last word, His Word.

Genesis 50:20 NKJV

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Jonah 4:6-7 NKJV

And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant.  But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered.

Philippians 2:27 NKJV

For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Luke 12:19-20 NKJV

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

God will always have the last word…NOT YOU!

Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 1:20-21 NKJV

which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Jesus is above everyone and everything. That is important to you because you will be seated with Him as a Christian.

There is postionally true and experientially true. You are positioned to go to Heaven but you are not in Heaven yet. You don’t have to live in spiritual defeat.

Satan doesn’t want us to realize that we are going to Heaven and don’t need to listen or give in to him.

Oscar Wilde said, the only way he knew to get rid of temptation was to give into it. That is not what we should be doing; we can resist temptation. When you are tempted, you can walk away.

The power is there, don’t wait to feel it, just start using it. We need to start living our name, Christians.

Our future:

Ephesians 2:7 NKJV

that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

God has done all these things, just to show us how much He loves us. God can’t wait for us to join Him.

John 17:24 NKJV

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Paul the Apostle had the unique experience of dying and going to Heaven. Paul didn’t write a book about going to Heaven. He said it was so amazing that he couldn’t describe it.

Philippians 1:23 NKJV

For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Your body is a temporary dwelling place like a tent. In Heaven with God we will have a mansion as a body forever.

John 3:16 NKJV

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.