Everything God Has for Us
I remember a recent Christmas where we bought gifts, boxed them up, and sent them to our daughter Emily and family in Denver. In the spring of the next year I found a wrapped gift with Emily’s name on it. Somehow we had overlooked it when we sent the others out. It was still a gift… It had Emily’s name on it… but it didn’t serve any purpose for her because it had never been opened.
The Word of God is full of promises for us as believers that I am convinced that we miss out on because we fail to open them.
But look, I’m preaching to a generation that has seen the gifts of God poured out on the church and upon individuals like many in this generation have never seen.
Today I want to look at a familiar passage and break it down so that we perhaps look at it in a different way in order to encourage you to get everything God has for you.
Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Let’s begin by looking at three words in verse 8
GRACE, SAVED, AND FAITH…
I. The Limit of God’s Grace… For it is by grace… We’ve all heard the standard definition of what grace is… God’s unmerited favor… our receiving something that we don’t deserve and can’t earn. Strong’s Concordance says that “Grace” is “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.” My favorite definition of grace is that it is the manifestation of God’s power or Presence in your life at any given time. Ephesians 4:7
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. And look at this, the scriptures take it even a little further… 2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (NKJV) In the Greek the word that is translated “abound” is more than that. The Greek word means to super-abound. Isn’t that an extravagant concept? God’s grace is always more than we can ever think or even imagine… And if my definition of grace is accurate – God’s power and presence in your life at any given time – there is no limit on what the Lord has in store for your life.
II. The Limit of Our Salvation… For it is by grace you are saved…. Hebrews 7:24-25, But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. When we think about being saved most times we fast forward to when we take our last breath on earth and our next breath is in the presence of the One who saved us. But the word translated “saved” or “salvation” is used in reference to being saved, not just from eternal punishment, but also deliverance from danger, suffering and sickness in this present life. Because there is no limit to His grace, then we must come to the conclusion that there are no limitations in the other benefits of the salvation He has provided... a young man goes looking for a new job. He finds something and talks to Human
Resources to find out about the pay package. He was thrilled to find out that he was going to make $10:00 per/hour more than he had ever hoped. That would allow him to save up for retirement and pay for medical insurance… all the extra stuff. The HR person says, “No, you don’t have to worry about those things. You will have a great pension plan and full medical benefits. That’s all part of the package.” And the young man says, “No, That’s OK. Just the good paycheck is enough.” Are you all listening? Everything that the Word of God says about God’s nature – He is our Savior, our Provider, our Healer, our Peace, our Deliverer, our Father, and we are co-heirs with Jesus to all the benefits that belong to Him. Ephesians 1:18 -23, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
III. The Limit of Your Faith. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… Every promise that is given us in the Scriptures has two parts – The God Part and our part. God has already given us grace to be saved (delivered, provided for, healed…) and it is up to us to do our part. We access God’s grace by faith. I remember that cold February night in 1988 when I accessed my eternal life by faith. And I knew when it was over that the One who I had accepted as Savor had saved me from my sinful life. I had the promise of heaven. Then, the Holy Spirit testified with my spirit that I was a child of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. The biblical doctrine of faith has caused a lot of discussion in Christian circles over the years. It really only becomes a problem when your “faith” becomes the object of your faith. Oh but when you look at every promise given in the Word and place your faith in the One who is faithful things change. Even when what we are believing for doesn’t happen when we think it should, faith still prevails. Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen… One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If we come to know Jesus as Savor, we are saved… through faith. What about deliverance, blessing, protection, authority, healing? Since all those things are provided for us in the atonement of Christ, shouldn’t our access to them be through faith? This 11th chapter of Hebrews goes on to tell us about the faith of all the Old Testament saints who received promises from God. Some of them saw the promise come into being – others did not. But by faith they held on to the promise.
Closing:
Chapter 12 tells us about the great cloud of witnesses – those who had seen God work, received a promise and held on to it.
Listen to me saints – You – the generation who has seen the miracles of God, the moving of the Holy Spirit, the healing power of His Presence at work – you have a message of hope, of faith, to pass on to the next generation.
This is not a call for you to return to what God has done in the past. This is call to remember the past and know that Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever. This is a call to tell the younger generation of the mighty power of God that is at work in believers even today.
You are a great cloud of witnesses.
Hold on to the grace He has given…
Hold on to the Salvation He has promised…
Hold on to the faith you have to receive every promise…
