272. Walking in the Word, From Defeat to Victory to Exaltation

You were dead in your sins, but God has raised you up to life! Let's celebrate our new life together as we revisit Ephesians 2:1-10. (Originally aired in 2020) ***** Most holy God – we come to you today seeking your wisdom, your guidance, and your blessing on our lives. Father, I pray that as we open your Word together, that you would pour out understanding and enlightenment on each of us. Open our eyes to see what you would have us see today – allow us to be teachable – allow us to grow closer to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.   Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1-10 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. In this passage we see our own transition, as children of God, from defeat, to victory, to exaltation. Have you ever had one of those days when it just feels like you can't get anything right? Even though you try desperately to 'right the ship' so-to-speak? One day I was running a mom-errand - driving 40 minutes off my usual route to pick up a special-ordered, dearly desired items for one of my young children. A noble cause – I was being a good mom. As I drove with my three young children, it began pouring down rain – one of those relentless Florida afternoon downpours. All of the sudden, as I was driving, one of my windshield wipers stuck straight up in the air – I've never seen anything like it. The kids thought it was hysterical. I pulled over, got out on the side of road, in the pouring down rain, and fixed the wiper. We eventually got to where we were going – I got all three kids in through the rain (which is no small feat in and of itself – still being the good mom), only to find out that our special-ordered, very expensive, HAD-to-have TODAY purchase – wasn't going to be ready until the following week. I know that you have your own version of what seemed at the time to be my 'Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day' … because the fact of the matter is – due to our sinful nature, our disobedience, and the devil's constant battle against our hearts -  in THIS world we WILL have trouble. We will feel defeat in many ways. The first 4 words Paul writes in this chapter are "Once, you were dead." That's not a phrase we hear every day – the regular connotation of death indicates an ending – finality. Once we are dead, there is NOTHING we can do of our own accord to wake up. A deaf person cannot hear a beautiful symphony, no matter how hard he tries. A blind person cannot see the majestic view from a mountaintop, no matter how wide she opens her eyes … a dead person, simply can't get up… And a spiritually dead person cannot see the glory of God's goodness and love no matter how she tries to look on the bright side. See Paul isn't talking about death as we normally think of it – the death of flesh, but he is talking about the death of the spirit. He says, at one time, you were spiritually dead. Imagine – a world without hope. Darkness without any pinprick of light. Misery without comfort. Because of our sin … THAT is the world that we were born into. We as, humans, drove our holy and perfect God away with our propensity to sin – causing us to be in a spiritual state of death – separated from all that is good and right. Separated from God. And there was nothing we could do of our own accord to bring Him back, or to make things better. Then the transition. Verse 4 begins 'BUT GOD." As you read carefully through the Bible, you will begin to notice that the Biblical writers never shy away from teaching about our Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad existence. However, the two words that often follow these descriptions can change our very life trajectory, taking us from defeat to victory. BUT…GOD! The verse continues… "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead." Our God is merciful. Mercy is that quality that only comes from God and means compassion, kindness, pity. Because of God's mercy, and through His power, He took what once was dead and without hope – our very spiritual lives – and gave us life in Him. God did this amazing act in tandem with another amazing act – He resurrected Jesus Christ from physical death so that we could be resurrected from our spiritual death. Only God's mercy, and His power enacted through that mercy, could allow us as the deaf to hear that beautiful symphony, could open our blind eyes to see the majestic view, and could enable us, the dead, to get up. But as the infomercial says…But wait…there's more! God loves us so much that taking us from defeat to victory wasn't enough. No – as only God can, He takes it a step further, and exalts us! In verse 6, we are reminded "For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms!" We've all likely seen video of a survivor pulled from the rubble of an earthquake, carried on a stretcher through a crowd of cheering first responders. WE are the survivors! GOD is our first rescuer! And all the saints and angels are cheering YOUR revival. God is SO EXCITED by YOUR spiritual awakening that it is no longer enough to return you to the Garden of Paradise – no, He is going to keep His eye on you by exalting you and keeping you RIGHT BESIDE HIM in the heavenly realms! Our merciful God has taken us from defeat, to victory, to exaltation! Verse 8 gives us a bit of the background – first telling us WHEN this transition occurred in the life of the Christian: "God saved you by his grace WHEN you believed." This is a WHEN statement, not a BECAUSE statement – Paul quickly underlines this fact by stating "YOU can't take credit for this; it is a GIFT from God…not a REWARD…therefore, you can't BOAST!" Like the survivor pulled from the rubble, we are completely dependent on our rescuer – all glory to our merciful God! And finally, verse 10 – one of my favorites – gives us the why: "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." You are God's MASTERPIECE!! His treasured possession. His work of art! Throughout the years, I have received many homemade gifts that I treasure. My mom made me a quilt when I left for college. That quilt was made for a purpose - to keep me warm, to help me rest, to comfort me, and to remind me of home when I was navigating the world on my own. That quilt was my mom's work of art – and while it brightened my college dorm room, it still had a practical purpose. Ladies – you are beautiful! And what's more, you were created ON purpose FOR a purpose. The devil had his way and left us for dead because of our sin. But God, in His mercy, pulled you from the rubble, seated you in the heavenly realms, and all creation cheered! So now you can live like the masterpiece that you were created to be! Not to be set aside in a museum, shielded from the light or from handprints; but you are a GIFT that has been given to the world, from God. Like my mom gave me my quilt, God has shared you, His masterpiece, with a world that He loves – to brighten their day by your beauty, to comfort and protect others, and to remind others of THEIR rightful home in heaven! When others see you, do they see God? Do they see THEIR Creator and THEIR first responder as a light in you? Are you reaching into the rubble with God to help the helpless out of their darkness? You were created anew in Christ Jesus, in order to do the good things GOD planned for you long ago. So no matter how Terrible, Horrible, No Good, and Very Bad today may feel, know that God has reached through the rubble to save you, has exalted you in the heavenly realms, and He wants you to LIVE LIKE THE MASTERPIECE THAT HE CREATED YOU TO BE! Dear Heavenly Father – thank you for your mercy, for reaching down into the rubble of our lives and for saving us. Thank you for bringing us from defeat to victory to exaltation. Empower us today to live like the masterpiece that you created us to be – to live life ON PURPOSE. Open our ears to hear what you want us to know, our eyes to see where you want us to go, and our hearts to respond to others with the power that only you can provide. We claim our place in the heavenly realms today, and we praise you for counting us worthy as your children. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.