SERMON NOTES (Mar 13, 2016): This is His Story: Present- Eph 2:1-10

Intro: Malcom Gladwell – TED Talk:  David & Goliath: Goliath never had a chance!

https://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_the_unheard_story_of_david_and_goliath?language=en

1 Sam 17:45-46 “⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,”

Ps 118:24: This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice & be glad in it.

Luke 23:43: “Jesus said to the thief, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

The Giants of our past are shouting at us...

I.                    We have a History (vv. 1-4)

                  A.      Without God all we have is a past…

And you were dead (2:1)

An inability to do anything right

An inescapable desire to do all that is wrong

ILL. Now in its 6^th season: The Walking Dead. (ending season 6 & already filming season 7). Zombie Theology: zombie stories grapple with common religious themes: the end of the world, resurrection and the nature of the human soul. The limits to which human beings could actually go (cannibalism) if there were no moral constraints and no God to intervene.

Cf. 1 Cor 6:9-11 - 9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

                  B.      But God… made us alive (2:4-5) (God gave us a present- His Presence)

Even when we were dead- Dead men don’t talk.

United to Jesus (inseparability)- It’s how I KNOW I’m saved…

BUT NOT JUST ALIVE, ALIVE WITH (SUZOOPOIEO)- Totally dependent on Jesus’ resurrection & New Life

Cf. Ex. 3:13-14 – “13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “[a]I AM WHO [b]I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘[c]I AM has sent me to you.’”

There is no Giant of your past who is bigger than the God of your present

II.                  But Our Present is His Story (vv. 5-10)

                 A.      By Grace: It’s a story of Grace

1.       Grace that resurrects the dead (vs. 5)

2.       Grace that opens heaven’s riches (vs. 7)

3.       Grace that offers saving faith (vs. 8)

4.       Grace that fulfills what He planned (10)

Lo I am with you always…GREAT COMMISSION- He’s doing it. Flies in the face of anyone who says we should just wait around and pray until we get more divine data. He’s already at work! Angels had to break up the worship service on the mount after the Great Commission. Acts 2 Holy Spirit introduction ushered in an active service of HIM doing it all through us! IT’S HIS STORY!

Cf. 2 Cor 6:2 - 2 for He says,

“At the acceptable time I listened to you,

And on the day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”—

APP. He is writing His Story through you: Are you blocking His Pen? Grace defeats Giants

III.                His Preplanned Works Involve Telling His Story

EXP: which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

               A.      Are you written into God’s narrative?

               B.      Who do you know that hasn’t heard His Story?

ILL. Edward Kimball= Sunday school teacher of rowdy boys> Dwight L. Moody at shoe store > Wilbur Chapman became evangelist > Baseball player Billy Sunday heard  & so did Mordecai Ham; both became evangelists. Mordecai Ham set up a revival meeting & was preaching against the prostitution business in town & young Billy Frank went to hear him, got saved. Billy Graham is that man, preached to more people in his lifetime than apostle Paul.

Cf. Rev. 22:17- “17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

APP. Either we will obey today & be a part of His Story or we will disobey and lose our opportunity to defeat the voices of these giants on this spiritual battlefield.