All right. Amen. And amen to the Lord's Supper. What a great reminder of our Savior. Hey, my name is Jacob.
I'm on staff as the associate pastor here at the church and I'll be covering the pulpit this morning. Thankful to do it. I'll be in Ephesians 2, so if you want to look in your copy of Scriptures Ephesians 2, we'll have it on the screen. If not, while you're looking for that, I wanted to draw your attention to these little cards that are in your seat. It's our December to Remember starts next week.
We have created some great memories. We want to be a part of that in your family and your friends that you bring to church just to create these special moments with you for Christmas at the church. It just seemed right and good to do that. And you can see on the back there's a list of all the fun things. We'll be doing lots of activities for the kids.
December 1st, we'll have an ornament decorating station in the lobby. We'll also be releasing an adventure devotional for you. December 4th is our first Wednesday. It's going to be a fun time of hot cocoa. Spread out.
We're going to have some Christmas game shows. Me and Blair are working on something that might be fun. I'm trying to convince them it's going to be awesome. So we'll see about that. Looking forward to that.
Lots of fun. December 8th will be cookie painting stations. Cookie painting. I've never painted a cookie, but it's going to be fun, I'm told. And then some treats for those who are not artistic so they can just get a treat.
So it's a win win for the artsy folks and the non artsy folks. I think we're all going to benefit from that. December 15th is our official GCC ornaments. We'll be giving those away. Therese always does a great job making sure we have those every year, so we always like to display those and get those.
Also, there's a kid's scavenger hunt on that day, so that'll be fun. And then of course, December 16th and 17th are family gingerbread bash. Those are great memories. Hey, make sure you sign up. This is the first time, I think the Facebook event hit live.
Lots of signups already. This is the first time from the pulpit. We're saying gingerbread bash, so make sure you sign up for that on our website. Those spaces go quick. We've had to turn it into two nights instead of just one.
And both of Them filled up last year. And then of course, December 22nd is our Christmas celebration. The kids will be having Christmas parties on those days, so lots of fun memories to be made. You're going to look up. It's kind of one of those, man, you know, make sure you don't miss any of those days if at all possible.
I know there's travel and stuff, but it's going to be absolutely amazing. Hey, a couple of months ago, I had some truck issues. I was driving down old 78 towards hacks, and all of the lights on my dashboard start blinking at me. And the thing just starts bling, bling, you know, making noises and all this and kind of stimulation overload there. And then all of a sudden, as I was driving, my truck just died in the middle of the road.
Everything dies. Power steering. So you're trying to get over out of traffic. Brakes were no power brakes. I'm having to just cram on the brakes.
I get pulled over a little bit, but now I'm blocking all the traffic. I'm that guy, right? I felt horrible. And so I get out, try to crank it back up. Nothing happens.
No click, anything dead, Just dead, dead. So the battery was dead. So I called my wife. She comes up there. I'm able to get a jump started.
She fired right back up. Everything seemed fine. Later that day, I wanted to go to the auto parts store to have them test the battery alternator. You know, they'll do that for you and then they'll sell you something. So I'm like, all right, well, let me go buy something.
But as soon as I pull up into this parking lot, no joke, everything happens again. I die. The car dies. So I start. That would have been a horrible, tragic story.
The car dies. My apologies. Just enough momentum to roll into the front row parking spot. I look up, the store is closed. I was five minutes too late.
So I was like, great. So I had to get the truck towed back to the house. Looked into it, come to find out the battery, alternator and battery terminal were all bad. So it was triple dead. So it wasn't just dead, it was triple dead.
Another story about Jeremy Bentham, and I'll let you know why I'm telling these stories in a second. He was a philosopher, among other things, and is considered the founder of unitarianism. It's basically the happiness principle. If it makes you happy, it must be right and good. He was a really interesting figure in more ways than one.
His name actually appears on the TV show Lost as an alias of John Locked. Talk about a callback. I thought that was interesting. In Bentham's will, he apparently left a fortune to a London hospital. But there was one condition.
Bentham wanted to be present at every board meeting. So reportedly for 100 years I tried to find out if this is still happening today. But for 100 years at every board meeting, the preserved remains of Jeremy Bentham were wheeled into the boardroom every month and placed at the head of the table. In the minutes of every board meeting, it read this. Mr.
Jeremy Bentham, present but not voting. The reason that I say that is that dead people in corpses are incapable of responding. My truck was incapable of responding. And that's how a person who is spiritually dead when it comes to spiritual matters is they tend to be non responsive. I was walking around the church and that's why I grabbed this today.
Someone in the church stores surge protectors like this and they hang it up and I'm like, that is so bizarre. And I thought, man, that is a great picture of our pre Christian life. Like, man, it looks right, it's plugged in, it looks like it should do something, but it has no power. And you're like, oh well, the button's clicked, okay, nope, still no power. And what you need is a power source.
But before Christ we tried to plug into ourselves. We were very selfish into ourselves. And I thought, man, that is a really great reminder that I found at the church. And so I wanted to bring it up here with me because it's been spiritually beneficial to me and I want to know who's storing their surge protectors like that. So let me know if it's you.
So as Jesus said, and here's when I saw this, I thought of this verse in Matthew 13:13 and it says this for they look but they don't really see, right, they hear but they don't really listen or understand. And it's like that surge protector, it's like, man, it looks right but it's just not. It's not functioning. So this morning I want to look at a passage that shows that when we were spiritually dead, God made us alive with Christ because we were present but not voting until God gave us life or we were dead until God gave us life and jump started us and we were dead until God plugged us into his power source and his salvation. So I want to highlight two truths.
I'm going to cover about seven verses and I'm going to focus on really two big truths that I want to pull out of those seven verses about God's work in bringing us life. The first truth is, apart from Christ, we were spiritually dead. Apart from Christ, we were spiritually dead. We'll talk about that for about half the sermon. And then the second half is going to be with Christ.
We are spiritually alive. So let's look at Ephesians 2. I'm going to read the first three verses and then we'll talk about those. First it says this. Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins, you used to live in sin just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers of the unseen world.
He is the Spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 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. Paul, as he typically does, begins with our pre Christian past. Paul always likes to start these paragraphs with this.
Oh, here's how you used to be. It was bad, all of those things. And he said, well, that was the worst of all those. So you're in good company there. And the picture that he paints is not a good picture at all.
Verse one begins with the words once you. Now, who do you think he's talking about? He's actually talking to the Gentiles in Ephesus. He says, once you. So he just straight up offends everyone.
He's really good at that. So he says, once you. And then in verse three, if you look at verse three, he says, all of us. And then at the very end of verse three, he says, just like everyone else. So here we have Paul covering everyone with these phrases.
He offends everyone. He's not just preparing to describe some lousy segment of society or some random voodoo tribe over in an island that no one knows about. He's talking about everyone, including the person in your seat, including the person next to your seat and the person on the stage. This is the biblical diagnosis of our sinful nature. And Paul shows us who we were before Christ with three descriptions.
And here's the three descriptions that we'll look at. We were dead, we were disobedient, we were doomed. And Paul is great at making friends, isn't he? So that's how he starts this. Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2, verse 1 says, Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
And Paul says that we were dead in our many sins. We were Dead, like all dead. And I think a quote will help us. It's from Miracle Max of the Prince's Bride. This is helpful spiritually stimulating so much truth.
Are you ready? Says this. It just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. Now there's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive with all dead.
Well with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. Go through his clothes and look for loose change.
We were not mostly dead. We were all dead and in need of a miracle that only God could perform. And not only were we dead, Paul also says, well you were disobedient. Also in verse 2 Paul goes on to describe how we disobeyed God like our first parents did Adam and Eve. And instead of following God, we followed three evil forces.
We followed the world, we followed Satan, and we followed our sinful desires. And he talks about those in verse two it says we used to live in sin just like the rest of the world and the unsaved person. This pre Christian state that you were once in, you were controlled by the world's influences because the unsaved adopt the attitudes and the habits and the lifestyles of the culture reflecting words. Paul's words in 2nd Timothy 3, 1:5 and he says this, he says, you should know this Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times for people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents and ungrateful.
They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving. They will slander others and have no self control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride and love, pleasure rather than God.
They will act religious, they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that Timothy, because the world's so captivating. The people are going, the world is going to be intoxicating. Stay away from people who follow the world. So they followed the world.
And it also says that we followed Satan. And Paul describes the evil one's work in verse two by saying this. He says, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. This describes how Satan works on unbelievers, that he lays out the bait and sinful people take it.
Disobeying God ensnares them. And so we once followed the world. We once followed Satan, and we followed our sinful desires. Verse 3. Paul concludes these thoughts with this.
He says, all of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. And these passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature are listed in Galatians 5among other places. But they're listed in sins like anger and jealousy and rebellion that crop up constantly. Romans 8. Eight is so clear.
It says, that's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah put it like this. He said, In Jeremiah 17, 9, he says, the heart is more deceitful than anything else and incurable. Who can understand it now? After reading this, I thought, man, Paul, you're kind of getting carried away here.
Is it really that bad? And I think the answer is yes. Really was that bad? It may not have seemed like it at the time, but the more you understand Jesus and his grace, and the more you pursue Jesus, you start realizing, it was that bad. I really was that bad.
So Paul is describing that all aspects of our being are infected with this deadly disease of sin, that we were dead and we were disobedient and we were doomed. Paul follows this by saying, by our very nature, we were subject to God's anger just like everyone else, because what we have is a holy God that won't just sweep sin under the rug. What we have is a holy God who loves holy things. And many think that the Old Testament God is a God of wrath. And then they say, well, you know, but the New Testament, God's like Mr.
Rogers, right? Like, everything's great. And, man, I just. I love everyone. And that is so far from the truth.
What we have, though now is this period of patience because God has opened up the door of mercy wide so that we can come into his grace and be saved. But the coming wrath of God is worse than anything in the Old Testament. The words of Hebrew humble me when I read them. Chapter 10, verse 31 says, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God, man. It's a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God.
But the good news for the Christian is that God's wrath was poured out not on you, but on the Savior. I want you to think back, and here's why I wanted to paint this kind of dark picture for you. I want you to think back to when you were trying to buy maybe your engagement ring or a piece of jewelry for an anniversary or Something that has a diamond in it. So I went to. When I was going to get engaged, I went to every jewelry store in driving distance.
This is when malls were still a thing. You can go. And I looked at everything. One, I wanted to pick out the perfect ring. And two, I did not have any money because I worked at Cracker Barrel.
And so I needed the most bang for my buck. Okay? So I was budget shopping, but I wanted to get something special. And I learned a lot about buying diamonds. What they would do is they would all be in this case that had special lighting that would make them all sparkle so they all look gorgeous.
And then when you ask to see one, they would take it out and they would put it on like a black kind of velvet cloth and they would show you it. And they start telling you about the four seas of diamonds. Remember this? What cut, clarity, carat. And the fourth is what cut, clarity?
What's that color? Yeah, yeah. And so they would teach you about these diamonds on this black felt cloth. And Paul in our verses, draws our attention to the depth of our wickedness in order to magnify the mercy and the grace of God in saving a life. So he has the black cloth on which this beautiful diamond sits.
And he says, hey, now you're ready to see the gospel. Now you're ready to dive into the greatness of Jesus. And so Paul gives us the diamond of the Gospel with two of the sweetest words in the Bible. And we sang them earlier in verse four, it's this, but God, because with Christ, we're spiritually alive. We were dead and disobedient and doomed.
But God, you see, we were lifeless and hopeless and under condemnation. But God came to our rescue. And to the Romans, Paul writes, but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, dead, depraved and doomed, Christ died for us. And then we go to Ephesians 2, 5, 6. It says, Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive with Christ.
You see, Paul begins by telling us that God made us alive with Christ. Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He says to us, jacob, come forth. Randy, come forth. Gary, come forth.
And like Lazarus, we rise and we rejoice in his grace. We have what theologians have termed an outer call which goes to everyone through the proclamation of the gospel. It's what I'm doing now, proclaiming the gospel to everyone. And then we also have an inner call that the Holy Spirit does in our hearts. And those who are Christians have Sensed this inner call.
You can see this in Galatians 1:6. We won't go there. Christianity is not about becoming a nicer person or starting some religious routine. It's about becoming a new person, being made new. In John 3.
3, you probably know this story. It tells of a religious man named Nicodemus who came to Jesus and he wanted to know some spiritual questions. You see, Nicodemus had a lot of religious knowledge, but he'd never been made alive. And Jesus told him this. He says, I tell you the truth, unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.
Right? Unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Tony Morida tells a story about an old man. I'm going to kind of tell two different contrasting stories that I think are going to be helpful. He tells about an old man in a church.
That's basically, someone told this man, this is just what you do. So listen to this. Tony says this. He said, I remember preaching at a church in the Deep South. A man who was about 70 years old was handing out bulletins, as he did every week.
I preached on John 3. And he came up after the service and he said, I've never heard that. Someone just asked me when I was a boy, don't you think it's about time to join the church? And I did, but I feel like God was waking me up today. And then Tony says later, he baptized the man on his confession of faith.
And there's a particular story in contrast that I love. It's from an 18th century evangelist named George Whitefield. And he was preaching on the Same verse, John 3. 3. George was pouring out his heart one day during one of the great Awakening sermons.
And a man with rocks stuffed in his pocket came that day for the purpose of physically attacking this famous preacher once the sermon had ended. But after Whitefield's emotional and powerful message, the man made his way up to the preacher. He emptied his pockets and he said this. I came to hear you with my pockets full of stones to break your head. But your sermon got the better of me and broke my heart.
You see, God gave these two different men, the one he gave who just did church because that's what he was told he should do. He gave him new life through the gospel. And then God also gave this angry, hostile man with rocks in his pockets new life in the gospel. And praise God that he can melt the hearts of the hardest men and women and give them new life, because it's only by grace that you've Been saved. Look at verse five and six again.
Three things that just blew me away. Can't unsee it. Now there's three different phrases. One is alive with Christ. Those are the words, alive with Christ.
Ephesians 2, verses 5 and 6. There they go, alive with Christ and then it says what? Raised with Christ and then seated with Christ. Ephesians 5. Let me read it.
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ by grace you've been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ. And Paul says that God raised us up with Christ. And the word that Paul uses is a compound word to declare that we have been raised together. We get our word sync or synchronization from the word that he uses. We know this word probably best through the computer world where you sync your phone or your computer to the cloud in order for your, you know, your pictures to get backed up in your settings and then vice versa.
We were synced with Christ is what he's saying. And what God did for Christ, he did at the same time for believers. And in some astonishing way, when Jesus Christ got out of the tomb 2000 years ago, Jacob Swagel got up with him. Colossians 2:12. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized, and with him you were raised to new life because you trusted in the mighty power of God who raised Christ from the dead.
And then next Paul adds in verse 6, Ephesians 2, verse 6, that God seated us with Christ, 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. And note here is what they call the already not yet aspect of salvation, that we are now raised and seated with Him. But we are awaiting a full completion of our salvation. We still live in the world, but not of the world. The final work of grace that Paul notes here is future oriented verse 7, so God can point us in all future ages as an example 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.
And the reason God has shown us such grace is so we can. So we might be a demonstration of his grace forever, that we will be trophies of his grace. So God says, look what I can do with such a mess.
Think of the great reversal we just talked about this morning from verses 1 to 3 and then verses 4 to 7. Did you catch it? That we were dead in sins and now we're alive with Christ that we were sons of disobedience. And now we're raised up with Christ, that we were children of wrath. And now we're seated with Christ, recipients of generous mercy and great love, recipients of rich grace in God's kindness and trophies of God's grace that we once walked in darkness, being controlled by the world and the flesh and the devil.
But God made us alive through faith in Christ. And now we're walking in Christ. And then Ephesians goes on to talk about good works and why we do good works. Do you know this amazing grace? If so, you can identify with John Newton, who is the author of Amazing Grace.
He says this. He says, I am not what I ought to be. Ah, how imperfect and deficient. I am not what I wish to be. I dislike what is evil and I would cling to what is good.
I am not what I hope to be. Soon. Soon I shall put off morality and with morality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan. And I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge by the grace of God, I am what I am.
Here's three ways that you can apply this message and be ministered to by the prayer ministry team that will be up here. The first would be to acknowledge your spiritual condition and need for God's intervention. Take a moment and survey your life before coming to Christ. It's a helpful exercise to go back to how you were what you were before Jesus came into your life. Or maybe there's some areas that are still spiritually disconnected in your life.
And as we recognize those and the fact that we cannot change our own condition, like this surge protector, that you need God's grace and intervention in those areas of your life. And so what we do is we repent of those areas and we surrender them to God and acknowledge your dependence on him for new life. The second way I'd recommend to apply this message is to celebrate and live in the power of God's grace. To live out the transformation that comes with being made spiritually alive in Christ is to embrace your new identity in Christ by walking in his power in new life. See, God has raised you with Christ and seated you in the heavenly realm.
And with that comes power over those areas we talked about earlier that used to enslave you and encompass you. And finally, the third is be a living example of God's grace. What a great testimony that you have, remembering what you once were and now what you are. To share that story of God's amazing grace in your life with others. To live as a trophy of grace in showing God's kindness.
To look for opportunities to be a witness to those around you who are spiritually dead and sharing with them the hope that God can give new life. Look at the message that I was in and now God has rescued me. He can do the same for you. So I'm going to. In just a moment, I'll call the prayer ministry team forward.
And if you're newer, you are very welcome to receive prayer. Our members and regular attenders come up here and they fill up these lines and you are welcome to come receive prayer. It can either be for those application topics that I addressed or it can be for anything that was on your heart or mind. They would love to minister to you this morning in those ways, but as a guest before you head out, we want to give you a gift. In the lobby there is a sign that says you belong here.
Right under that there's some gifts for you, specifically for you. We'd love to send you home with those. And if you haven't yet met Pastor Trevor and his wife Angie, they'll be out there too. They'd love to meet you this morning. So we're going to do that.
Let me pray for you. As the prayer ministry team comes forward, we'll thank God for his clear word today. God, we are grateful to be reminded of what we once were and those sweet words. But God, that you came and rescued us, that we are nothing unless you intervene. And God, I pray that if there's someone spiritually dead here today that you would make them alive and give them new life.
God, that you'd intervene, that you'd help us to celebrate this gospel that you've given us. God, that you would help us walk in this powerful grace that you've given us. And God, I pray we'd be an example of this. To those who we don't know, who don't know you. We love you.
In Jesus name, amen. Hey guys, go ahead and stand. You're dismissed. Come forward to receive prayer. Randy and Theresa, would you mind receiving some folks for prayer over here?
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Come and join us this Sunday at the Great Commission Church for a truly remarkable and uplifting experience. Great Commission Church is not just any ordinary place of worship; it's a vibrant community where faith comes alive, hearts are filled with love, and lives are transformed. Our doors are wide open, ready to welcome you into the warm embrace of our congregation, where you'll discover the true essence of fellowship and spirituality. At Great Commission Church, we are more than just a congregation; we are a family united by a common mission – to follow the teachings of Christ and spread His love to the world. As you step inside Great Commission Church, you'll find a sanctuary that nurtures your faith and encourages you to be part of something greater than yourself.
We believe in the power of coming together as a community to worship, learn, and serve. Whether you're a long-time believer or just starting your spiritual journey, Great Commission Church welcomes people from all walks of life. Our vibrant services are filled with inspiring messages, beautiful music, and heartfelt prayers that will uplift your soul. Every Sunday at Great Commission Church is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God and connect with others who share your faith and values.
At Great Commission Church, we believe that faith is not just a solitary endeavor but a shared experience that strengthens and enriches us all. Our church is a place where you can find purpose, belonging, and the encouragement to live a life in accordance with Christ's teachings. Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church and experience the transformative power of faith in action. Be part of a loving and supportive community that is committed to making a positive impact in our world. Together, we strive to fulfill the great commission to go forth and make disciples of all nations. We look forward to having you with us at Great Commission Church this Sunday, where faith, love, and community intersect in a truly amazing way.
Great Commission Church is a non-denominational Christian church located in Olive Branch, Mississippi. We are a short drive from Germantown, Southaven, Collierville, Horn Lake, Memphis, Fairhaven, Mineral Wells, Pleasant Hill, Handy Corner, Lewisburg and Byhalia.
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